A\N: Yeaaah...need reveiws, guys. Or digital cookies. Or something. And sorry about the haiatus--I'm stuck at school all day. Bor-ing.

Okay. That was offically the worst date ever.

I lay awake, wondering if Kim's okay in the guest bedroom, wondering if I could go snuggle with her like we used to do when we got called out for a mission and Kim's parents were fighting. Would she mind? Would she let me kiss her?

My imagination starts going wild at that point. Oh, the things we could do...

A soft, strangled sob breaks into my thoughts. I frown, listening.

"No...please, no...no more..."

I climb out of bed, wincing as my just-healed skin hits the floor. Kim said it'd hurt for about another half-hour...and she's crying. Why is she crying?

She's the damned Pheonix Ninjetti. She went psycho on Goldar with it.

Why is my Beautiful crying?

I see her laying in bed, staring at her wrists, curled up into herself. I don't know what's going on in her head, but it can't be good. She looks so strange...

"Beautiful?" The nickname slips from my lips, and I curse it.

She jumps, then relaxes. "Go away."

I shake my head. "You were crying."

"I know. Go away."

I don't want to. I want to wrap her in my arms and hold tight, never let go. So I sit next to her.

"Go away."

Great. Get to bed, Oliver. You sure aren't getting in hers. Or anywhere near that guarded heart. How the hell'd she get so jaded?

"Beautiful?"

Kim sighs. "What."

I reach down and hug her.

She stiffens at the touch, trying to push me away. I let go, feeling really creeped out. "Don't you like hugs?"

"Not anymore."

Oh.

We're silent for a minute, then I ask, "Would it help if you talked about it?"

Kim glares at me. After a second of my puppy-dog eyes, though, she relents.

"I have nightmares sometimes. Because...because of what Zedd did to me. The other Zedd, not the good one."

I nod.

"I don't..." She sighs. "The Zedd in our world held back on us. He kept other villans from attacking us because he knew we were just kids. The other Zedd didn't hold back on me. I wasn't even a kid."

I try not to remember Zedd's perverted obsession with Kim. "What...what happened?"

Kim lets a soft, barking laugh out. "What do you think? Tortured me, tried to use me."

"He didn't." If he so much as touched her I will murder him so slowly he'll beg to die.

"No. I fought well enough to keep him from that." She says bitterly. "God, I hate the freak."

I slowly slide my arm over her shoulders. "I'm here, Kim. No one can hurt you now."

Kim snuggles against me. "My knight in shining armor."

"In black armor, but yeah."

Kim laughs, then yawns, leaning against me.

When I wake up, it's morning, and Kim's nowhere to be seen. I leap up. Oh, no, oh, no...

She smiles at me from the kitchen.

"I cooked breakfast again."