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Anne could barely remember what happened after that.

Her mind was a hazed mess of jumbled thoughts, her vision a blurry pool of salt, her throat a raw, red patch of agony.

She recalled someone's hands grabbing her and pulling her away from the fiery building. She recalled dropping to her knees and squeezing the dirt beneath her fists, screaming and begging for Bec to walk out that door, unharmed. She recalled glimpsing the tear-streaked faces of Lettie, Charles, W.D, and Deng Yan amongst the fuzz clogging her brain.

Then, everything just faded away and Anne fell into a deep, black abyss.

~~~~

"Anne? Anne, can you hear me? Doctor, I think she's waking up."

With a sudden start, Anne's eyes flew open and her mouth dropped wide in shock. Struggling up into a sitting position, she glanced quickly around the room.

Oh my god. Oh my god. No. No.

She was in the hospital.

White bed-sheets. Thick, cotton curtains. A silver tray lined with rubber gloves and syringes. A clipboard holding sheets of paper with her information on it. A man wearing a stethoscope around his neck. A dark-skinned young man seated on a chair near her bed-side.

"W.D!" Anne exclaimed as she lurched forward and threw her arms around him.

"Oh gosh," he heaved a sigh of relief into her hair. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"W-what's going on?" she uttered haltingly. "Why am I here?"

W.D turned to look questioningly at the doctor standing nearby.

Taking the hint, the grey-haired man turned to Anne and began gently, "There was a fire...at the museum. You were trapped inside. You got out before it fell to the ground but you've inhaled a lot of smoke and are suffering from a very severe case. You'll be fine but you should lay back and rest now. Your lungs are still weak and your breathing is very ragged and raspy. I have some medicines on hand that will help but you'll have to stay in the ward for a few more days so I can keep an eye on you."

Anne nodded silently.

As the doctor turned away to check on another patient lying by Anne's right-hand side, she stared straight at W.D and queried, "D-did everyone get out?"

W.D hesitated.

"Please...W.D...I need you to talk to me. I need you to tell me right now! I-is Bec...?"

"He didn't get out in time, Anne," W.D whispered. "They pulled him out of the wreckage alive but he's been hurt real bad. No one thinks he's going to make it. I'm so sorry."

Something in between a half-sob, half-hiccup escaped Anne's chapped, dry lips. "No-o."

W.D's grip tightened comfortingly on his sister as he pulled her in for another hug.

"I - I have to see him," she cried into his shirt. "I need to see him! Please...W.D."

"Unsinn. Der Arzt hat recht. Du musst dich ausruhen [Nonsense. The doctor is right. You need to rest]."

At the sound of the reproving tone, Anne turned in surprise to face the speaker.

Miss Patterson.

A trail of salt traced down Anne's cheeks as she gazed at her estranged mentor. "Fräulein Patterson. Du bist hier [Miss Patterson. You are here]."

"Wie könnte ich wegbleiben [How could I stay away]?" she returned fondly as she walked over to Anne's bedside and placed a cool palm against the girl's hot and sweaty forehead.

"Bec..." Anne tried to say.

"No, Anne, no," W.D shook his head vigourously. "You mustn't concern yourself with his well-being. He'll be fine, I promise. You just need to concentrate on getting better, okay?"

Anne sighed and slumped back against the pillows in defeat. As she lay there, staring wonderingly up at the ceiling, she whispered, "Why? Why did they let me in? Why did they let me in and turn Oma away?"

W.D sucked in a deep breath before saying slowly, "The answer is Phillip Carlyle."

For the remainder of the day, Anne dozed on and off, not able to sleep, not able to relax. Her mind was a fretful mess of worries and anxiety. What if Bec didn't make it out of this alive? What if he died as a result of saving her life? What if she didn't get to say goodbye?

Whenever her mind lingered on such things, she couldn't help the quiet sobs that rose up in the back of her mouth. She tried to stay quiet and not disturb the other patients but the heart-shattering events of the last few weeks had taken their toll on her.

She couldn't handle living like this anymore.

As dusk crept over the land, several visitors were admitted into the ward, Phillip, Lettie, Deng Yan and Barnum among them.

As they approached her, Anne could see the expressions of concern and sadness masked on their faces.

"Is it that bad?" she breathed as they all came to a stop by the foot of her bed. "The museum? Is it..."

"It's gone, Anne," Barnum cut in as he nervously ran his fingers through his greying locks. "Everything...everything that we worked for...it's all gone. There's nothing left."

Anne caught her lower lip in between her teeth as she glanced to and fro amongst the dishevelled forms of her callers. "I - I'm so sorry, Barnum," she swallowed. "I'm sorry that we couldn't stop them. There was just too many of them and..."

"Oh, don't be silly," Barnum waved off her apology. "It wasn't your fault. It was mine. I should've stayed behind in New York to take care of things and not just bolted off with the first opportunity that presented itself. I was careless and selfish and reckless, as usual, and I left you all behind to clean up the mess that I created. I'm the one that should be sorry. None of this would've happened if I had been here to help qualm the storm."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Phillip placed a reassuring hand on Barnum's shoulder. "You're not entirely to blame."

"He's right, Barnum," Lettie heaved a deep sigh. "You can't put all of this on your own shoulders. It may have happened whether you were here or not."

"Yeah but now Bec's..." unable to continue, Barnum bowed his head and passed his hand wearily over his eyes. "I can't believe this. I've known him since he was a kid. To have him taken away from me...I don't know if I could bear the guilt."

As Phillip and Lettie attempted to console a distraught Barnum, Deng Yan leaned over Anne and placed a kiss on her forehead. "How are you feeling?" she queried as she smoothed back her friend's hair.

"I'm fine," Anne returned soberly. "I - I'm just really shaken up by all that's happened, I guess. The museum is in shambles. Half of the performers are cooped up in here with smoke inflation and breathing problems. Bec's half-dead. I don't know what to do or who to turn to. It's just one, massive, chaotic mess and it's pure agony just thinking about it."

"I know, I know," Deng Yan wiped her watery eyes and nodded in agreement. "But I'm here for you, love, whenever, wherever, however. Don't you worry about that."

After Barnum and the others said their goodbyes and moved on to find their fellow friends, Phillip lingered behind with a, "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up."

As the curtain fell back into place behind their receding forms, Phillip lowered himself onto the edge of Anne's bed and placed his fingers on top of hers. "Is there anything I can do for you, Anne? Anything I can bring you?"

Anne shook her head. "No. It's okay. I'm alright."

"No, you're not," Phillip returned. "If you were, you wouldn't be in the god-damn hospital!"

Anne's eyes widened in surprise when she heard his forceful tone. "Wha...?"

"Ah. I'm sorry," Phillip grunted and closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm just really stressed out. This is not how I imagined things turning out...at all."

"I don't think any of us did," Anne attempted to laugh. "Life is full of some unexpected twists."

"It sure is," Phillip smiled down at her.

For a moment, Anne held his gaze and looked into his bright, blue orbs - ones that were alight with anticipation and adoration.

But, just at that moment, it was as if something clicked within her.

It was, and always had been, Bec Ivans who had captured her heart.

Phillip was a caring soul and a kind friend...but he couldn't be anything more. Not now. Not ever.

Slowly, she withdrew her hand from underneath his. "Phil," she whispered haltingly. "I - I'm so sorry. I can't."

Phillip stuck his tongue in his cheek and pulled away from her, nodding slowly and looking at anything but her. "I - I understand. You've made your choice. I'm sorry if I've pushed too hard for this or made you uncomfortable in any way..."

"Phil," Anne spoke over him. "You could never make me uncomfortable."

As he turned to glance back at her one more time, she held out her hand invitingly and asked, "Friends?"

Phillip's lips twisted into a smirk as he grabbed her hand in assent. "Friends. I can deal with that."

Anne chuckled under her breath as she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "Goodbye, Phillip Carlyle."

~~~~

As the days rolled on by, Anne received rounds of visits from her friends and family and continuous updates in regards to Bec's condition. When the doctor finally decided to discharge her, he related the news that some of Bec's body had been severely burnt in the fire. He was also suffering from a pair of broken ribs, a fractured arm and a crushed hand. He hadn't been fully conscious since the incident but everyone was confident that he would come around very soon.

It wasn't easy to hear such words from the doctor's mouth but Anne never felt so relieved in her life when she learned that Bec would live.

As W.D and Deng Yan gathered up the last of her things from the ward, Anne made one, special request.

"Can I please see Bec Ivans?"

A compliant nurse led the way across the hall to where the ward opposite Anne's was situated. As she stepped into the room after the white-clad woman, her eyes trailed over the rows of beds lining the walls. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the bandaged limbs, the bruised faces and the bowls of blood littering the place.

As Anne turned her face away from the gruesome scene at hand, her gaze came to rest on the limp, still form of...

"Bec," she murmured.

Anne sent the nurse a hurried 'thank-you' before seating herself next to Bec's bed-side. Tears formed in her eyes when she saw his swollen face, his chapped and bleeding skin, and his splinted, bandaged injuries.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Anne allowed one of her hands to stray up to his hair. As she gently ran the tips of her fingers through its disarray of ruffles, she leaned close to him and whispered, "I can't believe you put yourself through all of this for me. You're a true hero and for that alone, I will be eternally grateful."

She paused as her gaze flickered down to his lips, which were parted ever so slightly. Hesitantly, she traced her fingers lightly down his jaw and cupped his chin in her hand. "I love you, Bec Ivans," she spoke the words so quietly she could barely hear them herself. "I love you."

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Anne leaned down and pressed her lips to his. She only held the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away but, when she straightened up, she was horrified to see that Bec's eyes were open and that he was staring right at her!

"Oh my god!" she gasped. She attempted to retract her hand from his face but he quickly reached up and seized it in his own.

For a moment, they just looked at each other, neither knowing what to do.

Then, Bec's raspy voice broke the awkward silence, "If you're going to kiss me, Anne, at least do it properly."

Anne's eyes widened as she fumbled around for an excuse. "I - I..."

Bec smirked and rolled his eyes before reaching up and sliding a hand over the back of her neck. As he guided her head down to his, he smiled teasingly at her, "I knew that you couldn't resist me, buttercup."

Anne glared mockingly at him. "I have no words."

"Good," he breathed in her ear. "I don't want to hear them anyway."

Before Anne could take the time to prepare herself, Bec reached up and closed the space between their lips. In so doing, it led to a deep and passionate kiss between the two.

And that was a moment Anne knew that she would never forget.

Gif: Anne and Bec kiss in the hospital.

Question of the update: Ah. This is so cheesy. Anyways, do you think that Anne made the right decision when she chose Bec over Phillip? Is there enough chemistry between them? Please, be honest!

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