Chapter 12: Decisions for the future

The next morning, after Kim had dressed and eaten her breakfast, they prepared to go back to Hope Island.

"Maybe we could take some of the games I have with us, too," the brunette said. "That is, if it's OK with you," she added, looking at him. He was the one who would be carrying the load, after all.

This was fine with the superhero. "Well, if we take enough stuff with us now," he said. "That'll save us the trouble of coming here to get more so often."

"I wouldn't mind coming here," Kim said. "Gives us a chance to be alone."

The superhero grinned, admitting he would not mind that either. "We can be alone on Hope Island too, when we really want to. Remember the clearing with the brook? That could be our place."

Although, if they wanted complete privacy, they would really have to make the trip to the cabin, out from under Gaia's eye.

Kim smiled. "That is a beautiful spot." She especially liked the brook.

"Why don't you go and pick some games to take with and I'll ask someone to come and pick us up and give us a lift back to Hope Island?" Cap suggested.

"Give us a lift?" she asked. "You too lazy?"

He chuckled, knowing it wasn't an accusation and didn't take it as such. She should have known Captain Planet and lazy didn't fit in the same sentence. "No, but we already have two bags, plus the one with the food, and it's going to be tricky with more." He couldn't carry all the stuff and he thought of her comfort too.

Kim hadn't thought of that. "Oh, I see what you mean."

So as she went to gather some games, Cap contacted Gaia and told her to ask one of the Planeteers to come and get them. The spirit promised to do so.

The Geo-Cruiser landed near the cabin and Wheeler stepped out. "Heard you guys needed a lift," the redhead said. "Have you suddenly lost your wings?" he asked Cap.

The superhero rolled his eyes. "Not you, too." Kim snickered.

After seeing all the stuff that would be taken along, Wheeler understood the request and helped to put the bags in the plane. Then the Geo-Cruiser lifted off and he set the course, switching on the autopilot.

After 10 minutes of flying, Cap, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, having decided to travel in the plane this time, looked over at the American. The boy hadn't said a word.

"What's the matter, Wheeler?" the superhero asked. "You're usually not this quiet."

"Nothin'," the redhead replied.

But Cap wasn't satisfied with that. "Come on, firebug," he insisted. "I know you. Something is clearly weighing on you." It was as clear as day.

The fire-thrower sighed. "It's Linka, as usual. I managed to make her angry again."

"Again?" Kim asked. The woman was sitting behind Wheeler. This was the umpteenth time this week. "Just get it over with already."

Wheeler looked at the woman. "Huh?"

"I think you know what I mean." She had been on the island long enough to see for herself how the two felt for each other. If you knew what to look for, that is.

The redhead frowned. "I don't think it's any of your business."

Maybe it wasn't but he didn't have to be so rude about it. "Well, excuse me," she muttered.

Cap reached out and put his hand on Kim's. He looked at Wheeler. "That wasn't very nice, was it?" he asked quietly. "She may not be a part of the team but as long as she's with us, we'll include her in our business," the eco-hero told the boy. "Got that?" He saw Kim smile a little at this.

For a moment, Wheeler didn't know what to do. Then he apologized for his attitude. "I didn't mean to." The redhead explained that he had just been so bummed.

Kim understood that. She thought it best not to give any more advice on the subject, though. The Fire Planeteer would handle the Russian as he saw fit.

The woman looked at Cap. "Do you really think of me as one of you, Blue?"

He smiled and put his hand on hers again. "Yes, love, I do." Even if she wasn't officially, that's how he thought of her. Maybe they could stay in contact after her sick leave was over…

The other Planeteers and Buddy were waiting for them when they landed. The dog almost made Kim fall over in his excitement.

"Had a good time?" Gi asked.

"What do you think?" Kim asked back with a grin, trying to calm her dog. "Buddy, please settle down already."

The boys helped the woman carry her stuff to her hut. After that was done, the group gathered in the common hut. It had begun to rain.

"What do you say we try out this game Kim brought with her," Ma-Ti said, showing the rest the Trivial Pursuit box. The others didn't object. At least it was something to do while they waited for the rain to stop.

"Have you played it before?" Kim asked just in case they were unfamiliar with the game.

"No, I have not," the Kayapo admitted. They mostly had video games on the island. "That is why I would like to try it. You will have to explain the rules, though."

"Sure." She looked at Cap. "Remember when we played this?"

He smiled, remembering it very well. "Sure do. Speaking of that, I think I'll just watch."

"Afraid we'll beat ya?" Wheeler asked with a grin.

"More likely he'll beat us at it," Kim said. "As I recall, he knew almost every question I asked." Despite the amnesia, his knowledge hadn't been affected.

"I let you win, didn't I?" Cap pointed out.

She smiled. "That you did. Although I wouldn't have been a sore loser, if you had won."

He grinned. "It's easy to say now." But they would find out if it was true soon enough.

It was suggested that Cap would be the one asking the questions, so he wasn't left out. He agreed to do it. The Planeteers chose their game pieces so that the colors matched their powers. Kim explained the rules and soon the game was on. When Gaia appeared among them, saying there was an eco-emergency Gi was in the lead with three triangles in her game piece.

Before Cap left though, Kim told him to be careful. "Aren't I always?" he asked and kissed her. She decided not to remind him of the previous time he had assured her that he would be careful.

After Gaia had explained the mission and the Planeteers had left, Kim went for a walk, wandering around the island with Buddy, lost in thought.

As the months passed, Kim and Cap got to know each other better, like they had meant to. Their feelings only deepened for each other, if that was possible. Once Gi found out about her fascination for dolphins, the two hit it off and became friends. That wasn't the only reason really. Kim had heard what the Asian had done for Cap, helping him to deal with the pain after he had left the cabin those years ago. Kim also drew some sketches and painted them. There was a few of Cap, the Planeteers or just of the island.

Also during this time, progress could be seen with Wheeler and Linka. It was slow but after Wheeler had gotten the nerve to tell her how he felt, he was surprised to find she felt the same way.

Soon it was December and the Planeteers were on a mission again. Gaia found Kim on the beach, looking out to sea.

"Planet used to do that, too," the spirit said. The superhero had spent long moments just sitting on the sand and staring at the horizon. Just like the woman did now.

Kim had been so lost in thought that she jumped. "Oh, hi Gaia. I didn't hear you coming." She had gotten used to the spirit appearing out of nowhere but this time Gaia had taken her completely by surprise.

Gaia smiled. "Sorry to startle you."

"What was that you said about Blue doing something?" Kim had taken the habit of calling the superhero by the name she had come up for him. It had become a pet name now.

"He used to look out to sea like this, too," the spirit of Earth explained.

Kim stood up. "Yeah, he told me." The pair had spent long moments just talking.

"Is something bothering you?" Gaia asked. "You've been distracted." The spirit knew what it possibly was, considering the time of year.

"It's a subject both of us have been avoiding," the brunette said, proving Gaia's hunch right. "My sick leave will be over soon." She wasn't looking forward to the goodbyes and knew Cap wasn't either.

The sound of the returning Geo-Cruiser interrupted her. She smiled when she saw Cap flying beside the plane and waved. The superhero smiled and waved back. He dematerialized from the sky, and appeared where Kim was and kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around him. "What took you so long?"

"We weren't gone that long, were we, Gaia?" Cap asked.

"Not longer than usual, I guess," the spirit said, watching Linka and Wheeler go to the common hut hand in hand. Now that they were an item, it hadn't done anything to stop the Russian's complaining about the redhead's habits at times.

Kim sighed. She was glad the two had ended up together but it also reminded her of the situation with Cap.

The superhero looked at her. "What's the matter, love?"

"Have you noticed what time of year it is?" Surely he remembered what they had agreed to do.

Of course Cap had noticed. He had thought of nothing else for the past couple of weeks but had kept it to himself. "Yeah. Speaking of that, I want to talk." He had come to a decision and wanted to ask the woman something that could have an impact on both of their futures, depending on her answer. The superhero had come to realize even he could have something to call his own. Maybe it had been partly or entirely because of what had happened with Wheeler and Linka.

"About what?" Kim wanted to know.

Cap wanted to talk about that in private. "Not here. Come on." The pair left.

"What's going on with those two, Gaia?" Gi asked, joining the spirit with Kwame and Ma-Ti.

"Soon it's time for Kim to go home," she replied. "Neither of them is taking it well." The spirit had a feeling something was about to change, though.

The pair had gone to their clearing. "These past months have been the best time of my life," Cap was saying. "This island's going to feel so empty without you."

"Let's not say goodbye yet, handsome," Kim told him, pressing up to him. "Come here." She put her arms around him and kissed him.

When she pulled back, the eco-hero looked a bit disappointed. "Was that it?"

Kim grinned. "No, I just needed to get some air." She didn't wait for an answer, just kissed him again, this time in a way she was sure he would remember for a long time. After they pulled back again, the brunette snuggled close to the superhero. "Was that better?"

He smiled. "You bet." It had been one of the best kisses they had ever shared.

They were quiet for a long time, just sat there in each other's arms. Cap decided to just come right out with what he had intended to ask her. "Kim, what would you say if I asked you to stay?"

The question took Kim completely by surprise. "What did you say?" She wasn't sure if she had heard correctly.

The superhero didn't think he had to repeat himself, though. "You heard me."

"But I thought…" she began. When had he had a change of heart? He hadn't given any indication of this. At least not to her. Or maybe she hadn't just seen it.

"I know," Cap said. "Both of us were so set that after your sick leave is over, you'd go home. But it doesn't have to be that way." The superhero smiled affectionately, fondling her cheek. He didn't want to say goodbye to her.

"Is this a joke?" Kim asked. If this was a joke, it wasn't a very good one.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Cap asked gently. He did have a tendency to joke around but this was something he didn't want to joke around about. But he couldn't blame her for not believing him.

The woman studied the azure face. There was no trace of a smile, nothing to indicate he was anything but in earnest. "You are serious."

"I sure am," the superhero confirmed. "Let's just say I've come to my senses." He wondered why it had taken him so long to get it. "I've never been surer about anything in my life," Cap added. "Well, except my feelings for you, that is."

Kim remembered the original reason for their break up. But she now knew it hadn't been the only reason. "But what about…"

"I don't care about the villains," he interrupted her, knowing that was what she had been going to say. "It's only you and me that matter." He met her eyes and smiled. "The thing is, we've been given another chance here, honey. We already lost three years. Let's not lose more."

The woman smiled. She couldn't think while he was looking at her like that so she stood up, went to the brook nearby and sat down, swirling the surface of the water with her fingers. It was so tempting to just say yes but for some reason she still had doubts.

Cap watched her for a minute, then got up and went to her, kneeling beside her. "What is it, Kim? What's wrong? If you're afraid that I'll hurt you…"

She didn't dare look at him. "It's not that. I know you wouldn't do that, despite your strength." He hadn't done anything to make her believe otherwise, being so gentle with her in everything he did.

"Then what?" the superhero wanted to know.

Now Kim looked at him, biting her lip. "What if you change your mind later?"

So that had been the issue. "That's something I know I won't do," Cap assured her. "So what'd you say? Let's take the risk." He didn't know about her but this was the biggest risk he would take, at least on a personal level. But for the sake of his happiness, he was going to take it.

"Do you really think it would work?" she asked.

"It has for 5 months, hasn't it?" He took her face between his hands gently. "Kim, I don't want to lose you, not again. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Kim had to admit that it had. 'You are the best thing that's happened to me too, superhero of mine,' she thought. 'So why do I hesitate?'

Cap didn't know what to make of her silence. Was it because she didn't know what to say or was she trying to think of a polite to say no? "If you don't want to stay, love, just say so and I'll shut up."

She did want to stay, more than anything. 'Say something, woman!' Kim told herself.

The blue-skinned man stroked the brunette's hair gently. "I'll take you home right now if that's what you want. But it won't be the same…"

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and stopped him by putting her fingers to his lips. "Hush. I am home." She realized she had come to think of the island as her home instead of the cabin. Her home was in the superhero's arms. Well, the cabin was sort of a home away from home.

A goofy grin spread itself on Cap's face as the woman's words sank in. "You mean it?" Did she really think of the island as her home now?

Kim nodded. "Yes, silly," she said. "So let's give it a try and take a risk, like you said." After all, if you didn't take risks, you didn't accomplish anything.

Cap smiled. "You have no idea how happy you've made me." He was so happy he could burst. To think she was going to stay with him!

She fondled his cheek, happy beyond words. "I think I have some idea."

The superhero took her into his arms. "I love you so much, Kimberly Dawson," he said.

The way he looked at her made her heart skip. "I love you too, Blue." Their lips met.