Disclaimer: Alas, I still don't own any of it. :(

AN: I think I mentioned in my last chapter that computers hate me…well, now I hate them too. My computer decided that it would be funny to break on me during April, so I had to send it out to get repaired. Now normally that wouldn't bother me, with technology hating me and all, but when I got it back, and it was supposed to be all fixed, it wasn't. To make a long story short, I had to send my computer out to get fixed twice, it took forever to get back, so when it finally did come back, it was right before my finals. Sorry for the wait, and hopefully, my computer is fixed once and for all.

Reviewer Responses:

nala456- Thanks for the review. :)

queen-of-swing- I'm not basing it off of a movie or a novel, but there are so many movies and novels out there, so I am sure there is something similar to this. I have ever intention of continuing this, so fear not. lol

Jack'sAngel- Thank you for the lovely review. Don't worry…it make take some time for me to update, but I promise by everything that is good in this world that I will finish it.

lilpyro900- Thanks. :)

lennelovesshuyin- Thank you for the review. Don't knock yourself and your talent though…I've read some of your fics, and while I'm not really into the categories they are in, the writing style is wonderful. I think you can be a great writer.

Previously:

"Please, just hold me. Keep the dreams from coming back." It was such a simple request, and the look in her eyes just broke his heart over and over again.

"Of course I will." That was all he had to say, and Zee visible relaxed letting out a long yawn. Zoa returned to the bed and situated himself so that he was in an almost sitting position. He pulled Zenon down into him and wrapped his arms around her. He saw that she was already asleep, so he gently kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe here with me." And that was the last thing that Zenon heard before she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep wrapped in the arms of a truly wonderful man.

Zenon awoke just as the sun's rays peaked through the large French doors that led to a balcony off of the room she was in. At first she was confused, not remembering much about the evening before, but when her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, she realized that she was with Proto Zoa and that because of that, she was safe. She gazed out the French doors toward the mountains that surrounded Nova Linda Cove and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She turned her attention away from the balcony and back to her still sleeping companion.

"I swear that boy can sleep through anything." She continued to watch him sleep for some time and then looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room to note that it was only 6 am. "It's far too early to wake him, especially after last night. I never should have come here like that." Zenon looked back on the events that unfolded the night before. It was still a little fuzzy for Zenon, but she remembered coming to Nova Linda Cove to find him because she didn't know what else to do. Her parents were dead, and he was the first one she could think to go to. Zenon began to softly cry again, but unlike last night, she was more coherent and decided to leave the room so that he would not be awakened. She swiftly exited the room and walked down the hall until she reached the first opened room. It appeared to be some sort of office, and Zenon vaguely remembered being in their with him the night before. She shut the door behind her and sank down into the couch and continued to cry. Zenon sat there for what seemed like hours, even though in all actuality, it had only been an hour. She just cried until there were no more tears to shed, and then she began to think about all the events that transpired.

"My parents are dead. They're gone, and they are never coming back. They are gone forever. They are never going to see me grow up, and they are never going to get to finish there work. This never should have happened. This is all…" She was interrupted from her thoughts by Proto Zoa coming into the room and calling her name.

CONCURRENTLY WITH ABOVE

Proto Zoa was awoken with a start. He let his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight before taking in his surroundings to see what exactly had woken him up this early. He quickly realized it was because Zenon was gone. He felt a ping of fear shot through his heart. He jumped out of bed.

"I'm sure she's fine. She probably just went to the bathroom…yeah that's it…she went to the bathroom." He quickly opened the door to the guest bedroom and went down the hall toward the bathroom. He gently rapped on the door to see if she was in there. When he got no response, he opened the door and called out her name. He was getting all the more worried about her and where she might be. Suddenly images of her wandering out in the middle of the night and getting hurt ran through his head.

"What if she had wandered out there while I was sleeping? It was so dark last night, and she had no idea of what was going on. She could have fallen, or even worse, she could have…" He couldn't even bring himself to fathom the idea of her falling off one of the numerous cliffs of Nova Linda Cove to her doom. The sheer idea frightened him to death because it was a real possibility there. Even he had had a close call on a few occasions with that gruesome fate. An idea suddenly struck him. "Maybe she went down to the kitchen to get some breakfast or something to drink…yeah…I'm sure that's where she is." Proto Zoa temporarily relieved his fear with that idea, and he head down the hall to go to the kitchen. On his way there, he walked past his office and heard a noise emanating from within the room. He slowly opened the door.

"Zenon?"

She looked toward him like a person who was doomed, knew that fact, and worst of all, knew that there was nothing they could do to change it. His heart just broke when her eyes met his. He slowly walked over to her noting that she had recently been crying but had stopped due to the redness of her eyes. He took her not crying as a good sign and decided to see if he could get her to talk more about what happened. The only thing he knew was that both her parents had somehow died and that she came to him. He walked toward her to sit down on the couch with her. Her gaze had shifted to a picture hanging on his wall near his antique bookshelf, and she barely acknowledged his presence when he sat next to her on the couch.

"Zenon?" She seemed unfazed by him calling out to her. He tried again, but this time slightly louder.

"Zenon?" She turned her gaze toward him and watched him attentively, almost like a little child does when their parents are trying to explain how to use something new. He wavered for a moment, debating whether or not she would be able to talk about what happened, but he decided to continue anyway.

"Zenon…I know this must be hard for you, but can you please tell me what happened? Can you please tell me what happened to your parents?" She looked at him, and something flashed over her eyes for the briefest of moments and then vanished as quickly as it came. Whatever it was, it hurt his heart to see it. A few minutes had passed, and she had yet to say a word. He wasn't sure she even knew he had said something, so he was about to ask her again when she suddenly spoke up.

"Proto Zoa?"

"Yes Zee…it's me…your Zoa." Upon hearing that, something seemed to snap inside her, and she looked at him through tear filled eyes.

"Proto Zoa…I…I killed my parents."

AN: Like I said, I promise that I will finish this story. My life gets busy sometimes, and it may take awhile for me to update, but I will. So unless my computer decides to hate me some more, there will be an update very soon. :)

Love & Peace

Cole