Okay, I now officially love you all! I'd just got back from being shouted at by a very horrible woman in the finance department and opening my inbox to discover a bunch a reviews and story alerts really cheered me up! To Fantasygirl16- I tried to double space it but it merged my paragraphs together :( I don't think the paragraphs in this chapter are too long, as there's a lot more dialogue, so hopefully it's easier to read...

Also I still need a beta- You might have noticed, but I can't always find my own mistakes so a beta would be a godsend!

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Though so far Kel had spent most of her knighthood manning a refugee camp, Fort Steadfast felt familiar to her. Perhaps it was because she knew Third Company was stationed here, and so memories from her squirehood came flooding back to her now as she dismounted Hoshi. Being in this place made her cast her mind back to the building of Fort Giantkiller. Of the tricks the men would play on Lord Raoul. Lerant's scowl. Wolset falling in a trench he had only finished digging mere seconds before. Dom's smile. How Kel adored Dom's smile! No matter how tired and miserable Kel became, one smile off him and she suddenly felt lighter then air.

She didn't have long to wait to see it again. As she cast her eyes around the keep, her gaze settled on a lone figure leaning casually against the stone wall. The man in question wore a navy blue tunic bearing the emblem of the royal house with navy breeches tucked into black boots- the uniform of the King's Own. The band he bore on his biceps marked him as a Sergeant. He cut his dark hair slightly longer then most soldiers', so his fringe flopped over his eyes, giving him a permanent just- fallen-out-of-bed look. Kel was sure if she was standing closer to him she would be able to see the shades of cobalt and sapphire in his eyes.

But there it was, in all it's glory. The smile.

Kel hadn't realised until now how much she'd longed for it. She had used up most of her self-control on stopping herself from gagging Neal, so it took much effort to stop herself from sprinting across the courtyard to hug his cousin. The contented herself with a small wave instead. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw his smile grow into a grin. She fought to keep her cheeks from blushing as he made his way towards her.

"Dom!" Neal cried from behind her and strode forward to grasp Dom's hands then embrace him. Kel smiled fondly at the pair. For all they bickered and argued constantly, they really didcare for one another.

"You're late, Meathead," Dom said as they pulled away from each other.

"I have told you, insubordinate wretch," growled Neal in annoyance, "That it is Sir Meathead to you!" He grinned. "It's Kel's fault anyway."

Kel had been daydreaming by this point. The sound of her name brought her back to the real world. With a glance in Dom's direction she discovered that his gaze had settled on her at that same moment. Their eyes met and Kel was lost.

He's as handsome as I remember, she thought. This was a relief. He could still make her legs go to jelly with one look. All Kel's other crushes had faded when she had been separated from the significant other for a length of time. She was glad it was different with Dom. She also noticed that Dom had obtained a small scar over his right eye. It made him look even more handsome then ever, if that was possible. Kel once again joined the real world when Dom broke eye contact to raise an eyebrow at Neal.

"Somehow I think that is extremely unlikely Nealan." Dom drawled. "What did you do? Fall down a quarry and had to have our Lady Knight rescue you? Personally I would have left you there..." he was cut off by Neal launching at him and trying to secure him in a headlock. Of course this failed and it was Neal who found himself trapped underneath his cousin's arm. Kel lost the battle to remain Yamani calm and giggled at the pair.

"I told you," Neal's voice was muffled as his face was crushed between Dom's arm and body. "It was Kel's fault! We stopped for a break and-" he was interrupted by a someone clearing their throat quietly. Kel turned and Dom released Neal, who stood up rubbing his neck and trying to straighten his clothes.

"And what, pray tell, is going on here?" Lady Yukimi asked imperiously to the three.

"Um, well, we were just....." Neal gave up trying to explain and gathered up his future wife in a tight embrace. Yuki swatted him away and brought out her fan, flipping it out over her face to hide her embarrassment.

"You're late, Nealan" she stated.

"It was Kel's fault" Neal replied automatically.

"Unlikely" Yuki's eyes narrowed.

"The injustice of it all!" wailed Neal, putting his hands over his face. "It was too!" he ended lamely, sounding like a five-year old child. Yuki sighed in exasperation and grabbed Neal's sleeve, pulling him towards the corridor on the west side of the courtyard.

"I'll talk to you later, Kel" Yuki said as she dragged Neal past. Kel and Dom had both watched this interaction with amusement. Kel was smiling and shaking her head whilst Dom was laughing.

"Those two...." Dom said, shaking his head after he'd contained himself. "Was it really your fault Kel?" he asked curiously. Kel looked at him, feeling suddenly sheepish.

"Well it depends on which way you look at it..." she faltered as Dom gave her another enquiring look. There should be laws against looking so good, she thought.

She continued. "Well you know what Neal's like, Dom!" Then it all came flooding out. "He was going on and on and on about seeing Yuki again! He was reciting poetry.... and... and the singing! Oh gods the singing!" She didn't notice Dom was shaking with suppressed mirth by this point.

"It sounded like a cat being pushed backwards through a mangle!" Dom laughed outright at that. Kel smiled ruefully and began to laugh herself.

"So what did you do?" Dom asked, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Well he walked in on me when I was," Kel reddened and paused, trying to find the right words, "washing up... and I may have.... lost my temper somewhat..." she trailed off.

Dom once again raised his eyebrow "You lost your temper?" he asked dubiously. "I wasn't aware you had one to lose milady."

Kel elbowed him and continued. "Well to cut a long story short I decided he should be punished for what he put me through, and so I insisted that the horses needed a rest so we would set up camp for the night."

Dom gave her a look which indicated he didn't think that was much of a punishment. "And did it work?"

Kel grimaced. "No, it only made it worse!" she groaned and tried not to physically shiver as Dom laughed once more and slung his arm round her shoulders, leading her to the corridor where she would be sleeping- an errand boy had picked up her belongings when she first arrived.

"Poor Lady Kel!" Dom exclaimed. "The things you do have to go through! I bet you've just had the longest ride of your life- and that's including the one to Scanra!" They stopped outside her new quarters and Dom turned to face her. They stood there for a time, both feeling awkward. Kel needed to brake the silence. To her own and Dom's surprise, she lifted her hand to reach up and touch the scar above his eye.

"New scar, Sergeant?" she asked. For some reason, she couldn't take her hand away. It felt pleasantly like warm coals where their skin touched. To her delight, Dom didn't pull away from her. In fact, if Kel didn't know any better, she could have sworn he was blushing slightly.

It was now Dom's turn to look sheepish.

"Well... officially I got it whilst wrestling a seven-foot tall bear of a Scanran in our last skirmish..." he began, obviously reluctant to tell Kel the real story.

"But unofficially..?" Kel prodded, not letting the subject drop.

"Unofficially, I was playing Ring of Fire with the lads," Kel grinned. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"And well... it was my turn, and I got a "seven", but I was sat in milord's big rocking chair...." he stopped as he realised for the second time that day, Kel was once again reduced to helpless giggles. She finally moved to take her hand away from his face, and would have done, had Dom not grabbed it as she tried to lower it to her side.

"It's not funny Kel," he told her loftily. "I had a concussion" He mock-glared at her as she laughed even harder.

"D...Dom...you... you sounded just like... just like Neal!" she finally spluttered.

Dom let out a cry of outrage and squeezed Kel's hand tight as he drew he closer so she was fully pressed against him. Kel felt sweet panic rise inside her chest, as she was all too aware of how close they were.

"How. Very. Dare. You. Kel," he mummered, voice dangerously (yet delightfully) low. She could feel his warm breath on her face. She shivered. "Such comparison mortally offends me, Miss. How do you plan to make it up to me?"

Kel opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She knew Dom was taking obvious pleasure out of this, and she came to a conclusion she had never reached before. All this time she had thought this crush had been one sided, but maybe, just maybe there was the possibility that.... They both sprang apart at the sound of footsteps. Dom's face had definitely reddened and Kel could feel by the heat resonating of her face that hers was too.

"Ah Dom! I was in a meeting- you could have told me Kel had arrived!"

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A/N Dom's "Ring of Fire" incident was me drawing on my personal experience from Friday night. For those of you who don't know what "Ring of Fire" is, it is a card/drinking game us alcoholic students play when we want to get even more drunk then usual.

Basically, each card stands for a different action. A "7" means the last person to stand on their chair has to take a shot. This is particularly difficult to do when a) you lost the first round and thus, had to chug a pint of vodka/beer/wine/whiskey and b) you are sat on a computer swivel chair or in Dom's case, rocking chair.

Pffft at least I let Dom have a schmexy scar (perfect excuse for Kel to touch him I say)- I have a hideous bruise on my forehead and my kitchen door has a huge me-shaped dent in it. Lol. Twas hilarious at the time though!

Anyway, I ramble. Bad Dom! He'll be kicking himself in the next chapter... I wasn't planning on them getting that close this chapter but oh well... I was shaking my fists at the interrupter at the end anyway! And Kel! I know it may seem a little ooc for her to be laughing like that, but the way I see it, she can't be a stone Yamani all the time. Plus its Dom making her laugh. How can you fall in love with someone if they didn't know how to make you smile?

Also I hope everyone who reviewed got my reply! If not, just shout at me- didn't mean to ignore anybody!

Review ( I'd like to get up to 15 before my next update) and pm me if you would like to beta (hint hint)!!!!

Takara