A guest viewer named Jessica asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel and Natalie.

Love Takes Away Loneliness

"Well, Valentine's Day is coming again," Rachel said as she pulled out the decorations for said holiday from the storage closet, handing the tote box to Rook, who set it aside and helped her with the other boxes too. Rachel then closed the door and felt her fiancée wrap his arms around her from behind.

"I have something very special planned for you on Valentine's Day, my love," he purred in her ear as he held her close. Smiling, she turned to face him and gave him a kiss on the mouth.

"Hopeless romantic," she said teasingly.

"Yours alone, my love," he said with a loving smile, gently leaning her into a dancing dip and she trustingly leaned in his arms and held onto his shoulders as Rook lovingly kissed her again, making her shudder in pleasure.

The front door suddenly opened and they jumped in surprise, Rook holding Rachel protectively and she clung to him before they saw Toepick come into the mansion and relaxed. "Oh," Rachel said with a sigh of relief before smiling and going over to the alien. "Toepick, welcome home, brother," she said.

"Hi," he said, sounding sad.

Rachel was concerned. "Toepick, what's wrong?" She asked. Having lived around aliens, she could instantly tell if something was bothering them.

He sighed. "I didn't tell you guys this, but…my mission to my home planet…I forgot about…," he began and stopped.

"About what?" Rook asked gently.

Toepick sighed again. "Every ten years, my kind has a day where we find mates," he said. "My mission…well, it happened on that day and…by the time I finished the mission and headed back, it was too late."

Rachel and Rook looked at each other as understanding hit them. Their friend hadn't been able to find a mate and it explained why he had been so eager to be on the mission too. Neither one knew what to say, but they just sat near him, offering wordless comfort.

That evening, it was pretty quiet and everyone had gone to sleep, but Toepick was up as he wasn't able to sleep and decided to stand watch for a bit. There had been a lot of burglars that had been stupid enough to try to get into the Grant Mansion, but were always scared off. He knew he'd really frighten them if they ran into him.

He was suddenly shaken from his thoughts when a pounding came on the door. "Please! Someone, help! Please! Anyone!" A female voice cried out.

Toepick jumped up from the couch and headed for the door, hearing tires squealing as a vehicle came to a stop and he opened the door a crack to see a young woman who looked to be about twenty-years-old standing there and she looked terrified as she looked at the vehicle where a couple men were getting out and she turned back to the door, seeing it was slightly open, but not seeing who was behind it. "Please! Help me!" She pleaded.

The alien opened the door and the young woman ran into his arms and clung to him, delirious as she cried and begged him to keep her safe.

The two men got closer. "What is that thing?!" One asked.

Toepick looked at them and the cage on his helmet began to open. "Something that will make your insides squirm in fear," he said as the cage fully opened to reveal his face.

Rachel bolted upright with a gasp hearing petrified screams and she raced out of her room with her Proto-Tool in her hands and she came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs seeing Toepick holding a young woman protectively and she could see the cage that hid his face was open and the two men on the porch were frozen in terror.

"Leave!" Toepick said in a thundering voice that made both men jump and flee as fast as they could. Rachel even jumped as she had never heard her friend speak in such a tone of voice and it scared her a little. Seeing the cage close back over his face, Rachel approached him.

"Toepick? What's going on?" She asked. "Burglars again?"

He turned to her and shook his head. "This young lady was running from them," he explained, indicating to the young woman still in his arms, clinging to him.

"Are-Are they gone?" They heard the young woman ask.

"They're gone," Toepick said in a soothing voice, but the tone of his voice was deep, something Rachel found odd because she hadn't heard his voice go that deep when he was trying to soothe someone. His voice sounded…like a lover trying to comfort his mate and she blinked.

"Toepick, don't take this the wrong way, but are you feeling alright?" She asked.

He looked at her. "Yes," he said. "Why do you ask?"

Rachel bit her lip lightly. "When you told those men to leave, your voice was really deep and it thundered very similarly to Humungousaur's voice when he gets mad," she said. "It scared me a little."

The alien looked at her and she saw his eyes widen. "Is my voice…really deep right now?" He asked. "Like…?"

"As if you're trying to comfort your mate?" She finished softly and he nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Oh, dear," he said, shock in his voice.

The young woman looked up at him and she gasped slightly at seeing him, but she suddenly turned away, covering the right side of her face with her hand. Toepick, sensing she was hiding something, gently took hold of her hand and very gently turned her face to look back at him before gently removing her hand. A long scar ran down her cheek and she seemed to not want him to see it, but his gentle hold seemed to be calming her and she was letting him gently touch her face with his hands. After a moment, she spoke. "I-I don't know who you are, but…you're very gentle," she said and suddenly leaned in close to his face.

Toepick panicked a bit. "Rachel, get her to Frankenstrike's lab," he said quickly. "Please."

Realizing something was going on, Rachel did so and the young woman seemed to snap out of her daze and she gasped at seeing Frankenstrike and froze. "What is that?!" She asked, quickly moving so that the exam table was between her and the scientist alien.

"Well, I'm an alien," Frankenstrike said gently.

The young woman blinked. "Is…Is that what…the other one was too?" She asked. "The one that saved me?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes, that was Toepick," she said. "What is your name?"

"Natalie," she answered, brushing her short blonde hair away from her face, her brown eyes taking in everything before she looked confused. "Why did I get the urge to kiss him?" She asked.

Rachel turned to the scientist alien. "Frankenstrike?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," he said, worry in his voice.

"It's because it's time," said Toepick, coming in. "The time to find a mate on my planet. It goes for twenty-four hours."

They looked at the time. "You still have a couple hours," Rachel said, seeing the time.

He nodded. "My pheromones are very strong right now," he said. "They were effecting her because she was clinging to me and I sensed her fear and became protective."

"And you scared those creeps away," Natalie said softly, going over to him, reaching up for his helmet, but he caught her hands and gasped.

"Please…," he said softly. "I'd…My face would scare you."

She looked at him. "It can't be that bad," she said gently. "Please?"

Toepick swallowed hard and Rachel and Frankenstrike turned away to give them privacy. They heard Natalie take a deep breath and then heard the cage of their friend's helmet open.

Toepick was terrified as Natalie saw his real face, but she didn't even flinch and he noticed that it was really quiet, which was unusual if his mask was open.

Rachel noticed it too. "How come we don't hear anything?" She asked Frankenstrike in a whisper.

"I'm not sure," he whispered back.

Natalie saw his face and she smiled. "Do you by chance have mind powers?" She asked Toepick.

"Um, no," he said in confusion. "Why?"

"Because your face is very handsome," she said simply.

Toepick was now very nervous. "Fr-Frankenstrike?" He called out and the scientist came over, but stopped as he noticed something and he slowly smiled.

"I believe because you have found your mate, then to her, your face isn't terrifying and your powers are keeping your face handsome for her, but only because she's your mate and she alone is allowed to see your face like that," he said.

Rachel snapped her fingers. "I get it," she said. "His face is only reserved for his mate to see because…it's very intimate, right?"

Frankenstrike nodded. "Well, Toepick," he said. "Are you going to woo your new mate?"

The poor alien was shaking profusely now. "But…I don't know her!" He said, fear in his voice. "I…I…,"

Natalie seemed to understand his fear and kissed him right then and there. That action seemed to calm Toepick's shaking and his arms instantly came around her to hold her close and she smiled at him. "You saved me," she said. "For some reason, I feel whole with you. I don't feel scared."

He looked at her and let out a deep sigh. "I don't know if you'll feel that way in a couple hours," he admitted.

She smiled. "You silly alien," she said with a giggle. "I'm in my right mind."

"She is," said AmpFibian, who appeared right then. "Toepick, she's not lying. She has fallen for you. As the humans say, 'love at first sight'."

Toepick was struck speechless for a moment. "But…how are you so sure? You just met me," he said.

Natalie smiled a bit more. "Well, let's see. You protected me, held me close while dealing with those two creeps, soothed me, expressed concern that your face would scare me, didn't look at my face with disgust but rather with love," she said. "Don't you see? Your actions have told me all about you and how could I not fall for a guy who did everything you just did?"

"She's got you there, Toepick," Rachel said.

He swallowed again. "Well," he said with a sigh and then took a deep breath and kissed Natalie right then and there. She hummed in pleasure and closed her eyes, sinking into his large arms. After they gently broke away, the young woman blushed.

"I actually have a confession to make," she admitted. "I had heard the rumors about the Grant Mansion, but had seen people coming in and out of it and they looked completely normal, but then a few people that had gone up there and gotten scared away babbled something about aliens."

Rachel, Toepick, and Frankenstrike looked at each other. "Did anyone believe them?" Frankenstrike asked.

"No, everyone just seemed really disgusted and then said that the mansion should be torn down, but the police officer said it was someone's home and that pretty much shut everyone up," Natalie said. "But I grew curious as I've been curious to know if there were aliens. Plus, well, I'm a sucker for movies with peaceful aliens that come to Earth and some were romance movies too and I began to wonder if it was possible."

Rachel smiled before remembering the two men. "Natalie, who were those two Toepick saved you from?" She asked.

"My ex-boyfriend and his brother," she said. "They're mad because I busted them for parole violations."

Toepick wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "They'll never bother you again," he said, his voice taking on a very protective tone and he felt Natalie shudder in his arms before she turned to smile at him.

"You're going to make me melt if you keep that protective tone up," she said in a teasing, but sweet, tone of voice and to everyone's surprise, Toepick shuddered in pleasure before gently tightening his hold on the young woman in his arms.

"I'm never letting you go, beautiful," he said, kissing her deeply again.

One month later…

Rachel updated the wedding list as Natalie sat beside her, deciding what color her wedding dress would be. "I like how you chose under-the-sea colors," she said.

"Us girls decided we wanted the wedding to be as colorful as possible," Rachel said, smiling. "Even the few couples that are married already are going to renew their wedding vows at the wedding."

"That's so sweet," Natalie said, gazing at the silver band on her left ring finger that had interwoven hearts engraved on it.

Rachel smiled again. "He finally popped the question," she said.

"I was ready for him to do so that night I arrived," the younger girl admitted.

"And your twentieth birthday is around the corner too," said the owner of the Grant Mansion.

"And I'm taking her to my home planet next week," said Toepick, coming in and hugging Natalie from behind. "And I've got a special surprise for her birthday."

She smiled. "Can you tell me?" She asked in a sweet voice.

He shook his head with a playful smile, holding her closer and opening up the cage on his helmet to kiss her. "You have to wait," he said in that deep tone of voice that drove her crazy.

"No fair," she said, but smiled as she kissed him lovingly.

Rachel smiled at them and turned back to the wedding list on her computer to proof-read it before putting it away. Natalie and Toepick were so focused on each other that the owner of the Grant Mansion gave them some privacy before deciding to get some of the chores done before starting dinner.

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GoldGuardian2418