Blue 4 Epilogue

Kelly moved down the hallway of the base, heading to her quarters. She'd made her report to all the necessary leadership, height sure to note Lasky's excellent performance, she'd had her armor removed and changed into some comfortable standard gear, and all she wanted to do now was flop into bed and get some sleep. She hadn't gotten a moment of sleep since they'd woken from cryo near Requiem and she was tired. She wanted to visit John but the last she'd been told he was being checked over by some medics. Maybe when she woke up he'd be finished and she could get some answers out of him.

The door to her room slid open and she froze when she realized it was occupied. She stood in the doorway and just stared at him. He was sitting on her bed, leaning forward with his forearms resting on his knees, his armor gone and replaced by standard clothing. His gaze turned up to her and she could see the fatigue on his face. "Can I explain?" he asked.

Kelly sighed and moved into the room. She was a bit on edge, which was silly because this was John, but he had attacked her the last time she'd seen him. She sat down beside him on the bed, staring ahead at the wall. "You better have an explanation. How did you even find my quarters?"

"I asked Fred and he brought me here," John answered. "Kelly, I want to apologize for a couple things. I had to do what I did."

"You had to attack me, leave me behind, and leave me unable to help you, again." Kelly crossed her arms over her chest. Sure she was still sore over what he'd done but she was hoping he'd have a good excuse. She didn't want to be mad at him but his actions had hurt her in several ways and she couldn't just forgive him because she didn't want to be angry.

"I didn't have the time to explain and I knew you wouldn't leave me voluntarily. I couldn't protect you from the Composer so you couldn't come with me. I watched those scientists die and it made me glad I didn't take you. If I'd watched you die the way they did then how would I have found the strength to go after the Didact?" Kelly smiled a bit at his words. She knew he was trying to smooth things over with pleasant words. "The Librarian did something to me that she said would save me from the Composer, unlocked something in my genetics, but she didn't do the same to you. I had a chance of surviving but I wouldn't be able to save you. I didn't have the time to convince you of all of that. I'm sorry, Bunny."

Kelly considered his apology. She glanced in his direction and could see that he was watching her for any sign of her thoughts. Kelly sighed and nodded. "All right, I'll accept the apology and forgive you, this time. Ever do that again and you'll have to come up with a much better excuse. I'm tired of not being able to help you. I want to stand beside you, even if that means running into certain death."

"You may be willing to risk your life but," John put his hand palm up on the bed between them. "I'm not willing to let you die. We're supposed to protect the people we love." He looked down to his hand and then to hers. "The last time I touched another human was when we kissed before you were taken." Kelly uncrossed her arms set her hand in his. John intertwined their fingers and Kelly smiled, having forgotten how warm his skin was. "I have something else I need to apologize for."

"You do realize I forgave you, that means you're on my good side. You really want to ruin it by bringing up something you did that I don't know about? Because I'm not mad about anything else." Kelly looked down at their hands and smiled. His hand had not been scared more than the last she remembered. It was good to know at least one thing could still remind her of the days before Reach.

"When I set off that HAVOC I expected to die. I activated it knowing that I wouldn't be able to keep my promise. I'm sorry." John raised their hands and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "I ask your forgiveness for almost breaking my promise."

"John, you didn't break your promise so there's nothing to apologize for. You came back to me, just as you promised, and I didn't even have to wait three years." Kelly leaned over so her shoulder was touching John's. He let their hands fall to the space between them.

"I only was able to come back because Cortana saved me." Kelly raised an eyebrow so John continued. "She saved me from the explosion, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to return. I had no escape plan," he admitted.

"How exactly did Cortana save you?" John frowned but didn't answer Kelly's question. "John, if there's one thing I've learned it's that you save yourself, I just need to be there to pick you up." Kelly grinned at him. "Did she explain how she supposedly saved you?"

John shrugged slightly. "She didn't say. I just saw her after the explosion went off and she said she wasn't coming back. Said she only kept enough of herself to get me off the ship." John squeezed her hand a bit. "I didn't save her like I told her I would."

Kelly shook her head. "John, she couldn't be saved, and she knew that. She was rampant and talking to her after the HAVOC went off doesn't mean anything. You didn't see her do anything?" John shook his head and Kelly continued. "Then you're assuming she actually did something. You were in the debris field of the ship so you weren't taken off of it, John. Maybe you just hallucinated or something, because there's no way she could have saved you. Maybe the Librarian did something. If she could see far enough ahead to know you needed to be protected from the Composer maybe she knew that something would have to save you from the HAVOC."

"Do you really hate Cortana so much that you won't admit that she saved me?" John asked.

"First, there's no proof she saved you just the word of a rampant AI that for all we know was a hallucination from being knocked out. Second, you need to come to terms with the fact that she wasn't human. I don't thank your armor for saving you in combat so why would I credit an AI for anything. They're equipment, that's all. You're the one that gets the job done, that saves yourself in the ending. You didn't thank the Longswords for carrying you off of the Halo or Forward Unto Dawn for getting you off the Ark, sacrificing itself but still saving you with what bit of it was left. What I'm saying is that it is the job of our equipment to do those things, just as an AI is supposed to protect humans. You want to treat her like she did something special but she didn't." Kelly turned her gaze to the wall. "I will admit that I also don't like some lines of programming and a hologram think that they could get between us, and purposefully do so. That you'd love it when you..." Her gaze turned toward the floor.

John looked at her and tilted his head to the side. "What? Cortana was my friend and that was the way I cared for her. For a long time she was the only person I had to talk to, that had my back all the time." John's thumb gently moved over her skin of their clasped hands. "She was my friend and I'm sad to have lost her, but the way I cared for her was nothing like how I love you." Kelly looked to him and he was staring at their hands. "I did ignore her rampancy for too long. I'm just tired of having to leave friends behind, watch them die. I didn't want to give up on another friend."

Kelly sighed and shook her head. "John, I get that. I know how hard it is to watch friends die, but we aren't all dead. The truth is at the most AI are like pets. Some people get attached to them but they live much shorter lives and when they die we get over it and get another one. Though more people get attached to pets as they are alive and AI aren't. You have living people who are happy to have you back, that's what you should focus on."

"Does Sapphire ever take offense when you say things like that? I know it would have hurt Cortana," John asked.

"No, Sapphire understands my logic. See to me to be alive is to struggle. We struggled in training to be what we are, humanity struggled to stay alive, and animals have a daily struggle to survive. AI are handed everything. Cortana was able to do all she could because she was given all the best code cracking programs, things she didn't have to learn but was just given. Not to mention that life is supposed to change. Life evolves, AI don't. You aren't the selfish kid I meet that first day of training. You improved over time. AI are stagnant and they don't really improve, only fall apart. Compare you and Cortana. You became braver, determined, strong, and a leader. As she became more rampant how did she act?"

"She became more afraid, more frantic, and couldn't complete tasks." John hesitated for a moment. "I would rather remember her as the AI that saved me. it will make it easier to accept her death, like it did with Sam." jihn closed his eyes and kelly knew he was feeling the same old numb pain feom the death of their friend. "Can we drop this subject?"

"If you don't want to talk about that what do you want to talk about?" Kelly asked.

"I'd rather just focus on how soft your skin is, or how I missed talking to you." John leaned a bit toward her and Kelly remained still, trying to figure out exactly what his intentions were. "I love you, Kelly. I always have and always will." His free hand moved up to her cheek and he angled her head down a bit so he could place a kiss on her forehead. "No AI could ever compare to you or have a bond with me the way you do."

Kelly smirked. "Good to know." Kelly reached up with her free hand and ran her fingers over his cheek. "John, I know you lost people but there has never been something you haven't given your all. We can't always control the choices that others make or those twists of fate that seem so cruel. You don't have to like it, that's just the way things are. All we can do is be happy anyone made it out alive."

John relaxed a bit. "You always have the right thing to say," he commented.

"Well one of us has to know what to say," Kelly teased. "I know Earth isn't really home but I suppose I should welcome you to your new home."

"I've never thought of home as a place. Reach was always what I saw as my home world but not my home." John leaned forward so that his forehead was resting against hers. "I missed my home."

"Well your home missed you too." Kelly let her eyes slowly close as she enjoyed the calm. She hadn't felt this peaceful in years and she just wanted to bask in the moment. When John moved away from her but all protest was silenced as his lips touched hers. Her hand moved from his cheek to his neck, attempting to pull him closer. At the same time his hand moved down to her waist and pulled their bodies a bit closer. They had to lift their hands, finger still intertwined, so that she could scoot a bit closer to him. They broke apart and Kelly grinned at him. "Do you have somewhere to sleep?"

"I didn't ask. I only asked where you slept," John answered.

"Well you're more than welcome to stay with me," Kelly offered. She examined his face for a second. Kelly leaned toward him, placing her head on his shoulder. She slipped her hand from his and John's arms moved around her. Kelly leaned into him and relaxed against his chest. "Welcome home, Johnny."

John placed a kiss on the top of her head. "It's good to be home, Bunny."

End

A/N: Thank you all for reading. If 343 fails we Blue Team fans again in Halo 5 then you'll see me back here for Blue 5. If you liked this story check out my other stuff. Like the action, check out ODSS. If you liked the John/Kelly check out Spartan Love. If you don't know if you'd like the rest of my stuff just check out my page and all my stories and…I'm going to stop self-promoting. Thank you again for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it.