The smell of coffee slowly permeated her dreamless sleep.

It slowly pulled her out of her sleep. Opening her eyes, she saw her cousin peering down at her.

"Thought that might get your attention. Figured you needed more than tea to get you out of your slumber."

"How long have I been out?" she asked groggily as she sat up, her thoughts clouded.

"Better part of the day. Figured you needed it. You've been under a bit of stress."

He handed her the mug and she took a sip, then grimaced.

"Hey, it's not gourmet, sorry, but it'll wake you!" he grinned. "Best we can do for now. You might want to get up and get showered," he told her. "Seems your boy has woken up." He placed her bag on the bed. "In spells, rather, but they've determined he's going to make it. 'Course, he's got a long road ahead of him. But, you know that."

"He woke up?" she repeated, her head beginning to clear. There was a throbbing pain behind her left ear, but the coffee and shower would probably wash that away, she thought.

Her cousin held his hands up. "I don't know any other details than what I told you. I'll leave you to your shower. There's a café downstairs. I'll meet you there when you're done and take you on over to the hospital."

He woke up! she kept repeating to herself as she took her shower. He's going to be okay. Granted, she was disappointed she hadn't been there when he did, but Ranger had been right. What good would she have done in the condition she'd been in?

Memories of the day before were sporadic. She winced as she let the hot water hit her back, wondering if she wanted to remember the details. It was like she had been in a blind rage. Well, no, not blind – more like a cold rage. She sighed. Maybe if her mind were trying to black it out, then she should let it. She did still feel a sense of satisfaction, and she pushed the guilt away that raised its head as she thought about the morality of what she had done.

Sighing again, she turned the water off and grabbed the towel. Best to focus on what lay ahead. Dash had a long road of recovery in front of him. She planned to be there to support him every step of the way.

She paused as she dried her hair. What if he didn't want her around? What if he had changed during his incarceration? What if he discovered that he didn't love her anymore?

She thought again of the ring she had found in his things when she had picked them up from Duke. Had he really been going to propose to her? Why else would he have had a woman's diamond ring in his possession? She had returned it to his mother, who had smiled and insisted she keep it with his things that had found its way into Allie's home. If he had felt that strongly about her then, surely it hadn't changed in four years.

She shook her head. Best not to dwell on the "what ifs." They had a child together. Granted, she had no idea how to announce that to him. Surely she would know the right time.

She finished dressing, pushing the doubts from her mind. If anything, she hoped he recognized her. She had no idea what type of mindset he'd be in. Working with victims before, she knew that shock could still play a factor, even after all this time. It was one of the reasons the Foundation had some of the best counselors on hand to deal with these types of situations, both for the family and the victim.

She glanced at her image in the mirror. She hadn't changed much over the past four years. Sure, she had let her hair grow longer. More for convenience than style. She had pulled it back into a French braid, something she did often, to keep it out of her face. She had dressed simply in jeans and a nice shirt – a little more casual than Dash was used to seeing her, but it was part of her everyday outfit anymore. Gone were the trendy little designer outfits she had worn in her earlier days. No money for them and not very practical, she thought with a shrug.

Making a face at herself, she turned from the mirror when she heard a knock on the door. Frowning, she knew her cousin had wanted her to meet him in the café. Surely she hadn't taken that long.

She carefully opened the door, her caution more from years of habit than current suspicion, and found Ranger standing outside the door.

"What's up?" she asked, going for a casual pose. They had been friendly over the years, but there was always something about him that had warning bells clanging in her head.

"I'm driving you to the hospital. You ready?"

She frowned. "I thought…."

"Something came up," he shrugged. "Not a big deal. Unless, of course, you don't trust me," he added with a sly grin.

"It's not that," she said, more serious than him, shaking her head. "Eric usually lets me know…."

"There wasn't any time. You ready?" he repeated again. "From what I understand, Prince Charming's already awakened, and you weren't there to greet him," he said in a dry voice.

She frowned again. "Let me just grab a few things." He watched as she gathered her phone, a set of keys, and a notepad and put it in her large purse. Glancing at his watch, he wondered how much longer she was going to take.

"I'm ready," she said after a few moments where she spent time looking around the room, making sure she wasn't missing anything. She had already put her toiletries back in her duffel bag she had brought with her.

They traveled in silence to the hospital, Allie feeling a bit uneasy about the whole situation. Ranger was on the Alpha team, surely he could be trusted. There were three teams, really, that helped with extraction, appropriately named Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. While all three teams were strong, it was Alpha team that handled the more delicate situations. That being said, most of them were to be trusted. Eric wouldn't have him on the team if it wasn't so.

She mentally breathed a sigh of relief as they approached the gate to the hospital. While the Foundation was American-based, it had become more international in its clientele. One of their supporters and allies was the German government, which granted them the license for the hospital and some of the more radical treatments that they sometimes had to perform on the victims.

She bit her lip in a familiar nervous gesture as the elevator climbed to Dash's floor. Ranger chuckled.

"Surely the princess isn't nervous about seeing her prince, is she? I thought this was a sure thing."

She gave him a brief smile. "Nothing is ever sure, is it?" she answered cryptically.

Approaching his room, she saw his doctor just leaving. He looked up at her and nodded.

"I assume you've heard the news," he simply said, with a nod.

She nodded. "Doctor, I know you're busy, but I have a few questions."

"Of course," he answered. She was well known in this hospital and after helping victims over the years, he'd be surprised if she didn't. She of all people knew what type of trauma some of their patients had suffered. "Let's talk in my office."

She felt torn. She wanted to see him, but knew that this also needed to be done. Giving a sigh, she followed the doctor around the corner where his office was located.

Ranger watched her go, then, out of curiosity, started towards the door of the room. His path was interrupted when he heard a deep voice behind him. He passed by the door and out of the corner of his eye, watched a blonde-haired man walk right in and swing the door closed behind him. From the bearing of the stranger, he was no doctor - he had military written all over him.

Not wanting anything to happen to her guy before Allie returned, Ranger positioned himself near enough to the partially opened door to eavesdrop. After all, they hadn't gone through years of searching to have it taken out all in one moment!