Thank you to all that have made it this far into the story. Hopefully I've peaked your interest and you'll enjoy this chapter too! I'm a long time reader and first time poster, so I know from experience the agony of waiting for new chapters. Luckily I have quite a few more written and with more viewers I'll post more! But it's a double edged sword because the reason I'm finally sharing this story is because I'm starting to burn out on writing it and I thought new sets of eyes would help the creative juices flow. So, any types of reviews: positive, negative, random, editing, anything really is most helpful!

Ten Years Ago: The Apartment Hours Later

That blackness was the worst in the world. It wasn't the comforting relaxing blackness of sleep or the painful yet survivable blackness of a fight. No, it was the blackness that felt like falling into a never-ending abyss because the last sight I had before shutting my eyes was that of Chloe's lifeless body.

I woke up in a cold sweat on the couch of the apartment. The place was bustling with Mai and the humans that knew of our existence. Amy squealed when she saw that I was awake and dragged Paul over to where I lay. She was talking a thousand words a minute but my mind could only register one fact: Chloe was nowhere to be seen in the room.

"Where is she?" I practically yelled, interrupting Amy.

"Haven't you been listening Alek? I was just explaining. Please try to focus. Chloe will be O-K." Amy emphasized the last part, obviously trying to get me to understand.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I shouted back, "last time I saw her she was dead!"

"Alek, calm down." Amy pressed my shoulder back into the couch as I tried to stand up. She hit my wound which made me wince, giving her the upper hand to shove me into the cushions. "That's what you get for not listening," she said in response to my show of pain, "and hear this loud and clear. Chloe did not die again outside the warehouse. The healers said she went into this weird shock state. Their theory was that it was in divine response to the fact she did die twice already. Her body was… I mean is… still trying to recover."

"What do you mean 'is'?" I asked.

"Don't freak out Alek. She's stable now. They've done all they can… it's just that she's hasn't woken up yet." Amy told me.

"What? Where is she? I need to see her!" I tried again to rise from off the couch only to be stopped by Paul and Amy together.

"Oh no you don't. You took quite the beating too and were passed out for several hours as well. You need to rest. Stop worrying Alek. Chloe is in good hands, Jasmine is with her right now."

"Who else?" At the mention of Jasmine's name, I became painfully aware of who else from the warehouse was also missing from the room.

"I know what you're thinking, but not Brian. So calm yourself. Him and Meredith are being briefed about Mai and watched at another location. It took a lot of talking to get either to leave from Chloe's side. They care so much about her."

"Which reminds me," I say finally pushing pass Paul's hand that was holding me down, "that's where I need to be."

"No! Alek, wait!" Amy tried to call after me, but already I was moving down the hall towards the section of the apartment with the bedrooms. My Mai senses were still foggy but thank Basset we heal so quickly. Only one of the doors was closed, meaning it was occupied. What surprised me was that it was mine.

Quickly, but quietly I pushed the door open and assessed the scene. The curtains were drawn but my Mai senses adapted to the dim lighting to make out two warm bodies in the room. One was Jasmine sitting in a chair beside my queen bed. Her head was buried in her hands, propped up so it looked like she was paying attention but I could tell she was tired as hell. The second figure was laying on the side of the bed closest to Jasmine. She laid on her back under the covers and her blonde curls spread out over the pillow like a halo. I could instantly hear the rhythm of her heart.

"Jas," I whispered into the dark room and her head popped up.

"Alek!" she whispered yelled back, "you're supposed to be resting. Don't worry, she's a lot better and nothing will happen."

"Common Jas, you're barely conscious yourself. You need to go sleep for a while, my couple of hours have left me feeling quite refreshed." I smirked at her, trying to help relieve some of the great tension she must have been feeling over the past several hours. I knew the girl I deeply cared for and felt an incredible amount of soul connection with was laying feet away, but I am also protective of Jas, the only family I had left.

"Are you really cracking jokes at a time like this?"

"Someone has to and by the looks of the bags under your eyes you're not any time soon." I expected her to punch me, but instead she threw her arms around my neck pulling me into a tight hug.

"Thank you Alek." She whispered, "And stop worrying yourself, she really will be okay. She's just been through a lot, we all have." With that she left the room for her own rest, leaving me alone with the only other person I cared more about: Chloe.

Ten Years Ago: The Apartment Two Days Later

Chloe still had not woken up from whatever divine resting response had overcome her, but I guess dying really takes a lot out of you. Plus Chloe had never died twice in one night before. Twice. I winced as I thought about (again) how that was two deaths too many. I had sworn to myself upon hearing that those were the last two deaths she would have to suffer as long as I was around. And then I swore that I would always be around. Always.

Which is why I hadn't left the bedside in 35 hours. Jasmin brought me food and I had taken a bathroom break twice while the healers had come to check on Chloe. They said she was still in some state of shock but all her vitals were fine, so it would be best to let her rest it off. The only reason I wasn't demanding they try more was because I could hear the steady thump-thump of her heart, telling me was alive and recovering.

I locked onto that rhythm as I pushed myself out of the chair I was occupying directly next to the side of the bed Chloe was laying on. She hadn't moved at all in the time I was standing guard, surely nothing would happen in the five minutes I needed to pee. Normally I would get Jas to watch if I had to leave the room, but it was one in the morning and she had been working herself into the ground dealing with the repercussions of the warehouse fiasco. No, I wouldn't wake her, but instead I listened to the sound of Chloe's heart as I left the room. It anchored me and reassured me that she was still living.

It faded slightly as I padded down the hall to the bathroom where I would make the least amount of noise, but that was only because of the distance. Becoming a Uniter protector had made me hone my skills, especially hearing, thus I could still pick up the beating slightly through the walls. Steady to her own unique rhythm.

Suddenly, as I was washing my hands, there was a shift. Her heart was speeding up, causing mine to increase as well. I nearly ripped the bathroom door off its hinges and raced down the hall. As I opened the door to my bedroom, I heard her scream.

"Chloe!" I called, making my way to her side with great haste. She was sitting up in the bed, wide eyed and mouth open from her screech. Blonde curls stuck to her forehead where she was breaking out with the sweats. "Chloe." I said again, grabbing her shoulders to settle her since her hands were digging to the sheets and mattress with her claws. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, clearly something frightening had woken her up. But my hands on shoulders snapped her attention to me, bewildered eyes searching my face for some sort of recognition or comfort.

"It's ok Chloe. I'm here. It's me, Alek. You're safe." I told her, lowering myself onto the bed to sit beside her.

"Alek?" she mumbled faintly as if she almost didn't believe I was there.

"Yes. It's me Chloe. You're safe, I'm not going to let anything happen."

Something must have clicked because instant relief washed over her face and tears started pouring from her eyes. "Alek!" she sobbed, lurching forward and burying herself into my chest. Her arms wrapped around me in an inescapable embrace. Not that I was going anywhere. I enveloped her too, relishing the feeling of holding her again.

"Shhh, it's okay. I've got you." I said in attempt to calm her, but in truth I felt like crying too. I had not realized how much pain I was living with seeing her in her comatose state, but now that she was awake all I could feel was joy and relief.

"It's really you?" she whispered and I could easily hear with her lips so close to my ear.

"It's really me. Everything will be alright."

"It's just… you were there and then you weren't. And the darkness I had been fighting consumed me and I felt like I was shattering… and" Chloe muttered between deep breaths.

"You've been unconscious for days Chloe, you must have been dreaming. But it's all okay now. No one was hurt at the warehouse. Everyone is alive."

"You've alive Alek." She whispered, probably for her own benefit but my heart twinged due to the amount of concern and emotion in her voice.

"Yes, I am alive Chloe. And so are you." I pulled her into a deeper embrace, never wanting to let her go again.

"It just all seemed so real… I felt so… I am so…. tired." She finally managed to say after several long moments of us just sitting there and holding each other.

"What? You've been asleep for two days straight." I tried to tease her, my signature smirk filling my face.

"Really?" Chloe pulled away to look at my face. "I have? It doesn't feel like that. It feels like I've just finished a two day fight against a ninja master and then was hit by a train."

I let out a nervous but also genuine chuckle. "Well then you should sleep, here." I stood up from the bed so that she could lay down, patting the pillow. "I'll make sure nothing bad or exciting will happen as you sleep."

She stared at the pillow with longing, like she wanted to sleep but something will was holding her back. "I don't want to go back there. I don't want to have to fight the darkness again." Chloe whispered almost inaudibly.

I was about to ask her what she meant as she turned again to me with a question, "Alek?"

"Yes Chloe?"

"Will you… I mean you don't have to but… will you hold me as I fall asleep?"

I was taken back by her words. My brain was taking several moments too long to process what she had just said, but my heart was already soaring through the clouds.

"It's ok if you don't want to, I understand. Just forget I asked." Chloe quickly back pedaled and nervously adjusted the pillow, setting herself up to sleep alone.

"No," I hastily replied before she would get the wrong impression, "I mean, yes, I'll lay down next to you if that's what you want."

"Yes," her eyes sparkled with a quiet relief, "I really would."

Wordlessly, Chloe shifted over and I climbed into the bed behind her. I carefully laid my head next to hers avoiding the array of golden curls cascading over the pillow. I pulled the sheet over both of us and draped one of my arms over her side, effectively being the big spoon to her little one. I could hear her heart return to its normal resting rate and for the first time in days, months really, I felt my own sense of relief. I felt that I could finally do my job of protecting the Uniter… of protecting Chloe… now that she allowed me to be so close.

With her final breath before she fell asleep, hopefully into a peace dream, I heard Chloe say, "I am really glad you are here Alek. I don't know what I would feel without you."

I waited until her breathing was even and she was slumbering before responding, "I will always be here for you Chloe. I know I would feel lifeless without you."