Damien

I watched over them as they slept.  Michy woke up once and I gave her a bottle. I checked Ty and made sure his temperature wasn't getting any higher.  In another hour, I'll have to wake him up to give him more medication. But before I could wait another hour, Ty started stirring. He was starting to sob, so I went to get him so he wouldn't wake his mom and sister up.

"Shh... I've got you, little one."

"Mommy?"

"Mommy is resting. She's pretty tired too.  But don't worry. I'm here.  I'll take care of you."

He gave me a toothy grin.

"Are you feeling any better?" I asked.

He nodded.

"We stayin' with you?" Ty asked with what I would assume is a hopeful expression.  

"I'm not sure. I was pretty scared when I found you guys gone.  I was really worried."

"I wanna stay with yous. I didn'ts wanna go." He placed his head on my shoulder as he wrapped both arms around my neck and held on for dear life.

"Don't worry, buddy.  I'm not going anywhere," I assured Ty.  I walked around with him in my arms and not long has passed, he fell asleep.  Rather than placing him back on his back, I sat back on my recliner seat and continued to hold him. I'm gonna have to wake him up soon anyway, so I decided to just hold him in my arms.

Hallie

I woke up to the sun shining in the room.  I looked around and Damien was gone, along with Ty.  I looked over and was surprised to find Michy still sleeping in the pen.  

Before I could get out of bed, the door opened.  Damien walked in with Ty in my arms.

"Hey,' he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Rested," I said.  "I can't remember the last time I had a good night's sleep," I said, then stopped. Here I am again revealing too much.  "Ty?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Still asleep.  His fever broke a few hours ago.  After I gave him more medication, he didn't want to go back on the bed, so I just carried him until he fell asleep.  I just had to answer a call, that's why I was gone."

I nodded. "Here, you can him down.  He gets heavy after awhile and he sleeps through almost anything, so you don't have to worry about waking him if you move him."

Damien smiled. "I kinda liked having him in my arms.  Though your right.  I'm not sure I can feel my left arm anymore," he said, making us both chuckle softly. 

I watched as Damien placed Ty gently on the bed.

"Breakfast?" he asked. 

I nodded.

We made our way to the kitchen and sat on the breakfast bar. 

"Smells delicious," I commented. 

He smiled as he placed some food in front of me.  "Eat up."

We ate in silence.  I never knew how hungry I was until I took my first bite.  I finished everything he put on my plate and even finished my coffee and orange juice.

When I was finished, I looked at him only to find him looking at me.

I felt my face heat up. "Sorry."

"Don't.  It's good to see you eat," was all he said.

"If you're finished we can move this to the balcony and take our coffee with us."

I nodded. "That sounds lovely, but no more coffee for me.  I'll just take a glass of water with me, if that's okay."

He nodded and got me a glass of water, before refilling his cup with coffee.

I followed him to the balcony and sat down on the comfortable lounger couch he has.

"I figured we could talk now, before the little ones wake up," he said.

I nodded, as I shifted with an unease.

"Why did you leave?" he asked.

Damien

"Why did you leave?" I asked, cutting to the chase.

She blushed guiltily.

Her shoulders sagged and she dropped her gaze.  I waited and I felt like a bastard for putting such pressure on her, but I need to know.

"I don't know.  I wasn't planning to leave like that. I meant it when I said, I'd try, but then the more I thought about it, the more scared I got."

"Scared of what?" I asked.

"Of everything. I'm scared for myself, my kids.  I'm scared for you," she explained.  "I'm scared for you because, the more people we are exposed to, the greater the threat and the risk. "I can't risk, Ty and Michy.  I can't risk their safety."

"I don't understand."

She sighed and looked away. She bit her lip as if contemplating whether she should tell me something or not. I want her to trust me and to feel comfortable.

I reached for her hand and laced my fingers through hers and squeezed.  Warmth travelled all the way my arm and into my chest. "Listen to me, Hallie. I'm going to help you. I'm going to protect you, Ty, and Michy.  No harm will come to you as long as you're all in my care.  My brother in laws own the largest security firm in the country.  They can help us.  They will help us. I know you don't trust me yet, but I'm going to prove to you that not everyone in the world is out to harm you."

"You don't understand," she said, her voice rising and becoming more upset. "You're risking your life and the people you care about by getting involved.  You don't know him... How powerful he is. I could never forgive myself if something were to happen to you.  I know you think I'm overreacting and that you and your brother in laws can protect me, but you can't. You can't fix this or make it go away. Nobody can," she finished with a sob.

Hallie

I pulled my hand out of Damien's grasp and hurried my face in my hands. I hated crying in front of Damien.  I don't want him to see how weak I am.  I don't want him to see how vulnerable and scared I am.

"Don't cry, Hallie," he said softly, as he pulled me into his arms.

"Do you even know about my family and everything we've been through?" he asked.

I frowned and looked up at him.

"Hallie, we've been through so much.  We've been to hell and back.  We've managed to surpass every damn nightmare that was thrown at us, and do you know how and why?"

I shook my head.

"Because we're a family.  We fight for one another.  We have each other's backs. We never give up and we fight together.  We never lose hope or faith that everything would be okay.  It may take some time, but we know that in the end, we'll be okay," he said.  "Hallie, I don't know what this is or how to explain how I feel about you, Ty, and Michy.  All I know, is you're now part of that family, I'm talking about.  We will protect you.  Let me help you.  You've been doing this along for along time, but now you don't have to. You have me and I can assure you, that you'll have my entire family behind you."

More tears rolled down on my face.

He wiped them away. "You need help. Let me help you."

"I can do this on my own," I insisted. Please fight for me, for us harder.

"I will fight with you. Beside you," he countered.

Damien touched my cheek, stoking it with his fingertips.  He traced a line down the curve of my face, as he looked at me with warmth in his eyes. "Give me a chance, Hallie.  You need a place to stay. Food to eat.  But most importantly, you need to feel safe. I can give all those things for you."

I looked down.  He makes it sound so easy.

"You may not trust me, but I know I make you feel safe," he said and I looked at him in surprise. 

"I do, don't I?" he asked.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Don't I?" he asked again with a hopeful expression in his eyes. All I could do was nod wordlessly.

Happiness shone in his eyes as he smiled.

"Will you stay?" he asked. "Please."

And once again, all I could do was nod wordlessly.

Damien wrapped me in his arms and dropped a kiss on my forehead. When he touches me and holds me in his arms, just like this, I do feel safe.  It sounds crazy, because I barely know him, but I absolutely feel safe with him and I believed him when he said that he would protect us and no harm would come to us. 

Or maybe I'm just hopeful.

I shook my head.

I don't know if I'm making the right decision or not, I just hope that I am, because if anything were to happen to Ty and Michy, and even Damien, I will never forgive myself.

"I will keep you safe, Hallie.  I swear it."

Damien made me believe... made me want to believe. He sounded so sure. So confident that even the question, how could anyone make such a promise is silenced in my head. He doesn't know who we're up against and just what he's capable of. Marcus will never stop until he gets what he wants and he's not afraid to anything, just to get it. And what he wants is me.  Us. Me, Ty, and Michy. 

Marcus is all kinds of evil. I never really knew, not until I saw exactly what he's capable of.

"Will you tell me who you're running from?" 

I looked at him.

He looked at me encouragingly.

I took a deep breath and said, "A monster."