Chase's POV

My eyes flash open; my chest rising and falling rapidly. I see the white fuzzy outline of the ceiling through my blurry vision. Where am I? The muffled sounds around me do nothing to help answer that question. Oh god! That man took me! He was approaching me with such a sinister grin. Oh god! I squeeze my eyes shut.

No! I remember those arms catching me, those strong, comfortable arms. I take a deep breath. There's no way those arms would let me get hurt. I take another deep breath. Wherever I am I'll be safe. I'm sure of it. I continue breathing slowly until I start to hear the now familiar machines of the hospital along with Justin and Jesse's chattering.

I open my eyes and look over to where their voices are coming from. Justin is wearing a teasing smirk and Jesse's face is crimson red. Neither of them are aware that I'm awake and I smile as I watch them.

Ever since I came out of the hospital, Jesse has had to put up with a lot. I was cranky and difficult the whole of last week. I barely had the will to get out of bed and I hardly ate anything. I know it must have been tough for Jesse. But he never complained and I know he never will. That's why I need to be strong. I need to stop being so dependent on him because he will just give and give until there is nothing left and I can't have that.

"Chase! You're awake!" Jesse says shooting out of his chair and rushing towards me. "What happened? Are you ok?" His eyes seem to portray only worry these days.

"I'm ok. I saw one of the men from that night but I'm ok. I really am!" I reach out to squeeze Jesse's hand while giving Justin a reassuring smile.

Despite how terrifying it was to see that man again, the only thing on my mind right now are those arms that broke my fall. They were so powerful and secure. I could spend all day in those arms. "Who brought me here?" I add quickly, cutting off Jesse who no doubt was going to press me for details on what exactly happened.

"Diego, he said he saw you at the vending machine and you looked scared," Jesse replies, still fussing over me like there's some hidden message on my skin that says 'look this is where I hurt, Chase is lying'.

"Is he-"

I am interrupted when I see God himself enter the ward, carrying a giant gift bag. He stops at the end of my bed.

"Hi. Hi Chase, I hope you won't hide under the blanket this time too." God, in the form of Diego, smiles at me; the warmest, sexist smile I have ever seen. The light bounces off his dimples making them seem somehow deeper yet brighter. His eyes are the perfect chocolate colour and his gaze is just as sweet as my favourite nutella pancakes.

I don't realize that I'm staring at him with my mouth hanging open until I hear Jesse laugh and feel his hand under my chin pushing it upwards. I immediately duck my head and fiddle with the bed sheet. I hear Diego chuckle; a deep, musical sound that sends heat coursing through my body. What is he doing to me!

"I brought you something little lamb, can I come give it to you?" Diego's mesmerizing voice asks; my heart doing backflips at the nickname. I've always loved nicknames but I only ever got baby or babe or cutie.

Smiling, I peek up at him. I love gifts! "Is that giant gift bag for me!" I can't help the excitement in my voice and I hear Jesse and Justin laugh and see Diego's bright smile which seems to match my level of excitement.

Diego sticks the bag out for me to take and I eagerly grab it and he chuckles again. I quickly pull out the decorative paper on top and gasp when I see the contents. I let out an excited squeal as I shuffle around in the bag.

The gift bag literally has at least two of every snack in the vending machine! "Thank you so much, Diego! I love this! I love snacks a lot but anything chocolaty is the best! Milk chocolate is my favourite though!" I reply animatedly, hugging the giant bag of snacks to my chest and gently rocking them. "Oh and thank you for bringing me here!" I add as an afterthought.

Diego chuckles and grins at me. "Of course. And I'm glad you liked it. I was worried it might be too over the top," Diego responds sheepishly.

I stop hugging the bag and reach in and pull out a packet of plain chocolate M&Ms with a huge grin on my face. I immediately open them and pour half the pack into my mouth and let out a happy sigh.

"Thank you Diego, you definitely made Chase's day. And sorry if I was mean to you earlier," Jesse says, smiling at Diego.

"No need to apologize, you were just worried about your brother." Diego turns back towards me with a gentle smile. "Chase, would I be able to get your number but it's completely alright if you don't want to give it to me."

I glance down at the bag of treats he got me with a smile. I think I might be ready to make a new friend. Of course Diego is super hot and I'm definitely attracted to him. And oh boy, does he do all sorts of things to my body! But I don't think I can handle anything more than a friendship right now. I'm sure however that I would like to get to know him better.

"The snacks weren't a bribe!" Diego yells hurriedly and I look up giving him a quizzical look. "I just thought since you were by the vending machine you might have been getting a snack. I thought maybe I'll get three or four of each snack because I didn't want you to only have one of whichever was your favourite. That wasn't to make you feel obligated to give me your number!"

I giggle at Diego's flustered face. "I wasn't thinking that but now I know it's a bribe. I'll give you my number if you get me 5 more packs of M&Ms!"

"Deal! I'll give them to you at the barbecue next week. Bryan said it was postponed by a few days," Diego immediately responds, flashing me the brightest smile I've ever seen and reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone. Well now I'm definitely more excited for the barbecue!

His hand briefly grazes mine when he gives the phone to me and instead of disgust at his touch I feel excitement. His touch sends a pleasant tingle throughout my body making me crave more and that terrifies me. I don't want my body to react this way. I can never trust another man with my body.

"I only want to be friends," I tell Diego as I hand him my phone being careful, this time, not to touch his hand.

I intently watch Diego's face looking for any hint of disapproval, disgust or irritation but I find none. His bright smile, that reaches his eyes, remains plastered to his face. "No problem, little lamb. I have a lot of patience so I'll wait as long as it takes for you to be comfortable. Then when you're ready you should ask me out." Diego winks at me and I immediately look away as I feel my heart thump with joy.

"I don't know if I'll ever be ready," I mumble, saving my name into his phone as the 'My Cute M&M Boy' before frowning at the name and erasing it, opting to just save my name as 'Chase'. It's not fair to give him false hope. But just Chase seems too impersonal so I add a smiley face and a chocolate bar emoji at the end of my name.

Diego chuckles lightly. "Seems like I have my work cut out for me." He winks at me again, as we exchange phones and I can't help the smile that appears on my lips. "Let's stick to being friends for now. Deal?" I nod in agreement and my smile grows. "I'll see you at the barbecue with M&Ms as promised! You'll call me?" A tiny giggle escapes me as I nod enthusiastically and Diego smiles in return and waves goodbye.

Justin, who I didn't notice stepped outside to take a phone call, rushes back inside screaming, "She had the baby! Aerial had the baby."

"I'll go get the nurse to see if Chase can leave," Jesse volunteers, hurrying out of the ward.

The nurse comes a few minutes later and I am free to go. Justin, Jesse and I scurry towards Aerial's hospital room; the excitement in the air palpable. Aerial's hospital room is abuzz with laughter and joy as everyone coos of her baby.

"We named her Amyail, Amy for short," Mason says replying to the question Justin asked.

I'm standing in the corner of the room away from all the gentle tossling going on to see the baby. Everyone has already held the baby and made a huge fuss over her. I smile softly just watching from the shadows.

"Do you want to hold her Chase?" Aerial asks. I nod and approach Aerial through the clearing everyone has left for me. I sanitize my hands as Aerial sets Amy down on her lap so that I can pick up the baby without touching the mother.

I can't help the smile that adorns my face when I see her tiny, squished, adorable face. "Hi Amy, it's uncle Chase." Amy makes a gurgling sound and wriggles in my arms making me giggle. Adjusting her in my arms so that I have an arm free, I tentatively brush my finger against her soft cheek.

I feel tears well up in my eyes as I am suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. She's so fragile and beautiful, unscathed by the world. I want her to remain that way. But I also know she can't, no one can. I know that no matter what her life holds, I will always love her and want to protect her.

It finally dawns on me that this is how everyone in this room feels about me. No matter what I've been through they will always love me and want to protect me.

I glance up at the faces around me: Mason, Aerial, Justin, Chloe and Jesse. They're all wearing looks of admiration and love as they look at me holding Amy. As if seeing them for the first time, I see the genuine smiles they give me and I can't help but smile back. I shift my gaze back to Amy's face.

"Uncle Chase almost wasn't here to meet you." My voice cracks and I feel tears trickle down my face; my finger still gently stroking Amy's cheek. "I'll be strong so I can watch you grow up, promise." I press my lips to her forehead and vow that I will make it through everything stronger because I know, no matter what, I have my family's support, just like Amy has mine.    

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