AN: Woohoo! Two chapters in one week! Hell must have frozen over xD

Enjoy!

Ten dead werewolves.

Ten.

Grumman sighed at the thought of that loss. He didn't yet know the identities of those poor souls but the weight of their deaths already sat heavy upon his shoulders.

Riza was alright, thankfully. She had stopped in briefly to see how he was doing before duty called her back to transporting the wounded. The old werewolf couldn't describe his joy upon seeing her not among those ten.

Ten.

Berthold had remained by his side throughout the ordeal, acting as a bodyguard as Pinako worked her magic. Their past had been rocky, and their reunion as well, but Grumman still held a large amount of respect for her. It took great courage to do what she did for his granddaughter. The fact that the woman had helped Riza once more, bringing the young woman back to them after her ordeal… And now, she had saved his life without thinking. Well, Grumman would be thankful to her for the remainder of his long life.

"You should go and get some sleep," Grumman muttered to Berthold. The man had taken up residence in an armchair by his bedside. The attack had been initiated over twenty four hours go and Grumman was fine now physically, but he was exhausted. The news of the death toll just added to it.

Berthold shook his head. "I'm fine."

His body language told Grumman otherwise. His leg bounced on the floor as an outlet for nervous energy. His gaze flicked to the door every time there was movement outside. When Pinako opened the door to check on Grumman, every time his face lit up, only for him to school it back into a neutral expression. The werewolf knew who he was waiting for and Riza would be kept occupied by the wounded for another couple of hours. She wasn't one to leave them behind.

He wasn't sure if Berthold harboured some guilt towards his actions fifteen years ago and that's why he still remained by his side, but Grumman had to admit his constant presence had become irritating. He needed time to shut off and fully absorb what had happened today. People would be looking to him for a plan moving forward. He didn't even know the extent of the damage. All that Havoc had told him was there were ten dead werewolves in the morgue.

"Go outside then," Grumman offered. "Go and find Riza. I will be fine, I just need to sleep."

His son-in-law turned to look at him, as if finally realising how tired Grumman looked. He nodded, leaving his chair. Within ten seconds, Grumman was left alone.

Lying back he sighed deeply when his head hit the pillow. Tears began to escape down his face as he thought of those ten werewolves. The people in this settlement had become his family over the years. Those deaths would not be easy to accept.

"Go inside and get some rest," James told her. "You took in a lot of the poison when you were in the forest and need to get checked out."

Riza knew he was talking sense but at the same time she didn't want to leave him with the clean-up duty alone. Ten werewolves had joined them, each wearing the same grim expression. One had clapped James on the back before pulling him into a hug and offering her condolences, indicating the person James had lost today was also familiar with this woman.

"I can help –" Riza began to offer, but James cut her off.

"Go. You can barely stand up." As if on cue, Riza felt the world spin for a moment. "Go and rest."

Riza finally gave in and nodded. "Stay safe."

"You too."

The walk back to the hospital felt longer than before, but that was probably due to her exhaustion and the fact she was finally alone. She had desperately tried to not let her mind wander now that there was nothing to keep it occupied, but failed. Flashes of Roy and Rebecca lying dead, suffocated by the poison filled her mind. Shoving them out of her head, Riza grit her teeth and picked up the pace.

The hospital was stull bustling when Riza arrived.

"Are you injured?" a male witch asked her brusquely. His ginger hair fell over his face, obscuring his vision but it didn't matter because he didn't even look up from the chart he was writing on.

"I inhaled a lot of the smoke."

His gaze snapped up, a frown on his face. "That was hours ago."

"I'm aware," Riza remarked, his sharp attitude grinding her gears. After the night she had Riza was beyond being courteous to someone with a bad attitude.

"Go through there," he pointed, his attention turning back to the chart. "The witch will help you." Without another word he walked away, moving past her to someone else entering through the main door.

At least the witch who greeted her had a batter attitude. Riza returned her smile with a tired one of her own. Riza recognised the woman. Her name was Christine and she had offered to make potions for the werewolves when they had been planning their assault on the Hunters a few weeks ago. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail but her bangs were tousled, a sign of a long night's work. She looked as tired as everyone else who was working in the hospital.

"How can I help?" Christine asked.

"I inhaled a lot of the smoke while retrieving wolves from the fog," Riza explained.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise while reaching into a box before her on the table. "And you are still standing?"

"I was experimented on by the Hunters a few months ago and I think I developed some kind of immunity to wolfs bane."

Christine gave her a sympathetic look. "I heard how much you helped. You saved my husband."

Riza shot her a surprised look. "I did?"

She nodded. "Man with a mop of black hair. A scar on his right cheek?"

The description held a spark of familiarity to it. In the moment she hadn't paid much attention to their appearance. But he had stood out for Riza because of his desperate questions about the welfare of his wife. Riza assured him that although she didn't know, she would find out for him. The man had passed out just as Riza arrived at the triage.

"How is he?"

"Asking for you," she smiled. "Wanted to thank you for saving his life. I said I would do it on his behalf should we cross paths."

"It was no problem. I'm just happy I could help," Riza smiled. A warmth spread through her. It was something she didn't expect, especially not after the horror of that night, but it was welcome. It felt nice knowing that at least someone she had saved had lived and was awake now.

Christine handed her a strip of pills and held out a syringe. "Do you mind?" she asked, motioning to the instrument.

"Not at all." Riza moved her neck so the woman could access the main artery there. There was a brief prick to her skin followed by a nip of pain then nothing. Christine administered the vaccine and Riza already felt her breathing come easier.

"Take two of those every four hours until the strip is finished. You should be golden after that."

"Thank you for your help."

Christine smiled. "Now go and sleep. Healers orders."

Riza's mouth quirked up in amusement and she turned to leave the room.

She stopped dead as her eyes fell upon Christine's new patient. Her heart leapt into her throat.

Roy looked equally as surprised and relieved as her. The pair stood frozen, as of both brains were stuttering to realise that the other was okay. Riza took a step forward throwing her arms around his neck. Roy wrapped his arms tightly around her back, squeezing tightly.

"You're okay," Riza breathed, bringing a hand up to the back of his head. Pressure built in her throat and she swallowed in an effort to remove it as tears sprung to her eyes. She pulled away and gazed up at his face. There was a red mark on his forehead that told of an old but deep cut. Blood had dried down his face, leaving a trail down to his chin. Some of it had been smeared as if he tried to wipe it away, but forgot about it during the carnage. Lifting a hand, she pressed her fingertips to the mark, stroking his face gently.

"I'm all right," he murmured. God how she had missed hearing that voice. The walls she had built up in an effort to keep her moving forward and working to help the wounded cracked and the emotions she had squashed down threatened to break free. "Are you?" He carried out his own assessment of her, frowning at the red marks she knew were still present under her eyes and around her nose thanks to the poison.

Riza nodded. "Better now I know you are alive."

Once again, Roy bundled her up in her arms. "I thought…"

"Me too," Riza whispered. He didn't need to finish the sentence. Riza had shared those same fears herself. "Is Rebecca…?" she asked as they both pulled apart.

Roy nodded. "She is fine. She was with me the whole time. She kept me in line," he chuckled before his face turned sincere. "She was a big help keeping me grounded."

Riza understood and had felt the same way about James. Just having someone there for her to talk to and direct her, and she him, kept her mind of her inner turmoil. It had been a big help.

"Can I help you?" Christine asked Roy politely. She watched them both fondly, understanding their worry. She had felt the same way about her husband all night. She admired their strength after everything they had been through. Christine wasn't one to listen to gossip but it was difficult not to know what the young couple had been through recently. It warmed her heart to know that they still had each other.

"Oh, uh, no. I just came to see Riza."

"No problem," she replied cheerily.

The pair walked out the room hand in hand. Now that Riza knew he was alive, the relief itself appeared to have turned her limbs to jelly. She leaned against him as they walked, effectively using Roy's body as a crutch. She was exhausted physically and mentally. She needed sleep. But now Roy was back, she didn't want to sleep just yet.

"Riza!" Rebecca cried tearfully upon spotting her in the crowded foyer. Havoc grinned at seeing her, offering her a wave. The two women hugged, Riza thankful once more her pack was okay. "Thank god you are all right! Where have you been?" She gave her old friend a brief description of her night, and Rebecca returned the favour.

"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen," a kindly old Healer interrupted their reunion. "I am sorry to interrupt but could I ask you to leave this area free? We still have a few more patients coming in and at this rate we need all the space we can get in order to hold them." His expression saddened as he finished speaking.

"Of course," Roy replied. "Sorry, we will get out of your hair."

"Thank you."

The four moved outside before Riza stopped. "Wait, Gracia."

"Is she okay?" Roy asked, the relieved look dropping from his face. Worry overtook it.

"I… I don't know. She was when I last checked, but that was around midnight." Without another word, the pair re-entered the hospital. Riza led the way, having already made the journey down this route and it didn't take them long to arrive at Gracia's room. Muffled voices came from the other side of the door. She couldn't pick out who was talking. Her superhuman hearing did nothing for the partially soundproof door. However, Riza took that as a good sign and knocked gently.

"Come in," Maes called.

It was comical, Maes thought, to see all four of his friends poke their heads around the door at the same time. Amusement bubbled in his chest and he chuckled. He jerked his head gently, ushering them further in the room. He turned to his wife, who was watching them with confusion. Her red eyes had been alarming at first, there were no whites to her eyes anymore, just red with a black pupil. The Healer had explained that was what happened when a vampire first changed. After a few weeks, no longer than a month, her eyes would be back to the same colour they had been while she was human. It was simply an effect of the venom and her transformation.

"How are you feeling?" Riza asked Gracia, her smile bright upon seeing her awake and sitting up.

"I'm… all right," she replied after a moment's hesitation. Maes thought she wasn't having too much difficulty adjusting to her new body. He didn't know if it was a gift or not, some vampires did have them, but he was very good at reading people and sensing their emotions. Gracia felt fine to him. But, she hadn't seen herself in a mirror yet.

Everything was the same, except her eyes, and there was a different look about her. She looked stronger. Where imperfections had been on her skin before, they were gone, like the small scar on her cheek from when she had been cutting down the hedge in their garden and a branch had caught her in the face. The scar on her hand she had received while cutting up vegetables for dinner was gone, Maes had also noticed somewhat regretfully. Every time they had held hands he had stroked the scar on her thumb.

"I'm glad to hear it," Riza grinned.

"You helped me, didn't you?" Riza nodded. "Thank you, for helping Maes and Elicia. I wasn't completely awake, but I heard bits of what was going on. Thank you for being there with them."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Riza replied sincerely. That warmed Maes' heart, to know that there were other people out there who were willing to look out for his family. "We're going to take off, but we will catch up with you later, okay?" Gracia nodded, smiling back at the four visitors.

With a few farewells the four were back in the forest and heading back to their cabins. It was still eerily silent. There were no wildlife sounds at all. They had all been scared off. The usual activity that took place in the marketplace was gone. It look abandoned as they walked through silently. Rebecca and Havoc retired to their cabin with a quiet farewell, as if afraid to make too much noise. It was still unnerving to walk through the forest. Riza expected a Hunter to jump out at them at any moment, but it never came. It was surreal to think that it could possibly be all over. The Hunters would always be a threat, no doubt about it, but the group that appeared to be intent on the settlement's extinction was gone. They would have to await an official report with evidence gathered from all residents, but Riza felt excitement and relief course through her at the prospect of finally being free of them.

Roy opened the door and ushered her through without a word. The cabin was warm, the summer sun heating the room so it was the perfect temperature for their arrival.

"What would you say to decorate this house?" Riza asked Roy out of the blue. He turned to her in confusion. This was not something he thought they would be discussing and he was far too tired to even think about that right now.

"Sure. Why?"

"I think it looks really bare. And if we are going to be here long term then it needs a bit of character to it," Riza answered, looking around the room.

"I'm… What?"

She met his gaze. "Would you want to stay here?" she asked. "Long term, I mean. Or would you want to return home?"

"I don't know," he replied, frustration creeping into his voice. "It's not something I kind of want to dive into right now," he stressed, yawning loudly.

Riza hands dropped from her hips. "You're right. We can talk about it later."

Roy nodded, entering their bedroom then bathroom to take a quick shower to wash off the blood on him. As the water hit a cut on his abdomen he hissed in pain. He had let a Hunter get too close. They slid under him, a knife slicing at his belly while he had been a wolf. Roy had got his revenge but luckily, his skin was tough enough to withstand the slice. The skin had begun to heal but it still looked puckered and red. Gently, he removed the dried blood, flinching every time he accidentally let a hand drift too close to it.

When he exited the room with a towel conveniently hiding his wound, he spotted Riza dozing on the bed. He nudged her awake, knowing that she would prefer to have a shower first before falling asleep. He took in her exhausted expression and the red marks around her eyes and nose. They had dulled since he had first saw them in the hospital, thanks to her medication. However he still felt his stomach twist at the memory of not knowing where she was or if she was even alive during the last twelve hours.

"Riza," he called softly, crouching at her head. She stirred, muttering "five more minutes", which made Roy chuckle to himself. "Time to shower. You will thank me for it later." Her hair was greasy and her skin was dirty with mud. Her clothes were no better, leaving stains on the bedsheets. Another task for tomorrow, Roy sighed to himself.

Ten minutes later they were both in bed. Roy hugged her tightly to his chest with his left hand and kissed the top of her head once they were settled. Riza hummed her approval and closed her eyes, hugging into his right arm that was positioned under her neck. She gripped that hand tightly, anchoring herself to him.

"Just so you know," Roy softly announced. "Just so there is no doubt, I want to stay wherever you are. Whether that is here or at my Aunt's, it doesn't matter. As long as we're together."

Riza was silent after he spoke. He thought she had fallen asleep. But, her reply came in the form of a happy sigh.

"Me too."