It isn`t too late in the night. It`s probably about 8 or 9pm. Shadow is returning to the condo. As he rides the elevator up, he runs over his head what things to say to Maria. At the same time, he still wonders how she feels about everything. The fear of whether or not she`d hate him is still present. He still cares for her, deeply. That`s why this is so difficult for him. He sighs a little, looking down to the floor. Never before had he felt so much shame for what he`s done. If he could go back and change it all, he would. If only he knew then what he knows now...

The elevator stops and the door opens. Shadow exits the elevator and starts heading towards the door that would be to his and Maria`s condo. Heavy thoughts weighing on his mind as he thinks about doing some major apologizing to her. Everything seems so ominous right now.

Shadow enters the condo, closing the door behind him. Everything is pretty quiet, is Maria still sleeping? He walks over to the bedroom door, which is open. Maria sees Shadow entering the room. A smile instantly crosses her face,"Shadow..."

She tries to get herself to sit up in the bed. While she does that, Shadow approaches the side of the bed. Amy quickly gets out of the chair and moves aside to be out of his way. When Shadow arrives at the side of the bed, Maria has finally got herself sitting up in the bed. Shadow is a little surprised to see that Maria has a smile on her face. He becomes even more surprised as she quickly throws her arms around his neck, hugging him. His jacket that she has had in her possession during his absence slumps down into her lap. Shadow puts one arm down to lean on for support since he`s hunched over at the moment. His other arm goes around Maria to return the hug. Maria has her head tucked right under Shadow`s head, happy as can be to see that he`s returned home.

Amy smiles at this scene. She turns and exits the bedroom, confident that everything will be all right again between them. Amy will leave them to themselves for the rest of the night and so she decides to go ahead and leave the condo building. Tonight`s walk back home will be filled with happy thoughts.

Back in the condo, Maria and Shadow are still engaged in their embrace. But then they both lean back from one another and simultaneously speak the same words,"I have something I want to say to you-"

They both stop themselves as they realize the other is saying the same thing as they are. Maria begins to make a small, nervous smile as Shadow speaks up,"You go first."

At first, Maria lowers her eyes and then shifts her eyes upwards to look back up to Shadow. She holds her small smile as she speaks to him,"I just wanted to say, Shadow...That...It`s ok."

Shadow`s eyes widen a little at this. Maria continues,"I understand why things happened they way they did. And I understand that you found out the truth and did your best to fix things. It`s ok. You`ve been through a lot and still carry those scars. I`m going to help you in any way that I can."

Shadow`s eyes retain their state through all of Maria`s speech. When she finishes, he speaks again,"You don`t need to do anything for me, Maria. I was created for you."

The arm that had been wrapped around Maria moves so that Shadow`s hand can come to her face. His hand moves aside some of her golden hair from her face as he speaks,"So all I want to do is make you happy, and give you the chance at life you were supposed to have."

He leans forward and gives Maria a gentle kiss on her forehead. Maria`s eyes water a little, looking to Shadow after that forehead kiss. The only thing on her mind now is how unselfish Shadow is being by putting her first. Trying not to cry over it, Maria quickly leans in and gives Shadow a tighter hug. To this, Shadow puts his arm back around Maria.

But then Shadow hears Maria cough a little, reminding him that she is still sick. He begins to nonverbally encourage Maria to lay back down on the bed and get back to resting, to which Maria complies. She readjusts herself and gets to laying down in the bed. Shadow pulls the blankets over top of her as she gets herself comfortable. Maria looks up at Shadow as he looks down to her from the side of the bed. Straight eye-to-eye stare for a moment before their eyes finally look away. Shadow steps away from the bed and flips the switch to turn off the light.
Despite the dark though, Maria can still see Shadow`s red eyes. Watching his red orbs move, it brings Maria comfort and fond memories of the times on the Ark. She smiles sleepily as Shadow comes back towards the bed. Her eyes close and as she drifts off to sleep, she can feel movement on the mattress.

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