So now, we're back to the present when Sophia is sick. Finally, right? Please enjoy!

OoOoOo

God, the pain was unbearable.

The bad thing was, he wasn't even the one feeling it. It was all Sophia's pain, he could only feel a vague shadow of it. Due to the bond, he presumed. They were still navigating through it. He watched her as she twisted and writhed on the medical table, cries of agony tearing from her lips. She struggled violently against the hold of her mother, her eyes shut and sweat dripping down her wasn't sure which was more painful; feeling Sophia's anguish or seeing her suffer as she did.

"Hera, what is happening?" exclaimed Aunt Diana, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and her face lined with worry. "She's never been sick before!"

Uncle Bruce's face remained impassive as always as he drew blood from her. "She could have been injected with something," he pointed out. "What and how I don't know. I'm going to have to scan her blood. It may be difficult, though."

"Why?"

He sighed. "Her blood," he answered. "It isn't like my blood or even yours. She is half Amazon, after all. It'll be hard to separate what's actually part of her blood and what may or may not be in her system."

Guilt bubbled within Rex and he wanted more than anything to just tell them. He wanted to tell them that Sophia had a stalker. He wanted to tell them that the stalker knew what she had done in France. He wanted to tell them that the stalker was the one to infect her. With what, he didn't know, but he had a good idea of how they had done it.

That damn inhibitor brace. It had dug into her skin, but he hadn't thought it had injected something into her bloodstream. Though, from what Sophia had told him, Holland had been the one to force it onto her that night. Could Holland had been involved with her stalker?

The terrifying thought caused him to flinch. It started to make sense, in an awful way. Perhaps Holland had been working for the stalker, but had gone rogue and had gotten infatuated with Sophia too? Fear clenched his stomach. What if they had planned to kidnap her that night, but Holland had decided to stray?

Rex felt his heart rate begin to pick up. God, he could have lost Sophia that night. Of course, he was by no means glad that the bastard had gotten his hands on her, but it wasn't as if he hadn't gotten what he deserved. Death. Rage stirred beneath his skin. If the fucker wasn't dead, he might have killed him himself.

"Rex?" He was brought out of his thoughts by his aunt who looked particularly troubled. "She's stable for now," Diana informed him. "You must be tired. Why don't you head home?"

He bit his lip. He knew had had to get his hands on that brace, but he was extremely reluctant to leave Sophia's side. What if her fever spiked again? What if she threw up blood next time? What if-?

His godmother smiled at him. "We will take good care of her," she promised. "You should get some rest."

Rex sighed, knowing he had to trust her parents. If anyone could cure Sophia, it was them. "O-Okay," he agreed hesitantly. His eyes somehow met Bruce's which were narrowed behind his cowl. Suddenly, he felt incredibly awkward. It was as if he was intruding on something. "I'll, uh, be back tomorrow." He rushed out quickly, not wanting to over-stay.

OoOoOo

"Son of a bitch," hissed Rex as he rummaged through his apartment. Where had he put the damn thing? Honestly, it could have been anywhere. He had been a bit preoccupied the night he had gotten it off of her. Heat rushed to his face as he thought about his and Sophia's first time together. How perfect and erotic and- his pants were starting to get tight. Goddammit, now was not the time!

Shaking it off, he moved to look under the couch. "Ha!" he exclaimed in victory, reaching for it. "There you are, you little shit." He took it and looked at it closely. There must have been a hidden compartment or-

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He tensed, slowly getting it out of his pocket. One new message from anonymous. 'If you want to save the princess, then you'll cut off all communication with her,' read the text. 'You have her heart, Hawk, now break it. If not, she dies.'

Rex growled lowly, dropping the phone before he crushed it out of anger. The Thanagarian half of him was raging at that threat and his human part wasn't too happy either. If he ever got his hands on that fucker... He didn't know what they were trying to play at. What, did they think that if he broke up with her that she would go running into their arms?

Fuck no, his girl would probably tear their arms off.

He knew that Sophia's stalker was bluffing. They were infatuated with her, obsessed with her. He'd been a hero long enough to know their memo. They wanted her alive and they wanted her to be theirs. She was safe from death, but that didn't mean that he wanted her to suffer.

Rex debated risking the waters and telling them as such, but he didn't dare. The ass was clearly deranged, who knew what they would do? This person broke into her apartment and molested her. He wouldn't put anything past them.

No, he had a better plan. He wasn't fond of who it involved, but it wasn't like he had a lot of options at this point.

OoOoOo

"Stewart, I think you're losing it."

Rex groaned, somehow finding the restraint to keep from snapping at the woman in front of him. "It's the truth, Danica," he insisted for the eighth time. Apparently, Sophia hadn't talked to her for months and she was more than a little petty about it. "I know you don't like me, and the feeling's very mutual, but I thought you cared about Sophia."

Danica's dark eyes flashed. "I love Sophia more than you'll ever comprehend," she snapped. And damn, if he didn't feel a twinge of jealousy at the declaration. "But if she had a stalker, how did her parents not know? Her dad's fucking Batman, if you recall. And why wouldn't you tell them even if they didn't?"

He raised an eyebrow, recalling just how much trouble she and Sophia used to get into. "Would you have?" he asked dryly.

She pursed her lips. "Point taken," she accepted. "But I still don't understand what you want me to do about it."

Rex rolled his eyes. "Are you a scientist or not?" he pointed out. He took out the inhibitor collar, which was resting in a re-sealable bag. "I need you to analyze the contents in this compartment. I think she was injected with it." Unfortunately, this was no his domain. Even more unfortunate, Danica was the only one he could trust right now.

Danica glared. "And you haven't told her dad?" she demanded. "If anyone can analyze this, it's Batman. Why would you bring it to me?"

He nearly growled with impatience. "This bastard's threatened her life, Danica," he hissed. He was losing his patience. Every second they wasted was a second that he could lose her. "What do you think they would do if they knew I was going to her parents?"

She sighed. "Something awful," she answered begrudgingly. She snatched the bag from his hands. "Let's get something straight, Stewart, this is for Sophia, not you. I don't know what she sees in you, but don't make me regret not fighting harder for her. Save her from this bitch and give her the best fucking life you can."

Rex cocked his head to the side. "You say that as if that wasn't what I was planning to do," he drawled.

Danica laughed, startled. "Maybe you're not the worst choice, after all," she mocked, standing. "Give me a few minutes and I'll have this analyzed. Hopefully, I can make a cure from it if there isn't one already."

For the first time in their lives, Rex felt a swell of affection toward the woman in front of him. "Thank you, Danica."

She waved him off, but she was obviously flattered by his gratitude. "Don't mention it, Rex."

OoOoOo

It was days later that Rex returned to Sophia's side. Her parents were on patrol with the assurance that Alfred was watching over her. He approached her slowly, taking in her pale face and messy hair. "Hey, Soph," he greeted, taking a seat on her right. She had been in and out of consciousness for days. Sometimes she was lucid, other times not so much.

He brushed his lips against her forehead. "I'm so sorry that you've been suffering so much," he whispered. He liked to talk to her when she was unconscious. He wasn't sure why, but it helped him process. "I promise, we'll take the fucker down. He/She/It won't get away with this."

Rex leaned back, admiring his princess. She was so beautiful. "I have something for you," he announced. He took the syringe out of his bag. 'Please, please let this work.' "Danica made this for you. I didn't want to tell you, but she and I have been working together." He forced himself to crack a smile. "Yeah, I know. This is the longest we've gone without fighting."

He took her hand, gently kissing the back of it. "If you want to hang with her more, I get it," he allowed. "You've always been close and that shouldn't stop. Not because of me or whatever fight you guys had." He carefully rolled up her sleeve. "I know you hate shots, but you gotta bear with me, okay?"

Biting his lip, Rex injected her with the needle. As gently as he could, he pushed the syringe down, watching as it drained into her arm. "You know, it was tough finding a needle that would pierce your skin. I..." His voice broke, his throat tight with tears fighting for release. "I hope it works." He pressed his lips to hers before making a hasty retreat.

But then, there was a groan. The medical table creaked and there was rustling. "Rex?"

He nearly gasped as he turned around. Sophia was sitting up, her rich olive complexion returning and her eyes wide with curiosity. Rex quickly composed himself, moving back to her side. "Hey," he breathed. Hope rose in his chest that maybe- just maybe- it had worked. "How do you feel?"

Sophia flexed her hands before touching her face. "Well, I'm not dead," she joked. "Can't get rid of me yet, Charmer."

He almost scolded her for the joke- he had literally been this close to losing her- but couldn't help the relief that swelled in his heart. "You seem to have a habit of getting yourself in trouble," he jeered back. He rested a hand on her cooling forehead. "You're fever broke. Are... Do you think you're better?"

She hummed in thought. "I think so," she answered. She winked, nudging him with her elbow. "Told you I wasn't pregnant." She leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "I'm always on the pill. You know that."

Rex couldn't help but laugh at her. "Yeah, I know," he agreed. His smile soon faded as the reality of the situation sank in. "Soph, it was Chase." He carefully watched her face for a reaction.

Chase was the code name for her stalker. They used it when talking about the subject in areas where her parents or anyone else could overhear them. It came from the word 'chaser.' He had suggested Hunter, but she had declined. She said it made her feel too much like a helpless animal being hunted down.

Sophia tensed, her eyes becoming wide with alarm. "You're sure?" she whispered. He didn't answer, just showed her the texts. She frowned, taking his phone from him. "Seriously? They wanted you to break up with me? That's fucking low."

He nodded, reaching for her hand. "Don't be mad," he warned. "but I had to tell Danica."

She blinked. "Danica?" she repeated, tilting her head to the side. "But you hate her."

Rex shrugged. "I don't think I can hate her after this," he replied. The two of them had fallen in love after all. If that could happen, he could tolerate Danica's existence. "She's the one who made the antidote. It's because of her that you didn't..."

Sophia cupped his cheek, leaning to kiss him on the forehead. "You won't lose me," she promised. "But I will have to thank her." She looked down, embarrassed. "I've been avoiding her lately. I-"

"You love her."

The words tumbled out before he could stop them. But Rex didn't regret them, nor could he find it within himself to be jealous or angry. It was something that would never go away. The things the two of them had gone through, he couldn't even attempt to ask her to stop feeling the affection she held for the woman.

She stared at him for a moment. "Of course," she told him. "She's my best friend. But I'm not in love with her anymore. Haven't been for a long time." Her thumb smoothed over the flesh under his eye. "I'm in love with you. Danica's my past. You are my present and, I'm hoping, my future."

Rex couldn't help the grin that forced itself onto his face. "If I have anything to say about it, hell yeah," he agreed. "But if you want to start spending more time with her, I'm cool with that."

Sophia smiled that dazzling smile of hers. "I appreciate that." She nuzzled her nose against his. "My parents will be finishing patrol soon."

He nodded. "I should go, then," he said, kissing her cheek. "I love you."

She beamed at him. "I love you too."

God, he never got tired of hearing her say that.

OoOoOo

I know. I know that was resolved way to quickly but give me a break, okay? Anyway, I hope you liked it and please review!