A/N: Wow, I was floored by the heart-warming reviews of you loyal readers! I'm so sorry I left you hanging for so long! Let me hope this makes it up to you! Also, Absolution is a near future project (I'm trying to do some research on Japan's history at that time to flesh it out a bit) and I do intend to finish Life at Saitou's Ranch (one day) since I extended the story...gotta do that re-reading/re-evaluation bit. Thanks for your patience and support! BDN

Battle Front: Chapter Nineteen

He was beating her again. She could feel the fiery sensation as one of her ribs snapped and the nerve pain was like electricity radiating throughout her chest. It was harder to breathe—like drowning but above water- and all she could hope for was that the pain would end soon. Why was Soujiro just standing there? Didn't he see that she was in trouble? Why didn't he stop this terrorist from beating her to death? She could feel the blood pooling inside her chest cavity from where her lung was punctured.

Then the monster was gone and Soujiro hovered over her with a knife. Was he going to punish her more? Was he going to slit her throat and be done with it? Why was this happening to her? She didn't know anything about a bioterrorist weapon. But no, the knife was used to relieve the gathering fluid in her lungs and keep the punctured one from collapsing and her chest from filling with blood. And she could breathe again no longer drowning in her own fluids.

Her hand was being squeezed. Had the monster put into some sort of vice? What would happen should she look down at it? Did she want to see?

"Kaoru, wake up. It's okay," Enishi's voice drifted into her ear. She looked around thrashing her head from left to right, cringing from the pain the movement reeked on her abused muscles. There was no one there, even Soujiro was gone, but thankfully that monster of a man was gone too. She began to tremble because it was so cold.

"You must open your eyes, Kaoru," Enishi demanded and the pressure on her hand increased. Why was he so insistent? Was he taking her to the afterlife?

"Enishi?" she whispered with a great deal of trepidation, her voice raspy from screaming. What if that monster heard her? Would he come back and abuse her more?

"Yes, it's me. Open your eyes, Kaoru. Open your eyes for me," Enishi asked. She could feel his warm breath across her cheek, but she couldn't see him. Her eyes were already opened. Was she blind too? Had he come to rescue her and she was too far gone? "Kaoru!" his impatient voice barked.

Kaoru's eyes flew open and she awoke from her strange sleep as the anesthesia wore off enough to allow her consciousness to return. The first thing she saw was a shock of white hair.

"Finally," Enishi grumbled running his free hand through his messy white locks. His other hand kept a firm grip on her hand. So it wasn't a vice after all. "If my hair hadn't already turned white from shock when I was a kid I'm sure it would be now."

"Huh?" Kaoru asked, as her mind tried to clear out the cobwebs of confusion that had settled within. Her eyes adjusted to the florescent lights and she realized she wasn't in Shishio's torture chambers any longer and that she was wearing a thin rob and laying on a hospital bed. She felt an out of body experience. She knew she was in her body, but she couldn't feel anything. Her mind raced to the concern about her damaged ankle. "My foot!"

"The surgery went well," Enishi promised. He soothed his hand over the crown of her head. "You're waking up from the anesthesia and they are pumping you full of morphine right now so that you can tolerate the pain. The surgeon is very optimistic. You'll need some physical therapy and the recovery will take some time, but you should be able to resume your old activities, thought I'd recommend you not train for any marathons any time soon."

"Weren't you shot?" Kaoru asked groggily.

"Yes, well, apparently torture trumps a couple of measly gunshot wounds. Your competitive nature couldn't just let me be the injured party." He leaned over her and brushed his lips over her forehead. "I was so worried about you," he confessed.

"I was worried about me too," Kaoru said reaching up and absently rubbing her throat. "I guess I had to be intubated?"

Enishi nodded. "They'll be moving you to a hospital room and I'll visit as soon as I'm allowed."

"Enishi, thank you for saving me."

"Seta and Himura saved you, I showed up just in time to carry you out of that hell hole." The muscle in his jaw twitched visibly. "I would have liked to have killed that monster. Or better yet, I'd have preferred to have found you before any of this happened."

"Better late, than never. I didn't know it would take being beaten half to death to get you to hug me though," Kaoru said with a wavering smile. She felt so tired. "I think I'm going to sleep again. I should sleep better knowing that the nightmare is over."

"How about you stay out of trouble and go back to sleep. I'll be right here until they make me leave."

The thought of Enishi being at her side was oddly comforting because she couldn't think of anyone else she'd rather be there at the moment. He may have claimed to have arrived too late to save her, but then why did she visualize his white hair and strong arms when she thought of safety?

OoO

"Captain Yukishiro, I understand your motivation for the request," General Saitou said casually lounging back in his office chair with his fingers laced together over his belly.

"Sir, Dr. Kamiya's surgery went as well as expected and her surgeon recommended medical leave and extensive physical therapy," Enishi explained. He'd done his homework and left no room for argument. The Wolf simply had to agree with his request. "My mission was a success," he added.

"Aside from all the injuries to so many elite soldiers," Saitou pointed out. "Stop sweating, Yukishiro. Himura and Seta already pleaded your case and it's been approved. After she recovers she'll be transferred to working at a VA clinic stateside-there's too great a possibility of that nasty Post Traumatic Stress Disorder if she stays here."

Enishi's jaw slackened momentarily before he collected himself. "Sir? Then why am I here?"

"I wanted to see you squirm," Saitou admitted. "Seta and Himura will also be accompanying you back to the mainland. And I wouldn't expect for you or Kamiya to be sent back out to the hotspots. Most likely your next assignment after your medical leave is up will be on a base stateside."

"Why is that exactly?"

"Himura has a lot of pull and apparently his wife has a lot of pull on him." Saitou took his cigarette from between his lips and ground it out in his ash tray.

"I see. May I be dismissed, sir?" Enishi asked.

"Soon. I wanted to ask your opinion about Lieutenant Seta's actions. He was playing double agent and while under cover he shot one of our men in a rather serious injury."

Enishi shrugged. "I'd have shot that jerk myself if I had the opportunity. Maybe he was trying to teach the arrogant icicle not to mess with his sister-in-law?"

Saitou laughed. "Get out of here, Yukishiro. I don't want to see your ugly face again."

Enishi wasted no time in saluting his superior officer and leaving the room. He was still sore from his own gunshot wounds, but it was nothing compared to Kaoru's injuries. And he couldn't wait to visit with her and let her know the good news. They'd be going home. He was looking forward to seeing Tomoe and was excited about the idea of his sister and girlfriend meeting in person.

However, before he went to visit with Kaoru he needed to stop by the gift shop and as luck would have it Private Yahiko Myojin was there browsing the giant teddy bears.

"Do you have something in mind, Private?" Enishi asked.

Yahiko glanced up. "Yeah, I'm trying to find the biggest most cuddly bear for Kaoru."

Enishi picked up a small bear dressed as a wizard. "Wouldn't she appreciate something more like this?"

"It's nice," Yahiko admitted critically. He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "But not right. She needs something almost as big as her so she can sleep with it and hopefully not accidentally roll onto her bad foot."

"That's a clever thought," Enishi admitted. "I wanted to purchase her a basket of flowers and maybe a cheerful stuffed animal. Perhaps we could purchase her a Get Well present from the both of us."

"Good suggestion. You make more money than me so how about I find the right thing for Kaoru and you pay for it?' Yahiko suggested.

"And why should I trust your taste over my own?"

Yahiko looked at him with an arched brow and an expression of bewilderment. "Because my taste is obviously superior. I'm the one that liked Kaoru from the start and saw what an amazing woman she is, unlike you." He wagged his finger in Enishi's face as he continued his reasoning. "And, I'm the one that's been in a successful relationship with the woman I love for many years."

"You have a point," Enishi agreed picking up the giant teddy bear that Yahiko had been inspecting when he interrupted him. "I think she'd like this one."

OoO

"How are you doing?" Aoshi asked.

Kaoru sat up in her bed and took the plastic cup full of ice chips and tossed a mouthful down her throat. "The stupid pain medication is making my mouth so dry," she complained. "But at least I can't feel the grinding pain in my ankle. You'd think the pins and cast they put on me would help."

"I can sympathize," Aoshi commented rubbing his hands lightly across his bandaged thighs. "Can you breathe okay? I saw your chest x-ray and saw a few ribs had been broken and a lung had been perforated too."

She glanced across at her roommate in the surgical recovery wing of the hospital. Who'd have thought that her long-term ex-boyfriend would end up being her hospital roommate? "I can breathe all right. Broken ribs are nothing in comparison to someone heaving a mallet at your feet. I'm going back home once I'm stable. Misao will be in charge of my physical therapy."

"Being shot isn't a picnic, but better than blunt trauma," Aoshi agreed. "I figured that you would return home after this," he said quietly. "It's my fault you were involved."

She couldn't really argue with that statement so she kept quiet. She'd been enjoying her bubble bath when Aoshi forced her to become involved in the bioterrorism plot.

"A lot of things are my fault lately," he continued. "I'm the one that convinced you to join the military to pay off your graduate school debts and then you're almost killed because you ended up in a war zone and then I made you a target for one of the world's biggest terrorists."

"I think you may have been right to break up with me," Kaoru said interrupting his diatribe.

"I didn't break up-"

Kaoru held up her hand to interrupt him. "I know that you and Soujiro had looked at engagement rings and you decided that you didn't want to marry me."

"I wasn't ready to marry you, yet," Aoshi corrected. "We'd been together for so long, I didn't know if we were just comfortable or if we were right. I do love you, Kaoru."

"But the fire isn't there," Kaoru guessed.

"I've never been one to have fire and there is more to love than bright flames. I have no doubt whatsoever that we could be comfortable married together. The problem is we've never even had a fight or major disagreement aside from what temperature to set the thermostat."

"And so with me you would not be happy," Kaoru said.

"I was always happy with you."

"No, you weren't. And I love you too, Aoshi, but you were right. We needed to explore life more and-" she rubbed at her cast absently. "Maybe a little less adventure would have been fine by me."

"I'm so sorry, Kaoru. I never wanted you to be hurt."

"To live is to experience pain. If you wanted to marry me there wouldn't have been any doubt," she said. "I'm not mad." She shrugged and only cringed a little at the soreness in her ribs. The morphine was like magic in her bloodstream.

"Of course you aren't," Aoshi grumbled folding his arms over his chest. "You've already moved on to Yukishiro."

"So, what? Was the plan for you to date around and then realize I'm the girl of your dreams after all? But I'm not allowed to date? I am supposed to mope and wait for you to figure things out?"

"I just didn't expect it to happen," Aoshi argued. "Do you want to just forget this whole thing? We can go back to the states and find nice civilian jobs. We can get a little townhouse together, maybe adopt a dog."

"Stop, Aoshi. Just stop," Kaoru ordered.

"Why? I thought I was what you wanted."

"First of all, you don't remember one of our previous arguments. You're a dog person and I'm a cat person, that's the reason we never had any pets. I want to be loved and appreciated. You are only interested in me now because you feel I'm unattainable. If Enishi hadn't been interested you'd have continued with your 'we should see other people' mentality."

"We're good together, Kaoru," Aoshi said moving in his bed so that he was sitting up with his legs over the side facing her.

Kaoru didn't answer. She laid back and closed her eyes. Whose brilliant idea was it to have her share a room with Aoshi Shinomori? The man was notorious for his silence and now he was talking her ear off spouting words of non-sense and confusing her. "It's the morphine speaking for you right now," she argued.

"It's not the pain medicine, I—"

The door to the room opened and Aoshi stopped speaking abruptly. Kaoru cracked open an eyelid to see the identity of the visitor. She wasn't surprised to see Enishi, but she was surprised at how rapid her heart rate became and how nervous her belly felt in his presence. Aoshi was wrong; she was past the point of no return.

"So, it might be cliché, but I figured some flowers and balloons might cheer this place up," Enishi said carrying a basket full of a colorful floral arrangement and placing it on the small table between Kaoru and Aoshi's beds. In his other arm he carried a huge teddy bear. "And this is a present from Yahiko and me. I wanted to get you the smaller bear wearing the wizards robe, but he insisted that you needed the large bear and I could hardly argue with his renowned expertise with women."

"The flowers were certainly generous, but what's Kaoru going to do with a giant bear?" Aoshi asked.

"The flowers will die and the bear will be around to keep her company when she feels sad," Enishi countered smoothly. He sat on the edge of Kaoru's bed on the side of her uninjured leg and held the bear out to her. "Hug me, Kaoru!" he demanded in a high-pitched voice.

Kaoru giggled at the pure absurdity of Enishi Yukishiro doing kiddy voices and giving her a huge teddy bear. It was also strangely flattering to hear her ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend heckle each other.

"Oh, and at the suggestion of Megumi I brought both of you some books from the library," Enishi added pulling the tote bag he'd had slung over his shoulder off and reaching inside to take out the books. He set a few next to Kaoru's head and placed the rest on the drink tray next to Aoshi's bed.

"Percy Jackson?" Aoshi asked looking at the first book.

"And the Harry Potter series and Hunger Games. This way you two can debate after you finish reading. They are fast reads and very entertaining. I've read them myself. But if you're not a reader I also can check out some dvds for you two. I think you'll both be here for a few more days at least," Enishi explained. He rested his hand casually on the thigh of Kaoru's uninjured leg. "Megumi reviewed your cases extensively with your surgeons. They are both highly optimistic on a full recovery or at least almost as much strength and dexterity as prior to your injuries. Though there will probably be an aching feeling when it's cold, but at least there isn't any shrapnel in either of you."

Kaoru set aside the giant stuffed animal. "Do you know what's happening to Soujiro? And is Sanosuke doing all right?"

"Seta's actions are being investigated," Enishi said. "He was doing his duty as a double agent but the higher ups aren't happy about him shooting Shinomori here or for kidnapping you and putting you in harms' way."

Kaoru glanced over at Aoshi. "It was better than the alternative."

"Tell that to my shot up legs," Aoshi argued.

"Soujiro told me that Shishio was more likely to torture you than me. He preferred castrating his male victims and Soujiro thought he'd be able to keep a closer eye on me," Kaoru said. "Soujiro explained himself to me when he was releasing me from those chains."

Aoshi and Enishi both swallowed uncomfortably at the thought of Shishio's preferred torture to his male prisoners. "Then I'm grateful for these bullet wounds," Aoshi answered grimly.

"Right, and Sagara was released this morning. So, Kaoru," Enishi said focusing his dark, attentive eyes on her. "Would you consider moving into my sister's home with me upon returning to the states? She has the best physical therapist in the state of Virginia, whom I'm sure you're familiar with, and she has also offered to make the arrangements for Misao to treat you in house."

Was this a round-about way of him asking her to move in with him? Kaoru really didn't understand. She tried to think about what Misao might have told her about Tomoe and that's when she realized she'd not spoken with Misao. "Oh my, I need to talk to Misao. She has no idea about what's happened!"

"It's fine, Kaoru," Enishi said squeezing her thigh in comfort. "Yahiko called her after your return to base and I called her after your surgery's success while you were in recovery. And she and Tomoe were the ones to discuss the possibility of you moving in to the Yukishiro plantation-as an afterthought I was later invited."

Kaoru frowned at his explanation. She was glad that Misao had been kept in the loop, but did that mean that Enishi's asking her to live with him was some twisted sense of duty? She groaned holding her head in her hands—too many pain drugs circulating in her blood stream.

"And I see those gears turning in your head, stop that." Enishi reached over and pulled her hands away from her head. "Will you move in with me? My sister and her husband live in a twenty bedroom mansion. We can take the east wing to ourselves. You don't even have to share a bathroom with me!"

"You're really selling yourself," Kaoru said with a laugh. "I can't really think of any reason to say no."

Aoshi cleared his throat, but didn't argue.

OoO

"Jeez, watch the attitude, Ugly," Yahiko complained.

"Watch your mouth, runt!" Kaoru growled. She was walking alongside Private Myojin down the hospital hallway ambulating with a walker. It was her goal to be on a cane before she left for the states. Her surgeon and rehab facilitator had agreed that she would be free to travel by the end of the week.

"You're really improving a lot," Yahiko said ignoring her irate shout. "Did you make a decision about whether or not to move in to the Yukishiro palace?"

"It's not a palace, it's a plantation."

"Tsubame was recently accepted into Virginia Tech and lives near Williamsburg and she described the place as a palace. I think you should do it. It's an exciting opportunity."

"You think I should move in with Enishi?"

"He's not so bad once you break through his bad attitude and see he's just a big softie on the inside. And that would put you near Tsubame so I have a place to crash when I visit her if you're in a huge mansion."

"Free loader," Kaoru muttered affectionately.

Yahiko snatched the walker out from under her hands and moved fifteen feet further down the hall. "Come on, Ugly, you know you want this back so you can hit me over the head with it," he said shaking it temptingly.

Kaoru's eyes narrowed and while her balance wasn't fully restored she didn't fall on her face. Her ankle throbbed, but she made her way toward her tormenter with a determined stride.

Yahiko whistled in appreciation and set the walker in front of her and she gripped the handles in exhaustion. He laughed nervously. "Don't actually beat me with that, okay?"

"Missy!" Sanosuke's loud and rowdy voice echoed down the hall. He waved at them as he quickly approached. "I've been looking all over for you," he glanced at Yahiko briefly, "both of you, actually."

"What's going on, Sano?" Kaoru asked. The tall man had a strange look of panic on his face. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm scared out of my mind!" Sano said as he leaned down and gripped her shoulders so that they were eye-level with one another. "I'm going to ask Megumi to marry me."

"What? But you've only been together a couple of months," Kaoru said in disbelief. She knew that Sano's feelings for Megumi were the real thing, but she thought the sophisticated lady doctor might need a little more time to digest. Sano's face morphed into one of hurt. "I mean, do you think she's ready?"

"Oh! You're concerned she might say no." He nodded as if to himself and released his grip on her shoulders and stood straight. "I'm pretty sure she'll say yes. Did you see how she doted on me when she thought I was dying?"

"That does tend to speed up people's feelings," Kaoru admitted thinking about how Enishi was suddenly thrust into the scenario for her. Near death experiences seemed to cause relationships to evolve more rapidly.

"So when you going to ask her? Don't put it in her champagne or anything lame like that. It would be awkward if she accidentally swallowed it," Yahiko advised.

"I was going to ask her tonight, but I wanted to have a dinner party before hand and ask her in front of you guys because she's less likely to say no if there's an audience."

"Better be a fancy ring that way she can show it off," Kaoru said with a smile. Megumi would enjoy being proposed to in front of her friends. "We're game. I'll ask Enishi and Soujiro to join us too. Maybe Aoshi?"

"She considers all of you friends; just don't let those two fellows start a fight over you at dinner though. I've made reservations for the small room at that civilian restaurant not too far from here. And dress up!" Sano said before he took off down the hall in a hurry.

"Well, this should be interesting," Yahiko said. "Now, focus! Start walking; don't just stand around lolly-gagging!"

OoO

"What's on your mind?" Misao asked as she helped Tomoe stretch on the ballet barre that had recently been installed in the exercise studio of her large home.

"I'm excited about Enishi returning home," Tomoe said brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "And having your sister here too is just an amazing turn of events."

"I understand that," Misao said. She eyed her patient critically, her dark hair was plastered to her forehead and her skin had a rosy hue. "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"I missed my last two periods," Tomoe admitted.

"Last two periods," Misao repeated with a puzzled expression before she brightened considerably. "You're pregnant? That's great news!"

"I don't know for sure, I've been too scared to check," Tomoe said. "I haven't been with Kenshin in ten weeks. He's been overseas on that special government mission, but he'll be back any day now and with Enishi and Kaoru."

"All it takes is one night," Misao reminded her with a teasing grin. "You take a break. I'm going to the drug store right now and we're going to find out for sure."

"I don't need a break. We'll go together."

OoO

It was ironic that what constituted as the 'fancy' restaurant in their environment was a Shawarma Restaurant, but the staff treated them like rock stars and everyone wore their finest civilian clothing. Kaoru was surprised by how uncomfortable the situation was considering this was the first time she'd been in the same room as both Aoshi and Enishi since they shared a hospital room—that had been weeks ago.

She'd seen her ex-boyfriend a few times since then and they had been civil and polite, and things with Enishi were going well though perhaps a bit faster than she was used to with her history of a sedately paced romance. Aoshi had returned to practicing medicine while she was still doing her rehabilitation so his schedule didn't allow much time for social calls. And Enishi had turned into a shadow, following her movements whenever Yahiko, or Megumi, or Sanosuke, or Soujiro weren't there. It was as if her friends had made a pact to not let her alone in case Shishio's ghost wanted to enact revenge against her.

At the small rectangular table in the back room Kaoru sat with Enishi on her right side—the side where Shishio had exacted the worse damage to her leg and Megumi on her left with Sanosuke sitting next to her at one end of the table, Yahiko was across from Kaoru and Aoshi to his side, and Soujiro at the head of the table. There was a great deal of testosterone at the table and Kaoru suspected that Megumi knew something big was about to happen because the confident female doctor was gripping her hand tightly under the table.

"Are you okay?" Enishi whispered in her ear, leaning over while reading through the menu.

Kaoru fought the cringe that threatened to split her lips at Megumi's death-grip and smiled at her boyfriend instead. "I'm fine, just, really hungry."

She could tell by the arch of his eyebrow that he didn't believe her.

"So, tonight, I wanted you all here since two of you are heading back stateside in a few days and I wanted to spend some time with my special friends. I was hoping Kenshin would make it, but I suppose he's running late," Sanosuke said holding his wine glass tightly. "I wanted to make a toast to my friends who have been with me on the cusp of death and back again."

"To life!" Soujiro suggested.

"To life," they echoed.

The door to their private area opened and Kenshin stood in the frame with his hair in disarray. He nervously pushed aside his hair and shut the door behind him. "Sorry I'm late," he said pulling up a chair between Sanosuke and Yahiko. "What did I miss?"

"A toast to life," Sano said looking calmer.

"To life," Kenshin said holding up an extra glass of water that was at his place.

"To life," they echoed.

"Speaking of life, I'm late because I just found out some great news," Kenshin said.

"Can't it wait?" Kaoru asked sweetly with a jerk of her head toward Megumi and Sanosuke. Everyone knew why they were there.

"I'm sorry, it really can't. Tomoe is pregnant!" Kenshin exclaimed his eyes wide and purple as if he was still surprised by the news.

"That's terrific!" Megumi exclaimed releasing Kaoru's hand and clasping her hands together in front of her chest in a prayer-like pose.

"That's great, Kenshin," Sano said clapping his superior officer on the back. "And speaking of joyous events and happy endings, Megumi I wanted to ask you something."

"Just a second, dear. So, Kenshin, do you know when the baby is due? Is it a boy or a girl?" Megumi asked with an open smile.

"I don't have any of those details, yet," Kenshin said taking a generous swallow of Yahiko's wine.

"Hey! That's mine!" Yahiko complained, but was ignored.

"The second is up," Sano said impatiently with a look of panicked nervousness across his features.

"Congratulations, Kenshin. Now Sanosuke, Megumi," Kaoru interrupted, "I believe we were called here tonight for another bit of celebration."

"We were?" Megumi asked. Then her eyebrows rose dramatically and she nodded. "Right, we were." She turned to Sanosuke. "Wasn't there something you wanted to ask me in front of our dear friends?"

He nodded, forehead breaking out into a sweat. "Will you marry me, Fox?"

"Yes, you idiot! Now give me the ring already!"

"Congratulations," Aoshi said quietly when Megumi flashed around the rock Sanosuke slid on her left hand. He met Kaoru's gaze across the table briefly, but then averted his eyes back to his glass. There was a loud screeching sound whistling through the sky.

"Get down! Under the table!" Enishi shouted grabbing Kaoru and hauling her under the table. The walls of the restaurant shook under the assault.

"We get rid of one bad guy, just to have another one take his place," Yahiko complained crouching under the table with his arms held protectively over his head.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Megumi asked Kaoru shoving the diamond ring under her nose. It was as if the newly engaged woman didn't even recognize that they were under attack.

Kaoru bumped knees with Aoshi and they shared a long look—his eyes full of regret and hers calmly taking the situation in stride while Enishi's protective arm looped around her waist and Yahiko had taken hold of her hand and gripped it tightly-between him and Megumi she'd surely have bruises.

Kenshin was speaking into a communication device in his collar when the sound of helicopters roaring over their heads nearby drowned out any words amongst their party. Machine guns shattered the eerie silence that had settled over them once the roar had quieted and then the walls stopped shaking.

"Do you think we'll still be served dinner?" Soujiro asked curiously. His stomach growled loudly and he rubbed his hand over his belly. "You'd think they'd try an airstrike when we're not trying to have a celebratory dinner."

"We wouldn't be on the battle front if it weren't exciting," Megumi said hardly bothered by the anxious voices of other patrons drifting into their private room. The door separating the two sections of the restaurant hung loosely on its hinges shaken loose by the strong vibrations.

Their waiter came rushing back covered in dust and looking disheveled. "Good, no damage here," he said with a cursory look. "Your food will be delivered shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience. It seems the building down the street was attacked by terrorists."

"I think I'm ready to head back to the states," Kaoru said with gritted teeth.

Enishi squeezed her gently to his side as he helped her stand and set their chairs to rights again. "Glad to hear it," he said dusting off their section of the table with his napkin.

"Just to be clear, you did say, yes, right?" Sano asked Megumi as he helped her stand.

She nodded her head with tears in her over-bright eyes. "Yes, you stupid rooster-head. I said yes!"

A/N: Too cheesy? Hope not, it seemed appropriate to skip around a bit in this chapter...or maybe I was inspired by the pace of the season finale of True Blood. Anyone else watch that show? Alcide...yum. =) So I'll try to have the final chapter up before my wedding! Thanks for your support!