Glad you guys are enjoying my fic! Thank you to all my reviewers including the ones for this story and my other Sly fics! I apologize in advance, this chapter may be a little on the short side. Also, all first time readers: please stop reading Strangers Like Us... it will be replaced after this prequel is finished... that is the point of a rewrite after all!

Thanks again to Dragon and Sword Master for his betaing prowess!

Your hints for this chapter: There is 1 Easter Eggs in this chapter. It is tied to the chapter title… complete the quote and tell me where it is from.

Also, please don't forget about my new poll! The top five villains are now:

1. Neyla

2. Panda King

3. Arpeggio

4. Dr. M

5. Clockwerk, Dimitri, General Tsao, and The Contessa are tied.

Dr. M has now jumped up to 4th! If you still do not see your favorite up here, vote!

Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and other related characters are formerly the property of Sucker Punch, inc. and currently the property of Sanzaru, Inc. except for Beatrice Montreal, Bryan Moliere, Desiree Mallery, Desiree Monroe, Nautica Macavity, Aubrey Lancaster, Ann Minaret, Armand Jaeger, Philip Dumont, Claire Bennet, and Amaya Uta which all belong to me. Carmen Fox, Carlos Diego Fox, Kitty Petro, and Ling Chu belong to Kitty Petro.

New Author's Note: This chapter was rewritten because I wanted to start keeping chapters to a one character focus, so that things won't become too confusing as the storyline gets a little more crowded.

Season 1: "When Strangers Meet"

Arc 3: "Reaching Wonderland"

Episode 9:

"…I was a different person then."

Bryan could only watch from his knees as the room came back to life, after seemingly holding everyone in the room captive from what just happened. The male bat assumed that this was the aftermath of Phil trying to stop the magical attack on Shaun. Everyone in the room had seemed to explode into noise and movement at the same time. The bat could not distinguish one voice from another, as several people tried talking over each other. Some other nurses had been drawn to the room by all the commotion, only to add to the confusing by standing in the doorway with their jaws hanging open at the commotion. Beatrice had moved from her spot at the door to Murray's side between one blink and the next as one of the nurses crept over to Shaun's bed and began to see to the teen. The other nurse rushed out the door, presumably to go fetch another doctor. The other nurses went to the bed and began unhooking the raccoon from the various devices he had been connected to. Only then did the bat realize that the machines had been damaged as they were removed from the room, the faux glass around them made an unsettling crunching sound as the wheels rolled over the fragments littering the ground.

Bryan could only watch nervously as the nurse kept giving Shaun CPR until the life support could be reset as Beatrice and Murray worked together to lower Phil to the floor. His fiancée then began alternating between giving Phil CPR and trying to revive the wolf. After staring at Beatrice for a few moments, Bryan slowly climbed to his feet. His eyes then landed on Murray and noticed that the hippo was looking pale and seemed to be shaking. Bryan had seen the doctor trying to tell Murray something, but he could not hear what was said. However, whatever was said to Murray had spooked him, especially since Murray had not spoken since the entire incident started, aside from a cry of surprise when the glass shattered. A sharp sense of dread began to stab at his heart as the implications began forming in his mind. Bryan started to walk towards Murray to get the teen to either confirm or deny his fears, when the sound of many footfalls caught his attention. Several more nurses entered the room, pushing new equipment in front of them. They made their way to the bed and began to re-connect the teen to the machines, as another set of nurses made their way to Phil's side and continued where the female bat left off. Both Beatrice and Murray stepped back and gave the nurses more room to work. As his fiancée made her way to his side, another doctor, a gorilla, made his way into the ransacked space.

"What are all these people still doing in here?" he asked imperiously as he eyed them with disdain, "Get them out of here! There is not enough room to work as it is!" Bryan gave the doctor a scathing glare, but his face immediately transformed into one of worry as he glanced over to the hippo. Murray's eyes had narrowed, and he was now standing at his full height and looked as if he was about ready to do bodily harm to the primate. Bryan decided to get between them before a fight broke out. That was something they did not need to have happen, if the hospital was going to keep treating Shaun. He quickly moved to position himself between Murray and the impudent physician.

He then turned to Murray and said gently, "Come on big guy, let's go out into the hall and let the hospital staff do their jobs," The hippo nodded, but did not relax his posture, or face, an inch. However, he did go back to Bentley's side and pushed the clearly stricken reptile out of the room. Beatrice followed them out as well, her face stormy. Bryan quickly made his way to the door and stepped into the hallway. Once everyone was out of the room, the door was slammed shut behind them, as they waited just a few feet away. Seeing that no more could be done at the moment, Bryan began making his way towards the rest of the group, before everyone started making their way back to the hospital's entrance. Both Bryan and Beatrice were walking a bit behind the teens as they debated about what to do now. Beatrice wanted to return Bentley and Murray to the house, figuring that they could use some time to recuperate from the incident whereas Bryan thought it would be better for them to stay. He was able to convince her to wait until they made it out to the car and would let the boys decide then. Beatrice argued that it would be safer in the long run for them to return to the house until things died back down. She was worried that too many people could get a chance to look at Bentley and Murray, which would possibly lead to someone discovering who they were and call Interpol.

"Bryan, this could turn into an even bigger disaster sooner, rather than later," she hissed as she continued to argue her point.

"I agree with you, love. But now that they've seen how bad Shaun's condition really is, they may want to be close by rather than going home to worry and fret. You of all people should understand that," he pushed as they exited through the hospital's front doors. Beatrice sighed and said nothing else as they made their way to her green car. When they finally reached the vehicle, Bentley's voice broke the tense silence.

"Murray, what did the doctor say to you?" he asked. Bryan watched the hippo pale even further, his skin turning a pasty white. The hippo's jaw worked for a few moments before he finally croaked out the words,

"He's gone."

Bentley cried out in denial while Beatrice leaned heavily against the car as her complexion took on an almost transparent hue as she paled. Bryan felt his entire body turn cold before going numb. He had just been telling Beatrice earlier in the morning that they may end up reaching a point where there would be nothing more that any of them could do for Sly. Now that the moment was here, he was stunned. Denial and grief whirled around in his mind. Shaun…was gone? Was that really it?

The bat's mental discord was interrupted when Bentley spoke again, "I-I can't believe… Get me out of here! I can't deal with this anymore! Just get me out of here!" he cried. The others were surprised by the turtle's outburst, but it had the much needed effect of dragging everyone back to the present. Beatrice looked down at the inconsolable reptile that seemed to be a few shuddering breaths away from descending into hysteria. Murray was like a statue, his skin looking like ash, and his body stiff. The look of pain was etched into his face, making him look just like a piece of poignant Renaissance marble art. Bryan sighed. It looked like, for now, the best thing to do would be to take the boys back home. They were clearly in no shape to remain at the hospital, and Beatrice was in no shape to drive.

With his mind made up, the bat moved to his fiancée's side and whispered into her ear, "Bea, clearly Bentley needs some space, and you are in no shape to drive. Let me take the boys home and get them settled. You remain here and check on Shaun and Phil's conditions, as the doctors have not confirmed anything yet." She nodded weakly at this as he put his arms around his blonde and squeezed her tightly. Sighing lightly, she laid her head on his shoulder for a brief moment before stepping back and taking the car keys from the pocket of her jeans. Handing the keys to Bryan, Beatrice turned to the boys before explaining the plan to them and saying a quick good-bye before heading back to the hospital. Bryan felt his concern grow as he noticed Beatrice wiping at her eyes as she made her way across the lot. Turning back towards the teens waiting beside the car, he noticed Murray had begun the process of getting Bentley into the car, his movements almost mechanical. Bryan unlocked the door on the passenger's side, and then made his way around the car to the other side. By the time he got comfortable in the driver's seat and strapped himself in, Bentley was in his seat. Bryan pulled the knob to open the trunk and watched absently as Murray stowed the turtle's chair. Once he was done and in the car, Bryan pulled out of the lot and headed for home...

It had been 3 days since the Contessa's attack on Shaun. Bryan had dutifully driven Bentley and Murray back to his home as he promised his fiancée. Ever since then, he had not seen much of the two since they came in the door on Saturday. Bryan had made sure they had access to food, but neither of them partook in much of it. The male bat was under no delusion that he was anywhere near the volunteer counselor that his Beatrice was. Therefore, he left the boys to their own devices and prayed that they would come through on their own. It was with great hope that both of Sly's friends would start bouncing back after hearing that Shaun was not dead, but while Murray seemed to gain some life back to him, Bentley just seemed to retreat further into himself. As for Shaun, things were still up in the air.

The raccoon hybrid was not dead, but he was hanging by a thread. The doctors said that it would be touch and go for the first forty-eight hours. After hearing nothing about Shaun's pasting eight hours into day three, Bryan knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was still the uncertainty of how much damage had been done to the teen. Phil was no longer unconscious, but he was still too weak physically, and magically, to be of any use. The other doctors were concerned because there was no one else on staff in the mental health department that could match Phil's skill. The three other psychology trainees on staff were still too new to the job and to their abilities. This being the case, the doctors called in a specialist from out of the country to at least come and look Shaun over, so that they could begin working on any ailments that were treatable. The bat continued to sip on his coffee as he tried to determine what he would say to the boys.

His boss had called this morning and was adamant that he returned to work today. Bryan hated to leave the boys alone when things had gotten so bad again, but if he didn't go…he would not have a job at all. He usually worked from eleven a.m. until five p.m., although it would probably be more like eight before he got back home today. The reason being was that his boss was also insistent on making an effort to make up as much work as possible. Bryan sighed aloud before finally decided that the boys could choose what they wanted to do for the day, and he would see what could be done from there. He did not feel like arguing with anyone this morning. Sighing lightly, he placed the dirty mug in the sink and made his way back through the bereft halls of the house. When the new couple was making plans to move into this home, they had been happily looking forward to the holidays, having made plans to go gazing at all the lights and perhaps inviting a friend or two over to the house for dinner.

Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, 'no good deed goes unpunished'. All of their plans were pretty much scrapped the moment Beatrice called him in tears that fateful Thursday night. From then on, he and his wife had been in a dizzying circle between the hospital and their home. Add in caring for Bentley and Murray too, and Bryan was finally reaching his limits with the whole thing. Nevertheless, he was not the kind of person that would abandon a friend, either. But he could not help but feel a little cheated. He sighed to himself as he stood in front of the door to his other guest bedroom opposite the room Shaun had been staying in before knocking on the door.

"Come in!" called Murray. The bat turned the handle and entered the room. Murray was leaning against the wall opposite the door while Bentley was sitting in his chair, staring out the window.

Bryan did not waste any time as he told the duo what was going on. "Guys, my boss called. I have to go into work, or I'll lose my job," explained the accountant. Both of the boys were staring at him stoically. "I have time to take you back to the hospital if you want, or you can keep yourselves entertained here," he added on.

Murray spoke up first, "I would like to go see Sly, that is if Bentley wants to go," The hippo looked tentatively at the reptile.

"I don't care what you do, I am staying here. I have had enough of hospitals, thank you," Bentley replied tersely. Bryan was not surprised by the turtle's short reply or attitude.

"Are you sure, Bent? I can stay," insisted Murray as the turtle briskly shook his head.

"No, I am fine. I can manage one day alone," he stated icily as Murray sighed and just nodded lightly. Bryan told Murray that he would meet him by the door in fifteen minutes. The hippo nodded, and the bat took his leave. Walking back to the living room, the bat dug his briefcase out from behind the chocolate-colored couch before going to the kitchen in order to pack a quick lunch, as well as a few snacks for himself, Murray and Bea. Once he was finished with that task, he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. By the time he made it back to the living room, Murray was waiting for him.

No words were exchanged as they left the house as they both headed towards the car. Once they were inside, Bryan started it as they headed towards Whispering Rock; the ride there was oppressively silent. Finally reaching the hospital an hour later, the two quickly made their way into the hospital and towards Sly's new room as the old one was currently being repaired Bryan's head started to throb at the thought of what their bill was going to look like as they entered the room, finding Beatrice in deep conversation with a black-haired arachnid. Bryan immediately became alarmed, but then calmed as he realized that the spider was not The Contessa; this was a different spider entirely. The Contessa had been pale skinned and had black hair, according to her muggshot they kept showing on TV. The woman in the room; however, was an array of different colors. Blues, whites, silvers, and blacks were present all over the visible parts of her body with her lab coat covering her back, abdomen, and arms. Both he and Murray approached her warily and made their presence known.

"Good morning, cher," said Beatrice quietly. She introduced the other woman as Katherine Sorrel, Phillip's teacher in the mind arts. The woman had been called in after Philip was injured defending Shaun from The Contessa. The wolf was still resting as it would be another week before he was back in top shape. Katherine explained that she was here to discuss what the extent of Shaun's injuries were with Beatrice. Bryan tried to listen as the doctor talked through the rest of the hybrid's newest injuries from the magical melee, but the bat was distracted by the smell of stale coffee and harsh antiseptics. The unusual blend of scents caused Bryan's mind to wander to thoughts of the office, and the amount of paperwork he had to do when he got there. He shook off the slightly morose thoughts and finally refocused his attention on the arachnid.

"… The boy should be waking up within the next five days or so, but he will need extensive rehabilitation on many fronts," she explained. Beatrice's eyes locked with his, alight with joy. He was sure his were alight as well for the same reasons as his fiancée. Shaun was not only going to live, but he would be waking up soon. Murray looked ready to start jumping up and down in celebration as well.

"How do you know that Shaun will wake up soon?" asked Murray, "All the other doctors said that it would be touch and go for a while."

Dr. Sorrel nodded. "Physically, they were correct. But he did survive the critical period and according to my recent scans, the boy had been ready to wake up days ago. He, for whatever reason, was hiding ," she explained. "The extra damage done by the attacks will now delay his awakening by a few days, but he should re-awaken soon, barring no other incidents."

"You said he was going to need rehabilitation?" asked Bryan softly.

"Yes, extensive rehabilitation. He will need physical, mental, and magical rehab... months to years of it," she said. "The physical rehabilitation is variable, as we are not exactly sure of the amount of damage done to the patient's body. The mental rehabilitation may take years to complete, if at all. His magic will need some work as well, but that is also variable," said Dr. Sorrel. Bryan could understand that, knowing that they could not really make any educated guesses until Shaun was completely conscious again. As the woman continued to discuss possible treatments for Shaun with Beatrice and Murray, the bat stole a glance at the clock on the wall. It read 9:38 a.m.. He needed to get back on the road, or else he would be late to work. He quietly excused himself, left the food on a nearby table, and headed out the door.

He ended up walking into the office at 10:42 am. Making his way towards his cubicle and began setting stuff up for the day. Hanging his coat on the back of his chair, Bryan opened his briefcase before starting to rummage around, looking for his external drive that contained the files he was working on during the limited amount of time between everything that had happened the previous days. Groaning aloud in frustration when he completely emptied the case and realized that the drive was not there; realizing that he would have to return home in order to look for the damn drive, he sighed to himself. Looking at the clock and seeing that it was now only 10:53 a.m., he would not have time to go home and be back before eleven o'clock. He decided to check his email and return phone calls until his lunch break came up, and then he would return home to get the drive and continue working on those files until his boss left for the day.

Finally, two o'clock rolled around and he stood up, stretching. He sighed as his spine and joints cracked as he quickly grabbed his keys and coat before heading to his car. The bat eventually started weaving his way in and out of lunch time traffic. After thirty minutes, Bryan finally pulled up into the driveway of his home. He quickly went inside and began searching for the missing file drive. Locating the drive underneath some disorganized papers on his kitchen table after a few minutes, he made his way back to the front door to leave again; however, he noticed a slip of paper on the ground in front of the doorway. Reaching down and picking it up, the bat assumed that it was a dropped work correspondence from either his, or his wife's, job. As he took a quick glance at the paper, he realized that it wasn't. His insides grew cold once more as he read the letter; it was from Bentley.

The note was several words long but it boiled down to four simple words: the turtle was gone.

He was finally tired of the emotional turmoil that this mess with Shaun was causing him and had left with an unknown associate for distant shores. He was going to start over without all the mess from his past holding him down. Bryan numbly placed the letter on a side table. He left the house and locked it hastily. He quickly got back in his car and tossed the drive he had found into the passenger seat. He internally winced for a moment after he belatedly realized what he had done, quickly muttered a prayer in hopes that the thing wasn't damaged before speeding out of his driveway and down the street as he pushed the speed limits to the max as he flew through Lyon. He had a long trip ahead of him as he planned to personally deliver the disheartening news to his fiancée and Murray.

Upon reaching the hospital once more, Bryan sighed heavily. He had spent the most of the ride there contemplating what he was going to say to them. The rest of it had been spent reassuring his boss that he would be back in the office as soon as possible. Once he made it back to the hospital, he decided it would be best to just get this over quickly. He absentmindedly moved through the building, moving around people without any real regard for their convenience. Slouching onto the elevator with a couple of nurses, he pressed the button for the appropriate floor. He gave a half hearted smile to the two women as the doors closed. The two women, a zebra and a snow leopard, both returned his gesture. As he stepped off the elevator the snow leopardess followed him off. Bryan wasted no time making his way to the admittance window for the Intensive Care unit. The atmosphere of the floor around him almost felt peaceful in a way. This was an eerie juxtaposition to his current mood which was depressed and anxious. He really did not want to be the bearer of bad news again, especially after getting such good news about Shaun just this morning. He shook off his melancholy thoughts as he gestured for the snow leopardess to move ahead of him. His ears perked up in surprise as the new nurse spoke to the admission attendant. The leopardess explained that she was a traveling nurse and that she would be replacing one the of the nurses that had left for medical reasons. When he heard that she was looking for room 934, he could not help but speak up,

"I can take you there. I was on my way back," stated Bryan amicably. The two nurses turned, startled by his voice. Bryan was surprised to see the same bonobo sitting behind the glass. She relaxed and smiled in recognition and allowed him access once again. As he made his way through the metal doors, the newest nurse followed along behind him. After a moment, the gnawing of nervousness and guilt on his heart and in the back of his throat compelled him to speak. He introduced himself to the woman and explained in the vaguest terms possible that Shaun was a friend of his. The snow leopardess introduced herself as Amaya Uta and further elaborated on her job. The woman traveled France as a traveling nurse because she liked to travel and helping people. Bryan listened with half an ear as he wandered closer and closer to Shaun's room. His mind was once again sucked into the inevitable despair and fear that was accompanying the news that he had to share with his beloved and their friend.

Sooner than he would have liked, the door to Shaun's room was looming before him. He knocked once, and then let himself in. Bea and Murray were sitting at the table, nibbling on the food he had packed for them. His fiancée was the first to make eye contact with them. She stood slowly and made her way over. Murray kept his head down as he continued to eat, hiding his features from the nurse. Bryan attempted to distract the nurse by introducing his love to the new nurse.

"Love, this is Amaya, she is one of Shaun's new nurses," he explained as he stepped out of the way to allow the two women to shake hands. Beatrice smiled kindly and welcomed the woman. As the two continued to exchange pleasantries, Bryan cast a quickly glance at Murray. The hippo looked up to meet his eyes. The hippo tilted his head and frowned at him as if to say, "Why are you back so soon?" Bryan gestured to the hippo to wait and turned back to the two females. The snow leopardess was already making her way over to Shaun's beside. The doctors decided it would be safer to not use the shield boxes since Shaun's magic could shatter the glass. Initially, the boxes were believed to help contain magical outbursts from unstable patients, unfortunately, Shaun's magic had exceeded the glass's limits. As the nurse began reading Shaun's chart, Bryan could have sworn that the woman's cheeks lost their color. He eventually dismissed it as a trick of the light and followed Beatrice back to the table.

"Are you here to join us for lunch, cher?" she asked as he took a seat next to her. He sadly shook his head no, as he looked at both of his friends.

"Non (No), I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Bentley is gone," he stated bluntly. Murray had paused midst of placing another chip in his mouth. Beatrice was paler than normal and disbelief was written all over her face.

"What do you mean he is gone?!" Beatrice nearly shrieked. The male bat quickly looked at the nurse to see if she had heard the blonde's outburst. Much to his relief, it looked like she had not heard it. Honestly, it looked as if the dark-haired woman had been petrified. She was standing next to the bed near Shaun's head, staring down at the teen's face with an odd expression on her face. Bryan was almost ready to question the nurse to see if everything was alright. But Beatrice grabbed his chin and forcefully turned his face back to her.

"Où est Bentley?(Where is Bentley?)" she growled, her face contorted by irritation and worry.

"I am not sure exactly, he left a letter saying he was with an old wolf friend of the gang's and would write again when he was settled in his new location," he said with an apologetic shrug.

"Wolf? Then he must be with Devin... I guess he should be ok with him for now," muttered Murray rather calmly. Bryan was slightly thrown by Murray's change in attitude as he had looked stricken and panicked a minute ago.

"Devin? Then you know this guy?" asked Bryan as he started to relax a little.

"Wait a moment, isn't that the other hybrid that you all used to play around with back at the orphanage?" asked Beatrice suddenly.

"Yeah, he has helped us out a time or two," Murray affirmed. "He helped Bentley save us from the prison. He'll look after, Bentley." Bryan was mildly confused at Murray's rather calm acceptance of the situation.

"You seem rather accepting of this situation, Murray? I was worried that you would not take it well." admitted Bryan. Murray studied the table for a moment before finally looking up again.

"I am sad that Bentley decided to leave without saying something, but- he- I," Murray started to explain, before giving up with a sigh. Beatrice reached over gave his hand a squeeze of encouragement. "I feel like he will be happier away from all this, I guess." The last of his answer being nothing more than a whisper. He felt bad for the hippo, but he was also touched by Murray's willingness to understand that this might be better for Bentley, even though the separation hurt.

"Well, is there a way to contact him? At least a way to check that he is alright?" asked Beatrice quietly. Murray stared at the table.

"There is an email that we were suppose to use to contact each other if we got separated in a city or something." Murray said slowly, "But there is nothing else that I know of, we always assumed we could be together in end... there was no reason for us to be apart." Bryan noticed the nurse approaching their side of the room. She moved past the table and went to the cabinet on the other side and began removing things from it. Bryan turned back to the guarded conversation between his friends. They were discussing where to find a public or protected computer that they contact Bentley from. As they discussed whether or not to wait a few days before trying to reach the turtle, the sound of something hitting the floor caused Bryan to cast a glance at the nurse again. The woman had dropped a package of what looked like tubing on the floor. She was in the process of picking it up. Their eyes meet for a brief moment and Bryan was taken back at the pain reflected in the woman's dark eyes. He frowned to himself as the woman quickly looked away and stood again with the package in hand. Maybe she had never worked with a patient this sick before?

He continued to watch as the leopardess made her way back to the bed with her supplies. As Bryan recognized some of the instruments, his stomach balked in disgust. She was here to clean Shaun's trach tube and lungs. Between the coma, meningitis, and the pneumonia, Shaun's lungs had taken a severe beating. The doctor's wanted to give Shaun's lungs time to heal, therefore tracheotomy was performed and his breathing was completely taken over by a machine. Inserting the tracheal tube allowed for easier cleaning of his lungs and lessened the chance of him developing pneumonia again. The cleaning process itself looked like something out of a sci-fi film. Bryan had only watched the process once, and studiously avoided looking at the process whenever he happened to be around for it after that. Even as he envisioned the process momentarily, his insides twisted. He shook off the image and turned to his fiancée, who was doing her best to comfort Murray, who was beginning to look a little lost. The hippo's face suddenly went pale and he started to get up. What was he doing?

"Murray, it's ok! She is just cleaning his trach out! It doesn't hurt him at all, I promise." Beatrice explained as she gently tugged on the hippo's wrist to urge him back into his chair. He slowly took his seat and the bat was able to release the breath he had been holding since the hippo had spoken. "Actually, let's go grab some fresh air, so that she can work without us disturbing her." The three slowly stood and started towards the door. Bryan opened the door and held it for the other two, before closing it softly behind him. The three made their way back down to the ground floor and headed for the small garden area next to the building. The bats sat down on the benches that were in the center of it, while Murray continued to amble about the floral lined paths.

"What a day," sighed the accountant as he ran his fingers through his hair. "We get the news that we are getting one of them back and then get news that we lost another. I hope this ends soon." Beatrice nodded softly in agreement.

"For now, we should look on the bright side. At least, Bentley is not alone and with someone the gang, or at least Murray, trusts. Shaun is currently on the mend, which means that he is closer to getting out of the hospital and back home. Maybe some time apart will do all of them some good." she suggested quietly as she studied the purple and white irises beside her.

"You believe so?" muttered Bryan as he watched the hippo wander aimlessly.

"Ouí, I do." she answered firmly, "Bentley needs time to sort out how he is feeling in a healthy manner, not take it out on Shaun and Murray. Second, Shaun has a long recovery ahead, so even when he does wake up, he will be here for a few weeks more. Murray will have the house to himself for a bit, he won't have Bentley breathing down his neck and Shaun won't weigh so heavily on his mind, at least I hope he won't." His lover trailed off.

"Perhaps, let's just wait and see. I will be happy to be back home and not have to worry about someone finding out who they are. That will take a huge worry off of me," Bryan sighed. He felt the blonde stiffen beside him. "What's wrong?" he asked suddenly, worry causing his stomach to clench uncomfortably. Beatrice turned her baleful gray eyes to his and muttered,

"Phil already knows. However," Beatrice put up a hand before he could protest, "since he agreed to take on Shaun's case, he can't reveal anything to anyone about what he has found. His patient privacy oath prevents he from disclosing any information-" she explained.

"How do we know that for sure? It's not like doctors or other hospital workers haven't broken their confidentiality agreements before!" hissed Bryan.

"If you had let me finish, I would have explained what the oath was! Phil and every worker here has taken a magical oath that they will not reveal any specific patient information. Besides you know Phil would never break an oath to patient, or least, not an oath to me!" she hissed back. Her clarification had eased his worry somewhat, and he also knew that Phil would never willing betray them, either. But he would still rather not risk anyone else finding out.

"Look, I need to get back to the office. Did you want to go home or would you rather stay here until I was finished?" asked Bryan as he climbed to his feet. He held his hand out to the blonde and pulled her to her feet when she took it.

"I think we should probably head home to save you the trip, given that Shaun is out of danger for now. Besides, Murray looks like he could use some sleep." Beatrice answered. The engaged couple tracked down their wandering friend and returned to the room to gather their things. The new nurse had left already, so they informed the nurses at the desk that they were leaving and to let them know if there were any major changes with Shaun's condition.

About two hours later, Bryan was back in his office working through the spreadsheets he had gone home to get. Beatrice and Murray were at home getting settled. He was hoping to be done with the accounts soon, because everything was beginning to blur together in front of his eyes. But for the first time in a while, he was feeling hopeful. Things finally seem to be looking up for them. If things keep going the way they were, Shaun may be healed and out of the reach of the police sooner rather than later…

Ok! I am done! I know some of you are longing to castigate me at the moment. There is a reason for all of this, I promise. I have a lot of foundation to lay for this series to work. Besides I am also getting a feel for the characters I am writing as well. This story more about setting up the background and characters for my series. But as you can see things are picking up now and major plays are being made... things are about to get interesting...

Edit: So this chapter has been edited to include some new information and a new character (anybody remember her?)! Thanks for sticking around! And now on to chapter 11, where you can say hello to an old friend!

Dragon and Sword Master: I'll keep this one brief since I'm sure Ookami-chan has to get back to writing really soon. As do I…anyone that reads my work, I apologize for the long lapse in chapters, but all three of my major stories do have progress with new chapters. When they'll be complete; however, I have no clue…