A/N: SO! I was asked to continue this story, but I decided to do something a little different. Since I just changed the original story around a little bit from the last chapter, I decided that that is what this will be! My own version of how the story could have gone, in a more, lovey-dovey fluffier way. I hope you enjoy this one! It is a twist on chapter 23 of Cress! SO, send me requests for what parts of the books you would like to have a different ending to, and I will write it for you! Enjoy, lovelies

He crouched close to her and felt for her face. "I promise, I will not let you die without being kissed."

"I'm dying now."

"You are not dying."

"I see the bright light…It's coming closer…" Cress squinted her eyes to be more convincing, and then she remembered that he couldn't even see her.

"Cress. We need to keep moving, this isn't funny…" He trailed off as her hand touched his cheek gently, running her thumb across his cheek bone, almost in awe of him.

"Captain?" her voice came out almost like nothing, it was so soft. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she took the time to realize what exactly was happening.

She was stranded in the middle of the desert, with a fever and no shoes, with Carswell Thorne holding her.

She continued to run her thumb across his cheek and he moved his hand to grab hers and move it off of his face.

"Yes?"

Cress took a shuddering breath. She leaned a lot closer to him; shocked by her sudden desire to be so much closer to him…They could hear each other's breathing, feel each other's breath. She knew from watching him on the netscreens that she wanted to be with him. He was like some far off and distant dream, someone she would always strive for. She never thought she would be alone with him, especially in this situation, ever.

"I know I have a fever and that I'm not dying," she swallowed, her mouth drier than she thought was possible. "but will you please kiss me?"

He still held her hand in one of his gently, and her other hand was still on his chest, feeling his heart beats. Three beats until he let go of her hand and put both of his onto her cheeks. She sucked in a quick breath.

"Cress, we have to keep moving—"

"Pretend with me," she whispered.

"What?"

"Can we just pretend that we aren't here? That you can see and that I'm not sick and that we are together and happy and living out the romance that we are destined to have?" Cress couldn't tell if she was talking crazy because of the fever, her lack of sleep, or because of her love for him.

"Cress, I'm serious—" Thorne let go of her and she grabbed his hands again, weakly.

"Sweetie," she took a deep breath, feeling dizzy. "I've missed you so much." She leaned closer to him, yawning and then shutting her eyes briefly. She was silent for a moment as she began to doze off, and then Thorne pulled her close. He lifted her chin up towards his, sending warmth throughout her body. His touch was almost electric.

Cress opened her eyes, looking at his out-of-focus ones. They were still that incredibly bright shade of blue, and they shined in the moonlight. His mouth his mouth his mouth puckered, and then he realized that he couldn't just lean in and kiss her. He felt her face and then he laughed.

"I can't see you, sunshine. You're going to have to help me out here."

Cress blushed but her heart soared. Her head became less fuzzy as she leaned up and planted a soft kiss onto his lips.

It wasn't what she imagined at all. She was expecting fireworks to go off—or a gospel choir to start singing. She thought they she would drop dead by the power that was in the kiss of Carswell Thorne. But this kiss, if you could even call it that, was nothing like how she had imagined it.

Both of their lips were dry and chapped from the hot and dry desert air, so placing each other's lips together wasn't much of a "fun" activity. It was almost painful, really. No fireworks or choirs, sadly. They both let it end quickly, realizing that it wasn't time for this. Thorne had told her that they needed to get going, and that they needed to move while the air was cooler. Cress felt like an idiot now, pulling away from him and standing up with her shaky legs. What was she thinking? Kissing him? In the middle of the desert? "Pretending"? Had she gone mad?

She helped Thorne up to his feet and held his arm as they began to walk.

"I'm sorry, Captain," Cress said quietly, the embarrassment still relevant.

"It's fine, Cress. I'm sorry my lips weren't as soft and juicy as they usually are…" He said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm sorry for not listening to you…" Cress looked down at her feet, still wrapped in towels. She was so ashamed of herself. She felt like a pre-mature girl that was "in love" with an older boy. She felt foolish and unwanted. He had been with lots of girls in his lifetime, and he was so experienced and gorgeous… Why on earth would he decide to take a chance on the girl her found in the satellite?

"It's fine, Cress. No worries. Wait until we're both hydrated and healthy and not at risk of dying all alone in the middle of a desert, okay?" He kissed the top of her head and they continued on their way towards whatever they could find out in the middle of this wasteland.

"Maybe after we really kiss we'll see if your fate theory with us is actually true."

YAY! I hope you liked it. This wasn't my best work, but eh. What can you do? Suggest more parts of the series to change! Review, my lovelies!