"Hello." I smiled wrapping my arms tightly around Jason, as soon as he walked through the front door.

"You look happy to see me." He smirked before moving my arms around burying his face into my shoulder.

I nodded loosening my arms a little. "I am happy to see you. I missed you."

He pulled away looking down at me with a small smile before placing his lips on mine briefly. "You just saw me yesterday."

"But I just missed you. I don't know why." I shrugged. "I'm used to seeing you at the office during the day, but now I'm on vacation."

"Well it's obvious you're on vacation. That building is sad without you." He said as I moved away from him and walked to the living room.

"Really?"

He nodded following behind me. "And you're not there to bring me my coffee."

"Tony is there."

"Seeing Tom walk into my office to bring me coffee won't make my mornings better." He sighed sitting on the couch as I sat on the other one.

"Aw. You miss me."

He shrugged raising an eyebrow at me. "Why are you all the way over there? Come closer." He said mentioning me over and I shook my head slowly.

"No. My hair won't be dry for hours and the oil will ruin your suit if it touches it."

He stood up and walked toward me. "I don't care." He said picking me up and walking back to the couch before dropping us on it. "I missed you."

I shrugged before smiling up at him. "I would have warned you." I said resting my side against him. "My dad wants to officially meet you." I said.

"Okay. When?" He asked and I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I'll ask him." I said before grinning. "Are you nervous?"

He grabbed my legs pulling them on his lap before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "No."

I frowned grabbing his hand to intertwine my fingers with his.

"Why not?" I couldn't keep the whining tone in my voice and he smiled looking down at me with a raised eyebrow. "I want you to experience what you've been putting Elena's boyfriends into."

"Even if I wanted to be scared, my pride wouldn't allow me." He said smirking lightly. "And what reason would I have to be scared. He won't kill me and I'm not scared of guns. So, what?"

I scoffed at his words and his lips turned into a smile.

"And he wouldn't trust me to take care of his annoying daughter if I ran away from him." He murmured while rubbing his nose against my cheek.

I nodded at his words.

"I guess I should be the one freaking out then." I said remembering how Steve called Hunter a softie. "Can I ask you something?" I asked in a lower voice.

"Mhm."

"Is it weird that I've accepted things so easily?"

He looked down at me questioningly. "Your father?" He asked and I nodded. "No, it's not weird. Your father didn't abandon you. He really couldn't be here. So, you could have been mad at the circumstances or the people who caused his disappearance. But it wouldn't be fair to be mad at him. Not after everything he's been through to see you and your mother again."

I nodded in understanding. He's right. I don't know the whole story. But I know that he's been through some things even if he doesn't want to talk about it. And I also know that he would have been here if he could.

"You're right, oh wise one." I said causing him to pinch my sides. I jumped slightly before grabbing onto his hand. "You need to stop doing that. You're not in pain anymore, are you?"

"No. I'm fine. My mom wouldn't let me go back to work if I was still in pain." He sighed and I nodded knowing the truth behind his words.

Stella forced him to live in their house until he completely recovered, barely letting him out of bed and even bringing him his food.

"How is your mom?" He asked and I pointed toward the hallway where her room was located.

"She's fine. She went to bed early today."

He looked at me as his arms tightened around me even more. "So, it's just you and me then."

He leaned in but I placed my hand over his mouth stopping him. "My dad has keys. He can come anytime."

"If he kills because he found me groping his daughter, at least I know I would die a happy man." He said moving my hand away.

I pulled back with a teasing smile and shook my head disapprovingly at him.

"But I don't want him to see that." I said placing my hand back over his mouth. "And you still have your stitches and I don't want to do anything that would hurt you."

He gave me a displeased look moving my hand away again. "You're annoying. How is giving me love going to hurt me?"

"Just be patient. I promise I will make it up to you once you've completely recovered." I said and he groaned lightly mumbling something under his breath.

I reached toward the coffee table to open the small drawer of the coffee table. I grabbed the small box inside and handed it to him.

He looked at the leather box curiously before looking at me again. "What is it? Are you proposing to me?"

"No, silly. It's not a ring." I said biting onto my lower lip nervously before sitting on my heels facing him.

I grabbed his hand and placed the box on it.

"I j-just saw them somewhere and I thought about you." I lowly said linking my fingers together.

He smiled before opening it. He looked down at the cufflinks and he smile widened a little. I looked from his face as his eyes ran over the round steel and tungsten cufflinks, with the cup member made of grey tungsten and his initials engraved on top of them.

He looked back at me before moving an arm back around my waist with a small smile.

"You just saw them somewhere and bought them?" He asked with a small smile and I nodded. "Where exactly did you see them?"

I cleared my throat light trying to stop my hands from shaking out of nervousness and looked at him. "In my head. And the designer's."

He pulled me a little closer burying his face into my shoulder not saying anything. My eyes moved to the cufflinks hoping that I didn't make a mistake with the choice of the materials and the design. I was really sure that he was going to like them and I received them.

"Do you like them?" I asked nervously, fidgeting when he didn't say anything after a while.

He pulled back before looking deeply into my eyes. "I really love them." He said looking back at them and the content expression he had on his face put me at ease.

"Really?" I asked feeling my nervousness decrease a little at his words and he looked back at me.

"You're adorable." He chuckled wrapping his other arm around me and pulling me to his chest hugging me tightly. "I really love them, princess. Thank you." He whispered placing a kiss on my neck. "I love you."

"I love you too."

*****

"Victoria!"

I jumped and my eyes widened as I sat up on my bed. It was the middle of the night and my room was dark. What frightened me was my mother's piercing scream.

"Victoria!"

Jumping out of bed, I quickly ran out my room and to her. When I walked into her room, she was sitting on the bed looking directly at me with wide teary eyes.

"Mom." I quickly walked up to her bed and sat beside her. "Mama, what's wrong?"

Her arms directly went around me and squeezed me tight.

"Mom? What's wrong?" I asked trying to pull away to look at her but she only hugged me tighter, holding me to her shoulder. "You're scaring me."

"He's a monster. He has no right." She shook her head crying onto my shoulder. "I will kill him. He has no right."

I wrapped my arms around her burying my face deeper into her shoulder. She was shaking hard and I held onto her even tighter.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked slowly before shaking my head a little. "Mom, please calm down. You had a nightmare. It's okay."

"I will kill him. He can't hurt you. He has no right." She said lowly.

I pulled the sheets from under me and went under them to lay down beside her. "Mom, it's okay."

She wrapped her arms around me tighter and pulled to her kissing my forehead lightly. We stayed like that for a few minutes silently as she slowly patted my head, humming softly.

"You're stubborn."

I looked at her at her sudden statement with a small frown. "What did I do this time?"

"You know how out of control your hair can be. I told you to wrap it in a scarf when you go to sleep. Why don't you ever listen?" She finished and I frowned at her words.

"I just forgot, mom."

"Go do it now and come back." She said and I groaned lightly.

"Seriously?"

"Yes. If you had done it before bed, you wouldn't have to now." She said and I groaned louder this time standing up. "Make that sound again, young lady."

I bit my lower lip slowly with a smile and got out of bed and went to look for that scarf, which was quick. When I came back, she smiled in satisfaction as she watched me tie it. I finished and went back under the covers.

*****

I thought about my mother as I moved around the kitchen to make breakfast the next morning. It had been a while since she's had nightmares like that. But at least, it wasn't hard to make her go back to sleep.

"Hi." I smiled looking up at Steve as he walked into the kitchen the next morning and stood beside.

"Hi." He smiled back kissing the top of my head lightly. "How are you?"

"I'm good." I nodded and looked at him. "You, on the other hand, look like you haven't slept in days."

He shook his head giving me another small smile. "I'm fine. How is your mom?"

"She's still sleeping." I sighed rubbing my eyes slowly. "She had a nightmare. She seemed pretty scared. But she wouldn't tell me what the dream was about."

He furrowed his eyebrows and walked out of the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

I sigh and rested my face on my hand. He was worried. I was too last night. She kept worrying about her nightmare, only changing the subject once in a while.

"You should have called me." He said as soon as he reappeared in the kitchen.

"I knew you were busy. You guys are still looking for Kevin. And it was just a nightmare. She's sleeping like a baby now." I smiled sitting on one of the stools.

He nodded rubbing a hand over his face. "Still. You should have called."

"Stop worrying so much. I promise it was just a nightmare. She's fine." I smiled at his still slightly displeased expression. "But you're right. I promise to call you right away if anything happens again."

He dropped his head and let out a small breath before looking at me. "What about you?" He asked and I looked at him questioningly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." I smiled standing up. "I'm going to make you breakfast. You want some coffee, Steve?"

I was met with silence.

"Steve?" I called again turning to look at him when I didn't hear an answer. His gaze was glued to the marble of the counter, and he looked deep in thought. His eyebrows were furrowed.

I moved closer to him and tapped his hand lightly. "Dad?"

His head snapped up to look at me before a small smile appeared on his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked giving a worried look before moving closer.

"Yes. I'm fine, flower." He smiled tapping my chin lightly. "Just thinking."

"You look troubled." I said placing my hand on his cheek.

"Just thinking about Kevin. We can't find him. It's frustrating and troubling." He said and the dark shadow appeared on his face again.

"You're the demon. You must be the one he's running from." I grinned and he let out a small laugh. "He called me once asking me if mom had said anything about you. He sounded pretty scared."

"Really?"

I nodded with a small laugh. "Really. Do you want some coffee?"

"Yes please."

"What would you like to eat?"

"I don't really eat breakfast." He said and I frowned looking up him again.

"That's not good. You can miss any meal except for breakfast. I mean, that's how you start your day." I said and frowned deeper when he shrugged. "How can you be productive if you don't eat in the morning?"

He chuckled dropping his head a little. "You really are your mother's daughter. It's scary."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." I shrugged. "Even though you're calling me a nag."

"Are you calling your mother a nag?" He asked with a teasing look on his and I gaped at him.

I crossed my arms over my chest facing him. "I did not. You did."

"You know, you used to talk nonstop. Even when you had nothing to say, you kept looking for things to talk about. And when you weren't talking, you were singing."

I frowned looking at him. "I'm sure you're just exaggerating."

"I'm not. That's why the house being silent was never a good sign."

I smiled lightly looking down at my hands. "I always believed that I was a quiet kid. Why are you ruining the perfect image I had of me?"

"It's my job." He smiled resting his face on his palm. "You were only quiet around people you weren't comfortable with."

"I am not going to listen to this. I know I was the perfect child." I said placing his mug in front of him. "I'm going to make you breakfast."

I turned around and started working with a smile still present on my face. I grabbed a knife and started cutting the fruits hoping mom would wake up soon so she can eat with us.

I love this. I love having him around. He comes here every day. He's always busy looking for Kevin but he still finds the time to come spend time with my mother. And I can see how happy it makes her, how much better she's been these past few months. Leaving the hospital and having dad back is helping her faster than I could have hope for.

She still has her moments but she's fine and doing much better. I couldn't hope for more.

"I always wondered what you were like." I started not turning to face him. "I wondered what kind of man you were. And now that I know you, I have a very clear image."

"What image?"

"You're more than I could have hoped for." I said giving him a shy smile.

"I'm not a decent man. I've done bad things."

"Were you planning on telling us that you were alive?" I asked glancing at him briefly.

He didn't answer right away so I looked away from the pancake on the pan and turned to look at him.

"Were you?" I asked again.

"No." He said lowly.

"And that's what makes you a very good man in my eyes." I placed the pancake on a plate and turned to the fruits.

He looked taken aback for a moment. "What?"

"You were taking care of Kevin and the others, visiting my mother at the hospital and protecting us without us knowing. You never sought out for any credit. The only thing you wanted for our safety, and you were going to keep doing it in the shadows if Jason wasn't so good at sneaking into people's lives." I smiled at the last part.

He looked at me for a minute not responding before letting out a little laugh. "You really are something else." He smiled as I placed his plate in front of him.

****

"Mom said she's going to be here in a few minutes with the caterer." Elena said as we entered her shop we were supposed to meet them with my mom.

Stella had insisted that we start planning the wedding. I don't know if she wanted to start early to get our minds out of the fact that we still don't know where Kevin is. Or she just believes that he is going to stay hidden and wants all of us to move on with our lives.

Not that her sons and my father shared her thoughts. They are still after and I can't blame them. The point part of this situation is that Kevin is probably alone if he isn't with Cindy.

"Okay." I nodded guiding my mom to one of the couches before sitting beside her, followed by Jennifer, her nurse.

Elena let out a loud sigh before dropping on the other looking at me with a knowing smile.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her. "What?"

"I'll pack your suitcase for your honeymoon."

"No, you're not." I chuckled shaking my head furiously. "And I told you not to tease while Marco is still in town." I said and she gasped before narrowing her eyes at me.

"Stop teasing me."

"No." I laughed as her cheeks became slightly red. "It's too much fun. And you did the same to me."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." She mumbled burying her face in her hands.

"I don't want to stop though." I laughed at her expression when she looked up and stood up. "I'll be right back. I need a mirror."

She gave me another glare before standing up too and went into the direction of her office, as I made my way to the restroom, dropping my purse on the counter.

"I'll be right back mom." I said as she looked toward me and nodded.

I went toward the restroom and placed my hand on the handle to open it.

"Hello Vicky."

I dropped my hand and whipped around at the voice. Dizziness came when my eyes landed on the man in front of me.

I shook my head wildly and opened my mouth to scream but he threw himself at me and his hand came to cover my mouth.

"I told you there would be no wedding. And I meant it." I heard something hiss in my ear and my heart slammed against my chest. "Open the back door and wait outside."

I heard him say and I started screaming against his hand, struggling against his grip as tears started creeping into my eyes, because of the panic and anxiety I was feeling.

I continued to struggle harder as panic overtook my body. I took a deep breath and slammed my elbow against his ribcage. He groaned loosening his grip on my mouth and I took that as an opportunity to bite onto his hand.

I turned to run back and opened my mouth to scream but he pulled me back by my hair and I felt a sting on my neck.

"Hel-" His hand went back over my mouth to keep me from screaming.

The next few seconds were just a blur. All I felt was my heavy body floating and I tried to scream but my mouth wouldn't obey me. My head was spinning and I felt like throwing up.

Let go of me.

It felt like an eternity before I felt my back touch something.

"Your father and Jason ruined my life. But I am not going to hurt you." He said and I widened my eyes to keep them for dropping.

Jason.

His voice seemed distant and felt like it was echoing in my head. I tried moving as I tried to keep my heavy eyes from closing.

"You're a good girl. But you've just been involved with the wrong people. So, I'm just going to make sure they stay away from you."

Stop. Let me go.

"I'll protect you. I won't let these Knights come close to you again. They are bad." Kevin kept saying as I felt myself losing the fight to keep my eyes open. "But don't worry about Elena. She's coming with us too. She's just going to take a different road in another car. You two girls are too good to be with those bad people."

Elena?

No.

"The two of you are going to be well taken care of. You won't have to worry about a thing." He said letting out small laugh. "I have to make Hunter feel pain, but I don't think just taking his precious daughter is enough. But I still took her so we're all going to figure out what to do together, okay?"

Dad.

I moved my head slowly trying to open my mouth but my body refused to respond. Everything felt heavy.

"I'll take good care of you from now on. I promise. It's just going to be us. I'll make you happy." I heard Kevin's voice, though it seemed so far away. "You shouldn't have loved him. That was your first mistake."

I didn't hear anything else after that.

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Enjoy! Next chapter will be up on Monday.