Steve was watching her sleeping form when Catherine entered the room, "How's she doing?"

"Well, once she was calm, she seemed a little better. But she's in quite a bit of pain, as she willingly took pain medicine."

"That's a huge deal." Responded Catherine, watching Steve as he continued to hold her hand. Catherine nodded her head to their hands, "That's sweet."

"She asked me not to go." He paused, looking at her hand and back to Catherine, "She's terrified she's going to have to start over in a new city. I think I had to tell her five different times that she is coming home with us."

"As hard as these past few months have been on us, we had each other. She didn't have anyone, so I completely understand that fear." Catherine paused and then offered up, "Throw WoFat into the mix and I can't imagine her anxiety level."

"She doesn't remember anything."

"What?" Inquired Catherine, confusion lining her face.

"The doctor says it's trauma induced amnesia. He said the brain does this occasionally when something is too traumatic for the body to process. She might remember tomorrow, five years from now, or never."

"But it isn't brain damage, right?" Quizzed Catherine, curious about the whole situation.

"He thinks she's okay on that front. He wants to run some tests when she is a little stronger, but he doesn't see any signs."

"Well that is a blessing." Catherine stated as she handed Steve the remote to Azucena's television. They lowered the volume and watched a documentary on the Discovery channel while 'Cena slept.

Catherine had fallen asleep half way through the show, and the Marshalls showed back up. The moment they walked into the room, Steve caught the movement of Azucena out of the corner of his eye. He knew what was happening and it killed him to know he was still torturing her in her sleep. He motioned for the Marshalls to give him a moment. He didn't speak loudly, just enough to break through the film of sleep, "'Cena, you're safe. He isn't here. No one is going to hurt you."

The sound of his voice provided a comfort that she had been missing for the last few months. Her movements in her sleep settled. When he was confident she wasn't going to wake up screaming or in tears, he motioned for Marshall and Mary toward the hallway.

"How's she doing?" Asked Mary, concern for her witness a top priority, but thankful that she no longer had to sit at the hospital. She was happy her witness had family to comfort her, as Mary could tell she had been lonely the last few months.

"She's in a lot of pain, but the doctor doesn't think she suffered any brain damage, so there's a silver lining."

"You handled that pretty well." Mary said, gesturing towards the sleeping woman. "That happen a lot?"

"WoFat has caused an incredible amount of chaos in her life, that wasn't even a blip on the radar of what happens most nights."

"She never said anything about nightmares." Mary replied, thinking of how difficult her witness' life must have been alone in Roswell.

"Family business, she doesn't like people to see her as weak or helpless. She wouldn't have said anything."

Mary turned this information over in her head and thought through the past few months. Marshall asked the questions that had brought them back into the ICU, "Did she tell you anything after she calmed down?"

"She doesn't remember what happened."

"Doesn't remember, like nothing?" Mary asked, curious what that feeling was like.

"Trauma induced amnesia" Steve offered up.

"Well that's going to make it difficult for her to tell us who grabbed her or told WoFat her whereabouts." Stated Marshall, trying to find another way to approach the situation.

Mary explained, "We have checked out everyone at the dance studio and yoga studios she attended and no one sticks out as a potential suspect. Her coworkers at the bakery come back clean. The CIA and FBI won't allow us to interview WoFat, but they already told us that he wouldn't give up any information. We are kind of at a dead end."

Steve understood, he had been in situations similar and it was terribly frustrating. However, there really wasn't anything that could be done, unless his sister started to remember things. He didn't see that happening any time soon, or possibly ever. Knowing everything she had endured with WoFat, she probably never wanted to remember.

$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

"A-zu-ce-na, A-zu-ce-na" his voice echoed through the dark, dank corridor. She was running as fast as she could, but it wasn't helping. No matter how fast she ran, his voice felt like it was right behind her. Like his arms could reach out and grab her in an instant.

As she ran through the barren hallways, she could see her friends and family chained to the wall, wanting to offer help, but not able to move. WoFat had hurt them as well. Her sister Mary had cuts on her face and what appeared to be a mangled hand, but she was alert. Her face a cross between painful agony and despair, as she tried to reach out to help Azucena.

"A-zu-ce-na, A-zu-ce-na"

Marshall Mann's hands were chained above his head, as he tried to fight free. He had a single black eye and blood oozing from his nose and mouth. She could tell he was trying to free himself, but the chains were cutting into his hands, blood seeping down his arms.

"A-zu-ce-na, A-zu-ce-na"

She continued to run and she found Catherine with a gag in her mouth. Her hands chained to the wall behind her. Blood was seeping from the gunshot wound in her chest.

A voice echoed through the desolate corridor, "'Cena, you're safe. He isn't here. No one is going to hurt you."

The corridor turned into a bright green and flower filled park. She was jogging down the sidewalk in her running clothes, Steve by her side. He talked to her as if she had been next to him the entire run. It was the park from back home that they would run to on days they ran long. It felt like ages since she had been here. She took in the sights and smells of the park, while letting Steve's voice flitter through her ears and brain. This was normal and normal was good.

However, things quickly devolved from normal, as Mary sprinted past them in her bikini and sarong, "Exercise freaks."

She didn't even slow down, but was quickly out of view before Azucena could say anything. Catherine followed closely behind Mary, yoga mat under her arm, "Headed to the beach, see you when you get home Steve."

"See you soon Cath." Steve yelled back, not even acknowledging Azucena's presence. Catherine, like Mary, quickly disappeared in front of them.

Steve turned to look at his kid sister, his face sad, "Well kiddo. This is where I leave you. Good luck in Cincinnati, you'll do great."

Azucena's stomach dropped and as she reached out to Steve, but he disappeared. Her hands didn't even make contact with his arms before he was gone and she was standing on a city street corner. Strangers filing past her as she scanned every face looking for her brother, Mary, and Catherine.

She couldn't do this again; she couldn't start over again. She had done this too many times and she needed her family. She was being selfish, she wanted her family!

"No, no, no. I can't do this again. Please," she begged to complete strangers walking down the street, "don't make me do this again!"

Steve rushed into the room followed closely by the Marshals. Steve slid between Catherine and his sister, thrashing about in her hospital bed begging "Please, no!"

These words were a knife to his heart, her voice terrified. Whatever she was dreaming of was horrifying and he figured WoFat was the central character. Catherine stepped back from the hospital bed and watched as the love of her life worked to calm his terrified sister, the Marshalls watching from a distance.

"'Cena, you're safe. He isn't here." His voice calm and firm, but not penetrating the drug induced sleep. He knew the minute he touched her, she would wake up, but lash out at him. He tried talking to her once more, "'Cena, wake up. It's just a bad dream."

She wasn't roused from the nightmare by his voice, so he softly reached out to her shoulder. He was worried he would touch one of her knife wounds, but he didn't want her to be trapped any longer. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, "'Cena, it's Steve. Wake up for me."

Her good eye flipped open and she saw her brother standing next to her, she lurched forward in the bed, pain soaring through her body as she threw herself into his arms, begging and tears streaked down her cheeks, "Please don't make me go away again. I promise to stay in the house. He won't get me if I don't go outside. Please don't make me go away."

Steve gently held her, knowing she was in terrible pain, and he couldn't rub her back or hair because of the head bandage and the knife wounds, "You don't have to go away again. You're coming home with me and Cath. He's in prison and you're safe."

His words didn't penetrate the terror of the dream, "Not again, I can't start over again with no one. Please don't make me."

"Take a deep breath." He encouraged her, as the tears continued to stream down her face, "You are coming home to Hawaii with me. We aren't leaving you. It's time to come home and you don't have to go away ever again, I promise." After everything he had witnessed today and the fact that WoFat had found her in Witness Protection, he couldn't ever make his sister leave. She would never be safe if WoFat escaped prison again, even in Witness Protection."

"You promise?" she quizzed him through sobs and tears, he could feel her body beginning to collapse in on itself. The energy she had exerted was beginning to recede and the pain was taking over her person.

He gently lowered her back into the hospital bed and maintained eye contact with her, "I promise, you don't have to go away again. You're coming home with me and Cath."

He softly thumbed away the tears from her good eye and tried to put her mind on things back in Hawaii, "You're coming back with us and you'll have your old room back. You can go back to school and working in the garden. Once you heal up, we will go back to our morning runs, but now Eddie can run with us."

"Eddie?" She questioned, not knowing this person.

"He's our dog."

"You got a dog?" She questioned her brother, focusing on life back in Hawaii and not the dream. Steve was a neat and orderly person, a dog would throw a wrench into his routine.

"He's a bomb sniffing dog. His handler was killed in the line of duty, so I adopted him." Explained Steve.

Catherine interrupted, "It's more like Eddie adopted Steve, and Mr. Softy couldn't say no."

Azucena smirked at Catherine's explanation. It sounded much more plausible. Steve seemed to pick up strays, human or canine. Azucena was a prime example of this. Now she would have Eddie in the club of strays.

"Hey, we have rules and Eddie understands them."

"Let's be honest, Eddie is slowly breaking Steve in." Said Catherine, working to incorporate more humor into the situation.

"That sounds like it." Giggled Azucena, she was quiet for a moment, "Tommy?"

Steve took a deep breath, he was worried when this topic would come up, "He got deployed about two months ago. He will be sent back to Hawaii in seven months. However, you can FaceTime him and email him for most of his deployment."

Azucena absorbed this information. As much as she wanted to see her best friend and spend time with him, this might be a better situation. This would give her time to heal and he wouldn't see the damage WoFat had inflicted on her. It would be easier to tell him after the fact and his rage at WoFat wouldn't be a visceral.

Azucena nodded in understanding, "Can I know where he was deployed to? Is it dangerous?"

"They sent him to South Korea. He is stationed along the DMZ. It sounds dangerous, but he is pretty safe." Supplied Steve. He watched his sister take in the information and she seemed to process it with ease.

He was surprised when his sister switched topics so quickly, "When can we go home?"

This was the sister he knew, the sister that had a plan and didn't let anything get in her way. She wasn't going to loiter in New Mexico longer than she had to. Steve tried to speak to her logical brain, "First, you have to heal up and get moved out of ICU. Once they released you from the hospital, we can go home."

Mary interrupted their conversation, "Our office is working to pack up your apartment and begin shipping your stuff back to Hawaii. Is there anything you want left out, so you can take it back with you personally?"

Azucena looked to Mary and smiled, "I'm sorry Mary. You and Marshall have been so good to me and I just want to flee."

Mary smiled, and joked with Azucena, "It's the whole, 'It's not you, it's me' thing. Not to worry, Marshall and I get it all the time. If we were in other line of work, we would take it personally."

This made Azucena giggle, but her body was beginning to fade. She had exerted a lot of energy and strength. Her body was still healing. She tried to hide a yawn while answering Mary, but failed miserably, "Just some comfy clothes and pajamas. And the book on my bedside table."

Mary caught the yawn, "Will do. How about you rest some more so you can go home faster?"

"Sounds like a plan, Mary." Azucena responded, as she looked to Steve. She didn't say anything, but Steve knew where her brain was, "I'm not going anywhere, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Thanks." She said softly, as she fell back asleep.

~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~

Thank you for continuing to read and leave notes. I promise to be better about responding to notes. They mean more to me than you can imagine. Hope everyone is safe and healthy! ~Avy73