A/N: OKAY! I caved! I tried my darnedest to not write about this scene! But... it is just too good to not write about! It takes place from the end of Chapter 13, the famous core room scene. I hope you guys enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Seriously? Why would I own the rights to this game and not do EVERYTHING possible to make a sequel? So, no. I don't own the rights. ...Dang it.

One Moment In Time

The lights in the core room shined just above them, the power cells doing their duty of keeping the behemoth mech moving. Monkey stared at them, reminiscing about nights when the stars above looked as close as the cells did now, while Trip sat staring off into space, her mind dwelling on all they had gone through in recent days and all that she had done. He was resting after the grueling challenge of facing off against the dozen or so mechs that assaulted the pillars of the Leviathan. Needless to say, despite his victory, he was thrashed but still conscious. How he didn't know.

Since he was still awake, the redheaded tech genius decided to do something that she knew, in her heart, she should've done a long time ago. After all, it was the right thing to do. "I've been wanting to talk to you. But there never seems to be a time."

He looked over at her, breaking his gaze on the artificial night.

"When I found my father dead…" She stopped. She stopped before she said something sound anything like an attempt at justification for her cruel actions against him. She activated her computer, "I'm not trying to excuse what I've done."

He noticed she was doing the swiping that he never understood.

"I know it was wrong."

He was trying to figure what she was trying to get to.

"I have no more right to enslave you than anyone does." She finished and turned the computer off.

He felt something starting to shift in his head but he wasn't sure what. The light flashed on his headband and he knew something was different. And wrong. Something was very wrong. His fatigue didn't matter anymore as he sat up and touched the headband, staring at her. "What have you done?"

"There's nothing controlling you, anymore," she answered.

"So, I can… just leave?"

"If that's what you want." She wouldn't have blamed him. Why would he want to stay in this mess? In this fight that she started. The fight she started after putting the slaver headband on him and forcing him to protect her. He didn't have to stay around his captor, anymore. Who would want to?

She meant that. He could see it. He could hear it. She was exhausted. She was tired. She had been through so much. She wanted to remove the burden of what she had done to him.

But the most interesting thing hit Monkey right after he realized that something else had changed, not about the headband but about him:

It wasn't a burden anymore.

"Turn it back on," he whispered in a tone that she was unfamiliar with. It was a caring tone.

She looked at him, perplexed. "But I'm…"

"You heard what I just said: turn it back on." His voice was more serious that time. Still caring but didn't want her to misunderstand what he just said.

She didn't know it until he said it but she wanted to hear that more than anything. She was trying to set him free but she didn't want him to go. She activated her computer and reestablished the connection. After doing so, they both stared at each. She could see he was wondering why she would even do that in the first place. She knew the reason but just wanted to let him go to ease her pain but here he was. Staying with her. She was grateful for it. All the burdens she had… it was good someone was there to hold on to. Maybe he could even help her carry a few of those burdens that were making her so exhausted.

Even if he didn't want to hear it, she had to talk. She had to talk to someone. Before this, she wouldn't have even considered Monkey would want to hear it. But, this proved that maybe he did. But, whether, he wanted to or not, she couldn't carry these weights anymore. She had to speak. She shook her head, "I'm so tired, Monkey."

"I know," he replied.

She looked at the floor, "All this… everything that's happened… I just… I want one moment. In all this, I want one moment in time when I'm not fighting or crying or in pain. One moment when I'm not breaking in two."

He nodded, understandingly.

"Getting caught by the mechs, going through that old city, running from Dogs, my father, my home…" She looked up. "…this." She sighed. "I want it all to go away. I want the pain to go away. I even want this…" She searched her mind for the right word, "craving I have for revenge to go away. I just want it all to stop…" She looked at him. "I was hoping… setting you free can make some of it go away. All the pain I put on you…" She looked at the floor, "Maybe… maybe I can make it go away if I do what I should've done from the beginning and apologize." She looked at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry. For everything. For everything I did to you… I am so sorry."

He gave her one of the looks that she could never tell what he was thinking. He heard every single word she just said and appreciated them all.

He just didn't feel they were necessary. "You're always saying things that don't make sense."

She looked at him, curiously, again.

"What are you apologizing for? You'd have to have done something to hurt me, first."

"But…"

"You want a moment? Then don't think about it. For once, for a while, we're safe. Just take that. Your moment is right here."

How did he do that to her? In just a few words, sum up everything and bring her even a little comfort. "You always say the simple things."

He shrugged a little. "Guess I just know that everyone needs a moment. Everyone needs a break from the fight. Everything weighing ya down… you need to take a break and let it all go before it drives you crazy… even if it is just a moment. Sometimes, that's all you need."

"Do you ever need one?"

He paused. "All the time."

"You never act like it."

His fatigue started to set in again. He, slowly, laid back down, "No one ever asked before, so, I ignored it. Besides, on the road… not much of a chance to relax." He looked at her. "But I get it, Trip. And, I've taken a lot of moments, believe me. So, now, it's your turn. Take your moment. They don't come along that often."

She stared at him. This man who she enslaved but now was her constant source of strength and encouragement. Her protector. And even more than that. She wanted to take a moment and decided to do it how she wanted to. "You're right. I will."

He nodded and was surprised by what she did next.

She laid down next to him, putting her head on his left shoulder. He looked at her stunned; his face even turned a little red when she put her arm across his chest.

"I don't know if this is okay…" she whispered. "But… if you can just give me this moment… please."

He was still a little shocked by this turn of events. "You could just command me."

"No, I couldn't. Not anymore. Not with something like this."

For once, he completely and totally understood what she meant.

"I'll… I'll move in a while. Just… please. Just a moment. With you. Just you. That's all I want. No fighting, no crying, no… anything else. Just a moment with you."

He didn't say anything. Truth be told, he didn't want her to move. In fact, he wanted her closer. He placed his right hand on her arm and moved his left arm around her waist. Her mouth fell open a little at the action but she couldn't deny how warm his touch felt. She looked up at him and stared into his eyes. Unlike any other time before, she easily discerned the look in his eyes: he wanted this, too.

"You can stay that way as long as you want," he whispered to her.

She laid her head back on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and exhaled. A tear fell. She felt it and let it more fall. They weren't from anguish this time but from something she'd never thought she'd feel again: her heart beating with adoration. He felt her tears against his skin. He just pulled her closer.

"Thank you, Monkey."

"Anytime."

She made herself more comfortable. She'd hadn't felt this at home in a long time.

Neither had he.

A/N: So, what did you guys think? I hope you all liked it! I tried to keep it in the same spirit as the scene itself and the rest of the game and I think I did. But, what do you guys think? REVIEWS, PLEASE!