(I own only plot.)

A/N: And new chapter! Enjoy. Thank you to all my reviewers for everything you've done to keep my inspiration and this story going. You're all brilliant and I love you all. (P.S. Everything in brackets and italics (italics) are thoughts.)

Trigger warning: Dark themes. This is T for a reason.

*Jasper's POV*

I wake up in my bed in the hotel. I wake feeling as if the world is okay, I'm on another job trip, I'll be back with my darling Trudy in just a few days, then the reality hits. It hurts all over again as I realise that the woman I love has been resurrected by the two people I hate most in the world and she's being held captive and that's the reason I'm here. I wish I could just bury myself in the sand and let it all go away. "Jasper, come on, we don't have much time!"

I receive a text message on my phone, saying "Hurry. You have forty eight hours to gather the items. Or your precious female dies. R."

I honestly want to kill that man again. How dare he hurt my angel! I meet the kids in the hall, giving each of them a neon pink or green wristband so I know which ones are the ones I need to look after. When I have them all, I say "Okay, kids, you need to keep your wristbands on at all times, because this is a big city and I don't want you getting lost."

Patricia asks "How will these work? If we get lost, you won't be able to see them, will you?"

"Hey, smart mouth, if you'd cared to listen on, I'd have told you that there is a mobile number in there for you to give to a police officer if you did get lost. That way, you'd be picked up and given another wristband. And, if you think that those wristbands won't work for high visibility, I brought T-shirts to match," I tell her, giving her the look that clearly tells her that being smart with me will earn her one of the shirts. "Would you like that?"

She shuts up, which provides me with a good laugh for later. As if I'd thought to bring neon shirts! I suppose this is why Trudy liked taking these kids out so much. Now, she really would have neon shirts. Or shellsuits... Another reason to love her, in all her adorable paranoia. "So, um, where's the restaurant?" Joy asks me.

"Glad you asked. Come on, kids."

*Amber's POV*

I follow Jasper and the others down for breakfast. Nina sees my outfit and says "You look very chic today. Going for a minimal look?"

"This is just what I found first. But thanks."

I walk beside her, feeling kind of lost. I shouldn't feel so isolated because she was my best friend. I wish I could say that she still is, but Nina has a life of her own. I am stuck in my own little bubble, never progressing, never needed. I wish I could be like Trudy, strong, brave and so unique, so completely irreplaceable. She should be here, cuddling with Jasper, maybe with a tiny child or two. That would be beautiful... "Amber!"

I jump and see Alfie staring at me. "What?" I ask, shocked.

"Keep up!"

I run and try not to think of the one person who showed me love when nobody else would. I focus on staying with my housemates. Jasper asks "Okay, kids, what's on your minds for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!" rings out, but I don't fancy anything.

I think Jasper notices that I haven't spoken, because he looks at me and asks "Amber, what are you having?"

"I'll just have toast, thanks, Jasper."

He nods at me and I see the pain he feels when he sees me, like he blames me for Trudy's death. He's not the only one who blames me. I do, too. She was so kind, so sensitive and I was the one who knew that she missed him a lot and had wanted to marry him and I told him to come for her and essentially overwhelmed and killed her. Nina grabs my hands under the table and I realise that I have been scratching my wrists. Oh, God. "Amber, what's up?" she asks, her voice soft.

"Nothing, Nina. Honestly, I was just a bit itchy."

Not true at all. I wish I could feel more than just this hollow, empty feeling. I look around. My friends are talking, laughing and joking. I wish I could be like that. But I can't. I'm focusing on Trudy, on Jasper, their happiness... Rosalee and how she says that her mother tells her that if it hadn't been for us, she wouldn't be alive and Rosalee wouldn't exist... Is it safe to believe that her parents are...?

*Trudy's POV*

"I just want to go home!" I wail, sobbing my heart out. Why can't I just go home? Why can't I sleep in Jasper's arms? Why can't I hug the kids? Why can't I go out and see the sunlight? "I miss my kids! I miss Victor! I miss Jasper! Why won't you let me go home? I need my cuddles! I miss snuggling with Jasper!"

The man groans at me. "Look, as cute as your little homesick, lovey-dovey thing is, you're not going back."

"But why?" I wail, sobbing.

"Because we need you here! We've already had this conversation!"

"I need my Jasper!"

He finally just stands up and slaps me. "Just shut up, will you? Nobody cares whether you want him or not! It doesn't matter what you want! You're only here for a short time anyway! Nobody cares about you! Just shut up! We're sick of you and it's hard not to slowly murder you as it is! If you think, for one minute, I care about you or your stupid, senseless wishes, you're deluded! I don't care! Nobody does! You're a fat, useless lump!"

I gasp. Nobody had been so rude since I was twenty... And anyway, what's so bad about wanting to go home? I ask "Don't you have a special woman or man in your life? A child or two?"

"No. Why would I want them? And don't try that soft I-Know-What-You're-Going-Through tactic, you stupid female, I'm not the idiot around here. You're never going to see them again. That's final. And if you try to pull the kind trick on me, I will punch your lights out," he snaps, glaring at me. Oh, if looks could kill!

"I was only asking. Isn't there anything I can do to earn my freedom?"

He punches me in the face. "No, you ugly brat, there is not!" he yells at me, while I wish I could stem the flow of blood from my lip.

"Nothing at all?"

He punches me in the stomach, three times, effectively knocking the wind out of me, then he punches me in the face, blackening my eye and cheekbone. "What part of no? Just shut up, you ugly witch and forget you ever knew them! You're going to die again, anyway!"

"Why bother resurrecting me, then?" I gasp out, hurting and still unable to breathe.

"Because you mean so much to your fiance and he'll do anything to look at your hideous face again! God knows why, you're not exactly the prettiest flower in the garden."

"Not now, I'm not! And even in this state, I'm still a prettier sight than you are."

He laughs and slaps me across the face. "You're not pretty at all. You make a colony of diseased slugs look like a beautiful sunset. You're worse than ugly, you pathetic waste of space. Do you truly think that anyone, even Jasper, would have you?"

I flop a little and it hits me that he's right. I know he's just saying it to be mean, but he's right. I'm not pretty. I never was, never will be. "Why not just kill me now?" I ask, miserably.

"Because you are our ticket to immortality. Now shut up. I don't want to hear your annoying, squeaky voice or your pathetic, childish sobs again."

He smacks me across my face again, then leaves me in the darkness to cry in silence. "Jasper, where are you?"

I cry myself to sleep again, longing for the strength and warmth that I'd always feel from my beloved Jasper.

Hope this was good enough. I've been thinking and I wonder, what do you think of calling you my magpies? I'm superstitious and I believe magpies are lucky and I feel lucky to have you all. Let me know what you think of the chapter in a review and stay tuned!

Song quote of the day: Now don't lose your fight, kid/ It only takes a little push/ To pull on through/ With so much left to do/ You'll be missing out/ And we'll be missing you. ~Missing You, All Time Low

Until next time, hugs for everyone! C. xx