Steven and Warren got me to a hospital, where I was looked over, had my leg amputated, and answered a bunch of questions. After that, I was taken back home, where I immediately begged for someone to cut my hair. Warren did exactly as I had begged him to do, and helped me climb into a chair in the kitchen so that he could shave all of my hair off. 

I wheeled myself into the library where Steven was, sitting perfectly still, and staring unblinkingly at absolutely nothing. I wheeled up next to him, and Steven stood up to face me. I watched as he studied me, looking over every inch of me, as if expecting me to just explode, before his eyes finally settle on my new hair. 

"It looks nice." Steven said softly. 

"Thank you." I said, though it sounded bland, and I knew it. 

"How are you feeling?"

"...Dirty." 

"Do you - want to take a bath?" Steven knew what I meant when I said I felt dirty, and he knew that a bath wouldn't fix it, but he was trying, and a bath did sound nice. So, I nodded my head, looking up at Steven sadly. 

Steven got to wheeling me out of the room right away, and wheeling me all the way to the stairs. I didn't expect Steven to pick me up out of my chair and carry me up the stairs, but I couldn't exactly say that I was surprised when he did. Steven carried me to his room, which had the master bathroom of the house connected to it, and carried me to the bathroom. 

Steven set me on the toilet as he plugged up the large bathtub, and turned on the taps. Steven grabbed a small plastic cup from the side of the tub, and held it under the water for a moment. He then came over to me and had me dip my finger in the cup to make sure that the water was a good temperature for me. Once I confirmed that the water was fine, and the tub was starting to fill up a good chunk, Steven helped me out of my clothes and into the tub. 

I settled down into the warm water, and crossed my arms on the edge of the tub, laying my head on them. Steven sat down on the floor, resting his head in his own arms in front of me. For a little while, the two of us just sat there in silence, staring at each other. Then, I started to cry, and I focused my attention into making sure that my tears didn't burn me. 

Steven leaned forward, and hugged me tightly. Steven wrapped one arm tightly around my shoulders, while placing his other hand on the back of my head, keeping my head on his shoulder while he rested his own head one one of mine. Steven seemed to realise that he was touching my hair, and quickly went to remove his hand, but I shook my head.

"It's ok. It's ok now." I said softly, grabbing Steven's wrist and placing his hand back on my head. My hair was far too short for anyone to grab onto, or run their hands through. It was new hair that no one had ever touched before, meaning it was ok for Steven to touch my hair. I knew that he would be nice to me, and that I could trust him to make sure that I wasn't uncomfortable or in any pain. 

"You're ok too." Steven told me, turning his head to place a kiss on mine. I nodded, and buried my face further into the crook of Steven's neck. When I was done crying, and was relaxed again, Steven turned off the tap before the bath got too full. 

Steven shampoo and conditioned what little was left of my hair, washed my back, arms, and torso while I just sat there and did nothing, and handed me the washcloth he was using so that I could wash everything below my waist myself while he averted his eyes and waited patiently until I was done. After that, Steven just held me, drawing patterns into my still wet hair while he scooped hot water into the plastic cup, and dumped them slowly down my back. 

"What exactly happened Gill?" Steven asked me quietly.

"Too much. I don't know who that man was, and I never even really found out what he wanted for me, but he mentioned Peter, and called me Bitch. He said that you were my owner, and that that's why you gave me the bracelet. He said it's kind of like a collar." I explained. 

"That's not true at all. You're not my pet at all, and I gave you that bracelet so you can let me know if you're in danger, just like you did."

"I know Steven, and that's what I told him. That's why he kept cutting me up. Because I would listen to him, and wouldn't let him treat me like an animal."

"I don't know if I should be incredibly proud at how far you've come, or so very sad at how it turned out for you." Steven chuckled dryly a little. 

"Maybe a bit of both?" I chuckled back.

"I think I'm more proud. Everything you told the doctor, and the police about. None of that could have been easy for you. You've been so strong, and doing so well Gill."

"Steven? There's something I didn't tell the doctor, or the police."

"What is it?" 

"The man hit me in the head and I passed out after he shoved me into the back of his care. When I woke up, I was wearing a shock collar, my hands were zip tied behind my back, and I was laying face in a dog bed. I tried to sit up, but the man was there, and he pushed me back down, and that's when I woke up enough to realise what he was doing." 

"What was he doing Gill?" Steven asked slowly, and I was pretty sure that he already knew the answer. I wrapped my arms around Steven, and pulled him into a hug. Steven tightened his hold around me, and I was really thankful that he was there. 

"He raped me Steven. That's why I was naked when you guys found me. He told me I was tighter when I was awake." Steven's hold on me tightened even more, and he placed a comforting kiss of my head again. 

"You're ok Gill. Everything is going to be ok. Jesus Christ, I am never letting you out of my sight again. You're just coming everywhere with me form now on."

"That'll be easy to do considering the fact that I'm gonna have to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair." 

"Come on, let's get you out before you get pruny." Steven helped me out of the tub, helped me dry off a bit, then handed me the towel while he went and got my pajamas out of my room.

Honestly, Steven was helping me do things that I could most certainly do myself. I was more than capable of drying myself off, and changing clothes, and bathing myself, especially considering that I had only lost my leg. However, I really appreciated Steven taking care of me, and, although I didn't need it physically, I did need it mentally. 

So, when Steven came back into the bathroom to help me into my clothes, and placed yet another kiss on my head, I simply smiled warmly at him. Steven carried me back downstairs and gently set me down in my wheelchair. Almost instantly, Button came running up, and leaped onto my lap, making himself cozy even though he was starting to get too big to be a lap dog. 

"Thank you Steven. I love you." I told Steven, turning to smile up at him as he wheeled me into the kitchen. 

"I love you too Gill." Steven told me, and he smiled down at me too. 

***

After losing my leg, I wanted to see Ty. I wanted to see Ty all the time anyway, but I really needed to see him then. Ty would have understood that the situation I was in sucked horribly, but he also would have been very encouraging of me. He would have sat and moped with me because I wasn't doing very good, but he also would have been with me every single step of the way, so when I was doing better, he would have been happy about it with me. 

I needed my best friend back, but I knew I couldn't have him, and that made the whole situation so much worse. However, there was a sort of elegant sadness to it all. After Ty being dead for as long as he had been, I had grown to accept that he was gone, and that he wasn't coming back. I often found myself thinking about Ty, and while I wasn't happy about what had happened, I wouldn't cry, or even really show any signs of thinking of him at all. I stayed calm, and felt the way that I only ever thought you could feel on a cloudy day when the whole sky was light grey, and the entire world just looks both brighter, and dimmer at the same time. 

I felt like that cloudy day every time I thought of Ty, and especially when I went to visit him at the funeral. I wanted to talk to Ty alone, so I was able to convince Steven to wait in the car while I wheeled myself over to Ty's headstone, which was no easy task. Wheels don't move very smoothly through grass, but I made it eventually. 

"Hey Ty, I have some bad news. I can't be Sunshine anymore." I said, then chuckled dryly. "Maybe that's for the best, I wasn't very good at it anyway. All me being Sunshine did was cause a whole lot of trouble for a whole lot of people.

"I'm sorry I let you down Ty. I really tried, but I guess I wasn't as good at helping people as you. Then again, I don't know if anyone ever could be. You were a bit cynical and jaded, but you really had a heart of gold. I miss you Ty."

"I keep running into you like this. Funny where friends meet each other, isn't it?" I heard a familiar voice say form my right. I turned to look, and found April taking a seat on the ground next to me, looking at Ty's headstone. 

"I guess." I responded. 

"Was it that Peter man again?" April asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. I really appreciated how forward she was. 

"No, but I think this man had something to do with him. He kept mentioning Peter, and used the same name on me that Peter did."

"I should have brought flowers." 

"You didn't need to." 

"I guess you're right. I can just make them." April said with a smirk before placing her hands on the ground. Nothing happened, and I looked down at her in confusion. 

"Why isn't anything happening?" I asked. 

"Something is definitely happening. I can feel it. I just...don't know what." April replied, her brows furrowing.

"Weird."

"Yeah." April pulled her hand back, then looked up at me and shrugged. April and I just sat there in silence for a little while, then we went our separate ways. Steven didn't ask me about what I had said to Ty, or about April, and I really appreciated that. 

Steven turned on the radio, playing some classic rock at a reasonable volume, and drove the both of us back home without a word. When we got back home, Steven told me that he had a really important science experiment, or something, to work on. So he gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head, and went down to his lab, leaving me to do whatever the heck I wanted, as long as it was on the first floor of the house. 

I sighed, and wheeled myself into the library where I grabbed a random book off of a shelf, and wheeled myself into a corner. I had a feeling I was going to be doing a lot of reading from then on, which was fine. I ended up falling asleep reading the book, which was nice.

I still wasn't able to sleep well at night, but I think that was mostly do to the fact that you never knew what was hiding in the dark. However, I did feel safe, and taken care of, so it was easier for me to fall asleep in random places, like the corner of the library. I let out a contented, happy sigh, and fell deeper into sleep, knowing that I could live at peace, even if it would take some time to get there.