I DO want you all to know that when I wrote the last chapter I cried. I walk several miles every day. I originally planned out this chapter in my head and came up with the words to describe how she was feeling by putting myself in her place. I was walking and crying. If anyone had come upon me they would have thought I was insane. Then when I wrote it on the computer, I broke down and cried again. It was emotionally draining.

Thank you to my anonymous readers whom I cannot reply to: Annabelle, Ian O'Shea, and my newest, Sarah. And to the rest of you who review…Well, you know how I feel about you, so dry your tears and keep in mind I love Ian too.

DEVASTATION - PART II

FOR THE SECOND TIME IN MY SHORT HUMAN LIFE I was outside the van on the highway puking my guts up over the loss of Ian. I wished with all my might I could go back to that day when we were fighting. At least he was alive then.

The phone rang. I couldn't talk to Burns. I handed the phone to Sunny.

"Hello?"

Sunny pushed the phone to my ear. "It's Ian. He's alive!"

"IAN!"

"It's me my love," he spoke quietly.

"I thought you were dead!" I cried out.

"So, did I."

I began laughing and crying all at once. "Are you all right?"

"Well, I have a bullet in me."

"I'm coming to you right now."

"Burns needs to speak with you."

"Then he'll give me back to you right?"

"Yes." He still sounded weak.

"Hello?'

"Burns. How could you let me think he was gone?"

"I'm sorry. I thought he was gone too. When he dropped the phone I thought that was it. I jammed heal into his mouth. I spread it all over his belly. There was so much blood I didn't know where the wound began or ended. I never even gave him any 'No Pain'. I must have caught him just before…" He couldn't say it.

I swallowed hard. "But you saved him."

"Yes, he's alive for now."

"What does that mean?" A new wave of panic washed over me.

"I healed him with the bullet in him. Without the 'No Pain.', he felt his body healing itself. She shot him with a high powered rifle. That's a big bullet and I don't know where it is inside him. I need you to go and get Doc and bring him to the mountain. He needs to take this bullet out before it does anymore damage or causes infection."

"Okay. Hold on." I put my hand over the phone.

"Sunny, take us to the caverns. We need to bring Doc to the mountain. The bullet needs to be taken out or Ian could still be in danger."

She nodded.

"Burns, can I speak to Ian now?"

"Sure. Let me get him up and walking. I want to get him to the truck."

"What did you do with the humans?"

"I told Nate to knock them out when they get to the truck. This girl was like Rambo. I've never seen anyone shoot like that before. She probably would have killed us all had it not been for Nate grabbing that kid. She thought we would kill him. It's the only reason she gave up. Hold on a minute okay?"

I waited impatiently. My heart was still pounding. At least I had stopped crying, but I still felt sick.

"Hey Babydoll."

"Ian. My heart is pounding. I wanted to die. I…I" Those feelings of despair had returned again. I was forcing back the tears.

"I love you so much." His breathing was labored.

"Are you walking right now?"

"Yes, Burns is helping me. He doesn't want to give me any 'No Pain' because he says if I can't feel the pain I won't know if anything is wrong."

"Are you in pain now?"

"No. The healing part was painful in a weird sort of way. It hurt but it felt good at the same time. I can't explain it. I feel exhausted though."

I got the feeling he wasn't telling me everything.

"I know I should let you go but I am afraid if I hang up you will really be…"

"Wanderer, I'm really here. I'll be all right."

"You'll call me if you have even the slightest pain?"

"I will. I just want to get back to the mountain." He still sounded weak.

"I love you and I want so badly to touch you, to know you are real."

"I'm real. Be safe my darling and remember, I love you more."

Ian hung up the phone. I immediately dialed Nate's number.

"Hello?"

"Nate?"

"Wanda I see him coming. He's okay." I took in a deep breath and blew it out. His confirmation helped to ease my fears.

"I know. I just spoke to him. He still has the bullet in him. Please keep a very close eye on him and call me if anything changes. And I mean anything! I can't go through the agony I felt when I thought he was gone again."

"All right, I'll call you if anything changes. I have to go." He hung up.

I told Sunny everything that was said on the phone. "Kyle will want to go with you and I want to go too."

"But then there will be no soul left in the caverns."

"Ice is there."

"But he's unproven." I protested.

"I don't care. They have enough food to last. We won't be gone more than a week."

I couldn't leave my family without. "Maybe we should stop and get food. We are going to have to wait till nightfall anyway. It's better than just sitting at the wash waiting for the sun to go down. Plus, we'll save time if we drive directly to the caverns and bypass the jeep."

"Okay, you have a good point. I'll stop at the next town."

As we exited into the town the phone rang. I answered immediately.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me Nate."

I panicked. "Is Ian all right?"

"Yes, he's asleep here with me in the back of the truck. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry about what happened. I feel like it's my fault because I was the one who told him to grab the kid."

"I'm sure it's not your fault but I do wish you would tell me what happened."

"Evan was asleep in the van. Me, Ian, and Burns were tracking the humans when we spotted them. We thought we had a man and a boy. We split up to try and surround them. We had them on the run. I could see the kid hiding behind a tree very close to where Ian was. I signaled to Ian as to where the boy was and I called out for him to grab him. Ian didn't take more than two steps before the shot rang out and Ian was down. The kid ran in my direction and I tackled him. I pulled the boy to his feet and used him as a shield. We still thought the shooter was a guy. It wasn't until she spoke and the boy called her 'Sissy' that we realized it was a girl. She called out to the boy to make sure he was okay. He's the one who told her we were human. Burn's stayed hidden. He didn't show himself until after she came out and dropped her gun. Man, she was pissed when she saw him. She fought him even though he was holding a gun and she was strong. This girl is about six feet tall. Burns had quite a struggle just to control her and get her to the truck. I tried to check on Ian but I had to deal with the kid. I hated leaving him there bleeding like that."

"Nate, I don't blame you. I know if there was anything you could have done; you would have."

"That's just it, Wanda. I can't help but wonder if I would have. So many times, I've wished that he was out of the picture."

"Don't even think that. You would have. I'm sure of that."

It was quiet for a moment. "Well…he's sleeping peacefully right now. I promise to take care of him, Wanda. I love you and I know that he is your world."

"Thank you, Nate. I love you too. Never forget that."

"I won't let you."

"Make sure Ian calls me when he wakes up."

"Okay, bye."

I turned to Sunny with determination. "Lets' shop. The quicker we get done the quicker I get to Ian."

By the time we got to the wash it was just getting dark and we didn't have to wait. Kyle and Jeb were on guard duty. As soon as we pulled up we both jumped out of the van. The idea of telling Kyle that the only family member that he had left had been shot and nearly died and could still die made me start to cry again.

Kyle ran to Sunny. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

Then his eyes met mine and he could see the tears. "It's Ian, isn't it?"

"He's been shot." I blurted out.

Sunny quickly commented. "He's not dead."

Kyle looked confused and scared. "They healed him right?"

It was Sunny who again answered. "Burns healed him but he couldn't get the bullet out or he would have died. Wanda was on the phone with Ian when she thought…"

I finished her sentence through my tears. "He said 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to die' and then he was gone! What was I supposed to think?"

Sunny pulled away from Kyle. "Go to her. She needs you."

He did as Sunny asked and came to me and engulfed me in his arms. "Jesus. That must have been hard."

I looked into Kyle's eyes. "If he dies, I don't want to live without him. Promise you'll have Doc take me out of this body and bury me with Ian."

"Stop it, Wanda. He's not going to die. Burns healed him."

Sunny continued. "We came back because Burns told us to fetch Doc. He says Ian is not healthy and Doc needs to take the bullet out of him before it does more damage."

Kyle ran his fingers through his hair. "Where was he shot?"

"In the stomach."

"What kind of gun?"

"A high powered rifle. That's all I know. Oh and he was shot by some Amazonian woman. Nate said she is about six feet tall. They captured her and her little brother."

Kyle scooped me up and carried me into the main cavern. He tried to comfort me. "You know Ian's a fighter. He's not ready to leave you yet."

"You'll come with me to the mountain right?"

"Yes, I need to see him too." He put me down on the loveseat. "Stay here. I'll go and get Doc. Sunny. Get clothes for me and you and get the rest of Wanda's from Lily's room and meet me back here."

Within thirty minutes, word had spread. Kyle had returned and was waiting with me for the others. Jamie showed up with his bag in his hand. "I'm coming too."

Kyle yelled at him. "You're not going."

Jamie stood his ground. "Ian promised I could come back with Wanda."

"I don't care." Kyle was irate.

I grabbed Kyle's hand. "It's okay. Ian would want him to come back."

I looked at Jamie. "Did you check with Mel and Jared?"

"Yes. They're on their way here."

A minute later Mel ran to me and put her arms around me. She knew first hand how I felt about Ian. "I'm sorry about Ian. Is he okay? Are you okay?"

"I think he's okay. I haven't heard anything. I'll be okay once I see him with my own eyes. I miss him so very much."

"I know." She brushed my hair off of my face.

"Jamie wants to return with me. Is that okay with you? I know he has been waiting as long as I have to see Megan."

"Are you sure?" she said.

"He'll be a great help to me emotionally." I assured Melanie.

"Thank you, Wanda. I promise I'll be good and I won't get in the way." Jamie spoke with gratitude.

Lily offered me best wishes for Ian's speedy recovery and she asked that I hug Burns for her. I asked her if she wanted to come but she said the van was going to be crowded enough already. Kyle drove and Sunny rode shotgun. I sat in the back with Jamie who had put his arm around me. Doc and Candy sat with us. As soon as we were on the road I called Nate.

"Hello?"

"Hi Nate. How are things?"

"Well we got back and we had to wake Ian to get him in the house. He tried to call you but you must have been in the caverns. He's asleep again. I'm in the root cellar with Evan and our new friends."

"So, is Burns watching him?"

"No. Burns was exhausted. He hadn't slept in twenty four hours."

"Then who is watching Ian?" I demanded.

"I've got Holly sleeping on the couch. She said she will watch over him."

"I know Holly has her own agenda but tell her I said thank you anyway. We're on the road and we're driving straight through. We should be there by tomorrow evening."

Kyle drove all night while the rest of us slept. In the morning Sunny drove. I sat up front with her so Kyle could catch some sleep in the back.

In the morning Ian called me.

"Ian?"

"Good morning Babydoll. It's great to be alive." He sounded better than yesterday.

"How are you feeling?"

"That's hard to say. I feel okay but I wouldn't run the marathon."

Doc interrupted me. "Can I please speak with him?"

"Ian, Doc wants to talk to you."

"Okay." I handed the phone to Doc.

"What medications did Burns use when he healed you?"…"How are you feeling?"…"Pain or pressure?"…"Have you eaten at all since the incident?"…"Have you had a bowel movement?"…"Any shortness of breath?"…"I need you to eat light. No meats, no heavy foods. Stick with soup or salad. Don't eat after one o'clock today. If you do have a bowel movement I need to know if there is any blood. That goes for urine too. If it's very dark, I want to know."…"If you experience any more pain, even briefly, call me"…"Is Burns with you?"…"Okay. I'll call him on his cell."…"Yes, absolutely."…"Sure."

Doc handed the phone back to me.

"Ian?"

"Yes?"

"So are they keeping you in bed?"

"No. I'm sitting on the couch with Kara and Holly watching TV."

"Oh." He knew by my tone that I wasn't thrilled about the idea of Holly being close to him.

"Well, I wanted to work but Nate and Burns wouldn't let me. They said Kara and Holly would take good care of me."

I was ready to come back with a snide remark but I caught myself. I ended up not saying anything at all. Ian picked up on my silence.

"Babydoll, I can't wait to see you. I miss you so much."

"I miss you too." I didn't know what else to say. I was feeling lonely even though he was on the other end. I needed so desperately to touch him and I couldn't. "Ian, I'm going to let you go. We are pulling into a town to get gas." It was a lie.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight then?"

"Yes, tonight. I love you." That wasn't a lie.

"I love you more."

I hung up the phone.

Kyle and Sunny both pushed the speed limit, so we arrived before dark. When the van came to a stop at the house, I threw open the back door and practically fell out. I leapt up the back stairs into the living room. Rachel and Rob were playing pool. The rest of the house seemed to be empty.

"Wanda! Ian's at the baseball field with the others," Rob announced.

"He's coaching? Are you kidding me?" I was shocked they would allow this.

"He's coaching from the bench. He couldn't sit in this house anymore. He was itching to get out," Rachel clarified.

"Thanks." I turned and bolted out the door. "He's at the field!" I yelled out to the others as I raced past them towards the cave. I was at a full sprint in seconds. I could feel that my body was so much stronger now that I had run back and forth to the garage so often in the last month. My stamina was greater and my stride seemed longer. I spotted him immediately as I entered the back field. It was nearly a mile from the house and I hadn't let up but now my side was hurting. Ian was sitting on a bucket outside the dugout. He couldn't see me because he was facing Burns who was standing at home plate hitting grounders to the kids in the field. Burns saw me first. He looked at Ian and I saw Ian turn towards me. I wanted to run faster but my body was screaming in pain. I had to stop to catch my breath. I bent over and grabbed my side. When I straightened up again, Ian was standing and he began to walk slowly towards me. I started to run again. As we got closer, my first instinct was to vault into his arms but I could see by his face that he was in pain. He had lied to me. I came to a stop just a foot short of him. He put his arms out and grabbed my wrists and pulled me to him. I couldn't hold back the tears. He used his arm strength to pull me off the ground so I could put my arms around his neck. He pulled my legs around his waist.

I objected. "Ian. You're in pain."

"I don't care. I love you." He kissed me and I kissed him back. His lips were so warm. His kiss was hungry and yet tender. He didn't nibble my lips but he grasped the back of my head and kissed me until the pain overcame his want for my lips and he had to put me down.

"Ian you need to sit." I held his hand and walked him slowly back to the dugout. Burns came over to assist Ian. I knelt on the bench and put my arms around his neck and hugged him. I looked at the other end of the bench. Nate was sitting with a woman I had never seen before. Her hair was a mess. She looked like a wild animal.

She looked at me and then she addressed Ian. "Hell, you're in love with a parasite? I should have killed you."

My rage took over. I let go of Ian's neck and I lunged off the bench towards her. Nate popped up to block me. I tried to get past him but he grabbed my arms and pinned them to my sides. Then he maneuvered his arms around me until I was trapped in a bear hug. In the meantime, Burns had grabbed the woman from behind and was restraining her.

Nate's face was just inches from mine. "Wanda, she'll hurt you."

"I don't care. Just give me one shot at her." I was still struggling to break free from his grasp.

He resisted. "I can't do that."

"Why are you defending her?"

"Wanda she was protecting her brother. You would have done the same if it was Jamie."

I raised my voice to a squeal. "She called me a parasite!"

Nate tried to reel me in. "Look at me, Wanda." He trapped me in his gaze. "Look at me." Now he had my attention. "How many people love this parasite?" His lips curled up in a little half smile at the corners. Nate was good looking but his smile was electric. Still, I could see the pain in his eyes.

I relaxed. "Okay." I looked away from his eyes. "I'm okay." Nate released me.

The Amazon woman sunk back into the wall. She sneered at Nate. "God, you love her too?" Was it that obvious?

Ian looked pale. He hadn't moved during the entire ordeal. That was unlike him. I turned to Burns. "Can we get him back to the house please? He doesn't look so good."

Ian protested. "I'm fine."

I took Ian's hand in mine. "Even Superman had his kryptonite."

"Wanderer, I'm fine," he sounded angry.

"Doc asked me to bring you back. Please?" I looked at Burns. "Help him. Please?"

Nate jumped up. "I'll get him. Burns is the only one who can control Victoria."

So, she had a name. I wondered where her brother was.

Nate put Ian's arm over his shoulder. I came up on the other side and put my arm around his waist. He flinched. I moved away from him.

"You lied to me," I barked at him.

"I had to," he lamented.

Blake came running up and took Ian's free arm and placed it over his shoulder. Together they practically dragged Ian back to the house. Jamie met us at the steps. "Doc said to bring him to the root cellar. Apparently Burns had called Sunny's cell and spoke to Doc about Ian's deteriorating condition. They were setting up for surgery in the root cellar.

As we approached, Kyle was coming out. He rushed to Ian and took over Blake's side. "Brother, you look like hell."

"Thanks." Ian muttered.

A cot was set up next to the folding table that doubled as the poker table which was blanketed with a sheet and laid out with surgical instruments. Sunny entered carrying a large bowl of water. They helped Ian lie down on the cot.

"Everyone out!" Doc ordered.

I grabbed Ian's hand. "I'm not going."

Kyle chimed in. "I'm not going either."

Doc rolled his eyes. "Fine! You two, over there…against the wall. The rest of you can wait outside." He turned his attention to Ian. "Ian, take off your clothes and cover yourself with the sheet. I'll be back in five minutes."

I helped Ian get his shirt off and then I unbuttoned and unzipped his shorts.

He smiled. "I had envisioned a slightly different scene with you taking off my pants."

I glared at him. "I'm glad you still have you sense of humor." I said flatly.

"Babydoll, are you mad at me?"

"Yes, you should have told me the truth."

"The truth is the pain didn't start until this morning. I told Doc about it. I didn't want to worry you any more than you already were." He sighed and lay back on the cot.

I covered him with the sheet and walked to where his head was. I kissed his lips gently. "I'm sorry. I love you."

Doc and Candy entered the room and he ordered me to the wall where Kyle now stood.

"Ian, I am not giving you any 'No Pain' because I need to know right away when you wake up how you feel. I am going to knock you out though. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

Kyle reached out and grabbed a hold of my hand. Doc nodded to Candy and she placed a washcloth soaked with chloroform over his face. He struggled for a second and then relaxed. Doc folded back the sheet revealing the scar. He sprayed clean on the site. Candy placed clean towels on both sides of Ian's body to catch the blood as it poured from the open wound as Doc cut into Ian's abdomen. My heart started pounding.

Doc's forehead creased. "That's what I was afraid of. We have to go deeper." He sprayed clean into the wound before he cut again. Kyle's grip on my hand tightened.

"Oh dear!" Candy exclaimed. "Spray the clean in there."

"What's wrong?" I chirped from my corner of the room.

"Infection." Doc muttered.

"I'm going to get him to inhale it as well." Candy replied. "It will help us when we go deeper." She sprayed the clean above his face and the mist settled onto his face as he breathed it in.

"Okay, I'm ready to go deeper." He cut a third time into his abdomen. "I see it. The bullet is lodged in his pancreas. Candy, Can you pull that back for me?" There was a pause. "There, that's it, Good. You see? It's right up against that artery."

"It's a miracle he survived this." Candy remarked.

"I just need to see if I can move it away from that artery where I can get a hold of it." It was quiet for several minutes. My head started to pound from the stress. Kyle was white as a ghost.

"Ah, I got it!" He pulled the bullet out of Ian and held it up for Kyle and me to see and then dropped it into a metal pan.

Candy breathed out a sigh of relief. "Okay let's heal him up. That pancreas looks like hamburger." She sprayed "Heal" into the wound. "Now let me seal it." She smiled. "That's good. See? It's healing nicely."

Doc spoke. "Okay, let's get that second incision." After another ten minutes of healing and sealing, they stopped and looked up. Doc looked at me. "Will he want the scar or should I smooth it?"

"Smooth it please." I croaked. I did not want to be reminded of his near death experience.

"Okay, all done. Would you like to come and see?"

I crossed the room towards Ian's sleeping body with Kyle in tow. The only scar was a round circle with a slight indentation where the bullet had pierced his body. I ran my finger lightly across the scar. "How long will he be asleep?"

"Maybe another hour." Doc replied.

I turned to Kyle. He was still looking a little queasy. "Why don't you go in the house with Sunny? Play a game of pool. I'll stay here with Ian."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I'll be fine. I'll be with him." Kyle hugged me and left the room.

Doc and Candy put everything they used on the table and scooped it all up in sheet that had covered the table and left. Candy carried the bloody bowl of water.

Once I was alone, I kissed Ian's forehead and stroked his hair. I pulled the sheet up so it covered him to mid chest. I pulled a chair from the folding table that doubled as a poker table, put it next to the cot, and sat in it. I took Ian's hand and pulled it to my cheek as I lay my head on his chest. I closed my eyes for what seemed like only a minute.

When I woke up, Ian was stroking my hair. I lifted my head to see his face and he smiled at me. "I know this is Nate's line but hey Beautiful."

"Hey Superman." I whispered. I leaned in to kiss him. He pulled me onto the cot and I slid my way so I was lying on top of him. "Are we feeling better?" I could tell he was by what I could feel beneath me.

"You kidding? I'm back." He grabbed my butt as he began to kiss me.

I had to stop him. "Whoa! Tiger! Save it for tonight. Kyle is in the house waiting for you and Doc wants to see you too." I slid off him.

"Babydoll they can wait a half hour. I've waited a month!" he pleaded.

"Ian, anyone could walk in on us. We'll go to bed early okay?"

"I'm already naked!" he whined.

I couldn't help but laugh at his desperation. I picked up his boxers and dropped them on his chest. Then I walked over to the door, folded my arms, and waited.

"Not fair!" he groaned as he got dressed.

When we walked out of the root cellar Ian picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried me into the house. As we came through the door, Kyle started to clap. "Now, that's the little brother I remember."

Ian slid me off of his shoulder to the floor. He and Kyle embraced as only brothers could. "You scared me man."

"Believe me, I scared myself. I thought I was a goner." They gripped hands in some weird brotherly handshake they had obviously invented.

"You up for a game of pool?" Kyle asked.

"Sure. At least I have a chance at beating you."

"What? Are you saying I'm not as good as Nate?"

"Oh, you heard about that."

Kyle mussed my hair. "Yeah, some people just love the fact that you are not perfect at everything."

Doc came from in the kitchen and interrupted them. "Ian. You're up?"

"Yep and feeling fine."

"Can you come into the kitchen so we can talk?"

"I'll save the next game for you." Kyle called out.

I took this moment to head to the bedroom to see what kind of shape Ian had left it in. Of course, it was a mess. Dirty clothes were thrown in a pile in the corner. It was obvious he hadn't done laundry in a while. I pulled the sheets off the bed and put fresh sheets on. I went out to the van and got my things and returned to the bedroom. When I finished Ian was back in the living room with Kyle. By the time I walked into the kitchen, it was empty. I started to wash the dishes in the sink and everything hit me all over again. Memories of the phone call from Nate, then speaking to Ian, the silence on the other end, finding out he was alive, getting here, and then seeing him such bad shape. What if we hadn't gotten here for another day or two? Would the infection have killed him? I was overwhelmed. I just broke down and cried at the kitchen table.

Practice was over and Nate and some of the others returned to the house to see how Ian was doing.

Nate bounced into the kitchen and stopped short when he saw me crying. "Wanda, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I croaked through my tears.

He bolted out of the kitchen and Ian came in a minute later. "What's wrong Babydoll?"

"Nothing."

He sat down in the chair next to me and pulled my hair away from my face. "Something's wrong."

"I'm fine really." But I wasn't. I wanted him to be close to me but I didn't want to sound selfish.

Ian pulled me onto his lap and I buried my face in his chest. "I thought I lost you."

He held me tightly. "But you didn't. I'm still here."

"I know you didn't want me to but I told Kyle that if you died I wanted to be buried with you."

"Wanderer, I don't want to think about that." He held me for a long time before Nate finally popped his head in the door.

"Is it all right to come in?"

Ian answered him. "Sure, she's all right. Just a little overwhelmed by everything that's happened."

Nate creased his eyebrows. "I have an idea." He went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne left over from the engagement party. "How about if we have a little drink to celebrate life?" Then he smiled at me. "I hear you like a little wine now and again."

Nate made me smile. He had a knack for bringing cheer into my life. I answered him sarcastically. "Shut up, Nate!"

"You know you're still beautiful even when your face is all puffy and swollen like that."

Ian rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb. He was trying to hide his laugh.

I glared at Ian. "Now, you're ganging up on me."

Ian tried not to smile but he was indeed smiling. "What? I didn't say anything!"

"What am I going to do with you two?"

Ian answered first. "Well, you're going to marry me!"

Nate chimed in. "I'm the stand by guy. I'll stand by you as long as Ian lets me."

I got off Ian's lap, walked over to Nate, and hugged him. "I love you both." I heard the cork pop on the bottle behind me.

"Get some glasses!" Ian called out.

Nate came back to the table with two small fluted wine glasses and one big wine goblet. "This one's for you!"

"Nuh-uh!"

The boys cracked up. "Drink up Babe." Ian said jokingly. I had completely forgotten about the sadness that had consumed me earlier.

We retired to the living room and joined Doc and Candy, Rachel, Rob, Megan, and Jamie who were watching TV. Kyle and Sunny were monopolizing the pool table. Everyone was having a good time when Burns came in with Victoria. The room went completely quiet. Ian stepped out from behind me and walked right up to Victoria.

He was right in her face and he put his hand around her neck before he spoke. "I can forgive you for shooting me, but, if you ever call my fiancée a parasite again or if you hurt her in any way; I will snap your neck. Is that clear?" He tightened his grip. Victoria tried to pull his hand off of her neck.

I rushed towards them. "Ian, stop!"

Ian held his free hand out to stop me but he never took his eyes off of Victoria. "I said, is that clear?"

"Yes." Victoria squeaked out.

Ian released her. "Good." He took a breath. His face changed from one of rage to a smile. "Welcome to the mountain. I think you'll like it here."

I was surprised that Burns had stood by and allowed Ian to choke her like that. I suppose Burns knew that Ian needed to get this off his chest and that trying to stop Ian would have only escalated into a fight. Even though I was upset by the violence, I was relieved to know that he did care that she had called me a parasite. Ian turned to me and put his arm around me and led me back to the crowd. Victoria disappeared inside the bathroom.

I leaned in to Nate. "Where is her brother?"

"He's at the cave with Kim. She's cutting his hair and giving him a treatment. They both have lice. They have been living in the woods for the last three years since they almost got caught. Victoria, she's a survivor, just like you. Burns is taking her to Kim next."

Victoria came out of the bathroom and she and Burns left the building.

The evening ended early for Ian and I just as I had promised.

He pounced on me as soon as the door to the bedroom was shut. "No games tonight." He pushed me down on the bed. Ian was holding his weight above me. "You know that I love you but I want you to know that when I was lying there dying I realized how much I appreciate you. I want to tell you that I appreciate that you always try so hard to make sure my needs are met. I appreciate that you take care of me. Most of all I appreciate the fact that you chose me over Nate. He's a pretty great guy."

"Nate is a pretty great guy but you, Superman, were always my first choice." He pressed his lips to mine. It was the slow burn kiss I had waited so long for. It was like the first time he kissed me in the caverns. It was like the first time I had felt something for Ian. That rush of adrenaline. I remember Mel was in my head and she was angry that I used her body to kiss him. Ian's full body weight slowly pushed down on me until he rolled off of me. His hands were now free and he began to caress first my face and then as his lips traveled to my neck his hands traveled elsewhere. He made love to me and paid special attention to my needs before his own. It was perfect. He was perfect.