The moment Dawson and I walked out of the airport I became nervous.

I was back in Black Wolves territory, and I was number one on their most wanted list. I was dead ass lucky I wasn't noticed back in Atlanta, especially after my run in with Jake Hale. God bless hair dye and colored contacts.

But I was on their home turf now, and they had the upper hand. No doubt they already had scouts at the airport and in the streets in case I had decided to come back or if I had never left the city at all. That was my only advantage, they weren't sure if I had left town or not.

It was late at night and visiting hours at the hospital were long over, but Dawson had already come up with a plan on the flight.

He would make me a working hospital badge so I could get into the building and then when visiting hours were over I would sneak inside and see my Nonna.

My Nonna was the strongest woman I had ever known. She feared nothing, and her spicy attitude made people instantly respect her. Even Seth cowered down to her.

But despite the fact I was the only girl grandchild of hers, she still was tough on me. She didn't hold back on her opinions or sugar coated anything to me, she gave her honest thoughts, and I think that's what made me love her the most.

Dawson decided to put me up in a hotel, and stay in an adjoining room next to mine.

I showered and then got into bed, pulling out my phone to call Calum.

"Hey." He answered, a smile obvious in his tone.

"Hi." I smiled as I spoke, twisting the corner of the sheet between my fingers.

"How was your flight?"

"Good. I'm in my hotel now."

"You're not staying with your dad?"

I froze.

"No. I don't want to trouble him."

"He's your Dad, Ness."

"I'll see him tomorrow, it's fine. But enough about me, how are you? How are Eli and Cade?"

"They're good. They missed you at dinner. I also had to order an extra meal because Eli wanted you to have dinner incase you came home."

"Aw." I laughed.

"And now I am getting ready to put them to bed."

"Yeah? Well give them hugs from me, okay? And tell Eli thank you for thinking of me at dinner."

"I will." He said. "So how are you? I know this was sudden."

"I guess i'm just still in shock. I'll be better once I see her tomorrow."

"I wish I could meet her."

"You'd like her. She's pure Italian and has more sass running through her veins than blood."

"Sounds like you." He laughed.

"Definitely got it from her."

It was quiet for a few minutes.

"You know, Ness, I could come up there and be with you. I know if it were me i'd want someone to be there for me."

"No, no no, it's okay. That's sweet to offer and i'd love to see you but my family just- it's just better if I do this alone." I tried to cover up.

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yeah, i'm sure." I squeezed my eyes shut as I spoke.

"Alright then. Tell me how it goes."

"I will."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

I sighed and set my phone down before leaning back in the pillows and closing my eyes.

Oh Calum, if only I could tell you the truth about me.

I tried to get some sleep but I was so nervous I just tossed and turned in the bed all night.

I looked like a wreck in the morning because of my lack of sleep but I guess it didn't matter how I looked because the plan was for no one to see me.

After ordering room service I knocked on the door between mine and Dawson's room, him opening it to reveal the food cart.

"Aw, yes!" He exclaimed and let me in, showing me his room that was filled with computers and screens.

"How are you not part of the CIA?" I laughed as I sat on his bed.

"Who says i'm not?" He smirked.

As I ate my pancakes I noticed my phone light up with a text from Calum.

'Court got moved to Friday. Let me know how today goes, i'm thinking about you.'

I texted him back a quick thank you before going back to eating.

"So you and Calum are legit now?"

"Yeah, he was there for me after the accident and we made up, and then we got closer and now Eli has started calling me mom so... I guess this is happening."

"Who would've thought that this would lead to you meeting him." Dawson laughed.

"I know, but I don't know what to do... It's so hard to be with him when I can't tell him everything about me. I want to talk about crazy stories from college and my friends and my internship for paediatrics, but I can't."

"You can tell him all of that, just make sure that you keep your story straight."

"But I was Abby then, i'm Nessa now."

"Well maybe Abby and Nessa had the same experiences. You can reinvent yourself while still keeping the parts of you that make you who you are. Calum loves you for who you are, and that's what matters."

"He offered to come up here, and I had to tell him no, but there's nothing I want more than to have him here with me right now."

"I know." He smiled at me.

We waited for a while so Dawson could monitor the hospital cameras. He was most focused on any black wolves that may or may not be coming into the hospital.

He wanted to see if they were scouting and if they had patterns.

A few black wolves came in and out of the hospital but no one in the upper ranks, so we decided when visiting hours were over I would be good to go.

I got dressed and Dawson drove us to the hospital in his van, his monitors in the back to make sure the halls were clear. He gave me an earpiece so he could tell me if anything was going wrong.

In the back of his van I made sure my scrubs were on right and then fixed my laces on my tennis shoes and clipped the badge to the pocket.

We pulled up to a side door where I hopped out, Dawson giving me a final thumbs up before driving off so I could walk around to the ambulance entrance.

I held my breath as I held my badge in front of the scanner but the door slid open, letting me inside the hospital.

No one paid me any attention as I followed Dawson's directions to my Nonna's room through the ear piece.

"Turn left right up here and then take the elevator to the third floor."

I didn't want to look like I was a crazy person talking to myself so I just discreetly nodded, knowing he could see me.

When I got to the elevator I pressed the up button and waited alone until the doors opened and I stepped inside.

As the doors closed I heard someone yell wait and then a hand appeared, stopping the doors and making them retract.

I watched as a doctor stepped in, nodding at me as they pressed the button for the fourth floor.

"Oh, he's a hottie." Dawson spoke in the earpiece and I rolled my eyes.

When I got to the third floor I exited the elevator and took a right like Dawson instructed until I reached the hall she was on.

"Second door on the left." Dawson said and I nodded before reaching the room and looking inside the window at her.

My Nonna laid there asleep in bed, all sorts of machines and wires attached to her.

I took a deep breath before opening the door, going inside her room.

Since she was asleep I was quiet as I stepped closer to her, standing beside her bed.

Her hair was had grey roots, so that meant she must have been in here a while because Nonna always had her hair dyed brown.

"Oh, Nonna." I sighed as I placed my hand on top of hers.

Her skin was a bit warm but not as warm as it should be.

I used my other hand to touch her cheek.

"Nonna." I whispered. "Nonna it's Abby."

I sighed.

"I know I haven't been to see you in a while. I didn't even know you were sick. My excuse is that I didn't know, because I wasn't here. I got into some trouble and I had to leave. I live in Georgia now, in this small town. It's cute and a place where everyone knows everyone." I let out a small chuckle.

"I have a boyfriend there. His name is Calum. He has two little boys named Eli and Cade. Eli is six, and Cade is two, and they're the sweetest little things. Calum is a real gentleman too, you'd like him. He's sweet and thoughtful and he loves me. He was married and his wife died, and i'm the first woman after, and he loves me."

I patted her hand.

"He even offered to come up here with me to see you but I told him no, because what I did put myself in danger, and I don't want to put him in danger. And he also knows my name as Nessa not Abby so that would kind of ruin my whole new identity thing i've got going on."

"But I love him too, and I wish I didn't have to lie to him like I do. You always told me that if you love someone you'll never lie to them. But I guess i'm not really lying to him unless he asked me if I killed someone and I say no."

"But I never meant to kill Spencer Warner. He was hurting me, and it was self defence, so I did what I had to do. But now the Black Wolves are out to kill me, and so i'm kind of screwed."

"I'm screwed because I'm in love with a man who can never know who I really am, and i'm screwed because I love him too much to tell him who I am."

I took a deep breath.

"But you also always told me to be strong. So that's what i'm doing. I'm being strong because I have a family that I love and that loves me, and I can't leave them like Meredith did so...
so i'll just keep on being this new person. I'll keep being Nessa."

"Nonna I love you, and I'm so sorry I can only be here for so long. But it's better this way. So i'm going to leave now, and you'll never know I was here, or maybe you will, but I promise once you're out of here i'll come visit."

I gently squeezed her hand before standing up.

"ABBS YOU GOTTA GO! NOW!" I heard shouting in my ear piece.

"What?" I asked.

"SETH AND JAKE ARE HERE YOU NEED TO GO!"

I wasted no time in sprinting out of the room.

I could hear Dawson shouting directions in my ear piece but I was too scared to pay him any attention, but I quickly realised I should have as I turned a corner and then saw them ahead of me.

It was like slow motion, everything slowed down as I skidded to a stop, my eyes connecting with my brother Seth's.

Seth's blue eyes connected with mine.

My hair may have been cut short and dyed brown, and green contacts may be covering my original blue eyes, but my face was still the same, and Seth recognised me.

"ABBY RUN!" Dawson shouted in my ear.

I continued to stare at Seth instead. His shoulders moved up and down as he began to breathe heavily and understand who he was looking at.

"Abby." He growled, a snarl on his lips.

I continued to stare before blinking once.

"Goodbye, Seth." I whispered before doing the only thing I could think of to distract them.

I yanked down on the fire alarm next to me, the loud screeching throwing Seth and Jake off for a moment, but that moment was what I needed to run.

I turned and sprinted down the closest stairwell, flying down the steps. My leg hurt like hell and I felt like it would collapse underneath me any second but I pushed through.

"IM COMING TO MEET YOU!" Dawson yelled and my only response was heavy breathing.

I could hear a door slam open above me and I turned down another stairwell just to hear the sound of gunshots.

Damn it.

The bullets bounced of the railing above me and I moved my hands above my head as I bolted down the rest of the way until I reached the last door that led outside.

The second my feet hit the sidewalk Dawson was pulling up in his van.

The door slid open and I dove in, slamming the door shut behind me.

Dawson slammed on the gas, the tires screeching against the concrete as he peeled off. I looked behind me as he did, seeing Seth and Jake exit the building, glaring as I made my escape.

I didn't waste anytime in getting the hell out of New York.

Dawson took me straight to the airport where I changed clothes in the bathroom and then got on the first plane back to Georgia.

It was a red eye flight but I didn't care, it gave me time to calm my rapidly beating heart.

Seth knew I was alive and well and now he knew what I looked like.

But I hoped to God he still thought I was in New York.

When my flight landed I walked through the airport to the taxi line but my phone rang once before stopping to ring again.

Probably Dawson calling to check on me.

"Yeah." I answered the phone.

"Abbs." His voice sounded sorrowful and I stopped in my tracks.

No.

"Abby." He said again and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"She died...didn't she?"

"About thirty minutes ago."

My heart sank.

"I'm so sorry Abby."

I shook my head before hanging up, closing the phone in my hand.

I exhaled before continuing to walk.

Nonna had died.

I pushed open the door that led me to the arrivals car line and stopped in my tracks when I saw Calum standing there, arms crossed over his stomach as he leaned against a column.

He gave me a small smile.

I took a deep breath before walking up to him.

When I reached him I stopped and looked up in his brown eyes.

"She died thirty minutes ago." I whispered.

His face dropped at this and then he put his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into
his arms.

When my face met his chest I broke down, his arm moving down to my waist so he could hold me up.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I'm so sorry."

We must've looked like a scene out of a movie, a couple crying as they reunited outside of an airport.

But I didn't care...because I was right where I needed to be; in the safety of Calum's arms.

--

Poor Nessa :(

She ran into her brother and Jake Hale, so they know she's still around.

The trial with the guy who hit her and more drama is coming up soon!

Much love xx-m