Feeling someone poking at Cassandra's side, a bolt of pain seared through her. Making a move to swipe whoever it was away, another, more excruciating, another rush of pain stormed through her. Unable to withhold her gasp, she was surprised to hear someone berate whoever it was for her pain. It was even more surprising when she recognised the voice.

Daniel?

Struggling to open her eyes, her mind brought forth her last memories. Her brows furrowed slightly. She was supposed to be dead. So why was her entire body throbbing? Like it was a huge bruise. And her ears detected the sounds of machines. Probably keeping her alive. But why was she alive in the first place?

Small hands touched her brows, focusing on the apex of her frown. Knowing who exactly it was, her eyes shot open. Her baby's worried gray eyes greeted her from his chair by her head, his eyes shooting to hers once he noticed she was awake.

"Mommy,"he cried happily, throwing his arms around her. Or tried to. He was hampered by the railings of the hospital bed. Still it didn't stop him from laying his hands on her face.

She was happy to see him but confused as well. She thought she'd left him to Daniel. So why was he here?

Suddenly, someone stopped behind her baby. Her eyes shifted and she was greeted with the remorseful eyes of Daniel Hunter. His presence only made the situation much more confusing.

"W-where am I?"she asked, her voice surprisingly husky from the dry throat. Kendall scrambled to give her a drink but it was Daniel who managed to present her with a cup of water. Still, Kendall stubbornly insisted on guiding the straw to her lips. Amused, she drank. Looking at Daniel, she saw the amusement in his eyes as well. She also saw him stroking Kendall's hair back. The show of affection momentarily softened her opinion of him. Momentarily.

Once they managed to convince Kendall that she'd had enough, he insisted on laying on the bed with her. Daniel refused, seeing as Cassie had some kind of injury, internal and external, on both sides of her body, as well as a cast on her right leg, but Cass insisted as well. She needed to have her baby close. Needed to affirm, to herself, that he was safe. She was alive. That he was with her.

Smiling down at him, questions started coming up in her head again. After making sure he was comfortable, her eyes turned to Daniel. He nodded and sighed.

"You're in a private clinic run by a close friend of my sister. They managed to set a room up for you, one which is lesser used, near the back of the clinic. And any equipment needed had been brought in. Discreetly, of course. We don't need to have Bryan being aware of your presence here,"he explained. That explained the institutional white for the room as well as the cabinets and sink right beside her bed.

"But how did I get here?"

"If you must know, Kendall forced me to go back. He wouldn't stop worrying about you and trying to get back. Not until I decided to show him you're safe."

"My baby has always been worried about me. He must've have gotten it from you,"she remarked, her smile widening when she saw he'd fallen asleep. She couldn't stop her hand from playing with his hair. Then her smile twisted into a sardonic smirk. "How it must have displeased you when he wouldn't stop." His expression became decidedly uncomfortable. And it was clear he didn't like that. So he turned the tables on her.

"Well, you gave no indication that you were being hurt. How was I supposed to know?"

Cass just shook her head. His opinion of her was never going to change. And she had no desire to do so. Well, that's what she was going to keep telling herself and her ever shattering heart.

The door swung open and a young man in a doctor's robe entered. His eyes were fixed on the file in his hand and showed pleasant surprise when he saw her awake.

"Well, Ms Smith, I'm glad you're awake. We were worried that you'd succumb to your concussion but I'm glad that our first inpatient patient survived. It would've been a smudge in our records otherwise,"he joked as he took her blood pressure, temperature and heartbeat.

Cass had to smile. It was a reprieve from the tense air between her and Daniel. And an attractive man was touching her. Who wouldn't smile at that?

She didn't even question the "Ms Smith". Obviously, it was it was a false name. And from the swift wink from the doctor, she had a feeling he was aware of that.

Her smile widening at her ridiculous thoughts, she was relieved when he pronounced nothing was wrong, apart from her initial injuries. She had to ask about their extent, though; she had to know how long it would take for her to, at least, move about again.

Not liking when he looked to Daniel for permission, she kept her silence when he nodded. Keeping an impassive face as he listed the damage done to her, she could fairly say that she had come out of the encounter fairly unharmed. Some cracked ribs, a broken rib, some hairline cracks on her limbs, resulting in them becoming a mass of bruises along with some swelling, and the most serious damage was done to her leg where there had been a few hairline fractures. Then he paused.

"Although I do not like to bring this up, since you just woke up, it would be presumptuous of me to keep silent." Cass knew what he was going to say and if she had a choice, she wouldn't want Daniel to be here. "You miscarried. Probably due to the beating. From the blood from your clothes, I would say that most of the embryo is out but I'd suggest visiting an obstetrician to be sure."

"Thank you, doctor. If I have any further questions, I'll ask,"she said, forcing her lips up into a pleasant smile. She could feel Daniel beside her, his body having tensed when he heard about her miscarriage. She waited for the explosion.

And he didn't disappoint.

"Miscarry? You were pregnant? But when? How? Wait. Don't tell me it was mine. Because it's too damned convenient,"he raged, chest heaving. She glared up at him. Why did he always want to believe the worse of her?

"Would you even believe me if I said it was yours? Even though it's true?"she demanded. At his stricken look, she sighed. "Bryan has not slept with me for close to six months. He has other avenues to release himself. And I do not wish to even contemplate it. Because it most likely involves Victoria."

"B-but why didn't you tell me? I would have kept you safe. Kept my baby safe,"he whispered, his eyes staring brokenly at the opposite wall.

"As I've said, would you have believed me? You'd probably dismiss me and pushed me into Bryan's arms, telling him all about my lame attempt to trap you or something,"she sneered. Seeing him about about to deny it, she snorted. "Please. You care more about getting your revenge than anyone else in the world who's not your family. I had to think about my baby and my slim chance of survival. That was why I didn't approach you about Kendall all those years ago. If given a chance, I'd make the same decision again. I don't stand a chance between this war and I won't put my baby in the middle of it either."

Searching his eyes for any hint of denial, she felt her wounded, trampled heart throb with a pulse of hurt. He knew she was right. He just didn't want to admit it. Not when someone of his family was hurt in this fight. Due to his own actions too.

"Look, I'm tired,"she said on a sigh. She was so tired. Having expected death, it was going to take her a while to get used to the fact that she was alive again. For how long, God only knew. But what was certain, though was that she was still not in charge of her life. Only, now, her jailer was different but still not someone she could trust. "Can you please leave me alone for a few hours? Despite having had sex, and being amazingly fertile, with you, I'm still not comfortable in your presence."

His lips tightening, he nodded abruptly and left.

And she couldn't help herself. Her eyes just had to lower to his bottom. Even after what he had done, she was still strongly attracted to him.

------@@@@--------

Daniel didn't know where to go. What to do. He stopped right outside the room, not able to move. His mind couldn't wrap around the fact that he'd lost a child. And he hadn't even known it.

She hadn't vocalised it but he knew, from her eyes, that she believed it was his fault. And something in him agreed. A voice that held so much anguish and pain and self-loathing. A child he'd created was lost and, someway, somehow, he had directed the danger right at the mother.

No!

Yes, it was unfortunate but he hadn't done anything wrong. It was Bryan who had struck the blow so it was his fault. All Daniel was guilty of was holding a grudge.

Shaking his head, determinedly holding on to that conviction, Daniel decided to head back to work. He was sure Kendall wanted some alone time with his mother. He wouldn't deny him that. Kendall had been very worried for the past five days Cassandra had remained unconscious. Refusing to leave until she woke. Daniel had had to forcibly carry him out late at night so as to get any rest.

Heartened by his son's concern and hiding his increasing worry about Cassandra, Daniel had disregarded his work for the past days. Something he had never done before. Also something his parents had taken note of when they'd dropped by his house to check up on Kendall. He'd managed to sidestep their questions.

Now that Cassandra was awake, he was able to push her out of his mind and focus on work. As well as plan the next move against Bryan. Thinking of his lost child, Daniel was even more determined to wipe that bug off the surface of the earth.

----------@@@@-------

In his car, driving through the usual congested roads, Daniel's mind wandered and all that had happened the past weeks caught up with him.

Cassandra almost died.

Her eyes had transmitted her surprise when she'd gained consciousness earlier. It had softened when she'd seen Kendall but her eyes still held a hint of disbelief. And worry.

Daniel couldn't believe how affected he was by her near-death experience. He couldn't sleep, tossing about bed, worrying over her injuries, thinking about what to do if she never woke up. Ignoring the stutter in his heart when he contemplated pulling the plug.

Most nights, he would go to the gym in his cavernous, empty house. Willing the exertions to chase away his thoughts. It never worked but he'd push himself enough that he'd fall into bed in exhaustion. Then the cycle would repeat the next day.

The delight filling him when he'd seen her eyes made him uncomfortable. He was male enough that he could appreciate the female form. Never joy. Never anticipation. So for those eyes on engender such a response raised an alarm in him.

Before he could rile himself up, his phone rang. Using the internal car system, he answered and heard his sister's voice.

"Please don't be mad at me,"she said once he answered. His brows furrowed.

"What did you do now, Carmen?"he asked, his mind supplying him with anything and everything she was capable of. Nothing was reassuring. He braced himself.

"Mom called. She was checking up on me, as usual. Then she mentioned Kendall and that you were taking him away and how she wanted to spend more time with him." Daniel felt his stomach hollow out. This could not be good. "I don't know what I was thinking but I just blurted out that you should be at Jeremy's clinic. And when Mom asked why, I told her about Cassandra."

"Damn it, Carmen,"he growled as he swerved to the exit, ignoring any and all honks and dirty looks. This was bad. Very bad. He hadn't wanted his parents knowing about Cassandra. Not until they had a plan. Or, at least, an understanding.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I've warned jeremy and heading there right now. I'm so sorry,"Carmen whimpered before she hung up.

Daniel released his anger on the steering wheel, slamming his palm on it once and doing it again because it felt so good. Everything was going to the shit. He hadn't wanted anyone to know about Cassandra. Something in him just didn't want to expose her to the world. He wanted to protect her and keep her to himself. In equal measures. He just wanted to hide her away.

Well, he didn't have a choice now. His family was going to meet her now.

He just hoped she could handle it.

AN: Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. I know it's early but you know, it's Sunday somewhere.

Anyways, do VOTE & COMMENT to show your support.

As always, ENJOY!!