44:

It was as if releasing that one memory broke the dam- I was assaulted with memories. My parents, my brother, Alice, 'Van, Rach.

The door to my room opened. "Will!" I cried. He had a coffee in his hand, and looked rather tired and stressed; there were big black bags under his eyes, and his clothes were rumpled. He ran towards me and I reached out for him. My hands were shaking as I touched him, reassuring myself that he was real- this was real; not a figment of my imagination.

"Does she have them? Does she have the records?" I demanded, anxious to know if people were in danger.

"No." He assured me. "And she's dead." I tried to breathe steadily, but they were still coming out in pants.

"Will you?" I pulled back the covers and indicated for him to get in.

"Alexis, there's not room, I-"

"Please!" I begged, tears rolling down my eyes. "I was so cold, and I heard gunshots and I thought you were dead, and I don't like the noise. She played loud noise. And then turned off all the lights." I sobbed, remembering it all so vividly now; the cold, the noise, the pain. I just wanted his warmth and his arms around me. He always made me feel safe. He shook off his shoes, and clambered in next to me. I pressed myself as close to him as I could get, and he wrapped his arms around me tightly, nestling his head on top of mine.

"It's okay. You're safe now- I'll look after you." He promised, squeezing me tightly.

"I tried to be brave. She was evil, Will, pure evil." He tightened his hold on me. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to forget about her.

"You were, you brave, brave girl."

"Can we get some more blankets?" I asked, my mouth still buried in his shirt. Even though this room was warm it wasn't quite warm enough.

"Are you cold?" He asked. I nodded. I felt something thick being draped over us, and Will tucked it around me securely. I snuggled into him, my eyelids feeling heavy.

"Do you remember?" He asked tentatively, after a minute's pause. His hand was ghosting over my spine, rubbing my back gently.

"Everything." I confirmed. His body sagged in relief, and he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. I fought to keep my eyes open, to continue the conversation, but Will could sense I was losing the battle. He shuffled so that he too was lying vertically, our faces next to each other.

"Sleep, sweetheart." He commanded. We kissed gently, before he wrapped me in his arms. "I love you."

"I love you too." I murmured, before I fell into a deep sleep.

XXX

Now that I'd remembered who I was, Will was able to explain how they'd rescued me. Two days after I was taken, Alice found her soulfinder, Soren. Karla had seen that he was integral to rescuing me, so Alice had been trekking around Quebec in a panic until she found him. Soren's gift was that he could block someone else from using their gifts, rendering them completely human, essentially.

Sam and Elinor had flown in and Elinor managed to track where I was, but it took time as they had to wait until the Collector was asleep and her shields were down. Between Soren, Elinor and all of the other Benedicts, Will managed to plan. He gave the real documents to the Collector, as he wanted to check that she had actually got me before they carried out their rescue mission. From there, they followed us with Elinor's help, and stormed the building. The Collector had been fatally shot, and Gregory was in custody. He'd been so brainwashed by her that they weren't sure he was even fit to stand trial.

As soon as I was calm enough, Crystal restored mine and Will's connection, and Xav mended my arm. Apparently, our bond had only been partly severed anyway- the Collector hadn't managed to quite cut all my ties to Will.

"Your bond was too strong to be fully broken." Crystal explained once she was finished. Will grinned down at me from where I was perched in his lap. "I told you before that I'd never seen a bond as strong as yours, and I was right."

On Vic's insistence, for the record, I had to recount exactly what had happened when I was kept prisoner. Will insisted on being in the room for that, even though I kept telling him that he'd find it too upsetting. His hand fisted in anger every time I explained how the Collector had hurt me, but he managed to keep it together.

"You were so brave." He whispered, stroking my cheek. I shrugged. "I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner."

"You were as quick as you could have been, and you got to me in time, Will." He nodded, but I could tell he still thought his efforts inadequate.

My account corroborated with Gregory's, who had been deemed sane enough to stand trial. I hoped he went to prison for a very long time.

I was released a few days later once most of my injuries had healed. Mum and Dad were staying at Will's so between them and him, I was well taken care of. My parents ended up staying for another week before they had to go home for work and were most reluctant not to do so, despite my assurances that I'd be fine with Will looking after me. I'd managed to see everyone who had helped with my rescue, and I couldn't be any more grateful to each and every one of them, especially Elinor and Sam, who'd flown all the way from Edinburgh to see help out. I even got to meet Alice's soulfinder, Soren (the tall, black guy I saw in the warehouse.) He was French Canadian, but fully bilingual and the two of them seemed to suit each other from what I'd seen so far; a gentle giant.

My time in the States, it seemed, was finally returning to what it should have been: normal. Will had trouble letting me out of his sight, and I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I had lost my power. Although I never really used it anyway, it still felt as if I'd lost a limb, and I felt inferior without it. Soulfinders' gifts were supposed to compliment the other's, and now we didn't have that. Will dismissed my worries as being 'simply ridiculous', and decided to help me to improve my telekinesis instead. He said he'd love me whatever, and I was starting to believe him. We'd been using the L word a lot lately. I liked it.

When Will headed back to work, I was left in the care of his family. We went for spa days, and I helped both with the white water rafting, and in the library with Phee. I loved it. I didn't want to go back to the UK.

One weekend in August, Will took me skiing. The very top of one of the peaks had snow on it all year round. I'd skied ever since I was a child, and although I wasn't as good as Will, who'd grown up in the mountains, I wasn't bad. We got dropped off at the top by a helicopter, since the cable cars didn't go up that high, and it was a private peak. We were going to freestyle our way off the top, off-piste until the snow ran out. There, we had to walk down a little way to where Zed was going to be waiting in an off-roading 4x4 to collect us.

"You ready, baby?" Will asked as we stood together at the top. I grinned.

"I'll race you!"

"You're on; catch me if you can!" He yelled, launching himself off the top.

"Cheater!" I laughed, throwing myself of the ledge and following him down.

The views from here were incredible- I'd never been so high before. Will had a picnic in his backpack, and we stopped for lunch mid-way down.

"So I've been thinking…" I'd given what I was about to say a lot of thought ever since I'd woken up in hospital, but after recent events, had decided that it was most definitely the right decision.

"I want to move to Colorado." There. I'd said it. I watched his reaction with bated breath.

"Permanently?" He asked, his mouth wide, and face filled with awe.

"Permanently." I confirmed.

"I f*cking love you." He growled, before pulling me to him and kissing me firmly.

It hadn't exactly been a hard decision to make; one of us was going to have to move eventually. I loved Colorado, I loved Will's family, and Will couldn't have run his company from Derby- we'd have had to have moved to London, and I knew neither of us would have wanted that. I'd told Mum and Dad over skype whilst Will was at work, and although they were sad, they understood and approved. This was the right move for me. I'd even, presumptuously, handed in my notice to Mrs Lee without telling Will, something I had taken great satisfaction in. I'd never have to see the old bag again, and I couldn't wait.

We took our time skiing down to the bottom. A 4x4 was waiting for us, the keys in the ignition, but there was no sign of Zed.

"Where is he?" I asked Will, concerned.

"I asked him to leave. I've got something to show you."

We loaded our ski gear into the boot, and changed into something more appropriated. Will navigated the rock terrain expertly and we were back on a tarmac road within no time. He kept my hand laced in his, as he pulled off the main road and onto a narrow track.

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Definitely." He grinned. The car pulled to a stop at the end of the drive, where a newly- built house stood.

"What do you think?"

"It's beautiful." I stared up at it. It was enormous- a mix of brick and timber, surrounded by a plush green lawn and enclosed by giant oak trees.

"You want to look round?" Will produced a key from his pocket.

"How did you-?" He made a show of pretending to zip his lips closed, and indicated for me to follow him through.

"Okay, fine." I laughed, letting him pull me forward.

The house was just as beautiful inside, if a little empty. Wooden flooring ran all the way through, and it was spacious and roomy. In the kitchen, the floor was made of dark slate, and the cabinets were made of oak. There was a huge oven and many other top quality appliances. Downstairs, there was two toilets, a bathroom, a dining room, a study, a large lounge, the kitchen with a laundry room attached, and a huge conservatory which looked out onto the garden.

Upstairs, there was five bedrooms, and two bathrooms. They were all bare and unlived in. The whole house seemed unlived in- the windows still had their protective wrapping on them. The master bedroom was the most spectacular- it had an ensuite, a walk in wardrobe, and a balcony looking out over the mountains. I stood, staring out at them from Will's arms, totally enraptured by it all.

"What do you think?" Will asked, his head resting on mine as we gazed at the view together.

"It's amazing. Whoever lives here is very fortunate." A house like this was what everyone dreamed of, but few could actually have. Will hummed against my neck.

"So, would you move in here with me?"

"Will, this would be far too expensive." I laughed. I turned in his arms to look at him, and saw that he was being serious.

"This is yours?"

"Ours." He corrected.

"You own this?" My voice had gone up a notch. I dreaded to think how much money he must have spent to get a house like this. He nodded.

"I've been looking since you said you were coming to stay. I just thought I'd have to work a bit harder, and wait a little longer, to try and persuade you to stay permanently." I stared, slack- jawed at him.

"It's our forever house. It's where our kids will grow up, and where we'll struggle up the stairs when we're eighty."

"You bought this house before I even came over?" He nodded, grinning.

"But what if I'd said I wanted to live in Derby?"

"It would have been a good investment." He was such a smart arse.

"But, isn't it too far from Denver?"

"I can work from home. Wrickenridge is only ten minutes down the road, and Denver an hour from there. I prefer the mountains. Even before I met you I was thinking I'd like to come back here some day."

"Just don't tell me how much you spent on it." He laughed at me. "Want to christen the bedroom"

"You bet!" He growled.

We left our 'forever house' as Will had called it as the sun was beginning to set. Everything was falling into place.

xxx

Thank you for all the support and reviews- it's very much appreciated. The next chapter will be up once we hit 565, or next week. This chapter may feel rushed, but as I explained earlier, I just want to finish this story- I can always embellish later. Only a few more chapters left!