A/N: Read the bold at the bottom.

"Too much?" I ask. Though my heart pounds as if I am reliving the whole experience, I am glad to have that part said and done. Everything else I have to tell is more pleasant. Well, to a point, at least.

Wanda had gotten up during the narration and grabbed her hair brush. She reminded more than a few times to continue speaking when I drifted off watching her move in her delicate nightgown. Still standing and pulling the bristles through her soft hair, she says, "No. I know you didn't always think of me in the best of ways."

"But I was so wrong."

She smiles at me, sits down on the mattress, and cups my cheek. "I don't blame you for any of it."

I maneuver my body so that she is settled in my lap. My fingers caress her smooth throat, the ugly pattern long since passed imprinted in my memories. Wanda giggles as my nails tickle her and dips her chin to stop them.

"Maybe we should take a break," I say.

Wanda stiffens and turns in my arms. Her hands land on my chest as she looks up at me. "Why?"

I shrug. "Aren't you hungry? We've no doubt missed breakfast, but maybe we can beat the lunch crowd."

"Are you hungry?"

Unable to help myself, I kiss her lips as they begin to pout. "A little," I allow. "But not for food." I love the blush that warms her face.

Her hands fall from my torso, but I catch them and intertwine our fingers. Head ducked and golden hair closing the curtain on her expression, she says, "We haven't finished the story yet."

"Are you really that interested?"

Wanda peeks through the yellow strands. "It's okay." I feel the quivering of her fingers. The timbre of her voice wobbles. "We can go eat if you want."

And there she went with the if you want to game. We had this issue especially during our first week of true intimacy, where, even if she was tired or sore or starving, she let me kiss her and hold her and love her as much as I craved. It hadn't been until my brain started working again that I realized what she'd been doing. We had a long talk after that.

Needless to say, it didn't fix much.

I sighed and kissed her hair. "Wanda…."

"Ian…" she groaned right back.

I grinned. "So, after Jeb basically saved your life and the talk of a raid came up, I–"

Wanda perked up. "Why didn't you go on that raid? I always wondered that. Why did you stay in the caves if I was there?"

Happy to have caught her interest once more, I delved into a part of the past I hadn't originally meant to tell….

A/N: Yup. Super short chapter.

Originally gonna post two chapters (the second one being longer and more 'meaty', so to speak) but, as it happens, I got not a single review for the last chapter. I know people read the chapter (or at least looked at it); people favorited/followed, that sort of thing. But no one decided to review. I'm not quite sure how to take this. I'm just disappointed. While there are lots of writers who simply write for themselves, I write for two main reasons. One is for myself - I wouldn't write this by force, which is why sometimes I fall off the side of the planet and disappear. Two is for analytic reasons - I plan on publishing original work one day, and I need to understand audiences. Your reviews tell me things beyond the words, important things beyond a doubt.

Alright, rant over. I'll post the next, longer chapter, in a few days. I would appreciate your thoughts on my writing.

Until next time.