A/N You guys hate the cliffhanger after the last chapter, don't you? Tell me! I'll try to make more like them!

Keefe's POV

When Sophie described a broken mind to me, she said that the memories were fractured. She said there were jagged edges everywhere. She said nothing made sense and the person wasn't usually conscious. I didn't understand what she meant. Now I do.

My mind was full of swirling memories. Tiny shreds of pictures and voices and emotions. But three images stood out in the center of my mind.

The first image had cracks running across it, distorting it. But it was clearly a picture of a tall, cruel-looking woman. I knew her... my mom. That was my mom, Lady Gisela. How did I forget her? In the picture, she was holding something out to me. A melder. That's when I recognized this image. It wasn't real. It was from the nightmares I'd had every night since Loamnore.

The second picture was a symbol I didn't recognise. I didn't spend too much time deciphering it, but it had cracks too.

I recognised the third picture immediately. It was a view of Sophie's face. Unlike the others, this picture had no cracks. It was perfect. I couldn't tell where she was in the picture, but she was younger. A couple years ago, probably.

Just then, a giant spike made from thousands of woven images hurtled past me, tearing through pictures and thoughts alike. As it passed me, I managed to catch a glimpse of it. It was full of images of my dad's face, his features twisted in anger or disgust. And it destroyed everything it touched.

I went back to staring at Sophie's face. I felt the cold blackness and sharp memories around me pulling and tugging, but I stayed focused on her eyes. They kept me above the surface. I knew if I let go of them, I would fall into the sea of pain and never make it back up.

I have no idea how long I stared desperately into her eyes, mentally calling for help. Time lost its meaning. I felt nothing from my body except occasional throbbing. I was completely absorbed in my mind.

It could have been years, or it could have been seconds, but I finally heard a voice. It seemed different from the thousands of voices shouting at me constantly from all angles. Softer, somehow. More solid. But scared. And full of pain.

Keefe?

Keefe. Keefe. That's me. I'm Keefe. Right?

Keefe, I don't know if you can hear me. Please don't give up. I will help you, I promise. But we have to wait until you're stronger. So rest, and don't give up. I love you, Keefe. Stay strong for me.

Stay strong. Don't give up. Rest. The words lost their meaning in the constant swarm around me. But what I did know was that I was getting weaker by the second. Until I heard her voice.

Sophie. That's who was talking. Sophie. Foster. The beautiful, strong, talented girl I would do anything to protect. I had failed her.

NO, KEEFE! Suddenly her voice blasted at me again. STOP IT. Don't you dare feel guilty. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm fine, you're fine, everyone's fine. I promise. Just keep yourself together a little longer.

I didn't do anything wrong? What did she mean? I- but no, that was a dream. Right? Every second, it became harder to separate my imagination from reality. But for a few precious moments, I let myself believe the words. It wasn't my fault.

Good, Keefe. That's right. Just sleep now. Sleep and rest. I can help you soon. I love you. And then she left. I wanted her to stay. But I was okay for now. I would hold myself together for her, until she returned.

*****

The next time I heard the voice, it was much more hopeful. But I was barely holding on. Her words had kept me together, but only barely. I was falling fast.

Keefe, they say you're strong enough. I'm going to heal you now. But you need to trust me.

I gathered up all my strength. I trust you, Sophie.

Keefe! I felt relief flood through me, before I realized it wasn't mine. It must be hers. You can hear me! I wasn't sure. Okay, I'm going to heal you now, but I need you to remember one thing. Ready?

Yes.

Okay. Just think this to yourself: It's not my fault. Repeat it with me. It's not my fault.

It's not my fault. It's not my fault. It's not my fault. We chanted in unison. I drew strength from the words, feeling myself grow stronger as emotions flooded around me. Happiness, and joy, and relief, and peace, and love. So much love. Filling every nook and cranny, molding my shattered self back together, fixing me. Until my mind was calm again and I could feel my body.

I wasn't awake, though. Sophie?

Keefe. You're better now. But you're not ready to wake up. Just rest. Sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. I love you.

I gathered up the words, storing them safely before drifting off into a restful sleep.

*****

This time, I woke up for real. I didn't open my eyes yet, though. I decided to run through my situation first. Apparently my mind had broken and Sophie had brought me back. I wasn't quite ready to think about that yet.

So I took stock of my physical injuries. I had a splitting headache, my right eye still felt swollen, and my neck felt like it was constrained.

Then I realized something was touching my hand. So I slowly opened my eyes, bracing myself against the blindingly bright light. I looked at my hand to see Sophie's fingers intertwined tightly with mine. I realized I was in one of the cots at the Healing Center. Then I moved my gaze higher, and my breath caught.

I figured she had been sitting here since I lost consciousness at the Shores of Solace. And she looked like she had- her hair was messy and her clothes were wrinkled- but I barely noticed that. She looked so peaceful and relaxed. She was sitting on a cot pressed up against mine to the left, her head resting on my shoulder. And she was so beautiful.

I could barely breathe. Her hair caught the light from the windows, making it seem to glow. Her face was a little pale, but her cheeks were rosy. And her lips... once my gaze focused on her lips, I couldn't tear it away.

I squeezed her hand gently. She lifted her head, stretching her free hand and yawning. Then she looked at me, and the look in her eyes made me melt. She was so happy.

"Keefe!" She turned and wrapped her arm around my neck, hugging me tight. I wrapped mine around her waist, pulling her close and breathing in the smell of her. You'd think she wouldn't smell great after who knows how long in the Healing Center, but she did. Like Panakes blossoms, with a hint of lemon and something else I couldn't put my finger on. I nestled my face deeper into her hair, holding her tightly and planning on never letting her go.

"I missed you." She whispered, her head nestled in my shoulder and her arms still around my neck.

"I saw you every second. I never looked away. Your face was the only thing that kept me together." I whispered back. "Thank you for saving me."

"Thank you for trusting me."

"So you're not mad?"

She pulled back a little to look me in the eyes. "I never want to hear you say that again. You need to quit blaming yourself this instant."

"Look who's back to being bossy." I smirked.

"Keefe. Your guilt broke your mind. I'm allowed to tell you to not blame yourself."

"You're allowed to tell me whatever you want to tell me." I whispered back, my gaze into her eyes turning intense.

She didn't respond for a while. "There's only one thing I want to tell you right now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She stared a moment longer. "I lo-"

I didn't let her finish the word. I leaned across the last couple inches separating us. I kept one hand around her waist and brought the other up to her face, which I stroked before tangling my fingers in her hair. And I tilted my head to press my lips against hers.

She responded immediately, tilting her own head and kissing me back. Her intensity knocked me back a step, but I quickly recovered and put my hand behind her head, pulling her in even tighter.

Normally, Grady or Fitz or Elwin would walk in here. But I guess fate or karma or whatever decided we deserved a little reward for everything we'd been through. Sure, they were probably watching through the windows. I would probably pay for this later with Grady. But I couldn't bring myself to care as the entire world narrowed until the only thing that mattered was Sophie. Sophie, the only girl I ever loved, who loved me too. Sophie, who had saved me yet again and who I would do anything to protect. Sophie, who was all wrapped up in my arms and who I was hoping would stay that way forever.

But forever doesn't last. Eventually, as she stroked my face with one hand, her fingers brushed one of the cuts on my cheekbone. I winced, hoping she wouldn't notice. But she did, and pulled away a little to look at me.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm fine. Better than fine." But just before I kissed her again, the door opened. Fate will only take you so far. Elwin stepped into the room, rolling a tray of elixirs in front of him.

"Hey, Lord Hunkyhair. Glad to see you up again. You gave us all quite a scare."

I shifted slightly so that my left arm was around Sophie's shoulders, and my right one clenched her left hand. "How long was I out?"

"Two days. Sophie wanted to heal you immediately, but we had to let your mind settle some first. I hope it was the right decision."

"It was... hard to hold on. But I think I probably would've broken back if you'd done it immediately. But hey, it's over now, right?" I forced a weak smile, and Sophie squeezed my hand tighter. "I'm fine. Just... glad to be back."

"I'm glad you're back too. And we're going to keep you that way. Here are some of the mood-relaxing elixirs I gave you earlier today, plus some for your cuts. I already cleaned them. Oh, and here's one for your head- looks like you got a slight concussion." Elwin busily lined up elixirs in front of me.

But I didn't want to take either of my hands away from Sophie to drink them. She seemed to understand, and twisted a little. "Elwin, can you unscrew the tops?"

"Sure." He gave us a teasing smile. "Gotta say, You guys are pretty cute."

"Duh." I laughed as Sophie blushed. By then, Elwin was done with the elixirs. With a little awkward shuffling, Sophie was able to use her free hand to tip the elixirs into my mouth, one ny one. They were mostly okay.

"So..." she said slowly. "How much do you remember?"

"Actually, not a lot. I remember feeling extra bad that day- I'd had a nightmare-"

"Ro told me about those." she interrupted. Why didn't you tell me? You seemed so normal."

"Yeah, I guess I got a little too good at pretending I was fine. But I didn't want to upset you over some stupid bad dreams."

"Those weren't just bad dreams, Keefe. I looked at Ro's memories. You were... seriously messed up. And how could you even look at me when you were watching me either die or kiss Fitz every night?"

I winced. Ro had told her a little too much, apparently. "It was... hard sometimes." I admitted. "But seeing you was the only thing that convinced me it wasn't real. That morning, when I looked too awful to go to school, I just kept getting worse. Until my mom walked in, and... you know the rest."

"Not really. I can guess that she wanted me, but..."

I cut her off. "Can we not talk about it right now? I'm not quite ready."

She softened. "Okay. Sorry. Whenever you're ready."

I smiled weakly at her. "Thanks."

We sat there a minute longer, silent and wrapped up in each others' arms. It wasn't a bit awkward. As long as I could feel her heart beating beside me and her soft breath mingling with mine, I knew I'd be okay. And yeah, I kissed her again. And it was perfect.