Neither. Vladimir chose neither. He made up an option all his own. Son of a bitch is clever. Instead of choosing between two ways of certain doom, he decided if he was going to die he was going to take something special to Aro with him. And that something would be me.

The sound of my own neck breaking made my blood run cold. And then came the horrible pain of something punching then tearing through my stomach.

"No!" I faintly hear Alec roar, but it sounds as if I am hearing him through a tunnel. A high-pitched ringing sounds in my ears and the world swims around me. The last thing I see before closing my eyes is a set of sinister, filmy red eyes.

ALEC POV

I sit beside Ryan, holding her warm hand in mine. She has been asleep for nearly three days as her body tries to recoop from what happened..

Vladimir snapped Ryan's neck with a single twitch of his hand. Her whole body had gone limp in his arms, and then he had punch straight into her stomach. For good measure, he used his dagger-like nails to shred through Ryan's skin.

We had to rush Ryan back as fast as we possibly could, leaving Jane and Felix to do away with Vladimir. But we couldn't make it. Ryan's baby, our baby, was already dead. I saw the little thing, a little boy, curled up as Aro removed him, underdeveloped but still cute. It broke my heart.

Aro snapped Ryan's neck back into its proper position and began forcing bags of blood down her throat. And that was all we could do. Aro injected her with an IV and made his exit glumly. I haven't left Ryan's side since.

Suddenly, her heart beat picks up and she gasps, her eyes snapping open. She sits up, startled, and looks around. Then those big, bluish-green eyes meet mine. Her whole face lights up in excitement.

"Oh, Alec." She breathes, tossing herself at me. I see the IV jerk out of her arm in the process, but I could care less right now. Ryan wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me like there is no tomorrow. Her lips mold against mine, fire and ice. Her warm hands tangle into the hair just above my neck as mine press her closer to me using her back. We are so close together I can't tell where one of us ends and the next begins. And that is when she notices something is wrong.

With a gasp, Ryan pulls back and looks down at her flat, healed stomach. She places her hands there, as if checking to see if its real. Then her eyes turn from shock to delight as her gaze flickers back to me.
"What is it? Is it a girl? I've always wanted a girl. Where is she? Does Jane have her? Does she look just like you? Does she know who I am?" Questions tumble from her smooth, pink lips. I grab the IV with the diamond tip and use a bit of force to get it to penetrate her marble skin.

"Ryan.. It isn't a girl. It isn't an anything. Vladimir k-...Vlad-... Vladimir killed our baby." I force the words out. I actually hear Ryan's heart stop for a moment, and then pick up faster than before.

"He what? No. No, no. You're lying. Why are you lying to me? Is this your idea of a joke? Where is she? Where is our child? Where is she, Alec?" Ryan screams, near hysterics. I grab her by the shoulder and shake her gently, then force her to look into my eyes.

"Our child is gone." I whisper. She stares at me for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh God." She begins sobbing. I pull her to my chest, careful with the IV this time. She sobs into the gray cotton of my shirt, holding me tightly. I move the back of her shirt out of the way and trace random patterns on the exposed skin with one hand while stroking her soft, dark hair with the other.

"No, Alec. No, no, no. Why us? Why is it always us?" She cries.

"It'll be okay, I promise. It'll be okay." I tell her gently.

"It wasn't suppose to be like this. This isn't how my fairytale is suppose to go." She blubbers.

"This is just a bump in the road. We'll figure things out. Don't worry. We'll figure it all out." I try convincing myself as well as her. She just sobs harder. "I have to go tell Aro you're awake. Do you want me to bring you anything?" I ask her, standing up. Her heartbeat rises a few notches.

"No!" She cries out, grabbing my hand in a death grip. "Please, don't go. I know I've been horrible and don't deserve your company, but please, I'm begging you, don't leave. Stay with me."