What Hurts the Most

It was my destiny. Just like it was our destiny to meet…to fall for each other.

To lose each other?

Who's to say we're not going to meet again?

It was mere moments before Paige was supposed to start descending the ancient Manor's stairs to the fanfare of her wedding, the happiest day of her life, and here she was on the verge of tears. As she sat carefully atop her bed, taking pains to not destroy her dress, she gazed listlessly through nostalgic eyes at the object placed gingerly in her hands. She stared into its glassy depths, the sparkles immersed in it falling gracefully to the small city inside of it. She idly turned it reverently in her hands before finally, gravely, setting it on her bedside table where it had resided since she had first acquired it. She took a deep, shaking breath as she tried to contain herself. If she went downstairs with the expression she had on now, it would cause a lot of unwanted questions. Piper's maternal personality would override her other feelings and duties, and she would be all over Paige as if she had a life-threatening illness. Paige's subconscious self laughed at the thought, but her dominant psyche found no humor.

Tearing her glittering eyes away from the object, she stared at the piece of clothing sitting on her vanity. The lacy fabric matched her dress, but she had no intention of wearing it. Henry and her sisters had insisted she wear the veil, after all, it was customary, but she would have none of it. To her, it was not a symbol of love and of faith, but rather one of restriction and secrecy. The veil in her mind was not a factor she'd have in her wedding, and even though her sisters had gotten one for her just in case, she'd leave it right where it was. She appreciated the gesture, she really did, and it wasn't anything against them, but she wasn't going to give in on this. Not even for Henry. He'd just have to deal with her choice, despite the trivialness of it. Lowering her eyes from the white material, she cast them again at the cool item in her hands, sparing a few moments to immerse herself once again in it.

With a last, wistful look at the snowglobe, she delicately picked up her white gown, slowly walking over to her door. She closed her dark brown eyes in a last effort to contain herself, and once she concluded she was all right to go downstairs, she proceeded into the hallway and finally to the precipice of the stairs. Putting on a smile worthy of a blushing bride, she took in the simplistic extravagance of the scene before her. Sure, it wasn't the fairytale wedding she had always envisioned as a child, but she was marrying her fairytale prince, and as far as she was concerned, that was enough. Her heels now clicked on the worn hardwood floor, as she finally met the eyes of the various onlookers. She had invited only close friends and family, with a few 'friend-of-a-friend' stragglers. She, Piper, and Phoebe had all agreed they would preemptively take care of demon attacks in order to not cause chaos within the festivities, but they were all on alert just in case. Thus the diminished guest list, so there wouldn't be hordes of people to hasten out and protect.

She took one final, deep breath as she walked to the altar where Phoebe, Piper, Kevin—Henry's closest friend at the police station, Jamen—one of Henry's first parolees that was now a good companion, Wyatt, Henry, and the priestess were standing, and as she met her fiancé's gaze, she smiled genuinely. Pure adoration danced in his hazel eyes, and Paige relished in the fact it was all for her. She couldn't imagine a life without him. Then, though she kept her laborious pace, indistinct lines of both confusion and anticipation crossed her face as the sixth sense she had developed since becoming a witch heightened. Seeing no looks of concern on her sisters' faces—except a small worried expression from Piper that Paige knew would happen sometime during the ceremony for one reason or another—she passed it off as nerves. Nerves she was sure would go away the moment she joined Henry at the altar and exchanged her words of commitment and solidarity.

Taking one quick glance at her sisters, who were grinning uncontrollably at Paige's scene before them, she gave Piper her bouquet and turned back to Henry. Paige vaguely heard the minister to her left say some prequel words to the couple that were mandatory in nearly every communion of matrimony. Her words faded into Paige's ears as Paige now concentrated on each and every one of them.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Henry and Paige in matrimony, in the presence of family and friends. The union of two lives as one is a sacred bond, both solemn and joyful, embracing all that you are, and all that you will be. On this day of your marriage, know that everything we love deeply becomes part of us. The trick is learning to receive this love with as much understanding as you give it, and knowing this, you can begin a life together with an open mind and heart."

Paige smiled a little wider as the woman finished, and as she really embraced all that was happening; all that was finally happening. She looked to Henry as she portrayed her words of promise to him. Just in case, she had enlisted Piper to finish her vows should her emotion come too heavily, but both she and Piper knew Paige would be the one to exhibit them even if the world was crumbling in upon them. She took a breath, then looked into Henry's eyes.

"When we first met, Henry, to me you were nothing but an annoying, cavalier parole officer that simply got in my way of me fulfilling my destiny. I was determined to show you the error of your ways and get you to apologize profusely for all that you had inflicted on me. I had never expected to fall in love with you. But I did. More than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life, and now I know the saying 'opposites attract' really rings true. Now, first impressions thrown completely out of the window, I stand before you here, today, in the place that means the most to me with the people that mean the most to me, ready for what is to come. I promise to stay faithful to you Henry, to give my whole heart and soul to you and to us. And I vow to honor, to love, and to cherish you each and every day, through all the seasons of life, the good times, the bad times, for all time. With this ring I secure my promise, my trust, and my devotion to you, for eternity to come."

She felt tears behind her eyes at her own words, but for some reason she sensed them for not only Henry, but for someone else. She was adamant on not letting them fall, even though she knew no one would hold her blame for it. She held her true smile on Henry as he recited his own promises and vows to her, and she was amazed she had finally found the man she was going to be with forever, one that she wouldn't give up for the world. As he finished and Paige's smile widened at the fact his words were meant for her, and only for her, they both turned to the priestess once more.

"Do you, Henry Mitchell, take Paige Matthews to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" the minister asked Henry.

Henry looked Paige deep in the eyes, and without breaking contact, answered. "I do." He said determinedly.

"And do you, Paige Matthews, take Henry Mitchell to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" she asked, now directed at Paige.

Paige drew a breath, and for a moment it hitched in her throat, as if blocking her from her answer. Bewildered for an unnoticed second, she overcame the difficulty and replied. "I do."

The words rang in her head, echoing as if bounced off of infinite walls, repeating themselves over and over. She wanted to put her hands to her temples to stop the voice, but she knew if she did there would be people all over her in half the time it would take her to do it. Instead, she suppressed the voices and came to just as Henry was holding the elegant platinum band, which he slid onto her finger to join the glittering diamond engagement ring already there. Paige smiled at him, then looked down to her nephew who was adorably holding the satin pillow, which housed now one ring.

"Wyatt, do you think I could get Henry's ring now?" she asked the boy standing remarkably cooperative next to her. He nodded and grabbed the ring off of it's setting, handing it nicely to Paige. "Thank you so much, sweetie. You've been such a good boy for Auntie Paige."

She gave Wyatt a slight ruffling of his hair to an indignant sigh next to her signaling Piper's simmering but playful annoyance. Paige pulled Henry's hand towards her as she now repeated his motions, placing the matching platinum band onto his finger. He grinned at her and they both looked at the woman officiating.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." She announced happily.

Henry leaned down to Paige as she met his lips in a passionate kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck, his encircling her petite waist. After a moment, they separated, letting the joyous applause reach their ears. Henry clasped Paige's hand as Paige once again looked at her sisters. Piper's eyes were glistening at the beauty that was the ceremony, and Phoebe simply looked elated at everything that had just happened. The three laughed as Wyatt ran over to Piper, dropping the ring pillow to the floor. He held up his arms and Piper automatically picked him up, ceasing his upset mood. He giggled in her arms and she gently replaced the pillow onto the altar next to the priestess' hands.

Paige was then suddenly struck with a wave of sadness and pure, unbridled emotion, and she felt her knees weaken. Not wanting anyone to panic, she swallowed the feelings and tapped Henry's arm, getting his attention from whomever he was conversing to.

"Honey, I just got a little lightheaded. Do you mind if I go upstairs for a bit?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't start getting paranoid.

Worry flashed through his eyes, but he consented. "Of course, go lie down, I can hold this up for a while. Are you okay?"

She warmed at his concern for her, and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, I'm fine, really. I just got a weird vertigo thing for a minute."

He nodded, then a thought seemed to go through his mind. "It-It's not something to do with your, you know…" he trailed, not wanting to rouse questions from anyone.

She laughed emptily, and shook her head. "No, not this time. Just plain, old, human issues. Nothing supernatural, I promise."

He smiled. "Alright, well, come get me if you need anything, okay? Though you might want to tell at least Piper where you'll be, otherwise even I know she'll have some sort of aneurism at your disappearance."

"Agreed." Paige replied, and as she gave Henry a final kiss, she looked to Piper. "Hey, sis, I'm feeling a little down all of a sudden. I'm just going to lie down for a few minutes in my room, okay? I'm fine, though, so please don't worry."

Piper narrowed her eyes and the condescending, suspicious look that could only belong to her graced her features. "Missy Paige, what's going on?" she asked.

"Nothing, Piper, really. I'm just going to rest, alright?" Paige answered.

Piper's look only increased, concern now joining it, but she relented. "Okay, but if you need any—"

"I'll come get you then I'll come get Henry. Yeah, yeah, I got it, Mom." Paige interrupted sarcastically.

Piper lightly smacked her sister on the arm. "Don't be a smartass. Now scoot, or you'll miss you entire reception that your wonderful sister threw for you and slaved away in the kitchen for!"

Paige rolled her eyes at Piper's dramatics, but retreated all the same. She slowly made her way up the stairs, gracefully enough as to not cause too many glances. Ascending the carpeted stairs and finally reaching the closed-door sanctuary of her room, she allowed the full force of the emotion to wash over her. She collapsed onto her bed, into a sitting position much as she had not long ago. She wasn't quite sure what caused the sudden onrush of emotion, but whatever it was, it was as strong as she felt she could ever be able to handle. It was forceful, but there was a familiarity there that was strange to her. Then, as abruptly as it had begun, it stopped, leaving Paige with a sense of emptiness.

She closed her eyes in recovery, then when she opened them, she found herself unconsciously staring at an all-too-familiar object. She walked over, trance-like, to where it rested, and then picked up the heavy globe, running her fingers lightly over the glass once again. As she stared into its clear, flawless entity, she was struck with memories that hit her as if she had had one of Phoebe's most forceful premonitions. Only this time they were reminders of what had happened, events she couldn't change but was now forced to remember, even if they were ones she would have rather died than revisit.

"Let me guess. You don't believe I'm really a Federal Agent. You came here to find out if I'm a…demon…or something, right?" Agent Brody directed at her, walking slowly towards her, rather threateningly. She, however, was adamant about not exhibiting signs of weakness, and so she simply stared heartlessly into his dark eyes.

"Maybe." She answered shortly as she lightly backed into the island counter in his apartment.

"The best way to find out is to test my blood, isn't it?" he questioned easily.

She raised an eyebrow in suspicion at his words. He wasn't implicating a very innocent façade, that was for sure. "Funny. For a guy who claims he's not a demon, you sure do know a lot about them."

He smirked at her, absorbing her insecurity. "No, I know a lot about witches. I know a lot about you. So go ahead. Forensics kit's right there. I've got nothing to hide."

She vacillated for a moment as to what she was going to do. He certainly seemed genuine about his not hiding anything…or at least about the fact he wasn't a demon. Still, she wasn't about to take chances. She reached over and pulled out a sharp instrument laid carefully in the forensics container sitting on the counter.

"May I?" she asked coldly, somewhat rhetorically.

"You may." He replied in her same tone.

She took the implement and pricked his finger, possibly harder than was necessary, but took a vial and collected the few drops of red blood that resulted from the wound. He made no signs that it hurt, which she was somewhat impressed by, considering the force by which she punctured him. She pocketed the vial and looked into his eyes emotionlessly.

"If that's O-positive, you owe me." He responded sardonically, though his smile was barely more than a smirk.

"I don't owe you anything." She bit back, uncaring. If only she knew quite how far she'd go for him. How far he'd go not only for the world, but for her.

Paige now felt more tears beckoning forth, but before she could recover fully, she was thrown mercilessly into a premonition-like memory.

"Maybe you ought to call her here." Kyle suggested nervously.

Both under the influence of the paranoia and her own suspicion, Paige decided to humor him. "Beta?" she called to the ceiling, waiting for the appearance of the female Avatar.

Like clockwork, Beta flashed into the apartment, and immediately looked to Paige. "What happened?" she asked curiously. It was then she noticed Kyle, and her face stoned into one of further suspicion. "Why isn't he asleep?"

Paige frowned. "You told me Zankou did it." She answered.

"I did not." Beta responded tonelessly, though her distrust for Kyle increased. She wondered what he was up to, though even with her Avatar powers, she couldn't read quite what he was thinking.

"Yes you did!" Paige contradicted, starting to get even more paranoid. "What the hell is going on?"

Next to her, Kyle raised his hand up and threw an object down to the floor where it shattered and left a scorch mark on the hardwood. Both Paige and Beta stared at it, neither knowing what it was. Paige's face glowed red for a moment, then returned to its normal pale color. As if awakening from a dream, she looked to Kyle in questioned.

"What was that?" she asked him genuinely, now not sure at all what was happening.

Kyle looked at her for a second, anticipation and slight regret showing on his young face. "I wanted to make sure you were back to normal before I—" he started.

"Before what?" Paige interrupted impatiently. Now she really was getting a bad feeling about all of this. She wished she could know what he was going through in his mind.

She had no time to react as she watched the ensuing scene unfold as if in slow motion. He raised his arm again, this time holding an all too familiar potion bottle clenched in his fist. He threw it at Beta with enough determined force to knock her off her feet, and it sailed through the air straight at her. Her reflexes, however, were too fast for him and before he could move out of the way or Paige could help him, a bolt of bright blue electricity shot out of her hands at him, and the energy of it propelled him into the air and back to hit his body on the island, after which he hit the unforgiving ground with a sickening thud. Paige stayed forward long enough to see the potion smash on the floor, black smoke rising up, immediately finding Beta, killing her within a split second. She fell down quickly, dead.

Without any more delay, Paige threw herself beside Kyle, tears already forming and splashing down her porcelain face. She turned him over delicately and he coughed a little, and it was then she realized wrenchingly in her heart his outcome wasn't looking good. She brushed his hair out of his dimming, shadowy eyes to better look at him. His face was paling away from its normal color, one that suited him not. He reached up with a shaking hand to touch the side of her face and stroke a displaced strand of hair away. She closed her eyes at his familiar yet fading caress, and wished she would wake up from this wretched, unbelievable nightmare. His quiet but adoring voice woke her from her praying, and though it was weak and dispersing, there was the underlying strength and power that she had come to love.

"Please don't hate me." He managed out to her, his lungs seeming to debilitate with each second passed.

She couldn't believe that even on Death's doorstep he was still caring about her, which was a thought that wracked her to the core even more. "I don't hate you. Of course I don't hate you." she choked, her voice thick with emotion.

"I didn't want it to end like this." He continued, his voice just as thick as hers, though not with tears, but rather strain.

"It's not going to end like this, I promise. I'm going to call for help, okay—" she replied, her voice strengthening now with the resolution to save him.

"No. You can't call for Leo." Kyle intercepted, his words strengthening as well.

"Why?" Paige asked helplessly. She didn't understand why he was refusing her. She wasn't going to let him die if it was the last thing she did. There was no way.

"Because he's vulnerable. They all are. Zankou will kill them." He coughed.

Paige collapsed as she gazed into his eyes once more. "Why did you do this?" she questioned brokenly, her entire soul cracking.

"To stop them." He said simply, brushing her cheek again, and she knew if he could make more contact with her, he would. This one conclusion spurred her to make her next word.

"Leo!" she called out, closing her brown eyes in willpower. She didn't care what Kyle said; there was no possibility she was just going to watch him die. It wasn't his time. She was sure it wasn't his time.

She was vaguely aware of two more beings appearing in the room, a short exchange of sentences going between her and the Avatars. However, her mind was still with Kyle on the floor, and it was only the next words that caused her concentration to focus on those fateful syllables.

"He's dead." Gamma said monotonously, feeling completely out of his voice.

Paige's mind was screaming with denial and she refused to believe it. She collapsed again next to him, holding onto his muscular chest with all her might, willing him to wake up again, to hold her, to comfort her. She looked into his eyes again, but the light wasn't there. She barely felt a new barrage of tears cascade down her cheeks and onto his body with her torment and agony. She was shaking her head in rejection, not wanting to believe his life was over. She buried her head next to him, next to his still warm body. She could almost feel his arms wrap securely around her frame, and she wished to the Heavens and even to Hell that he would revive and everything would be okay. That they could fight the world together. But he didn't wake up.

"Please don't go." She told him desperately, not even trusting herself to speak anymore. She prayed to Leo to come orb down here and help, and the one time she truly needed him, he was nowhere to be found. "Please don't go…don't leave me…you can't leave me…"

Those were the last words Paige remembered before her vision and figure faded into desolate blackness, and though she was simply unconscious, she wished for a moment she had died so she would be with Kyle. Surely that would be better than living life without him. She fell upon his chest, her arms still tightened around him, not wanting to let him go. She was afraid that if she dropped him, he would really be gone and there really was no coming back. That she would never see him again.

Her final words now reverberated in Paige's brain, and she forced herself to not let it get to her, but even so, she felt a solitary tear fall slowly down her face and onto the snowglobe held in her hand. With a determined and angry wave of feeling, she clasped it harder and stood up off the bed. With a force she didn't know she had, she threw it inexorably at the wall of her bedroom, her agonizing fury watching it hit the wall and plummet to the ground with a crash. For a second she simply stood there, plaguing breaths encompassing her body. Then, the full effect of what she had done took over, and in horror she walked over to where it had fallen. Expecting to see a broken sphere and sparkling water dripping over her floor, she was both relieved and furious at the fact it seemed completely unharmed. Her strong demeanor shattered down beside it, reminiscent as if it was Kyle so many months ago. She held her face in her hands, barely able to contain herself.

"Damnit, Kyle! Why are you doing this to me? You can't still be haunting me after all this time! I'm married for God's sake! Why are you still in my mind? Damn you, Kyle Brody…" she faded off, her voice directing the words towards the heavens where she knew Kyle now resided, thanks to his becoming a Whitelighter.

That fact alone made her want to anguish more. At least if he had really been dead, she knew there wasn't a way for him to come back. But now…she knew he was out there somewhere and possibly near her. It was even worse than his death had been. She let salty drops fall through her hands and onto her dress, for once not caring that they might ruin it.

"Paige." A voice suddenly came out of the silence.

Her eyes opened at it, not believing what it sounded like. As if in a trance, she stood up, ignoring the ball on the floor next to her. She turned around slowly, dreading what was going to be facing her, or lack thereof as it might be. Therefore, she was surprised at a corporeal someone in the room with her. She stared at it, thinking she must be dreaming. There was no way this was true.

"No…no, this isn't real. Paige, stop this." She told herself and whomever else was there.

The form walked closer to her, and the action was too much for her to handle, as it too much resembled her first memory. She gazed up into their eyes, seeing the familiarity of their depths. He stopped next to her, intimately close to her body, more so than a simple friend or stranger would be. She immediately recognized his form; there was no mistaking it now. He gazed down at her, almost unable himself to believe they were both there, together, both unable to speak.

Finally, Paige gained her voice, or at least part of it. "K-Kyle?"

"You know, when I asked you to take care of that for me, I didn't think it entailed breaking it." He commented seriously, but his voice held the joking it had once before.

Paige downcast her eyes, ashamed. "I—I'm sorry. I was just so—" she choked out, her voice breaking.

He held a warm finger to her trembling lips, and she almost wished he wouldn't. She wasn't sure she could handle more of his being here. "Shh. It's okay."

"Wh-What are you doing here? Why now? Today?" she questioned, her queries getting slightly angrier.

He seemed to sense her frustration and his eyes went to the floor as well. "I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you. You deserve all of this. You've done so well, and I needed to talk to you, just once more. Strictly speaking, I had to practically beg The Elders to let me come down here, but They granted it to me." He admitted.

She shook her head at his submission, her brain shrieking at her to run from this and from him, but her heart yelling at her to stay. She was torn, and she didn't know what to do. "But why, Kyle? Why'd you have to come down here now? Why couldn't you come here before?" she directed, wrath rising in her spirit.

"I'm sorry, Paige. I wasn't—I wasn't allowed. I couldn't. They said you needed time. I was only able to come down that once because They said you needed some sort of closure or it would affect your Wiccan duties. I'm so sorry. I wanted to come down sooner, and if I could I would have. But you're doing so great now, and I won't wreck that for you. I'm so proud of what you've become. You've done more than I would have ever thought possible of anyone." He persisted to her, ignoring her silent protests.

"Don't…" she managed, not wanting him to continue.

To her slight surprise, he did stop at her command. Neither said a word, and even though there was Paige's own reception going on downstairs, they couldn't hear any of it. It was as if the whole world was frozen around the two of them and nothing would stir. Paige drew in a trembling, piercing breath in an effort to calm herself, though it failed miserably. She honestly couldn't believe Kyle was standing here in front of her after all this time. Was this Their idea of a cruel joke? Sending Kyle down here not but minutes after her wedding? She knew They had a sick sense of humor sometimes, but this was beyond diabolical. The initial shock of losing him had been enough for anyone to lose their mind over, then now They had to propel him upon her again to reopen those memories and wounds? She couldn't believe Their inhumanity. She let out a short, small, hoarse laugh at the absurdity and irony of it all. After a few more minutes of silence, Kyle reached down and brushed a stray piece of hair away from Paige's face, either ignoring or not realizing the sentimentality of it. She shuddered at his lithe touch, and her skin shivered as his hand left it.

"You look beautiful." He said, his soft voice barely audible.

She didn't think she could handle a response to his statement, so instead she settled for a severed nod. Then, her bottled up resentment took over her body. "Kyle, how could you leave me? Why did you leave me?" she started, dangerously levelly.

Kyle looked confused for a moment, but understood. "Paige, I—"

She wouldn't let him finish now that she was on a bender. "No, save it! You can't just orb in here after all this time and expect me to just thank you for your compliments and alleged begging The Elders to come to me! Right after my wedding! I knew you were rather crazy at the end, but I didn't realize you would go this low as to appear today of all days! Why'd you leave me? I needed you, Kyle, and then you just left! At the worst possible time! How could you? God, Kyle, I—I—how could you? How—you—why? Why, Kyle, why…" she sobbed.

She finally gave up on trying to come up with tangible words, and ultimately crumpled into his strong arms, which appeared to almost anticipate her falling. He held her up, holding her as close to his chest as possible. Her words had stung him to his heart, but he knew they were as true as the air they breathed. Truth was, his parting from her had hurt him just as much as it had hurt her. He didn't show it, but his soul had ached endlessly the more he was away from her. And now, for the few moments he had with her, with her in his arms, the ache started to weaken its stronghold on them both, and he didn't want to ever leave her, despite her life having moved on. His arms tightened around her waist as he simply let her cry into his shoulder. Her tears fell down between his shirt and her dress, the drops reflecting everything that had happened. She finally looked up at him from her position, liquid sadness still spilling down her naturally flawless face, her mahogany eyes glittering with unshed tears.

"You didn't even say goodbye to me properly, Kyle. After everything, I at least expected you to do that much for me." She whispered, as if she was afraid if she talked louder, some cataclysm would erupt from the earth's core.

Kyle shifted his eyes from her unconsciously scrutinizing stare, and instead concentrated on the forgotten globe on the floor. "I know. I'm sorry. You deserved that and more. You deserved the world. You still deserve the world. I'm so sorry, Paige. I'm sorry I couldn't give you everything you wanted. But I truly am happy you've now gotten everything you need and want. If anyone is entitled to this happiness, it's you. Henry's a great guy. They let us Whitelighters know little updates about your guys' lives, just in case they're relevant. I hate the fact They've not been able to bring Leo back—sorry about the attempting to kill him thing…I haven't forgiven myself for that…I promise it wasn't truly against him, he's a good man, it's just against the Avatars—but when I heard of Phoebe getting a Cupid to come down to her and you getting a mortal parole officer, I knew you were all in good hands. I couldn't be more glad for you all." He said with a smile that was, granted, small, but Paige could tell it was sincere.

"Thanks." She responded, blocking out her nagging conscience that it was a somewhat compromising position they both were in. "Did you have to leave, though? How come They took you away? I realize there's a reason for everything and all, but just answer me why? Why couldn't you stay with me? With us?"

Kyle laughed about as solidly as Paige's previous laugh had been, but he extricated himself from her nonetheless, needing to actually face her. He sighed. "It wasn't just Them, Paige. It wasn't anyone, really. It was just meant to happen. I don't truly understand it either, but it had to happen."

Paige wasn't satisfied with this answer, to say the least, and she could feel the stopped tears build up again. "But They put me through so much…I don't see how They could be so cruel and cause me so much hurt." She confessed, both to Kyle and to herself.

He gave her a small nod, knowing exactly what she meant. "I wish I could take your pain away. If I only had one more breath to take, that's what I'd spend it on. Here, with you, wishing you all the painful memories to go away."

Paige closed her eyes and strained her face at his true but grief words. In a moment of abandon and lapse of thought, she forgot everything but the present and where she was right now. With held in passion, she reached up and pressed her lips upon his, needing, wanting, to feel his upon hers. A spark passed between them at their joining, and though he was surprised and thus hesitant at first, he welcomed her action and responded to her with his own ardor, deepening their connection. She felt her arms wrap themselves around his neck, pulling him closer to her, and his once again reunite with her waist, his securing hands holding her as she had before, that is, not willing to let her go no matter what happened. She had waited so long to see him again and for them to be reunited, that even everything recent that had happened wasn't calculated into her risky reaction. She would deal with consequences later, but now her mind and heart and soul were all one with his as she furthered their kiss, never wanting it to end. If she spent the rest of her days just like this, she would be okay. She now knew the signs she had had right before and during her ceremony, the ones that seemed to be warning her, were for Kyle. They were trying to tell her he was here. She had given herself to Henry, that was true, but she now realized she could never truly give herself to anyone else but the man she was now locked with. She felt guilty, yes, but she couldn't let him go this time. Because there wouldn't be a next time this would happen. Instead, she ran her hands across his face, remembering his features, imprinting them to join with their former counterparts. She moved down to his shirt, pulling him ever closer to her, and he responded to her just as she had hoped. She felt nothing but the moment they were in, and nothing could stop it. Except for, of course, vocalization.

"Paige…" Kyle's voice reverberated against her lips.

"What?" she asked breathlessly as she looked into his fiery eyes, filled with uninhibited fervency.

"I just need you to know—" he began.

"Don't, Kyle. You can't leave now. I can't…" she stopped him, promising herself that she would never forgive the heavens if They took him away from her now.

"I love you." Kyle said before she could invest anything else.

Those three words shook her and surprised her to her center. She honestly hadn't expected that. She would have expected him to have to orb out more than that admission. She searched his eyes for a flicker of untruthfulness, but she found none. Only true desire and endearment. She looked down for a moment, taking everything in and preparing herself for what would happen from here on out. Finally coming into contact with her true emotions, she rejoined his gaze.

"I love you, too. God, I do, Kyle. More than anything." She replied with a forcefulness that killed any note of falter.

Kyle, for a second, shone exaltation at her words. "What about—" he started again.

Paige had already gone through these motions in her head, and though she felt bad for it, she couldn't deny herself. "I know." She replied, her voice cracking slightly again. "But I can't live this lie anymore. I don't know what will become of this, us, but I can't change it nor can I fight against it. It'll all be okay, I know it will. I don't know how, but it will." She said confidently.

With that statement, she let her mouth find his, this time lighter and yet with more passion, knowing she would now be okay, somehow. The feelings that had hurt her the most were fading, and though she also knew there was an extremely rough and unforgiving road ahead of her, ahead of them, she was willing to go through it with him. Because now she had everything she needed. She had betrayed someone else, that much was true, but she was now with the man she was truly meant to be with, no matter how hard life got from now on. As their union again deepened to loving depths, she realized her destiny was now right where she was, in this moment. Just like his concession, if she had one last breath to live, this was where she would want to be, forever…and for always.