A/N: Maybe I should have given him something to do in the previous chapter so his doubts wouldn't have gotten the better of him. Oh well, what's done is done...

Chapter 4: Reunion

As Kim landed on the island, her heart was pounding so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest. She could hardly wait to see Cap again.

The first one to greet her was none other than Buddy, who ran from her hut and almost made Kim fall over in his excitement. She managed to make the dog settle down. "You were keeping him company, huh?"

Kim was going to go straight to her hut but her stomach offered a protest. The woman realized it had been a while since she had last eaten so she dashed to the common hut to get a quick snack.

The Planeteers were there, doing various things. "Hey, guys," Kim greeted.

"Shouldn't you go and tell him the news?" Gi asked her friend with a smile, as if already guessing what the woman was going to tell the superhero.

"I will but I needed to get something to eat first," Kim replied, as she prepared a sandwich. "Haven't eaten since… since I left the hospital."

Once the sandwich was ready the brunette excused herself. Taking a bite of her snack, she made her way to her hut, telling Buddy to be quiet. Once she got there, she took a deep breath to calm herself before going in. Cap was quite clearly still sound asleep. The superhero was on his stomach with one arm dangling down the edge of the bed. Nothing short of an earthquake would probably rouse him. He looked so peaceful Kim didn't have the heart to wake him. She decided to let him do it on his own time, and settled down on a chair beside the bed, watching him with a smile.

A half an hour later Cap stirred, rolling over onto his back and with a sigh put one arm over his eyes, as if not quite ready to wake up fully yet.

Kim went to sit on the edge of the bed. "Did you sleep well, superhero of mine?" she asked gently.

"Sure did," Cap replied. He did a doubletake and taking his arm away from his eyes, looked at her, blinking a few times, not quite believing what he was seeing. "Kim? When did you get back?"

She smiled. So far so good. "About half an hour ago."

The superhero sat up and without a word wrapped his arms around the woman. He sighed contentedly, at peace with the world for the moment. Cap was reminded of their reunion over six months ago. What he was feeling now was similar to that relief he had felt then to have her there in his arms again. Putting her own arms around the eco-hero, Kim held him close. This was where she belonged. Buddy sat nearby, looking pleased at what he saw.

"I missed you," Cap said. "So much."

"I missed you more," Kim told him.

Still holding her tightly, as if afraid that the woman would disappear if he let go of her, the superhero said, "I was afraid that… that you'd change your mind about coming back." He couldn't bring himself to ask whether or not she had just dropped by.

Surprised at his words, Kim looked at the superhero, caressing his azure cheek. "Why would I do such a thing? I said I would come back to you, didn't I?" She paused and then said, "For good, if that's OK with you."

Cap studied her face, the woman's words sinking in. "You mean you're staying?"

"Was there ever any doubt?" she asked gently. "So you're stuck with me."

Relief washed through him. Being stuck with her was more than OK. Something happened that Kim would have never expected to see. The superhero eyes welled up with tears and he hugged her again. He clearly needed to feel her there so that's what she provided, stroking his hair. The Planeteers had most certainly understated his mood to her. She hadn't had any doubts but he clearly had. What was more, he had very obviously been afraid he'd lose her. But why? What had caused him to think that?

The superhero realized he had been going to give up too easily. He reminded himself not do such a thing again where she was concerned. He should have had more faith in her.

Cap looked at the brunette, having also realized this had been the first time she had seen him cry. "Sorry for being such a wimp."

Kim smiled, reaching out to brush at his cheeks. "As far as I'm concerned, you can cry as often as you want or need to, you big wimp. I don't mind."

Cap grinned. What had he done to deserve her? The superhero was about to kiss the woman when he thought of something. The reason for all that had happened. "There is a condition, though. So you can stay, that is."

Kim already knew, or at least could guess at what that would be and put a finger to his lips before Cap could continue. "Now that I really know you, I promise you'll get no nasty vibes from me again." She also promised she would do her best to put the past behind her and look to the future with him.

He could see that (and by other means too) she really meant that and promptly followed through with what he had had in mind in the first place. The couple settled down on the bed, Kim snuggling up to the superhero with a contented sigh. Cap seconded that. His little family was complete now.

Buddy chose this moment to go to them. He seemed to want some attention too.

Cap chuckled and scratched the dog a little. "Thanks for keeping me company while your mistress was away, boy. But now, would you mind giving us some time alone?"

"We don't really need you watching over us," Kim added.

The dog gave a 'woof' and padded out of the hut, looking at them one more time at the door. Then Buddy made himself scarce.

However, they didn't really need to be all over each other all the time. Having the other there was enough. Cap asked the woman about her father and she told him he was alright but had to take it easy for a few weeks.

"Oh, and mom asked about you again," Kim told him. "To quote: 'he must be quite a guy if you're in that much of a hurry to go back to him'." She looked Cap with adoring eyes. "If she only knew."

It was obvious Kim's mother still wanted to meet her daughter's "mystery boyfriend". Well, the boyfriend wanted to meet his girl's folks too.

'My girl,' Cap mused with a smile, liking the sound of that. "Well, why don't we just agree on a date with them and get it over with?" he suggested.

Kim clearly hadn't expected to hear that. "Really?"

"I still do want to meet them too," the superhero pointed out. "So it's a no-brainer to me that we should do it." He reminded her to ask for some flexibility, not settling on a definite date because of possible eco-emergencies. Kim assured him she would have done so even if he hadn't told her to.

'Looks like I really did get through to her,' Cap thought with a smile. His doubts seemed downright silly to him now.

So, she got her cell phone and got one of her parents on the line, settling on a date. Since her parents were both free for the next few weeks, her mother being on vacation and her father on sick leave because of his heart, all they had to do was call when they were free and her parents would meet them at the cabin. If they hadn't made any other plans for a particular day, that is.

"Are you sure he's up to the possible shock, though?" Cap asked after Kim told him what had been agreed. He said it in a light tone but there was real concern too.

This subject had been a touchy one between them before but Kim had learned to read him better since then and kept her temper in check now, assuring the superhero that she would prepare her father for the meeting.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said. "I made something for you. It's in there." He indicated the drawer of the bedside table.

The something turned out to be a necklace. Kim took it out and looked at it more closely. It had a single pearl sitting in a small open silver clam on a thin silver chain. The detail on the clam was exquisite. This told her he had put a lot of effort into it.

"You really made this yourself?" she asked, clearly impressed. "Just for me?"

"Uh huh," the superhero confirmed. "Like it?" He could already tell she did but asked anyway.

"Like it? I love it!" The gift meant a lot to her especially since he had made it with his own two hands. With the help of his powers obviously but that didn't matter much to her. It was the thought that counted.

"I went to do a little diving after you left and found that pearl in an almost identical clam to that one," he explained as he secured the necklace around her neck.

"It's beautiful," Kim said. "Thank you."

The eco-hero smiled. "Thank you for being in my life."

He had obviously made it for her before his doubts had gotten the better of him. The brunette didn't want to ruin the moment but had to know. So she asked him what had made him think that she wasn't going to come back. Especially after that very enlightening mind-to-mind thing he had done.

Hesitating only for a brief moment, the superhero told her what had gone through his mind while she had been gone, mindful of his promise that there would be no secrets between them. Kim listened to all of it without interrupting, although she would have wanted to at least a couple of times, already knowing most of what he told her. But she also realized this was the first time he had been completely open with her where his innermost thoughts were concerned. They had talked a lot during her sick leave but not like this.

"It just goes to show that Captain Planet and boredom don't mix that well," Kim commented with a smile when he finished, the woman having guessed the reason why. She recalled the superhero had become restless during her sick leave too during a similar situation. But this time she hadn't been there for him to make it easier to cope.

Cap grinned. "You got that right. But now that you're back, boredom won't be that bad anymore."

Kim wrapped her arms around his neck, eyes on his. "I do have a few ideas how we could keep the boredom away." The woman teasingly kissed him. As always, they ended up in a horizontal position, their attention totally on each other.

"Think we should make good use of this quiet time and stop by the cabin?" she suggested after a while, glancing at the door, which was open. She should have shut it coming in but had been so impatient that she had forgotten all about it.

"Seems the cabin's the only other option here," Cap stated. "If we wanna have some privacy." The superhero looked at her affectionately and ran his fingertips along the woman's arm. "Complete privacy, that is."

They wouldn't have the chance to leave for the cabin yet, though. Gaia's voice rang out, announcing an eco-emergency.

Kim sighed. "Looks like I spoke too soon."

"Whoever it is, the timing is way off," Cap added, not bothering to check who it was this time. Why couldn't the villains have chosen to do something during the past week instead of now? "But before I go…" the superhero said, turning his attention to the woman again and pointed at her shirt. There was a faint glow on the tip of his finger and when it was gone, the globe insignia had appeared on the woman's shirt, making her officially one of them. Not an official Planeteer but part of the group, nonetheless.

For that, the superhero earned a long and lingering kiss from her, making him wish he wouldn't have to go. But Cap knew he had a job to do so promising her they would get a chance to go to the cabin soon, he made his exit.

A/N: Only one more chapter to go. As always, please leave a review and I'll do my best to put it up ASAP.