AN: Hey there readers, my name is Fire Dragon, and I am so excited to be able to contribute a story to the Wild Kratts fandom. This is not my first story on this site, so check out my account for my other stories. This fanfic is a more darker take on the kids television series, and it mostly focuses on the sacrifices, duties, and devotions of the Wild Kratts, something that has been lightly brushed upon by the series (in my opinion). And without further ado... my first Wild Kratts fanfic.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but if I did, it wouldn't be a kids show (You know what I mean?) ;)

A Life to Care For

As the hot African sun sinks below the horizon, the daytime creatures of the wild grasslands slowly fall into deep sleep; however, life still goes on in the dark of the night as nocturnal animals creep out from their hiding places, ready for the challenges of the night life. The owls hoot in the night sky; the leopards and lions stalk their territories for their next meal, and the aardvark family continue their digging and feasting.

At the Tortuga HQ, all is silent, and the quiet songs of cicadas lull nearly every one of its inhabitants to sleep. Inside the main control room, Jimmy Z, the pilot of the ship, is in his usual deep sleep, and in his hands is his ever-present pizza. Koki, the technician and computer expert, is also sound asleep in her hammock above Jimmy's, mumbling in her sleep about what needs to be done the next day. The Kratt Brothers, Martin and Chris, the creature adventurers and founder of the Wild Kratts team, are also fast asleep on their hammocks next to those of Koki and Jimmy.

However, there is still one person that couldn't sleep at all tonight, and her name is Aviva Corcovado, the inventor and creator of the technologies and gadgets used by the team. Aviva is currently fussing over Chris's creature power suit, trying to fix the damages from the day's creature rescue, but her mind kept wandering to fully concentrate. Sighing in frustration, the young inventor gives-up and puts down her tools. All she could think about were the events earlier that day, and the tragedy that nearly struck the team. Knowing that she isn't going to get anymore work done, Aviva turns off the table lamp she has been using as a light source and heads up to the balcony at the top of the Tortuga; there she leans against the railing, relaxing a little as a cool breeze passes by.

But the relaxing feeling didn't last long because a pride of lions stalk pass the turtle ship, and they aren't just any pride, it's He Who Breaths Fire's pride, and they are on the hunt for their next meal. Seeing the lions roaming free and safe doesn't bring her closure at all, but horrible memories of that afternoon:

The speeding car pursuit...

The cries of the capture lion cubs and the roars of distress from the adults...

The dark, evil smirks of poachers...

They raise their guns...

A shot was fired...

"No. No. No!" Aviva is now gripping her head and closing her eyes. Tears are pouring, and all she could hear is the gun shot, and all she could see is Chris getting knocked back and falling to the ground, rolling a few feet to a stop. All she could feel is her heart nearly stopping as she watched. "No," Aviva whispers softly as she falls to her knees, "I can't do this anymore."

"Aviva, are you okay?" a voice whispers from behind her, startling her and making her twist around to face the person, only to see that it is a very concerned Chris.

"Oh, it's only you Chris," Aviva says, calming down.

"Yea. Are you okay?" Chris repeats his question. When his best friend doesn't respond right away, Chris moves closer to kneel beside her, only slightly wincing in pain from his injured shoulder, "Aviva? Is something wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

At this, Aviva quickly gets up on her feet, followed by Chris, and quickly says, "I'm fine Chris. Really." She turns away to not have to look at his slightly hurt look, a look that pains her to see 'cause she was the one who caused it.

It is obvious to Chris that Aviva had been crying, so he doesn't believe her, "No. You're not fine." Then in a softer tone, "You can trust me Aviva. You know that I will always be here for you..."

"NO!" Aviva whirls around to face a now surprised Kratt brother, "You know you can't make that promise!" her voice starts to crack as tears begin to form, "Not to me! Not to anyone!" Aviva then lowers her voice so that it is barely audible, "Not after today."

But Chris did hear her, and realizes what it is all about, "Is this about what happened with those poachers?" Aviva doesn't answer, but turns away from Chris once again, which only serves to solidify his realization, "Aviva, I'm fine. Look at me," Chris reaches out with his good arm and gently pulls Aviva's face around so that she can look at him instead of the savanna, "See, I'm still here."

"But what about next time?"

Sighing slightly, Chris says in the most convincing tone he could muster, "Aviva, I'm not..."

"Don't lie to me Chris," Aviva interrupts him and pulls her head away, closing her eyes as the tears begin to trickle down her cheeks.

Looking down to the ground, Chris feels just horrible for upsetting Aviva, but he knows that she is right, "Fine. You're right. I can't make that promise," Chris then lifts his head to look at the young, beautiful woman, "but I will try."

Silence immediately falls upon the two, and the tension is heavy and thick; the only sounds that fill the empty void are of the night creatures all around them. Chris moves closer to Aviva and is about to gently place his good hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort and bring her in, when she broke the silence with her question, "Why do we do this?" Chris turns Aviva around so that she is facing him, and when he did, he could see that Aviva's once bright and determined eyes are now dull, and they wouldn't look right at him as she continue, "Why do we have to sacrifice so much?"

Chris knows right away what she meant. He knows how much they have to give-up to continue their job, to continue the fight; and how often at times, they get nothing but ridiculed and looked down upon for what they do. There were even a few times when people just don't care anymore. So looking away from her, Chris lets his arm fall to his side, "'Cause it's what we do." Moving over to the railing and leaning on it, making sure to not put so much weight on his right shoulder, Chris doesn't even care that Aviva didn't follow him; instead, she stayed perfectly still, "It's our job as Wild Kratts to protect all animals on this planet from anyone who tries to harm them...at any price. It's our duty, and by joining this team, we all signed up for this."

As soon as he said those words, Aviva snaps out of her haze and turns around to stare in disbelief at the younger Kratt, "Are you kidding me!? I didn't sign-up to watch my best friend get shot at!"

"Well what was I suppose to do?!" Chris yells as he turns around to face Aviva, annoyance and anger laced his voice, "Let them get away with the lions?! The cubs?! Everything we strive to protect!?"

"You should've waited for Martin!"

"But by then it would've been too late and you know it!" Chris then calms down slightly and rubs his face in frustration, "They would've gotten away with it, and I couldn't let that happen."

This seems to only further anger the young inventor, and she practically screams, "So you thought that the best thing to do was to go after them alone! You're risking your own life for some...!"

"Don't you dare say it!" Chris yells, and it makes Aviva pause in fright. Very rarely does she see Chris this angry, and the few times involve animals getting harmed by people; however, he has never been this angry at her, and that realization makes her regret what she said. The angry Kratt must have not seen Aviva's frightened reaction because he slowly moves closer as he continues, "I don't care about my life! Both Martin and I have put our lives down to protect the animals we love. We go through sun, rain, snow, and wind to do what is right. And I will keep doing so till the end, mo matter what!"

They are now very close to each other, and both are breathing hard from their yelling. The pause is filled with their heavy breathing, but neither said anything to break the silence.

But then Aviva does, and in a low whisper, "But I care."

Chris pulls back a little in confusion, but didn't get far before he is pulled back by Aviva into a searing kiss. The action is a surprise, and Chris is shocked to find himself kissing his best friend; however, he eventually relaxes into the kiss and begins to return it. The kiss is slow and sweet, but both Chris and Aviva have to part for air. Breathing heavily this time from the need for oxygen, both Chris and Aviva stay close enough so that their foreheads touch as they look into each other's eyes.

"Please Chris," Aviva whispers quietly as she closes her eyes and leans into his embrace, "don't ever say that you don't care about your life. Because I don't know what I will do if you are gone."

Chris doesn't know what to say; instead, he tightens his embrace and leans his head into the crook of her neck, while gently rubbing her back in a comforting gesture as Aviva finally lets the rest of her tears fall. This is all so new to him; all his life, he has always lived in the shadow of Martin when it comes to romance, especially since the older Kratt is a natural charmer. Girls just don't seem to be interested in him enough for him to try to pursue a relationship, so he turns to his love for nature and animals, which he speculates is the reason for his devotion and passion for protecting it from anyone who wants to hurt them. Chris then realizes that in all that time, there was one girl that had stuck by his side and supported him in every way possible, and she is in his arms. Realizing this, Chris now understands Aviva's reaction to the shooting and further tightens his hug.

Aviva's sobs eventually subsides, and she pulls away to look into Chris's eyes, "I was so scared. I thought I lost you."

Chris smiles softly as he places his hand on her cheek, in which she leans into, "I'm sorry for scaring you. I had no idea."

Even through teary eyes, Aviva has to smirk at the young Kratt's obliviousness, "Yeah. I know."

They just stayed there, still as statues as the night continues, staring at each other in new-found love and adoration, and each smiling in content. The moment soon ends when Chris removes his arms from around her and gently uses both of his hands to grab both of hers, "But I understand now. You were only looking out for me, and I guess my passion for animals does get me..."

"No Chris," Aviva stops him and pulls her hands away, tucking them under her arms, "it was wrong for me to say those things. I was frustrated and angry, but I shouldn't have said what I said. It's not that I don't care about animals, it's just that I care about you a lot, and seeing you out there today, chasing those poachers and nearly getting killed, it just...just...I don't know," not being able to find the right words, she looks away, not wanting to see his reaction.

However, Chris does understand. His devotion had nearly cost him his life, and at the expense of his friends; and he had to admit that he didn't really thoroughly plan out his course of action at the time and the possible results. His rash actions had its effects on his teammates and his brother, and he hadn't really thought about it until Aviva tells him. Now all he feels is guilt: guilt for worrying his friends, guilt for making his brother suffer, guilt for upsetting Aviva, and most of all, guilt for not realizing that he did all of this and not taking their feelings into consideration.

Aviva is worried for a moment when Chris didn't say anything for a while, but what he said next stuns her, "I know. It wasn't right for me to put my life on the line like that and not think about how it might affect everyone. Please can you forgive me?"

Finding her voice, Aviva responds, "Of course I forgive you. But only if you can forgive me for what I said earlier."

"There is nothing for me to forgive, you did nothing wrong."

"But what I said..."

"Was fine. I understand," Chris finishes her sentence, silencing Aviva.

They then embrace once again, each with a big, bright smile on their face. Once they part, Chris had to voice what is on both of their minds, "So what now? I mean, I know that I have to make it up to everyone, especially Martin, but what about us?"

"What do you want us to be?" Aviva says flirtatiously, winding her arms around Chris.

Blushing, Chris murmurs softly under his breath, while placing his hands on the smalls of her back, "I would like to give us a chance."

"I'm sorry. What?"

"I said I would like to give us a chance. I do have feelings for you."

"I would like that. And I have deep feelings for you too. For quite some time actually." Aviva smiles and leans in to capture Chris's lips in another passionate kiss once again that night; however, this time, he didn't take a long time to return the kiss. The kiss is slow, yet full of meaning and passion, and with the peaceful song of the wild surrounding them, it is perfect.

When they parted, Chris whispers softly into Aviva's ear, "Now I have another reason to live to come back home."

Humming in happiness, Aviva whispers back, "And just know that we will always be there, waiting."

Well that's it folks. Please leave a comment below and tell me how you thought this story went. This isn't my first story so please check out my account for other stories and one-shots.

IMPORTANT NOTICE!: This is a notice for all WK fans! I am right now, in the midst of planning a crossover between Wild Kratts and Jurassic Park, the first one (More details will be out once I start posting the story). The overall gist is basically the Wild Kratts crew going to Isla Nublar along with the rest of the characters of JP to help inspect the island, and basically all hell breaks loose. So comment on if you would like to read this or not, 'cause I don't want to start a story and have no one reading it. And the story will be posted once I see that people actually want to read it.

So comment and review, and I will see you next time.

~FD