A/N: Hey! I only have one more exam tomorrow... And it may be my hardest one. But before I get to studying, I'm going to post one more chapter. Now the layout of this chapter is a bit confusing so here it is. The first two sections are Sophie's POV and the second two are Fitz's POV of the same scene. That's about it. Anyway, here's the chapter!

The first thing Sophie saw when she shot awake was Fitz. Well, Fitz's eyes to be exact. Her heart fluttered when she realized that he was sitting on her bed as she was sleeping just moments ago... Or rather broken.

She was acutely aware of her bed head and wrinkled clothes, but rather than scrambling to fix them, she simply hugged her knees to her chest. Her mind turned to the last words Fitz had said to her... That he loved her. Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and turned to Fitz.

How had he healed her? He didn't have the abilities to heal a broken mind.

"I can't believe you did it," she heard herself saying. "You healed me. How?"

Fitz smiled which sent flutters through Sophie's heart. "I have no idea," he laughed. "Sir Tiergan said we have enough trust between us that it would be possible. Also, apparently your mind is structured differently."

Was it trust or something more? Risking one more glance at Fitz, Sophie stepped out of bed. The moment her feet touched the ground, she heard pounding up the stairs. Into the door burst Grady and Edaline.

They immediately pulled her into a tight hug and Sophie couldn't even begin to imagine how awful it must have been for them. First Jolie, now her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to them. She closed her eyes and let Edaline stroke her hair, feeling comfort for the first time in weeks. Only when Fitz cleared his throat did she remember that he was still there.

"I'm going to get going now," he said, pointing to the door. Sophie's heart welled up with gratitude and she couldn't help but want to thank him in some way. He was the reason she was able to hug her parents and simply be there.

Before she could think of doing anything else, she threw her arms around him. Her heartbeat quickened and she quickly murmured, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Fitz broke away and smiled at her sending another round of flutters through her heart. She was never going to get over this boy, was she?

"Anytime," he told her, and she couldn't help but wonder why.

*~*~*~*

"I can't believe you let your guilt take over," Grady chided, pacing back and forth. "We can't lose you Sophie. We just... Can't."

Sophie bit into the last mallowmelt that Edaline had conjured for her. "I'm sorry," she repeated. Grady and Edaline had lost their only daughter and they held up. Why couldn't she? "I don't know what came over me."

Behind her, Edaline rubbed her shoulders. "It's fine," she consoled. "Just don't scare us like that again."

"What if Fitz couldn't have healed you?" Grady continued. Sighing, he sat down. "Thank goodness he did."

Sophie raised her eyebrows. "How was he able to heal me?"

Grady laughed. "Don't ask me. I'm not the Telepath here." He smiled, "But I'm starting to think Keefe and Dex have some competition here."

"What? Competition?" Sophie repeated.

Edaline gave her a knowing smile. "He is rather handsome," she teased. "Then again, he's a Vacker."

"Mom!" Sophie buried her head in her hands to stop the blush blooming on her face.

"What?" Edaline innocently asked. "Don't Tiergan and Forkle say that you both have a special connection?"

"I don't like the sound of that," Grady began. "But it would be absurd if you both didn't get matched."

Sophie peeked out of her fingers despite the redness on her face. "Why?"

Grady shrugged. "You both are extremely strong Telepaths," he stated. "And he's the elf that found you. Not to mention that Forkle was telling us that you are training to be Cognates."

"Oh you'll definitely be on each other's lists," Edaline predicted. "Maybe even number ones."

Sophie's face was fire-engine red as she grumbled about feeding Iggy and dashed upstairs before her parents could embarrass her even more.

But they had a point. From everything Grady had said, it was almost guaranteed that they would be matched. Of course, it was way too early to be thinking about marriage, but if being a bad match wasn't a problem, what was there to stop them from dating?

And he had said he loved her.

She played the words over and over in her mind wondering whether he'd just said them in the spur of the moment of if he meant them. Then again, Fitz would never say something like that and not mean it.

Right?

*~*~*~*

The moment Sophie transmitted the two words, Fitz left her mind. Just to see her eyes open and a smile bloom on her face.

"I can't believe you did it," she marveled, sitting up and hugging her legs to her chest. "You healed me. How?"

Fitz grinned. "I have no idea," he laughed. "Sir Tiergan said we have enough trust between us that it would be possible. Also, apparently your mind is structured differently."

Sophie nodded and stepped out of the bed. But hearing all the racket, Grady and Edaline dashed upstairs.

The next few moments were filled with so many hugs and kisses and thank-you's, Fitz didn't remember half of it. Only after Edaline began to conjure plates of food for Sophie and Grady began to chide her for letting her guilt get the better of her did he realize he may have been interrupting a family moment.

"I'm going to get going now," Fitz awkwardly stated pointing to the door. Sophie turned away from her parents and unexpectedly threw her arms around him.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

Fitz smiled. "Anytime."

*~*~*~*

"Did you heal Sophie?" Biana excitedly asked when Fitz walked back into the halls of Everglen. He nodded.

Biana frowned. "Why don't you seem so excited?" she curiously asked.

"I don't know," Fitz admitted. "On one hand, I'm pretty happy and not surprised because Sir Tiergan and I knew beforehand it would be possible. But on the other hand, I didn't exactly get all I bargained for."

Biana raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean by-" She opened her mouth in realization. "You found out, didn't you?"

Fitz nodded. "You knew too?"

"Everybody knew," Biana laughed. "Except you, probably."

"I can't believe I was so oblivious," Fitz said, sitting on the couch. "When I saw it from her perspective, it was so obvious."

"Well that's because it was from her perspective," Biana reasoned, sitting down beside her brother. "Did you tell her you found out?"

Fitz shook his head, but before Biana could protest, he blurted out, "I told her I loved her."

Biana's eyes widened and she shot up. "Either tell me you're joking," she began, dead serious. "Or tell me you meant it."

"I did mean it," Fitz said, tearing his fingers through his hair. "But I don't know where to go from here."

Biana sighed. "Well she knows you love her. And you know she loves you," she explained. "So I don't see the problem here."

Fitz grinned. "You have a point there," he agreed. "Now aren't you going to go see Sophie?"

"Oh I am," Biana said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But you're coming with me."