The sunlight fought passed the snow, sending weak but noticeable rays through the clouds. It was still snowing, but the snow had at least went down enough. Hopefully they would be able to go home, something they both wanted.

However, in the all consuming grip of sleep, desires were not played upon. No, for some, the exact opposite was what they went through: fear.

He opened his eyes and looked around. Everything seemed in place. Maxie was still sleeping, looking like the angel that he knew she was. He smiled and moved out from under the grip of her arm, working carefully so that he did not wake her up. Covering her up with some more of the blanket, Damian walked over to the window, looking out at the city. The crowd had dispersed and the place looked a lot better. It was no longer snowing, in fact, it was sunny. He opened the door to the balcony, walking out in only his pajamas while he looked out and saw the birds fly by, a truly serene sight. But birds didn't really fly around in the dead of winter, did they?

Before he had time to comprehend what was going on the sunlight slowly started to ebb, the clouds returning and covering the radiance. He heard the sound of thunder and lightning in the distance and then the slight sound of raindrops hitting the awning above his head. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes it was raining, but it wasn't raining water… was it raining… blood?

"Maxie!" He cried out to her as he turned around and walked back into the room. "Maxie… something's…" he stopped himself as he looked on in horror.

"Surprised to see me?"

Damian shook his head. It was a dream, it had to be a dream. "You can't be here, Alcazar, you're dead!"

"And I look it," Lorenzo was little more than an animated corpse. He opened the flap of his jacket, "You want to see the fatal wound you inflicted upon me? I can guarantee that it isn't pretty…"

"Maxie!"

"She can't hear you, Zuniga," Alcazar smiled devilishly as he pulled a bloodied knife out of his pocket. "Remember this? The same thing I used to make it appear that you were dead to your father. Given the outcome of that altercation I realized that appearances weren't enough… so I took the liberty of guaranteeing the outcome." He turned Maxie's head so that Damian could see her. Her throat was slit, blood staining her pajamas, running into her hair.

"No…"

"You're going to destroy everything that you touch, Zuniga. Everything that you love. You are not worthy of the love that people give you. You never were."

"Shut up!"

Lorenzo grinned even wider. "I can feel it inside of you, Damian. The feeling of hatred that is swelling, growing, taking over your heart. You want revenge for what I just did to you, don't you? Go ahead and take it…"

He blinked again and by the time his eyes were opened he could both see and feel the cold metal of the gun in his hand. "No…"

"If you don't destroy me now, Zuniga, I'll go after your family and your friends. Nobody will be safe, not even your father… or your brothers."

"You're lying!"

"Are you willing to take that risk?" Alcazar closed his eyes. "I'll even give you a clean shot…"

The gun went off, but he swore that he didn't pull the trigger. Maybe it just became second nature, as natural as breathing.

"You can't avoid it, Damian," Alcazar stated meekly. "Damian…"

"Damian?" Maxie had been forced awake by the sound of her boyfriend's turmoil. He was talking in his sleep, but it was more than just talking, he was almost yelling. It was obvious to see that whatever he was going through was painful to him. His body had become covered in sweat. "Damian! Wake up!"

His eyes bolted open as he sat up, the beads of sweat that had gripped onto his hair begin flung off by the sudden movement. His breathing was heavy as he looked around again. Everything was the same, or was it?

"You scared me…"

He heard her, but he wasn't sure if it was just a figment of his imagination. Damian placed his hands on his temples, very much like his father, as he tried to understand what was going on.

"What was it?" She crawled over to him, grabbing his hand. She wasn't going to let go, not until she knew what was wrong.

"Maxie…"

"What? Talk to me… please. You're still scaring me."

"Just hold me…"

She wasted no time in complying with the request, even with his drenched body, she reached over with her arms and refused to release him. "What happened?"

"I thought… I thought you were gone."

"Where would I go?"

"No, I mean… Alcazar killed you, he came back… and…"

She shushed him, her eyes showing how much she wanted to help him but also showing the fear of the fact that she probably couldn't really help him. He was beyond help that she could give him, or anyone else for that matter. "It was just a dream, Damian. Everything is going to be all right."

"I shot him…"

"You did it to protect your father."

"No, I mean I shot him again, in the dream… I had a gun, I don't know where I got it, but I had one and he was right there and he told me to shoot him again… and I wanted him dead… or even more dead, because of what he had done to you."

"He's gone, he won't come back."

"He always comes back, Maxie!" Damian knew that Alcazar was a ghost that would never let his own mind be at ease.

"You've had these dreams before?"

"Not like that… but yeah. I have them a lot…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because… because I didn't know how to tell you. Look at what they do to me, Maxie… look." He showed her his hand, which was shaking despite his best efforts to calm his nerves.

"The only one who can make these dreams go away is you, Damian," Maxie grabbed his face with her hands. "You're stronger than this, I know you are. You're the strongest person I've ever met… you don't give up, ever. You've fought back from the brink of death and you've made it out without any problems. I know you can do this. Don't give up."

"I wish I didn't kill him…"

"I know you do."

"Why can't I get over it?" He closed his eyes, "I know that I had to do it, I know that… everyone keeps on telling me that I did what was necessary and I know that they're right, but I can't stop thinking about it!"

"A man is dead because of what you did, you're not like your father or Jason, you don't do this for a living…"

"You're not supposed to know that."

"But I do, I've seen it firsthand. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what happens in your fathers life… not that we don't all know, but you can trust me."

"I know I can trust you."

"Then trust me when I say that what you did wasn't a bad thing. Alcazar was going to kill your father, he kidnapped you and your aunt… you didn't have a choice. You feel bad because you're just like that… but you don't have to keep on beating yourself up about it. Damian, you're going to drive yourself insane while you worry about what you did and why… I don't want to lose you."

"Maxie…"

"If I could offer you some magical medicine that would make everything seem like it was better, I would, but nobody has that power. Not even your father."

"He can't know about this…"

"You should tell him…"

"I know I should tell him, but I don't want to. At least not yet. He knows how much this is affecting me, if I keep on letting it bother me, if I show that to him, I don't know what he'll do. I don't want him worrying about me."

"You're his son… he's going to worry about you all the time no matter what you do."

"Maxie, you need to promise me that you won't tell him anything. Please!"

She'd never seen him that vulnerable in her life. She knew that he was probably more tore up when he had to go to the church and revisit the painful memories of his mother's passing, but she wasn't there to witness that. All she saw was the fact that her boyfriend was on the verge of tears and he was looking to her to help keep his secrets, secrets that she knew would destroy him if he let them. She just had to make sure that they didn't. "I won't…"

"Promise me…"

"I promise that I won't tell your father anything about this, but you have to promise me that you'll stop worrying about it so much…"

"All right," he nodded. "I promise." He knew that he needed to stop worrying about the past so much. It couldn't be changed, and deep down he knew that he wouldn't change it if he had the chance. If he had another chance to take back everything that had happened on that night he knew that he wouldn't take it. He could have just injured Alcazar, but then Sonny would have killed him and Damian would have worried about his father murdering a man because of him. It was easier the way that things had happened, not much easier, but easier nonetheless.

"Why don't you go take a shower?" Maxie suggested. "The warm water will help calm you down."

"That's a good idea." Damian stood up and started towards the door, but he looked over at Maxie, who was looking at him and he could see that she wanted to do more for him. He wanted more from her. He didn't want to be alone. "Could… could you come with me?"

"You want me to stay outside the shower…"

"No… take one… with me…"

"Damian…"

"Please, Maxie, I don't want to be alone right now." He didn't want to leave her alone, either. He wasn't superstitious, but he could be at ease knowing that she was right there with him.

"You're sure about this?" Even if he said that he was, she knew she wouldn't fully believe that he was. "I don't want you to regret anything…" she could handle not having sex with him, even though it was hard at times, but she couldn't handle him looking at her with guilty eyes.

"Any regrets that I would have wouldn't be from you. But if you don't want to… I can't make you."

She stood up and walked over to him, holding his hand as she opened the bathroom door. "Come on." Maxie had no real expectations. She didn't even think that she could help him, despite his claims that she could. All she knew was that she needed to be there for him, clothed or not. She loved him too much to watch him slip down that road.