"Rose! What on earth are you talking about? You're coming home with us." She looked distraught. "You can't stay here. You have to come home for the funeral and for healing."

Rose turned her head, gazing softly at the woman that had raised her since she was a teen, "I used to live here, you know. Sam told me that we had that first crash here… I want to stay… try and find… what I've been missing for so long." She tried to sit up, tears forming in her eyes. Thomas gently pushed her back down, shaking his head with a crease between his brows that she took as worry, "I'm alright… I can't really feel much of anything." She assured him. He looked around and pressed the up button, raising the head of her bed slightly, "Ah… thank you."

Dylan returned a moment later, "Who's this big guy? A new friend you've made?"

"More like an old friend, Mom, Dad, this is Thomas. He was a friend of mine when I was… still living here. Before the first car crash." She explained. "I think Sam called him because he knew he'd come and keep an eye on me."

Her father looked him up and down suspiciously. He was certainly big enough to take care of his little girl but he seemed too close to her for comfort. Though who was he kidding it wasn't like he was able to stop her from seeing anyone, "Martha, we can't force her to come back with us. She's 32."

"But she's hurt and she's our baby. She needs to be home with us." Martha looked up at him stubbornly, her jaw set and mouth firm.

"Mama, please, I'll come home for the funeral but after that… I'm going to come back out here." She told her softly. "I'm not hurt too bad, right Sam?"

"Right. Doc said she'd be okay to leave in a few days, maybe less if there aren't any complications. Thomas' family already said they have a room for her to stay in while she looks for a job and a house around here." He lied so smoothly even Rose was impressed with him.

She looked around at her family and at Thomas, finally realizing he looked completely different, "Thomas where did you get those scrubs from?" He pointed to the nurse's station, motioning that they made him shower and change clothes. "Ohhh, I guess they didn't want a big dirty man wandering around the ICU." She teased him, feeling a lot better than she had yesterday. Her electrolytes and fluids had been balanced back out but she was starving. "Let's talk about all this moving places stuff later, I'm hungry, are you guys hungry?"

Thomas nodded and Sam agreed verbally, Martha and Dylan exchanged looks, their expressions strained with mutual worry for their adopted children and grief for their son.

Sam went out to the nurse's station, asking them to call down to the cafeteria to place five orders for breakfast. They were a little surprised by the amount but seeing how many people they had it made sense. Rose held Thomas' hand as she relaxed, her wound started to ache but she didn't say anything about it. She didn't want to worry them, but like clockwork a nurse came in to give her some more medications, asking if it was alright that her family was still in the room for it. "It's fine, really, it's nothing they haven't seen before." She closed her eyes contently as she felt Thomas' thumb rub over the back of her hand.

Was she really going to stay with him? He was a murderer. They were protecting murderous cannibals. It sounded so horrible she could barely comprehend it but she knew what had gone on in that basement. She wanted to forget it but she couldn't. There was just… something about knowing that he could slaughter her without hesitation… Her face started to turn red as she thought about it and her heart started to speed up. She quickly tried to brush off the facts and push it down, at least until she wasn't hooked up to any machines.

Her mother reached over and touched her forehead, "Are you feeling alright? Your face is red and warm… do you have a fever…?" Rose shook her head, "Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Mama, I'm fine, I promise." She murmured, unable to meet her eyes because she was staring at Thomas' hand covering her own. She'd known him before. He'd never really felt like a stranger to her. "I'm fine…" Her voice grew tight and broke at the end. "Mama… why didn't anyone tell me about where I was from? About my family, about the friends I used to have… Why did all of this have to happen just so that I could finally know about it…?"

She sat down on her bed, kissing her cheek, "To be honest, your father and I had no idea what your life was like before. Sam knew, but he hated to talk about it, so… there wasn't much that we could tell you. We knew that you mother was a lawyer and your father was a veterinarian. They were a huge part of the community and there was almost a bidding war over who was going to take care of you and Sam but Sam demanded to be taken out of state. He didn't want you to be hurt more by your memories… Which I always thought was odd. Surely he would have wanted you to remember your childhood and your family… but… no." She held Rose's hand tighter.

"Max was the one that asked us to adopt you two. He'd always wanted siblings but we could never give that to him." She shook her head, "Now that he's gone, you two are all we have left, and you want to stay here so far from home." Tears rolled down her cheeks, "Why do you want to stay here?"

"Because I feel like I need to. Like I'm needed here now…" She reached over to wipe away her tears, Thomas was snoring softly by her legs. "I want to see where I grew up, and you know I'll visit." Her mother nodded, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to stifle her tears. "I'll be okay, Mama… I'm in good hands out here."

Her eyes drifted to Thomas, "That man, you mean? Do you really know him? Or anything about him? How can you just assume that he'll stay with you?" She huffed softly, "I always pictured you marrying a handsome man with wealth… You're so pretty, sweetheart, you could do so well for yourself."

"And be unhappy for my whole life? No thank you… I don't really know, if he'll stay or not that is. Honestly I don't really know much about him regardless. He doesn't talk very much but… he's so caring. He hasn't budged since… I don't know probably since I got up here. Every time I wake up there he is, waiting…" She touched his hair gently, softly tucking it behind his ear. "From what Sam told me he was… beaten up a lot when we were kids, but he went from being the runt to being the biggest." She pet his cheek softly, "He was born with a deformity on his lip and nose and hated himself so much he tried to cut away his face… But… I still think he's handsome.."

Martha's eyes softened on Thomas, "So he's had a rough life from start to finish… Poor thing…"

Rose nodded, "Even with so many people hurting him, Sam said he'd alway been my friend. Always. I can't turn my back on him again…"

"Then you really are going to stay with him, aren't you?" Martha murmured, stroking her daughter's cheek softly.

"I… I think I am going to…"