Part II of the M-rated content. Again, if you are under 18 I recommend skipping this section. Disclaimer: I own nothing from Halo: Combat Evolved or from any of the books.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Separation

April 5, 2553 0800 hours

UNSC Reserve Base Camp Hayes

North America

One of Ackerson's watchdogs on base, taking a good look at Blade when she came on duty, noticed something different about her. She was more aggressive than usual, as if she was purposely putting on a show. Of course, she usually does that, but something tells me this is different. He decided to keep an eye on her, and find out what she was hiding this time.

Laura went through her day with her usual sarcasm, pointed remarks, and cold looks, but inside her a fire was raging, threatening to consume her. As soon as she could discreetly manage it, she left and headed for Silver Pond, bathing suit over her arm. When she arrived, she didn't see him, which disappointed her immensely. Well, guess I'd better have a swim. Again looking around to confirm she was alone, she stripped her clothes off. Just as she was reaching for her bathing suit, a wet arm snaked around her waist and pulled her into the pond. She tried to scream, but a warm mouth covered hers, and she looked up into John's beautiful brown eyes. Laura relaxed into his kiss, trying to bring her body closer to his in the water, rotating her hips into him suggestively even as he pulled her against him. Their kisses became more passionate, seeking what they had had last night; it wasn't long before they found it again.

When they finally broke apart in the water, Laura looked him over. "Where were you? I didn't see you."

"I couldn't wait to see you again, so I thought a swim would cool me off." He laughed as she sent a stream of water in his general direction before she climbed onto the bank, a look on her face that all but screamed come and get me. John didn't wait for her to say a word as he climbed out after her and swept her glistening wet body into his arms. As one, their lips came together in passion, tongues intertwining and caressing, hands touching and moving. Her hair was still tightly braided, until John undid it and felt it come loose, covering her shoulders and flowing in dark waves over his arms. He carried her into his cubicle and lay her down in his sleeping bag, which he had unzipped and spread open. Laura watched as he laid himself down atop her, and shuddered in bliss as he kissed her breasts. He moved his kiss to her belly, then even lower, feeling the intensity of her ecstasy as she shivered at his touch. Laura bit back a scream as she felt his tongue on her body, going places she'd never believed possible, exploring her in ways that nearly drove her to the brink of sanity.

"John…" she whispered, his name a soft cry of pleasure against her lips. She wanted him to continue, yet wanted him to end this sweet torture he was inflicting upon her. "John, please…"

Slowly he looked up, seeing the need in her eyes; he began to come back to her beautiful face. She refused to wait for him; rising suddenly, she grabbed him by the shoulders, pulled him against her, and locked her mouth onto his, her tongue forceful and insistent. Rolling him beneath her, she began to torment him they way he had her; he shivered as her delicate touch found a tender spot on his chest, and gasped when she pressed a passionate kiss there. Returning to his head, Laura began kissing him hard, to the point where they both felt the flames of their passion begin to consume them.

"Laura, don't stop," John groaned as she moved her lips to his chest once again and began to kiss his tender spot, her warm tongue gently massaging him into arousal as she closed her fingers around his length, then brought her hand back up to caress his chest. She looked up and smiled, breathless from her efforts.

"Now you know what you were doing to me earlier. I need you more than you can imagine, and yet you insist on teasing me." Her tone of voice indicated irritation, but the look in her dark eyes gave her away.

John didn't wait for her to say anymore. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him, thrusting himself upward into her belly. She thrust down at the same time, kissing him passionately, wanting more than she dared take. Somehow John sensed it: rolling her beneath him, he thrust harder, showing her what he wanted even as she clung to him, arching into each blow he gave. Their kisses became even more frantic and passionate as they approached the sweet moment they both desired; when it came, John refused to leave her, keeping himself inside of her body. Laura took his head and placed it against her breasts, watching him as he rested, arching her head over his and covering his face with her long hair. He looked up at her with love in his eyes, tangling his fingers amongst the ends of the silky brown strands.

"Was it difficult today?"

"No more than I expected. By now you want to know what I'm afraid of. As much as I hate to ruin the moment, you deserve to know." She was silent for a long while, trying to find the right words to express what she feared.

"ONI tried to use my family as blackmail once, and almost succeeded. They correctly figured I would do anything to ensure their safety, even give them the upper hand where I was concerned. Ackerson hoped that I'd kill myself in order to be free and save my family at the same time. It failed after a while, but the memory still haunts me. Knowing what they could do, what they've done… I didn't want you to have to go through that, John. That's why I tried to distance myself from you for so long, I wanted to protect you from them. I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want them to use you." She saw the anger flare in his eyes as he comprehended this new information.

"What exactly makes you think I need protecting?" he muttered.

"Gee, I don't know, maybe because you know less about circumventing ONI than I do? I've been playing cat-and-mouse with them for years while you did exactly as you were told. If they went after you, you probably wouldn't know what to do!" Great, now we get into the whole male pride thing, Laura winced inwardly.

"I wouldn't know what to do?" he shot back at her, starting to get mad.

"Not this time, Chief. They know everything about you, and they know exactly how to bring you down, physically or psychologically. Trust me, I've seen it happen, they've tried it with me before. You really think you could handle them threatening, say, Linda or Fred? Wouldn't you do anything to protect them, even though they could take care of themselves?" Her eyes went vacant as she remembered what ONI had tried, the words they'd said when they'd threatened her brother's family, her family. John watched her, finally understanding why she wanted to protect him; as a squad leader, he did whatever was in his power, short of compromising the mission, to bring his people home.

"I'm sorry, Laura. I shouldn't have asked. Is there a way to… stop ONI?"

"Unfortunately, no. All I can do is fool them, but it won't last forever." She sighed heavily. "Eventually, you'll have to return to active duty, and I won't be able to see you again."

"Then let's make the most of the time we have," John whispered as he cupped her breasts in his hands, hands that could easily kill a man but now were tenderly caressing her into arousal. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him intensely, trying to entice him to come to her again and succeeding; he lifted her into him and thrust into her as hard as he could, kissing her just as hard as she was, returning every stroke she made with one of equal intensity. Their arms and legs intertwined as he rolled her over on to her back, passion taking hold and consuming them. Laura closed her eyes and cried out softly as the moment came over her, wave upon sweet wave. When it was over, she lay spent in the arms of a man she barely knew but loved with all her heart, a man who held her close to him and refused to let her go. He turned so they were both on their side and kissed her again, gently this time, brushing his lips over her eyes and settling them on her mouth, tenderly showing her how much she meant to him. She sighed against him, pulling as close to his body as she dared, taking comfort in his strength as he held her, afraid to let him go.

"John." The name came tumbling from her lips before she could stop it. At the sound he tightened his grip on her, pulling her so close that her breasts flattened against his chest. At that moment in time, he would have done anything to protect her, even if it meant spilling his own blood. He knew then how much he loved her, and saw the same thing when he looked into her dark eyes. Laura smiled to herself, in spite of the darkness she feared would be coming. I've never been so happy in my entire life; if only we could stay like this forever. Before she realized what was happening, John cupped her dark head in his hands, pressing it against his chest as he ran one hand down the smooth contours of her back. He couldn't get enough of her body, though it was his for the taking, but what truly captivated him was the spirit that was within. If anything were to happen to you, I'd never forgive myself, he realized. He held her close as he began to kiss her neck, sending tremors down every nerve in her body. She clung to him, wishing she could stop time and give them eternity together, wishing even more that she could be the woman he deserved. These thoughts vanished in an instant as he lifted her face to his and kissed her again, his tongue tracing a seductive pattern in her mouth that she understood. She caressed his body, her touch lingering on places she knew would bring him to her, feeling his kiss becoming more passionate as his desire grew. They lay together, bodies moving in a rhythmic dance, each contact resulting in more passion. Finally, John rolled Laura beneath him and thrust hard inside of her; her eyes widened as she felt it, and she arched into him again and again as he thrust, harder and harder they both threw themselves against each other. Their passion was increasing as they approached the moment that still eluded them. Each could feel the other's passion and frustration; they thrust against each other as hard as they could, as passionately as they could, kissing each other intensely. They climaxed together, each tight against the other as the moment passed. Both of them were tired and happy, their sweat glistening on their bodies as they held each other close.

Laura looked out at the sky, which was just beginning to pale. "I need to go."

"No, stay with me, Laura. Please stay." The ache in his voice overwhelmed her.

"John, if I stay, they'll know. I don't want to lose you, but I will if they find out." She wished she could explain the turmoil she felt, but one look in John's eyes told her he understood.

"Go, then. But…"

She put her fingers to his lips, stopping the words he was trying to speak.

"John, you don't need to tell me anything. But you may have some explaining to do when you see your fellow Spartans again." The look on his face when she mentioned them was definitely amusing, to say the least. After all, she thought, it's not every day you find out that you can drive someone to forget people they'd grown up with.

"Damn! I'd forgotten all about them." John sat up, a truly embarrassed look on his handsome features. "You're right, we should both be going. But what if we meet on base?"

"Pretend you don't care about me. It'll be easier for you than for me." She kissed him passionately one last time before she slipped out of the cubicle, gathered her clothes, and left the glade to return to the base. Neither of them realized that they had been watched the entire time by an ONI special operative.

So that's what Blade's been hiding, the spook thought as he watched Blade and the Master Chief together. The Colonel will be interested to hear about this. He stayed hidden until after Blade left, then headed back to base by a different route. As soon as he got back to ONI's base headquarters, he went to find Colonel Ackerson.

"Sir, I have some news you may find interesting."

April 6, 2553 1642 hours

Blade's Bunkhouse

UNSC Reserve Base Camp Hayes

North America

That afternoon, Laura was working on a new shield generator when Lorienna's holographic figure swirled into place beside her, her face displaying a look of worry.

"I've got some bad news, Laura. ONI was apparently observing your…liaison with the Master Chief. I don't know how they found out, but Ackerson's issued orders sending him to the frontlines tomorrow." The soldering iron Laura had been holding crashed to the floor (fortunately the thing was ice cold, and hit wooden flooring anyway) as it slipped from trembling fingers.

"Damn them! Damn him! How could they? How could he?" Laura whispered with barely restrained anger. She was so upset she didn't realize someone else had entered the room.

"I don't know, Laura, but it seems you were right about him." Laura whirled around to see John standing behind her. She didn't think twice about throwing herself into his arms, tears pouring down her face. John held her close as he kissed her gently, comfortingly.

"How did you find me, John? For that matter, why did you come here? ONI keeps cameras all over the place."

Lorienna smirked, an almost sadistic look of glee on her holographic features. "Don't worry, as far as they know, you just fell asleep after sitting down to take a break from working on the new shields. With the long hours you spent on them the other night, it's not surprising. They won't even think to try looking for you for a while. Shall I busy myself for a few minutes?"

Laura nodded, then turned to the man she loved with all her heart. "What shall we do? We can't stop them, but they're determined to punish me for being strong, and desperate to keep me miserable."

"Don't worry. I've told Linda what happened—almost everything." His dark eyes sparkled with uncharacteristic excitement. "She'll help you if you need anything. However, I don't ship out until tomorrow. Shall I come back later, much later?"

"Wait until it gets dark, then head past the warehouse; no one goes back there and it's literally an unwatched area. You can get here from there without being seen. Tap twice on the east window." She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "That's almost right next to my bed."

John felt a rush of heat in his groin at the feel of her breath by his ear; it was all he could do not to take her standing right there. As it was, he could barely keep from trembling at the thought of being with her one more time. He turned her face to his and kissed her hard, pressing her against the wall; Laura felt his body pressing into her and realized how much he needed her. She reached down and touched him through his fatigues, smiling as he shivered with pleasure.

"Save it for tonight, loverboy. I promise you'll need all the energy you can get."

April 6, 2553 2000 hours

Blade's Bunkhouse

Camp Hayes

Laura was waiting in her room at 8:00 that night when she heard two taps on her bedroom window. Peering out cautiously at first, she opened the window at once as wide as she could; a muscular form slipped in and waited until she'd closed the window and the curtains, plunging the whole room into complete darkness, a darkness only a Spartan could see in. Once she'd blocked the window, Laura turned around and threw herself into John's arms. He held her tightly against him, kissing her passionately, pressing her against his body. She pulled at his clothes, wanting him to take her right there. As soon as she'd loosened his belt and started in on removing the rest of his uniform, John pinned her against the wall, kissing her deeply, feeling her arch into him with each kiss. His hand slipped under her nightshirt, touched her, stroked her, brought her nearly to the edge as he kissed her, hearing her moan with longing. When he pulled away to remove his uniform, her sense of disappointment was almost tangible, until he came back to her, ready to finish the job. Bracing her against the wall again, he pulled the nightshirt up and thrust into her, feeling the urgency as much as she did. Laura didn't shy away, but responded with equal enthusiasm, waiting for the sweet climax they both desired. When it washed over them, she sagged against the wall, momentarily worn out by the unexpected passion.

"Wow. I had no idea you were that passionate." Her voice was breathless from their combined exertions. John looked at her and grinned.

"If you hadn't stopped me, that's exactly what I would've done earlier. I couldn't wait any longer. In fact, I'm thinking we'd best get on with our night, since we've only got eight hours together."

Laura smiled and gestured to her bed, then gasped when he scooped her up and carried her there. Laying her down in the clean white sheets, he settled himself on top of her and began to kiss her once more, his tongue hot in her mouth as he kissed her. She groaned with pleasure and touched him in the tender area on his chest, caressing him, knowing what the response would be. John turned and caught her hand, pinning it to the bed as he kissed her even harder, thrusting down into her, needing her more than she knew. She held him tightly, coming to him again and again, clutching his shoulders as her climax came, wave upon wave. John came after her, and rested in her arms when it passed, holding her tight against him, unwilling to let her go. She ran her fingers through his short hair, marveling at how well he wore the standard military buzz-cut. Hearing him sigh, Laura looked in his eyes, seeing his discomfort.

"John, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to leave you here, Laura. You may be only Blade, but you're my Blade, and the thought of leaving you alone with Ackerson and his wolves makes me sick." Pissed off is probably more like it, he thought to himself, but kept his mouth shut.

"I'll be all right, I've been alone before now, just promise me you won't get yourself killed." Her eyes went blank for a moment at the thought of him dying. I don't want to lose you, John.

"I have no intention of dying, so you can relax about that." He reached down inside her shirt and ran his hands up her back, sending rivers of pleasure down her spine. Laura rolled him over and began to bring him back to her, teasing him into arousal, kissing him passionately as she thrust herself down upon him. For every passionate stroke she made, he returned each one with even more passion, sending waves of pleasure through them both. Their desires grew with each passing second, until they finally lay exhausted in each other's arms, and the bedsheets lay scattered on the bed or on the floor. Laura looked at the man lying beside her with love in her eyes.

"Are you all right, John? Can I get you anything?"

"More energy would be perfect, since I appear to be tired out." His tone of voice indicated he was not tired in the least.

"Hmm, not sure how much I can do about that, even though I did warn you earlier. But there is one thing I can do to lift your spirits, among other things." Kissing him briefly, she pulled away and knelt in front of him; lifting the hem of her nightshirt, she yanked it over her head, revealing her bare body to his admiring gaze. Coming back to him, she placed one of his hands on her breasts and wrapped her arms around his neck. John felt her bare skin beneath his palm, and then sensed himself hardening. He rolled her over and kissed her hard and long, the touch of his lips leaving her breathless as he fed the flames inside her. Their hands wandered caressingly over each other's bodies, each touch bringing them even more arousal, even more need. Laura shivered as John's touch found her soft place, just below her ribs. Moving his head down, he kissed that tender spot passionately, heard her sigh in pleasure as he touched her.

"My turn," John whispered hoarsely, an almost evil grin on his face. He continued to kiss her there as his fingers caressed her thighs. A groan of frustration escaped her throat, causing him to look into her eyes; the passion in them enveloped him, and he came back, kissing her hard as he thrust himself down into her, both of them shuddering as he entered. They came together like that for the rest of the night, and when it was almost over, they held each other close, afraid to let go.

"John, I wish you could stay. If I hadn't gotten careless none of this would have happened."

"It was only a matter of time before they found out, it would have happened eventually. Still, I am glad we've had this time together, at least."

Laura looked out the window through a hairline crack in the curtains; it was still dark, but she had no idea how long it would last. Kissing him deeply again, she left his arms and crossed the room. A moment later she came back with something in her hand.

"A little something to remember me by when you leave," she whispered as she placed something in his hand. John stared at the pair of dogtags she had given him: SPARTAN-000 MORISSON, LAURA E.

"What are these?"

"I had them when I was in training, in case of an accident. No idea why I kept them, but I'm glad I did, now. Take them with you, so you don't forget me." She turned away so he wouldn't see the tears gathering in her eyes. Sometimes it really sucks being a woman, we're real saps sometimes.

John pulled her backwards into his arms, pressing her back against his chest, and kissed her neck, the touch of his lips causing her to shiver in pleasure and arch her head back for more. "How could I ever forget you, alaya?" he whispered along her neck.

Hearing the word triggered something in her memory: alaya was a Forerunner word that meant beloved. The significance didn't escape her, either, and she smiled: this would be their secret, his name for her.

"So you found out the meaning? I meant to tell you before."

"Corin thought it was ridiculous at first. I saw the memory on the Covenant ship, after you left the room. I wanted to tell you then, but I couldn't. You kept yourself away, and I couldn't come near you to tell you."

"Oh, John, I'm so sorry. I was convinced you hated me, afraid that ONI had sent you to kill me, afraid to love you. If only I hadn't been so stupid!"

John held her gently in his arms, turning her around to face him, and kissed her lightly on her eyes, throat, his lips finally settling on her mouth and kissing her gently, trying to comfort her before he left.

"I have to go, alaya. Now I know how hard it was for you to leave me both nights we were together."

"John, be careful." I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to you.

Crawling reluctantly out of her bed, John dressed quickly, putting on the dogtags she had given him around his neck; Laura was standing by the window when he finished. Kissing him passionately one last time, Laura opened the window and looked out; when she saw the coast was clear, she moved aside to let him out. Pausing at the window, John kissed her one last time before slipping into the remaining night. Laura looked out after him, the tears she could no longer hold back streaming down her face. Be careful, John. Please, come back to me safely.