My entry for January's Fan Challenge. Enjoy.

My dear obsessive archaeologist,

How have you been? It occurs to me that we haven't spent much time together in the last few months, but I want you to know that I still think of you often. In fact, there are times when I obsess over you still, much to the annoyance of everyone around me.

I remember when it all began. A friend introduced us a number of years ago. He didn't mention you specifically, but your circle of friends impressed both he and myself. As I began to spend more time with all of you, I also discovered that many of you stood out of the crowd in a very impressive manner. There was the hilarious pervert, the brooding, secretive mercenary, the mysterious convict, the emotionless robot girl, your own genius brother, and that well-endowed ninja girl that unfortunately distracted me from you for a few of my younger years. Heck, even that idiotic hothead you hung out with had his moments. Really the only person I wasn't that fond of was the sickly, overly-apologetic girl.

In our travels together, I came to enjoy our time together, perhaps a bit too much. We trekked across the world, fighting for survival and prosperity, until we reached the final leg of our journey. With a heavy heart, I acknowledged the inevitable; our time together was at its end. And so, with a heavy heart, I prepared to take my leave of you all...

But it was not the end. There was more to our journey, and it proved to be more epic, emotional and wonderful than the initial trip. We fought for more than just survival, more than just better crops. We fought for freedom. Freedom for all races, all classes and the entire world. And though it could be said that our mutual enemy was wrong, his intentions were noble and his demise was regrettable.

Our travels together were finally over, this time for good. But this was not the end of the time I spent with you. Indeed, I began to spend every waking moment with your group, and that is when I began to notice you in particular. I admired your intelligence, your stern disciplinary principles and your caring nature. I even found your... passion for anything of historical significance endearing. Though you do have your faults, such as your extremely well-grounded fear of water and your below-average culinary endeavors, you have always been a person of great interest to me and I am grateful to have met you.

Just today, I met you again. You seemed different from when we last met. Your voice had changed, a bit of a strange phenomenon for a woman 25 (actually, I suppose it's 27 now) years old. What's more, you seemed a bit less emotional and quieter than before. I had worried that you had changed too much, but my fears were alleviated upon arrival in a place where we used to spend much time together. It had changed, as well. Your concern for the ruins located there matched my former concern for you, which served to lessen my concern considerably. Though there was definitely a difference, I was relieved to see that you were essentially the same woman.

I have been busy with another group of late, once again for the benefit of the entire world. Once again, my journey with them will be prolonged, as it seems that there is more we must do to accomplish our goal, even though our enemy seems to have been defeated. However, I want you to know that I still think of you often, even on this journey. Once in a while, I even wish you were with us, if only to knock some sense into our selfish redhead companion. I was hoping that maybe we could spend a little time together after my current travels. I may not return for a while, but I will see you again, I'm sure. You are, after all, too enthralling a person to ignore for long.

Sincerely,

Ace