A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews, follows and favorites. I hope this chapter isn't too confusing. I wanted to include the meteors even though they weren't mentioned in previous chapters. Hope you enjoy this and please leave a comment – I truly appreciate them all. xo

"I knew you would come for me."

Julia was awakening in stages – her words to Barbie the first thoughts nudging her mind. Then she became aware of how comfortable she was – soft, cool sheets surrounding her, a fluffy pillow cushioning her head and a fragrant breeze enticing her to consciousness. She felt a gentle touch brushing locks of her hair away from her face and she became aware of his presence. She would know him under any circumstances, asleep, awake, in Chester's Mill or where ever. Cool blue eyes tinged with concern met her gaze.

"Hey...welcome back." Barbie's worry lines faded as she blinked and began to smile, a question on her lips.

"Where is this? What happened." She put a hand to her forehead and winced when she touched the bandage covering her wound.

"Don't you remember?"

Julia frowned, searching her memory. "I remember flames and I remember that Christine and Junior trapped me. We were in the woods and... she was going to kill me, wasn't she?"

At his answering nod, she shivered. "I remember her screaming at me that you were going to be indoctrinated and would become an integral part of the kinship and I kept telling her it wouldn't happen. Then she slapped me and...you showed up. That's all I remember."

Julia struggled to sit up welcoming Barbie's helping hand. He shifted his body up onto the bed next to her, pulling her near to him with a gentle tug and began to answer her questions.

"I showed up but it was Norrie who saved you. She snuck up behind Christine and hit her over the head with the butt of her rifle. That's when Christine's pistol discharged, grazing your forehead and hitting Junior. He didn't make it. She didn't either. Whether it was the blow or something the alien force decided, I just don't know."

"Oh, poor Junior." Tears filled her eyes at the loss of someone so young. Even though he had turned against them to align himself with the kinship, she had faith he would have eventually realized that his loyalty was misplaced.

Julia became silent enjoying the comfort she felt pressed against his warm body. As her mind skipped over the events of the past few days, she suddenly pulled away, her expression both questioning and self aware.

"Wait a minute...how did you change? What happened to Eva? That bullet must have scrambled my brain because I just remembered that the last time I saw you, you told me not to come back." Her eyes mirrored the hurt she felt at his rejection even though now it seemed he was by her side. She needed a credible explanation before risking her heart yet again.

"Julia, I'm so, so sorry for how I treated you. Christine was controlling us by not allowing our emotions to surface and every time Eva came near me, I rejected you more. The only fly in the ointment was that I never felt love for her, only a pull that I had to be with her but that always felt wrong. When I was in the woods trying to sort things out in my mind, I realized how much I love you and that it would always be you, no one else." He looked into her eyes intently, brushing away a tendril of hair that had fallen over her cheek. "Of course Norrie helped me come to my senses too. She can be a formidable force."

"And Eva?"

"Now that she's no longer under Christine's control, she's staying away from me. Honestly, I think she's either embarrassed, guilty or has decided to block that false reality from her mind. I imagine she'll be leaving soon, if she hasn't already left."

"Left? What are you talking about? Where are we? You never answered my question."

Barbie reached for her hand linking their fingers before brushing his lips against her knuckles. "When Christine died, the "kinship" dissolved and everyone returned to their normal selves. The dome came down shortly after that. I guess she was the force guiding everything and whatever was controlling her decided to cut and run. And we're at my apartment...in Zenith."

Another memory startled her and now she was more confused than ever. "But the meteors...everyone was killed, everything destroyed. How is this possible?" A tear trickled from her eye as she recalled the wall of flame that surrounded the dome and the devastation she was sure it had caused.

A wry smile crossed Barbie's continence as he attempted to answer her. "It was an illusion. It was meant to solidify the kinship. That's the only way I can explain it."

To say she was astonished was putting it mildly. Joy, relief, wariness – all took their turn in her eyes. Finally a soft smile curved her lips. "So we're free...we're finally free. I never thought this day would come."

"Yeah, we're free. Hard to imagine after all we've been through."

Julia sighed and looked at Barbie, her eyes softening as she looked upon the now familiar face. He was no longer Dale, a member of the kinship. He was Barbie and she hoped that meant all she had come to believe about him.

"Now what?"

She felt herself being pulled toward him cautiously. Barbie expression was an open book...love and caring apparent as he drew her closer.

"Now I plan on spending the rest of my life making up for the last few days. Julia, I love and need you in my life. I haven't forgotten my promise and I intend to keep it...if you'll let me."

Julia leaned forward and brushed her lips gently against his. "Good...because I have to tell you that I never knew what it felt like to be safe or in love until I met you."

Their kiss was both tender and passionate, closing a chapter on a previous life and opening one for what was yet to come. Their breath mingled as the promise was sealed, their fate set while the past became a distant memory...not to be forgotten but to be used as a catalyst to their future.

"I love you Julia."

She rested her head against his chest, feeling the familiar beat of his heart drawing her ever closer to him. "Love you too."

Her own heart fluttered as she felt his hands tangle in her curls as they had so many times before and she felt safe and in love...and just where she wanted to be.