I present to you! THE moment mosof you have been waiting for...The Choice! Enjoy!

The time had finally come for Arielle to make a choice. As she sat on her balcony she watched The Kurgan in the small garden behind her flat. He was expertly practicing his sword play and she watched his body move with a strong kind of grace. When she replaced him with MacLeod she realized tht she needed The Kurgan. As much as she hated to admit it she wanted him back. This moment of clarity told her that he was exactly what she needed. She should have found a human she could love but there was something about him that made her feel. . .happy again. Truly happy.

The man below didn't seem to hear her thoughts and she didn't try to hide them. He distracted her in ways that she needed, if she had let a human man in her life she wasn't sure they would understand or help her in the ways she needed. The Kurgan loved her, and she was sure she had fallen in love with him too. Besides that, if what he had told her was all true, about him being there in her head since she was born then she was meant to be with him.

As she sat there she looked down at him and touched the necklace she always wore; two glass mushrooms, one red and one blue. It was an old gift from her brother. It was in that moment that she made the choice.

That night The Kurgan walked into her room and found her looking out the window, the ocean glimmering in the sunset painted distance. She smirked when she felt his powerful presence behind her,

"Tell me, is The Kurgan capable of love?" She asked.

He towered over her and picked up a lock of her hair, feeling its softness between his finger tips, "Yes," his voice rumbled, "he is."

"And does he love me?"

At that The Kurgan froze for a moment. He knew that what she asked was a dangerous question. It was what he had always wanted but she wasn't supposed to be falling in love with him, he was only her 'imaginary friend' after all, a real relationship would be impossible. If she believed he loved her then she would hold onto him and love him back, she would never marry and never date and without a reasonable explanation people would think she was crazy.

MacLeod would have been the smarter one and said no, but The Kurgan on the other hand wasn't about to let his true mate slip through his fingers. In a few seconds he decided to throw sense and reason through the damn window, she was his after all. He even said so, but he still didn't want to say out loud that he loved a woman even though he had found one that he did.

"Fuck it," he thought to himself.

Luckily Arielle didn't pay attention to what he was thinking.

"Yes." he said. "He does."

Arielle spun and nearly attacked him as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him firmly on the lips. The Kurgan was taken by surprise for a moment but quickly overcame it and pressed his palms against her back, pressing her close.

When she stopped kissing him she put her mouth close to his ear, "Close the blinds."

She smiled and walked passed him to the bed. Along the way she pulled her dress off and let it fall to the ground. When she reached the bed she turned around and sat down, scooting to the middle. The Kurgan watched her walked away and after reaching out and tugging the blinds closed he looked back and carefully stalked over to her.

When he stood at the foot of her bed he saw that she had a frightened sort of curiosity in her eyes. He towered over her and looked up and down her body. The blue static buzzed louder this time as it swept over his body and he shook it off before kneeling on the bed and crawling towards the woman before him. He got up on his knees and she got on hers to meet him, threading her hands through his thick ebony hair, letting it loose from its tie. He pressed his hand against her back and brought her close as he went in for a kiss.

That night she learned that, as with most cases, there was more to The Kurgan than the movies told. He was a passionate lover. . .a very passionate lover. He knew exactly what he was doing and didn't ask her what she wanted, her responses to his touch told him.

Likewise she was near his equal, in passion anyway. She gave everything she had and didn't hold back with him. Every move she made seemed to drive him wild. If she denied him anything he'd growl and she'd give in. While he did what he wanted to her he was not abusive; he didn't strike her or hurt her in any way other than what pleasured her. He fulfilled every fantasy she had ever thought of, every need she had, and not once did she have to ask for more, for him to be harder or move faster, he was already all of those things and more. He knew exactly what she needed and exactly what she wanted, all without having to read her mind.

The end result of their love making was Arielle's scream of release and The Kurgan howling along with her. They had been in a sitting position with her facing him in his lap. He leaned forward and carefully let her fall back on the bed. The Kurgan leaned back on his heels and tilted his head back to catch his breath. A few minutes were nothing but the two of them breathing and panting for breath.

Finally the giant of a man fell back and spread out on the lower half of his lover's bed. The crisp fall air made it way in through the open kitchen window and a sudden gust helped cool his body on the outside. Arielle crawled up beside him and laid her hand on his chest, he took it in his massive hand and pressed his lips to it before dropping it back on his chest.

Her fingers entwined with his chest hair and he purred like a mountain lion. She loved feeling his deep voice resonant in his chest. He wrapped his massive arm under her head and around her shoulders, holding her close.

Without looking at her he spoke, "Why did you bring me here woman?"

He felt her shoulders tense but she pretended to still be asleep. With a growl The Kurgan rolled over on top of her and hovered over her. She slowly opened her eyes and he saw that she wasn't going to tell him so easily.

"Why?" he asked again.

"I don't want to talk about it. . .," she said, her voice trailing off.

He grabbed her breast and pinched her already red nipple in between his fingers. She cried out and grabbed his hand.

"Kurgan! Please no!" She shouted.

But her mental restraints didn't work this time. This is what her mind had bringing her to finally talk about, to finally come to terms with and accept. He only squeezed harder and smiled cruelly.

"Tell me pretty one," he demanded.

She glared at him and then relented, "Fine! Just please let go!"

He did.

She rolled over on her side and shielded her breasts from his touch. While on her side she took in a shaky breath and kept her gaze on the wall, tears began to form in her eyes. "Before I was born my parents adopted an older boy named Charlie, he was my older brother. We were as close as siblings could be and I loved him very much. He was my best friend and was always so protective over me." She closed her eyes, "A few weeks before I brought you here he died."

Kurgan didn't show an ounce of sympathy. He was familiar with death and not even seeing her begin to cry moved him. He waited for her to say more.

"Charlie, me and his two friends, Jack and Wilson were driving down the freeway. A car swerved out of his lane and we all went over a bridge. Wilson died at the scene. Jack and my brother were taken to the hospital. . .a few hours later they died and all I could do was watch."

"You were with them?" he asked with a low voice.

"It wasn't that bad because Charlie wrapped himself around me while I sat next to him. He took everything that was meant for me except for a slight concussion." She broke into heavy sobbing and cried in The Kurgan's arms.

Her pulled her against his chest and let her cry while he held her. Looking into her memories he saw just how bad it really was. The man he took as Charlie was a little older than Arielle, he was covered in bandages around his head and even The Kurgan admitted that he had it bad. He also saw the other two men that had been with him and saw how bad it was for them. He also saw the final moments between the woman and her brother. He saw how Charlie had protected Arielle from the harshness of the crash, taking glass and pavement that was meant for her. He felt just how badly it affected her. Still, he was The Kurgan and he didn't feel sad for his creator, he was more furious at the one who almost killed her. He did, however, hold her close until she cried herself to sleep and stroked her hair comfortingly.

His eyes darkened when he realized that now that his purpose had been fulfilled he didn't know how much longer he would be able to stay. He wanted to believe that what he had said about them belonging together was true but a pain in his head told him otherwise.

The only reason her mind had conjured him up was to distract and protect her from the tragedy until she was able to finally face it, and she had just faced it. Now where would that leave him? He wanted to own this woman for forever and have her whenever he pleased. Although he was her imagination, he was from another world where he was very real to everyone else. He wanted to take her with him but he didn't know if he could. That night he held her while he waited for the dawn, as if the morning would steal her away from him.

O_O