Disclaimer: Don't own, so nobody sue!

Don't kill me! I know, I know, I owe you guys a big apology. The computer crashed and I lost all my files. And I've had writers block for ages, but I think I've got everything alright now. A big thanks to the reviewers. Here's chapter 11!

Jo watched sadly as the shuttle pulled away from the sub.Yzak was standing next to her, his eyes refusing to give away any emotion. She moved closer to him. Without so much as a glance at her, his arm wound round her shoulders and he pulled her into a tight one-armed hug. With a soft sob, she buried her head in his chest.

Rau watched the two teens, anger starting to rise in his chest. Jo shouldn't be up! She was badly injured and needed rest. And I just can't stand that she feels more comfortable with Yzak, a voice muttered. He ignored it, and continued to glare at the teens. 'Jo, Yzak, inside now! Jo, you need to rest and Yzak, I want your report on my desk in half an hour!' They glanced up, startled.

Yzak snapped a salut, 'Yessir!'. Jo merely smiled. 'Sure, Onii-chan.' 'The minute the words were out of her mouth, she turned a rather spectacular shade of magenta. Rau stared at her, trying desperately to remain composed. Yzak stared at them with his jaw on the floor. 'I...I mean, sir.' The girl stammered. Rau shook his head, dazed. 'No, it's alright.'

Yzak's jaw seemed to be threatening to go through the deck, and Jo went even redder. Rau still stared at her in shock. "Onii-chan", "Older Brother". She ... thought of him as an older brother? And said so without having to think. Did that mean in a way she loved him? Did that mean she cared about him that much?

She smiled and brushed past him to go back inside, Yzak behind her, still staring at her in utter shock. So. Alright. I'll be your big brother then. Though I do love you as a person, I'll let you be my little sister. Thank you, for that much. It's more than anyone has ever offered, perhaps more than I could have allowed. How can you do that? How can you make me want to allow myself such impractical hope? I love you for it, yet I fear.

Dearka was bored! Lying around on a bed all day was not something he was good at! And Nicol really wasn't much of help. The younger boy was recovering from serious injuries, and wasn't able to talk for long periods of time. Nothing to distract him from his boredom. If he'd known what being a POW meant, he might just have let himself get killed. Well...maybe Nicol could help...just a little.

'Hey Nicol, say something really stupid,' he whined. The green haired boy looked round in surprise. 'Huh?' 'Just say something stupid, like, I dunno, I wear pink underwear.' Nicol tured a really shocking shade of red. 'I will not!' he hissed, before breathing far to heavily and sinking down onto the bed clutching his chest. 'Sorry, Nicol,' Dearka muttered, trying not to laugh. He felt better now. Nicol's reaction would keep him occupied for...oh, maybe ten minutes.

'Just go inside and wait, Milly. I'll be with you in a minute, Ok? Just try to relax,' a male voice sounded, just before the door opened and a young female EA soldier was pushed inside. 'Back in a minute,' the male said again and the door slid closed. Dearka stared at her. Hand it to her, she was rather pretty...for a natural. Make that gorgeous! Ah, she's probably like the Little Lady, or any other girl I happen to meet. Beautiful to look at, innocent smile, and completely psychotic.

The girl glanced between him and Nicol, staring at them as if they'd four heads between them. 'What?' he asked, raising his eyebrows, 'Did your little natural boyfriend die or something?' Oh yeah, you're worried about the girl being unstable and you insult her. Think about this, who's the unstable one? Hang on, you're just an idiot. A voice in his head muttered. He would have to get that looked at, voices were not a good sign, especially when they insulted you.

However, that could be looked at later. Now, the girl seemed to have gotten it into her head to kill him. With a knife, no less. Instinct told him fight or flee. In this case, fighting would be better, but the restraints said differently. Leaving a knife, unguarded, with two POWs and a crazy girl? Who ran this barge? 'Dearka! Look out!' Nicol shrieked just a second to late. White hot pain seared through his head, temporarily stunning him, giving the crazy bitch time to throw him to the floor.

Geez, I never really appreciated how much Yzak and the Little Lady went through with them facial injuries. And they got hit round the eyes. Hell, the Little Lady lost an eye!

Blood tastes really weird...

Screams and shouts above his head interupted his train of thought. Nicol was shouting and a new boy had appeared. Forcing himself to sit up, he registered another girl standing by the door. The crazy bitch was crying something about a "Kira" and "Tolle" being dead and why did he and Nicol have the right to live. Anger, pride and...guilt?...flared. He and Nicol had lost people too! Athrun, Rusty, Miguel. And the Little Lady had been injuired by those pilots! If that was the way she looked at it, then no-one on this ship deserved to live either!

The other girl in the room had reached into a drawer, and pulled out a gun. He felt his breath catch. Nicol gasped too, clearly wanting to do something. But neither of them could move. That girl was crying too, something about her father, this Kira person, and coordinators not deserving to be alive. A little more pressure on that trigger and he'd be dead. The first girl suddenly pounced, and the bullet struck the overhead light. The three boys stared at them, unsure of what to do.

'Why did you stop me? You hate coordinators too, don't you?' the second girl stammered. 'No, it's not the coordinators that I hate. I stopped you because I'm not like you.' 'THEN WHY WERE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM!' the second girl shouted.

Help came in the form of a young man, maybe late twenties, walking in demanding to know what was going on. Angrily, he escorted the three teens away, calling for another solider on his way out.

Dearka turned to Nicol. 'Why can't I meet at least one sane girl in my life?' Nicol blinked, 'The Little Lady was sane...'. Dearka stared. 'What planet were you living on?That girl was so far gone she was on her way back! She fell in love with Yzak, for crissake! A team full of guys and she picked the homocidal one! Does that not give you some pointers about her mental state!' Nicol nodded thoughtfully.

Lacus stared at Kira. He seemed so sad now. Everyone she knew seemed constantly sad now. Kira, Athrun...Jo. Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder at the picture hanging on the wall. Jo had been thirteen when that picture had been taken. A year and a half before she joined the army(AN: From what I've read on the net, it only takes half a year to graduate as a volunteer solider. Maybe I'm wrong, but lets just say it's true.) Lacus had been fourteen. They'd both looked so happy. It had been taken outside Lacus' house. That seemed like centuries ago.

Sighing, she walked up to the boy. 'Kira, why are you so sad?' The boy glanced up at her. 'I've killed so many people, and watched so many others die. I let others die. I let Athrun self-destruct, I watched Caliber's pilot get shot down, I let my friend die. So many people have died because of me.'

Jo got shot down? Was Jo badly hurt, or...or dead? Why hadn't Kira told her? OK, just calm down Lacus. Kira didn't know about Jo. And Kira had watched her get shot down. He hadn't shot her down! 'Come on. You saved a lot of people.' Kira still looked dejected, she sighed. 'Come on, lets go and get some lunch.'

They stepped back inside. Lacus glanced once more at the picture. Jo, will I ever see you again? Please don't be dead. God, if Kira can survive, so can you. You're strong! Please don't be dead!

'WHAT?' Jo shrieked, angrily. 'What do you mean I'm not going?' 'Just that. You're not going. Your physical condition is too bad. Your bones are still mending and will not be fully healed when we hit Alaska. You will not be joining in the attack. Now, report back to your quaters.' She glared at Rau. 'We'll need all the forces we have. At least put me on reserve!' 'I said no. Report back to your quaters. That's an order!'

She sighed and saluted. 'Fine onii-chan.'

Well, what y'all think? Was it worth the wait? Hopefully next chapter won't take so long.