Disclaimer: This isn't mine and I bow to Richelle's genius.

This is all Alberta's POV. It is just a crucial chapter for her.


Alberta's POV:

"Mom said Stan is coming home this weekend..."

I smiled at my sister-in-law. "He said he would try. No promises."

"I miss him."

"I know. I miss him too." I looked over her shoulder. "How is your homework coming?"

"I'm almost done. Can we go play outside then?"

I looked at the clock. "Yeah. Nick just fell asleep so he will be down for another hour or so." I kissed the top of her head. "Why don't you go now? We can play for a bit and then you can finish while I make dinner."

She smiled at me. "Okay."

"Go ahead of me. I need to check on Nick and I will be right out." I watched her run outside and headed up the stairs. I went into the bathroom and took one of my pills before going to check on Nick. My beautiful two year old was sleeping there soundly. I gently ran my hand over his head. The doctor told me that touch would help with the connection. Most days it seemed too. Nick gave a contented sigh and I leaned down to kiss him when I heard the scream. I went into guardian mode and ran down the stairs grabbing a stake on my way out the door. That's when I saw Helena in the Strigoi's arms.

She reached out to me. "ALBERTA!!!!!"

"Lena... just stay calm." I surveyed the two men in front of me. I should have grabbed another stake. If I went for the one on the left, I risked hitting Lena. If I went for the open guy on the right, the man holding Lena might attack her. I took a deep breath and threw my stake towards the empty handed Strigoi. It hit him in the arm and he fell to the ground screaming.

"You bitch!!!"

I ran over to him and grabbed the stake. He grabbed my other arm pulling me down. I felt my arm twist and felt a burning sensation run through it. I screamed out in pain.

"Alberta!!!!"

I summoned my mom courage to get a smile. "It's okay Lena. I was just surprised." I turned and staked my assailant in the heart. He fell to the ground. I heard another scream and saw the other Strigoi's fangs in Lena's neck. "NOOO!!!!" I ran towards them, but the Strigoi was too quick. He dropped Helena and I heard a sickening crack. That was when the Strigoi charged me. I fell to the ground as he disappeared. It took all my strength, but I pulled myself to my knees. I crawled towards her and pulled her into my lap with my good arm.

"Mommy?"

"It's okay Lena. I'm here."

"Mommy?"

I felt the darkness taking over me and held Lena close. I just needed to comfort her. "Yeah Helena. Mommy's here." I managed to mutter.

"I love you."

I kissed her lightly. "I know you do sweetie, and I love you too." With that everything went black.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I heard voices around me and I realized that someone must have found us. I reached down to wake Lena, but she wasn't there. My heart started racing and I heard machines beeping. "Lena?" I felt weak and my voice sounded weak, but I had to find her. "Lena!"

"Alberta?"

My mind started racing I knew that voice, but it wasn't Lena. "Stan?" I turned my head to look at him.

He smiled at me. "Hey. Welcome back! I missed you."

I gave a small smile back. "I told you I was going to cause trouble..."

"You didn't disappoint..."

"Lena?"

"Shhh... Let's get you healthy and then we can talk about Lena."

"Where?" I looked at him and saw the tears. "Where?"

He shook his head. "I didn't want you to find out like this..."

"Stan?"

"She didn't make it." I laid there silently for a moment. He ran a hand through my hair. "What are you thinking sweetie?"

"I failed."

"No Alberta... You did what you needed to do."

"He got away."

"No, the Strigoi was in the yard as well..."

"There were two."

"You faced TWO Strigoi?"

"Not very well." I looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"The hospital. You were pretty beat up."

"Oh... How long have I been out?"

"A couple days."

I thought what had happened that day. "Nick?"

Stan kissed my forehead. "He is with Patrick."

I looked around the room again. This didn't look like a typical hospital room. "What ward am I in?"

He sighed. "We didn't know how you would react... We were just looking out for you."

"I'm in the psych ward, aren't I?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Well... I think I am okay... can I leave?"

He smiled at me. "I want to believe you are okay. I really do..."

"But?"

"But Alberta... Your history..."

"Did you know I have taken my pills every day since you left? I play with Nick every day and Stan? He smiles at me." I couldn't keep the smile off my face talking about my son. "I love him so much. Don't keep me away from him."

Stan bent down and kissed me lightly. "Do you know how happy that makes me?"

"I think I do..." I took a deep breath. "Stan? How are you here... really?"

"I told you. If you needed me, I would come. You needed me."

"Is that really why he let you come?"

Stan shook his head. "No. He let me come for the funeral."

"Oh... When do you have to go back?"

"Well, I told him that you had been severely injured and I couldn't come home until you were out of the hospital, the doctor said that your medications are working, and you can deal with a two year old AND a messed up arm. He agreed." Stan kissed me lightly. "That was a lot of talking wasn't it?"

I looked over at my arm. "What did they do to it?"

"Really want to know?"

"I'm gonna find out at some point." I patted the bed next to me. "Come up here and tell me."

Stan kicked his shoes off and got in bed with me. "Well, let's see... you broke your humerus, your ulna, and your radius. There was a tear in your deltoid and your shoulder was dislocated."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I was scared. They had to do surgery and they aren't sure if it will ever have 100 percent functionality again."

I froze. "What?"

"Shit... Alberta... you weren't supposed to know that yet. I'm sorry."

"What... what does this mean?"

"They don't know yet. It might mean nothing and everything will be fine, but it might also mean you won't be able to use your left arm."

"Will that affect my guardian status?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

I shook my head. "Probably not." I snuggled into his chest. "So, now what?"

"Well, you will probably be in the hospital a couple days, and once you are released, you will start physical therapy on your arm."

"Do I have to stay here?"

"The hospital?"

"No, the psych ward."

"Why don't I go get your doctor and we can talk about this?"

I nodded. "Okay. Oh and Stan?"

"Yeah?"

"When can I see Nick?"

"We will ask him that too."

I kissed his neck. "Please don't keep him away from me too long... I know it is for the best, but Stan, I need to see that he is okay with my own eyes."

He kissed the top of my head. "I know."

Poor Helena... I'm gonna miss her... Please don't hate me...

How is all of this going to affect Alberta? How is Stan REALLY coping? And if something is wrong with Alberta, what is going to happen in the future?

See you all next time!