A/N: Here's another early chapter ^^. I want to thank Sabrina06 for helping with ideas for this chapter. If you have any suggestions for this story or a new one, feel free to PM me or leave a comment. I'll try and work with them. Happy reading. ^^

'Not this again. Please, wake up! PLEASE!' Isabella pleaded with herself as Rodrigo pinned her against the tree.

She squeezed her injured stomach in hopes that the pain would awaken her. This only brought more tears. She cried out in pain as, once again, Rodrigo inflicted her with an all-too-familiar wound on her side. She eyed him through her tears, terrified at his enjoyment of her pain. She looked down at her wounds and felt herself losing hope.

'You said you'd be here when I needed you…please…' She looked up as Rodrigo drew back his arm.

'…HELP ME!' She closed her eyes and braced herself for possibly the final blow.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!"

Her eyes shot open as that familiar voice rang through the forest. Rodrigo turned his head towards it. In a flash of red, Rodrigo and another figure flew across the floor. Now free, Isabella slumped to the forest floor, her body too weak to move. She watched as Rodrigo struggled to overpower the figure. The figure pounded into his face, revenge a clear objective. With a knee to the side, Rodrigo managed to roll the figure over and get on top. She saw him land a few hits on the figure before his hands were caught. The two struggled for some time before Rodrigo managed to free a hand. Isabella's eyes widened as he drew it back, his face holding the same intent as it did with her. She closed her eyes and turned away as his hand flew towards the figure under him. She heard the sickening crack of bones and a yelp of pain. Then….silence. She kept her eyes shut, afraid to face the nightmare before her. She heard rustling from their direction and a dull thump on the ground. She cringed as footsteps made their way towards her. She felt a presence near her and tightened her grip on her stomach, tears falling for fear of who was before her. She whimpered as he placed his hand on her cheek.

This time, however, something was different. His touch was gentle, loving, the exact opposite of before. He wiped away her tears and spoke gently.

"Hey, it's okay now. There's nothing to be afraid of. Please stop crying." She opened her eyes in disbelief. He was kneeling beside her, his eyes on hers comfortingly, hand still on her cheek.

"Ph…Phin…" Her voice shook as she tried to say his name. She placed her hand on his, leaning into his touch. Tears of joy brimmed her eyes.

"You…you came…you really came." Phineas smiled lovingly and kissed her forehead.

"Of course. You needed me here, so I couldn't refuse." He looked down to her wounds and grimaced.

"Let's get you out of here." He scooped her up bridal style in his arms. Isabella whimpered at the movement, but found his arms comfortable.

As they headed out of the forest, she glanced over his shoulders to Rodrigo. Blood pooled around his body. Although she only saw his back, she knew that Phineas had dealt a fatal blow. She turned her attention to her rescuer. As they walked, light filtering between the trees revealed that he had light bruises and small drops of blood on his cheeks.

'Probably Rodrigo's' Her eyes traveled down to his neck. Blood trickled from a small cut where his neck and shoulder met. He peered down and saw her glaring at it.

"Don't worry, he missed." She sighed depressingly and lay her head on his shoulder.

"But you still got injured…protecting me." She felt his shoulder vibrate from his chuckle.

"You don't understand it yet, do you?" The light became brighter, causing her to squint. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that they had returned to the clearing. The snow crunched under his feet as he took them to the middle. He stopped and lowered her to her feet. She swayed a little, but he kept an arm around her. He smiled at her.

"Everything I do for you, I do it out of love. Love drives me to protect you at all costs, and that same love…" He took her hand and placed it on the edge of his cut.

"…is what allows us to heal each other's wounds…" She watched in awe as the cut began sealing itself. In a matter of moments, there wasn't even a trace of it. He took his other hand and removed hers from her wounds. She winced as he placed his hand on her side.

"…no matter how deep…" Suddenly, the pain was gone. She watched as her side began closing up under his hand. Soon, the only evidence of something wrong was a tear in her shirt. He slid his hand around to her stomach. She drew in a sharp breath and pulled away, the contact being very painful. He pulled his hand back and offered her a small smile.

"…no matter how much it hurt." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She felt a warm sensation arise in her stomach.

"You have no idea how worried I am about you. My heart breaks when you cry and I become so angry. But even during this pain, you try to hide it for my sake. It lets me see that we do our best to comfort each other." He looked to her stomach and ran the back of his fingers over it. Isabella felt no pain this time, the wound long gone. Instead, she gasped at his cool skin. She looked up at him, noticing that his bruises had disappeared. He gazed lovingly at her, taking both of her hands in his and pulling them to his chest.

"You aren't in this alone. Come to me if you feel too weak. I promise I'll be there." She smiled at him and stepped closer.

"Of course you will." He leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt his circle her waist. With a deep passion, his lips found hers.

Isabella sighed happily, snuggling closer into Phineas' chest. He pulled her in closer, a smile forming in his sleep. Their faces donned light blushes as their joint dream reached an intimate conclusion.

Phineas slowly opened his eyes and glanced out the window. The sun was barely peeking over the trees.

'Time for me to get moving. This is a brand new day.' He looked down at the still sleeping woman cuddling his chest. He smiled and removed her arms carefully from around him. She turned over in her sleep, making it easier for him to move quietly. He gently rose from the bed. He turned and pulled the covers over her. He gave her a light kiss on the forehead before quietly exiting the room.

He made his way to his room. He opened the door quietly, trying not to awaken his brother. He peered in and made eye contact with Ferb, who glanced up from reading on his bed. Sighing in defeat, he entered and closed the door. Not looking up from his novel, Ferb smirked.

"Someone had a late night." Phineas blushed at his brother's implication.

"I-it wasn't like that. You should have seen her, Ferb. She was absolutely terrified. I've never seen her so afraid to be alone. I stayed to comfort her." Ferb smiled and nodded understandingly at his brother. Phineas made his way to the bathroom. As he readied his things for a shower, a thought crossed his mind. He popped his head out of the bathroom.

"About her condition last night…" Ferb signaled that his lips were sealed.

"Thanks, bro." Phineas hopped into the shower, letting the hot water distract him from the events of the past few days.

Isabella's eyes fluttered open as a new day's sun peeked through the window. She sat up and stretched her hands above her head. When they fell back to the bed, she noticed that Phineas wasn't there. She smiled gently.

'He always was an earlier riser. You'd think he was the one who pulled up the sun.' She hesitantly rose from the bed, feeling a little sturdier than yesterday. Curious, she lifted one foot off the ground. When her footing proved strong, she jumped onto the next foot, bringing the other up. She smiled and did it a few more times.

'Guess my body is starting to return to normal.' She walked to the bathroom and inspected herself in the mirror.

'Oh my goodness! I look like a freaking afro queen!' After straightening out her outrageous hair, she heard a light knock on the door. With her permission, Phineas entered, wearing fresh clothes and his wet hair sticking to his face.

"Glad to see you're up. How are you feeling?" Isabella gave him a thumbs up.

"Great, actually. My balance seems to be better and I slept fantastically." She walked up and hugged him.

"Thank you." He smiled down at her.

"Not a problem." When they pulled apart, she noticed Phineas blushing like crazy. He cleared his throat scratched his ear nervously.

"So…uh…did you…have any dreams last night…about Rodrigo?" She nodded, blushing a little from the memory.

"Y-yea…but it ended on…happier terms." She saw his cheeks darken. She eyed him curiously and titled her head.

"How about you? Did you have a dream, too?" He lowered his head embarrassingly and nodded.

"Well, want to talk about it?" He looked up at her and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"L-let's just say our little 'healing' moment in the clearing…won't be forgotten anytime soon." Her cheeks turned tomato red and her eyes widened. After a few moments of silence, Phineas cleared his throat.

"Well, glad my dream wasn't the only one that ended on…how did you put it…'happier terms'." He laughed as she playfully slapped his arm. The smell of a hot breakfast filled their noses.

"Come on, let's eat." Phineas opened the door and Isabella slipped past him. As they walked down the hall, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you for rescuing me." He smiled and returned the kiss.

"We do our best to comfort each other."