Author's Note: I would say sorry for the wait but… I needed to feel the love…

I only have one thing to say about this chapter… PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!

Also if you want to know what happens next you have to review.

Teaser: The next chapter is called "Superhero."

Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyer.

The New Host

Chapter Fourteen

The Storm

Ian struggled not to think, but every time he so much as blinked the scene played out like a horror movie behind his eye lids. He threw his head back, banging it against the seat behind him, jarring Mel sitting the driver's seat. She said nothing, neither did Jared. The van was perfectly silent. They had been moving steadily south for the past few hours. Studiously below the speed limit, much to everyone's annoyance.

He shifted, pressing the butt of the gun at his hip more firmly into his side. The sharp pain distracted him- kept him awake. He didn't want to sleep, exhaustion was heavy, but he couldn't sleep. He wouldn't be able to avoid it if he slept. He looked down at the prone figure curled in his arms. He allowed himself a moment of perverse joy that Jeb had gotten some weapons from Nate in exchange for one of their generators. Without it-

No!

No, he wouldn't think about it! He wouldn't think about what did happen, what might have happened… Mel said he worried too much, but if he'd been even slightly less paranoid… No, no, it didn't matter what might have happened. It didn't happen, and that was the important thing. But at the same time he knew that was a lie. Wanda would want to know why. When she fully came to she would want to know why. She would look at him with her big, luminous gray eyes, cloaked with tears, and she would ask him why. And what was he supposed to say? What could he say that wouldn't scare her more? And hadn't she been through enough already?

Ian felt his eyes fill, but shook his head and took a few deep breathes. He had to be strong for her. He couldn't lose it, not now, not ever. He wasn't the one who'd been attacked. He wasn't the one who'd had his clothes ripped, who'd been hit until he stopped screaming-

No! He couldn't think about it! He wouldn't think about it…

He couldn't stop thinking about it. It was all so clear and present in his mind…

He could still feel the damp bark pressed against his cheek as he tried to stay awake. Wanda had woken up from their makeshift bed in the back of the van, he felt her stir and when she moved to get out, he'd followed behind, gun at his hip. His mind had been heavy with sleep, but there was no way he was going to let Wanda wander off into the woods on her own.

They'd found a little dirt road leading to the old cemetery, in some Podunk town in Washington state. They'd been avoiding the big cities in the state on the off chance Wanda would be recognized as Pet. The plan had been to start heading south again, as the trunk was close to capacity. With two souls doing the shopping this raid had moved faster than any of them had expected. They'd only been out for three weeks.

Wanda had looked up at him with a smile, pressed her tiny hand to his chest, and he let her move a few paces out of sight. He leaned his cheek against the wet bark, and closed his eyes… only for a moment. A second tops. It wasn't long. But it was long enough.

Her shriek tore the woods in two.

Sitting the back of the van, Ian could feel the burn of his muscles pushing him forward even before his eyes opened again. The gun was in his hand when he heard the unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh. Another scream cut off suddenly. He broke onto the scene in time to shoot the bastard, the worthless bit of flesh, the waste of air, right in the shoulder of the arm he'd risen to strike Wanda once more. The man fell back screaming, clenching his wound.

Ian knew he shouldn't have moved, he should have kept his gun trained on Wanda's attacker until backup arrived, but he had to check on Wanda. He was lucky they hadn't strayed far from the van. So lucky because he dropped the gun, diving for his reason for living. The others approached quickly, weapons drawn. His mouth was moving, mumbling nonsense into her hair.

There was shouting, questions, but Ian heard none of it. His trembling fingers ran across Wanda's throat, searching for a pulse. When he found it, the steady thump of her heart, he was so relieved, he let Mel tug her out of his arms. Only then did he really look at her. In the light of the moon a faint shadow was growing around her eye. His fists clenched. Her torn dress moved in the breeze, when Mel tried to right it he could just make out dirty finger prints on her knees and thighs.

Ian didn't recognize the noise the tore through his throat. He didn't realize he had moved until he had the man, the stranger, beneath him. He didn't know what he was doing until Jared pried his fingers from around the stranger's throat. It took both Jared and Kyle to get Ian off the man, but it was Mel who brought him back to himself. Then and only then did he realize he was screaming profanities.

"… Wanda… Ian… Wanda…" He didn't hear much of it. Only her name. His reason for living. She needed him now. He couldn't kill the bastard because she needed him.

He snatched Wanda from Mel's arms, cradled her to his chest and blindly let Kyle drag him back to the van. They didn't move off right away. There was an argument going on outside the van. Ian cradled Wanda with one arm, and dug through the bag of Healing supplies she'd gotten with the other. He remembered hoping she had gotten some Heal and No Pain. But he was having hard time with it, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Mel had pushed his hand away. She'd administered the Heal and the No Pain, all in silence. They watched Wanda swallow and waited. Mel jumped hearing a crash outside the van. The harsh noise startled Wanda to consciousness. He almost wished it hadn't. Her eyes were tense with fear, her body tight as bowstring, her breathing gasps of fright. Ian tightened his hold on her, hoping to sooth her silently, not trusting his voice. The crashing continued for several minutes, it stopped long enough for Sunny to climb into the van, and started again.

"What? Ian? You're-" Her voice was thick with confusion, the memory of fear. He stroked her cheek and tried to smile. Her tiny fingers touched his lips and tears clouded her eyes.

Before he could say anything, before he could wipe the tears from her eyes, Mel and Sunny gently took her from his arms and helped her into a new dress, cleaned her skin, and gave her back. They stared at each other silently. No one spoke until the crashing finished. Kyle retrieved Sunny and Jared climbed into the driver's seat.

"We're going home," Jared snarled, anger thick in his voice. He glared at the three in the back of the van. His eyes gentling when they met Wanda's. "I don't want to hear a word about it. Sleep Mel."

But she didn't. By morning the next day Mel hadn't slept a wink, her eyes never straying from Wanda long. His little soul had spent much of the night shivering; quiet, save for random whimpers. Every once and a while she would flinch. Ian couldn't find his words, he couldn't form thoughts. All night long he and Mel just stared down at her. Eventually she fell asleep, and it didn't matter that he didn't know what to say. She slept much longer than she usually did. When they stopped to fill the tank and switch drivers, Jared climbed into the back and they continued on.

And now it was dark again. She'd woken long enough to eat a few mouthfuls, drink some water, never moving from Ian's arms. She tucked her head into his shoulder and let him hold her without saying anything. He still didn't know what to say. He didn't know if she understood the man's intentions, and he didn't know if he should tell her if she didn't. Was it better for her to think it was just an attack? As if she'd just tripped over this man accidentally, and he'd attacked because of her species?

Ian had no doubt what that rat bastard had been after. There was no reason to rip her dress, paw at her legs… if he wasn't after something else. There was a possibility that that man had seen her eyes, and figured no human would care.

Was it any wonder that that kind of man had survived the invasion? Someone used to hiding, but also used to paying attention to the world around him. It wouldn't take much to talk a pretty little soul into coming with him. She wouldn't know something was wrong until it was too late. He and Wanda had been very quiet walking through the trees. It was probable that predator thought Wanda was alone…

Ian remembered the bang-thunk of the bullet hitting him. He remembered his hands wringing his neck, banging his head against the ground. He didn't remember that bastard drawing breath after Jared and Kyle pulled him off, he'd been too crazed to think. After the invasion he never thought he would wish another human being dead, but he hoped, he prayed, that he'd killed that man.

"We…" Jared whispered. Ian looked up, his eyes felt dead, his whole body felt dead. "We found his bike… we destroyed it."

Ian nodded. Something else to think about, a much needed distraction. Dwelling on it was doing him no good. He needed some perspective. "What were you arguing about?"

"What to do with him," he said.

Ian's jaw clenched, rage flowed through him like a storm. "So… I didn't kill him…"

Jared shrugged. "He was alive when we left… unfortunately."

Wanda whimpered in her sleep. Both looked down at her, Ian squeezed her closer and Jared took her hand, they made nonsense noises to sooth her. She quieted once more, their voices working to comfort her.

Ian twirled a curl around his finger. Over the months they'd been together he had memorized her delicate features. Jared said he'd picked this body because everything about it bespoke of innocence. You didn't have to be genius to figure out that was why she'd appealed to the bastard.

"We were arguing about whether or not to kill him," Jared muttered, running his fingers up and down Wanda's.

"And why didn't you?" Ian asked.

"Something Sunny said," Ian's eyes flicked up. "About how Wanda wouldn't want that."

"What if he gets caught?" Jared sighed and closed his eyes. "We don't know how long he was watching us. How is it he just happened to be where we were? It's too much of coincident."

"You think he was watching us?"

"Isn't that how predators work, right?"

Jared shrugged.

"It could have been a crime of opportunity."

"Mel-"

"No, Jared! It could have. He could have been hiding out there for the night- like we were. Who knows- he could have seen her eyes in the moonlight and attacked to protect himself from what he thought was a threat." Mel took a few gasping breathes. "We don't know for sure what he planned to do to her."

"He tore her dress- touched her legs! What the fuck do think he was going to do!?" Jared demanded.

Ian thanked him for that- he couldn't seem to get the words out.

"All of that could have happened by accident," Mel said, desperately.

"Those are too many accidents, Mel," Ian said.

She puffed out a few frustrated breathes. "Do you want her to have been-"

"Of course, he doesn't, Mel!" Jared cut her off, seeing how close Ian was to losing it. "But we have to be reasonable here."

"It could have been though," Ian admitted.

"You don't believe that," Jared shook his head.

"It could have been an accident-"

"You just want to believe that, Ian-"

"Of course I do! Of course I want to believe she stumbled onto a violent human who saw what she is and attacked- with no intention of doing anything else. Of course I want that! You have no idea how much I want to tell her that it was just a random attack. Because she's survived that before. From Kyle, from you and- goddamn it- even from me! She's scared because she doesn't understand right now- so if I could just tell her that…"

"All we have to tell her is what happened," Mel said. "All we know- with any certainty- is what we saw. She stumbled upon him, she screamed, they tussled, he hit her and Ian shot him. We don't know anything else and wild conjecture will only scare her more-"

"It's hardly wild conjecture, Mel," Jared said, miserably.

"It's not relevant. Without hearing different from Wanda, or that rat bastard, we don't know for sure. Is it so bad to tell her that some humans are just violent for no reason? That this was thoughtless and random? Is that so wrong?" They were lucky the roads were clear as Mel had begun to cry softly. With his free hand Jared gripped her shoulder. They said no more.

The journey home took three more days. The van stayed quiet for most of it. Wanda never went anywhere alone. More often than not she stayed wrapped in Ian's arms, speaking only when spoken to and when asked if she was okay, only saying, "I will be once we get home."

Mel said she felt exposed, that all things considered, she was handling it well. Like she had after every attack she'd suffered in the caves. It took some time, but eventually she felt secure again; with support, she would feel safe once more. Mel said being home would help. But then Mel hadn't been able to get more out of Wanda than he had, so there was no knowing for sure.

Jared thought they should go about things as usual for her sake, get her in the caves and then tell the others. Ian had no interest in telling anyone what happened, but Jared felt sure they had to tell the others about running into another human in that area. There might be others and just because this one was violent didn't mean they all were. So they had to tell them, and they had to explain why that human wasn't with them. Why they'd left him to die in the woods.

Ian carried Wanda to their room as she'd asked him to, meanwhile the others unpacked and prepared for the meeting to come. Finally alone, he was at a loss for words once more.

"I-" he began, not knowing where he was going with it.

"Ian," she interrupted him. "There's a lot about life on this planet I don't understand. Your species is… so very different from mine. I've only felt something like- like what happened, inside of Mel. Her body was so much stronger. Physically and mentally able to deal with it. She helped me through it, as best she could.

"But I'm alone now. My feelings are my own, and sometimes it takes time for me to figure it out. I got hurt because of what I am. He was scared and he hurt me."

Ian held up a hand to stop her. "How did your dress get ripped, Wanda?" He didn't want to ask, he didn't even really want to know, but he had to.

She shivered, Ian pulled her onto his lap. "He popped up out of nowhere, I screamed in fright, and then he pushed me down. My dress got caught on… something… his watch I think… and tore. I screamed again and then everything went dark. I was scared when I woke up, until I realized you there with me. You make me feel safe. I know you've been upset… is it because you might have k-ki-killed him?"

"Wanda, I hope I killed him."

"Don't say that! He's your own species."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't remind me of that fact. I'm ashamed to be from the same universe as that scum."

"I startled him, Ian-"

"Wanda, I cannot be held accountable for what I'll do if you try to defend him. You let me off the hook for trying to kill, you forgave Jared over and over again, and you let Kyle go without so much as a slap on the wrist for what he did. You are not, I repeat not, going take the blame for what that pimple on the ass of humanity did to you. Or might have done to you."

Wanda stared up at him, her expression one of understanding. "Okay."

Ian relaxed back into the bed. "I want you to rest. We're going to get in a whole mess of trouble for leave that asshole there." She took a deep breath to speak but stopped when Ian glared at her.

He gave her a firm kiss. The first real kissed he'd given her since it happened. From what Wanda had told him she had very few memories it. She didn't know what could have happened and she seemed to think it happened because of her species. He didn't want to disillusion her, particularly because of what Mel had said. They couldn't know for sure… was it really a bad thing to let her think it happened solely because of what she is?

Mel didn't think so, and without further proof to the contrary, Ian wasn't going to fill Wanda's head with nightmares.

He rolled her off his chest, on to the mattress and got up. "I'll be back with some food. Will you be all right on your own?"

"Of course, Ian." He gave her searching look, testing her resolve. He would stay with her if she needed him. "If I need you I can always come find you."

Ian kissed her again and left.

In the distance he could hear the crowd. It was all nonsense from this distance, but he heard the unmistakable tones of Maggie. He stood in the doorway to the main plaza, not wanting to engage in this argument, because he was still so close to losing it. There had been no way for him to release his anger and frustration. Getting in the middle of this would only make it worse.

He knew all of this and yet…

"How could you, Jared!?" Maggie's voice rang through the caves. "How could you just leave him there?"

His feet were moving before he thought about it.

"I thought it was clearly understood," she went on, "if you find another human on a raid you bring them back with you! But you let that stupid, brainwashed boy shoot him and leave him for dead! And all for that worthless parasite!"

His fist balled, and as soon as he was close enough, Mel slapped her aunt across the face, Jared grabbed her before she could do more. The plaza quieted instantly.

"Worthless, Magnolia?" Mel said, her voice dangerously low. "Let's talk about worthless, shall we? What the hell do you do for this community, hmm? Do you risk yourself to get us supplies? Do you lie to your own people for the sake of their enemy? Do you protect them? Well? Do you?"

"I know it got all tangled up for you, Melanie, being trapped by that thing," Maggie snarled. "But you're free now, you must see it has no place here! We were doing just fine with it."

"I don't know…" someone mumbled.

"I certainly don't want to go back to that cactus soap…"

"And think of the food we get now…"

"… the security…"

"Have you all lost your minds!? Don't remember what its kind has done to our planet!" Maggie turned to Ian, waving her finger in his face. "You should have let him kill it and brought him back instead."

Unable to control himself any longer, Ian lunged at her. Aaron and Kyle grabbed him before he could get his hands on Magnolia. He was screaming profanities at the top of his lungs, fighting them off. Jared came over to help keep Ian from beating Maggie to death like he so wanted to. Free from Jared's restraint Mel punched her aunt. The older woman fell to the ground, Heidi and Paige grabbed Mel before she could do more.

A shoot rang out and everyone stopped. Jeb stepped forward to return the caves to order. He looked down at Maggie. "You're my sister, Magnolia," he said, softly. "You're my blood. The family I was born to…" She looked up at him with hope. "But Wanda… Wanda's the family I chose. I want you to think about that. Before you start running your mouth again. I'd like to point out that your daughter didn't stand up for you…"

All eyes swung to Sharon, who was studiously looking at her shoes next to Doc.

"I'd also like you to put your daughter in Wanda's shoes. If what Jared and Mel and Kyle and Sunny are telling us is true, then our little Wanderer was nearly violated by one of our own species. I want you to think about if that had been Sharon. Because Wanda is as much a person as Sharon is. And I won't hear another word about it from you."

He turned to address the whole community.

"I don't welcome people into my home just because they're human. That ain't good enough. It's a privilege to live here, not a right. Jared and them made the right decision. And with any luck Ian killed him. There ain't no room in our community for murders or rapists. End of story."

"What?" Wanda's tiny, trilling voice echoed through the caves.

Every head turned in her direction. Everyone saw the tiny body as the truth dawned and she crumbled before their eyes.