Doe's POV:

Erik jumped out practically the second we arrived, telling me to do the same.

And well, I had no reason to argue.

With the way, things were looking it felt like I was going to be the first one to return.

Given that not even all of the vehicles had arrived yet, and the slaves that usually took us back were just starting to come down the steps.

With that in mind, I wondered if Xander was even going to be awake.

Erik's hands were balled nervously at his sides as he snuck me away, the other vampires working on the girls in the vehicle he drove instead.

I'm assuming that they're going to need him back sooner or later, or at least realize that he's missing.

He didn't say a word as we stepped into an elevator I didn't know existed, though I was partially more focused and relished the fact that I didn't have to take those stairs.

They were a good... torturous workout, but not one I wanted to have to deal with right now.

Erik's next inhale came with a noticeable tremor, causing me to look up at his face.

The expression there was close to the last one I saw on Layla, though this one was a bit more... controlled I guess.

I wondered what kind of plan he had come up with, or if he has just accepted an unknown fate.

I began to walk first once the elevators opened, leaving him scrambling behind me.

Regardless of everything else, I just wanted to be back in our room.

There wasn't any joy or satisfaction coming from the thought of Erik explaining what happened to Xander.

Although I appreciated his willingness too, and I can admire the accountability, it truly wasn't needed.

Or wanted, now that I think about it.

We turned into the dead-end hallway that had my door, and I honestly thought he was about to shrivel up into nothing.

Stopping in front of it, he took a moment to compose himself before lifting his hand to knock.

"Don't," I finally said, causing him to freeze immediately.

Rubbing a hand down my face at his perplexed reaction, I sighed.

"Just get out of here," I instructed, though a bit of it could be considered a plea.

I wanted to enjoy my return to him, and I couldn't do that it if starts with this.

"W-What?" he pulled his hand back, telling me that he was at least semi-partial to the idea.

"Just go. It'll be better for everyone if I explain to him what happened instead of you trying to do it," I admitted, really just desperate to go in there, "I won't mention you and clear your name if he tries, but you'll be fine. I promise."

He just stared at me, stunned.

"And thank you," these words were a smidge quieter, "For the uh, treatment, I guess."

A few more seconds of silence and his cautious staring.

"You sure?"

I nodded a bit too eagerly.

His hand dropped, taking a slow step backward.

Finally.

"Thank you," the relief practically dripped from the words before he had sped off.

My shoulders dropped in his absence, hand immediately going for the handle.

The lock clicked after the brief fingerprint scan and I hurriedly stepped in.

The lights weren't even on yet.

I flicked them on as I closed the door, spotting Xander sitting up in his bed as if the sound of my arrival shocked him into a sitting position.

He was still in his pajamas, though, when was he not?

His eyes grew wide in excitement, his smile growing into the same.

Which admittedly caused me to pause, the sight pulling something in my chest.

"Holy shit you're early!" He gushed, tossing away his blanket to skurry out of his bed.

He approached me just as fast, arms extended like he was about to just scoop me up into his arms.

But he stopped himself about three steps away, hesitation taking over the look on his face for a moment and his arms lowered in that same awkward way he's done so many times before.

"I uh..."

Oh Xander...

Maybe I did miss him.

Just a little.

I padded over to him, taking his arms and guiding them to a position that wouldn't directly touch any wound.

Not yet. I wanted to enjoy him before we got into that.

I put one of his hands in my hair, the other one hugging around my shoulders, then I hooked my arms under his, and held tight to the back of his shirt.

The side of my face then pressed against his chest, both of our holds tightening on each other in some sort of scrambled-up embrace.

He didn't seem to mind.

"Hey," I breathed, letting the conversation start over as I soaked in the feelings I hadn't realized I missed.

The essence of him.

Of home.

The knowledge that I could let my guard down, and the feeling of his quiet laugh while I was against him like this.

"Hey," he repeated, his thumbs rubbing against my skin, "how was it?"

I slumped against him, "I hate that place."

"That bad huh?"

Oh, he has no idea.

"Could have been worse, I guess. I just underestimated how much I was going to-"

I cut myself off, a warmth rushing to my face at what I almost just said.

"Miss me?" Xander went ahead and filled in. Rather cheekily as well.

I scoffed, bringing my hands around to his chest and pushing myself back, "As if,"

He allowed me to distance myself a few inches, but still kept his hands on me, now with a grin as he looked down at me.

"Right. So you're saying that you didn't miss me then? Because I definitely missed you,"

Curse this vampire and his bluntness.

And curse that look in his eye that told me he was listening for an answer.

Listening to whether or not I was lying.

Which meant that no matter the answer, he was going to get the answer my stubbornness didn't want to give him yet.

"Did you talk to your brother," I spoke flatly, changing the subject.

And by doing that, he got the answer that we wanted.

His chuckle further proved it.

"I did," He began, trailing the hand on my shoulder down my arm and towards my wrist, "It went a lot better than I thought it would, and we-"

He glanced down at my hand, but didn't cut off his sentence until he did a double-take, his eyes growing wide.

And his pupils thinning.

I followed his stare, my stomach sinking as I realized that I had missed what sat there.

The sleeves on this shirt had slid down enough given my current position to show the purple and reddened bruised that circled my wrists.

I hadn't even noticed them until now...

We both looked at the other one at the same time, and sure enough, the mark was mirrored.

Shit...

Well, at least I got a bit of peace before all of this.

"Yeah um... about that."

His stance had gone rigid, his hands carefully taking mine by my fingers and lifting them closer as he inspected.

His silence was... unnerving.

And if he was reacting like this just to the bruises on my wrists then... Oh boy.

His eyes flicked to me, that hardened look that still felt new on him as clear as day.

"This isn't the shirt you left in," his voice mimicked it.

I guess he was too excited to notice until now.

Now he was focused, and taking in absolutely everything that he could.

Even his nostrils flared, trying to pick up any scent that he could.

"Look, Xander, I know you're not gonna be happy about this, but I'm not going to tell you about it while you look like that." I gestured to his pupils.

My words surprised him, to say the least, but eventually, he managed to ease himself up. Or just to the point where his pupils rounded out.

His hold on my hands never released.

I swallowed hard, and I couldn't distinguish which emotion caused me to do so.

"I ended up meeting up with Khloe and something... happened the first night. She ended up waking one of the guards and when he came to find out who did it I..." My voice drifted off, gaze falling to the side.

His eyes were shifting into that saddened sympathy I usually didn't like to see.

But this time I just felt awful.

He promised me safety, and then I go out and put myself in danger.

Even if I felt it necessary.

"You took it for her," he settled for me. His voice was disapproving, but it didn't sound like it was directly targeted at me.

Thank god.

"To make up for what happened between you two that night. For what I think I could have stopped."

"Doe you-"

"Don't," I cut him off, facing him again, "Please I just..."

I knew what he was going to say. How he didn't believe it to be my fault.

"I know we've already talked about this and decided that we have differing opinions on the subject, so I don't expect you to agree but just... try to understand? With Layla taken care of, that was one of the last things weighing on my conscience before I felt like I could start living like we talked about. I feel better about everything now knowing that I have a clean slate to start on."

A line formed between his brows, hopefully going over what I said.

I already knew he wasn't going to agree, but what's done is done.

"And don't blame the guy you handed me off to. You and Nico scared him enough to where he made the rest of the check-up bearable for me."

I figured I'd clear that up while I could.

"What did they do to you then?" His voice was quiet, yet had a sharpness to it that showed me that he was just barely keeping it together.

He knew now that I wouldn't tell him if he wasn't.

Even so, I still delayed, and when I did speak, I barely heard my own words.

"It was only ten."

He understood immediately, eyes rounding and pupils thinning yet again.

"They whipped you?" The strange mix of horror, anguish and complete, unrelenting anger fought through his voice.

It wasn't hard to tell that he wanted to look for himself what happened to me, but I wouldn't allow that when he was already so riled up.

I squeezed his hands tighter, and it looked to have worked in grabbing back his attention.

"Xander... I swear it wasn't as bad as you think. The actual whipping was the worst part, but the one you handed me off to ended up being an actual doctor so he fixed me up and had them healed a decent amount. They don't even hurt right now, so don't try to get Nico involved."

That shift in his eyes again to check if I was lying.

I wasn't, and he relaxed just the slightest bit as he realized that.

I hoped it was enough.

"I don't want to think about it anymore. Please, I just want to move on with it... with you, and get back to the fun stuff." Whether it was from exhaustion or some kind of weird desperation, my voice came out soft.

I was so tired of this sort of thing. The whole vibe just reminded me too much of the days when Layla still lingered.

And now with the check-up over with, there was nothing left to stop us.

I just wanted to look ahead now that it felt like I could.

"A name." His voice had that low tone again.

"What?"

"Give me a name and I'll drop it." He promised, that normal look returning to his eye to further aid in proving his point.

I didn't hesitate nearly as long that time.

"Ian."

He just nodded through the tightness of his jaw.

With his agreement, now all I wanted was for that look to leave his face.

I closed the space between us again, feeling him stiffen in surprise as I pulled a hand away, just to reach it into his hair.

Using it to turn his head down, I touched his forehead to mine.

Yeah... Maybe I did miss this.

It took him a few seconds, but he returned his now-free arm into my hair like it was before.

We both just stayed there as I waited for most of that tension to leave his body.

When it did, his face fell into my shoulder, sighing almost regretably.

I smiled at his reluctance, but willingness to hear me out and cooperate accordingly.

I truly did appreciate it, and hoped that I was showing him that.

"Did you apologize to Nico for what you did to Khloe?" I asked.

With what I told Khloe, I can only imagine she explained some of it to Nico.

Including my reasoning, so I was just hoping Xander had taken care of that with Nico already.

"Not... specifically," he answered carefully.

"Xander..." I quietly berated.

And that word alone was enough for him to get the hint.

He very unwillingly released me and stepped away towards the door.

"I'll be right back."