Chapter 6

I.

The clamor in the room died down. The chandeliers sparkled their brilliant light across a starstruck crowd as their attention began to settle to two mysterious people in the center of the room. A large halo of people formed around them, giving them the berth their rising emotions deserved.

In the center, a now sturdy Green Beret with blond cowlick hair, dressed in his crisp blues adorning the medals for each of the scars he hid beneath his veil of fortitude and strength. None in the crowd knew that behind the sliver of his masquerade mask, was the former sidekick of an all familiar heroine, unfamiliar to anyone now in all but name, not that the crowd would remember it anyway.

In his white-gloved hand was the black-gloved hand of a young woman so familiar yet so foreign. Her auburn hair tied up into an elegant yet simple ponytail, bounced slightly in anticipation of the young soldier's next move. His large hand too, so familiar yet not the same as she remembered. So much stronger and tense, even his velvety glove couldn't hide the strength he'd garnered through the years.

His touch the same yet so different from all those years ago. Kim didn't need to see behind the mask to know the man taking her hand was Ron. He might have transformed into the man of any woman's dreams, his physique no longer solely the slouching frame from high school but still its subtle softness. His face sporting a stronger jawline but retaining the same nervous goofy smile.

The pair were so lost in each other's eyes, they hardly noticed the attention of the room was drawn onto them. The people seemed to be in a trance as if a wave of deja-vu had taken over the crowd.

Kim didn't look away from the gentle chocolate orbs staring at her. She missed this feeling so much. She'd forgotten the electrifying moments that Ron gave her while they were together. It jolted up her arms and through her body reminding her of all the times before this they'd closed the distance and became one.

Ron on the other hand stared nervously at Kim, unsure of what to think. His heart beat with anticipation, electricity arcing out from the center of his chest and throughout his body. He couldn't tell if the room turned hot or the blood speeding against his skin overheated him.

An entire fifteen seconds ticked by before anything happened. But to Ron, that fifteen seconds was synonymous with fifteen years in blissful fire. All of that doused by her response that spread like a cool wind, dousing the flames of passion.

"Yes, you may, sir," Kim's response so simple yet so telling. Never in his entire life did Kim ever refer to Ron as 'Sir'. This was something new to Ron. Something that was always there but until now either hadn't been fully recognized or stated. Respect, admiration.

As his other hand slipped around her to the small of her back and the same of hers to his shoulder, he couldn't help but notice that Kim recognized what became of him. Not only did she recognize it and accept it, she respected him. Her eyes beamed that, locking themselves with his.

As their feet began to traverse the dance floor, Ron couldn't help nor beat back the burgeoning feelings he'd kept under wraps for so long. As their feet moved to the rhythm of the soft music, Kim pressed her body closer to his, the final wrecking ball to the damn he built around his heart years ago.

II.

The music carried over them, soothing her soul into an eternal dance with his. The flame in her heart never burnt out and finally his touch, his warmth, all fed into that fiery emotion she never let the wind of change douse. Kim's love was steadfast and wholesome, never wavering.

As she stared into Ron's eyes, she could see the flame in his heart never burned out either. It burned alive and well deep within the confines of the temple he built around it, guarding it close, ensuring no one, not even herself would ever know he still felt that way.

She knew it. Relief washed over her. Ron never fell out of love all those years ago. The exact reason still wasn't clear to her but Ron never truly meant what he said back then. The fire in both of them grew stronger as they swept each other across the floor.

The tempo of the music sped up from a slow symphony of an all to familiar tune to an intense beat. Their pacing changed as their slow waltz turned into a show for the ages. Kim for once got to see Ron's bon-diggity dance moves in action as he spun her out and back into his embrace.

Their hips swayed to the beat and bumped to the rhythm, their ritual turning into an intense bachata and salsa dance as the fire in their hearts burned ever hotter.

Ron's tenacity and confidence knew no bounds as they continued unimpeded across the room for the crowd to see. Unlike their first romantic dance where everyone joined for the final dance, no one dared step in and ruin their moment. This was their time and no one dared interrupt the two fiery twisters dancing around the room.

Kim's self rocketed into the sky on a dance that centuries and time itself were jealous of. The audience, bedazzled by the fiery spectacle before them. Just as the intensity throttled, Ron threw her back out extending his arm as far as it could stretch until she snapped gracefully into place, her back arcing back.

Kim couldn't believe it herself. Ron not only took the lead but surpassed her own endurance. Ron's fierce gyrating, spinning, and whirling were beginning to drag on her stamina. Trying to keep up with him was becoming more difficult with each new twirl and swing.

At that moment Kim realized something. Ron wasn't just a bon-diggity dancer, he was a star. The feeling of the air rushing past, the rhythm waving through her legs to her hips and arms. Her partner was a star and she was along for the dreamy ride.

And just as abruptly as it began, the song ended with Kim being held by Ron, bent back on the limits of her heels. Her right hand cupped in his while her left held onto his strong shoulder for balance. It briefly reminded her of the time Ron saved her when Drakken's ticking tick attached itself to her nose. She took in deep breaths trying to calm her nerves and heart.

If it wasn't official before. It was official now. Lost in her own world drifting far on the winds of love. She'd fallen for Ron on prom night. Fallen harder during their senior graduation and first college year. And even after all the pain and loneliness endured after the break-up, only Ron could come back and make her fall harder after all the hardship.

Her vision tunneled as the dance floor, the room, the sea of people, and stars all melted away as she lost herself in his starry eyes. Even though all was well in Kim's eyes, she missed the icy wind glaze over her partner's eyes.

III.

Ron was in panic. He could feel the love. He felt it all. He was attracted to Kim, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. In his eyes it was wrong. He was doing it again. Robbing her of all that she could be. His selfish love sucking away her future.

His eyes darted right and left, looking for an exit from the dance. Taking Collins's advice had been a mistake. Ron should have never been goaded by Shego to honor his fallen friend's letter. He needed to escape before he became entangled with his love where he could let go. Where he couldn't let her go.

"Ron?"

Her voice resounded through his ears. That soft, gentle, alluring voice calling him to come closer. Commanding him to let go of his doubts and fears. He couldn't.

Deep down, in the depths of the darkest caverns of his never-ending fearful charade, Ron saw the anchor whose chains were wrapping around Kim's nimble legs and pulling her into the darkness of dim-witted boy. Ron noted that Kim needed someone more defining. A man who would bring her brightest attributes to the forefront, who would make Kim shine.

"Ron?"

Her voice grew concerned. Ron needed an out and fast. And as if God himself heard Ron's plea, an opportunity presented itself at his ears. Though Ron's heart sank at the thought of what he was about to do. As the music resumed, others joining them on the floor, Ron put his plan into motion.

IV.

Her best friend seemed to be in a trance but before she could call his name again, the music began to flow throughout the room once more. The tempo increased and the sea of masquerade flooded the floor and Ron, Ron didn't hesitate to begin their next dance in earnest.

Kim couldn't help but notice something was off. The flame she'd seen just a moment earlier, that twinkle that told her everything was right once again, disappeared. Ron's movements, the swing in his arms felt different, distant as if he were trying to part away.

Fear tugged at the edges of her heart, a similar fear that she'd felt lump up in her throat years ago at that very park where Ron initiated their break-up. She could feel the repression in his tense muscles. Ron was caving to the very doubts that Shego had told her about. The very doubts that someone had instilled in her love long ago. That misconceived notion that he wasn't good enough for her, the false ball and chain to her life.

She needed to speak to him before he lost himself again. She couldn't take that again. This wasn't the same as fighting a villain. Love wasn't that simple. Yet, this was her chance!

But before Kim could collect her thoughts and find the right words, Ron found them first. And like a thief's dagger cutting through a lover's heart, his words slid through her velvet heart.

"I'm sorry, miss, but I have to go."

For a moment, their eyes locked. Time froze. Kim could see the walls that the moment had broken, suddenly rebuild themselves, sealing away the fire of love he had for her. Hiding it from her, the world, and even himself.

Now that Kim knew a little more, she could see it. See that he felt unworthy of loving her, unworthy of holding her in his arms let alone being near her. Disgusted at himself for not being on par with her. A failure that he saw could never live up to her expectations.

What he couldn't accept, or maybe refused to accept, was that these weren't her feelings. She didn't feel what the rest of the world felt. She needed to tell him that he needed to stop.

But before she could, with the snap of his arm, she found herself twirling away from him. If it wasn't for her keen sense, she wouldn't have noticed how smoothly he transitioned her hand into the hand of another man, so when she found herself pulled back, it wasn't to the familiar brown eyes she knew but dull, cold gray eyes underneath a green mask.

She desperately looked around but Ron was nowhere to be found. Ron lost himself in the sea of people so vast and ever-changing that Kim couldn't even hope to follow. Ron was gone and Kim was left alone again to pick up the pieces.

V.

"No." Ron stood defiantly in front of Shego outside the Soldiers Support Center. With overcast skies, light snow had fallen throughout the previous night and into the morning blanketing the ground.

"Stoppable. You're seriously going to continue on with this. Just because of what some dumb old geezer told you back in the day."

Ron let out an exasperated sigh making a mental note to keep Shego at arm's length about personal matters in the future. "I could care less about what he said. I would have figured it out for myself eventually."

"You really see yourself like that? Do you need me to kick your ass?" Shego frowned.

Ron let out a hollow laugh. "You know, just do what you want. I'm done discussing it. I made—"

"You're stupid. And you're a coward."

"Excuse me?" Ron seemed surprised by Shego's choice of words.

"Did I stutter?" Shego balked, continuing, "You won't talk to her because you can't bear the thought of disappointing her. You can't bear the thought of failing her. Newsflash Stoppable. It's inevitable. In fact… you're doing it right now."

The heat in Ron's face rose well above the cold air, steam almost visible off his cheeks. "Yea? And how am I doing that?"

Shego smacked herself. "Doi! I forgot I'm dealing with an idiot. God, you're so dense. Do I have to spell it out for you? Princess loves you! Always has, always will. And you're over here self-deprecating because what? An old professor who can't get laid told you so!"

"No." Ron huffed, crossing his arms. "I already told you, I would have figured it out eventually. I'm just not good for her. I—"

"You what? You're not good for her? Are you freaking kidding me? How the hell did you come to that conclusion."

"Kim deserves better. She deserves someone who can keep up—"

"And you can't?"

"No, I can't. This isn't high school anymore, Shego. We're growing up. Kim needs someone that isn't—"

"Isn't what, Stoppable? Like you?" Shego asked throwing her arms up in the air and jutting her face toward him. "What does Kim need, Stoppable? Someone smart? Someone athletic? Someone clever? Someone strong? Someone—"

"Shut it, Shego. Alright. Yes, she needs someone better than me."

"Newsflash, Stoppable. You're all of those things! You're everything she could ever want and more," Shego waved her hands in front of her like the idea was obvious to anyone else. "Except maybe smart, at this point," she said under her breath.

Ron clenched his teeth frustrated. "I know that. That's exactly why I can't be with her anymore. I don't lift her up. I don't make her shine. I'm just a burden no matter what."

Shego's face contorted as if a lump of bull hit her in the face. "What are you talking about?"

"You're exactly right and that's why I can't be with her. I'm… I'm a monster. Don't you get that? I'm a freak! One day, someone's going to find out and what will they say about it. How is that going to affect her?"

"Are you serious? You think Kim is that shallow?"

"I know she's not. I know all she can think about is, us. But I can't do that to her. She doesn't see the bigger picture." Shego's reaction didn't show amusement in the slightest. "You wouldn't understand. The world needs Kim! It doesn't need me in there mucking it up."

Ron looked down only to have his chin grabbed by small but firm gloved hands. Lifting his gaze, his eyes met Shego's. "Stoppable. You can't do this to yourself. If you take all of the world on your shoulders, then you'll become like… like me. I can't let you do that to yourself. You have a right to be happy, just like anyone else. But unlike all of us poor schmucks, the one thing that makes you truly happy, she's throwing herself at you. Not many people can say that."

Ron turned his sight back down to the snow collecting on the concrete. Shego's words seemed to hit a high note somewhere in his heart, striking a chord that resonated with the walls he'd built up. As one of the first sounds of trumpets blaring out to Jericho's walls, his own cage began to shake.

"You do know that, right? Most people's love life is either one-sided or guys and gals get straight up rejected. Hell, some people almost make the distance but just end up not working out…" Shego trailed off.

"And what about that?" Ron posed.

"What about what?"

"What if… What if… What if Kim and I don't end up working out? What if I ruin everything and make things worse? What—"

"Ron!"

Ron stopped. Shego said his name. Not his last name but his first. He gazed at her perplexed as she offered a small but comforting smile. "If there is one thing I do know,"— and perhaps more than I should like memories I can't recall, "—is that there isn't one thing in this universe that can come between you two. You two have never let it and you never will. I know it."

Her words echoed through the depths of his deepest arguments. His thoughts contested and wrestled with each other over who was right. He deliberated on if Shego was perhaps right and if he should take the risk or, or if he should just stick to the conflicting facts swirling around in his mind.

In that brief silence, with the snow beginning to pick up, Ron reached his own conclusion. "No, Shego. I have to stick to the course I've set before myself. It's the only way. Whatever way I look at it. I've either wronged KP or will wrong her and she just doesn't deserve that."

Shego's slight smile curved downward, "So that's it. You won't—"

"This is my choice Shego," Ron said shaking his head.

"Can you tell her that?" Shego shot back quickly, if not out of desperation.

Ron furrowed his eyes, "What… what do you mean? She's not here is she?"

"No. Not necessarily. Not here exactly," Shego said, her tone giving off deceit.

Ron didn't look amused. "She's on the base, isn't she?"

"Mmm, maybe."

"I'm willing to bet you're trying to trick me."

"Trick you? Why would I do that? You're imagining things."

Ron's face crinkled skeptically, "She's behind you isn't she?" Ron nudged his head to the path behind Shego leading into a park filled with pines. Before Shego could answer or come up with an excuse, Ron spoke again. "Then again, you probably want me to think that so I go toward the entrance. That's where she's at. You invited her and brought her to the entrance so I'd run into her."

Shego ran with Ron's reasoning, "You got me. But don't you get you have to talk to her."

"No," Ron shook his head, "I told you already Shego. This is better for Kim." Ron slugged his shoulders, head down, and into his coat walking past his friend and down the winding path through the park and towards his residence. If he even took a second to glance back he would have noticed Shego's sly smile.

VI.

The walk wasn't a long one. Fort Bragg's size compared to other military installations was smaller than others. The walk from the Soldiers Support Center and to his residence made a distance of less than a mile. Ron would usually cut through the main parade field, but with the snow continuing to build up, he took the street running North and parallel to the snow.

When he got to the tree line, he cut into the field and toward the newest monument, the Eternal Flame. A monument dedicated to any soldiers who were still deployed overseas or lost. It stayed aflame, constantly burning until every soldier was brought home, alive or under the red, white, and blue.

Approaching the snow-covered, barren trees, it wasn't the orange glowing flame atop the monument that caught Ron's eye. Rather, a red-headed woman that he knew all too well, dressed up in warm pants and a fleece with a scarf wrapped around her neck. She stood there, the benches being covered in a thick blanket of snow.

Staring into her emerald eyes, Ron could still see the fire within them. The same fire that twinkled in both of their eyes at the ball three days ago. Ron sighed, his breath misting in front of him as if he were trying to perform some magical act to escape. It wouldn't work.

Kim stood in place about thirty feet from him but it didn't matter. With a million avenues of escape, walking to the right or left, back where he came from, ignoring her calls, there were a million realities on how he could just leave Kim right where she was. But, the logical side of his mind was failing him. Emotions began to encroach on his judgment of the situation. Ron stood still looking at the ground like a tamed beast waiting to be corralled.

Kim spoke first. "How have you been?"

Ron darted away from her sight, "I've been alright. How about you?" Ron's voice teetered on the edge. The pressure of Kim standing right there in front of him.

"Same. So… Did you go to the ball?" Ron knew the question was rhetorical. He knew that she knew and the sweat forming at his hairline would tell anyone else he was nervous.

Ron breathed out, "Sure. I hung around for a bit."

"Did you happen to dance with anyone? Anyone in particular?"

His heart beat faster. "Well, I'm not a particularly good dancer. So I just sat most of the time."

"Liar," Kim whispered under her breath but loud enough for Ron to hear her.

"What's wrong?" He knew it was a stupid question but didn't know what to say. He stayed quiet as she continued.

"I've been waiting to talk to you ever since that night. Ever since we danced, no… before that. I've been waiting since the day you broke things off."

Ron could hear the edge in her voice, her eyes glittering with tears bottled up for years. Just as strong if not stronger than the night he left. He tried to take in a deep breath without her noticing but the combination of cold air and his nerves being on hair's end made him tremble.

The quiet snowfall deafened the air around them. Kim couldn't hear Ron's deep breath over the beat of her heart between every word. Her body stiffening under her warm winter coat, she couldn't move her eyes. They locked with Ron's, her mind blank with uncertainty.

"I did it. You probably already know but it's done. The world's finally going to be at peace. And you, you're a hero," Kim looked at the eternal flame atop the rock, "and you'll finally be safe."

Ron couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. Her goal was to keep him safe? Like the rest of the world being at peace didn't matter. But then again that wasn't the point. Kim probably most definitely set out to do this because of what happened with the Lorwardians. It wasn't all because of him.

"I see," Ron said. "So you made your dreams come true."

Kim took in a deep breath, "No. Not really. I fought really hard to get here. Really hard to get the world to this place. But in that process, somewhere along the way, I lost my true dream."

Ron lowered his gaze to the snowy ground. Here it came, what he was trying to avoid. "For months, no, years, I've spent time longing to spend time with someone I love. Time that I'll never get back."

An awkward pause, small and brief yet with the sound of a crash, intervened. Ron didn't want to look into Kim's eyes. As he told Shego before, he didn't want to confront the issue before or now. If he caved, he would be admitting he was wrong about his decision years ago and that itself would crush him, knowing that his decision never helped Kim in the slightest.

For Kim, the ordeal was different. She knew the reasons why Ron left. Over the years, details had slowly come forward that Ron more or less was instigated to think and feel a certain way. After the dance, she'd even been informed that it was someone she knew who had influenced Ron but not to exactly who it was, only that it wasn't family or anyone from Middleton.

That didn't matter to Kim. She wasn't here to try and convince Ron that he was bamboozled yet again. No. She didn't come to tell him that he was wrong for breaking up. No. In Kim's heart of hearts, she knew that by trying to approach the topic with that logic, it would not only diminutize Ron but also herself.

What good was bringing back Ron, convincing them to be a couple? Convincing him they were meant to be if she used the fact that he had been beguiled into his beliefs. It would only cause Ron to distrust himself more. In the future, that crack would only grow to cause more problems in himself and their relationship.

No. Kim's heart screamed. Putting Ron down for his actions wasn't the reason she came here. She wanted to see, wanted Ron to see that no matter what problem, event, people, or evil tried to wriggle in between them, that she would always love him. She needed Ron to see by faith, through faith, and believe in himself.

She watched him over the last few years and even to this day admitted to herself she was herself wrong about Ron. She loved him, that never changed. But to ever give thought that there was a limit to Ron's abilities especially after his display against the invaders was her own sin against her love.

The power might have been bestowed upon him, but to go out by choice and build new strength, courage, skills, character, and help others through his own grit was something not remotely seen as possible for, will, a Stoppable. But Kim admitted that she was wrong. His last name might be Stoppable, but Ron himself was more like her than she could have imagined. To her, he was Unstoppable. An unstoppable force.

"I still love you, Ron," Kim's eyes shimmered like a kaleidoscope of emotions. "I really do. And… over time, I've only grown to love you more."

Ron hung his head further. "How can you say that. After all this time, we haven't spoken to each other in years."

"We saw each other a couple nights ago. And I could see it then. Even your mask couldn't hide the fire in your eyes," Kim wouldn't let go.

Ron lifted his head to meet Kim's gaze again. Years ago, he couldn't look her straight in the eyes because he didn't need to see the pain he was inflicting upon his love whether he was right or not. He knew he had shattered her reality and to look into those hurt felt eyes would be akin to shoving a knife into his chest. He wouldn't have survived. But now, now was different.

Kim's eyes were determined, "And maybe we haven't talked in years. But that doesn't mean I ever left your side. I've kept an eye on you all this time. Watching you grow and become what you are."

Ron's eyes still looked downcast, unbelieving.

So Kim continued. "Even without me, you went back and chose one of the hardest professions in the world. You never gave up. You never quit. You became a green beret. You did it all on your own Ron. You really are something else."

A small smirk crossed Ron's face. "Yea. But still, it wasn't easy without your relief smooches and cuddle sessions."

Kim smiled at his comment. But as he continued, she knew this wasn't the moment she was waiting for.

"I just signed another contract. I'll be in for another four years. We're all being relocated to Florida, guess we won't disband after all. Just a different command."

Kim lost her smile as the words continued to flow.

"Hey, what did we do back then? What was it like?" Ron knew the answer to those questions but he felt like posing them anyway. "How did I laugh? How did I smile?" That was something he could honestly say he didn't recall. Over the years and especially after the events on Heard Island, Ron's memory was getting hazy about how he used to be carefree.

More than that though, Ron was trying to convince Kim once again that she was wrong. They were each on separate sides of the track and the guard rails were already lowered.

"We're on two separate roads now, Kim. You've already proven yourself. You'll go out and save the world like you always have. They need you." He took in a breath, "I'm different. I'm stuck where I'm at. There's no further place for me to go. I've hit my ceiling. I'm a monster and that's what I'll be until the day that I die. Serving in the shadows, the angel of death. You're different. You can break free because you're so much more. I'm stuck."

Quiet as fell again as he looked down to the snow. "If you can't break free and you're stuck. Then I'll come to you."

Ron's face told the story of soft shock. He wasn't expecting an answer like that from her. "But, why? Why would you do that? Why would you want to stay trapped with a miserable buffoon like me? Go out there, Kim! Go be the leader of the order you created. Leave me behind. Go make new friends and live life to the fullest."

At this point, Ron's anger began to show. Not at Kim but himself. His body language changed, stepping forward shouting, trying to scare the girl he loved off. "You can do better than this Kim! You're a Possible and anything is possible for you! So don't waste your time staying fixed on someone like me!"

"Don't say another word," Ron froze where he stood looking up at Kim, her voice stern yet soft and caring. "I don't want to hear you hurt yourself anymore. Stop talking down about yourself. I've already made up my mind."

"You—"

"Sure, I could be anything in the future. But… that's nothing… What if that means nothing to me because that doesn't matter to me. Right here. By your side, Ron, is the only place I want to be."

Ron stood there in utter silence.

"Don't you remember what you said to me after everything? Right before we left for college," Kim paused to give Ron time to answer, but Ron couldn't.

Ron thought back. What did he say? And it hit him. He remembered. He kept his mouth shut as Kim continued.

"I'm your home, Ron. Your home. Don't you think you mean the same to me? You're my home."

Silence. Even the snowfall didn't make a sound. In his heart, it felt like the chains wrapped around the gate melted away and guard rails trapping him inside a lonely base lifted. Everything that trapped him to his insecurities faded away.

What he had said that July all those years ago, Kim took that to heart more than he imagined. He truly felt that way about her, even now. He never imagined that she felt the same way. Deeply in love? Yes. But homeless without each other? He thought that was just him.

"Who's supposed to be the hero?" Ron snorted.

A small smile started to dawn across Kim's face until her lips trembled at Ron's smile. For the first time since the dance and so many years before that, the old Ron bubbled up from beneath.

"It's okay Kim, I know this is a few years too late. But… you don't have to stick with me."

Kim almost lost it, "Ron! I said—" she stopped while he softly lifted his hands.

"Hold it, I'm not done," Ron lowered his guard. "I'll stick with you. I can't exactly follow you, ya know since I'm contracted again and all. But I'll admit, I was wrong. And no matter how far you are, no matter where you go, where you are. I'll always be there. In here," Ron held motioned to his heart, "I never really let go. But from now on, wherever you go, KP. I got your back."

A warmness rushed over Ron, something he hadn't filled him in a long time, bursting into the corners of his lips forcing them up into a gentle, yet genuine smile. For the first time in years, the looming shadow retreated. As quick as it came, guilt and shock overturned that smile

Kim hung her head, her face hidden beneath her red hair. Tears easily visible dropping to the ground. Her shoulders began to convulse in sobs as whatever emotions she dammed up inside her finally poured out all at once.

A gasp escaped Ron's lips as Kim slowly raised her head, "Ro—n, R—on," Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Ron… Ro—on," she sobbed.

Ron lunged at her wrapping her tightly in his embrace holding her tear-filled face to his chest. She broke down in his arms as she clung to him tighter than she ever had before.

He held her as close as he could. "Don't cry, KP. Everything's okay. It's okay," he said while running his hand down her hair, an act he hadn't performed in a long time. These emotions and tears were the culmination of all the years without her love, without him, her home.

"Don't worry, KP. I'm home."

Fin

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the story. There is a small epilogue and a sequel coming soon. So, while this is almost wrapped up, the story will continue. Thank-you all to those who have read, faved, and reviewed. I'm terribly sorry I couldn't reply to reviews last time.

As always, let me know what you think!

General Quin.