The atmosphere around me cuffed my skin in its warmth, my lashes fused with each other, fluttering and within few seconds, I was able to regain my sight as my eyes opened. The urge to again go back to hug the darkness was strong as the thought of never getting the peace with open eyes registered in my head. The smell was strong around me; it took me a minute to figure out the aromatic coffee resting at my bedside. Along with that, an armchair was dragged near the bed with a dark coat draped over it. I dug my toes deeper in the mattress, but soon gained the strength to pull myself up and my head lifted, eyes searched around the room to find no one. The memories of what happened before I passed out were clear; my confusion about my wound, my chaotic behavior and then loneliness wave.

Bewildered at the same situation of having no one around, I pushed the sheets off me; placing my feet on the floor. I leaned forward to reach the coat, grabbed it and brought it closer to me to analyze. My hands fished for something in the under pockets but nothing was there. But the scent was similar, it smelled outrageously expensive for sure; crisp and faint but enough to remind me of the owner. Dean was there. He had been around me enough for me to recognize his cologne. Romeo's cologne was strong but did not bother; surprisingly his was similar to Luciano.

I turned my head around as I heard the creaking noise of a door; a tall figure emerged out of bathroom. My vision took a fleeting second to recognize the sloppy brown hair on a wet face, his twinkling eyes met mine and his pursed lip twisted into a big smile. "Wakey wakey, gorgeous!"

He was patting his face with the dark towel and then his hands, his sleeves folded up to his elbow and I saw a cut over his hand and some bruises near elbow. I inquired, "What happened?" because as far as I remember, he was not involved in the fight with Luciano.

"I was cleaning your mess, so that is what happened." I instantly remembered the chaos of throwing whatever and wherever that I caused out of frustration. I look down on the floor to find any shard remaining but the room was clean and clear. He wiggled his brows at me and I huffed and looked down again, noticing my bare legs, sudden feeling of shame took over me and I glanced at him and then again looked down sheepishly, his eyes stayed on me questioningly.

As he noticed my discomfort with me trying to pull myself up on the bed and covering my legs with the sheets, "Do not worry, Melisa changed your clothes. All bloodied and dusty so...anyways, your medicines probably was the reason of your sudden-" he sat down on the armchair and slightly rocked himself with a faint swing, "outburst, I guess." He picked up his coat which I put on my pillow after examining; he hanged it on the armrest.

"Not medicines, I was angry that no one was there or listening to me or answering me...same shit, I know but I was tired. Is Luciano okay? And what happened, I was shot, wasn't I?-" my voice kept the pace quicker and my words were muffled, stumbling upon each other and I sounded like I had one minute to live, so he put his hand on my shoulder and gestured me to breath.

I drew in a long breath and continued to stare at him, my eyes glinted with confusion and shock, he licked his lips, "Luciano...well, as okay as he could be. Not dead, for sure." I heaved a deep sigh and mumbled a "Thank God" but earned an eye roll and a huff in return. No one needed to be hurt for my bail. No one.

That was the first time he did that! My forehead creased at his reaction and my lips parted to let the flow of questioning going but he interrupted.

Taking his hand off my shoulder, he leaned back on the chair and his shoulders slumped, "You were not shot," he spoke up and another wave of shock hit me, "You fainted due to shock and seeing the blood...it did not sit well with you, doctor suggested rest so we brought you in his room, as per his suggestion," he added. "You had a prior mental illness history, right?"

I nodded, a gulp formed in my throat, hard to swallow. I fidgeted with my fingers and avoided to look at his clear eyes.

"Not judging!" he assured. I nodded again without shifting my eyes towards him.

"Because of that you fainted, you have not been taking your anti-depressants and other prescription so...we have arranged that for you, from now on, do not forget," he instructed.

Horrified at his words, my head jerked to my left to face him, my nose flared and I felt the rush of pumping blood in my veins crawling up, my heart thumped harder against my chest, I said in a shrill tone, clenching my jaw, "You are really keeping me here, wasting my life, till my death, right?" Dean shook his head but also shrugged his shoulders in unresponsiveness.

My shoulders tensed up, I rubbed my throbbing temples to ease the pain and a bitter snicker escaped my mouth, "I am stuck here, forever!" I assured myself of the tragedy.

Before Dean could say something, I asked, "Who was shot? Or did I imagine it?" My eyes were intent on finding answers on his blank, lightly bearded face. He raked his hand through his thick hair and stalled for a moment by clicking his tongue.

He straightened up on the chair, leaned forwards towards me and lifted his head up, "Actually...no you did not imagine, there was a gunshot, but not for you, not for your lover. But Romeo shot himself." He blew out a breath and wiped off the sweat beads from his forehead after his response and his stiffened shoulders again slumped at ease.

"What the hell?" My immediate response was nothing puzzling.

My eyes squinted and I took a minute to process what he said in my head, "Why?" I asked.

"To show Luciano that he shot you, and if he comes here again...it can happen again," he replied, casually, no lineament of his face changed at such ridiculous statement. I protested with my mouth parted open, finding words to construct a sentence but he started again, "his methods of keeping him away from this place, though he can handle him but...still, he wants him away and suffer far away too."

"How do you people know Luciano, why is there so much animosity between them?" that time, my query was way too genuine. His eyes narrowed at my question, and he closed them and kept the breathing steady.

Opening his eyes, I saw him shielding his true curt emotions behind that twinkling eyes and a small smile that played on his face, "Not my place to tell!"

"Where is he?" My heartbeat jumped at the thought of seeing the beast all wounded and on bed; just did not fit right in my head.

Dean let out a dry chuckle; "In your room!" he stood up, kneaded his shoulders and patted his button down shirt to reduce creases. I also stood up, picking up the coffee which was not hell hot but warm enough to taste good. While sipping, with Dean at my side, I plodded towards the door.

Dean moved ahead me and winked as his slender fingers hovered over keypad of lock, I saw him pushing 2225552774447777772. It took the immense amount of focus for me to keep the memory steady and sharp enough to catch each digit and its frequency. With a bling, the door automatically granted us the exit.

With the hopes to remember the password, and fueling my weary existence with caffeine, sugar and cream, I waddled down the stairs; my body felt the air pushing itself with a slight pressure which made me realize how weak I was getting. I noticed a light hold that Dean kept on my waist, to provide the support. His tall frame followed me until I reached the door of my assigned room, where the wounded lion was resting. Dean put off his hand and extended his hand towards the door, gesturing me to go inside, I gulped down the remaining coffee and handed him the glass and he slightly bowed, then vanished further down the stairs, leaving me and the injured beast alone for another mind boggling moment.

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Mary's tattooed knuckled whitened as she held the rod of the iron gate tightly and exerted force to somehow push it open, her loud voice forced the guards to divert their focus on the short pale and dark haired girl banging the grill with her useless attempts, "Romeo! Romeo! Come out you bastard!"

"Miss, kindly stay away!" A broad and tall bald man reached towards her, beyond the gate, he stood and his eyes sharpened at her as he expressed warningly.

"I want to see him, call him!" she spat, her dark eyes held the fierceness she never thought she had for real.

Fire. Everywhere her eyes travelled, on everyone it landed in the near vicinity, her eyes were spitting fire. Her mind still was numb as the idea of Clarissa being shot was burdening on her conscience.

"Boss is busy and how did you find this place," Another man clad in all black, dashed towards her, the guarded stepped back and let the hazel eyed man confront the volcanic trouble of a woman.

Mary scoffed, "I do not care if he is busy or not, tell him Mary wants to see him, right fucking now!" Despite the loudness and strength her voice had, a wrecking sob was threatening and stuck in her throat. Her insides churned and impatience took over her to see the tormentor. A high tide wave of a sea of guilt hit her, leaving her with her every breath. She cared about Clarissa the most and something bad had happened to her because of her; the guilt slowly crept up in her soul, bothering her mental state. Since Luciano told her about what he saw a few hours ago, she had been falling in a pit of miseries and despite fear and confusion, she could not just sit at home...she needed to confront the man she once called her friend.

Her hopes for that man were tattered, the belief she had on him and his cause was shattered.

For he was not the Romeo who tended to her bruises, gave a shoulder to her to cry, brought her flowers to cheer her up and never disrespected her physically or generally unlike the other men in her life.

The man in front of her, across the gate, sent her message to the high order through a Bluetooth in his ear. Soon after he took her name on the call, a familiar face emerged; the stubble, those sky blue eyes, the dark hair curtaining his forehead and calm as a cucumber demeanor which was not as calm as before though but enough for her to recognize him, "I asked for Romeo," she snapped before the familiar man could greet her.

"Long time no see, Mary," a small and weak smile was directed at her.

"Dean, do not test my patience...I want to see that bastard," she stomped her feet on the floor.

Dean looked to his side and signaled, the gate opened with a squeak, Dean stepped in her space and held her by her arm which she shrugged immediately, "Get away from me," she yelled.

Dean sighed, "Mary...sit!" He held her palm and dragged her to the bench near the fountain, he sat down but she remained stood and glared at him, snatching her hand away from his, she folded her arms across her chest.

"I am not here for a tea party!" she leaned down and held his collars, though her eyes held the darkness, Dean could see the twinkle of suppressed tears and the concern behind them.

Dean cleared his throat and held both of her wrists gently and pulled away from his corner, said, "I do not think he can speak to you right now."

"He shot her, Dean. He fucking shot her!" She raised her voice, her tone heavy and that threatening sob finally escaped her mouth and broke her voice.

"I thought you knew him," Dean leaned back and shrugged.

"I also thought that," she responded, stood firmly a few steps away from him.

Her nose reddened suddenly and paleness of her face was masked by the crimson as the sob wrecked her, tear glided down her cheek and she could not think straight. She realized Dean was near her. He held her face, wiped the streaming streaks of tear with his slender fingers and a small frown was on his forehead, his lips pouted, eyes carried sorrow, "Do not worry, and do not cry. Please," with ashen face, he begged.

She whimpered, "How? It is because of me!" Her swollen eyes again could not stop the tears from quelling the violent fire she brought for Romeo.

"I do not know if he would want you to know but I cannot see you cry... so..." he gulped, he looked at her fixedly, his eyes scanned her but in reality, Dean was questioning himself if he should reveal, which he did. "He did not shoot her."

As Dean divulged the secret, a deep frown appeared on the crimson face of Mary, she stammered, "Uh..what, I mean, I-"

Dean leaned his head back and heaved a sharp breath before facing her again and that moment, with intent gaze, he confessed, "She is fine, just fainted because of shock and stress. He shot himself...they stood far away from the gate, he could not see clearly...Romeo shot himself, in the arm and as soon as he shot, our men dragged Luciano away," Calmness graced Dean with its presence again as the slight shift in Mary's expressions filled him with the silent joy, she wiped her tears and gaped at him, her mouth fell open. Dean continued, "It was just to show Luciano that if he tries again to take her away...the consequences will be worse. Romeo just wanted to torture him."

"And he is messing up with her because of his grievances with Luciano, how is this fair?" she queried, innocence masked her face and the concern and love she had for Clarissa warmed Dean's heart. Nostalgic emotions settled in his heart, making him reminisce the days when he admired that innocence of her from far away and had that unrequited love buried in him. His stomach dropped, knotted at the flashes of archived emotions.

His thoughts about the recent situations dampened his previous life's desires and brought him back to the focus, "She is fine here, protected!"

"There are tortures beyond words and beatings...the mind once ruined, can never regain its original strength back." Mary's experience glinted on her ashen face; she glanced down and fiddled with her fingers, "please, let me see her."

Dean spoke, "Doctor gave her sleeping pills, to rest her mind." She looked up at him, hopeless and defeated, knowing nothing about how hard she was making for the man in front of her to follow his obligated assigned rules. "Trust me, she is not hurt."

"Physically maybe, but I care about her mental health which is being deteriorated every moment since she has been kidnapped," she murmured.

Dean could not deny or assure her on that, as he himself had seen Clarissa struggling with her past and her current state. And considering that he had just heard Clarissa waking up and breaking things in agony and confusion, it was harder for him to ignore. He went there to see her fainting again and he could not help but feel remorse.

Because his boss was in his slumber, he could not decide if Clarissa was supposed to be confronted or not after such a cruel blow to her mental peace, so he just settled her in the bed and before he could clean up the room, he had Mary to deal with. Basically, he himself did not want to face Clarissa and have her hopeless eyes stare back at his and making him question his loyalties. He knew Clarissa's mental health was worsen but he was conflicted to do anything.

"Romeo was being treated, he was sleeping...he gained consciousness just few minutes before you arrived. Do you still want to meet him?" Dean asked, knowing that it might be against Romeo, but he thought maybe if Romeo had interacted with Mary...it could have some influence on him. Maybe it was high time to not keep on using Clarissa to torture Luciano.

"Yes." After a few contemplating seconds, Mary took the decision. Dean nodded and led her way to main entrance door. They walked side by side, knowing nothing about what to say to the man who was enraged and filled with revenge. Dean felt pity for the beast that was his friend and thus, supported him in his vow but now, he doubted if the beast's vow was worth more than Clarissa and her diminishing mental peace.

As he pushed the main door opened, he asked the woman beside him, "Where the hell is that Luciano now?"

Mary sensed the disgust in his tone, responded, "Shocked, angry but ...he is restraining himself, Romeo's method worked, a man like Luciano is sitting quietly and not doing something impulsive."

Dean eyed the people inside the mansion who looked at him questioningly seeing Mary on his side, he nodded at them, assuring them, "He must love her for real...Hunter fell in love with his prey, poetic, isn't it. I did not believe it when Romeo told me."

"I did not too. I mean...is he even capable of true love," her pace slowed down as she threw a glance at him, sadness filled her eyes. Dean very well understood what she meant. "He played with me too, he gave me away. He sold away his 'love' before, I was scared what if he had done it again...that is why I did not tell about Romeo to her," she expressed.

Old wounds prickled her heart and slight tremble shook her, Dean noticed the drooping and heavy lids, hiding the voluminous tears in them. "He was infatuated with you," Dean said.

"We know how it ended," a bitter chuckle left her mouth as she stopped near the staircase and looked down, hiding the anguish she wanted to always hide. "It gave me the worst two years of my life, I saw hell on Earth. Alfred was worse than satan." Mary comforted herself by gulping and heaving a deep breath. She raised her eyes and found Dean looking at her, amused but also unfazed somehow. She arched her eyebrow at him.

"But you were strong enough to get out, I still do not know how but I commend that." He passed a weak smile.

Mary smiled back, "I did! I guaranteed my exit from the devil himself. I am proud of myself; actually...I found his weak spot and blackmailed him. He wanted to attack the base of Romanos, I recorded and forced him to exile me forever...he knew death did not scare me or my brother, and if he had killed us...the recording would have reached them with my death, " her smile grew bigger, Dean smirked.

"I did not know! So he carried out the attack, but after that...he still kept you safe? Funny how no one really knows how he let you go." Dean chuckled.

Mary laughed, "I told those peasants that I caught Alfred on a good day," she winked at him, suppressing her laugh, "He did not kill us because I still have the recording and Romanos are still strong enough...frankly speaking, I do not think he wants to kill me. He likes to see me almost destroyed. It satisfies his narcissistic fantasies." Her smile vanished as she reminisced about her life's monster.

Dean held her forearm and rubbed it, she nodded, "You know, after my freedom, a few months later, I met her and I helped her in a theft case with her father...and then Dean, when I got to know about her. Even my hell looked less cruel in front of hers. And trust me, we girls have so much strength and people take it for granted, but when any sane person encounters hell like we did, there is only so much courage within us to escape once...it takes so much of us to escape for once, that if we have to do all of that again...we would not be able to do that, because the sanity required for that resistance and fight back is not there anymore within us. It is not like we are weak after fighting once, but it is just we would give in the second time to save ourselves even more trouble, to remain hanging to a thread of sanity we have left."

"I do not get it," Dean innocently asked, his palm fixed on the staircase railing.

"What I mean is that...she once escaped her hell, she does not have courage or sanity to leave this one. Be merciful on her. Let her go." Dean's face softened, his shoulders slumped and his lips parted, but no words could come out. Only a single thread of thought stimulated his mind, which was that he would never be able to comprehend what those two women went through. Mary continued, "Otherwise, she will remain here helpless, beating herself over her wasted life. Without realizing, she will end up finding home in the flames here."

Dean nodded and signaled her to go upstairs, "The first room," he informed. Mary sucked in a sharp breath and she plodded upstairs, with hopes to make him understand what she tried to preach to Dean.

VOTE - COMMENT - SHARE

I know this chapter is less Clarissa focus, but even in her POV, some good bits and one big easter egg has been put.

So, as the title suggests nostalgia...were you surprised with the history of Dean and Mary? I hope you were. But question still remains, how did Dean know? What is the deal with Romeo and his gang.

Enjoy..