Note: Aliens like hot sauce. Thank you for the comments. I'm sure Didi would be happy that her fic is being read and appreciated. If you have any questions let me know. Enjoy!

"Spoken" *thoughts*

Chapter 4: The Deception

Wringing the soft towel dry once more, Key folded it and placed it gently on Luna's forehead. He didn't want to disturb her sleep, the first honest sleep she's had in a while. But her increasing lack of appetite has been more troubling than he was willing to admit. The few things he can make did not seem to help her eat.

Moving the basin from the stand to the floor, he hoped the ham sandwich with all the topping and tomato juice mixed liberally with Tabasco sauce was enough to tempt her. He had purchased six bottles of economy size Tabasco sauce now. The grocery store clerk was beginning to think he was up to no good.

"Luna," he gave her shoulder a gentle shake, hoping not to startle her. The last time he woke her too abruptly, she panicked and he found himself flying across the room. "Hey sleeping beauty, it's time to wake up."

Long lashes fluttered for a moment, "Taemin?"

He felt a jolt of sorrow for the hope he could see in her eyes before her mind caught up with the rest of her. "Sorry, it's only plain old Key."

The smile the comment wrought was as intended. "Nothing plain and nothing old." She leaned up on her elbow and groaned with pain. "Did I sleep long?"

"Not long enough," he pulled the towel from her forehead and dropped it into the basin. The dark shadows under her eyes marred her soft gentle beauty. "I made you a sandwich, figured you might be hungry since you didn't eat much last night or this morning. You should eat."

Luna glanced at the platter on the table and smiled gratefully. Reaching out, she squeezed his hand with a weak grip. "Thank you Key, I don't know what I'd do without you."

He brushed a limp curl from her face and studied the sad visage for a moment, his heart contracting at the sight of her discomfort. The frequent glazing of her blue eyes indicated more than she thought. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

Forcing herself to smile for his benefit, she shook her head. "No, I'm feeling much better now."

Key laughed; it was abrupt and ironic. "You know, for someone who managed to convince those nearest and dearest to her that she's a cold blooded murderer, you don't lie very well."

Lifting her chin, Luna tossed her hair back in haughty dismissal. "I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about." She ruined the effect but suddenly doubling over and grabbing her stomach.

"Whoa there," Key got up and pulled her gently into a sitting position, cradling in his arm. "Deep breaths kid, deep breaths." He ran a soothing hand over the curve of her back, letting her lean against him for support. "Deep cleansing breaths."

"I'm not in labor, Key. Stop telling me to breathe," Tess said with a grin of appreciation for the young man. "But thank you."

"You need to eat," he murmured, brows knit with extreme concern over how pale the alabaster-skinned beauty had become. "You need to keep up your strength."

She leaned back, her head resting partially against the wall, partially on his blade thin shoulder. "What's the point? I'm going to die anyways."

Key jerked away, his face turned from her to mask his pain. "Don't say that! Don't ever say that! You don't know for sure!"

The smile she gave him was a mixture of fondness and sadness. "Of course I know that for sure. Why else would I have 'betrayed' Taemin?" Her heart contracted every time so much as think of him. *I did the right thing. I know I did.*

Key watched the sadness cross her features from the reflection in the mirror. "Was it worth it Luna? Lying to him like that?"

She looked up, eyes still with seriousness. "Having regrets, my friend?"

"Not about helping you," he assured her, turning to face his fellow conspirator. "I don't ever regret trusting that you knew what you were doing."

"But you do regret giving up your life... not literally as the others believe...but you did have to sacrifice that part of your life that could have been with Amber." She nodded to herself, as if confirming something in her mind. "Key, I wish..."

"Don't," he sat down on the bed and took her hand. Her skin felt like fine parchment, try and smooth. He partially feared that if he squeezed too hard, she might crack and fall apart. "I loved Amber. I knew what I was doing when I agreed to help you." He offered her a smile. *And God Knows that I was the only one that was willing to listen to what you had to say.*

Something flickered in the depth of those baby blues. "You can have your life back."

For a moment, he thought she was joking. "Luna, you 'killed' me remember? We both know perfectly well what will happen if I go back there. If Amber doesn't start asking too many questions, Taemin and Minho won't ever let it rest. Then everything we worked for, everything you sacrificed for, would have been for naught."

She nodded, understanding it perfectly. "But you'd get to be with the woman that you loved. It's that worth it? Isn't that what love is all about?"

"And what about you?" He turned it around. "You loved Taemin enough to give up everything for him. Your home, your life, your son... everything. And he doesn't even know it!" He jumped and paced the floor, needing to vent this since Luna showed up bruised, battered and sobbing her heart out at Taemin's willingness to believe her so-called duplicity. "God Luna, he was going to kill you!"

"He wouldn't have hurt me," defending Taemin was second nature to her even when she was still hurt by the fact that he believed her capable of murder. "Taemin is no killer."

"You don't know that!" He stared at the glass of Tabasco laced tomato juice on the nightstand. The red was like blood, the same blood Luna has to project onto his body to make them all believe. "You don't know what people are capable of when push comes to shove."

"Of course I do!" She snapped angrily, tears filling her eyes. "You think I don't know what one is capable of doing when there aren't any other choice? You think this is the first time I've allowed my life to be taken from me to protect my husband?" Her mind relieved her death over and over again. "You think this is the first time I've had to give up my son? I'd do anything for him." She turned to Key, eyes flashing dangerously. "I'd kill you to protect Taemin."

He stared at her. "Don't you mean kill me again?"

Collapsing on the floor, she cried for a moment before forcing herself to stop. She was Changmin's child; she had no heart to break. She was cold blooded and did not need anything or anyone in the universe. Her first thoughts were always of herself, no one was more important that your own survival. *Except Taemin. He will always be more important.* "I'm sorry Key. I didn't mean it."

"Sure you did," he murmured quietly as he helped her off the floor and onto the bed. Her face had gone three shades paler and he feared for her health. "You won't hesitate to kill me if you thought for a moment that I was a threat to Taemin. Just like I'd kill you if I thought you were going to hurt Amber."

The laughter was bittersweet and painful as her labored for breath. "So we both admit to being a little zealous when it comes to the affairs of our hearts."

"To say the least," he handed her the juice. "Rest."

"Key," she reached out and took his hand. "I meant what I said. You can have your life back." The seriousness in her eyes made him pause enough for her to be encouraged by it. "A deep mind warp can wipe the last year from your memories. As far as you would be concerned, you walked out into the desert one night and simply did not return for a year. You'd have no memories of me or the granilith, or the book and its translations. It would be as if you've simply woken from something." Her smile was sad, tinged with some joy at the thought of bringing him happiness. "I can create the illusion deep enough and powerful enough that even Amber's dream walk wouldn't be able to uncover anything. You can be with her again."

For a moment, the wonderful dream was almost tangible. "And you? You'd be all alone again."

The shrug and the casual, "I'm used to it," cut deep.

What kind of childhood this woman-child must have had for her to be so disregarding of something that was so obviously vital to her. "You have any idea how much it hurts to hear you say that?"

Eyes wide, she sat up again. "I hadn't meant for..."

"I know that," he interrupted exasperated, "And that's why it hurts more. You don't seem to ever expect anything from anyone, not even a little caring." He stared at her. "I can see that it hurts you to know that Taemin and the others hate you for something you didn't do, but you... Sometimes I think I'm the only person in this universe that understanding you, but sometime I feel so at sea where your reasoning is derived from. You don't deserve to be alone, much less die without someone here to put flowers on your grave."

Luna flashed him a smile that gave him chills. "At least you admit that I will die. Key, you've been so good to my family and me; I just want to return the favor. But it'll have to be soon, while I still have the strength to do the warp."

"There isn't going to be one," Key stated, getting up to pull the sheets to her chin, tucking her in gently. "We began this deception together and we'll see it through together. I can live without Isabel. But I can't live knowing that I left you behind."

She grabbed his hand, "You wouldn't even remember me. There wouldn't be anything to feel guilt over."

He shook his head. "I'd know it here," tapping his chest, just above the heart. "Sleep, we'll talk later. I'll have pancakes ready for you when you wake up."

She watches him leave the room closing the door silently behind him. Her eyes watered, but for the first time since Roswell, she didn't shed any tears of sorrow for Taemin. Instead, she shed them for Key, her one friend in the world. "I'll set things right for you, Key, before I leave this world. You'll be with Amber again, I promise." Touching her stomach gently, she tried to ignore her child's pain. "Soon, my darling. It'll all be over soon."

Key swallowed the lump in his throat, forcing himself to calm down as he crossed the tiny tidy living room doubling as his bedroom. There were days when all he sees were the bad outweighing the good in this life he had chosen for himself. During those days, he cursed Luna for convincing him to join forces with her, to create this illusion. Then there were days when he saw Luna's in so much pain that she drew blood from biting her lips to keep from crying out and he wondered how he could be so god-damn selfish.

The fact that she was growing weaker could no longer be ignored. Two days without barely any food was hardly a good sign. And as much optimism as he had for the world, he knew that the time was drawing near.

He wished that he could cry for her.

Unable to bear the thought of a cold unmarked gravestone for her friend, Key chose not to think on it any longer. Opening the front door, he took a deep breath, inhaling the hot stifling air. And for a moment, he thought he caught a tantalizingly familiar scent.

Before the rest of the thought registered in his mind, a large rough hand caught him around the nose and mouth, cutting off air. An arm around came around to pin his arms to his side. Another pair of hands caught his fraying legs, keeping him from detaching himself for his attacker.

Without oxygen, Key only stayed consciously for a few more moments. His last conscious thought was how he wasn't going to be able to make pancakes for Luna that night.