A/N:YAY! Hope you all had a good Christmas and a fantastic New Year! I'm finally back, it seems like ages since I've updated anything, but I've had loads of work to do over the past few weeks. So yeah, I was gonna put more in this chapter, but I don't really have time, and I felt bad for leaving it so long. A lot is revealed in this chapter, so as usual, if ya don't understand anything just ask. Remember, there's only one more chapter left on this, but I dunno when it'll be up, cause I have a lot of stories going, and also a lot of work to do. Also, there's a couple of rude bits in this chapter... not too bad, but I dunno how sensitive you guys are...

Enjoy the chapter !

Chapter 18

Elena slept soundly throughout the night. She didn't know how well Reno had slept, but he his eyes were still closed when the blond awoke and he hadn't disturbed her through the night. It only took her a moment to adjust to the light, and then she slipped out from under the covers, careful not to disturb Reno. He remained motionless, so Elena grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to get herself ready.

She felt a lot better about herself as she looked in the mirror, although her body did ache quite a bit. Her hair was sticking up a little from going to sleep with it still wet, but she didn't look anywhere near as bad as she had done the day before. Reno had vaguely cleaned himself in the shower, but she knew that he didn't really care; he just wanted to get back. Feeling a lot happier than she had done in a long time, Elena ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to flatten it. It made a satisfactory job, so she quickly pulled her clothes back on, cringing slightly at how dirty they were, and splashed her face with water, before drying it with a towel.

Back in the other room, Reno still hadn't stirred. He was in exactly the same position as he had been all night, and that was unusual for the restless redhead. Slightly concerned, she made her way over to his side of the bed and leant over so she could see his face.

"Reno?" she shook him slightly, and his aqua eyes snapped open.

"What?" he said quietly.

"Are you alright?" There was something in his tone Elena didn't really like.

Sighing loudly, Reno slowly turned over and pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked slightly pained at the movement.

"I dunno 'bout you, but my body aches like a bitch…" he muttered, rubbing his eyes. He looked exhausted and Elena wasn't sure if he'd even gotten any sleep. 'I guess you're probably feelin' it too…" he smirked slightly as Elena nodded her head.

"Come on, get up." Elena ruffled his hair and stood up straight again as the redhead muttered something under his breath, and roughly stood up. He stretched and Elena cringed as several of his joints cracked.

"Glad to…" he said eventually, loud enough so Elena could hear. "I wanna get outta this hell-hole."

Impossibly quickly, he pulled on his dirty Turk uniform, brushing off some of the dust automatically. He grabbed his EMR from the floor, and pointed at the green duffel bag vaguely. "Grab that, let's go."

The two Turks left the room and Reno locked it with the key in his hand, which he promptly began swinging around his finger. He seemed to cheer up with every step he took away from the hotel room. They were just leaving the corridor and about to enter the hotel reception when there was a call from behind them.

"Are you leaving now?" The two Turks turned to see the speaker. Andy was standing outside a door, which obviously lead to his room, with his daughter at his heel.

"Yeah, we gotta get back to our… lovin' boss." Reno muttered darkly.

Elena smiled, although she was slightly concerned. She hadn't really thought at the time, but it was really bad idea to have told Andy and Kayla about their job. It wasn't like they knew anything important, but Turks had to try and keep themselves to themselves whenever they could. But it was difficult to do that with Reno around anyway, and she wouldn't be surprised if half the planet's population knew who Reno was.

"Remember though… you don't know who we are and ya never met us." Reno said quickly. It was as though he had read Elena's mind. "Not that the Turks identities are exactly secret anymore, but ya know… it'll be safer for ya."

"Of course…" Andy nodded and smiled. "And… thank you for all your help."

"Don't mention it…" Reno shook off the man's gratitude casually. "Well… see ya then."

"Bye-bye, Mr Reno." Kayla said loudly. "Bye-bye Elena."

"Bye, kid..." Reno said, smiling amusedly. "Oh… thank for findin' my… stick…"

The four of them finished saying their goodbyes and the two Turks left, albeit a little sadly for Elena. It was always difficult to say goodbye to someone forever, even if she didn't know them very well. On the way out of the village, Elena looked at Reno, to see if he shared the same feeling. The redhead appeared emotionless, staring blankly ahead as they walked out into the small part of the Sleeping Forest that surrounded Bone Village. Elena thought she could detect a hint of something negative in his eyes, but she doubted it was for the same reason the blond felt down. She could tell something was bothering him though.

"Reno?" Elena deliberately stepped in front of the redhead to stop him in his tracks.

"What?" Reno replied, slightly shocked at the abrupt interruption.

"Are you gonna tell me what's been going on?" she asked fairly patiently.

"What'd'ya mean?" Reno raised an eyebrow and looked at Elena genuinely confused. "You mean about the Shiso…?"

"Yes… I do." Elena crossed her arms. "You told me you didn't know, but then you spoke to that old man like you knew something… and to Andy…"

"All right, all right… I ain't arguing with ya, I just didn't wanna tell ya." Reno smirked slightly, making Elena smile. She knew he couldn't stay serious for long, but she was worried about him. "So… what do you think the Shiso wanted with me?"

"I don't know…" Elena said. She did have one idea in her head, but it was vulgar, and she didn't want to say it.

"Well… the Shiso having ingeniously wiped out all of their men, they're a dying race…"

"So, they wanted you for-" Elena began. She had suspected it, but it was still a shocking development.

"'Reproduction'." Reno said before laughing slightly. "I never thought of it before to be honest… it's kinda like being raped by a woman… I always thought that'd be kinda awkward…"

"Shut up…" Elena tapped him lightly on the side of the head. "Only you would laugh about it… but it's really serious."

"What's the matter, 'Laney?" a smirked crept its way onto the redhead's face. "Ya jealous?"

"I'm being serious, Reno…" Elena couldn't help but smile slightly. "Did any of them…?"

"I dunno…" Reno shrugged his shoulders. "Why does it matter?"

"Because…" Elena suddenly made a loud tutting noise. "I don't get it though… why you? You're not a Shiso…" the blonde trailed off.

"I don't know…" Reno shook his head. "But Kayla weren't born here. She was born with the Shiso… Andy fell in love with a Shiso… but they didn't approve of their love apparently. Ya know, the usual tragic romance shit. But then I think they musta realized that Kayla looked like a Shiso anyway… I'm not sure…"

"Hmm…" Elena thought this over for a minute. It seemed to make sense, although there was one thing Elena wasn't sure of. "But what if one of them had a child… and it, you know, looked like you. I bet that hair color is very dominant for a start." The blond eyed Reno's hair. "Imagine a load of kids over there taking after you; the whole race would be wiped out in a day."

"I find that offensive…" Reno scowled jokingly. "Although it would do the world a favor…"

"Hmm, I guess it would." Elena smiled slightly and looked around the forest they were standing stationary in. "Another thing though… why aren't you going to tell anyone about the Shiso?"

"Why d'ya think?" Reno raised an eyebrow and stepped around Elena to carry on walking. "What do ya reckon would happen if I told?"

"They'd send someone down here…" Elena followed the redhead, trying to catch up. "They're always wanting Cetra descendants to experiment on."

"Yeah… and what if one of them is pregnant?" Reno said, not looking back to Elena.

The blond thought about this for a moment as she kicked up her pace to keep up with the redhead. He was right, but did that mean there was a softer side to Reno? Elena had never really thought about it before, but maybe it was just human nature to care for your own child, even if it was unwanted or unknown. But then again, it had always been Reno's main priority to go against human nature at any given opportunity. She wondered vaguely if Reno had come down with some sort of Stockholm Syndrome… she doubted it, but there was still an air of mystery shrouding the situation.

A/N: There ya go! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!