Note: I got asked to update more often. haha So, here is the next chapter. I have the chapter after this partially written. My kid has been sick the last few days and still is. So, I've been dealing with that among working and everything else in my life. haha So, I'll try to update every day or so on this story, specifically. :) Thank you for reading and commenting and favoriting and following. I'm loving all of the comments I'm getting. :)

Adrien woke up to the room spinning. He went to touch his head, only to find himself strapped down. Three thick tan bands ran across his body, holding his arms at his sides and his legs together. He wiggled his body and hit his head against the pillow. Anger boiled up as he realized he was in a small white room with no windows, except the one in the door.

"You got yourself in here, kid." Plagg snickered as he spun around the ceiling, mocking him. "Shouldn't have gotten so angry."

Adrien swallowed hard and screamed out as he realized how trapped he was. There was no way out and he was stuck to the bed. Marinette wasn't there anymore and he was stuck, alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that kept looping over and over again. It was just him and Plagg. Hope quickly faded from his being as he held still and let go.

Tears fell from his eyes as he sobbed, realizing that no one could hear him. He felt alone and forgotten. He hated himself and everything that was in his life. Hated being alone. It was like he was back in his bedroom with less freedom than before and it killed him. He was quickly punched into madness.

Adrien didn't know how long he had been in that room. The only way to keep track was by the meals that came through the door. Meals that he was force fed through a G-tube in his stomach. Which, he had no recollection of when that had been put in.

A ghost of Marinette visited him every so often and made him question whether she was still alive or not. Sometimes she spoke and other times she would just linger.

Little by little and day by day, he began to wonder when he'd be free to see her. When he'd get to hold her again. When he'd get to hear her speak again. He spent his nights crying himself to sleep, feeling like a part of him was gone.

Dr. Fu would visit and he would only ask of her. He made no progress other than gaining weight. He stressed out about missing the photography session and Dr. Fu just kept telling him to forget about it. That it wasn't important, but he knew that it was to his father. That he would pay for missing it. Although, a big part of him didn't seem to care what his father would do to him.

Nurse Bustier rarely saw him, other than to give him meds or feed him. She'd take him to the bathroom to shower and take care of other essentials before returning him to his room. If you even would call it a room. Adrien liked to call it his cell. It felt more like jail than anything else and he began to cherish moments of going to the bathroom because it was the only time he was free from the bed.

000

Marinette stood on the smoking porch and stared out at the clouds. She leaned on the banister with crossed arms and sighed. Every little footstep made her jump and her heart race because she thought it was Adrien finally being released. She missed him to no end and every moment apart made her hurt more and more. A hole in her chest had opened up and each day that passed only made it expand.

"She hasn't smiled or reacted to anyone in days." Alya whispered to Juleka and Rose. "I haven't even seen her play games or watch movies. She just goes to the porch and waits. Poor girl."

Nino stared at Alya and walked out towards Marinette. He rested his elbows on the banister and lit up a cigarette. "Hey." He blew out smoke and Marinette ignored him. "I know you miss him. We all do. I'm sure he's still around. I- I'm not sure if what I'm saying is even getting through to you. Look." Nino sighed and put his cigarette in between his lips. "When he first got here. He gave me this thing. It used to help me out. To know that I had someone there. Since, I'm leaving soon and you seem pretty stuck to him. Look, he'd uh… he'd want you to have it." Nino pulled something out from his pocket and gently set it down on the banister beside her arms.

Marinette ignored him. Nino put out his cigarette and tapped the wooden banister. "Alright, well… I'll see you around."

She sniffed and snatched the carved ladybug rock from beside her that Nino had left. She held it in her palm and rubbed her thumb against it's back like a worry stone, feeling the grooves that created the spots.

She zoned out on the smooth feeling of the rock in contrast to the spots. Tears fell from her eyes as she stood in silence.

"Marinette?" Nurse Bustier walked up to her with a soft voice. "It's time for your therapy."

She nodded and followed her to Dr. Fu's office. Dr. Fu sat at his desk and waited for her to sit down on the familiar couch.

"So, how are we doing today?" Dr. Fu tried to ask her something. Tried to get her to answer him, but she stayed silent. "Are we going to talk today?"

Marinette kept her face blank and swallowed hard as she kept her hair as a dark veil in front of her face.

"Let's begin as we usually do. Draw how you perceive yourself." Dr. Fu passed her a blank sheet of paper and a crayon.

Marinette drew herself as a broken doll that lacked emotion. Cracks ran through her skin and she wore a torn dress. She passed it back to him and Dr. Fu added it to her file.

"So, you see yourself as broken." Dr. Fu wrote a note down as she sat still. She didn't nod or respond to his statement. "Alright, let's move on to your tests."

He slid her the anxiety and depression tests. Marinette filled them out without much thought, scoring high on both. Dr. Fu sighed and set his hands down on top of her file. "Does any of this have to do with Adrien being gone?"

Marinette sniffed and continued to hide in her hair as she played with the stone between her hands.

"You miss him." Dr. Fu sighed and wrote something down. "He is dangerous. Too dangerous to have around the other patients."

Marinette clenched the rock in her fist as her body shook with anger. She was sick of hearing that he was dangerous and bad. She was sick of being kept from him for weeks. She was sick and tired of him being treated like an animal.

"For your safety and others we had him moved to his own special room." Dr. Fu sighed as he tapped his pen on his desk. "He's not doing so well."

Marinette tried to keep her composure as Dr. Fu talked about him.

"But he is getting better." Dr. Fu sighed as he watched Marinette slowly get more upset. "Well, weight wise."

Marinette swallowed hard and got lost in her thoughts.

"Well, I think we're done here." Dr. Fu dismissed her and Nurse Bustier took her out of the room.

Marinette was lead back to her room, but she shook her head and ran to the smoking porch to wait like she did every night.

Nurse Bustier sighed and shook her head. She hated seeing them so upset. This separation wasn't helping, but there was nothing that she could do. It was out of her hands.

000

Adrien laid in bed as the room spun once again. Plagg swirled in circles along the ceiling with stars. Adrien hummed a tune as he watched them spin.

"Marinette has probably forgotten about you." Plagg smirked as he spun around and around. "She probably doesn't even think about you anymore. How long have you been stuck here?"

Adrien chuckled as the pain kicked in. Sometimes it was easier to laugh than to feel the pain of losing her.

The door opened and Nurse Bustier walked in with a cart. She undid his straps and helped him sit up. Nurse Bustier took out a syringe and pulled his shirt up. She opened the stopper on his G-tube and inserted the syringe. She pulled back on it, causing stomach acid to come up into it. Nurse Bustier nodded and pushed the plunger to send the liquid back in. She hooked a bag of liquid food onto an I.V stand and connected the end to his G-tube. Adrien zoned out on the ceiling, while she let the liquid diet slowly spill down the long tube and into him.

"She misses you." Nurse Bustier smiled down at his blank gaze. "Every day, she waits on the smoking porch. Even at night. She refuses to sleep. Refuses to stay in her room. Just waiting for you to appear."

Adrien swallowed hard as tears fell from his eyes. "When can I see her?" His voice was broken as he zoned out on Plagg.

"I don't know. It's not up to me." Nurse Bustier sighed as she disconnected the bag from the G-tube and began to hook him up to the amount of water he was prescribed. "I wish I could let you two talk, even for a moment." She waited for the water to be gone; before, she unhooked him from the tube and put the plug back in.

Adrien swallowed hard as she put his shirt back down. "I hate this."

"I'm sorry." Nurse Bustier sighed as she worried her bottom lip. She passed him his cup of pills. "Here you go." She passed him a cup of water.

He took both of them and passed them back. "Does she still smile? Giggle?"

Nurse Bustier shook her head as he laid back down. She put the straps back over him. "No."

Adrien felt like crying. Felt like it was all his fault. "It's my fault isn't it? Because I scared her. I yelled at her. I shouldn't have yelled at her. She was only trying to help me and I broke her again."

"No, it's not your fault." Nurse Bustier sighed as she took the cart and opened the door to leave. "I'll be back later."

Adrien waited for the door to close; before, he burst into tears and cried hysterically.

000

"Marinette?" Nurse Bustier walked out to the smoking porch and smiled for her.

Marinette kept her back to her and didn't turn to look at her. Nurse Bustier worried her bottom lip and touched her shoulder. "Follow me." She sighed and Marinette clutched onto the banister. "Please for once do what I ask." She begged the girl, who stood unmoving.

Marinette kept hold of the banister and Nurse Bustier gave up. She walked off to Dr. Fu's office, losing all hope.

Nurse Bustier knocked on his door and Dr. Fu let her inside.

"What is it?" Dr. Fu sat down at his desk and waited for her to answer.

"I need to talk to you about Marinette and Adrien. Again." Nurse Bustier sighed as she set her hands on his desk.

"What about them?" Dr. Fu wrote down some notes and waited for her to respond.

"Adrien is literally hallucinating and staring at a ceiling for hours. Marinette won't leave the smoking porch and hasn't improved. If anything, she has gone backwards. And the only reason that Adrien is gaining weight is because we are force feeding him. He was eating when Marinette was with him. On his own. Don't you see the problem here?" Nurse Bustier was desperate.

"Yes, but he was hiding vomit in ziplock bags behind his bed. Ziplocks that his father's assistant was smuggling in for him." Dr. Fu scribbled down some stuff as Nurse Bustier tried to make her point.

"Look, I can't get that girl to move for the life of me and Adrien is a wreck. You started this hospital to make a difference on the mental health system and right now you're breaking it. You're becoming just like those other places. Don't you see that? I started here because I believed in your mottos. Believed in your words and yet here we are… torturing two lost souls! And for WHAT? What are you accomplishing by doing this?" Tears fell from Nurse Bustier's eyes. "You don't have to go in there and feed him. You don't have to walk him to the restroom. You don't have to pry that poor girl from the smoking porch while she gets excited about every footstep she hears. Hoping and dreaming that it's him!"

Dr. Fu nodded as he smiled up at her. "Then, put them back together."

"WHAT?" Nurse Bustier burst out at him. "WHY NOW?" She was exhausted after weeks of watching them break and fall.

"You said it yourself. They're only getting worse and the only reason that Adrien is getting better is because we are force feeding him when Marinette was already succeeding in that department. "So, put them back together."

Nurse Bustier rubbed her eyes and sighed. "What was the point?"

"Well, if you say that they aren't doing well alone… then fix it." Dr. Fu waved her off and Nurse Bustier felt like crying.

"BUT WHAT WAS THE POINT?" Nurse Bustier burst out at him one more time and Dr. Fu put down his pen.

"I needed to have them separated because of his outburst. I wasn't sure if he was safe or not around her. But, I have come to realize that he was only protecting her from himself. And she is clearly worried about him and it's holding her back. She's worse than before. So, it's not working out in my favor. Let him return to his old room. Maybe work some magic for Marinette." Dr. Fu winked and Nurse Bustier rolled her eyes.

She left to Adrien's room as she grumbled under her breath. Screams echoed down the long hallway from the other rooms. As she approached his room, there was silence.

Nurse Bustier entered his room and took in his saddened expression.

She sighed and undid his straps, one at a time. "I need a big favor from you."

Adrien blinked and peered up at her with swollen red eyes. "What?"

"Walk to the smoking porch." Nurse Bustier left him with that sentence as she opened the door and closed it behind her.

Her words took a while to reach his brain. Once they did, his heart raced. Adrien fixed his hair the best he could and threw the door open. He walked down the hallway as fast as he could and stopped at the front desk.

The nurse gave Adrien a cigarette and a match, letting him go. He quickly made his way to the common area and stopped when he saw Marinette staring up at the stars. His lips parted as the light from the moon made her skin glow. She looked ethereal and gorgeous. More gorgeous than he thought was possible. She was a goddess among the stars. He felt like he didn't deserve her. That she was so high above him that he didn't belong.

His hands trembled as he watched her lean on the banister. He stuck his cigarette between his lips and struck the match on the wall, setting his cigarette on fire. He waved the match and took a deep breath, closing his eyes to prepare himself.