LAST TIME-

Her heart tore.

Literally.

One beat, that's all it took. The thump sounding in her temples as her breath caught in her throat. She clamped her teeth together as she toppled sideways to the ground, every muscle in her body convulsing as if she were being electrocuted. Healing him had been too much. Her own power was turning against her, tearing her apart from the inside out.

And the fear was beginning to surface.

Her breath quickened as her vision blurred. She tried to focus on Troy's eyes, the thought of him spending the rest of his life alone and miserable spread more fear through her than her own approaching death. She knew she would be the reason for his infinite unhappiness. The reason for the loneliness he was going to experience for the rest of his life. She would be the sole cause of his eternal misery. Her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest.

She wasn't sure she could be responsible for that.

She had to be strong; she had to make it through this. But there was something about their locked gazes that signified it. Something in the blue and brown eyes that set the moment in stone.

This was the end.

She sank into the awaiting darkness.


"Would you give up your vengeance against the one you hated if it meant saving the one you loved?"

- Jodi Picoult


"Gabby, please! Please open your eyes! Wake up!" Troy called again, his voice frantic. He had finally managed to get feeling back in his limbs as he rolled over onto his stomach. He pushed himself to his hands and knees as he crawled over to her, his face contorted with raw emotion, his eyes full of anxiety, concern……fear. "Gabriella!"

He heard a soft whimper come from her, and he looked down into her half opened eyes. She looked so tired, so drained. Her skin was like fire to the touch, her cheeks flushed red. She was already sweating profusely, her breaths coming in shallow, desperate pants. Despite how much pain she was in, despite her situation……she smiled.

"Troy," she whispered, her voice coming out in a rasp. "I'm happy……it worked." She went to continue, but her mouth clamped shut, her body going into a fit of painful jerking. He pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms round her shoulders as he tried to keep her steady. He was rocking back and forth when he heard the pain-filled howls of her parents, his chin resting on the top of her head as he cried.

"Sorry……I shouldn't have dr-dragged you……into th-this." Her body was trembling violently, and a pained cough escaped her parched lips. She shifted in his arms, making him look down to her. "……All my fa-fault……"

"Stop that." His voice was sharp as he stroked back her already sweaty black hair. "It's not your fault."

She gave him a small smile, her eyes softening. "I'm glad you……ar-aren't leaving….…me an-anymore."

"I could never truly leave you." He shook his head, eyes watering. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was being stupid. I was scared and I tend to blow up on the people that mean the most to me. I needed someone to blame, its what I normally do when I'm grieving, so that I could feel like I was doing something, and I'm sorry that it had to be--,"

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her lips, cutting off his apologetic rambling. He was caught off guard by how much feeling was in the action. He started crying, realizing that the moment felt too much like a goodbye. It felt like a first-last kiss. She broke away from him, her eyes blinking as his tears fell on her cheeks. She pulled him down again, her mouth resting against his ear.

"……I……love……you……" it was almost inaudible, but he felt her lips brush his ear with the words. It made the situation all the more real. He held her close as he felt her body relax in his arms. Her head dropped and rolled to rest on his chest, her eyes blinking as she tried to keep a hold on her slowly fading consciousness.

"I love you too." He whispered, tilting his head so that he could kiss the top of hers gently. "But everything's going to be alright because you're going to be fine. We're going to get through this."

"You're not……very good at……lying." she joked feebly, looking up at him with weak eyes. Her face, which normally harbored her, small, innocent, signature smile, was incredibly pale. She was shaking as if she was terribly cold, but a fresh layer of sweat glazed her brow. She was already running a fever, he could tell by her rosy cheeks and quick breaths.

His throat tightened as her teeth clenched together, her body trying to fight back another fit of painful jerking. After a few sort seconds she relaxed in his arms, fresh pants filling the air around him.

"You have to stay with me." He whispered, stroking a piece of stray hair out of her half lidded eyes. "Stay. Stay with me." He felt her head shake slightly, her eyes then sliding shut. His eyelids crashed over his blue eyes, his rocking growing stronger as he cried, and his chin resting on the top of her immobile head.

"For a Walker, healing is slow, but venomous in the extreme if you are too young," Blaine stressed the words "to perform it. It works like lightning: the quick surge of power, the mortal connection, the flash of a renewed life, then, the sudden stroke of released intensity." He said flatly, though his voice shifted into something oddly like compassion. "The next couple of days will drain her life painfully slow until she reaches the end. Then, nothing."

"Fuck you." Troy snarled, his blue eyes daring the cousin to say anything more. He wasn't in the mood to listen to the cousin's fake concern. "You did this!"

Blaine backed off, raising his hands in mock surrender. His shoulder had stopped bleeding but the gash on the side of his nose was trickling the red substance. "The reaction I was expecting. But you have to accept the truth and you can't blame me; you're the one who killed her. She didn't have enough Life Energy to heal you; it is your fault more than it is mine."

Troy growled, but didn't respond. He couldn't respond. He could do nothing but let silent tears escape from his blue eyes.

The ground shook slightly and Troy turned just in time to see two wolves enter the clearing. The one on the right was gray, and large, huge. Its eyes were dark with fury, but they swiftly changed to orbs of confusion as it found the scene in front of it. The wolf to its left was smaller, but the same color gray, if not a shade lighter. It had streaks of white in its fur and Troy realized where Gabriella's pure white coat came from.

Alexander and Estella Montez shifted in seconds; their body's going ridged at the sight of Blaine. The cousin took a cautioned step backwards, realizing that he was getting outnumbered, fast.

"Blaine?" Alex cocked his head to the side as he found the smiling face of his best friend and previous second in commands son. Troy had his back to the parents, but at the sight of Estella, he knew that she knew.

The mother sniffed, smelling the strong coppery scent of blood in the air. Her eyes shifted to Troy in concern, searching for an injury. Her throat tightened when she saw the limp legs extending from the side of the young boy and the large bloodstain on the forest floor right beside him.

"……no……" she whispered, making her husbands heart stop. He followed her gaze and was moving forward before he knew what his body was doing. Estella fell in step right behind him, tears already welling in her eyes.

The unexpected appearance of Blaine was thrown from Alex's mind as he dropped to his knees next to the boy he knew so little about. The sight made his complicated world shatter into a million pieces. The front of Troy's shirt was covered in red, drying blood, a small hole right above his heart. Only a small white circle marred the skin under the hole in the shirt and the Alpha crashed his eyebrows together in confusion.

He heard Estella hiccup beside him, his wife's breath hitching. He turned his confused eyes to the body in Troy's arms, the girl's condition automatically bringing tears to his eyes.

His daughter was shaking softly in Troy's arms, her cheeks flushed but her face pale. The collar of her gray shirt was drenched with already shed sweat, the salty liquid running free torrents down her forehead and neck. He could find no evidence of injury, but her limp left hand was stained red with what he knew and smelled to be blood.

"What happened?" he asked Troy, but the young boy just shook his head, rocking steadily back and forth. Alex bit back his anger, scanning the boy over again. The man reached forward, grabbing the bottom of the blue-eyed boy's shirt. He lifted it up and cursed strongly. A small handprint, which looked a lot like Gabriella's, was smeared in red over his bellybutton.

"She didn't." he shook his head, worried eyes glancing back down to Gabriella's sweaty face. She's not that stupid.

"She did, Alex." Blaine smiled and laughed. "You should have seen her. Not even hesitating to giving up her life for his. You would've been proud."

"You did this?" Alex asked softly, standing up.

Blaine nodded his head in delight. "Well, not technically. But I did set some events in motion."

"You put my daughter's life at risk!" Alex was baring his teeth, the muscles across his back shaking with anger. It showed how quickly a man's personality could change. "You put your own cousin's life at risk! Your own flesh and blood! Why?"

Blaine snorted. "All wars have their innocents, Alex. You of all people should know that. You should be used to seeing your own family or friends die for you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" For the first time, Troy saw pure surprise show in Alex's dark eyes. But not all the feeling in the Alpha's dark eyes was surprise, and Troy felt confusion crawl up his spine. Was it fear?

"Don't act like you don't remember." Blaine bit out. "My father threw away his life for you, or did he really mean that little to you?"

"Blaine, that time, that wasn't my fault." Alex defended himself, shaking his head.

"That was always your problem Alex. It was never your fault. You'd run when you should have fought, and fought when you should have run. That time was no different." Blaine explained flatly.

"Then why tarnish your father's name? Why aligned yourself with the werewolf that killed him?" The Alpha yelled.

"Bruce Fury did not kill my father." Blaine yelled back, his emerald eyes little more than slits underneath his eyebrows. "You did."

.----- FLASHBACK -----.

August 7, 1995 - South Dakota – 1:30 AM

Alexander Montez was sitting in the living room of his secluded cabin when it happened. His best friend and second in command, Bryce O'Connell burst through the front door, his face pale. His cheeks were rosy red, and he was panting like he had just run the 55-meter dash multiple times.

"They're coming." His voice held warning and urgency as he went to barricade the door with the couch.

"How long?" Alex asked, reaching for the .9 mm taped behind the TV. "Five minutes?"

"One minute." Bryce answered, parting the drapes so he could look out the window by the door.

A body freezing howl cut through the cabin and surrounding woods. It wasn't a regular howl. It held rage and excitement at the same time. Other, smaller, howls followed the main one, and they told Alex that he and his pack were greatly outnumbered.

"Werewolves." Bryce snarled, his green eyes filled with rage. "Bruce Fury is leading them. Sounds like his son's with him too. I think the little shits name was Landon or something like that."

"Dad, what's going on?" a seventeen-year-old Blaine asked from the top of the stairs. Alex's heart clenched as his eyes grew wide. He had to get his family to safety!

Bryce went to answer his son, but a bullet ripped through the front door, making the father drop to the floor. Blaine yelped in surprise as more bullets came through the wood of the door, spraying and destroying the steps at the teen's feet. He waited for a pause in gunfire before tumbling down the stairs to join his father. Snarls and howls lead the way to more gunfire as the three men were pinned.

"We need to get to the tunnels in the basement." Alex ordered, his hands flying to cover his head as the wooden door started to splinter. "I didn't think that they would fine us so fast."

"……Daddy……?" time stopped as Alex turned, his eyes going wide as they fell upon the form of his five-year-old daughter. She held a teddy bear the size of half her body in her left hand, her right rubbing the sleep form her tired eye. "What's going---?"

"Gabby!" Alex yelled, waving his hand. "Go back to your mothe---!"

A single shot broke through the window above his head, spraying glass over him, Bryce and Blaine. His words caught in his throat as he watched the teddy bear slip from his daughter's tiny fingers, falling to the wooden floor. Both of Gabriella's hands went to the center of her lower torso as her head tilted down. Her small fingers ran over the growing red satin on her nightgown, eyes innocent and confused. Then, she looked up slowly, her eyes locking with her fathers. "……Da-Daddy……?"

"GABBY!" Alex yelled in desperation as she crumpled like a rag doll to the floor. He crawled on his hands and knees across the linoleum, whispering curses of disbelief. The hail of bullets started again as he reached her now sobbing form. He rolled her over, holding her small and shaking head in his hands.

It was every parent's deepest fear.

He covered her small body with his as a shotgun shell ripped through the window, spraying glass everywhere. He looked up, his eyes and mind searching for any chance of escape. His bedroom door opened, Estella crawling out on her hands and knees. She froze when she saw him, or rather, the small body of their daughter covered in blood in his arms.

"NO!" she screamed, hysteric, bursting forward.

"Stop, Estella!" Alex yelled as he heard Bryce and Blaine return fire out of the shattered window. "Get to the tunnels!" She ignored him and kept moving forward. "NO!GO! Get out!"

She stopped, lifting up her tear filled eye. She was torn between her husband's orders and her dying daughter. She shut her eyes, turning her head to the side as she roared in agony. Her fist slammed into the wall in frustration and loss, but she reluctantly turned, scampering over to the basement door. She opened it with one fear filled glance back to her husband and then she was gone.

With his wife safe, he turned his attention back to his daughter. He never realized that someone so small could produce so much blood. But the reasonable size hole in her lower torso assured him that he had little time. It was a perfectly aimed stray shot. It had entered just below her stomach on the left side. At that moment, Alex cursed his childhood obsession with anatomy. Her small and large intestines, along with her pancreas, gall bladder and portal vein had all, most likely, been pierced, completely torn, or nicked. He had no time to do anything but watch his little girl bleed to death.

"Alex, heal her!" Bryce shouted before firing a magnum blindly out the broken window.

Alex had thought about it. But a healing leaves the user weak, and he wouldn't be able to help Bryce fight. They would be vulnerable and outnumbered and it was a chance he wasn't willing to take. He was the temporary Alpha when his father was gone; he couldn't just be worried about his family. He had to think about the good of the pack, and healing Gabriella, whether he liked to admit it or not, brought more problems than good.

"ALEX!!" Bryce bellowed again. "HEAL HER DAMNIT!!"

"But---."

"I can handle them!" Bryce cut off his argument; finality in the green eyed mans voice. "You need to get her out of here. She's your only daughter, Alex. Save her!"

The Alpha nodded, glancing down to the body in his arms. She was staring up at him in confusion, one of her small hands grasped tightly around his. Blood was flowing form the corner of her mouth and she choked on it, whimpering. He shifted into wolf form, his large dark gray paw resting on her stomach just around her belly button. He pushed his power into her, a feeling of pure bliss enveloping him as his power spilled over its boundaries. He watched the bullet emerge from the wound in her upper left side, the muscles closing and re-knitting the broken skin. His paw print burned into the skin around her belly button and her body jerked slightly. He ignored it as he shifted back into human form, his life force finally flowing into her.

He had so much power, but the healing reduced him to a newborn puppy. As the feeling of bliss seeped out of him, he collapsed to the floor beside Gabriella, panting heavily. She turned her head in a tired daze, and he smiled, reaching to stroke her soft cheek.

Bryce watched Alex slump to the ground, and sighed in relief when he saw Gabriella move her head. The second in command turned to his son, the boy dropping to the ground as bullets ripped through the space he had just occupied.

"Blaine, you have to get Alex out of here!" His son's eyes grew wide.

"I'm not leaving you." The teen said shaking his head.

Bryce went forward, gripping his son's shoulders. "You have to protect the future Alpha. No matter what happens. Alex. Must. Live."

"I can't—."

"You can and you will." He pulled him into a huge, resting his chin on his shoulder. "Be strong. For me. For Alex. For everyone. You must be strong. You - Must - Leave."

"I can't." Blaine let the tears fall, no longer trying to hold them back. "I want to stay with you. I will stay by your side till the end."

"No." Bryce stated firmly. "No father should outlive his son."

"And no son should leave his father to die!" Blaine countered as he covered his head, the blasts from the gun getting louder.

"I will always love you, Blaine." He grabbed his son shoulders and pushed him towards Alex. "No matter what happens tonight, I will always be with you. Always." Bryce stood up, magnum in one hand and .9 mm in the other. "I'll buy you time. Now GO!"

Blaine stumbled over to Alex's slumped form, grabbing the Alpha under the shoulders and lifted. "I have to get you out of here!"

"Not without Gabby." The father mumbled. "……and……Bryce……"

"He's buying us time." Blaine glanced down to the young girl, the front of her nightgown stained red, but she was no longer bleeding. "Come on, Gabby; follow me and your daddy."

His cousin nodded, getting shakily to her feet. She looked so weak, but followed him anyway. "mkay."

Blaine glanced back over his shoulder to his father, who in turn gave him one, last smile before swinging around into the open broken window, firing both guns in his hands. It was the last time he would ever see his father.

Blaine stumbled down the basement stairs, finding the still open escape hatch that Estella had used earlier. He lowered Alex down first, the father dropping like dead weight to the tunnel floor, and then Gabby climbed down after him. His green eyes shifted to the basement door, waiting. His father didn't appear so with one, gut-wrenching decision; he lowered himself into the tunnels. It wasn't a long escape, but there was a ladder they had to climb. He tried lifting Alex to his back, but the man was too heavy.

"Gabby, can you go up first? Open the door?" he asked his younger cousin. She gave him a hesitant nod, climbing the rungs of the old ladder slowly. She tried lifting the top that covered the way out, but it didn't budge.

Then, the cap was lifted up, and Estella glanced down into the hole. Blaine would define the sound that came out of her mouth as a squeal; her excitement at seeing her daughter alive and well was to overpowering to keep her calm. She lifted the young girl into her arms, sobbing with relief.

"What am I?" Blaine asked as he stood underneath the opening with her husband draped across his shoulders. "Chopped liver?"

Estella gave him a gracious smile, her arms reaching down into the hole to help him with Alex. She hugged her husband with a death like grip as Blaine stood beside the reunited family. They were about a mile away from the cabin, but the walk in the tunnels hadn't seemed like that long. The soft gunshots sent shivers down his spin, his father's face flashing through his mind.

Then there was nothing and he froze.

No yells.

No gunshots.

Only silence.

Then cheers, yells of pure delight and the loudest howl that Blaine had ever heard cut through the forest. His face paled, all parts of his body going numb. His fingertips tingled with the realization that his father wasn't coming, and his heart clenched painfully in his chest.

"We need to distance ourselves from this place." Alex ordered in a rasp. The, he turned to Blaine, his dark eyes soft. "I owe you everything."

"You don't owe me anything……" Blaine answered looking down, then, he mumbled so that only he could hear. "……but a father."

Alex's eyes dropped. If his ears could go flat against his head, they would have. His best friend had just died for his safety. He silently promised himself that neither friend nor family would do it again. He would die before another gave their life to protect his.

"We should get away." Estella broke the silence, hoisting Gabriella into her arms, where the young girl passed out almost instantly in the comfort. She probably would only remember fragments, if anything at all about the situation she had just lived through. Blaine nodded his head in agreement. But as the group made their way through the forest, a question festered in the back of the seventeen-year-olds mind.

Why did he have to sacrifice his family so that Alexander Montez could keep his?

.----- END FLASHBACK -----.

"What to do…" taunted Blaine thoughtfully. "You can stay here and try to finish me…or you can try to save your daughter's life. What will it be, Alex? What's more important to you? Your revenge…or your daughter?"

"I did not kill him, Blaine." Alex stated. "So why are you doing this?"

"You left him." Blaine snarled. "It's the same thing."

"All I ever did was listen to your father." Alex snapped, taking a step forward. "He was my best friend. He told me to heal Gabriella that night, knew it would take all of my power. He accepted the consequences."

"The consequences weren't his to accept!" Blaine yelled. "You let your best friend die so that you could live. So that you could get away and fight another day!"

"Are we really talking about me?" Alex had straightened, like he had newfound confidence.

Blaine jerked his head back in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You need to stop crying and blaming other people for what you did that night." Alex bit out. "You left your father. But you didn't desert him like your saying I did. Both of us listened to him that night. He told me to heal Gabriella, so I did. He told you to leave and live on, so you did." Blaine was shaking, his eyes wide. "We both honored his last requests."

"I'm going to kill you." Blaine raised the black handgun that everyone had forgotten. But Troy could see something in the older mans green eyes, he was faltering.

"Blaine!" It was yelled from behind Troy, making everyone turn. Ryan was standing, in human form, her brother beside her. The wolf at her heals was a deep red, its mouth slightly open, head cocked to one side. Reid looked surprised. A surprise that matched the face Ryan was currently harboring. "What are you doing?"

Blaine took a step back, his gun arm dropping slightly. Now that everything had come into question, Troy could see that Blaine was second guessing himself. But that still didn't make up for what he did. For what he did to Gabriella. He was the bad guy and Troy would never forgive him.

Blaine blinked, shaking his head. When he looked back up, his eyes were dark and dangerous again. "I am doing something that I should have done a long time ago. I'm exacting revenge for my father."

Ryan sprinted forward, Reid shifting as he followed. The two twins positioned themselves on either side of Alex, fists clenched at their sides. Blaine was family, but they still protected their Alpha, no matter the enemy.

"Easy, easy." Blaine gave a childish smile. He lowered his gun as he gave them the gesture to calm down. "The damage is done."

Alex snarled as Reid and Ryan turned to look back a Troy. Both of the twins' eyes went wide and they left Alex's side to appear next to his.

"Jesus." Ryan lightly stroked Gabriella's burning cheek.

"She healed you." Reid was staring at Troy's belly button, the fresh wolf print etched onto his skin.

"It is time for you to share my pain." Blaine drew back their attention. "The truest pain anyone could ever feel in a life time. The loss of a loved one."

"Blaine." Estella spoke through her tars, one of her hands still wrapped around Gabriella's. "We're family. How could you do this? You love Gabriella, how could you do this to her?"

His eyes flashed with sadness and regret for only a moment. He ignored her question and continued. "Think about her everyday after she's gone, Alex. Think about her smile, her face, and her innocents. How young she was. Think about all of that and know that it's your fault that she's gone." He dipped his head once, bowing slightly and then shifted. His large gray body paused for a moment; his emerald eyes locking with Troy's blue ones.

Blaine O'Connell was confusing Troy. He was dead sure that the man's emerald eyes held the deepest regret he had ever seen anyone posses. Had he really intended to hurt Gabriella?

Troy blinked as the question formed in his mind, and when he looked to Blaine, the wolf was gone. Alex took two steps forward, preparing to peruse the traitor.

"Please, don't." Troy's words stopped him. Whether it was the tears in his voice or just the fact that Alex remembered the situation, Troy would never know, but the father turned to him, his eyes finding his daughter. "We need to help her. Forget about him for right now."

Gabriella, to Troy's relief, was still alive. Her breathing was shallow, strained, but she was still breathing. She was sweating, her cheeks red with an oncoming fever. Her eyes would part open slightly, and her mouth would move. Words wouldn't form on her lips, and she would give an aggravated sigh before passing out again. Her body had been shaking through the whole ordeal and Troy could feel her muscles contract and then relax.

Alex was kneeling in front of him before he knew what was happening. The father reached out and touched his daughter's cheek. His head dropped when he felt her fever and he let out an aggravated sigh. He was mad at himself for letting Blaine get so close to hurt him. He looked up and locked eyes with his wife. "Lets get her home."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

She felt so strange.

Gabriella pulled her eyes open with a groan and tried to look around, but her head wouldn't move, and what she did see was blurred. She could make out the hazy outline of someone looking down at her protectively, but her eyes wouldn't focus enough to see the details of who it was. She felt soft fingers run through her hair and realized she was lying down in a bed.

The comfort; however, was washed away and consumed by another. Pain. Pure, gut-wrenching agony.

She gagged when her body seized, consciousness bringing uncontrolled spasms that sent her chocolate eyes wide. Hands moved quickly to brace her shoulders as she jerked. Her senses were assaulted with pain from every direction at once, sending them into overload. She let out a choked sob as her useless eyes watered. Something cold was placed on her forehead, and even though it was meant to comfort her, it made her skin scream. Every point of contact on her skin was torture and it made her choke in agony. The washcloth seemed suddenly coarse and felt as if it was scraping the skin clean off her forehead. A soft hand stroked her cheek, but the action felt like sandpaper and crushed glass. The cloths on her body felt like they were scraping her arms and legs raw, the sheets on the bed only making the pain worse.

Her chocolate eyes slammed shut as the light around her intensified, flaring and roaring until it was unbearable. Her eyelids did nothing, the light penetrating and scorching her retinas. Her lungs seared from the inside out. She tried to draw in a breath to fill them, but found that she couldn't. She was gasping and choking, her empty stomach dry heaving.

"Shhhh……It's okay Gabriella, you're alright." A familiar voice told her, whispering in her ear. But the supposed whisper was too loud, her eardrums threatening to burst under the pressure. Despite her best efforts and clenched teeth, she whimpered, turning away. She wasn't alright.

She felt another hand on her cheek; this one smaller; more delicate, and she turned her face into it. Lips pressed against the top of her head and a hand stroked back her sweaty hair. The simple motion was grating and excruciating, but still, somehow, remained calming. She felt worry radiating off of the bodies in the room surrounding her, but she didn't care. She was in so much pain that nothing mattered but quenching the fire.

As the storm churning within her body lingered away, she caught familiar scents. Pine needles, timber, and Axe body wash. She knew the smells, but her hazy mind was having trouble placing them with a face. She strained to focus her fading vision; to make sense out of the people surrounding her, but it took to much energy. Energy she was loosing. Energy she didn't have. But she knew the smells! What was it, or more importantly, who was it?

"……w-what?……w-who?……" she croaked out before conceding her voice. Her body was trembling, shaking uncontrollably as she fought to keep her head still and voice level. She came to the blurry realization that something was seriously and undeniably wrong with her. She hurt, she ached, she burned! The blood in her veins scorched with an intensity that she had never felt before, leading her to one startling realization.

"……I'm dying……" she whispered the words, but they tore through her throat like she had screamed them, leaving a fire in their wake. Her throat scrapped raw with each shallow breath she managed to drag in and rasp out.

"No. You're not." the word was choked out, almost faltering as the voice beside her denied softly. The hand returned to her scorching forehead, stroking ever so slightly.

Then the pain came again. It returned all at once, such a startling feeling that she couldn't control herself in time to even stifle the sharp cry that tore through her dry throat. A raw scraping tore at her lungs and chest as she coughed violently, tasting coppery blood in her mouth. The seizing wracking her body only seemed to enhance the agonizing clenching in her chest as her heart attempted to continue beating. She felt drained. It was the type of exhaustion that would make you feel as if you would never have the energy to do anything ever again. It mainlined to her bones, sinking deep into her muscles.

"……Estella!……" The voice beside her was teenaged and masculine; the words that were spoken laced with sympathy. Gabriella just managed to scrunch her eyebrows together, it sounded so familiar. "What do we do? It's getting worse. I can't just sit here and do nothing."

Gabriella forced her head to shift towards the voice. Even though her vision was shot, she could make out the shaggy, dark, dirty blond hair, but it was the crystal blue eyes that made the pain vanish for just a moment. Her mouth opened slightly to whisper his name, but nothing came out. Her throat tightened, her teeth clamping together as her body seized again, the pain returning. Her back arched and he grabbed her around the shoulders, burying his face in her neck as he pushed her softly down to the bed. One of his hands wound around hers and he let her grasp it with as much force as she needed to make the pain lessen.

"We can't do anything, Troy," it was her mother, she now realized, and her pained voice sounded so distant. "The power she transferred to you is ripping her apart. Since you weren't a Walker, the healing process was flawed. And since it was a fatal wound, it required more Life Energy than normal, Energy she didn't have. It was only her strong love for you that forced your body to heal, but sometimes love isn't even enough." He couldn't believe what she was saying. "All we can do is hope that she's strong enough to endure and overcome it."

The information plunged Gabriella's mind into overload. Landon. The fight. Blaine. The gun. Troy. Blood. Then, pain. She remembered her mother and fathers howls of fear as she lost conciseness, her eyes sliding shut as she felt Troy cradle her in his arms. Despite her current predicament, with her dying and all, she couldn't help but smile. Troy was alive. The healing had worked……well enough.

She risked talking again. "……troy?……" Her blurry vision finally let her see his beautiful face. His blue eyes were soft, but there was something different about them. They were sharper, more attentive; and she watched them dart around as she let out her labored breaths. He was worried, but a small smile grew across his face, his white teeth barley showing from behind his parted lips. His free hand moved to rest on her cheek, his thumb stoking her jaw. She watched as his lips moved, but she couldn't hear anything. Her mouth opened and she whimpered as another spasm attacked her body. Her hand tightened dangerously around his, and he went to hold her down again.

"I'm here Gabby, I'm here. You're not alone." He was whispering in her ear again, his forehead resting against her temple.

"……hurts……" she managed to rasp out through her scorching throat, tears escaping the corners of her eyes. "……so……much……"

"Gabriella, I don't know what to do. I can't stop it." He admitted through a choked sob. He had never witnessed pain like this before. He buried his face in her hair as her shallow pants filled the bedroom.

"We have to let her rest." The deep voice of Gabriella's father shook with emotions she knew were foreign to him. She felt Troy pull away, his body shifting towards the voice. Then the statement hit her, the word "rest" making her useless eyes dart around in panic.

"……no……" she tried to move, but her body just jerked in pain again. She never could have imagined that dying would hurt so much. "……sc-scared……won't……wake……up……"

Troy looked back down to Gabriella. She was watching him with a sort of glazed over, half conscious expression. Her eyes were cloudy, and she was scared. He could smell it and feel it radiating off of her.

"Gabriella, you have to sleep." He whispered as he leaned down and pressed his lips gently to her slightly parted ones. She kissed him back weakly, her hand unclenching from around his as her chocolate eyes closed, her body reluctantly surrendering to the darkness.

Troy pushed himself off the bed and glanced down to her unconscious form again. She was shaking with fever, her muscles contracting in pain every few seconds. He shook his head, his hands running through his hair. "This is all my fault."

"Yes, it is." It was a low growl that was emitted from Alexander Montez as the older man took a step towards him. "You just had to go and get yourself involved, didn't you boy."

"Alex," Estella snapped at her husband. "Leave him alone, he was dragged into this by the werewolves. It's not his fault. We can't go through this conversation right now; anyway, more important things are at stake."

Alex's eyes flashed to his wife's, his teeth bared. "Have you not forgotten who put our daughter in this state, Estella? None of this would have happened if it wasn't for him."

"That's enough," her voice was impatient, like she was addressing a two-year-old. "Gabriella chose to heal him. If it was any one of us, you know you would have tried to do the same thing, even though you've already healed before."

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked.

Estella turned to him. "A Walker's body is only built for one heal, maybe two if the first was not sever enough to drain their Life Energy the first time."

"Only once." Troy said as Estella nodded.

She then turned to her husband. "You would have still tried even though you know the consequences. Gabriella knew them, but she still healed Troy. That has to tell you something."

"But he's not a Walker." Alex snapped back, his dark eyes angry. "I would have at least been smart enough to realize that. Realize that it wouldn't work properly."

"Would you have really thought about it?" Estella countered, her voice still impatient. "If it was the one you truly loved, regardless of whether they were a Walker or not. Would you have sat there and thought about the consequences while they bled to death?"

Alex clenched his jaw, his eyes seeing reason in his wife's words. "No."

"Then, if it's anyone's fault, Alex, it's ours." The mother sighed, running her hand over her mouth. "We should have known she would go after Landon. Go and try to find Troy. We should have kept a better eye on her."

"You can't say that," Alex answered. "How could we have known she would go after him? I thought I taught her to keep low and avoid situations that would be troublesome. Apparently she wasn't listening at the time."

"She loves that boy, Alex." Estella said flatly, nodding her head towards Troy. "Whether you're willing to admit it or not, they're in love."

"How can she be in love?" The father scoffed. "She's seventeen. She doesn't even know what love is. She doesn't know what she wants."

Estella grew silent. "I can see it, Alex. The way she acts around him, the way she acts when she's not around him. They are in love."

"It's impossible." Alex said turning away.

"Nothings impossible," Estella muttered. "You're so blinded by hate that you aren't seeing clearly. Your hate is shielding you from the truth."

"What are you asking me to do then, Estella?" his eyebrows rising as he opened up his hands.

"I'm asking you to see with eyes unclouded by hate." The mother replied simply. "When you do that, then you will finally see the truth."

Alex turned, striding towards his wife. "I watched Blain betray this whole clan. I watched my daughter try and save that poor excuse of a human being." The father waved a finger in Troy's direction. "And I am watching her pay with her life because of that one mistake. I assure you, I can see fine. Maybe it's you who needs help seeing what is real and what is not."

"That's exactly my point." Estella snarled, her face inches from her husbands. "You're so worried about the safety of this clan and your reputation, that you haven't even noticed the way those two act around each other."

"Worried about my reputation!" Alex yelled in a sarcastic laugh, throwing his hands up into the air. "I have focused my whole time here on protecting Gabriella, protecting you, and then protecting this clan. I didn't make you two leave this place when Landon figured out who you where. I didn't do anything to the three outsiders who figured out our secret. My sole purpose has been protecting you and making you two happy!"

Troy was still by the bed, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. He hated watching his parents fight, but to watch Gabriella's parents fight, it was a whole other matter. Both adults were snarling at the other, and Troy was readying himself for a full out brawl. Alex was the Alpha of the Walker clan, but Estella was showing that being his wife was a lot more than just a title. The mother was challenging everything her husband said, and sometimes proving his wrong.

Gabriella's small whimper made him turn back towards the bed, the parent's argument drifting to the back of his mind. He knelt down, his hand wrapping around hers as she shook with another wave of pain.

"……make……them……stop……" she whispered, though her eyes were still closed. He was shocked for a second, but he soon composed himself again. Even though he was sure she was unconscious, the raging voices of her parents had penetrated the darkness of her mind. She whimpered again as her father snarled, her mother countering with another loud yell. "……please……"

"Don't worry," he stroked her cheek and the shuddering attacking her body lessened. "I'll get them to calm down."

She sighed as her body relaxed. She was unconscious again and he stood, facing the raging parents. "Please, stop." His small voice went unheard as Estella stormed away from her husband, only to turn on her heals and yell back at him.

"STOP FIGHTING!" Troy roared, his eyes closed and his fists clenched at his sides.

Both parents stopped mid-yell, turning to face him. Their eyes were wide, their faces showing surprise. Alex's eyes grew to slits as he took a step forward.

"What did you say?" he asked in a low, dangerous, whisper.

"Please stop fighting." Troy answered, fear crawling up his spin as he stared into the eyes of the father. "She hates it when you two argue."

"Don't talk like you know her." Alex took another step forward, his eyes flashing like flint. "You know nothing about her."

"If you didn't know that she loves me and that I love her." Troy took a step forward, challenging the Alpha of the Walker clan. "Then it is you that knows nothing about her."

"How dare you." Alex snarled.

"Troy just proved my point." Estella stepped close to her husband, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. "Can you not see how afraid his is of you? And even though he's scared, he stands in defiance before you. He stands to protect his love for our daughter because he truly cares about her."

"It's alright Mrs. Montez," Troy's blue eyes were downcast. It was his fault. All of it was his fault. Gabriella wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't been caught so easily. He risked a glanced up to the two parents. Alex Montez's eyes had softened, but were still sharp with annoyance. Troy cleared his throat. "Can we not take her to a hospital?"

The Alpha snorted, crossing his arms. "Those dumb idiots wouldn't know where to start. They wouldn't be able to do anything."

"Then can we at least give her something for the pain?" He was trying to think of anything to help Gabriella, anything to make the pain lessen. "We have to do something."

"I've never tried pain medication before," Estella admitted, her hand on her chin. She had actually never seen a Walkers power turn on its owner before, and she hated the fact that the first time she was witnessing it, the person was her only daughter. "Something like Advil?"

"No, I don't think Advil will be strong enough. Actually, I know it won't be strong enough," Troy answered. "I was thinking more along the lines of ibuprofen. Maybe even something a little stronger."

"You have access to some?" Alex asked his arms still crossed across his chest.

"Yeah." The father's eyebrow rose and Troy rolled his eyes. He wasn't a druggy or addicted to the stuff, so he explained. "For basketball. I normally use it the two weeks at the start of the season when all we do is condition. It's the only think that can get me up and down the stairs after practice."

"Wouldn't the dose be off, though?" Estella asked.

"I really don't think that matters at the moment. With the amount of pain she's in," he paused and closed his eyes. He hated saying the sentence, but whether he liked it or not, it was the truth. "We just need to get the pain to drop. If it doesn't hurt as much, she might be able to fight back harder."

"What if it isn't even strong enough?" Alex asked, his body relaxing a bit. He was finally realizing that Troy wanted to help.

"I could always try to barrow some morphine from the hospital. My friends Ryan and Sharpay could help me access to some no problem." Troy answered with a small smile.

"Barrow?" The father's voice sounded skeptical but impressed at how far Troy would go to protect Gabriella.

"Let's try the ibuprofen before we break the law." Estella said. "How long will it take you to go get it?"

"Minutes." Troy answered taking a step towards the bedroom door. He stopped when a hand grabbed onto his wrist. He looked behind him to Gabriella's half open eyes.

"……don't……go……" her small voice crushed his heart. "……please……don't……leave."

He turned and knelt down next to her, his free hand moving to stroke the side of her face. He kissed her sweaty forehead, before placing his own against it. "I'm going to get something for the pain. I'll be right back."

"……promise?……" she whispered. Troy closed his eyes as he heard the fear laced in her voice. She was crazy to think that he would leave her, ever again.

"I promise." He kissed her parted lips. "I'm never going to leave you."

"……good……" she mumbled, unconsciousness claming her again.

Troy walked towards the door, but Alex's voice made him stop. "Do me a favor while you're out. Clean up your hand. I don't want you bleeding all over my house."

Troy's eyebrows drew together for a moment before he looked down. His eyes found his right hand, and nodded his head. In Gabriella's attempt to get away from the pain, she had dug her nails into the back of his hands. The nail marks were bleeding slightly, but he couldn't feel them. It was such a minor pain compared to what she was going through. He clenched his hand into a fist, and a small stinging flashed across his hand.

"Will do, captain." He nodded his head, giving a quick salute before exiting the room.

"That boy's disrespect will be the end of me." Alex muttered shaking his head at his wife, who in turn, flashed him a small smile.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

He walked down the stairs slowly, his eyes downcast as he entered the living room. The TV was on and Reid held the remote in his hand. Ryan was on the other end of the couch, her legs pulled up under her as her eyes focused on the flashing box. Reid's eyes flicked to him as he entered, but they flashed back to the TV. Though the twins tried to hide it, tried to look casual, Troy could see the worry in their eyes.

"How is she?" Reid asked in a low whisper.

"Not good." He replied shaking his head. Ryan shifted up from the couch, her face set in a soft scowl as she walked forward.

Ryan Murdock was quite attractive. That is if you could get past the constant scowl, the fact that she would (Troy had been told) at times, laugh at the sight of blood, especially when she was the cause of it, and the smart-ass tongue she regularly sharpened on her fellow friends (even her family members if it came down to it. Troy had witnessed that). Most could not. Her slender, surprisingly athletic muscular frame and ever-changing eye color outlined her rather unexpected beauty. But, of course, if you tried to tell her she was easy on the eyes, well……her brother would advise against it if you wanted to keep your kneecaps where they were anatomically supposed to be.

Her blond hair framed her rather oval shaped face. She had sharp cheekbones that were a shared trait between her and her brother and they both had light, naturally thin eyebrows that were inches above their eyes. She had the tan skin of a teenager who had seen much time on the beach, lounging around in a swim suite……or nothing. She was sweet, if you knew her. Troy now realized that it was a mental guard. It was a fake sweet that someone with her looks and personality had to have in order to protect themselves from the people of the world. It was all a cover for a hard and rough past filled with pain. Troy could see it in her eyes, which had settled on a stormy gray for now. Could see it in her walk, her shoulders, which had dropped considerably and in her slow and drawled out stride. She had the look of an eighty-year-old man that had see the events of the world and had had enough.

"Lets get your hand cleaned up, then you can go." She walked past him, her hand brushing his slightly. He took it as a sign to follow, so he did.

The kitchen was bright from the morning sun and he could see the dust floating in the air. The black garnet countertops of the island and counters clashed with the stark white of the tiled floor. The cabinets on the walls were a light brown and all the appliances were silver.

"Run your hand under this while I get you some band-aids." She instructed, turning on the sink faucet. He did as he was told, the hot water stinging the small nail marks on the back of his hand. Ryan opened a cupboard across the kitchen, standing on her toes as she withdrew a box of band-aids from the top shelf.

"That's long enough." She walked towards him, grabbing a towel and placing it gently over his hand to dry it.

"You haven't gone up to see her." He stated calmly in a soft voice. "Why?"

Ryan froze, her head dropping slightly. She let go of his hand and turned; walking back towards the cabinet she had found the band-aids in. "I'll get you some Neosporin for the cuts."

"You're avoiding the question." He said simply.

He hadn't thought anything of it at first, but it soon got to him. Neither Reid nor Ryan had gone up to see Gabriella, and he recalled the look's on their faces when they had first entered the clearing last night. It had been a look of pure fear. His eyebrows scrunched together as he thought. The group of Walkers had been the closest family he had ever seen, but yet, there was something about the twins that made them different. They preferred each other's company to Alex or Estella's, and they liked to be alone. They always seemed on edge when they were in a group, and he had seen that the only time that they ever truly relaxed was when they were alone and together. Like when he had come down the stairs only minutes before. They had been relaxed, almost content. Troy found that odd because Gabriella could possibly be dying in a room upstairs and they looked calm.

Ryan sighed heavily, placing both hand on the black counter in front of her. "I haven't gone to see her because," she let her head drop, her chin touching her chest as she continued. "I've see it all before."

He tilted his head to the side at the answer. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen a Walker's power turn on its user before." She answered, reaching up into the cupboard again and pulling out some Neosporin. "I already know the outcome of this situation."

Troy's face paled; his breath quickening. Ryan turned and walked towards him grabbing the box of band-aids from next to the sink. There was loss and pain in her voice. It scared him. He didn't want to feel like that for the rest of his life. It marveled him at how Ryan had been able to hide the feelings so well. Pain and loss were always the hardest to get over.

"And what would that be?" He tried to keep his voice from shaking as she smeared some Neosporin on a band-aid.

"Nothing you want to hear." She said placing the band-aid across the back of his hand. He pulled it back, flinching as the cold goo entered the cuts. "You're such a strange boy." She said flatly, shaking her head.

He smiled slightly as she grabbed another band-aid. She squeezed the Neosporin tube, the creamy substance sliding onto the white gauze in the center of the salmon pink band-aid. He realized what she was trying to do with the comment; change the subject. It wasn't going to work.

"Who was it?" He asked.

Her stormy eyes softened. "My mother."

His heart clenched with sympathy. "I'm sorry."

The twin shrugged. "It was a long time ago." She placed another band-aid on the back of his hand. The blond sighed, screwing the tubs back onto the Neosporin. She boxed the band-aids back up and walked over to the open cupboard door.

"Can I ask what happened?" He rubbed the band-aids on the back of his hand, making sure they weren't going to fall off.

She turned and pursed her lips, her eyes swirling to a light blue. "Not right now, maybe later." She paused, seeing the disappointment in his eyes. "We'll have loads of time later. After all, you're part of the family now."

He tilted his head to the side, eyebrows crashing together in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

She stiffened. "I thought Gabriella had told you." She rolled her eyes and licked her lips as he remained silent. She tilted her head back, sighing, before locking with his blue eyes. "You're a Walker now, Troy. She changed you when she saved you."

.-.-.- Insert Dramatic Music -.-.-.

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