Gone

John's hands hovered over the screen nervously. A few minutes ago he lost Kayo's signal somewhere over Australia. Though he isn't one to worry or at least show worry he could feel it eating away at him.

"John I keep searching but I can't find her vessel." Responded EOS

"Keep looking." He all but barked at the AI.

Said AI let out a sigh (who knew AI's could sigh like that) "John, we can keep looking and looking she may not have crashed at all she could have just shut off her coms again or…"

He ran his fingers through his red hair. "I know however, her last communication was very disturbing." Her last call with him was short and all she said was 'I might be in trouble' before her line went dead. He had long contacted his brothers after it happened. Scott should have been on the scene a few minutes ago but he hadn't called in yet either. If John had the gravity on in the call room he'd be pacing around. Floating aimless was starting to aggregate him.

"John?" the sweet voiced AI started, "Are you okay? Your blood pressure is high indicating that you are stressed. You normally do not become stressed. Why the change?"

John chewed on his nails nervously well a gloved hand as his hands were covered. "I…" He let out a sigh no point hiding it from the AI. "I am worried about Kayo, EOS. She's been taking a lot of risks recently and…"

The AI made an hmm of agreement. "I see, so you love her."

His face went beat red and he stammered out a no about the time that Scott finally called.

"John, I'm at Kayo's last known location." Said Scott

"And?" he asked. He couldn't hide his anxiety in his voice anymore.

"I don't see her. Have you tried contacting her again?"

"Repeatedly, she's just not answering. What if…"

"Don't talk like that. We'll find her." Scott ended the transmission leaving John to his thoughts.

The astronaut floated around in worry again. He looked at the globe and stared for any trace of her. His throat was drying out. EOS was right he did love Kayo he had for a very long time. He had pushed aside his feelings for her for so long it became part of his norm. He never had time for women in college or even in high school. He found most of them to be annoying then he met her. She was easy for him to talk to, a rare thing for him. He felt like he could tell her anything and he cherished that friendship with her. But with her gone where did that leave him. He never told her his true feelings and he'd never see his precious friend again.

The com clicked back to life. "John I found her." Reported Scott

He smiled. "That's great."

Scott gave him the all-knowing big brother look and smiled slightly. "She's fine just a little bruised but she's good. Apparently her com system went down and that's why we lost her."

He was about to ask to talk to her when Scott cut him off. "John, we are going to head back to base. I'm going to have a talk with her about her…"

"I don't need a lecture!" she shouted at him off of the screen

"That's fine, I'll see you guys then." He shut off the com. Relief washed over him but then realization hit him. The way Kayo had been acting her careless nature might get her killed sooner than what he thought. She didn't need another lecture from Scott what she needed was her 'best friend' to have a good long chat with her. "EOS,"

"Yes John?"

"I'm going to head home for a bit. Keep an eye on things."

"FAB."

He floated to the air lock when she stopped him again.

"Hey John," He turned to the camera that his eye used. "I suggest you just tell her how you feel."

He smiled at the AI. "I know EOS."

Back on Tracy Island Kayo was walking out of Thunderbird S. Scott was not far behind her after exiting his own Thunderbird. "Kayo listen we need to talk about this."

"No Scott."

He reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "Kayo, you can't keep running off on your own. We have these safety systems for a reason. You nearly gave us all a heart attack."

She looked at his hand then at his face. "Look Scott I'm sorry I worried you guys but I couldn't risk getting caught by getting a call. I just forgot to turn my com back on that's all."

"What were you even doing out there? The Hood is in jail and,"

She moved his hand off her shoulder. "My job okay."

Scott went to say something else but Kayo was gone out of the hanger.

The woman headed into the lounge. Sitting around was the other members of the family all expressing their own joys in seeing her alive and well. She greeted them all then laid her eyes on John.

He gave her a warm smile. After everyone was done she headed her way over to him.

"Hello John, nice to see you in person." She said with a smile

He nodded. "Kayo, can we talk?"

"If you plan on lecturing me too than save it. Scott did enough lecturing for everyone."

He shook his head. "No, I just want to talk to you about something."

The two of them headed to a quiet area of the island. There were a lot of quiet areas of the island as is they stayed close to the villa however.

"Listen John, I shut off my com when I landed because I didn't want someone calling and blowing my cover," she started but he held up his hand.

"Look you can explain it later. There is something else I wanted to talk about." He bit his lip his nerve leaving him. He couldn't believe he was going to go through with this.

She looked at him waiting for him to speak. She couldn't read the expression in his eyes he was the type of person whose emotions were always clear in his eyes not so much in his facial expressions. The two of them had always been close since she became part of the family. The two would occasionally even call each other at night and talk and decompress about the day's events. She relied on him a lot and he on her. "What is it John?"

He focused on his hands and fiddled with his fingers. "Kayo, I… I want you to know that I care about you. Today while you were off the radar I was so worried and… I was afraid that…"

"I care about you too." She said flatly. "I see I'm about to get another Tracy lecture about safety."

"No!" he almost shouted shaking his head. "I want you to know that…." She was looking disinterested like she was about to go home. He sucked in some air and said quickly. "I like you. Like, like, like you I care for you more than a sister I… damn it Kayo I love you. I don't know why it took me so long to tell you but I do." He reached out and took her hands. She was looking shocked this was so unlike John to act like this. "Today made me realize that… if you were gone and I never saw you again I wouldn't get this chance to tell you how I felt. I've always liked you. You're so easy for me to talk to unlike most people." He brought her hands up to his face and gave them a light kiss. "I just wanted you to know. I couldn't imagine life without you. I want you to be more careful, okay?"

Kayo was stunned she never expected a confession from anyone let alone John. Her face flushed as John's tightened his grip on her hands. Her heart was pounding in her chest she would never admit to herself that she had a small crush on the intelligent Tracy. He always seemed so inaccessible, mysterious something she wanted to figure out like a mystery novel. She enjoyed being his friend and sister but now… where would she go from now. He just poured his heart out to her and looked as though he was waiting for something. His expression was definitely not one she had seen before. A mixture of love and worry showing her he men every word. He loved her he cared about her and he'd be lost without her. She considered making the first move and show him that she cared about him too but he made the first move. She was pulled into his arms in a warm hug at first it was filled with warmth and longing. She rested her head on his shoulder until he moved away from her with his hands on her shoulder he leaned in and planted his soft lips on hers. Her body tensed then relaxed as she melted into the kiss. Breaking off the kiss to come up for air she leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I love you too." She kissed his cheek. "And your one hell of a kisser." She added with a wink

He gave a light laugh and blushed. "Thanks…" She buried her head in his shoulder and smiled to herself until he said. "So about those coms,"

"John," she said sounding annoyed. "I already told you I don't want a lecture."

"Just promise me you won't do anything too risky."

"I promise." She said moving away, "Unless I need to. Then you can just deal with it."

He sighed. "Fine I'll just have to watch you more closely."

"Deal." She said and gave him another kiss.

John was happy he finally confessed to her. He just wished he had done it sooner. But today was as good a day as any. He looked up at the sky still holding her in his arms. He was a lucky man.