"He woke up asking for you," Minnie said as we hurried down the long hallway to the ER. "When we couldn't locate you right away, he panicked. He thought something horrible had happened to you. I expect he's still trying to get out of bed to find you himself."

When we arrived in Vincent's private room, Colin and Caleb were standing on either side of his bed, helping the nurse hold him down. He was no longer in gollum form, but he was putting up a gollum-sized fight.

"Stop fighting the nurse," I said. "You're going to rip those bandages."

"Reese! You're alive," Vincent cried as he yanked an arm free to stretch for me.

"We told you she was," said Minnie with a motherly head shake.

"But my vision... it felt so real." Vincent eyes had a glazed look to them, like storm clouds threatening rain. I took his hand in mine and pressed it to my cheek, feeling slightly weak in the knees, but I couldn't keep the smile from my face despite the stricken look on his.

"What vision was that?" I said.

"The vision I had of you being ripped apart by Marco and his blade." Vincent dragged my hand to his mouth and kissed it. "He promised to kill you after he killed me."

"Was that part of your vision, or did he really say that to you?" I asked.

"It was real," he choked out. "It was the last thing I remember him saying before I passed out."

I shuddered at his confession. The poor guy had spent his comatose moments living out a nightmare. "Well, I'm fine, and I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

There was a general chuckle among the bodies in the room, and the nurse took the opportunity to speak. "You need to rest, Mr. Valentino."

"To hell with rest. I've been resting for nearly twenty hours. I've never slept for more than six."

"Have you ever had a near death experience like this before, signore?" said the nurse, adding an eyebrow raise.

Vincent snorted his answer, and the nurse shrugged on his way out the door. 

"Good. I thought he'd never leave," Vincent said as he brought my hand back to his lips. "So, you found me with a cat lady, huh? I don't even remember how I got there."

"I'm glad we found you when we did," I said. "Those cats looked malnourished."

He offered a weak grin. "They were waiting for a hand-out, I guess."

"They wanted to see if you tasted like chicken," Colin added.

Despite the morbid nature of their banter, I wasn't going to stop them. Everything had righted itself as far as I was concerned, and a couple hours later we were enjoying chicken parmesan and listening to the retelling of Vincent's harrowing experience.

"When I realized Marco and Deidra were pursuing me, I found a location to land and sent the coordinates to Colin," Vincent said.

"Why didn't you send them to me?" Caleb asked. "I was closer."

"Time was not on my side, so I used the last contact I texted. I figured Colin would have relayed the message to you." Vincent gave Colin an appraising look, but Colin just shrugged.

"You told me to take care of Reese," he said. "So, I called up Scooby and we flew his jet over. He and his wife are on standby here in Verona, if we need them."

Vincent rolled his eyes, but he didn't seem too annoyed. He was alive, after all. "I plan to be out of here by tonight, so we may need them."

"Tonight? Are you insane?" I said. "You nearly died from your wounds. They need to heal before you go galivanting around the globe."

"I won't be galivanting. I'll be reclining. You haven't seen Scooby's jet. To get back to the story..." he said, after offering me a smirk. "I set up my cellphone to record a video, and I hid it in the bushes. When Marco and Deidra landed, I engaged Marco in conversation, hoping to get his confession."

"Clever thinking, on your part," Caleb said around a mouthful of bread. "What about Deidra? How was she involved in all this? She's had a crush on you for years. If Marco's intent was to kill you, I can't imagine she would participate."

"She was blinded by jealousy and pride. I could tell by the things she said during battle. But when it came down to it, she couldn't follow through. She abandoned Marco when he pulled out the adamantium blade."

"Well, the news that's trickling in doesn't sound good for Deidra or Marco," Caleb said. "The Barads have taken him to an undisclosed location, and his family is preparing for the worst outcome."

"Wren told me she put pressure on Paolo to have Reese's wedding dress returned," Minnie said. "Deidra had it when she arrived in Chicago. Will you reschedule the wedding? It's only nine days away."

"No." Vincent's voice rang loud and clear, and I smiled at him. His obstinance could be so endearing.

"Now that we have Adamo by the balls, I bet you can talk him into giving you his blessing and let you keep your magister status," Colin said.

"What are you talking about?" Vincent directed his obstinate gaze at his brother, forcing Colin to swallow audibly as he turned to face my glare. Vincent had been spared the details of my near fatal end, and everyone but Colin seemed to be in on our plan to wait until Vincent was home and healing.

"Um, well... There was an incident in the woods, and we ended-up discovering Adamo is filth, but I don't think I'm supposed to elaborate on how I know this and how it will help your cause."

Vincent didn't give Colin an inch of wiggle room, staring him down from his hospital bed. "I think you should elaborate now."

With a helpless look in his eyes, Colin shrugged at me. "Reese?"

"I'll tell him," I said, although it was the last thing I wanted to do. I could predict Vincent's reaction to Stan and his dagger without even trying. I pushed away my food tray and walked over to his bedside so I could hold his hand. "Vincent, I need you to promise you won't move from that spot when you hear this. There will be plenty of time for revenge."

"Reese." He growled my name, which did not give me much hope he would follow through with my request.

"Promise, Vincent. And don't growl or I'll make you wait until we get home."

Vincent's eyebrows quirked all the way up, and we stared at each other until he relented. "Fine. I promise."

"Okay. I joined the search party to find you. Of course, I didn't see it as foolish at the time, since I would have done anything to bring you home safe." I patted his hand as I spoke, although it didn't seem to do anything but cause Vincent's eyes to flash like lightning.

"Who was in the search party?" he asked warily.

"Adamo, Stanhope, and Boris."

"Boris!" Vincent boomed. "You went into the fucking woods with my barbaric grandfather?"

"Not just him. I thought Adamo had my back. Then we got to the borghetto and found the fishing net. That's when Adamo showed his true colors. He and Stan apparently had a plan to take me out. After Adamo and Boris left the scene, I ended up running for my life from a sex-crazed gollum with unresolved demon issues."

Vincent's face slowly pinked with anger as he squeezed my hand. "Is that how you got the bruise on your cheek? What did that lousy, son-of-a..."

"The bruise happened when Stan tackled me on a river rock, but he didn't get a chance to do anything unsavory. I knew he had a blade on him, and when he took off his pants, I snatched it."

"He what!" Vincent's voice boomed again, and the nurse appeared at the door a few seconds later.

"Is everything okay, in here?" the nurse inquired with an obvious hush to his tone.

"Yes," I said quickly. "I was just delivering bad news."

"Oh, my sympathies, but if you could keep the noise down... The other patients need rest."

"Of course. I'm sorry," Vincent said as he pushed away his tray. "It might be best if you took this so it won't end up on the floor."

The nurse did as Vincent requested, and as soon as the door closed, Vincent was on me like fleas on a dog. "Am I to understand that Stan was attempting to..." He gritted his teeth, as if he needed to chew up the words before spitting them out. "...take pleasure in you before he killed you?"

"Yes, but he never managed it. My knife-throwing skills are better than I thought, and he is currently nursing a wound like the one you've got under this bandage." I pointed to his left shoulder, but his eyes never left mine.

"You took Stan down yourself?" His expression appeared as uncomprehending as Colin's had when he found Stan lying limp against the tree.

"Why does everyone think I can't defend myself? I've survived this long, haven't I?" I folded my arms across my chest and looked around the room, meeting sober faces, with the exception of Minnie, who wore a proud smile. "Anyway, Colin arrived just after I skewered Stan, and when Colin realized what Stan was planning, he pounded his face for a while. Then Colin called Adamo and told him we were onto his scheme. That's how we were able to arrange the manhunt to search for you. So, like Colin said, I'm sure we'll be able to get more out of the deal."

It took Vincent a minute to compose himself, at least that's what I assumed he was doing while we all waited mutely for his reaction. "Where is Stan now?" he said, pegging Colin with fierce eyes.

"As far as we know, he's still laid up in a couple's home near the Mincio River," Colin said.

"So, he's expected to live?" Vincent asked.

"Yes?" Colin's response came out tentative, like he thought Vincent would have preferred a different answer.

"Good. I want to be the one to kill him," Vincent ground out.

"Now, Vincent. That will only get you into trouble," Minnie said. "You hot-headed gollums want to solve everything with your fists."

All three boys looked at her like she'd just babbled like a baby. "Of course, we do," Vincent said.

Minnie huffed. "Fine, go to prison for murdering Reese's attacker and spend the rest of your lives kissing through a plastic barrier."

"No one is going to prison," Caleb told her. "Stan will face the consequences for his actions."

"Yeah," Vincent growled. "He'll be facing my fists."

~ ~ ~

Rizzo picked up Sylvie from her apartment so she could greet us, and I couldn't tell who was happier when we arrived at the Valentino compound, Sylvie, Griffin, or the dogs. We had barely put our suitcases down before the apartment began filling up with family members. Everyone wanted to hear the stories from beginning to end.

But first, I fetched Mr. Pearlman so he could be in on the fun. This was his life now, and he needed to know the good, the bad, and the freaky. He sat in the big leather chair dressed in his robe. I got him to wear the new one I'd bought for his birthday, but I had a feeling he wasn't wearing anything underneath. Vincent had sprawled on the couch first thing, letting the activity take place around him.

"Were you conscious when you floated down the river, Vincent?" Griffin asked as she sat on the floor next to him.

"Just barely. I kept myself awake untangling my wings from the fishing net. I think I took in enough water to sink a ship."

Griffin's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, my gosh. Were you afraid you were going to die?"

"Only once. When I was too weak to fight anymore and Marco stood over me with the blade. He told me he was going to kill Reese after he killed me. I think I died a little then." Vincent gazed at me as I cradled Clyde in my lap. "I will do everything in my power never to feel that kind of pain again."

"You're talking about emotional pain, not physical pain, right?" Griffin said as she grabbed Vincent's hand and pressed it to her cheek. "Sometimes emotions can hurt worse."

"You're right, Griffin. Sometimes they can." Vincent opened his hand to cup Griffin's face. "But we can't always protect ourselves from either. Pain is a byproduct of life."

"And so is joy," Wren piped up as she walked over with a freshly-baked batch of cheddar biscuits. When she set them on the coffee table, Clyde lifted his head to sniff the air. "You two have arrived home in time for winter solstice. A party with loved ones is just what you need."

Vincent and I looked at each other, and I read his mind. Not another party. "Mother, I think Reese and I have had our fill of excitement for a while," he said. "The wedding is not far off. Can we celebrate then?"

Wren offered a motherly smile and a nod as she walked over to Vincent and kissed his forehead. "Of course."

"Mom and I found the perfect flower girl dress," Griffin said as she stood and bolted for the door. "I'll go get it and show you."

Griffin's enthusiasm had Vincent smiling, and it didn't leave him as he caught me with it. "I received a text from the delivery service handling your wedding dress. You should have it in your hands before ten o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Let's hope the driver isn't delayed by any persons with nefarious intent," I said with a wink.

Come here." Vincent reached out to me and I unseated Clyde so I could join him. I knew what Vincent wanted. He had become rather insatiable when it came to my lips, and I wasn't about to deny him. As we kissed, I brushed my fingers across the shell of his ear, tucking his hair behind it as I glanced at the gash marring his cheek.

"Don't worry. It will fade, and you won't remember it ever existed," he said.

I pursed my lips into a grim line. "I will never forget, Vincent, and neither will you."