I got this idea after watching the Ben 10 Omniverse episdoe: "Something Zombozo This Way Comes". It takes place after my "Valentine's Day: An Alien And A Girl" story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Always Me Inside

Rachel was in the living room with Chromastone, her face fixed in an expression of worry. The crystal alien had returned from patrol and had seen a very horrifying sight. Much of Bellwood where he had gone to patrol had been turned into what Ben Tennyson had dubbed 'zombie clowns' and Rook had sadly been one of them. After witnessing the sight, Chromastone had rushed back to the mansion in Staybrook, California, hoping his friends hadn't seen what he had seen, but when he got there, he found Rachel watching the news in disbelief as she saw her fiancée turned into a creepy clown.

Seeing Chromastone standing beside her, she looked up at him with the silent question of if the news was indeed true. He had told her what he had seen and now she was really worried. Even when the news came back on that Ben Tennyson and the Plumbers had taken care of the crisis and Zombozo was gone, she was still worried and waited for Rook to come home, but she had seen the dangers of such a virus like the one the zombie clown had used. She only hoped that her fiancée was fully cured.

After a few more minutes, tears began to form and Rachel quickly ran upstairs to her room to be alone. Chromastone was very worried for his charge and was about to go upstairs to comfort her when the door opened and Rook stepped in.

"Rook," said the crystal alien, giving him a friendly clap on the shoulder. "Thank goodness you're alright. We were worried when we saw what happened."

Rook's eyes widened and he thought of Rachel. "Is Rachel okay?" he asked, worried for his fiancée.

"She just ran upstairs to her room now," said Chromastone. "I was going to go up and comfort her, but I think you'd be better at it right now than I would."

Nodding, Rook sprinted up the stairs, knocking on Rachel's door. He heard crying inside and so opened the door to see her on the floor in a ball, leaning against her bed as she was rocking back and forth and hyperventilating a little.

"Rachel?"

Hearing Rook's voice, she jumped up and punched towards him, but he caught both her and her intended punch, but her momentum threw him off balance and so he fell back on her bed, trying to hold onto her as she shrieked and tried to get away.

Rachel went into panic when she saw Rook and her mind didn't register that he wasn't under Zombozo's mind control. She only saw that she was captured and tried to get him to let go, but Rook only tightened his grip, causing her fear to skyrocket even higher, which made her scream louder.

"Rachel, shh!" Rook commanded sternly, but she shook her head and went to scream again when Rook decided that the best way to quiet her was to surprise her.

Quickly turning so that Rachel was pinned to the bed by him, Rook leaned in quickly and kissed her, moving his head in sync with hers as she tried to turn away.

Rachel felt Rook kiss her but she was still in panic mode and tried to kick him off, but he was too strong. Slowly, she began to relax and tilted her head slightly to respond to his kiss.

Rook felt her calm down and start kissing him back, which meant he had effectively gotten her to calm down. He pulled away gently and she breathed deeply to try and catch her breath. "Rook?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It is me, Baby," he said with his famous smile.

Smiling back, she tugged her arms free from his death grasp and hugged him hard. Relieved that she had calmed down, Rook returned the hug, rolling over so that she was laying on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He then rubbed her back, making her snuggle into him.

"Rook, I was so worried about you when I saw the news," she said.

"I know," he said. "Rachel, I am so sorry I scared you."

Rachel reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it and tracing absentmindedly on his armor. He always liked it when she did that. It gave him a pleasant, somewhat ticklish sensation and he returned the favor by moving his hands to her shoulders and gently massaging the tense muscles. He felt her relax some more.

"I'm glad you're okay, Rook," she said.

"Me too, Rachel," he responded. "Promise me you'll remember something."

"Depends," she lightly teased. "What is it?"

"That no matter what happens to me on the outside, I will always be me on the inside."

Rachel smiled. "Okay," she said and squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. Smiling, Rook tilted her chin up and pulled her in for a deep kiss, both of them conveying their emotions to each other without a single word and feeling like they were the only two people in the world right then.

How was it? Please review!

GoldGuardian2418