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It was quiet in the apartment that she shared with her father and little brother when Kam's phonecall jolted her cell back to life. Vanessa started awake, surprised by the explosion of sound that tore through her bedroom, and reached for her cellphone so quickly she knocked it out of bed and onto the ********," she swore, scrambling to answer the call before it woke up somebody else. Vanessa hung off the edge of her bed, curls wild, and snatched her phone up off the floor.

The number was new. And there were six unanswered text messages too. She knew that this caller couldn't be Blake and stared dumbly at the screen, for a moment confused. And then she realized who it must be, and swiped to answer it at once, heart suddenly in her throat.

"Hey van im stuck. Are you there? I'm stuck."

"Kam?" Vanessa said, alarmed by the words that he used. "Yes, I'm here. What's wrong? Where are you stuck?"

She was on her feet in an instant, phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear, tugging on yesterday's shorts and reaching for her senshi-pen.

"Tell me."

The tone of Kam's voice helped calm Vanessa. She could tell that something was not right, but that he was also not in any immediate danger. Her heart rate started slowly returning to normal. She put down her henshin pen in favour of a hoodie, and listened to him breath. A smile started across her lips, despite the state of her friend on the other end of the line.

This was kind of like old times.

She laughed softly over his feelings for country bars, and might have teased Kam for being so drunk if it wasn't for the rest of the things he said.

He was all by himself, and sounding sad. Sounding worse than sad. Vanessa's heart went out to him with an anxious flutter. Silly of Kam to tell her not to rush-- interesting that she had not said she would come, but that he knew she would.

"I'm already on my way," she said, slipping into the living room to nudge her father awake. There were only two bedrooms in their apartment. He had spent most of the last thirteen years sleeping on a pull-out sofa, and was not especially pleased about being roused.

"What is it?"

Vanessa covered the mouth piece so that Kam would not be able to hear, but kept the phone pressed to her ear. "I need a ride."

Mr. Rae glanced at the nearby alarm clock. "You've got to be ******** kidding me."

"Please. It's important."

Any other time Vanessa might have just walked, or transformed into Sailor Vulcan. But she did not like to think about Kam sitting alone in an alley behind a country bar, of all things, and wanted to get to him as quickly as possible without attracting unwanted attention.

Mr. Rae examined his daughter carefully through narrowed eyes, and then nodded. He climbed out of bed, and reached for the keys to his truck.

"I'll be there soon, okay?" Vanessa spoke into the phone again, "Wait for me."

"I just need you to drop me off."

It was so late that traffic was limited primarily to police cars and taxis. Together Mr. Rae and Vanessa cruised under the city lights in the cab of his yellow pick-up truck. It was old and rusting in places, but well loved. Pictures of his wife and kids beamed at him from the dash. Vanessa had always loved looking at the one of her mother on long trips, and looked to the image with fondness now, cellphone resting between her knees.

"So... " Mr. Rae rapped the steering wheel with his thumbs, and glanced at his daughter out of the corner of his eye, "should I expect you home tonight?"

"I dunno, really, " Vanessa shrugged, and could not get the smile off of her face. Because Kam was waiting for her.

"Okay then."

Vanessa pursed her lips and was glad when he left it at that. They had already argued about the wisdom of running to the aid of a man who had been gone for two years and then not even bothered to call when he got back. Mr. Rae worried. But he hadn't heard Kam on the phone, or seen the text messages he'd sent her. Six of them. He had sent her SIX of them!

She told Mr. Rae to drop her off on the road outside Decked Out, thanked him with a kiss on the cheek and then said goodbye.

It had taken all of fifteen minutes to get there, and then only a couple for Vanessa to find Kam where he sat propped up against the wall in the alley. She smiled at him, bright eyes shining with warmth and concern.

"Hey," she said, to let Kam know she was there, and moved to join him against the wall. "I was kinda worried some scary a** youma might bite off your head before I could get here."

Vanessa had always been an affectionate person-- she was the sort of kid who'd clung to her daddy's leg every morning before he left to do whatever he had to do, and begged him to take her along. When Kam leaned into her Vanessa's heart ached with concern. She was already shifting where she sat with her back against the wall, and seconds away from wrapping him in her arms before he pulled away from her and apologized.

Again.

Vanessa paused, golden eyes intent upon Kam's face. The colour of his skin, combined with the darkness of the alley, made it difficult for her to read his expression. Her arms remained at her sides.

"You don't have to be sorry," she said, voice soft, "I wanted to come."

Something was wrong, but she wasn't clever enough to know what. She'd come to him tonight understanding that he didn't expect anything other than friendship, despite the hour. He'd already told her that he didn't want to be that guy, whatever that meant.

And if Kam wanted sex he could easily have picked up a girl from the bar. It wasn't like he'd ever had problems getting his hands under skirts before.

When he smiled it comforted her, and pushed all thoughts of the other women he could have been with to the back of her mind. Vanessa laughed at his wiggling fingers and offered him some of her own, hooking their pinky fingers together after a moment of playful excitement. She held on.

"Sober enough to walk there?" she teased, a smile dancing across her lips, leaning close to get a good look at his face in the dark. "Or do I have to carry you?"

She could smell the booze on him. Underneath, however, there lingered another familiar scent. One that was uniquely Kam. In his absence it had haunted her dreams. Vanessa would have known it anywhere.

Vanessa was quiet while Kam examined their twined pinkies. She watched him, throat strangely dry, and wondered what he was thinking. It was such a little touch, but it meant a lot that Kam did not break it. She shared his lazy smile, bright eyes shining on his dark ones, and then almost protested when he started to get up.

Instead she moved to stand with Kam, heart quickening as he wobbled, ready to try and catch him if his knees gave out. Sailor Vulcan was stronger than Vanessa, but actually carrying him was still out of the question. She was relieved when he managed to get to his feet without pitching forwards onto his face, and giggled at him.

"Let's go this way, silly," Vanessa said, voice gentle, gesturing east -towards the road- with a nod of her head. She laced the rest of their fingers together, and used her hand to guide him out of the alley.

Into the light.

A wiser, more responsible friend might have insisted upon taking Kam straight home. He needed water, and sleep, and a pillow under his head. But Vanessa had missed him too much. She was excited by the prospect of the park, and flashed a smile at Kam over her shoulder to show him just how thrilled she was, promising herself that she would take proper care of him later.

There were a couple other late night stragglers standing outside the bar when Vanessa and Kam stepped out of the alley. He was a big man with dreadlocks. She was a leggy babe in little shorts. They earned themselves a couple of catcalls, crawling out from the dark like that. Holding hands.

Vanessa laughed, cheeks turning a little bit pink, and did her best to ignore them until one of the men asked--

"Hey, honey, how do I find out if that's your real hair colour?"

"I am pretty sure you'll have to buy him dinner first," she told them after a moment, voice raised to cross the parking lot, tone light and playful.

The men laughed.

"I was talking to you, sweetheart."

Vanessa shook her head, tugging Kam's hand a little bit in the direction of the park. Her cheeks felt warm, but there was a twinkle in her eye and still a smile on her lips

"I could go for a hot dog," she said, smirking at the way his stomach growled. It would do him good to put some food in that belly. And it had been hours since she'd had anything to eat herself.

Vanessa stopped when Kam did, alerted by the slight tug on her little finger. She watched him squint, and took a moment to examine his face in the street light. It was hard for her to believe that he'd been gone for two years. Not absent, exactly. There had been letters. And she'd worn his necklace every day. He had existed on the outskirts of her life, and she had missed him almost more than she could bear.

The night after the bar he'd said that he missed her too. Vanessa looked to their twined pinkies, felt a little bit sick with butterflies, and believed him.

Introspection and personal reflection were not things that Vanessa often came by naturally. She simply felt things. Blake was a little flicker at the back of her mind, lessened somehow in the wake of Kam's... just being there. A ball of guilt pooled in the pit of her stomach, but Vanessa still could not bring herself to let go of Kam's hand. Not yet. Not quite.

"Alta Louisa," she confirmed for him with a half-sad smile, distracted by the tracks the train of her mind had started chugging down, "the park's not much farther."

"Come on," Vanessa tugged Kam gently towards the park again, "I'm starving. You don't know how long it's been since I've had a hot dog. We're all eating healthy now. Since dad... you know. Doctor's orders."

And hers. Vanessa had cleaned out the fridge and bought all of the vegetables herself. Mr. Rae and John Jr complained sometimes, but Vanessa was so determined to keep her father alive that she'd even thrown out the bacon.

Vanessa couldn't remember how many times Kam had told her he couldn't be what she wanted, as if he'd asked her. She hadn't really believed him then. Watching him now, glad to be in his company, Vanessa couldn't help but wonder if they really were better off as friends. He was a passionate man, but he'd left so soon after they'd started doing... whatever they were doing. Once upon a time Vanessa had thought that his was just the right kind of fire for her.

Now she wasn't so sure.

Kam had fought her every step of the way. He hadn't called her to tell her he was home. He'd said himself that he wasn't strong enough for this. And she understood now what it was to be surprised with a kiss from a man who wanted her.

Blake's fire wasn't really right either, but he couldn't help that anymore than Kam could.

She was stretched out on the grass beside Kam, red curls fanned out around her head in the grass, attempting to follow Kam's finger with her eyes as he outlined a path for her in the stars. It was so quiet in the park they could have been the only people left in the world.

"Different how?" Vanessa asked, voice soft and thoughtful, turning onto her side. She propped her head up with one hand so that she could look him in the eye, and lay close enough to Kam that her hair brushed his cheek.