Chapter Six

September, 2012
Chicago, Illinois

"You keep hitting me like that I'm going to be out of a job," Kelly commented drily, as she dropped unceremoniously down onto the bench in front of her locker.

Melissa glanced sideways briefly and shrugged, her mind consumed with thoughts of home. The excitement of chasing her dream was slowly being eroded by the reality of her feelings. There had been a reason she had never truly chased her dream by making the move away from Tasmania and Gabby in the past. She could have been Softball's Michael Jordan, and it wouldn't have mattered. She just didn't love the game as much as she loved Gabby, and yet, for reasons she still couldn't comprehend, she had blown up everything she had been yearning for, for years, to chase a game that would be fleeting. Was three to five years of a career in the United States really worth the risk of losing Gabby forever? Did she really think Gabby would wait for her after she had turned down her marriage proposal?

"Fuck," Melissa muttered with frustration.

Kelly instinctively felt the shift in her teammate and friend. The internal doubts hadn't appeared on her face yet, but she could see the pain hidden behind blue eyes and that cut her strangely. The sound of the rest of the team filtering in after the final practice of the season briefly drew her attention. When she turned back to where Melissa had been sitting next to her, the Australian was making a quick retreat. She jumped up, patted a couple of the girls on the shoulder and quickly weaved her way through training staff and followed Melissa down the player's race back to the field.

Melissa felt Kelly tuck in beside her and managed half a smile. She wasn't ready for the bustle of the entire team. Three days out from the biggest game of her life thus far and her head was ten thousand miles away. Championship or bust had been Chicago's season motto and she and Kelly had definitely been doing their part to deliver and yet she still couldn't stop thinking about home and the woman she had left behind.

A woman who had barely said a word to her since, no matter how many times she tried to apologise. Without Kelly in her corner, she would have given up already and flown home to try and salvage her relationship yet again, but she had spent six years of her life doing the same thing, she knew it was pointless. Gabby wasn't going to forgive any time soon, which only made all the unwanted thoughts forcing their way into her consciousness more difficult to deal with. She needed to be able to focus on the here and now, but was at a loss. "What am I doing here, Kel?"

Kelly was pretty sure the question was rhetorical. All she knew for sure was that Melissa had exceeded expectations. She had excelled, she had proven to every single person on the planet who gave a damn about the sport that she belonged in the upper echelon, and yet she had never really truly settled in. "Not sure I can answer that for you, Missy."

"She's never going to forgive me," Melissa spoke with a matter-of-fact attitude, all the while fists clenched at her side in an attempt to contain the emotion welling within.

Kelly's immediate desire was to provide physical comfort, but she had been feeling that desire all too often in recent times. Her hand hovered an inch from Melissa's back before she braced herself enough to drop it back to her side. "If she truly loves you, she will forgive you Missy. You are entitled to chase your dreams."

Melissa felt the movement of air that represented Kelly holding back, and she appreciated the respect, but felt an increasing frustration that their friendship, which had been fast to grow and had led her down this path of fulfilling her dreams, was disjointed and suddenly out of sync. Kelly had always been a physically supportive woman, it was just one of the things about her that had helped ease Melissa's transition into this new stage of her life. The tactile nature of their friendship was something she needed. It was one of the few things that grounded her in the present.

"Don't," Melissa whispered, turning her body to better look at Kelly. "Don't do that."

Kelly for her part was genuinely confused. She quirked an eyebrow and turned to meet Melissa's stance. "Don't what?"

"Don't change," Missy offered softly, several tears welling in her eyes. She turned her head to avoid showing her vulnerability.

In that moment, where tears glistened and Melissa tried to hide from her, Kelly's heart dropped and she had a sudden realisation. She was in trouble and she knew it. She reached out for Melissa's nearest hand and entwined their fingers, gently tugging, a sign that she was there. She wasn't going anywhere. "I'm right here. Talk to me."

"Stop holding back," Melissa responded with a little more fierceness than she had intended. "You're the only one keeping me grounded Kel. I'm drowning in the past, and if you go and get weird on me now I don't think I can escape it."

"I'm not," Kelly promised, a little too hastily.

"Then why didn't you rub my back, or place your hand there, or whatever the Hell it was you wanted to do?" Melissa asked, some agitation in her voice. It was the one thing she felt she understood and had control of, to some degree. She couldn't change the past, she couldn't change what she had done in leaving Gabby behind, but she hoped to exercise some control over her current situation.

Kelly let go of Melissa's hand and turned away, pacing several feet away in an attempt to recalibrate. She knew all too well how this would end and for once in her life she wanted to make the smart decision. She wanted to do the right thing and protect her heart. The trend had to change. Eventually she had to say no to her attractions to emotionally unavailable women and in this case, a woman who needed her in different ways. A vulnerable woman who didn't deserve to be taken advantage of. "Let's just go back inside," Kelly muttered quietly.

Melissa hurried after Kelly who had started walking back inside the stadium. "Damnit Kelly, just do it."

"I can't, alright?" Kelly ground out as she swung and stood face to face with Melissa. "I just can't," she reiterated, all the while feeling Melissa's breath on her face. They were that close, almost nose to nose. She reached out instinctively to rub the tears from Melissa's face. "It'll be okay, I promise."

Melissa was pretty sure that it wouldn't be okay, but in that moment she needed to forget. She needed to be grounded in the present and Kelly was staring at her with such care. She couldn't help but guide Kelly's hand to the small of her back, where she felt it should have been placed earlier. She felt Kelly's hand flex a little before settling, and she could feel the electricity arc between them. "It'll be okay, when you make it okay."

"Missy," Kelly almost stumbled over the name rolling off of her tongue, her eyes betraying her desire and falling briefly to the lips, oh so close to her mouth. "I don't think…"

Melissa quietened the protest with her lips. At first she wasn't sure Kelly would respond, but then she felt the hand around her back pull her even closer and their lips began a delicate dance as they melted into one another. When her mouth opened and accepted Kelly's tongue inside, it felt like fireworks were going off in her body. All the darkness and doubts that had been tugging at her mind faded away. She needed it. In that moment, she needed nothing more than the woman wrapped around her. She didn't feel the rapidly falling tears that slid down her cheeks. She just felt intense arousal.

Out of breath, Melissa sucked in some oxygen before ensuring Kelly knew exactly what she ached for with a very simple statement, "Take me home."

October, 2014
Launceston, Tasmania

Melissa startled awake so violently that she practically threw her own body off of the couch, hitting the ground with an unceremonious thud. She looked up wide eyed at Jane, a little surprised that she had fallen asleep. She glanced over at the television and based on what she saw they were only halfway through the movie. "Well shit," she muttered.

Jane leaned forward and offered a hand, pulling Melissa up so that she could rejoin her on the couch. "Are you alright?"

"I fell asleep?" While it was an undisputed fact, Melissa still couldn't help but question reality. Sleep hadn't always been a friend to her in recent times. Most certainly not at seven thirty in the evening. "I fell asleep," she reiterated, this time with more confidence in the fact.

Jane shrugged nonchalantly, "You drooled a little too."

There was something about the mirth hidden in Jane's eyes that relaxed Melissa. Clearly Jane's presence had proven to be very calming and she had fallen into slumber. She welcomed feeling so safe and relaxed. It had been a long time since she had felt that way. With a slight lip quirk and a jovial attitude Melissa responded. "You've seen me in my unicorn onesie and drool on the same day. I'm not sure I can ever let you leave this house, Jane."

"To be fair, you could fill an Olympic sized swimming pool drooling in your sleep. I've already witnessed that before, many, many times." Jane couldn't help but smirk a little. It was nice to see Melissa genuinely relaxed.

"Not helping your chances of escape, Jane."

Jane simply shrugged and looked back over towards the television, briefly distracted by the slapstick comedy happening on the screen. They had agreed on comedy without even really talking about it. Crime, thriller and horror movies were so obviously off the table, rom coms weren't really her thing and something told Jane that sports movies would have their own triggers too. She was pretty sure Melissa had seen the movie they chose numerous times, but her friend had laughed a couple of times. Before she had ended up a drooly mess on the arm of the couch anyway.

Melissa tucked her legs up underneath herself and leaned an elbow against the arm of the couch. Her eyes focused on the television, allowing the dialogue to lull her into a further relaxed state. It would have been hard for her to remember the last time she had felt that relaxed as it was before Chicago and even as she felt her body relax her mind was doing its best to blow up the moment and drag her back through a myriad of questionable decisions that had sent her unwittingly right into the path of a killer and her unravelling.

It started with Kelly and no matter how many times she thought over the last two and a half years of her life, she couldn't quite fathom that she had walked away from a marriage proposal by Gabby, to play ball in the United States, because Kelly had said she was great. Sure Kelly was an Olympian and a fast friend at the time, but it still made no sense. Had the constant waves of emotion she had been battered with during that time of her life left her so unsettled that she couldn't see the forest through the trees? Why had the wave of euphoria from finally being reunited with Gabby always felt a little bittersweet? Was that why she had left it all behind to play ball in Chicago?

Melissa turned her head to look at Jane. "I should have listened to you."

It was a simple statement and yet it left Jane feeling confused. She glanced over at Melissa and with a questioning look asked, "About what, exactly?"

"I should have given Gabby an option to come with me. I should have let her make that decision." Melissa sighed sadly and returned her gaze back to the television. It was easier than waiting to see what combo platter of pity, concern and worry would appear on Jane's face.

It felt a little like deja vu for Jane, having had a similar conversation with Gabby earlier in the week. "I think if you did, this conversation would be very, very different."

Melissa had considered all the possible permutations that would have impacted her timeline and even she had to admit she had thought of things much darker than what she had lived through in the first place. Nothing may have changed other than who was with her that night, and that would mean she would have had to find a way to live without Gabby, while blaming herself because she just had to chase her dreams. "You'd be talking to a headstone."

"There's no way in Hell I would have let that happen." Jane responded, her voice low and firm. In no version of events where Melissa survived and Gabby didn't, would Jane have ever allowed Melissa to end it all. Her friend meant too damn much to her to ever let that happen.

Melissa could have easily pointed out that Jane would have needed to tend to Maura and her grief, but chose not to. Instead she decided to pivot entirely in an attempt to begin to understand other decisions she had made. "I called Kelly the other night."

Just hearing her estranged friend's name was a timely reminder for Jane that she had double booked her home. Kelly would be arriving sometime the next day depending on the layover between flights, and Gabby would undoubtedly still be at the house. Pushing back that sudden realisation, she offered a simple, "Oh?"

Melissa could have sworn she heard a sense of disappointment in Jane's response but after sneaking a quick glance she realised her friend was just deep in thought. She decided it was best to elaborate a little. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about all the people I have hurt with my use of sex. Kelly happened to text me Monday night while I was thinking about it and I don't know why, but I chose to call her."

Jane hoped it was because Melissa needed closure from that chapter, but feared that Kelly's insistence that there had been real feelings between her and Melissa had merit. It wasn't like she wasn't aware that Melissa and Kelly had been romantically involved, but she just couldn't imagine Melissa genuinely, deeply, loving someone other than Gabby. She had learned that the hard way herself, not that it hadn't worked out like it should as far as their past was concerned. She just knew she had to keep an open mind, because it wasn't for her to decide what Melissa did or did not feel. Her job was to listen; to be a friend. "Perhaps you were looking for forgiveness for your misguided belief that what happened to the both of you was your fault."

Melissa shook her head briefly. "No Jane. I honestly don't know why I called her. I don't know why I did a lot of things when it came to her."

Jane was hesitant, but the only way Melissa could heal would be to start facing truths, whatever they may be, which meant she had to offer up uncomfortable possibilities. "Perhaps because you care about her."

The look on Jane's face irked Melissa because it allowed her to read between the lines. Jane may have said "care" but she left it very openly implying love. That thought made Melissa uncomfortable to her core, because she had refused to even contemplate the existence of love for Kelly from the moment she nearly died and all that flashed before her eyes were visions of Gabby. It didn't matter that factually she knew she lashed out and slept around on Kelly because of genuine feelings making her consider a future there. She had pushed that fact so deep into the recesses of her brain that she may never again acknowledge those feelings had occurred. "It was never like that for me, Jane. It was meant to be two consenting adults having a good time, something to keep my mind off of Gabby's refusal to talk to me."

"But Kelly fell in love with you."

"Yeah, she did."

"So you broke it off, and buried yourself in other women?"

Melissa hadn't broken it off. No, not at all. She had wanted to hurt Kelly, to punish her for making her feel things she never wanted to feel. She had weaponised sex at that moment, and she was admittedly ashamed of that. She had been using sex to escape and to hurt and escape again for two and a half years, and now she was emotionally exhausted and falling apart. "She really did deserve better."

"Yeah, she really did." Jane agreed, "But so do you. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened. You made decisions that were not great, but you didn't ask to come face to face with pure evil. You didn't drag anyone into that. You were a victim. Talia was a victim, and Kelly also a victim of circumstance."

Melissa looked at Jane for a long minute before deciding she was done sharing for the night. She didn't want to think back on that night. She didn't want to think about how she missed Kelly, a fact she understood but refused to consciously acknowledge. "I'm hungry. I think I'll order Pizza. Do you want anything?"

Jane sighed. She realised the moment she had said Talia's name that she had pushed too far and that Melissa would retreat, but she didn't regret putting a thought into her friend's mind to consider. The possibility that it wasn't her fault, because that possibility was reality. Nobody chose to be a victim of violent crime. She just hoped one day Melissa's brain could wrap itself around that fact and begin to let go. "Surprise me."

Kelly Carter was the kind of woman that excelled at anything she put her mind to in life, except for relationships. Her drive and determination had rocketed her to stardom with Team USA Softball, and in the national pro competition, but her heart had never shown common sense when choosing potential companions. She would be the first to admit that pretty much every serious crush she had experienced in her life was for an emotionally unavailable woman. It had left her heart with multiple wounds that eventually healed over, but there was no healing the gaping wound Melissa had left behind.

Usually, Kelly would throw herself into work, or softball to push through the heartbreak her brain always saw coming. Her heart would take a swing and a whiff and her head would help her push past it in practical, productive ways. It was the nature of her being. Melissa was proving to be the exception and perhaps with good reason. Kelly had progressed further with Melissa than any woman before her and had fallen head over feet despite knowing that was an insanely bad idea. She had tried to fight it, but eventually her stubborn heart ignored her head and marched defiantly to the beat of its own drum.

Once Melissa was recovering in hospital and Gabby arrived, she was given her marching orders, initially by Melissa herself and then Gabby had put her foot down too. She had tried to fight for what she thought was right, but Jane taking Gabby's side in that moment had sucked the wind from her sails. She had respected Melissa's wishes, even though it was so clearly obvious looking into her eyes that she was conflicted. The light inside Kelly had been extinguished that day, and she set about moving on with the hopes that maybe a small flicker could be reignited with someone new, once her heart healed.

Unfortunately it became apparent very quickly for Kelly that she couldn't just forget the horror she had interrupted and her almost disastrous attempt at saving Melissa's life. Holding the woman she loved in her arms while she held her hand against a bloody wound she had unintentionally inflicted, was a memory she couldn't erase. The smell of the blood and the slick wetness against her skin. The way Melissa's eyes fluttered as consciousness waned; the fear that had ripped through every nerve ending when she couldn't rouse her. The cop that had to drag her away so that the paramedics could do their job. They weren't memories that would so easily fade into the night.

As it turned out, neither would her love. Kelly's heart had slowly ambushed her head with quick little text messages that went unanswered. Undeterred and convinced that something good had to come from the Hell she had endured, Kelly decided to double down. She sent more messages, just trying to get some kind of response from Melissa and the moment that Melissa had called her, her mind was made up. There was a chance. There were embers she could stoke. There was a flicker. There was hope.

Within minutes she was online finding flights with the fewest layover delays feasible. She organised emergency leave from work and had even reached out to Jane. It had been easy to be mad at her friend for siding with Gabby, but she knew that she was being a stubborn ass about that, because what else could Jane really do? She most certainly couldn't have flown back home to Maura having done anything less than she had. She knew Jane would try to talk her out of doing anything stupid, and in many ways for Kelly, Jane was her litmus test. If Jane could talk her down, then she would accept the status quo. Kelly didn't think Jane would be successful.

The plane from Melbourne to Launceston touched down at 3:07pm Thursday afternoon local time, and thirty minutes later Kelly was in a cab on her way into the city. She took her phone out of aeroplane mode and waited for the notifications to come through from all she had missed while in the air. There were several texts from her mother, which was to be expected. She then saw the notification pop up for a missed call from Melissa, which caught her attention. Mindful of her mothers anxiety when she flew, she sent a quick text to let her know she had touched down safely at her destination. Her mind however remained on the missed call. It only added more fuel to her belief she wasn't wrong in thinking the feelings were mutual.

Kelly wanted to return the call, but she thought it best to at least speak with Jane first and figure out whether she was collecting a key, if Maura would be home or whether she would wait somewhere and meet up with Jane before heading to the house. It wasn't easy resisting the temptation to call Melissa back especially given her curiosity regarding the call in the first place.

She chose to look out the window and let the passing scenery soothe and distract her temporarily. It took her back to a time where she had visited Tasmania after international competition in Sydney in 2007, her first year representing her country. She had heard about the natural beauty of the Holiday Isle as it was known, and just had to see for herself. She had flown into Hobart, and from the state capital she had ventured up Mount Wellington, which the city nestled beside and had used the city as home base for ventures to the Tasman Peninsula and the Port Arthur historical site. She had then ventured along the East Coast and made overnight stops at Coles Bay and Bicheno a little further north, before cutting inward to the Midland Highway and driving into Launceston. It was the northern end of the highway that entered the city that her cab now travelled.

The last time she had stayed in Launceston she had a brief fling for the week she had stayed there. It was one of the few times in her life where it ended well for both parties and she couldn't help but think of the woman fondly and wonder what had become of her. Kelly in all honesty had loved Tasmania in 2007 and she understood why it was a wonderful place to visit, and a great place to live if you liked a slower pace. She would happily call it home for the foreseeable future and perhaps even longer than that if things worked out like she hoped they would.

As the cab passed the South Launceston McDonald's Kelly dragged herself out of her memories and called Jane. Thankful when she actually got an answer, given that she knew her friend was at work. "Hi Jane, I'm just entering the city now."

"Hey Kel, I'm still on shift until five. Could we meet somewhere first, and then head home?"

"Just let me know where and I'll be there." Kelly had already set her clock to local time and knew it would only be a wait of an hour or so.

"There's a cafe across the road from me at the Transit Centre if you want to wait there. It closes at six, so there shouldn't be any issues. Unless of course you want to enjoy the sunshine in Civic Square, which is also nearby."

Jane sounded a little stressed, so Kelly didn't want to keep her too long. "Civic Square sounds fine, I could use some sunshine. See you soon."

"Talk soon, bye."

Kelly ended the call and directed the cab driver. "Can you drop me off as close to Civic Square as possible? Thank you."

Kelly had a backpack and a small suitcase which she wheeled to some seating nearby the Launceston Police Station and set them down. She sat on the wooden seat and glanced around at the plant life that flanked the two pathways leading to two separate entrances of the station. She then pulled her phone out of her pocket and brought up her message history with Melissa. So many messages that she had sent remain unanswered, but at least they had spoken recently, and perhaps more importantly Melissa had reached out during the last day.

Kelly felt buoyed by that and was looking forward to getting established with Jane and Maura so that she could plan her next move. She figured she would wait until the next day to make contact, as difficult as that felt now that she was in the same city as Melissa, but she needed sleep. Jetlag was a very real thing and the last thing she wanted was to make a mess of everything because she was exhausted. This wasn't just some jaunt halfway around the world on a whim, this was about the rest of her life. For Kelly, she wanted to win Melissa back and she wanted to build the life with her that she knew they could have. It was more than that too. It was the simple belief that she was capable of making Melissa happier than Gabby ever would. This time she had zero plans of going quietly into the night. Gabby Wilson had a fight on her hands.

"There's no real easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. When Jane asked you to stay, she forgot that we had already agreed to allow Kelly to stay with us. She will be here soon."

Gabby stared at Maura like she had some hideous growth protruding from her forehead. Her mouth opened and then clamped shut. She shook her head and looked away. She could not believe what she had just heard. She felt deadset ambushed and yet she couldn't blame Maura. Because her new friend Jane had clearly been the one that forgot to share some very important information.

Gabby turned back to Maura, "I'm going to pack up and go back home."

"You will do no such thing," Maura retorted firmly. She understood her best friend's inclination, but there wouldn't be a better time for Gabby and Kelly to bury the hatchet. Gabby needed to let go of the rage that she carried for her would be romantic rival. It wouldn't help her situation to hold onto it. "There's more than enough room for you both to stay."

Gabby's hands were in the air before the words fell out of her mouth. "It's Kelly fucking Carter!"

Maura pursed her lips, but resisted the need to admonish Gabby for her choice of language. She really couldn't blame her friend for her intense feelings, feelings that had never really had an opportunity to resolve. It was why she remained steadfast in her belief that Gabby and Kelly's next meeting should at the very least be supervised by calm adults. "I understand your reticence, Gabby, but you have an opportunity here to have an open and honest conversation. You have a chance to let go of the anger you harbour towards Kelly."

"Why do you think she's here, Maura?" Gabby asked pointedly. "It sure isn't to hold hands and sing Kumbaya."

Maura shifted uncomfortably on her feet because she was privy to exactly why Kelly was in the city. "No I imagine not," she said placatingly.

Gabby's eyes grew wide as she stared at Maura's nervous energy on obvious display. It didn't take a genius to know why Kelly was there, she wanted to win Melissa back, but to recognise that Maura actually knew this to be fact was borderline infuriating. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Jane was hoping to defuse the situation before there was any need," Maura admitted, unwilling to lie.

The whole Jane of it was the hardest thing for Gabby to stomach in that moment. She thought she and Jane had reached a new level of respect and friendship, but then Jane had kept something pretty big from her. She hated that. "That's Bullshit Maura. Jane should have told me as soon as she knew what was happening. I appreciate her good intentions, but this is not something you keep from your friends."

Maura had to admit she agreed, but she also understood entirely where her fiancée had been coming from. Jane had struggled with the entire situation, this she knew first hand to be true and yet it was clearly a blow to the friendship she had waited years to take root. "I understand you're upset, but please would you talk to her before you let your anger get the better of you?"

If it had been almost anyone else asking Gabby would have scoffed and stormed out. She was that angry. However, it was Maura, and that woman had her back no matter what. She had been put in a difficult situation, and she couldn't blame Maura for trusting Jane to protect everyone from explosive emotions. It was just who Maura was. She trusted Jane implicitly, and even Gabby had to acknowledge it was with good reason. She sighed heavily and nodded slowly, already feeling less agitated with Jane. "For you Maura, yeah, I'll do that."

Maura breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Gabby."

Gabby's shoulders dropped, her demeanour deflating as the anger subsided. Looking at Maura sadly she voiced a nagging thought that had lingered in the back of her head on and off over the previous two years. "Maybe Missy would be better off with Kelly."

"First of all, you do not truly believe that and secondly, if you do, that's not up to you. That's entirely up to Melissa." Maura was concerned to see Gabby already looking defeated. Kelly didn't stand a chance, unless Gabby decided to fall on her own sword with an incredibly stupid, but noble intent.

"She's miserable with me, Maura. You and I both know it."

"She's not miserable Gabby. She's traumatised and living in a place of denial."

"Well, it sure feels miserable to me." Gabby laid her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. It felt freeing to say out loud the things she had been feeling lately. Her instinct was to fight to the death for Melissa, but she was questioning if that was the right thing to do. Would she simply be fighting for fighting's sake? Perhaps it truly would be best to give Melissa a pass to figure out who she wanted to be with. Perhaps she too should consider where she belonged.

The sound of a key turning in a lock sent all those thoughts right out the window. Gabby jumped up and made her way out of the living room, with Maura right behind her. She felt the hand on her shoulder, half in solidarity and half in warning.

Jane and Kelly pulled up short, as they both recognised instantly the feral look in Gabby's eyes. Jane took a step forward with both palms up in an attempt to calm Gabby. "Woah, let's take a second to breathe."

Gabby understood what Jane was attempting to do, but her eyes shifted quickly to Kelly who had dropped her bags beside her. She appeared apprehensive and Gabby cocked her head like a dog that had heard something interesting. Staring directly into eyes as green as her own she felt her right hand curl into a fist and in a flurry she sidestepped Jane and floored Kelly with a right hook. She stood over the top of her rival and braced herself against the arms she felt grabbing her from all angles to prevent her from doing any more damage. She didn't budge as she stared down at the woman sprawled on the floor. "That's for fuckin' shooting Missy."

Kelly had wanted to bring the fight to her and Gabby had accepted the challenge. Literally. Gabby Wilson was ready to fight.

A/N: Well, since I already had part of this written, and the rest came relatively easy, I figured I would share an update sooner than a week. Restart the countdown for the next chapter though, as I continue to want to take it easy and not rush things. Thank you again to all who read, appreciate you, and you are why I keep trying to tell my story.