Note: Originally, I wanted to stick to all that happened in the movie and just work around what we didn't see. Yeah that kinda went out the window with this one haha. I just embellished…hope you don't mind.

"Huh," Norm muttered when he turned on the com again. The camera was raised up over his head from when Jake recorded his own message. Norm shrugged though, assuming that he knocked the camera when he left after his last recording. And then with a deep breath he continued his story…

Trudy and I ran down the hallways leading our little band of rebels. Max and Grace were helping Jake, holding him as we didn't exactly have time to grab his wheelchair.

"Here, c'mon," Trudy nodded her head towards the pilot's bay. Jake and the others would have to go around. But Trudy needed to get her gear first, and from her insistence, I guessed she wanted me to come with her.

As soon as we reached the small room, and the door closed behind us, Trudy grabbed hold of me. Her arms were around me in a moment, and mine around hers.

"You know you didn't have to do this," I uttered holding her tightly as if she would change her mind if I let her go.

Trudy snorted, looking up at me. "Really? Mr. You always said you didn't wanna be a mule…"

I winced, "Yeah, I did say that didn't I? I just…I know this is a big risk, and…" At the end of the day it was easy for me to say that Trudy needed to stand up to Quatrich. That he was an ass, and that she wasn't like him. That she needed to ignore her orders. Yeah, it was easy for me to say. But now, seeing her like this in my arms, I saw what she had done. She'd put herself on the top of the traitor's list. At least Grace and I were stupid tree huggers. Jake could walk again. Trudy though…she was a "true turncoat." Quatrich would want her dead. Now.

A sinking feeling in my stomach told me that if anything happened. Well, I would know who to blame.

She let go of me only to grab her things and hand me an exopack. Just as we placed them on our faces, the door opened to reveal all of the Samsons. They were ready to fly. All they needed was a pilot.

"C'mon, tiger," She uttered when the doors opened. "Show me your stuff." Catching a glimpse of her eyes, I saw a little pride in it. I couldn't help but smile. Without a question or any hesitance, I ran right to the Samson. Took off the guards, pulled on my helmet, and started up the Samson with Trudy's hands on the wheel. I peered over to her when I was done. I don't think I've ever seen her smile wider. "A + kid, freaking A +."

Just then Jake and Grace arrived, despite his handicap, Jake slipped inside of the chopper quickly.

"Max?" I asked calling back to him a little concerned as Trudy raised her baby in the air.

Jake shook his head. "Need someone on the inside."

"Speaking of inside…" Grace pointed towards the door. There he was.

"Fuck!" Trudy cried as she took off trying to ignore Quatrich's bullets that were piercing the Samson's metal. "You're gonna pay for the damages asshole." Yep, that was my Trudy. Didn't care that a bullet just missed her shoulder. She was more upset that there were now bullet holes in her Samson.

As soon as we hit the air of Pandora, Grace discovered she was injured. Everything is a blur from there. We helped Jake get Grace back to the Na'vi, he told us that they might be able to save her. I knew of the ritual he was discussing, but looking at Grace…I didn't know if anything could save her at that point. All of the while, Trudy kept a slight distance. I knew that look in her eye already. It was the same look she gave me before she left to unload missals on the Na'vi. She felt guilty.

When Jake ran off into the jungle as his avatar, Grace in his arms, I found myself in a silent bunker. You could hear the hum of the fans, providing us with oxygen in the middle of Pandora's toxic climate. Trudy usually did like quiet, but I could feel the unease in it. The questions. It's insane to think that we only knew each other for three months. I swear I could tell how Trudy felt about things that moment from the sound of her breathing.

She was on the top bunk, her legs dangling while her eyes were glued onto the ground. Her nametags dangled around her chest, adding the sound of a slight clink of metal to the hum of the fans. I walked over to her silently. My height allowed me to rest my upper body against the top bunk, and I simply looked up at her. Waiting for her to speak.

Her head turned to look at me. She sighed aloud. "If Grace dies…it's my fault isn't it?"

I knew it was coming, so I knew exactly what to say, "The only one to blame for this is Quatrich. You saved us, remember? No way you're to blame for this."

Trudy didn't seem to accept my words, but she didn't reject them either. "She's going to die isn't she?"

That, that I wasn't expecting. "Um. I'm not a doctor. Welp, not that kind of doctor. But…I don't…I don't think so. I know the ritual though. It..it could work. As long as Mo'at accepts her. Which I guess she would. They Na'vi have nothing against Grace, just human beings. Unfortunately she's a human being, even if she does love them."

Trudy nodded, her head still hung in shame.

"Hey," I whispered inching closer to her, my hands now on her knees. "You saved us. And you saved Na'vi as well. That's nothing to be laugh at Trudy. You…you amaze me. I don't think I could be as brave as you."

"Brave, stupid, or all out gullible. I could hear my mother asking me, 'if Norm told you to jump off a cliff would you do it?' " Finally a hint of a smile graced her face. "Probably would. Damn you."

I waved my hand, "I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not fond of jumping off cliffs. That's Jake's job. I just like being in the lab. And hanging out with cool people. I wouldn't worry about the cliff thing."

"My mother can sleep in peace then," She quipped, her legs gently swaying now. One on each side of my body. I took a step closer so my stomach was against the bed now, and she shifted forward so I could wrap my arms around her middle. Her fingers reached out to play with my hair. "So now where are we going to live, bird? Now that we can't be with humans anymore. You gonna make me a Na'vi?"

I chuckled quietly although I knew that there was a seriousness in her question. We had officially disowned our own race, we could never live with them again. We would have to find some other way. Hopefully the Na'vi would forgive us…after all, while I adore that bunker, it was pretty small. "You would be a beautiful Na'vi," I commented.

"Don't you jerks make them?" She asked with raised brows.

"Well, yeah. I'd be sure that your avatar is just as pretty as you are," I said clearly sucking up.

That got her laughing. "Asshole."

I just smiled. Asshole, I learned, was a term of endearment for Trudy. She leaned down her face met mine, and just as we were about to kiss we heard Jake return. And with that came the news of Grace's death, and the reality of war. It was upon us and we could do nothing to stop it. We didn't even have time to mourn Grace's passing. Trudy didn't have time to feel guilt, and I didn't have time to wonder what Grace would have said to the two of us if she had more time. No, we had to focus on the mission at hand. Which was to get the humans away from Pandora by any means necessary. I remember Trudy saying that she didn't sign up to be a martyr, but I guess, in the end that is what she became.

We didn't talk about it. Not directly, not at first. Jake sat down with the Tsu'tey, and they came up with a battle plan. Complete with Trudy and I as major players. We knew the risks, at least When we received our orders, I'm pretty sure that she knew it was dangerous this battle was going to be, and that we might not live to see the day after our final stand. We only really talked about it once though. And it was the last time I saw Trudy Chacon.

The Na'vi were preparing themselves for war. Weapons were sharpened and the Ikran were called upon. Warriors donned the best attire. And of course war paint was spread on all of the faces of the warriors. I had just returned from visiting the Na'vi in my exo-pack. I pulled off the machinery and began to search for Trudy with a bowl in my hand. While Jake and I talked to the Na'vi, Trudy kept her distance. I think part of her was nervous that the Na'vi wouldn't accept her. Or recognize that she was among those that were supposed to kill her. Either way, she never officially met a real Na'vi. It's odd that she died for a people that she never knew. If that's what she died for at all…

I found her by the camera, where I am now. She was leaning back in the chair, thinking as she did. When she saw me, her face seemed to ease, and then she pointed to the bowl simply asking what it was with a gesture.

"War paint," I answered. "It's a tradition, in the Na'vi culture…"

Trudy snorted in amusement. "Guess, they're not so different from us are they? Didn't we used to do that? You know, a long time ago."

"Yeah…it's a special ceremony though. The war paint. All of the colors represent different feelings, emotions, and of course, families. It was a way of identifying oneself in battle as well as conveying emotion." Most people would ignore me, continue on their business when I got into my anthropology thing. I knew the intricacies of cultures didn't excite everyone, and I knew Trudy wasn't exactly reading Grace's book on the side. But she listened anyway. For me I think, because she knew it mattered to me. "Before a war, the warriors, both male and female-"

She chuckled to herself, always enjoying the way I emphasized that the Na'vi had allowed female warriors for centuries. Humans were a little slower on that front…

"They spread war paint on each other. Their mates put it on their faces. Bodies. For…well, and beyond everything I just said, I think really it's like a good luck charm. That when you're out there on the battlefield, that someone is thinking about you. That someone cares for you, and wants you to return alive. The mates…they do that." The bowl in my hand suddenly seemed very heavy.

Trudy just stared at me for a moment. I couldn't read her eyes to figure out what she was thinking. Part of that problem was also because I only caught glimpses of her eyes as I was too busy inspecting the floor below me. We had never really "defined" ourselves as a couple. If we ever were a couple. Sure, we said we loved each other…but mated? That was a big step. I wasn't giving her a ring, but…honestly, I guess it was as close as we were ever going to get to that point.

I continued a little defeated by her lack of comment, "The warriors who aren't mated, get a…a family member to do it."

"Why the hell would I want my sister to do it?" Trudy replied back so quickly she mustn't have given it much thought. "She's a million miles away, and she doesn't like getting anything dirty under her fingers. Naw. I think I'll go with you. I don't know if I like the whole mate thing though…" She replied jumping from the chair and standing up with her head held up ready to get her war paint.

"Oh well, it's not a big deal you know. The mate thing. We could say it as girlfriend or boyfriend or…"

Trudy wrinkled her nose, "I just don't like the word 'mate.' Makes it sound like you smacked me on the head with a club and brought me back to my cave."

Once again, I was amazed by the way that I simply felt…awesome knowing that Trudy cared for me. And cared for me enough to go through with this crazy war paint thing. Though I never really expressed my amazement aloud, I did chuckle at her mating definition. "Um. Yeah, I think it was the other way around with us though. You jumped me and brought me back to the bunker. Yep."

She stuck her tongue out at me, although her fingers tugged at my belt loops on my pants affectionately. "Fucking bastard."

"Eh," I shrugged trying hard not to let a smile take over my face, "but you love me."

"Damn it all…I do. So you gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna paint me?" She held out her arms as if I was going to pat her down for weapons.

"Just your face," I laughed. Two blue streaks, light blue, covered Trudy's eyes and her cheeks. The blue represented inner strength, it seemed to be the perfect fit for Trudy. Then I passed her a headband from the Na'vi, which she placed over her hair. Stepping away to see my work, I smiled. Trudy was officially a Na'vi warrior. "You look beautiful. Even in war paint."

A slight blush came to her face. "I don't have any paint for you. Plus you're gonna be blue and tall so this won't work…what am I going to do for you?"

I waved my hand. "I'll be fine. Without war paint."

"You said it's good luck though."

"I don't need luck."

Trudy mused on this quietly for a moment before reaching around her neck and pulling off her dog tags. She draped them around my shoulders. "There. Luck. Now I'll be with you too…and if you see a whole army coming at you and you hear a little voice say run the hell away, you'll know it's me talking to you through the tags."

I chuckled quietly, and when the silence drifted between us, Trudy stepped closer to me. I hunched over slightly so our foreheads met.

"You get yourself killed and you know I'm never gonna forgive your ass," Trudy said quietly. Looking back I understand her concern. I barely knew how to fire a gun, nonetheless, lead a charge. She had a right to be worried about me.

"I know. I'll try hard I promise. What about you?" I asked looking down into her brown eyes. While I wasn't a good fighter, Trudy was taking on Quatrich with her Samson. The only Samson on our side. She would be a sitting duck out there and an easy target. I acknowledged that even back then. And I wanted to keep her safe as well. War paint could only get you so far. "You going to be careful?"

Trudy smiled a smile that I will never forget til the day I die. Like she knew what was coming, and she accepted it completely. Like she was at peace, and knew where she was going was a whole hell of a lot nicer than war torn Pandora. "Don't worry about me. I can take it. Anyway, I got my paint. They ain't gonna fuck with me. No one does."

"They'd be idiots to."

"Damn straight." There was a call from outside. It was time. I would move to the Plains, and Trudy would get her baby ready. I've played the moment in my head over and over again. What I should have said. What I should have done. What I needed to say to make her forget it all. To make her shift just a little faster. To ignore Quatrich, though I knew she would go right for him…anything to keep her from ending up where she did. Anything to keep her alive.

But what could I say?

After one last look from her, she turned around towards the door. I called after her, "See you back here…when it's all over."

Glancing around her shoulder, she echoed simply with a nod, "When it's all over." Then she turned and walked away.

Norm sat back from the chair and rubbed his face with his hand. He held it there for some time. The only sounds on the recorder were that of the hum of the fans pumping oxygen into the bunker, and Norm's quiet weeping.