Disclaimer: These characters are Kate Brian's, not mine. Obviouslah.

A/N: This is the first Private fic I've written, and the first fic I've written and uploaded in a long, long time. I intend to update every week or two, depends what's happening with school, work, and just life in general. Hope you enjoy! :)

ACCEPTANCE

CHAPTER ONE

It was one of those rare moments where everything seemed to stop moving and just… click. Where everything falls into place. The months of worrying, despair and apprehension all came down to this split second of realisation and understanding. Kind of anti-climatic, when you think about it; that I should have to process this newfound information and die in the same minute. Oh well, I've done my part.

I barely heard the gunshot before everything went black.

Beep… beep… beep. The constant noise was right in my ear, getting louder and louder until it was the only thing I could focus on, making it impossible to tune out. As my sense of sound returned to my body, so did everything else that I was feeling and sensing around me. A surprising amount of pain was emanating from my right thigh, and my head was pounding. My heavy eyelids encased tired eyes. I felt so weak. I couldn't move. I was scared. And then my body shut down again…

I don't know how long had passed, but I regained my consciousness once more, and started to hear that awful beeping noise again. I had to will myself to endure the pain and force myself to fully wake up. It was hard, so, so hard. After some intense minutes, I was eventually able to move the tips of my fingers and wiggle my toes. But only doing so sent pain shooting through my legs. I tried and tried to open my eyes, but my body was forcing them shut. Oh, god, I'm a prisoner in my own body.

I lay there for some time, once more becoming aware of the total pain my body was in. I wouldn't allow myself to blank out again; I had to keep conscious. Holding onto that pain and still being able to hear that beeping noise was the only way I knew I hadn't drifted off. I soon felt my eyes flickering, like they had a mind of their own, wanting to escape the darkness we were in. Despite the easy flickering, the weight of my eyelids was intense. Never before had it taken so much effort to complete a task that should be effortless. But finally I did it; I'd opened my eyes… just before they shut again. I tried again and this time was easier. The third time I opened my eyes, they stayed open, allowing me to take in my surroundings.

I had already discerned by now that I was in a hospital, but I do not remember why. The fluorescent lights shined down, making everything look incredibly bright. But the brightness of it all could just be because my eyes have been shut for god knows how long. I was situated in a small room with white and light brown wallpaper with a small window on the wall to my right. I could see drips and medical equipment in various places around the room, which freaked me out a little. Bunches of flowers and gifts were adorned all around the room. But none of that mattered at this point, all I cared about was the answer to the question: Why was I here?

I could hear a sombre voice in the distant, getting progressively louder and closer. A couple of other voices were with this one, but these sounded younger and more distraught. Please, let me know those voices, I need to find out what happened. I could hear the beeping sound speeding up ever so slightly as my breathing got shorter and I started to panic.

The door to my room opened slowly and in stepped three people. I had to squint to try and work out who they were; my eyesight hadn't completely adjusted to the brightness of my room yet.

"Reed! You're awake!"

"Oh, thank god!"

"Reed!"

By the sound of their voices, I'd figured out who they were. The deeper voice was my father's; the younger two were Noelle and Josh's. They all looked normal: Noelle as drop dead gorgeous and Josh as cute and ruffled as usual. Dad looked like he'd aged ten years with worry, but as soon as he saw my face, his lightened up with joy, softening his features. My heart expanded more than I'd ever think was possible in that one moment. A rush of pure love and joy consumed my body.

"Hi, you guys," I croaked. I had a thousand questions I'd wanted answered, but in that one moment nothing mattered more than seeing three of the people I loved the most. The questions could wait.

"I can't believe this. Someone please tell me that she's actually awake and I'm not dreaming," gushed Noelle. I swear I could see tears well up in her dark eyes.

"You're not dreaming, believe me. The pain in my leg is enough to convince me of that," I said. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Oh, Reed, I'm so happy you're okay. I knew you'd make it through, you're a trooper, but I can't deny that I was really worried back there for a moment. After a week and still not waking up, I thought I could lose you." My dad spoke to me like I was the most precious thing in the world. He gave my hand a squeeze and smiled down at me with all the love I could ever ask for. Unlike Noelle who looked like she might cry, dad was actually crying with silent tears rolling down his face. I squeezed his hand back, noticing how much effort that took.

Josh just stayed silent throughout this whole exchange. He looked like he wanted to say a million things, but couldn't find the right words to say any of them. All he did was reach down and kiss my forehead. My heart did a little dance as I realised he was touching me. The kiss was so soft, so tender, I couldn't believe I'd ever let him go.

"I've been in here for over a week?" I said. Shit, I seriously need to find out what happened. "What happened?"

The three of them exchanged looks. Each look spoke volumes of "she doesn't remember? How much should we tell her?" They all looked down, facing me. From where I was lying, they all looked impossibly tall. Sadness filled their eyes.

"Do you remember anything?" Asked Noelle. "Like, at all?"

Did I remember anything? I honestly didn't know which things I remembered, and which things my mind was unconsciously letting me forget. I tried to think back to those moments that caused me to end up in here. At first I couldn't find anything, but as I was just about to give up and say I couldn't remember anything, the strangest thing happened.

Memories were flashing in my mind, like a strobe light was on and each time the light flashed a new picture would emerge, a different memory. I closed my eyes as I digged deeper, allowing the images to surface.

I was racing towards a party, with Ivy following me. I was looking for someone… who was it? Come on think harder, Reed. That's right! Sabine. I was trying to confront her about something… about a picture. The picture was important, some missing clue for Cheyenne's death. I gasped out loud and opened my eyes as the full implication of what had happened hit me. Sabine was Arianna's sister; Sabine had been stalking me for months… Sabine had shot me!

As soon as I gasped, dad reached down to hold me and make sure I was okay. I held a shaking hand over my mouth as the vision of her pulling the trigger replayed over and over in my mind.

"Oh, my god, where is she? Did she escape? Is she with the police? WHERE IS SHE?" I was breathing shallowly, gasping for air. My mind was racing as every detail of that night came flooding back.

"Shh, shh, it's okay Reed, she's gone," Noelle said, brushing back my hair from my face and cupping my cheek in her cool hand. "The police took her into custody and she's been placed in a juvenile detention facility. She's gone, she can't hurt you now."

My heart slowed and my breathing returned to normal as I realised I wasn't under any direct threat from her. But then another detail hit me. I remember seeing the gun pointed at my chest when she pulled the trigger, straight to my heart. So why was my leg hurting like hell?

Josh must have seen the question cross my face because he answered the question without me ever having to ask it. "Just before she pulled the trigger, I jumped and pushed Sabine down, trying to alleviate the gun so it wouldn't hit you. The bullet reached your thigh, not your chest. I'm so sorry I couldn't push the gun away completely, I still hurt you, Reed." He looked down, fiddling with his thumbs so he wouldn't have to look at my face.

I can't believe he's tearing himself up like this! If it wasn't for him, I don't know what would have happened...

"Josh," I said. "Don't be like this. If you hadn't have done that, the bullet would have killed me! Josh, you saved my life." I reached over and squeezed his hand and then lifted his chin so he could meet my gaze. He squeezed my hand and went on:

"The doctors say that the bullet missed some vital areas in your leg by a few millimetres, so it should just heal and you'll be able to walk around in no time." Josh smiled his crooked, warm smile once more and I sighed in relief. He truly was an angel.

"And I can't imagine what would have happened if he didn't knock over that bitch. I don't think anyone does. Reed Brennan, you are one extremely lucky girl." Noelle stated with another smile. There was so much smiling all around. It was kind of making me delirious.

But it wasn't just luck, I thought, it was love. I knew Josh loved me, because love isn't just words, it's actions. And risking yourself to save somebody like that was the ultimate form of love.

If only he knew how much he loved me.