A/N: Hoo boy. Okay, so remember last chapter when I said I might have this thing finished by the time Borderlands 3 came out? So much for that, huh?

Thanks for sticking with me by the way. It means a lot that people are apparently still reading after months of inactivity. I'll try to finish the last two chapters plus the epilogue a little faster but in the meantime here's some more moon shenanigans. In today's episode a tiny, broken moon on the edge of known space plays host to a kinda-awkward-but-pretty-okay-all-things-considered reunion. Enjoy!

The next thing Athena knew she was alone. Floating in what appeared to be an infinite, featureless black void. Her enemies were gone. Her pain was gone. Even her very serious need to breathe in the near future was gone. The only thing that prevented the situation from graduating to complete sensory deprivation was a faint whirring noise coming from an unknown source. Was she dead? Athena had never believed in any kind of higher power or an afterlife before but she had traveled the galaxy and encountered hundreds of different groups of people who did. Each with their own religion and each believing themselves to be the ones who actually got it right. Apparently the "spend eternity in a dark room with what sounds like a malfunctioning refrigerator" guys hit the jackpot.

Wonderful.

The gladiator was just about to start considering perhaps slowly spiraling down into a lonely madness to pass the time when she noticed that odd whirring sound was slowly getting louder. Within a few seconds it had grown from a low rumble to a deafening roar that seemed to come from every direction at once. Eventually it grew so loud she was forced to clamp her hands over her ears in an attempt to keep her eardrums from exploding. It was at the point where she thought her head might split in two when the void around her erupted into a blinding light and she was dragged back into consciousness.

Athena's eyes slowly began to open only to immediately clench shut again, stung by the abrupt change in brightness. The various sounds of life surrounded her. People conversing, footsteps upon metal floor tiles and…

It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the room's lighting but once they had she glanced up at the ceiling directly above her head.

An old, barely functioning air conditioner. The source of the noise that had woken her. Athena felt like she should have recognized it sooner. The gladiator hadn't spent a lot of time there during her mission on Elpis but the air conditioning unit in Nurse Nina's med bay had quite a distinctive, unhealthy sound to it. Almost as if it were in just as much pain as the patients.

It appeared she was back in Concordia. How? The last thing she remembered was her Oz kit running empty after she narrowly managed to defeat the raging Felicity constructor. She recalled gasping for air, unable to reach an oxygen source due to having broken her leg during the battle, Felicity's homicidal horde of loaders closing in on her and then a moon buggy rolling up to her just as she lost consciousness. Someone must have come to her aid. Athena sighed. The idea of being in somebody's debt always made her somewhat uncomfortable but if her rescuer was still around she decided she should at least thank them for saving her life. Attempting to sit up in her bed, however, quickly reminded her of the reason she was here in the first place and she groaned as a dozen or so aches and pains of varying severity reintroduced themselves across her body. She must have been treated by Nina while she was out because they were significantly less agonizing than before. The battered gladiator eventually managed to sit up and began to scan the clinic for someone who looked the type to make a habit of saving the lives of random strangers but, as it turned out, she didn't have to scan for long at all.

Sitting in a chair to her left sound asleep and leaning on her bedside was Janey. Of course it was Janey. Who else on this moon would endanger themselves to try and save her like that?

The slumbering blonde's presence immediately triggered a surge of conflicting emotions within Athena. On the one hand, after having assumed she would never again get the chance to, she was overjoyed simply to see Janey again and, for just a few moments, she was about as close to calm as she had been all night. Then came the panic. She had to leave. She had to get far away from here. From Janey. If she stayed she would only end up hurting her again or worse but a glance down at herself was all it took to inform her that fleeing the city again wouldn't be an option. Her broken right leg was in a cast and there were several patches and bandages across her body. She wasn't fit for an afternoon stroll much less another journey across the Triton Flats.

Her brow furrowed as she looked back to the girl at her bedside and a profound feeling of guilt and regret spread through her. She wasn't ready to face Janey after what had happened but then she doubted she would ever feel ready. Either way, it was physically impossible for Athena to run from her anymore. What other choice did she have? Whatever was going to happen was going to happen now.

Athena steeled herself as much as she could and hesitantly reached out to Janey laying one of her hands on her sleeping savior's arm. The gentle touch caused Janey to stir from her slumber and then slowly wake. The blonde appeared groggy and disoriented for a moment before she looked up and saw the cause of her awakening. Hey eyes widened and she shot to her feet knocking over the small chair she had been sitting on with a loud clatter.

"Athena! You're awake!" she shouted excitedly.

Athena simply nodded. She hadn't even come close to figuring out what she was going to say yet.

"How…how are you feeling?" Janey continued.

"I…am alive." the gladiator eventually managed. "Thanks to you, I assume?"

"Me and Pickle actually. He helped me drag you into the buggy before that ruddy huge bunch of robots got you."

"I see..."

A silence passed between the two women as Athena found her eyes drawn to the dark bruise on the junk dealer's cheek. It tore her apart inside to see her handiwork up close. Slowly, tentatively the gladiator raised a hand to Janey's face giving the blonde a chance to back away or tell her to stop if she wanted to. When Janey didn't recoil or make any attempt to stop her she reached over and laid her palm against the blonde's bruised cheek with a gentleness Athena hadn't even thought herself capable of. She still had no idea what she could possibly say but anything had to be better than nothing at this point.

"Janey. I'm sorry…you…I would never…"

Athena knew it was a pathetic mess of an apology but it was all she had to offer. Scattered, desperate fragments of something she didn't have the time or charisma to finish piecing together yet. She was about to let her hand drop from Janey's face, honestly feeling unworthy to even touch the blonde woman, when Janey reached up and laid her own hand over Athena's holding the gladiator's palm to her cheek.

"It's okay, Athena. I know."

Wait. What?

Of all the things Athena had expected Janey to say to her after what happened that was not one of them. The gladiator stared at her completely dumbfounded for a moment until Nurse Nina suddenly rounded the corner and Athena couldn't have yanked her hand away from Janey's face any faster.

"AH. YOU WAKE UP." The nurse bellowed with heavy accent. "THIS GREAT NEWS. WHEN SPRINGS HERE CARRY YOU IN ALL WHITE-FACE AND BLEEDING NINA WASN'T SURE YOU WOULD. SMALL RED WOMAN LOOK LIKE SHE THREW HERSELF DOWN MANY, ANGRY STAIRS. NINA GLAD TO BE PROVEN WRONG THOUGH. IS GREAT TIMING."

Nina pointed at the bed Athena was laying on.

"MANY INJURED. NINA'S CLINIC RUNNING OUT OF ROOM. SPRINGS SAY YOU WELCOME TO RECOVER AT HER PLACE. NINA SAY IT OFFICIALLY SAFE TO MOVE YOU. NOW PLEASE GO. NINA HAVE CRYBABY WHO SOMEHOW EXPLODE ALL HANDS AND FEET AT SAME TIME ARRIVING ANY MOMENT."

Athena looked from Nina to Janey who flashed her a somewhat timorous smile and shrugged. Apparently a discussion she had missed while unconscious. The idea of returning to Janey's apartment caused her to feel no small amount of unease but it seemed she had little choice in the matter.

"I uh…okay." The gladiator said turning back to Nina. "Do you have…crutches or something I can…"

Nina folded her arms and shook her head.

"SORRY. NO MORE LEFT. NOBODY EVER BRING THEM BACK. NO WHEELCHAIRS EITHER. PEOPLE THINK IT FUNNY TO PUT ROCKETS ON THEM AND RACE THEM OUT ON THE FLATS."

The nurse leveled an accusing glare at Janey who looked away and scratched the back of her neck guiltily. Nina looked back to Athena and pointed a gloved finger at the fidgeting blonde.

"CRUTCH. GOODBYE NOW."

Nina rushed off around a corner and out of sight leaving Athena alone with Janey again. She looked back to the blonde junk-dealer who offered her a hand.

"Shall we go then? That lumpy old sofa still has your name on it."

Athena hesitated for a moment but took the taller woman's hand. With some effort she rose onto her "good" leg putting her arm around Janey's shoulder and together they moved out of Nina's clinic just as her next screaming, limbless patient was wheeled in. The journey to Janey's apartment was awkward to say the least. Athena hobbled alongside the taller woman mostly in silence. She could feel Janey's worried eyes on her a few times during the trip but couldn't bring herself to meet them.

When they arrived at Janey's home she helped Athena into her front room before carefully setting her down on the sofa. The blanket she had slept under the previous night still draped across the sofa arm where she had left it

"Here, hold on just a sec." the blonde said as she made sure Athena was comfortable. "I'll fix us up some hot cocoa."

After rummaging around in her kitchen for a few minutes and putting some water on her stove to boil Janey returned to the front room and seated herself on the sofa beside Athena. The gladiator was continuing to find it difficult to look the blonde junk dealer in the eye, choosing to stare remorsefully at the floor instead. Mismatched, colourful pieces of scavenged carpet laid out across the dreary metal floor panels in an apparent attempt to liven the place up.

Athena couldn't imagine a more Janey Springs attitude than draping an enormous, vibrant patchwork blanket over the duller aspects of life and every corner of her apartment reflected that. This place already held such a special place in her heart and, truthfully, there was nowhere else in the galaxy she would rather be but she shouldn't be here. She had no right to Janey's hospitality after what she had done. How could she even begin to-

"Smile for me" Janey said breaking the silence.

Athena's eyes snapped up to meet hers.

"What?" she asked, utterly baffled by the sudden request.

"I've already told you I know what happened last night was an accident." Janey elaborated. "We've all got our ghosts, Athena. I get it. I know you didn't mean to hurt me but apparently you're still looking to torture yourself over it so, if you really want to make things right that much, this is what I'm telling you to do. Smile for me, and make it a good one. Then we'll call it even and we can move on."

Athena paused for a moment staring at Janey who smiled at her and raised a scarred left eyebrow in expectation.

This woman was unreal. Athena had expected Janey to hate her. To cast her out and curse her name. She didn't understand the blonde's willingness to forgive her. Athena doubted she would have done the same in Janey's shoes but then she supposed that was one of the reasons her feelings for the taller woman were what they were. Janey was better than her. So much so that it was almost like she lived in an entirely different world to the cold, uncaring, survival-of-the-fittest one Athena had grown up in.

She had spent years since breaking away from Atlas searching for some level of redemption for the multitude of awful things she had done as one of their assassins. Trying to do some good where she could in her travels all to ask forgiveness from ghosts. She knew these were debts she could never hope to repay no matter how many moons she saved or tyrants she toppled and yet Janey offered absolution for something so small. A smile? That was something she could do. She did that all the time. Didn't she?

She froze for a moment. Actually, how did you do one of those again?

Janey's price seemed a lot less trivial all of a sudden.

The thing about spending so much time alone in the Pandoran wilderness was your grasp on even the most basic of social graces like facial expressions and having more than one tone of voice began to fall away much faster than you might think. You kind of just...bared your teeth, right? The more teeth the better, surely. Raise the cheeks up as high as they'll go and hope for the best? Better not blink either. Eye contact is always important. Just look right at her and try not to look constipated.

Steeling herself the way she normally would have before charging into a hail of gunfire she decided to simply try and make up for her lack of experience with resolve. The gladiator straightened her back, looked Janey in the eye and made the most earnest attempt at a smile she had made in as long as she could remember.

It went horribly.

She wasn't sure what she had been going for but the expression that fell across her face was less a smile and more a frightening, lurid grin that Pandora's most deranged psycho would have been proud of. Wide, unblinking eyes, gritted teeth and furrowed brow combined to form something Athena was pretty sure wasn't going to cut it.

She held the course regardless. If she had learned anything over the years it was that a bad plan was always preferable to no plan at all. Maintaining what somebody might call a smile if they were feeling charitable or had a gun to their head she scanned Janey's face for a reaction. Any reaction, and for what felt like the longest moment in history the blonde offered nothing. Nothing beyond a blank, unreadable stare until finally, just when Athena's face was starting to hurt, Janey's demeanor cracked.

The junk dealer's cheeks bulged up like some kind of blonde, lunar puffer fish as she made a futile attempt to keep herself under control before bursting out laughing and toppling over onto the sofa cushions. Athena was taken aback for a moment but, having spent the last several hours believing she had only brought more violence and danger into Janey's life, something about the sight of the blonde laughing filled the gladiator with a great feeling of relief. Eventually Janey's laughing fit subsided. She sat up, still giggling, and wiped the tears from her eyes before looking at Athena and reaching over to lightly poke the gladiator's cheek with her fingertip.

"There it is" the blonde said cheerfully. Her tone and expression were those of a woman who had unearthed something truly precious. Athena hadn't even realized she had been genuinely smiling from ear to ear until Janey pointed it out. The gladiator blinked and the smile dropped from her face as embarrassment took over.

"At the risk of sounding like a broken record..." Janey continued. "You're really something when you smile, Athena. Like…wow. You light up."

Athena took in a short breath to attempt a response but once again her words failed her and she ended up simply staring at Janey in silence instead. She felt like a complete fool but how could she possibly even begin to describe the emotional maelstrom taking place in her mind in any way that made sense? How did anyone do it? Was she the only one who found all of this so damned hard? She told herself to try and calm down or change the subject like she normally would have whenever Janey caused her to feel this way but she soon found that whatever had been giving her the strength to barely resist Janey's charms until now was all but spent.

Why did she have to be so beautiful?

The gladiator's blatant, completely undisguised gawking quickly caused Janey to visibly blush and nervously glance away towards the kitchen.

"I uh…I'm gonna go and see what I can do about that cocoa." The blonde said grinning bashfully at Athena who could almost feel the last remaining thread of her resolve breaking.

"I'll be right back, okay?"

Time seemed to slow down as Janey began to rise from the sofa. Athena couldn't find the words to say what she needed to say. She didn't even know where to start. It was a problem she faced all too frequently when Janey was involved but she refused to let the moment pass without at least trying. Athena may not have been anything close to a romance expert but she was a woman of action and it was time to see if that counted for anything at all.

Just as Janey was about to walk away Athena reached out and grasped the taller woman's wrist. The blonde junk-dealer turned and looked down at her but Athena said nothing, instead simply tugging lightly on Janey's arm, not pulling her but making her need for the blonde to sit back down very clear. Thankfully Janey picked up on it and complied, wordlessly sitting down again but not removing her eyes from Athena's for even a second. The moment Janey was seated again Athena leaned over with a practiced swiftness and placed her other hand on Janey's far knee.

The plan, if you could call it that, had only been to return the kiss on the cheek Janey had given her the night before. Just a small display of affection to try and reveal to Janey some tiny measure of how she felt but somewhere on the way to Janey's face the gladiator's eyes had drifted to her lips and the plan had changed. She only had a moment to see the astonished look on Janey's face before she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to hers feeling the blonde jump slightly in surprise at the contact. Athena had no idea what she was doing. The kiss was awkward and clumsy and just a little bit off-target but it contained every last bit of her newfound yearning. Janey had already caused the her to experience so many things for the first time in only a few days but Athena could never have imagined how it would feel when Janey's lips pushed back softly against hers. The sudden burst of desperation that rushed through her as if every touch-starved fiber of her being drove her forward into the kiss. It was intoxicating and, for just a moment, she lost herself.

Eventually a mental reminder of just how far out of hand the situation had gotten caught up with her and managed to snap her out of it long enough for her to pull away. Athena's body had always been her most valuable weapon. More finely-tuned and reliable than any other. She wasn't used to feeling it fighting against her but when her lips parted from Janey's she could almost hear her very cells crying out in protest. She tried her best to ignore it. She needed to think for a second.

What the hell was that? What just happened?

She found herself staring into Janey's eyes having only pulled away a dozen inches or so. Part of Athena hoped Janey would be the one to speak first because she seriously had nothing but the blonde just stared back, her breathing just a little bit faster than before.

Don't just keep staring at her like an idiot. Say something. Anything.

"I…uh…"

I will gladly be a bumbling moron for the rest of my days if it means I can just once say the right thing here. Do not say something stupid. Do not.

"I…thought that to be the best course of action." the gladiator said quietly.

Seriously? That was the best you could come up with? You're not talking to a superior officer you idiot! Why don't you just go ahead and drag yourself over to your gun pile and shoot yourself now? Oh that's right, you can't because no bullet in the galaxy could possibly get through your thick skull.

Athena was just about to get started on dissolving into a pitiful puddle of humiliation when she noticed Janey was smiling. A lot.

Athena had traveled the galaxy and performed a great many hugely impressive feats in her twenty or so years spent fighting for Atlas. Her actions had caused the rise and fall of empires but being single-handedly responsible for that smile? Nothing else compared. In that moment Janey Springs looked positively radiant.

The smitten gladiator eventually managed to pull herself together and begin to make another attempt at an explanation but before she could speak a single syllable Janey was kissing her again. The blonde lunged forward and captured Athena's lips with her own, slowly pushing the gladiator down onto her back before suddenly pulling away again.

"Agh! Bloody hell, I'm sorry!" the blonde said frantically, trying not to put any weight on Athena's body beneath her. "You're hurt, I shouldn't be-"

Suddenly very unwilling to wait a single second longer Athena reached up to slip one of her hands behind Janey's head, her fingers sliding through the short blonde hairs on the back of the taller woman's neck.

"I am well enough" she replied frankly before pulling Janey's head down and pressing their lips together again.

That was all the convincing Janey needed. The blonde returned the kiss with a barely restrained passion, tilting her head and locking her and Athena's lips together. Athena hooked one arm around Janey's waist keeping the other firmly on the back off the taller woman's neck. She knew her feelings for Janey had only grown stronger since their first meeting but as the kiss grew deeper Athena found herself unprepared for just how badly she had wanted it. Her body almost seemed to move by itself, eager for a closeness it had been denied her entire life.

Athena had no idea how to kiss someone. How could she? It wasn't like she had gotten much (or any) opportunity to practice before now. Thankfully, as was made more apparent with every passing second, Janey definitely did and Athena was all too willing to follow the taller woman's lead.

Janey's touch was gentle yet unmistakably hungry, as if she had to remind herself every couple of seconds that Athena's injured body was to be handled delicately. The blonde woman's body carefully shifted on top of her, shuffling her knees up on both sides so she could straddle Athena's waist. No longer needing to use her hands to support herself she used them to gently cup Athena's cheeks in her palms, tilting the enamored gladiator's face up ever so slightly to give herself better access. A few more wonderful moments passed before Janey began to pull away and slowly but agonizingly surely the taller woman's lips separated from hers and it was all Athena could do to prevent herself from chasing them down again.

Blue eyes met chestnut as the two women caught their breath for a moment. The blonde stared down at her wordlessly, her expression one of mild amazement as if she were still a little bit unsure the last couple of minutes had actually happened. Athena supposed it was nice that she wasn't the only one in that particular boat but she felt the need to make some kind of assurance. She had kept one foot out the door since the moment she had first stepped into Janey's home and she knew Janey must have noticed. It had always been in her nature to have an escape plan in place. Another little something she had Atlas to thank for. It was a hard habit to imagine breaking but Janey wasn't a shady client surrounded by armed goons in the depths of their fortified hideout. She wasn't a team of backstabbing mercs she was stuck working a group job with or an overly ambitious rival back in the Atlas barracks. She was just...Janey, and whatever Athena's situation with her was becoming it wasn't one she was going to have to fight her way out of. Her paranoia was a big part of the reason she had survived so long but Janey deserved better than to be treated like that and Athena was reluctant to go any further without making it clear to Janey that right now, for perhaps the first time in her life, not a single part of her was thinking about leaving.

It was when she began to consider how she could possibly do that when Athena's mind wandered once again to the first night she had spent in Janey's home. Specifically the moment they had shared before retiring to sleep, still so clear in her mind. Releasing the fistful of Janey's shirt she had been holding on to she slowly raised her hand to the taller woman's face. She couldn't be certain such a simple thing would mean as much to Janey as it had to her but she couldn't help but hope.

She repeated the gesture as close to memory as she could. Her thumb and forefinger stroking softly across Janey's cheek for a moment before capturing a golden pink lock of hair and carefully hooking it behind the taller woman's ear. She swallowed the lump in her throat wishing as hard as she could that at least one of the many combat training sessions her Atlas instructors had forced on her over her childhood had been replaced with a lesson on how to deal with a beautiful blonde woman staring directly into her soul. She supposed that would have been counter to their interests though. The functions Atlas had in mind for their living weapons were many but she didn't imagine running off to get seduced by impossible moon girls was one of them. Nevertheless that was where Athena had found herself and, ill-equipped or not, there was nowhere else in the galaxy she would rather be.

The warm smile that grew across Janey's face at the gladiator's touch was all Athena needed to know she felt the same way.

Later that evening Athena lay on that tattered, lumpy sofa as she had the previous night only this time she was wrapped in Janey's arms, her head rested against the taller woman's chest as she listened to the gentle sound of her heartbeat. Janey's body shifted slightly against hers and she felt a hand on the back of her head, fingers running into her hair and nails softly dragging across her scalp. The gladiator had to restrain herself from actually purring at the pleasant sensation.

"Athena?" the blonde junk dealer asked suddenly, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"Yes?" Athena asked in response raising her head slightly to show that she was listening.

"Do you…reckon you'll stick around? Once you're all healed up I mean."

Remaining on Elpis indefinitely. Sharing Janey's home with her. When Janey had first proposed the idea only a day ago it had seemed like such a big decision to make. A major life choice. Something that required hours, days or weeks of deliberation. At the time Athena had decided to try and think objectively and weigh up the pros and cons of a life on Elpis compared to those of her life on Pandora but with her sister gone and her employment with Atlas at an end she had to wonder what exactly Pandora was to her anymore. In the end, the answer to Janey's question turned out to be far simpler than she could have anticipated.

"If you want me to."

Janey released a slight laugh that was both amused and relieved as if she had been holding the breath that carried it for a moment before speaking again.

"Damn, was I not obvious enough?" she asked before her voice took on a mildly seductive tone and she leaned in a little closer.

"I guess I'll have to try harder, hm?"

Athena smiled and closed her eyes as she felt Janey's lips touch her forehead. She knew she was being selfish. She didn't believe she deserved Janey. Not after all of the terrible things she had done as an Atlas assassin. She was a murderer and a traitor. Somebody worthy of the highest contempt. She knew this to be true but...

Janey thought differently.

The previous night in the bar she had told Athena she was more than all that. A "beautiful woman with a big heart" she had said. "More than just a tool for stabbing things". Athena couldn't say she was convinced but she also couldn't deny the fact that Janey thought so meant more to her than the blonde would ever know. It was almost enough to make her feel as if some small measure of redemption might be within her reach after all.

Whether that was true or not, she found herself wishing with all her heart she could be the woman she saw through Janey's eyes.

Athena had no idea if what she was doing was the right thing. To say she felt uneasy would be an understatement. She couldn't help but fear for Janey's safety. Everyone close to her had died, specifically by her own hand. First her parents and then her older sister. She had even killed the women she had grown up with when she turned on Atlas. Undoubtedly the best thing she could do for Janey was to stay as far away from her as possible. To leave this place and never return. That was what her rational mind had been repeatedly telling her since last night but that way of thinking was what had caused her to flee Concordia the way she did and all it had ultimately accomplished was to nearly get her killed and endanger Janey even more when she came to rescue her. What use was keeping Janey at arm's length if she ended up hurting not only herself but also someone she was coming to care a great deal for?

Athena felt Janey's arms tighten around her body and allowed herself to be pulled into a hug as she came to the realization that, for once, she knew exactly what she wanted to say to Janey next.

"Thank you." she spoke softly into the blonde's shoulder.

"What for?" she heard Janey ask in response.

"For everything." Athena replied. "For inviting me in. For saving my life."

She paused for a moment, her hand resting on Janey's side gently closing and clutching a loose handful of the taller woman's clothing as all of her feelings of gratitude towards Janey boiled down to one simple thing.

"For…not giving up on me."

The room was quiet for a moment until Athena felt the blonde junk-dealers lips moving against the top of her head.

"Well, in that case, you're very welcome…" the taller woman spoke softly into the gladiator's hair hooking her index finger under the gladiator's chin and gently moving Athena's face up so she could look her in the eyes again.

"…my dear lady."

Something was happening to her. Those feelings she had been struggling with since she met Janey for the first time were beginning to boil over. She didn't understand them and it worried her that they apparently had the power to make her feel so desperate but the choice to embrace those feelings was her own and she made it gladly.

Athena had broken away from the people who had stolen her life but it was as if laying in Janey's gentle embrace and feeling her heart race as she stared up into the eyes of the taller girl was the very first time in her life she had felt like a truly free woman. She was doubtful she would ever be rid of that barking, obnoxious voice in her head but for now it was quiet. Hushed and shoved away. Confined to some distant, secluded corner of her mind where she could barely hear it anymore. Here in this woman's arms on this strange, lawless moon on the edge of known space that voice and the ever-present compulsion to obey that came with it were all but silent. In its place was an impulse like nothing she had ever experienced. An overpowering need to lean up just a couple of inches and kiss Janey's lips one more time.

So she did.