Hey! I'm not sure how to explain myself, but after four years of not updating this fanfiction, I have decided to come back to it with fresh eyes. Hope you guys enjoy!

I sat at the kitchen table, across from Sheik, Midna, Ilia and Link. The tension that stood between the five of us became more and more tangible the longer the silence went on. I didn't know what else to say. After Link found Ganondorf kissing me without my consent, he comforted me, took me home, and convinced me that I would be safer if my family knew about the quiet harassment that Ganon had been putting me through for the past few weeks. I reluctantly agreed, despite the growing fear that Ganon could be a serious threat to the most important people in my life. I called my family together and Link aided me as I told them about the flowers, the kiss in the hallway, the mysterious connection to the death of my parents; everything. The silence that followed, I could only assume, was a sign of processing.

"Zelda why didn't you tell us about this?" Minda broke the silence, looking up from where she was nervously shredding a napkin to lock eyes with me. She looked hurt. And scared. I was flooded with an overwhelming sense of guilt.

"I-I was scared." I managed to choke out around the quickly forming lump in my throat. "I've never had anything like this happen to me before and I didn't want him to hurt you guys."

"So you were just going to let him hurt you instead?!" Midna stood up, fists clenched, tears in her eyes.

"Okay, let's just calm down for a minute here." Sheik put his hand on Midna's shoulder. "Zelda's obviously really distressed." Midna threw Sheik's hand off of her shoulder.

"Yeah well so am I." She yelled. "You could have gotten really hurt you know! What if Link didn't find you. What if…." She trailed off, biting her lip to stop herself from crying. Ilia took a deep breath and reached for my hand.

"She's right you know. He could have really hurt you." She rubbed circles into the back of my hand with her thumb.

"I know that." I said. "Of course I know that. But I couldn't stand the thought of him hurting you guys. If I put you guys in danger than I would never forgive myself." I looked down at my hands again for what seemed like the thousandth time in the last ten minutes. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Midna standing over me, a hard resolve in her eyes.

"I want to get one thing straight here. You are not putting anyone in danger here. Ganondorf is. He is the one that is doing this to you and you should NOT feel responsible for anything that HE chooses to do."

"We are going to be here for you no matter what." Sheik chimed in. "We are your family. We love you and we are going to figure this out. Together."

I stood up and moved toward Minda and Ilia.

"I love you guys." I sobbed as I gave them both the biggest bear hug that I could muster. Within seconds I could hear Link and Sheik moving to join the group hug.

"We love you too Zelda." I heard Midna whisper into my ear. The five-person-hug broke up in a tangle of limbs and tears.

"Well I guess I'd better get home." Link shrugged and moved to pick his keys up off of the counter. I started to feel queasy at the thought of not being with him. He was the only person who has been able to make me feel safe in the past week and I didn't want that feeling of safety to go away.

"Wait!" I grabbed his arm from where I was sitting at the table. He looked at me with concern in his clear blue eyes. "Would you maybe want to…stay?" I looked at Sheik for confirmation that it was ok, hoping that he would see the desperation in my eyes. I knew that I would sleep easier if he were in the house. Sheik looked at me for a moment.

"Yeah Link." He suddenly broke the silence. "It's late, and you've had done a lot for our girl today. Why don't you crash on our couch?" I smiled. Of course Sheik would insist that Link sleep on the couch. I don't think that he will ever stop being so protective over me. Usually I would find it annoying, but after the week that I've had, I couldn't be more grateful for it.

"I'd love to." Link smiled that crooked smile that always melted my heart. I beamed at Sheik and mouthed Thank you. He responded with a wink.

"Okay then! I'm going to go get ready for bed." I turned to Link. "And I'll grab you some clothes and some blankets in a few minutes." I leaned in, kissed his cheek, and rushed out of the room before Midna could tease me about my display of affection. I bounded up the stairs to and burst into my room, and as soon as I closed the door, my weariness hit. It felt like I hadn't slept in years. My limbs suddenly felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each. Somehow I managed to drag my slow body over to my dresser, and change into my pajamas. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, dodging around Minda and Sheik who were also getting ready for bed. After I was satisfied with my bedtime routine, I rummaged through my closet for some extra blankets, and through Sheik's closet for some pajamas.

I ran back downstairs with my arms full of blankets to where Link was waiting on the couch. He looked up at me with tired eyes.

"Hey." He smiled at me.

"I brought you some blankets, and some of Sheik's pajamas. I think he's a little taller than you but they should fit fine otherwise. The couch is pretty comfortable, but if you can't sleep there's tea in the cupboard. The kettle is under the si-"

"Zellie." Link interrupted me by standing up and putting his hands on my shoulders. "Just relax. I'll be fine. I'm just glad that I'm able to stay here with you tonight. I feel safer when I'm able to keep an eye on you." He leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"I'm glad you're staying too. Being here with you tonight is the first time I've felt safe in a week." I chuckled in spite of myself and rubbed my eyes. "I just can't believe that this is happening to me, you know? This doesn't happen to real people. This kind of thing happens to people in movies." A lump formed in my throat and tears threatened to fall for what seemed like the thousandth time that night.

"Hey hey hey." Link crooned while rubbing my back. "Come here. Sit down." I sat down next to him on the couch. He put his arm around me, and I buried my face in his neck, breathing in his scent. "It's going to be ok. I'm here. We are going to figure this out." I scooted even closer to him, wanting to absorb as much of the warmth and comfort he was providing me as possible.

"Thank you." I whispered. "Thank you for being here. It really means a lot to me."

"Of course, Zellie." Link murmured into my hair. "You couldn't keep me away." I breathed deeply, comforted by Link slowly rubbing circles into my back, and felt myself drifting into a deep sleep for the first time in a week.