I'm starting to get a little too wrapped up in this story. Is is strange that I like to read my own stories?

Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Seed Destiny

Cagali starred in horror as blood speckled the window. Mustering all her strength, she leaned forward and yanked Suzuka into the helicopter. Despite her severe wounds, Suzuka gasped, reaching towards Rey. He raised his gun, going in for another shot.

"REY!" she called.

Suzuka fell to the floor of the helicopter with a loud thunk. Cagali fell against the wall,

"Get us the hell out of here!"

"Yes, mi'lady!" the pilot lifted off the ground, somehow missing the bullets fired from Za Burrel.

"Deploy the mobile suits!" Hayworth ordered, "Don't let that helicopter leave PLANT!"

Rey watched the craft raise higher and higher into the air. He felt nothing as Trent lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Good work, my boy."

"Thank you, sir." Rey replied.

"It's good to have you back." Doctor Hersh smiled to the blond Coordinator, "You caused a lot of trouble for us, young man."

"My apologies." Rey bowed slightly. It was then that he noticed that there was blood speckled on his uniform. Touching it, he stared transfixed. It was the young girl's blood...the blood of the girl that he had just shot. At the moment, he did not know why he had done it, only that Trent ordered him and he felt obligated to do it.

Who was she?

She screamed for him when the copter lifted away. There was a look of desperation on her face. Even though he could have killed her there, there was something that was unconsciously holding him back.

"Rey?" Trent look at him curiously, "Is something wrong? Are you injured?"

"Pardon?" he looked up from the blood on his hands, "No sir, why?"

Both elder men exchanged looks.

"Rey..." Trent frowned, almost a glower in his eyes, "...you're crying."

Rey touched his face, feeling the wet tears pouring down his face. Looking at his hand once more, the blood and tears mixed together on his fingers. Staring confused a moment, he gritted his teeth and turned away from his superiors. Rubbing his sleeve over his face, he headed towards his quarters.

Chairman Trent exchanged looks with Doctor Hersh.

"Examine him." Trent murmured, "Make sure they didn't do anything to him."

"Aye sir."

It was that girl. She had done something to him. Rey did not know what it was, but once he put on a clean uniform and forgot about her, he would be okay.

Ignoring everyone on the way, he marched up to his quarters and instantly pulled off his jacket, tossing it to the floor like it was diseased. Pulling the door to his bathroom open, he scrubbed his face. He had to get the blood off, all of it.

Her face would not leave his mind.

Moving to the closet, he angrily tore out another jacket and put it on. As he turned, he stopped.

There was a hair ribbon laying on the bed of rumpled sheets.

There was something very wrong with this.

Picking up the ribbon, he gritted his teeth. Stuffing the ribbon in his pocket he turned towards the door. He would have to kill her first chance that he got. It would be the only way to rid her from his thoughts.

The pilot let out a loud curse as they raced towards the exit of the colony.

"We're not going to make it!" he yelled.

"We'll make it!" Cagali yelled, pulling Suzuka into her lap. Grabbing the end of her sleeve with her teeth, she ripped it off. Tying the material around Suzuka's shoulders. If Cagali did not do something fast, the young girl would loose to much blood and go into shock.

From the look in her green eyes, the red-haired girl was already in shock. She had not spoken a word since she fell to the floor.

There was a rumble as the mobile suits began to fire on them.

"How many are there?" Cagali called, glancing out of the window.

"Six, mi'lady." he said.

Cagali frowned, looking down at Suzuka one more time.

She'll be damned if they die in a place like this.

"We're receiving word from the colony!" the helmsman called out as Martin and Meyrin entered the bridge.

"Put it on screen!" DaCosta sat in his chair.

It was Sargent Mill, the one that had been sent to PLANT to pick up the princess, Rey Za Burrel, and Captain Kiriyuhi.

"Captain!" he called out, "We have trouble, sir!"

"What's going on?"

"Six Zakus are after us-" he yelped as the craft shook from another blast, "We won't make it without help!"

"Damn..." he cursed, "Miss Hawke! Order the sortie of our first mobile suit sqa-"

"Captain!" Meyrin interrupted him, "There is a heat signature approaching us from due west!"

"What?" DaCoasta gasped, "A battleship?"

"A battleship is approaching us!" Lacus called out, "Captain La Flaga, its the Kusangai!"

The large Orb battleship came towards them. A maroon colored blur shot past the Archangel and the Eternal. Murrue stared at it intently, it seemed so familiar looking.

"We're being hailed." Lacus told them, "Captain...it's the Infinite Justice."

"Athrun-kun?" Murre frowned, "Put it on."

Athrun stared at them all.

"Sorry for the intrusion." Athrun replied, "I was hoping I could get here in time."

Murrue stared at him, and then sighed. Somehow, it did not surprise her at all that he was in space, blowing off all his official duties.

"You startled us, sir."

"Sorry." he chuckled, sheepishly.

"The Justice." Meyrin turned to the Eternal captain, "It's Athrun-san!"

Martin could not help but smile as he watched the Justice disappear in the direction of the colony.

"Call Sargent Mill. Tell him help is on the way."

The helicopter shook again. At this rate, they would not even make it to the shuttle launch area. Cagali looked around, trying to assess the situation. She could not think of a way out. Za Burrel was no longer there to offer assistance, and she was in no condition to take command of the helicopter. Mill was trying his best, but she knew it was not enough.

The whole aircraft shook as something blew past them. There was an explosion as one of the Zaku's were destroyed.

"What the-" Mill turned to see what it was.

As the smoke cleared, Cagali could not help but grin as the Justice shot towards them.

"Athrun..."

The gundam flew next to them.

"Sargent." Athrun's calm voice came over the link, "Is everyone alright?"

"Yes, sir!" the pilot smiled, answering happily.

"I'll protect the route." he spoke, "Don't worry about the Zakus. Just get my wife out of here."

"Aye, sir."

Cagali smiled to herself, feeling her head spin again. Closing her eyes, she passed out against the seat of the helicopter. Suzuka stared at the ceiling of the cockpit, her own eyes slid shut.

A lone tear escaped from the corner of right eye.

"Katsuya Kiriyuhi." the guard called.

Katsuya looked up from the table. Micka had fallen asleep on the floor, using Alex's coat for the pillow. Alex sat on the windowsill, staring lazily out the window.

"This sucks." he said, "I'm friggen' bored."

"Live with it." Katsuya stood up, "Behave till I come back, and watch Micka."

"Aye aye, skipper."

Katsuya gave him an exasperated look as he walked out of the brig. Following the guards down the hallway, he found himself wondering what kind of plans were waiting for them. Soon, they would be hunted by Twilight. As long as he was alive, he was going to protect his team mates with his life...but that was not what he was worried about.

He did not leave Twilight to spend the rest of his life in a cell.

Knocking on the door, there was a voice that called him in. Katsuya walked into the office to find Yzak Jule sitting at the desk, flanked by Lunamaria and Shinn. Shiho sat next to Yzak, looking at the files in her hands.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kiriyuhi." Yzak said, "I hope you're accommodations have been suiting you so far."

"Well enough, sir."

"This is Captain Shinn Asuka, the commander of this base, and Commander Lunamaria Hawke."

"Captain Asuka-" Katsuya glanced at him, "You run this base well."

"Thank you." Shinn nodded slightly.

"I beg your pardon, sirs..." Katsuya frowned, "...what do you intend to do with us?"

Yzak rubbed his forehead. He needed a vacation badly. But with this attack, Athrun Zala's little surprise trip to space, and the three defectors to deal with he was swamped.

"Athrun Zala is in space at the moment. We sent a message to him, but we have not received a reply yet." Lunamaria said, tired of waiting for the two other men to sort threw their thoughts.

"I see."

"But not to worry." she smiled, "We'll take good care of you."

He nodded.

"There is another piece of news." Yzak said, "One concerning your requests."

Katsuya was interested now, "Yes?"

"June Van-hild Romenheim." Lunamaria read off the roster, "She's an elite pilot on the Kamaitachi. It's currently on a mission but is due to return a day from now. Last checked, she was doing alright health wise." Luna smiled.

Katsuya frowned, "What about Suzuka?"

There was a nervous silence in the room.

"We've just received word on Captain Kiriyuhi's condition." Yzak frowned, "Katsuya-san, there's something you need to know..."

The moment Cagali docked at the Eternal, she was surprised when Meyrin Hawke's arms flew around her.

"Cagali-san!" she was outright in tears, "Cagali-san! You're back!"

The moment they reached the Eternal, Cagali pulled herself up off the bench that she had been resting on. The hatch opened and the medics started working on Suzuka first per Cagali's request.

"Mi'lady-" Mill began, reaching to help her.

"I can do it myself!" she snapped, hauling herself towards the opening of the shuttle.

The Justice had just landed in the launch bay, and the docking doors closed. Cagali stared at the large mobile suit, waiting for the cockpit door to open.

Athrun tore the seatbelt off himself, tossed the flight helmet into the cockpit, and could barely wait for the door to open. He rushed out, standing on the edge, and stared at the long, blond-haired, young woman. Her clothes were ripped and toren, covered with faint tints of blood from old wounds, and dirt.

Oh god, there she was.

She looked so different from a year ago. But she was still Cagali.

She was crying now, looking back at him and trying hard not to break down, despite the broad grin on her face. He found himself rubbing a sleeve on the right side of his face to try and hide the fact that he was crying too.

"Athrun!" she called, pushing herself off the shuttle. She glided threw thelow gravityenvironment, heading towards him. Leaping off the edge of the cockpit, he headed towards her.

They stopped a foot away from each other.

Her hair swirled around her face as she floated in the air across from him. Athrun simply stared at her.

"Cagali..." he whispered, not daring himself to speak, "Long time no see."

"Hey." she sniffed.

They resumed staring at one another. He then smiled, reaching into his flight suit, he pulled out his dog tags. Sitting on the chain were both of Cagali's wedding rings.

"Welcome back, love. I've missed you." he beamed at her.

She then grinned. Leaning forward, her arms flew around his chest. At the moment, neither of them cared that half the ship was watching them. Athrun laid his hands gently on her face, tilted her head back, and kissed her. Cagali did not know where she found the extra energy, but she kissed him back, sinking into his arms.

She let him taste the inside of her lips, combing her hands threw his soft hair. One of his hands slid down her shoulder and around her waist. It was too late to realize that everyone else was cheering and whistling at them. Finally pulling away from each other, Cagali blushed, turning her head away from the crowd, and burst out laughing into his shoulder. Athrun smiled and could not help but laugh himself.

"God, I missed you." he whispered, looking down at her, "What the hell is wrong with you? Leaving me like that..."

Athrun was glarring at her now, expecting some sort of rational explination. In a shallow, quiet voice, loud enough that only he could hear, she told him,

"I intend to pay you back for it later, space boy." pulling him by the collar so she could whisper in his ear, "With interest..."

His cheeks promptly turned so red that they matched his mobile suit. He was glad that he was not facing everyone else either. It would have been beyond embarrassing if everyone saw their chief commander of Orb blushing like a high school boy.

"Okay, okay, shows over." Martin smiled, hording all the extra personal out of the bay. He frowned at the shuttle, where the medical team had already carted off Suzuka. Looking back up at his two superiors, he said, "I'm sorry to break this up, sirs, but last time I checked Cagali-sama needed medical attention."

"I'll see to it." Athrun told him, scooping her up in his arms, ignoring a sound of protest from her, "I'll be on the bridge shortly."

Sure you will..."Yes sir." Martin chuckled.

Athrun sat in the medical room, holding a coffee in his hands, staring grimly at the floor. Cagali had just told him everything that had happened on the base.

"This is not good news." he said.

"No." she said, "I am also afraid of how Kiriyuhi may end up dealing with it. I'm pretty sure she loves him."

A few beds over, Suzuka lay bandaged, sedated, and asleep. There was a machine bleeping in the background.

"They've worked together for a while now." Athrun said, "He's a damn good officer."

"We owe him, Athrun."

He sighed, rubbing his head. A soft hand rest on his face. Looking up at her, she smiled that same pretty smile that he remembered. If it were any other situation, he would have scooped her up and hauled her off to his quarters and spent the rest of the trip making up for lost time. There was a whole year they had missed together, but all Athrun really cared about was having her back.

"You look like shit, Athrun."

He laughed at her. God, he had missed her.

"Why don't you take a break? Once I get better, I can take care of everything for a while." she said, "We'll go back to Orb, and once all this business is over with, we'll go on a three month vacation together."

"Where?"

A smirk spread across her face, "I was thinking...of this little island in the middle of the ocean. I discovered it a while ago when a certain ZAFT pilot shot my plane down."

Athrun could not disagree with that. Three months laying on the beach with no one except his young wife did not bother him at all.

There was a groan.

Both of them instantly perked up, looking at Suzuka. Lifting one of her arms, it rest on her face, and she rubbed her eyes. Athrun stood up, and Cagali watched him walk over to her.

"Captain?" he looked at her.

Her eyes opened and she stared at Athrun.

"Sir?" she said, "Where am I? I remember..." her voice cracked a moment, "...where's Rey?"

Athrun was silent, looking over at Cagali. The blond woman looked away, her hands knotting up in the bedsheets.

"Suzuka." he spoke to her, "I'm sorry, but Rey's not here."

"What do you mean he's not here?" she bellowed, "If Twilight captures him, you know what they'll do! I will not sit here while they turn him into some science experiment!"

Athrun looked away.

"Tell me where he is, damn it!"

"Suzuka, he's not coming back."

She stared at him a few more moments, rolling on her side painfully, and sobbed into the pillow.

Part of me was not all that satisfied with this chapter, it could have been better. But I guess it passes for now. If anyone is wondering, there will probably be about 20 or 21 chapters in Part 2. Hopefully, I'll be able to start Part 3 right as school starts. If I'm still trying to finish the story then it'll be too busy.

I hope you liked it, please send a review and tell me what you think!

Arigato

Lilith