Oh my God, guys, I am SOOOO sorry. today was my first day of junior year so I was a bit distracted. but, the last chapter is finally up :'( however, I have very good news at the end so read on :)

Shane

I hated Kim. I used to like her, then when she became friends with Eve, she was tolerable. Then, her obsession grew and it upset Claire and I only cared enough to make sure she wasn't a corpse somewhere.

Now I hated her.

I watched as Claire smiled at me bravely, telling she was okay as a sharp weapon was pointed to the back of her head, then, as her eyes brightened with tears that she tried to hide as Kim said insult after insult and didn't even try to deny any of it, until she tried to tell me Claire was cheating.

To be fair, I don't really appreciate the relationship Claire has with Crazy Doc Fang, but I trust her enough to know that she would never cheat.

But once Kim begun to accuse Claire of being with Myrnin, she turned into a whole different person. I didn't see fear or guilt in her eyes, I saw a lot of anger, and that was something that really got me thinking.

Claire would sit and take verbal abuse and insults. I knew she didn't have the best self-esteem anyway, but when something was said about someone or something she cared about, and it's hurtful or has potential to drive a wedge between her relationships, she will stop at nothing to defend that relationship.

That thought alone was enough to make me love her more. So much that I was overwhelmed.

Then, she totally collapsed, freaking me out, only giving me, "Don't let me fall." As a warning. But, it's a good thing she did, I wouldn't have caught her otherwise.

Now, I was sitting at her bedside in a hospital for the second time in a month, holding her hand as she slept. She only needed one transfusion this time, and she woke up once while she was getting the blood, of course she got really pale and almost passed out at the sight of it. And, even though Amelie was thoroughly pissed, she managed to pull some strings and got Claire and Eve into the same room after grudgingly admitting that: "However foolish it was to create a plan behind my back, it was helpful and a service to Morganville to kill Brandon for the last time."

Well, that was as close to a "Thanks for almost dying to save my ass, yet again!" as we were gunna get, so we took it.

Eve was pissed, too. She lectured Claire from the moment she woke up to the moment she fell asleep again, but I could tell it was just because she was scared. She had seen Claire unconscious and pale rolled into her room with a blood bag strapped to the IV pole.

"Oh my God! What happened?" She asked horrified. Michael immediately flashed to her side, trying to keep her calm since it was bad for her condition.

I walked in behind Claire and Eve looked at me expectantly, "She snuck out with Alucard," I explained, "They had this plan thing going and there was a big fight with Brandon and they killed him, but not before he bit her."

"I told her not to do something stupid! Why can't she ever listen?"

I snorted at that comment and a small smile tugged on Eve's lips, "Yeah, I know," she whispered, eyes filling…

Eve was sleeping now, at least. She needed it, when her and Michael were helping Amelie find Brandon, they found his allies instead and they attacked, Eve getting the brunt of it, ending up with two broken ribs, a lot of bites and a lot of bruises. Those leeches were killed at least.

Claire twitched in her sleep before her eyes fluttered open and she searched the room. I guessed that this was the first time she'd woken up coherent all night, "Hey," I said softly, bringing her confused eyes to me, "what do you remember?"

She shook her head softly, "Being in the car with Alucard," she whispered hoarsely and I grabbed her cup of water, letting her take a few sips and sighing at me thankfully, "Brandon finding me, you showed up and he attacked. After that, nothing."

"Amelie and Alucard killed him, but not before Kim showed up and you went totally badass with her." I knew she remembered then because I could see the flash of hurt in her eyes as the memory of the endless insults assaulted her. Then, she took a deep breath and glanced worriedly at me.

"I'm sorry, Shane. I know you wanted me to stay and I betrayed you. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't trust me right now, but I will do whatever I can to make this up to you, I promise. It's just that I had t—"

"Stop," I said, "I won't lie, I was kind of pissed when I saw your note…but I also saw your face when you found out about Eve. I should've known you wouldn't listen, you never do," my light teasing did exactly what it was supposed to as a small smile pulled on Claire's lips.

Being pissed was putting it lightly, and I was completely prepared to give Claire the longest lecture I could muster, even though if I was still that pissed, it would have been totally irrational and I could've said things I'd end up regretting, but I've had a lot of time to think while I waited for Claire to wake up.

I knew what she was like; she couldn't sit and watch things happen, especially if she was scared that they would go badly and they involved the people she loved. She wasn't thrilled about being exiled from Morganville, but Claire wouldn't be able to sit still any longer with the knowledge that her very best friend had been hurt while trying to save her. I wasn't happy that she had gone behind my back, but now Brandon was actually, really dead. Her plan worked and she only needed one blood transfusion and a few stitches in her hand (That's nothing in this town) and she would be out of here, probably by tomorrow.

Claire felt bad enough, I wasn't going to add to it. She needed me right now, "I'm not happy you did it, but Brandon is finally dead and we're all safe. Because of you. I still trust you, Claire, and you don't have to make anything up to me. I love you." I cupped her cheek in my hand and leaned forward to lightly press my lips to hers. When I pulled back to look into her eyes, they were filled with love and relief.

"I love you, too, Shane. So much. Thank you." She whispered.

"Nothing to thank me for."

"Yes there is. For being there for me, for forgiving me, for loving me."

I smiled at her words and took her invitation when she scooted over on the bed to lie next to her. I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her cheek, "You should get some rest so we can get you home."

"I'm wide awake now."

And I'm an eighteen-year-old boy, so those words brought a great idea to my mind and I looked over my shoulder to see that Michael and Eve were completely out. I slowly turned to Claire, grinning, and she looked skeptical.

"What is going on in your head?" she asked.

"This," I said simply before pressing my lips to hers and starting our hours long make out session.

It was then, that I realized everything would be okay. Eve would go home in a week or so, Claire would probably go home tomorrow, Brandon was really dead and everything would be okay. Or, as okay as it gets in Morganville, and pulled even more passion into our kiss. No more running, no more hiding. Not for a while.

Yeah, everything was going to be okay, until it wasn't. When that time comes, we'll be prepared to kick some ass.

The End…

So, I'm really glad you all liked this. I had so much fun writing it. I absolutely loved having complete control over these characters and succeeding in not harming or changing their already perfected profile :)thank you all so much for your support and love, and you can bet there will be more where this came from. I have decided I'm going to make a sequel. Also I can take some ideas, (Preferably for one-shots) especially since I know Clairebear97 has a few of her own, however I have a warning: I can be very picky about ideas and I usually don't like anyone giving me any, so if you give me an idea, I very much apologize if I don't use it, but I'll take what I can get. so go ahead and PM me any ideas. I'm very sad to be ending this, but I'm going to make an announcement and sneak peak for the sequel so keep your eyes peeled. Thank you!