I didn't realize this until after I had posted the last chapter, but we've totally surpassed Shaded In as far as the number of chapters that have been posted. Even I'm surprised that I've been able to keep this going for so long.

And I'm sorry if this chapter sucks. This one felt pretty forced, but I knew we couldn't move on without it. I lost my inspiration for a bit so I'm sorry if my writing is terrible. :P

Violet's Pov:

I woke to the sound of beeping and I had to adjust my eyes to the darkened room. I can feel my heart start to skyrocket and my breathing becomes fast and heavy which hurts my chest, but I'm freaking out because I don't recognize where I am. I push myself up and I wince because everything hurts, but I don't care when the last thing I remember was fighting for my life.

Everything starts to come into focus, but it doesn't slow the frantic beating of my heart as I realize that I'm in a hospital room. That's not the only alarming thing either, as I realize that I can't see out of my right eye. The beeping starts to pick up as the heart rate monitor registers my racing heart. Panic spikes through me because I have no idea how long I've been out, or where my dad is, or what happened, or if Clem...

Clementine. I don't know what happened to her. Oh my god, did she get hurt...or worse?

My whole body starts to shake and I honestly feel like I want to throw up with each labored breath I take. I can't seem to calm myself down as I feel tears starting to form. But I can hear footsteps running down the hall and suddenly a figure walks through the doorway. "Violet..."

I feel my breath hitch. It's her. It's freaking her and there's not a scratch on her. I want to run up and hug her, but the stupid IV that's been injected into my arm prevents this. However, Clem can see the desire in my panicked state and she walks over to the side of the bed. I don't hesitate to throw my arms around her once she's close enough and she does the same to me.

My side is screaming for me to stop because every movement hurts, but I'm not going to let go. I don't want to lose her ever again. The thought brings back the tears because I realize how close I could have been to losing her and I'm trembling in her arms.

"Violet, it's okay. You're okay." She says trying to calm me down as she gently rubs my back. "It's all over, everything's okay. I'm alright."

I'm comforted by the words she's saying but I grip her shirt with my good hand anyway, not wanting to let go. I bury my face into her neck because I want her as close as possible. I feel like if I let go I'm going to lose her again and I'm so fucking scared that she's still not safe. I have no idea what happened and right now I'm still terrified that she could be put in danger again.

"Violet, baby, it's okay. I'm here. You need to calm down. I won't leave you. I promise..." Her words are cut short as she pulls away and goes into a slight coughing fit.

I look up at her concerned because I don't know what's wrong. She said she was alright but I'm concerned my dad might have done something to her. She catches my worried expression and goes to ease my worry. She clears her throat and takes a drink of water from a styrofoam cup that sits on a table nearby. "How long has she been here? Better yet, how long have I been here?"

"I'm okay, Vi. The doctors checked me over once I got here since I was part of the accident as well. My throats' just a little sore from the smoke I inhaled. I'll be fine. It's you, you should be worried about." She says as she takes a seat in a chair next to me.

I feel so confused. "What smoke is she talking about?" I've got about a million questions burning in my mind that I want answers to. I go to ask what happened, but when no words come out I'm a little shocked. I realize that I'm still mute and I feel frustrated that I can't ask her anything. I actually want to talk for once and my voice physically won't come and I feel really let down by it. I bet Clem is let down by it as well.

The night I spent at her house, I'm aware that I had actually said I love you out loud. I know it made Clem's day to hear me say that, it made mine too. But I haven't been able to repeat it since, and I hate myself for it. I feel like I'm letting her down.

Clem can see my internal struggle and she understands that I want to ask her what happened, but I can't. "Calm down, babe. It's okay. There's a lot going on, I know."

She's silent for a minute as she debates on what she wants to tell me. "Vi...you've been asleep for a little over a day."

I feel shocked by this news. Have I really been out of it for that long?

"I'm actually surprised by how soon you woke up. The doctors figured you'd be out for a few days at least." She tells me in a saddened tone. "God, Vi. I-I was so scared that I had lost you. Y-you started getting worse an-and they took you away in an ambulance and-and I...God, I was so fucking scared I was going feel your pulse stop."

I can see her eyes glaze over as this subject comes up. What the hell happened? Was I really that close to the end? I shake my head and send her a confused look to show that I don't understand.

Clem looks up and I can see the tears in her eyes. "Violet...how many times have you been abused?"

I turn my head away and stare down at my lap. It's a question I don't want to answer. It's obvious now that I have indeed been abused before after Clem witnessed it first hand, but I feel she's going to hate me for not telling her, with how long it's been going on.

She doesn't prompt me to answer but I know it's definitely concerning her with the information she tells me next. "Vi...the doctors told us what happened. You've got a sprained wrist and some minor cuts. But your ribs...you've broken two of your ribs and they said your extremely lucky that they didn't puncture anything."

Honestly, I'm more than lucky at this point. I've probably bruised and or fractured my ribs at least three times before. The worst one besides this being when I was twelve. It always seems to come down to that. I've never gone to the doctors for any of my injuries, so yes, I've been extremely lucky that I've never damaged anything internally besides bones. That still sounds bad, but I can't do anything for broken ribs anyway. It's just one of those things that have to mend naturally on their own.

Clem then reaches up and slowly runs her thumb over my forehead, but I wince at the contact. "Sorry." She quickly apologizes and returns her hands to her lap. "You got hit pretty bad, Vi. They were worried about a concussion, but you've got a mark from where the then end of the rifle struck down. Thank god it missed your eye, but they still couldn't avoid bandaging it when trying to cover up the mark."

I manage a sigh of relief. I was worried that I had been blinded in one eye, but I'm glad that it's just bandaging that obstructs my view. Although Clem doesn't seem as relieved by the news as me. "I'm so sorry."

I send her a saddened look and shake my head. She doesn't need to be sorry. If anything I should be the one apologizing for getting her wrapped up in this mess. But Clem isn't quick to forgive herself. "I-I was supposed to be the one to protect you...and you saved me. Violet, you...you could have died trying to save me. Why would you do that? I could have taken that hit."

I shake my head because I would never have forgiven myself had she gotten hurt on my watch. That was the one thing I've always been firm on. I wouldn't allow my dad to hurt her and if I went down fighting, so be it. She's the most important thing in my world and I would rather take a bullet than let her fall into the hands of the devil.

I point at myself, then make a heart with my hands and gesture it towards her. "I love you too much to let that happen."

I think the message gets across because I can see a slight smile form. "Your crazy, you know that."

I smirk and grab the collar of her shirt to pull her towards me for a kiss. "I'm not crazy, I'm you're knight."

I would protect her until the sun dies. I was a soldier and it was my job to keep fighting no matter what. I would keep going till my last breath and protect her in any way possible. She may have promised to be my knight, but that didn't mean I couldn't be hers. And I wasn't going to let her forget it.

We pull apart and I can see a smile on her face, but it quickly disappears. "Vi...there's something else you should know."

I intently watch her, worried about what I might hear. My first thought is that my dad hurt someone else other than her, but I don't think that's what she wants to tell me. "Vi...there-there was a fire that started. I-I don't know what caused it, but um...your house... is gone."

That should be a huge bombshell that was just dropped on me, but honestly, I don't really react with any kind of concern. It puzzles me that this happened, but I slowly start to remember the smoke that had started to spread into the hallway. In all honesty, I don't feel any emotion towards the burning of my house. I don't have very good memories of that place and I've always despised it when I have to go back and sit in the jail cell that I call a room.

I've been beaten, cut, threatened, and verbally assaulted in that place. I've been terrified of being inside of my own house for over five years. There were more than just physical scars that were left behind and I'd rather let the memory burn down to ashes along with it. Nothing I had was worth much importance. Sure my writing might have suffered in the flames, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I could reprint all the pictures that I had up on my wall as well, but nothing else was in the house that really mattered. The only thing that was worth caring about was Woody.

...

"Oh my god, the rabbit. I had left him in my closet to protect him. What have I done?"

I feel tears come to my eyes as panic overtakes me again. I don't know how to tell Clem about my concern for the rabbit's life. Was he alive? Did he die in the flames? I don't have any way to tell her and I try to mouth out Woody's name, but I don't know if she can understand me.

The hear monitor starts beeping aggressively again and Clem is quick to try and calm me back down. "It's okay, it's okay Vi. He's okay. Woody's okay. I got him out in time."

I sigh in relief and I take a few deep breaths to try and calm myself, which hurt, but my heart rate slows once more. "That's actually why I inhaled so much smoke," Clem admits sheepishly. "I had to go back in and save him and it took me a while to find him since he wasn't in his cage."

I'm a bit alarmed by this. She ran into a burning house just to save the rabbit. I feel like I want to scold her, but her next words melt away any anger I might have. "I wasn't going to leave him, I couldn't. I know he means a lot to you and I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him when I could have prevented it."

It kind of scares me that she risked her own life to save the rabbit, but I really appreciate the gesture. I'm touched by her actions and it means a lot to me that she was willing to do all of that. It seems kind of stupid to risk your life for something as little as a rabbit, but I understand where she's coming from. Woody was no ordinary rabbit. He was more than that to me and I think Clem can see it too.

She smiles at me again. "In fact...Wait right here."

She moves to get up and walk away, but panic strikes through me. I grasp her arm to prevent her from leaving and my heart hammers in my chest again. I don't want her to leave me. I don't want to lose her again, and if she disappears, I'm worried she won't come back.

"Baby, it's okay. I'll be right back I promise." She reassures me. But I still won't let go as my body starts to tremble. I don't want her to leave my side. "I'll be right back, Vi. I'll only be a minute, okay?"

I don't want to do it, but I trust her and I reluctantly let go of her arm. She sends me a reassuring smile and walks out of the room.

I can feel my whole body tense up at being left alone. I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing, trying not to let my heart skyrocket again. I feel kind of ashamed to admit it, but I'm terrified of hospitals. I've always been terrified of them. Sick and disabled patients walk like zombies, aimlessly stumbling their way through bleach scented hallways, hooked up to random tubes and devices. It's like being abducted by an alien, wondering what mysterious and foreign objects they are going to insert into you next so they can experiment on your body.

I hate not having anyone with me or anything to hold onto and I'm scared someone is going to do something to me. The only thing I'm relieved about is not being out in the hallway. I hate seeing other patients in the hospital. I was scared when I was younger after seeing someone I cared about in the hospital. Now I'm afraid whenever I have to step foot in one. But if I do have to enter one my gaze is always kept towards the ground because I'm afraid of what I might see. I'd much rather stare at the tiled floor than risking seeing a sick or injured person.

I've got nothing against the people who are stuck in the hospital. It's just, the machinery that there hooked up to frightens me and I get huge anxiety if I ever have to enter a hospital room. I've neglected to visit people because I'm too scared to enter a room. I get too overwhelmed and I feel like I can never let my guard down. I feel terrible for it like people are going to think I don't care, but I can't help feeling this way and sometimes it's hard for people to understand what I'm going through. Little do they know I'm still haunted by the memories. Walking through a hospital is a harder fight than I let on.

I can feel my hands start to shake slightly and every little noise I hear from outside causes my nerves to spike. I don't want anyone else to walk through that door beside Clem. If anyone tries to do something to me and she's not here, I might go into a panic attack. It's a little different with me being the patient this time instead of a spectator, but my anxiety is still in full force. I just want her to come back.

I don't even hear her return, but I feel something being placed on my lap and my eyes open at the sound of her voice. "Violet, it's okay. What's the matter, babe?"

I look up and Clem stands next to me with a concerned look on her face as she stares down at me. I'm quick to bring her into a hug again and I can feel tears slide down my face. "Hey, it's okay. Everythings alright." She tells me while returning the hug. "Look what I brought." She says trying to distract me from my induced fear.

I release her and I finally take notice of what she put on my lap. It's Woody and I don't hesitate to wrap him in my arms and hug him close to my chest. I'm relieved to know that he's okay, though he does smell a bit like a bonfire, not that I really mind.

I can see Clem smile out of the corner of my eye. "He's not all I managed to save." I look towards her and she holds up my backpack. "Great. Out of everything she managed to save, it was my school work that struck her as most important."

But what she pulls out brings an excited smile to my face.

She unzips the bag and produces a certain green and white bear that she gave me. I'd almost forgotten about Clover, but it means the world to me that he's been saved. I take him from Clem and place him with Woody in my lap as well. Though the surprises don't stop there as she pulls out each one of my journals.

"I saw the black and white one on your bed, but I was just lucky that the others happened to already be in your bag. I'm sorry I couldn't do more." She tells me regretfully.

Though I think she's crazy to think that way. She's already gone above and beyond. She rescued everything in that room that actually has importance to me and that's more than I could ever ask for. I kiss her cheek and mouth the words "Thank you" to her before lastly making a heart with my hands.

I see her face turn a slight shade of pink, but I'm not trying to embarrass her this time. I mean it from the bottom of my heart and I smile at her to show how much this has made my day.

Our moment is kind if ruined though, as a nurse walks into the room. Clem watches my body language change in an instant as she approaches. "I told the doctors that you were up. They wanted to check on you." She says as she takes Woody from my lap so he wasn't in the way if the nurse needed to do anything.

I feel like a little kid as she approaches me and I squeeze Clover in my hands. I think she can tell that I'm scared because she talks to me in a calm and soothing voice, though I'm pretty sure she'd do that anyway. "Hello, Violet. My name is Christa." She points to her name tag and then writes her name on this whiteboard that has a list of my medical problems and other hospital information. "Were just going to check over your injuries real quick okay?"

I shake my head because I don't want her to touch me and the heart rate monitor starts to speed up again. "It's okay, honey. I'm not going to hurt you." She tells me softly as she moves to look over the IV that's stuck in my arm. My whole body stiffens at her touch as I tense up, but I don't pull away. It'll only cause more problems if I try to fight her, but that doesn't stop the feeling of how scared I am of her doing something to me.

My anxiety is making my stomach twist and I'm starting to feel sick. Clem's presence is making this a whole lot easier to bear and I think that's one reason they let her stay, but I can't help the pounding of my heart in my chest and the nervous feeling that floods my mind.

Christa goes to check my side, but I wince at the slightest touch and suck in a sharp breath. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Has your side been bothering you?" She asks me to which I nod. Of course, I've experienced pain like this before. Bruised ribs often felt like fire blooming in my side and chest, but It's never hurt to this extent before. "Looks like your due for some pain medication anyway. Wait here, I'll be right back."

She leaves the room and I instantly feel a whole lot calmer and my gip on Clover lessens. Though I can feel Clem's eyes on me. I feel kind of embarrassed for my nerves being so shot during that. I just really don't like anything to do with hospitals and I hope Clem won't think less of me for being scared. So I flinch when her voice reaches my ears.

"Violet, it's alight. You don't have to be scared." I feel my face burn at her words and I'm mortified that she had to watch me panic over nothing. There are some five-year-olds who are braver than me right now. I think Clem can see how uncomfortable I am right now and her expression softens and she kneels down next to me. "Hey, it's okay if it scares you, Vi. You don't like hospitals?"

I shake my head no and I feel like I want to cry right now. Clem sits on the edge of the bed and places a hand on my shoulder as she gently rubs my back. "It's okay, babe. I'll stay with you. It's alright if you're scared."

That's when the nurse comes back and I know Clem can feel me tense up under her touch, but she sends me a reassuring smile and goes to grab my hand. She runs her thumb over the back of my hand and it helps calm me down a bit more.

"Alright, were going to give you a shot of morphine, okay honey," Christa tells me as she reveals a needle. "This is the fastest way to get it into your bloodstream, to help you feel better." I don't like the idea of getting stabbed, but I nod anyway as she cleans an area of my arm with a disinfectant wipe. It's best to just get it over with.

I watch as she brings the needle down to my arm and she tells me that I can look away if I want, but I don't as it's inserted into my arm with a slight pinch. I know most people look away from shots because it's easier to handle if they don't watch, but I can't. I have to watch it. I don't want it to be a surprise when it happens. I'd actually like to know when someone is about to jab me with a needle, thank you very much.

I watch the medicine get injected into my arm and she pulls the syringe out and covers the wound. "There, all done. Let me know if you need anything or if it starts to feel worse, okay?"

I nod to let her know I understand and once she leaves I finally let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I fall back onto the bed and regret the decision because it causes pain to shot throughout my side, but I feel like I can finally relax. I hear Clem giggle and I look at her as she sets Woody back down on the bed. "See, that wasn't so bad."

I send her a halfhearted glare. "Speak for yourself." She wasn't the one who had to get poked with a syringe or who has an IV tube stuck in her arm. Most importantly she has the right to leave this suffocating place, while I'm stuck to endure the terrors of a childhood fear.

Clem only giggles at my reaction and she intertwines are fingers. "I'm proud of you Violet, you were very brave." She runs her thumb over my hand again. "That's my girl."

I get real shy at her words and I can feel myself blush. What I did wasn't that amazing and I feel embarrassed for making such a big deal about it. If I was at a normal doctor's office I would have been fine, but the fact that we're in a hospital has my fear making everything seem worse than it really is. I just want this experience to be over.

Clem can sense my distress and she gets me to look at her. "Hey, will get through this together. Okay?" I nod and send her a sheepish smile and she tucks a strand of hair behind my ear like she always does. "That's my flower."

I send her another shy smile, but I tense up as I hear brisk footsteps out in the hall. I really don't want the nurse to come back again. I just want to be left alone with my girlfriend. But when the person walks through the door, I actually wish it was the nurse this time.

Because I recognize that same blonde hair that I have. It's Stephany...my mom.

So, I know for one thing you're all relieved to know that Violet didn't die. I for one would never have the heart to do that, and I don't know how anyone else does. I might write angst, but I draw the line when it comes to major character deaths.

And I'm sorry this chapter is late. Last few days have been...difficult to say the least. :/

Secret Life of Writing Out! :)