Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Labyrinth. All I own is Bree, Cameron and Cameron's mommy, what's-her-name, and I don't like her at all. She's mean.

CHAPTER 3 ABOVEGROUND:

Bree lay in bed, huddled over her arm while she sliced it gently. She wallowed in the pain as the blood began to flow gently.

::They all hurt me.::

She sliced her arm again.

::They might pretend they care.::

As she sliced once more, her thoughts drifted to her mother.

::They might pretend they want to be with me.::

Cameron filled her thoughts, with his dancing eyes and his silky dark hair.

As she moved to slice again, a hand caught her wrist. She jumped and turned to face Cameron.

"You scared the crap out of me."

He looked at his hand, now covered with her blood, then at her right wrist, then to the razor blade in her left hand. His eyes, overflowing with confusion, raised to look into her gray ones. "I don't understand."

"What's not to understand?" she retorted, and moved to yank her wrist away from him. He held it tightly- not to keep her there, but as in shock.

"Why do you do it?"

She rolled her eyes. "I dunno."

"Then why do you do it?"

Obviously he wasn't going to let go. She sighed and crossed her legs to sit comfortably on the bed.

"It's this thing about humans. It's creating pain to distract you from other pain. It's like when you twist your ankle then pinch your arm to lessen the pain of your ankle."

"Or when your heart is broken and your mind is tortured, and you cut your wrists with a blade in the dark of night." He responded once again looking down at her wrist.

He averted his eyes. "Why do you hurt yourself so?"

He raised her arm and kissed her cuts one by one, and they healed quickly. He moved his unbloodied hand to rest on her face.

"Because no one cares. Because no one wants me to stop. Because no one bothers to notice. Because no one stays with me-"

"Your mother stayed with you."

"Just because she lives in the same house doesn't mean she's all there."

Cameron kissed her gently and quickly. "I'm sure she loves you. I'm sure she cares."

"If she did, she'd pay attention."

"So this is a cry for attention? You have mine."

She looked at him, disgusted. "It's not a cry for attention. I already explained it to you. It just hurts that she doesn't notice."

"I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore, Brigid. You have me. You don't need to worry about anything anymore."

He kissed her one more time, romantically, like one of those kisses must feel like in the fairy tales when the princess and the prince have fallen in love. He kissed her softly, with feeling and she kissed him back, comfortable and safe in his arms.

He pulled back and Bree saw he was confused, but she thought it was for a different reason.

"I'm needed back home." He said softly, avoiding her eyes. "I'll be back soon. If you'll call for me."

He disappeared as Bree whispered "I will."

UNDERGROUND:

"I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore, Brigid? You have me? You don't need to worry about anything anymore?" Cameron flopped down on his luxurious silk bed.

::What possessed me to say that?::

He knew the answer to that, but refused to admit it.

::What possessed me to kiss her like that?::

He knew the answer to that also, but refused to admit it.

::What possessed me to leave her like that?::

That stray thought struck him dumb.

::Can I be falling for the girl I can't fall for?::

Cameron shook his head. Of course he wasn't. That would be a stupid thing to do, and he never did stupid things.

But there was always a first time for everything, wasn't there?

"Cameron?"

Brigid. She was calling for him.

ABOVEGROUND:

"Brigid?" Cameron crept over to her bed.

She lay there, sobbing. He took a step back. He'd never seen he lose her tough shell, no matter what the subject of discussion was.

"Here." She choked out.

"What's wrong? What's the matter?" he barely touched her cheekbone with his fingertips.

"I. I didn't." she sobbed.

Cameron pulled her into his arms. "Shhhh. What is it."

"I didn't. didn't think you'd. that you'd come." Cameron closed his eyes with shame.

"I'll always come. I- I think I love you." There. He'd said it.

And with that she sobbed some more. He held her in his arms through the long night, never once leaving her side.

~*~*~*~*~

"BREE!" Bree leapt up, shocked awake, as Cameron stirred next to her.

Her mother stood gaping at them from the doorway. "WHAT?? WHAT IN THE HELL!?"

"Mother."

"WHO? BRIGID!"

"Ugh." She covered her red face with her hands.

Cameron stood up, and held out his hand to Bree's mother. "Sarah, I presume."

"You." Sarah sneered. "I know who I am, who are YOU?!"

"Mother, please, calm down."

"Calm down!? CALM DOWN!?!" Sarah shrieked and turned away from her daughter to face the inhumanly handsome man in front of her. "WELL? WHO IN THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"My name is Cameron, ma'am." He realized at Bree's groan and Sarah's gasp of surprise that he had done his second stupid thing in less than eight hours. He scolded mentally berated himself. This wasn't a good habit to get into.

"You told me he wasn't real!" Sarah turned to her daughter.

"I lied to you! Just like I always do!" Bree shouted back. "And you told me his father wasn't real!"

"It was to protect you!"

"How in God's name is that supposed to protect me?!"

Sarah, exasperated, turned from her daughter to look at the heir to the Goblin throne. "You. Out."

He moved to leave.

"No, Cameron. Stay." Brigid. He looked from her to her mother, but stayed.

"What are you doing?!" Sarah yelled at her child.

"It's not my fault you didn't tell me! And it's not his!" Cameron locked his eyes on the ceiling, gazing intently.

"Well, this whole deal is your fault, Bree! When a strange man appeared in your bedroom, you should have come straight to me."

"I tried to but he stopped me!" Cameron felt his face grow red. He didn't realize a Fae could be this embarrassed.

Bree continued. "Anyway, everything's always all my fault, isn't it? It's my fault you lost your acting job, it's my fault your parents disowned you, and it's my fault that my father left."

Apparently, a Fae could get a lot more embarrassed than he had thought.

"Well, I'm sorry to say it mother, but those are all your fault! It's your fault you got knocked up, and it's your fault that the guy who did the honors wasn't man enough to stick around!"

Cameron wondered if wanting to dig a hole and crawl into it was a common feeling when embarrassed.

Sarah glared at Bree, then Cameron, then Bree again. She threw her hand up in defeat and whirled on her heel, slamming the door shut as she left the room.

Bree collapsed on her bed. Cameron walked over and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder and smoothing her hair.

"I never knew a Fae could be embarrassed before today." He said, for lack of anything else to say.

"I'm sorry." She started to move away.

"No, no. That's all right. It's a good thing to know." He chuckled, and a slight grin appeared on her face.

"What do you think she's going to do?" Bree asked him.

He leaned down and kissed her softly. "I don't know, Brigid. I really don't know."

"What would your father do?"

Cameron closed his eyes. "I can't even imagine."