hi y'all, here's another chapter!!!! i'm on a roll again, and i'm sorry to say that this is one of the last chapters, then this story will be over. but if you guys want a sequel, i'll gladly write one. anywho, i hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and i'll hopefully have chapter 22 up soon.

DISCLAIMER: i do not own the Secret Saturdays, or any of it's characters. i only own Lina, Gwen, Misty, and Misty's parents

I woke up and immediately knew something was wrong. I sat up and saw that I wasn't in my bed. I wasn't even in my room! I was in the medical bay, that much was obvious. "what in the world am I doing in here?" I thought. Suddenly it all came back to me. "so that explains why my back is killing me" I mumbled, reaching behind me and rubbing my lower back. It felt I had stitches there. I slowly got up, wincing as I bent my back a little. "wow, it's going to really suck trying to get around" I thought. I walked out of the medical bay and down the hall. "I wonder what Gwen's doing?" I thought. I turned the corner and ran right into someone.

"Lina!"

"Zak!"

Zak grabbed my shoulders and hugged me. "oh Lina, you woke up!"

I snickered. "yeah, obviously"

"I was so worried Lina! i… I thought you were…"

"dead?" I guessed.

Zak nodded, still holding onto me.

"wow, he must've really been afraid for me" I thought.

"Lina?"

"yeah?"

he pulled away from me, looking me right in the eye. "uh… you didn't happen to hear what I said yesterday, did you?"

I shook my head. "no, I must've been out then. Why, was it important?"

Zak blushed. "uh, yeah"

I smiled. "well you can go ahead and tell me now"

Zak frowned. "uh, well…"

"Lina!"

Zak and I turned around just in time for Gwen to grab me and hug me. "ow!" I cried, the pain in my back growing.

"sorry sis, did I hurt you?" Gwen asked, pulling away from me.

I nodded. "yeah, a little. But no worries Gwen, I'm ok" I said.

"really? Are you sure?"

I nodded again. "yeah, I'm sure. Believe me, if you hurt me, you'd know"

Gwen frowned. "ok, if you're…"

"yes, I'm sure!" I said, rolling my eyes.

"oh I'm so glad you're ok! I thought we were going to lose you!"

I nodded. "yeah, I know you guys are concerned, but I'm ok. really" as if the universe wanted to prove me wrong, I winced as soon as I took a step. "ahh, my back sure hurts though!"

"then you should get some rest" Drew said. she'd just come over to us, and I hadn't even noticed her there.

"no really, I'm…"

"Lina, face it. You're going to have to rest for a few days. Maybe even a week"

I sighed and nodded. "yeah, ok" I said reluctantly. Being bedridden wasn't very appealing, but I knew that it was for the best. "can I at least stay in my own room?"

Drew sighed and nodded. "yeah, sure"

I smiled. "thanks" I hesitantly made my way to my room and sat on the edge of my bed, turning to look out the window. "I wonder how long I'll be stuck here" I thought.

"Lina?" I turned and saw Gwen, Doc, Drew, and Doyle all standing near the door. "Lina, Doc and Drew have something important to tell us" Gwen said.

I nodded, eager to know what the scientists had to say.

"well, we're pretty sure that the portal is almost complete" Doc said. "we just need to run a few more tests and see where it goes from there"

my eyes widened, and Gwen looked thrilled.

"you mean we might be able to… to go home?" she gasped.

Drew nodded. "yes, maybe. We'll let you know when the tests are complete, and… well, then if you guys want to go back to your own world, you can"

"yes!" Gwen cried, punching her fist in the air. She smiled at me. "isn't it great Lina?! We might be going home!"

I forced a smile and nodded. "uh, yeah, that's great sis" but deep down, I knew I wasn't as happy about going home as I had been before.

...

"Lina? Lina?" I groaned and sat up. It'd been hard to fall asleep, and now someone was waking me up!

"what?!" I snapped, glaring at Gwen.

She frowned. "sorry Lina, but I need to talk to you. it's about going home"

I smiled slightly. "oh, so you've decided to go back?"

Gwen nodded. "yeah, we'll be going back in a few days"

I frowned. "what do you mean we?"

"well you're going with me of course. What, you didn't think I'd go without you, right?"

I nodded. "uh, yeah, I kind of did"

Gwen frowned. "you mean you don't want to go back home with me?"

I nodded. "yeah, of course I do. But… but I can't leave"

Gwen looked confused. "what, why not?" I was about to answer, when Gwen laughed. "oh, I get it! You don't want to leave because of Zak, right?"

I blushed. "uh, yes… no… maybe"

Gwen shook her head. "Lina, there's no getting out of it. We're both leaving soon"

I shook my head. "I don't have to go with you if I don't want to"

Gwen sighed. "yes you do, I'm your sister and I'm responsible for you"

I turned away from her. "I'm still not going"

"yes you are! Lina, be reasonable. What would I tell mom and dad of I went back without you? they wouldn't believe me if I told them the truth, and… and it just spells disaster!"

I sighed. "I can't go Gwen. I just can't!"

Gwen sat on the edge of the bed and put her hand on my shoulder. "Lina, I know you'll miss it here. I will too, but… but don't you miss our old life? Don't you miss mom and dad?"

I nodded. "yes, of course I do, but…" I hesitated. "what about Doyle?" I asked.

Gwen blushed. "what?"

I laughed. "oh come on sis, everyone knows you two like eachother. And I think you should totally…"

"Lina, please don't" Gwen said.

I sighed. "what's the matter, are you upset about Jeremy?"

Gwen shook her head. "no, but that's exactly why Doyle and I can't be together. I'm still with Jeremy, remember?"

I rolled my eyes. "like you could possibly still like that jerk after meeting Doyle" Gwen gave me a dirty look, but I didn't care. "and anyway, I'm not going back, so let's just drop it, ok?"

Gwen shook her head again. "Lina, you are going back with me and that's it!!" I glared at her as she walked out the door. I felt tears welling up in my eyes and sighed, lying back down. It took me a while to fall asleep, but my mind was racing with a lot of thoughts. I finally couldn't stand it anymore and got out of bed. I got dressed and snuck outside. "I can't believe I'm doing this" I grumbled, hurrying through the woods, and hoping that I was going in the right direction. After about 5 minutes, I finally found what I was looking for. I walked up to the front porch of the house and knocked on the door.

nothing.

I sighed and knocked again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I heard an angry voice say from the other side of the door. The door opened and Van Rook looked surprised to see me. "Galina?"

I smiled a little. "uh, hi. Do you have a minute?"

wow, what does Lina want to see Van Rook for? and will Zak ever tell Lina he loves her?!?! lol, yeah, he will. just not today!! so i hope you guys liked this one, and remember to let me know if y'all want a sequel. and please review!!

-FreddysNightmare1984