A/N: Um... Okay. This chapter has 'mature' referenceS. (Eh. Not really... It's just a warning.. I don't even know...). Anyway...

Scathach decided that we were better off camping out before we face Balor. She said that we would need our energy during the battle. We were all very reluctant to do so, seeing as what we had faced earlier on during the day. But eventually, we all gave in to our tiredness. Plus, I had been feeling anxious all day because of my encounter with the two death omens. I had to tell Jack, but how?

Jack had just begun talking about a family someday... How do I break it to him that I might not even be here next week?

I decided not to tell him. It was probably for the best. I couldn't bear to break the news to him. And he'd beat it around the bush, somehow. He would probably say it wasn't going to happen, but the cold, hard truth was that it was going to happen someday. But when?

I was obviously going to die by fire. And there was fire up ahead somewhere. That was definitely not a good sigh.

And for some reason, I wasn't scared. I wasn't trying to act brave or anything like that, but I couldn't even find any emotion to feel about the probability of my death. It was going to happen, and that was that.

As a distraction, I decided I was going to collect wood for a fire (I had to roll my eyes at the idea of dying by a campfire) while Scathach and the others made some sort of shelter to protect us from the rain. Mund offered to make a burrow for us all, but then quickly realised that it would probably fill up with water.

Jack decided he was going to join me, which I didn't mind too bad. He's been acting funny ever since him wanting kids came up. Was he embarrassed? Nervous? I wasn't... And I had my great reasons not to be, as children for me was not likely to even happen.

I sighed at how pessimistic I sounded.

Jack and I walked instead of flying. Although, Jack's feet must have been aching as the ground was unstable and had lots of thistles and nettles around.

"You're really quiet," Jack noted after a few minutes of gathering firewood. I didn't say anything for a few minutes, my mind still gathered in my own thoughts. The roar of thunder made me jump, although I should probably have been used to it at this stage.

"Am I?" I decided to say. He nodded his head, picking up a stick and joined it with the little bundle in his hands. I frowned. "I've just been thinking about stuff," I eventually told him.

His cheeks reddened. "Oh," he muttered. "I'm sorry if all of this is making you uncomfortable. I... I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do. Jeez. Did it suddenly get warm out here?" He gave me a small embarrassed grin, tugging at his jumper with his free hand. "It's just, kids are pretty awesome!" He smiled.

"Also a lot of hard work," I reminded him.

He shrugged it off. "Yeah. But it would be worth it. And I'll be willing to... I don't know yet. But I'll work hard—" I knew Jack would have kept rambling on for ages. He saw the amused look on my face and stopped talking. "I mean, we don't have to decide anything right now."

Jack and I gathered enough wood to burn through the night and headed back to the group. Jack was confused as to where to go so he flew up to help us find the way. I would have flew up with him, but I just felt so bothered by what had happened.

The shelter was made up of leaves, sticks and branches from the trees. It wasn't much, but it was enough to shelter us all from the ongoing rain.

Eventually, the sky darkened casting us into night. Everyone slowly fell into sleep... Except for me.

I couldn't sleep. Thunder still roared above us, but the rain subsided. I tucked my knees up to my chest, thinking of everything. I thought of when I had died before. It had been painful... I shuddered. Maybe it would be a painless death this time. Which involved fire somehow.

I stifled a groan which was tempted to escape my lips. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even hear Jack come up beside me.

"Why aren't you asleep?" His voice was soft, but I still started by his sudden appearance beside me.

"I can't," I simply replied, hugging my knees tighter to my chest.

Jack leaned in closer to me, and I blushed at the closeness of our faces. You'd think I would have been used to it at this stage. But he wasn't leaning in to kiss me. When I finally managed to look at his face, I saw he was frowning. I quickly averted my gaze to his hand which was inches from my foot.

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested. I looked at him and quirked a brow up. "There's something bothering you. We need to talk." I saw the blush creeping up his neck and I gave him a small smile. He stood up and helped me off of the damp ground. I didn't take his hand nor did he take mine; he did stand pretty close to me though so that our hands brushed off each other as we walked.

We walked in silence for a while too. Every two minutes or so, lightning flashed across the sky closely followed by a loud rumble of thunder. The earth vibrated beneath my feet. One part of the forest had a dry patch from where evergreen trees grew out of the earth. It was a private location and Jack guided me in there by pressing his hand lightly to the small of my back.

I sat down on the ground, wrapping my hands around my knees, which were once again tucked up to my chest.

"You know you can talk to me, right? About anything?" Jack's eyes found mine but I looked away. "I know I can kid around and can be sarcastic about things, but if you want to talk, I really am willing to hear about it." He paused for a minute. "Please tell me what's wrong... Honestly."

I inhaled sharply, my eyes stinging. "Jack..." I moaned. "I can't."

"Yes you can," he insisted, sitting down by me. He took my hands in his own, freezing them to the bone. I didn't mind though. "I know I'm really immature, but—"

"That's not why, Jack," I assured him. I sighed. I gulped when he looked at me sharply. "No. Honestly, it's not," I said more firmly. "Well... Okay. Fine. I'll tell you!" I began to explain to him about the two omens of death appearing to me. I told him how the banshee showed me somehow that I would die by fire.

All the time, Jack listened carefully, his forehead creasing in concern. By the end, his lips were pursed tightly together, and he glared down at the ground. The ground around him began to freeze where his staff touched it. I placed a hand on his shoulder and his expression softened.

"How are you so... /calm?/" he exclaimed, shaking his head.

I bit my lip. "I'm not," I admitted. "I've been so scared all day." I frowned and wrapped my arms around his chest, settling myself onto his lap. He tensed for a second, surprised by my sudden action. I buried my head into his shoulder. "I don't want to die, Jack," I mumbled, my words barely coherent because of my mouth being pressed against his jumper.

Jack pulled me tighter to him. "You're not going to die," he said quietly.

"But—"

"No. I won't let you die." He lowered his voice so that it was barely audible. "I swore I'd never let that happen again."

I leaned back so that I could look at him. Our noses were centimetres apart. "I love you, Jack," I told him.

"I don't blame you." He grinned at me and I stuck my tongue out at him. Surprisingly, he kissed my nose. "But I love you, too."

He pressed his lips to mine softly. But I took control, and the kiss deepened. Jack pulled me closer to him, which I didn't think was possible. By now, I was yearning for air, but I didn't want to break the kiss.

But a few minutes later, Jack pulled away, both of us breathless.

I made a face. "You know, sometimes it's hard to remember you're an eighteen year old guy." He quirked up an eyebrow in question. "You don't act like one." He poked my stomach and I slapped his hand away. "Okay, I don't mean it as though you're childish. Um... Well not always. I just mean, you're really different to other eighteen year old guys."

He laughed. "I'm a guardian, Soph. I'm obviously not going to be like other eighteen year olds." He was still giving me a confused look, with a small smile across his face.

I rolled my eyes. "Besides the obvious part, that's not at all what I meant."

"Then what?" I blushed a little. I shook my head and rested my head against his chest. I closed my eyes, but Jack wasn't going to let me off so easily... Obviously. He pushed my back from his chest and grinned. "Seriously, what do you mean?"

My blush deepened. "No. It's not important. It was just a random thought," I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

"Soph," he said, putting more force into his words. "Tell me."

I looked down at my hands which were placed on his lap. "Um... Okay. Well, most guys, by your age, would try to..." I gave him a look but he didn't catch on. I sighed. "You've never tried anything with me."

His eyes grew wide a little and then he looked amused, but I could see the blush blotching his pale cheeks when I looked up to see his reaction. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Er..." He gave me an embarrassed smile. I furrowed my eyebrows, feeling bad for making him feel awkward. "I've actually thought about it..." He trailed off.

"You have?"

"Jeez, Soph. Just because I'm not entirely like other eighteen year old guys, doesn't mean I'm completely different," he replied. "I am a guy, after all!"

I made a face at him. He gave me a look. "Have you... Thought about it?"

I shrugged my shoulders, avoiding his eyes. "It slips into my mind sometimes," I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat up. I laughed and he looked at me alarmed. "We're about to battle some guy and here we are talking about making love!" I laughed again, shaking my head.

Jack looked at me in shock. My cheeks flushed. It was the first time those words had ever been truly mentioned. He ended up laughing nervously, until we both jumped when thunder roared above us. His expression softened and he pulled me into a hug. I breathed in his scent, memorising it.

Jack smelt of Christmas; cinnamon, chestnuts and a little hint of... Vanilla. I closed my eyes, feeling safe in his arms. I felt his lips brush my forehead and I sighed, the feeling warming me inside.

.*.*.*.*.

*Bark*

My eyes shot open, and were met with dark blue. Confused, I pulled away to find myself facing Jack. His eyes were open too, looking alarmed. The bark... We both looked around and found Bribry looking at us.

'You are in so much trouble,' he told me, making a sound which I assumed was a laugh.

I noticed it was light out again, but clouds still veiled the sky.

Mund came marching (hopping? Whatever) over to us, swatting the branches out of his way. I was surprised by how angry he looked until I realised why he was angry.

"I swear to everyone and anything, that one of these days I'm going to kill you, Frost!" By now he was standing right in front us us, his paws crossed over his chest. He really did not look amused.

However, Jack did. "What did I do this time?" He grinned up at Mund who scowled at him. "Oh. I guess sneaking off with my girlfriend in the middle of the night hit a nerve, eh, Mund?"

My heart thudded, a tingle going down my spine at the word girlfriend. It never got old, yet it was rarely ever used by Jack. Mund looked ready to punch Jack. "If you even touched her where you shouldn't have, I swear I will seriously make you into a little icicle!"

"Jealous?" Jack wiggled his brows at him.

Mund rolled his eyes. "No. Sophie's like a daughter to me. Oh, and I'm sure her own father will be pleased to hear of the things you do with her!"

Jack looked at him pursing his lips. "I don't do anything with her," he said defensively.

"Okay. Be quiet, both of you," I finally cut in. "Mund, you're overreacting just a teeny bit." I gave him a small smile. Jack looked smugly at him. "And you're not helping, Jack." That wiped the look off of his face.

"We were worried sick!" Mund told me. "We thought that some demons had gotten you two in the middle of the night!"

"More proof that you really do care about me!" Jack chimed, looking gleefully at Mund. Mund scowled at him again, causing Jack to laugh.

But I felt guilty. "I'm sorry," I muttered, lowering my head in shame. "I didn't mean to cause anyone to get worried."

Mund's expression softened. "It's okay," he replied. "You're safe— both of you— so that's all that matters." He looked back in the direction he came. "Come on, you two. We're about to head off to Balor."

And reality slapped me in the face.

Finally get to update again! Ugh.

Spain was so awesome! :D So hot there! :) and last night there was a massive fireworks display in the town over which I could see from the apartment! It's so confusing though, driving back on the left side of the road again! D:

anyway! Review what ye think! :D Hope it's okay. :)