I don't own The Selection.

okay haha, i'm back! i procrastinated horribly last week and had to finish hours worth of schoolwork in a day so that was not fun at all.. and thank you all so so so so much for the kind reviews! i'm going to be answering them here before we get on with this chapter.

Amy:

Okay, I LOVE this story! Quick question: are you trying to update every day, or is there a schedule to your updates? Keep doing this, it's AMAZING!

livewithbooks:

thank you! i'm glad you like it! and as for the update question.. basically, i update whenever i have the opportunities. like on mondays, tuesdays, wednesdays, and fridays are the days i'm able to get on my laptop to post. i don't really have a schedule established yet if i'm honest-

Virtue01:

A brilliant chapter Maxon exhausted, himself so much his behaviour became like his father. He scared America but, her friend is always there for him and Maxon. I liked the ways Aspen, Carter and August talked with Maxon especially Aspen America is his truest friend. It was good for America to stand in for Maxon she will get a good experience of his work, I bet after this he will let he come to the meetings. Hope they are both ok with the rebel attacking. Thanks for the update and stay safe.

livewithbooks:

seriously, thank you for your dedication to reviewing this story. i think you've commented on almost every chapter and the feedback is amazing! and i'm glad you liked the way i wrote that chapter because i was a little hesitant to post it! i hope they're okay too! guess you'll have to find out ;)

thank you both for the feedback! it definitely motivates me to continue this story. just a warning, this chapter probably isn't my best or the happiest ever, so don't kill me! hope everyone stays safe and just in case you need to hear it today, i love you and i'm proud of you!

America

"We've had to put His Majesty in a medically induced coma," Dr. Ashlar explained. "The swelling in his brain was alarming, and could have caused him many consequences."

"You put him in a coma?" I demanded and Mom held me down. "You willingly put Maxon in a coma!"

"Ma'am, if I hadn't, your husband would be dead." Dr. Ashlar stated. "I had no other option."

"Dead?" I whispered.

"He has suffered from three gunshot wounds. One to his lower abdomen, one to his shoulder, and one to his foot. At the time, he was on the stairs. He fell and took a blow to the head, which caused a traumatic brain injury," Dr. Ashlar added. "When the swelling calms, he should wake up on his own."

I collapsed back into my chair and cried. I needed my Maxon back. He didn't deserve any of this. He was twenty and had almost died twice.

"I want to see him," I said.

I took another look at the room. Our family, friends, and closest staff members were here. Really, they were all family to both of us. Maxon had grown up with people like Stavros, Silvia, and Gavril.

Dr. Ashlar opened the door for me and shut it behind me, giving me a sad smile before doing so. I turned my attention to Maxon, who was laying in the bed unconscious.

He had a feeding tube and an IV. His beautiful face was bruised and beaten, which I knew would leave some sort of mark. He was wrapped in bandages. Both his arm and his leg had a cast.

I sat down beside him and slowly ran a hand through his hair. I pressed my face against his neck and took in the familiar smell of his. It was mint, wood, and some sort of natural musk. He smelled like Maxon.

I hummed one of his favorite songs quietly. He loved when I played it and would practically stop doing anything to hear it. It was older, but beautiful. Mozart's Turkish March.

I heard the door open but ignored it, instead, I kept my head buried in his soft, warm neck. It was rather comforting, I'll admit. I already longed for him to hold me in his arms again.

"Ames?" Kenna asked softly.

"Sorry," I muttered and wiped my eyes.

"Don't apologize," May said, tears running down her face.

"She's right," James added. "Maxon will be okay, though. You know that right? He's a fighter. And if anything, that man would come back from the dead to be with you."

"I just want him back," I whispered. "This is the second time I thought I had lost him. I don't want there to be a third."

Mom rubbed my back and gestured to my limp husband. "Maxon is incredibly tough. If he hasn't proved that yet, then I don't know what to say. And with the way he's handled the rebels, they won't be around much longer."

I laced my fingers around his and slid his wedding band back onto his finger. He hated taking it off. When Dr. Ashlar had brought him in here, he had been stripped of all personal belongings, which had then been given to me.

"I shouldn't have gone to that meeting," I whispered.

"Really?" Kenna huffed. "You'd both be like this if you hadn't. This is not your fault."

"I know," I said. "But look at him. I'm scared. What if he doesn't wake up? We don't have an heir."

"I'm guessing you're not pregnant?" Mom said.

"We were going to wait," I sobbed. "At least until our first anniversary. So we'd get a year by ourselves. I thought it was a good idea."

"You should never rush into kids," Kenna reminded me.

"They wouldn't just be our child, Ken. That baby would be the royal heir. The heir to a throne. A country." I cried.

"I'm sorry, Ames." May said.

"Me too," I sighed and took in another deep breath, making sure to memorize Maxon's scent.

Maxon

I woke up surrounded by friends, who were talking to each other intensely. I, on the other hand, was surrounded by tubes and other annoying devices. There was an IV in my arm, and an oxygen tube in my nose.

I made a strange grunt like noise and tried to take the tube out of my nose. It had two little tubes that went into each nostril and was quite uncomfortable.

When they turned back to me, everyone looked shocked. August, Lucy, Aspen, Georgia, Carter, and Marlee were here. America was nowhere in sight. The thing was.. Lucy and Georgia looked much more pregnant than they had previously.

"Maxon!" Marlee squealed and hugged me gently.

"I'll go get America," Aspen said. "Carter? You get the doctor."

The two left quickly and I was left with August, Lucy, Georgia, and Marlee. Dr. Ashlar rushed in within seconds, beaming. He came to my side and had me follow his finger with my eyes, hold up as many fingers as he said, and other small tasks. I was disappointed when I couldn't move as quickly as I once had, but then again, I didn't even know what had happened.

America burst through the doorway, looking both equally exhausted and happy. When she saw me, she crawled onto the bed beside me and simply wrapped her arms around me.

"You're awake?" She asked.

I nodded as the room cleared, giving us some sort of privacy. America pulled back and looked at me. She had tears running down her cheeks, but her amazing blue eyes had never looked so joyful.

"Maxon," She sobbed. "I love you so much. Thank you. Thank you for coming back."

I frowned and tried to talk, but it came out more as a grunt. She caressed my cheek and rested her forehead against mine. I basked in the moment, happy that whatever had happened was over.

"You don't have to talk yet," She laughed. "Dr. Ashlar said it could be a few hours until you're completely conscious. It's been a long month without you, Max."

A what? A month? A month without me? What exactly had happened to me? Why was I wrapped in bandages and connected to so many machines?

"You.. There was a rebel attack," She explained. "You were running down the stairs. One of them shot you in the foot, the chest, and the shoulder. You fell and hit your head pretty hard. Dr. Ashlar had to put you in a coma so you'd survive the brain swelling. But you're okay now. You're back."

I pressed my lips against hers as an apology and sighed. She pulled away and we sat there, in each other's arms, entirely content. My eyes tried to close several times, but I forced them to stay open.

She twisted her wedding ring around on her finger. "Maxon, you can go to sleep. You're obviously exhausted. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

I gave a small smile and gave in to the exhaustion. I could hear the background fading out around me and America quietly humming a song.

When I opened my eyes again, the first face I saw was Magda's. America was curled up next to me with her head in the crook of my neck. James and Kenna were holding Astra, who looked slightly confused.

"I though' Mackin was sleepin," Astra grinned.

I really wished I could talk right about now. My vocal chords were refusing to cooperate, no matter how hard I tried. Maybe Dr. Ashlar could find some sort of speech therapist to help. What was a king that couldn't talk? Useless.

"He was," James explained. "But now he's awake."

"Okie dokie," She giggled and climbed out of his lap. "I go get cookie."

"Sorry about that," Kenna said when her daughter was gone. "We didn't really know how to explain a coma to her."

I shrugged and smiled. It was probably best that Astra didn't know about what had happened to me. She'd only be more worried, right? I didn't want her to be worried, honestly, because I was okay.

"I think America missed you," May grinned and gestured to my wife, who was clinging to my side.

Magda nodded. "She's been spending the nights in here, mainly sleeping in a chair. We've tried to convince her to go sleep in her room, believe me, but she refused."

I tightened my hold on America and smiled against her hair. Even through all of this, we had never spent the night away from each other. There were certain situations—of course—that we had been forced to sleep in different rooms, but it was never voluntary.

"Just in case you'd like to know," Kenna said. "It's the beginning of June. Specifically, June fifth. Georgia is eight months pregnant and is due in a week or so, while Lucy has a couple weeks to go. I think they'll be coming back by in a couple hours."

"Oh! We were with Silvia, Gavril, and Stavros when Aspen came and told us! I swear I saw all three of them cry! Especially Silvia!" May laughed.

I grinned at the idea of Gavril and Stavros crying. They were always as emotionless as they could be unless necessary, which I had grown used to. In fact, I had actually grown up around them. But had everyone actually been that worried?

"Crying?" I asked after a minute of trying to figure out how to. My voice sounded strange, like a foreign person. Hopefully it would go back to normal.

"Tears and all," She confirmed.

"How do you feel?" James asked.

"Like.. I haven't.. moved in a.. month," I joked. It took me a while to say, but at least I was talking.

"Very funny." America said, her voice muffled by my shirt.

Dr. Ashlar opened the door, bowed, and shut it behind him. "Your Majesties,"

I think I made a face because a smile broke out across everyone's face. I corrected him. "Maxon."

"Okay, Maxon, I've just got done going back over your latest bloodwork and brain scans," He explained and sat down. "From what I can tell, you are perfectly healthy except for a few minor injuries. I do have one warning. When you begin walking again, there's a high likelihood that you'll be extraordinarily clumsy for a while. That means tripping over your own feet, dropping things. It should be a temporary issue but I thought I should warn you."

I nodded. "Anything.. bad?"

"Not that I know of, si—Maxon," He said. "Do you think you remember anything from that day? Any memories at all?"

"Uh," I paused, thinking about it. "There.. was a.. siren. Gun.. shots. I.. heard.. screaming. Just.. bits and.. pieces, really."

It was true. I remember very clearly hearing several gunshots. Now I had realized that they were probably what had injured me. The screaming was in the back of my head at all times, like some sort of constant reminder of the event. The siren didn't bother me much. I had heard it so many times before that it had quit having much meaning.

There was one thing that I didn't know if I was imagining or not. It was the face of a guy. He had a uniform on—specifically a Southern Rebel uniform. And a gun, most likely loaded. His bright red hair stood out to me. It was almost identical to America's. I decided to keep that to myself for now.

"Now, I'm guessing you wouldn't be against me finding a speech therapist to help you get back to normal?" He asked.

"Please," I said.

"There is one more thing," He said. "You'll probably need a physical therapist. Not to teach you how to walk again, but to help you get back on track. There isn't any damage to your spinal cord, nor is there any to your nervous system. But it could take weeks to get back to where you were physically, sir."

I nodded. I'd had a good idea that would be the case. Before this had happened, I had run at least a mile every week and done usual workouts. It was mainly to keep me fit, but also to work off the energy that built up after sitting at a desk all day.

"I'll have a nurse bring you more pain medication, but other than that, I think you're doing great." He said and bowed respectfully.

When he was gone, America kissed my jaw and cozied up against my side again. She was incredibly warm, which made the cold hospital room bearable. I ran a finger through her hair a few times discreetly.

"Can't keep your hands off of each other, can you?" Kenna asked sarcastically.

America turned her head in her sister's direction. "Oh, come on. You're just jealous. Besides, I'm the Queen of the country. I can do what I want."

"Using your power, finally?" James laughed.

"Yep." She said.

"What original Illéan tradition are you two going to destroy now?" Magda smirked.

America looked at me and I nodded.

"We're changing the inheritance laws," She grinned. "So we won't have to marry our daughters off to other countries."

"That's wonderful, guys!" May exclaimed.

"You are definitely going down in history," Magda sighed. "King Maxon and Queen America Schreave of Illéa, the monarchs who changed the country forever."

"I like it," I said.

America laughed. "We have weird names."

"Unique," I corrected. "Unique.. names."

Outside of the room, there was a familiar howl. It was Osborne and his puppyish howl, which was sounding more like an actual dog howl now. He would be around.. five or six months old, I believe.

Magda opened the door and the dog bolted into the room, landing on the hospital bed in which I was stationed. He carefully stepped over my limbs and began playfully licking my face. When he was content, he curled up in my lap and watched the room from there.

"Okay, well, we are going to go get some lunch. Do you want us to get Mary to bring you both something?" Kenna asked.

America nodded. "Please."

I turned my attention back to Osborne, whose spots were more bold than the last time I'd seen him. He looked much older and less like a puppy. His nose was a darker black. I noticed that he had a different colored color, which was now a darker green.

"He outgrew his old collar," She explained as our family closed the door behind them.

"He's… definitely gotten.. big," I sighed and rubbed his silky head.

"Yeah," She frowned. "We need to get him a bigger bed. Ozzy here has almost outgrown it."

"Seriously?" I laughed and looked down at our dog.

"Seriously." She said.

There was a knock on the door and when it opened, Mary and a younger girl—America's newest maid, I'm guessing—along with Rue, entered the room. Mary and the young girl had food for us, while Rue had been thoughtful enough to bring Ozzy something to eat.

"Your Majesties," Mary curtsied and set the food down, Rue and the other girl following her lead.

"What's.. your name?" I asked—my speech was now getting more coherent—gesturing to the girl with dark brown hair.

"Paige, Your Majesty." She said politely.

"It's nice to.. meet you, Paige." I responded and she blushed.

"Sir, I'm glad you're doing better." Mary smiled.

I nodded. "Thank you,"

They left us alone to eat. For lunch, the palace was serving steak and mashed potatoes, which was one of my favorites. Osborne had a bowl of dog food and a couple treats. Thankfully, we had taught him not to eat human food as soon as we adopted him, so our food wasn't in danger of being stolen.

"I think the staff likes you," America laughed as she stuffed mashed potatoes into her mouth.

"Why?" I asked cluelessly.

She snorted. "They pay attention to how you react to every food and now that you're awake, they're obviously trying to feed you things you like."

"Creepy," I muttered and chewed on a piece of steak. "Can't say.. I'm not used.. to it."

"You're talking better," She grinned. "That's a good sign according to the doctor."

"I want.. to be.. able to.. talk without.. pauses," I frowned.

"Wanna work on it together?" She asked eagerly and I nodded. "Okay, try saying a few words. Then, try saying them together."

"I.. love.. you," I grinned. "I.. love you."

"Better!" She exclaimed and fed me a spoonful of mashed potatoes.

"I love you," I said again. "America, I love you."

"And I love you."

America pressed her lips to mine and dropped the spoon in her hand. I tangled my hand in her hair and grinned. The next thing I knew, my heart monitor was beeping much, much faster and the door was opened without a knock.

We broke apart and America blushed a deep shade of red as we saw who was in the doorway. It was Marlee, with Carter, August, Lucy, Georgia, and Aspen behind her.

"Stupid machine," I muttered.

"Are we interrupting anything, Your Majesties?" Marlee winked.

"No!" America exclaimed and the blush returned.

Aspen grinned. "I've never seen you blush so much, Mer."

"Shut up," She groaned and continued eating her food.

"Aggressive," He observed. "Anyways, we were going to see if you'd like company."

"Yeah," I said. "I'd like that."

"You're talking!" Georgia grinned and sat down.

"That I am," I said, focusing on my speech so I didn't pause between words. "How.. are the babies?"

"Great, actually. We've decided on a name, which we are not telling you." Georgia said firmly.

"Our little one is great too," Lucy grinned. "He or she is keeping me up all night though. Always moving."

"How's Nathan?" America asked.

Marlee laughed. "He's a lot bigger now. And he's started responding to him more when we call him Kile, so that's become the name we use."

We talked and ate, eventually finishing our meals, which Mary and Paige came back to retrieve. Osborne hadn't finished all of his food, so his bowl was moved to the floor and placed out of the way. America stayed almost an inch away from me during the visit, which I had a feeling was caused due to our being caught.

Marlee and Carter claimed they needed to get back to Kile and put him to sleep, since it was time for his daily nap. That left us in the hospital room with Aspen, Lucy, Georgia, and August.

America did a lot of the talking since it was still difficult for me to do. I studied the room for a few moments, taking it all in. The walls were painted a sterile white, with a large painting of what seemed to be the ocean. There was one window in the wall that had been covered by expensive curtains, with a cabinet-like area. In it were medical supplies, cleaning supplies, and whatever else hospitals needed.

The hours flew past and before I knew it, we were being served dinner and our friends had retreated back to their own rooms. It was nice of them to have spent such a large portion of their day with us. I had never had such caring people in my life other than my mother.

Over the week, two different doctors flew in. Both were therapists, while one was a speech therapist and the other a physical therapist. I had daily sessions with each.

Right now, I was with Dr. Adams, the physical therapist. And I would be with him for an entire hour before I'd be going to my first meeting since the accident.

"Today, we are going to get you moving a little faster." He announced as he entered the room.

"Yay," I said sarcastically, which made him smile. "What do I do, doc?"

"Sir, all you need to do is stand." He explained.

I pushed myself up off the bed and before moving, regained my balance. Two days ago, Dr. Ashlar had deemed it time to remove my cast from my leg, leaving me with two healthy legs. They lacked muscle—of course—but they worked.

However, I did have a limp. Dr. Adams had assured me that it would dissipate over time as long as I worked through it. And he had been right. It was already beginning to fade.

I used the bars provided to walk back and forth, before I completely ignored them and just limped down the aisle looking thing. He wrote something down and gave me a break.

"It's getting there, sir." He smiled. "You should be able to start exercising within a few weeks, which I'm assuming you're planning on doing?"

"Definitely," I said.

Ten minutes later, I was up and back at it. It was slowly getting easier with each time that I made a trip back and forth. I focused mainly on putting one foot in front of another. One foot at a time.

He dismissed me and provided me with a cane, which would make the trip a little easier. To make it easier on me, the meeting was being held on the same floor as the hospital wing, allowing me not to have to use the stairs. I had a love-hate relationship with those things.

"Your Majesty," Stavros said and stood, announcing my presence to the room as soon as I stumbled in.

America was attending this one with me. She mainly was here for moral support, which I desperately needed. The last time these men had seen me, I had been in a coma.

"It's nice to be back," I smiled and the meeting began.

I had to be caught up on everything that had happened over the last month first. America had told me the major things previously to help me out.

The caste system had progressed without me, as had the inheritance laws. They had merged the sixth and seventh castes successfully. There had been next to no rioting or hate crimes because of it. That was a good sign.

As for the inheritance laws, we were a little less than halfway into the process. Each part of the law had to be perfectly rearranged, edited, and checked again. If one thing was screwed up, the law itself would fall to shambles, taking the country with it.

"Seriously, thank you all for working on this without me," I said.

"It's our pleasure, sir." Stavros said.

When I had dismissed the men, leaving just me and America inside of the room, she gave me a huge smile. I scooted to the edge of my chair and took her hand in mine.

"You're doing so much better," She sighed.

"Except for this stupid cane," I grumbled. "I feel like I'm sixty."

"Don't be like that," She complained and stood. "You need it to get better. No one is judging you for it."

"Yeah, I guess." I caved and stood as well, using the cane to hold me up.

We very carefully climbed the stairs together. Guards were watching from every corner, just in case something went wrong once again. Luckily, we made it up them alive and retreated to the privacy of our bedroom. It was just like we had left it, except Ozzy now had a much larger bed.

Just as we were getting comfortable, our door burst open and Carter simply said, "Georgia." We both picked up on the meaning immediately and once again climbed down the stairs carefully, making our way to the hospital wing. We arrived within minutes and were greeted with everyone's eager faces.

After making ourselves comfortable in one of the waiting room's corners, America relaxed against my shoulder. We spoke in quiet voices, never allowing ourselves to be heard. In secret, we were discussing whether or not the baby would be big, little.. chubby, skinny.. a brown headed baby.. and so many other things.

"Maxon? Do you think you could watch Kile for a minute?" Marlee asked, holding out my godson.

I took him from her and nodded. "We'll watch him as long as you'd like."

"You're a lifesaver!" She grinned and hurried off.

"Look at him," America cooed, tickling Kile's belly. "He's so big!"

"He really is," I sighed. "But he is definitely still very light."

"That's because he's six months old, Maxon."

"Right," I frowned.

Marlee returned within moments and happily took Kile back into her arms. She and Carter came to our sides and Aspen and Lucy both soon joined us. They all looked relatively relaxed and excited all at the same time.

The labor wasn't even half as long as Marlee's had been. Instead, we only ended up waiting for about five or so hours. Dr. Ashlar emerged from the room looking very happy.

"I'm pleased to tell you all that Lady Georgia has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl," He smiled. "After she's cleaned up, you're all welcome to go visit the little one."

Minutes later, we were escorted into the delivery room, in which August and Georgia were both admiring their little girl. She had August's brown hair and Georgia's green eyes, which suited her perfectly.

"She's perfect," America laughed as we approached them.

"I'm guessing you want to know her name?" August grinned.

"Of course!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Morgan Juliette Illéa," Georgia said happily.

"Morgan," I repeated. "It's a perfect choice."

We all spent an hour drooling over little Morgan before we were pushed out by nurses, who claimed they needed to do another thorough check on both the mother and baby. Everyone decided to go eat dinner and then we'd come back once more tonight to see the newest addition.

In the days to come, America and I's time was consumed with work. While I had to work endlessly to try to get closer to finding the man who had put me in a coma, America focused on the education system and planning our anniversary.

We visited Morgan once or twice every other day, so we could keep up our title as her unofficial Aunt and Uncle. Basically, we had all decided as a group that we'd raise our kids like we were all one big family. And everyone would have backup in case the royal nannies or maids were tied up couldn't babysit.

Aspen and Lucy had been named the godparents of Morgan, and were absolutely ecstatic about it. I knew the feeling. Being a godparent was one of the greatest honors I had ever had. That was saying something, as I was the king of a country.

I still had daily meetings with my therapists, who were both helping me greatly. My speech had improved to the point where I could easily give a speech. And as for physical therapy, I was close to being able to run again. Yesterday, I had shed the cane and was now focused on getting rid of the limp.

"I'm taking a day off," America decided one morning.

"But.." I grumbled. "We have work."

"And I'm exhausted," She complained. "We could offer to babysit one of the kids. It would be an excuse, and we'd get a break."

"Which one though?" I asked, collapsing onto our bed.

"Well," She thought for a moment. "Morgan is probably being watched by Lucy or Aspen, so we should probably watch Kile for a while."

"Sounds good," I grinned.

America left to go offer to watch Kile for a while, so I settled on taking a shower while she was gone. When I was done and returned to our bedroom, she was holding a little toy over the infant. He was flailing his arms around trying to reach it.

"Ames, you're upsetting the poor child," I laughed and sat down.

"He's adorable," She said and finally gave him the toy. "Almost as cute as Osborne."

"Almost?"

"He's not our child." She explained.

Kile started crying and we were placed with the task of figuring out why. America decided that his diaper was dry, meaning that it could be that he was hungry. I retrieved a bottle of milk from the bag Marlee had provided and took Kile into my arms.

He eagerly latched onto the bottle and drained at least half of it before deciding that he was full enough. America burped him and changed him into a new outfit so that the nasty milk spill was no longer on him. Once he was ready, he quickly fell asleep in his makeshift crib that we had crafted.

"How about," America said. "We take a couple hours off tonight and have a sort of date night?"

"How long are we watching Kile?" I asked.

"Marlee is gonna come get him around twelve," She explained.

"Sounds good to me," I said and kissed her cheek. "We could go to the movie theater, the garden.. we could go swimming.. horseback riding.."

"I want to go to the roof," She grinned shyly.

"I like that idea," I said. "How about we take a nap after Kile leaves and then we head up there?"

"Sounds like a plan, Your Royal Husbandness."

And so it was. When Marlee came by to get Kile, she thanked us for the opportunity to get some sleep and left. We immediately began our couple hour nap, which was desperately needed. Neither of us had been getting too much sleep, and we didn't want a repeat of last time.

"Your Majesties," Mary said, waking us up.

I groaned and sat up. "What time is it?"

"Almost seven in the evening, sir."

America came to and rolled over, almost rolling off of the bed entirely. "It's time for dinner,"

"Would you like me to bring your food up here?" Mary asked kindly.

"We're spending the evening on the roof," I explained. "Could you bring it up there? Only if it's not too much of a hassle."

Mary gave America a knowing smile. "Of course, Your Majesty."

"Thanks!" America grinned and got up.

The sun was setting by the time we made it to the roof, casting a beautiful sky of mixed colors over us. Minutes after we got settled, Mary and Paige brought us both trays of food. Tonight we were eating pizza, apparently.

As we were required to have guards around with us at all times, there were two on the roof with us. We went about our own business, knowing that it was probably as awkward for them as it was for us. They never directly watched us, but I could tell they shot glances towards us every so often.

Once we finished our food, we decided on cuddling. She stayed curled up against my chest and I gently ran fingers through her tangled hair. I kissed her hair and closed my eyes, basking in the perfect moment.

"Is that rain?" America asked, holding out her hand.

I looked up and was smacked in the face by

several rain drops. "It is,"

The rain picked up and we were beginning to get soaked. My hair was the first thing to be soaked, and the next thing was my clothes. I stood and offered America my hand.

"Would you like to dance, m'lady?" I asked.

She grinned. "Of course, Your Majesty."

We swayed back and forth, never taking an eye off of each other. Our clothes were entirely soaked within minutes, but we didn't care. There was nothing more perfect than this moment.

"This is where I fell in love with you," America whispered.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really," She confirmed and leaned her head against my wet chest.

"Then I'm very glad I worked up the courage to ask you up here,"

"Me too." She sighed and shivered.

"Cold?" I asked.

She nodded. "I hate to ruin the moment but I'd rather not get sick."

"Ames, nothing could ruin this moment." I said, pulling back to tuck a piece of her wet hair behind her ear.

We left the rooftop and I retrieved my suit jacket, which I had shed before exiting the palace. I picked it up swiftly and hung it over America, so it could keep her warm. Even in our soaked clothes, we still looked professional.

Once back in the safety of our bedroom, we took a quick shower and got dressed. America took the blow dryer and dried my hair for me. I returned the favor by drying her long red hair and brushing it gently.

The next morning when I went to work, I was told by Stavros that I had a visitor who would be coming as well. Apparently it was America's brother, Kota. Yeah, him. The same person who had abandoned his family.

"Your Majesty," He said and bowed when I walked into the room.

I dropped the papers I was holding and froze.

No. No, no, no. This couldn't—no. He.. I had seen him before. Oh my actual God. He had the same red hair, the same skin color.. He matched the description of what I remembered from that day perfectly.

"Maxon?" Aspen asked, forgetting about the title.

"I want him arrested." I ordered and both Carter and Aspen nodded without hesitation.

Kota tried to make a run for it but Aspen stopped him by grabbing his shirt. They pulled him back and shoved him into a chair, allowing them to put handcuffs on. Sure enough, Aspen found a loaded gun inside of his pocket.

They had other guards escort him down to the interrogation rooms and I simply sat down and clutched my head in my hands. Aspen, Carter, Stavros, and the rest of my advisors just watched on hesitantly.

"What did Kota do?" Aspen asked.

I looked up at him. Did I really want to tell him? Once it was out, I'd be responsible for punishing my own brother-in-law. How would I do that?

"He.." I trailed off.

"What?" Carter pushed.

"He shot me," I admitted. "Kota Singer was the man who shot me."

hehehe little morgan is born! i hope the coma wasn't too dramatic or too unrealistic.. believe me, i did hours of research to ensure that it wasn't too horribly fake. and as for the kota situation, guess we'll have to see where that goes! thanks for reading!