Hey. This is the last chappie. It's dedicated to everyone who's read it and is still reading it.

Disclaimer: I own E7 in another universe;b

Chapter 4

FAC51

The rest of the way to FAC51 Hilda and Talho spent talking about any random subject that came up, which was about everything they could think up. Holland hadn't given Talho much work to do except to give Dewey a report on the journey so far, which was pretty darn boring for three days of non-stop flying. Upon arrival at FAC51 the general there informed Holland that they were expecting an attack soon and it was going to be a big one. Holland ordered his crew to prepare for battle then turned to Talho and told her to get all of the information she needed ready in the next half hour.

"You ready to go Miss Yuki?" Holland asked a half hour later. He was holding a rifle and waiting next to a KLF.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Hop in," Holland said with a grin. Now I get to show off what I can do in a KLF. Let's hope that'll impress you for the time being. Once inside the KLF Talho felt nervous to be in a machine so incredible, but once Holland began to move it she felt completely safe and secure. Holland decided to drive the KLF until there were any signs of battle so as not to alarm any of the remaining civilians in the city below them. As they arrived at the military headquarters they were greeted by the colonel who wasted no time in showing Talho where the intelligence officers were waiting for her. Holland waited for her for almost an hour. By then he could hear there was commotion outside and instantly knew he would have to join the battle once Talho was out. Once she stepped out of the intelligence bureau she and Holland hastily made their way to the KLF. Once inside Holland wasted no time in heading to the battle field. From the looks of things The Nirvash had taken care of most of the fighting while the others prevented things from going any further. Once Holland joined the battle, it was a matter of minutes before it had ended. Talho tried her best to hide it, but Holland could tell that she was shocked at how fast he had killed so many. After reporting the day's events to Dewey, Holland felt tired and exhausted.

For a 24 year old I sure am damn stressed. I need a vacation. He thought. It was around midnight when he started to wander towards his sleeping quarters. He had his jacket unbuttoned and he was wearing a plain black shirt under it. As he passed the central computers he saw Talho typing away and decided that he might as well keep her company.

"You should get some rest Miss Yuki. Tomorrow's gonna be even longer than today," Holland informed her.

"Yes sir. In a moment. It's just that I promised that I would inform my brothers when I arrived here," Talho replied. Holland stood at the doorway and waited for her to finish.

"I could walk you to your room if you'd like," Holland offered.

"Thanks," was all Talho could say. They two of them walked in silence until they reached her room. She took out a key and began to push it into the lock but dropped it. Both she and Holland bent down to pick the key up. As she reached for it their hands touched and she could have sworn that she felt a bolt of electricity run up her arm. As the two of them stood up their eyes met for a brief moment. Holland couldn't take it any longer. As Talho turned towards her room door he gently grabbed her at the waist, pulled her towards him and kissed her. At first Talho was shocked, then she felt like she was on cloud nine as Holland kissed her. He's better than Dewey. Much, much better. Holland heard Talho drop her key and then felt her arms wrap themselves around his neck. After a moment he felt her arms slide from his neck and she broke away from him with her hands resting on his chest. He looked at her for a second and saw a glint in her eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked

"You kissed me."

"Didn't you like it," Holland asked. I sure as hell did.

"That's not the point. We could get into serious trouble."

"So what if we do?"

"You're my superior."

"Yeah, but that's only while working,"

"You'd get into more trouble that me," Talho pointed out.

"You're worth it," Holland said. Talho went red as he said that.

"I'm not interested in a one night stand."

"With you, neither am I," Holland said as he bent down and kissed her again. Talho didn't hesitate to believe him and kissed him back. After a couple of minutes Talho broke away from him.

"Come inside and you can push your luck further," she whispered in his ear. Holland grinned and bent down to grab the key that Talho had dropped earlier. Once inside Talho locked the door. As she turned around Holland pulled her into another long kiss. As he kissed her, Holland started to undo the buttons on her top. Once he had gotten that off he undid the zip on her skirt, which she slid out of with ease. Talho slid his jacket and shirt off. As she reached to his belt she kicked off her shoes and stood tip-toe to stay within height. Holland felt Talho slide his pants off and he pulled her closer to him. The rest was pure passion and the two of them finally felt relief from admiring the other from afar.

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Three hours later the two new lovers were lying in bed. Talho's head rested on Holland's chest and he was stroking her hair.

"What's with the serious face?" Talho asked.

"I dunno why but I'm remembering all of the terrible things that I've done, all of the people that I've lost and all of the sin I've committed," Holland said in a slow, sad voice. As he said so he couldn't help but think of Diane. He sighed before adding, "And to remind me that I've killed so many."

"You were protecting people."

"I wasn't protecting the innocent people that I killed."

"You had orders and you had to follow them."

"I follow orders because I have to. There are innocent kids that die because their parents are Voderaks. There are prisoners who died because the Voderaks use them as shields. There-" he was cut off as Talho kissed him.

"You carry guilt on your shoulders but you only did what you did to protect others. It's not your fault that all of those lives were lost and you shouldn't blame yourself for it. You saved lots of people and should at least be proud of that," Talho said and kissed him again.

"When you say that I can almost believe that," Holland said. Talho looked at him as if trying to put the right words together.

"It is true," she said after a few seconds of thought.

"Maybe, but I gotta convince myself that it brought more good than death."

"Well then maybe this'll help, by saying that I believe in you," Talho said as she kissed him again, but this time neither of the two of them would break apart.

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The rest of the time at FAC51 wasn't very eventful. There was the occasional battle and the odd party or two. Both Holland and Talho almost always seemed to disappear when the parties took place, but the only one who noticed this was Hilda. She knew exactly what the two love birds were up to or where they were heading. On the day of the departure both of them were on board earlier that everyone else. Holland was making sure that everything was alright with the KLFs while Talho checked the supplies for the sixth time.

"Boy, oh boy, are you up early- 6:35. You and Holland have been here since?" Hilda asked as she walked into the supply room. She was the first of the crew, besides Holland and Talho to arrive.

"Neither of us could sleep so we decided to come down here and check on everything," Talho replied as she came out of the back room.

"Sleeping with the boss. What are the two of you gonna do when you get back?" Hilda asked.

"Dunno yet, we'll find out soon enough won't we?"

"Mmmm-" was all Hilda could say because other crew members started to file in onto the Stealth1. The rest of the journey back was almost as boring as the journey to FAC51, but two people aboard didn't seem to mind. As they landed back at headquarters Holland pulled Talho aside and whispered something in her ear. As she walked to her room were the words that Holland had said went through her mind- "I love you Talho Yuki".

An: Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the story and I promise the next one will be better