Here's thirteenth chapter of "Where You Belong." It's not, of course, the longest chapter in the world.

The feedback's been amazing so far. Wow. Thank you all so much. I really didn't expect it at all.

Sad to say that this story'll be coming to an end soon. Yep, I only have several more chapters left in me, LOL.

Anyway, on with the story.

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Dawn looked at her gun, then, at Jason. Her eyes widened in astonishment. "No!" she yelled.

Kim quickly sank down to the floor beside her boyfriend, fearful tears in her eyes. The bullet had caught him in the back.

"Jason! Oh, no. Oh, my God!" she said in an anguished tone, running her hand over his hair. The gymnast's heart was ready to fly outta her chest. She gently lifted his head and lay it on her lap.

Dawn looked on in horror. "Oh, no! Oh, no!" she screamed, then, started to run towards Jason.

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!" Kim shrieked, her body now shaking almost violently with fury.

The fierce intensity in Kim's voice and the look in her eyes managed to stop Dawn dead in her tracks.

"But I-I-I... this is your fault! Look what you made me DO! How could you!" Dawn screeched, then, turned, opened the door and dashed outta the apartment at breakneck speed.

Kim barely even noticed. All she cared about right now was Jason and getting him the help he needed. She couldn't lose him. Especially when they'd just started. The brunette stood and hurried over to the phone to call the paramedics, ignoring the panic that'd gripped her heart.

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(Rick's Apartment)

Rick was just about to open the door to step outta his apartment when the door opened and Dawn came flying in. He frowned, closed the door and turned to face her.

"What's the problem?" he asked curiously.

Dawn was trembling and clutching her gun tightly. She looked as if she'd been in an whirlwind. Her eyes were filled with fear and terror.

"I shot him, Rick! I shot him. What if he dies?" she exclaimed, her arms flailing wildly.

"What are you talk- wait, you mean Jason? What the hell?" Rick exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief. She'd shot Jason? The guy she always claimed to wanna spend her life with. She'd shot him and he could die. What the hell had happened here?

"He got in the way!" she screamed. "It was an accident. It was supposed to be her. But he protected her." Hatred replaced the fear in her eyes. "I can't believe he's willing to die for her! It's not like she's the woman he's supposed to be with. That's me! Me. But he risked his life for her. Her. How could he do that? How could he lay down his life for a woman who isn't me? That just makes me so-"

"Will you FORGET ABOUT THAT, DAMMIT?" Rick bellowed. Something had snapped in him. He knew she was nuts, but, still! They had more important things to think about here.

Dawn glared at him. "Don't yell at me. Who the hell do you think you are?" she said harshly.

"Will you just shut up and listen? It's like this. You're in deep shit, Dawn, if you hang around here," he said. She wasn't too far gone to see that, was she?

"No. I'll be fine. It doesn't even matter if they tell the police anything because they'll never find me. I'm not going anywhere," Dawn said fiercely.

Rick ran his hands over his face. He had to get through to her. If she got in trouble, he wouldn't be too far behind, he knew. Since he was the sane one here, he had to do all the strategizing and thinking from here on out. They had to get the hell outta here- today.

"Dawn... you hired me to spy on Jason and his friends. I've observed them enough to know that they aren't exactly the kind of group that will just let this slide, you know. They seem to be far from the quitting types. You can't stay here because I'm sure they'll find you," he said, keeping his voice rational and calm.

She shook her head. "Nothing's gonna happen to me. I've always been able to take care of myself just fine. I'm no idiot. I can avoid prison time. Besides, Jason needs me," she said.

"Think, Dawn. Police or no police, do you really believe Kim and the others are gonna let you anywhere near him- especially right now?" Rick said, lifting his eyebrows. Okay, he knew it was stupid question because she was a psychopathic lunatic.

She smiled softly. "Jason won't let them stop me from being with him because he loves me. They're just gonna have to cope with that. He'll forgive me for this. He will. Then, we'll leave California behind for good," she said.

Rick silently counted to five, then, took a deep breath. "We have to leave town. Today. I'm serious. We should start packing," he said, heading for his bedroom. She'd been sleeping in his spare room. Anyway, he didn't know where they would go, but, he knew they had to get the hell outta dodge right now.

Dawn set her gun down on the coffee table and stalked after him. "Did you not hear what I just said? I'm not leaving without Jason! It's just totally outta question. You're completely insane if you think I'm leaving without my fiance," she said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Maybe our destination should be Arizona," Rick said as if she hadn't spoken a word. He hurriedly gathered suitcases and overnight bags.

"Hel-loooo! I'm not leaving. Not without Jason," Dawn said in irritation.

Rick's eyes darkened. He stormed up to her and grabbed her upper arms. "Get it through your head. You lost him. It's over. Stick a fork in it. Get off Fantasy Island and go pack. We don't have time for this," he said, shaking her for emphasis. He didn't care what she said. They were leaving.

"I-" she began.

"They'll find you! And when they do, it's over! OVER!" he said, releasing her.

"They won't find me! And, even if they do, it won't matter. Because I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. I'm innocent. I'm innocent. I made a mistake! It was supposed to be Kim," she said, her eyes blazing.

"Well, it wasn't!" he exploded.

She blinked. "But it was supposed to be. She was supposed to die," she said in a strangely quiet voice.

"And she didn't. You shot Jason. And we're getting outta here. I'll pack for you myself. I don't care," he said.

"You're gonna be wasting your time because-" she was saying.

"We're leaving. Whether you want to or not. We're leaving. I don't care what I have to do... you're not staying in California," he said in a low, deadly tone.

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(Somewhere in California)

It was now a little over an hour later and Rick and Dawn were in his car- heading for Arizona. He gripped the wheel and looked over at her. She was unconscious because he'd chloroformed her.

He refocused on the road and gripped the wheel tightly. He'd had to do what he'd done because she wouldn't come willingly. The woman needed somebody to serve as her brain. She'd be pissed when she woke up and would most likely yell death threats and nonsense about how Jason would kill him if he didn't let her go. But he honestly didn't care.

He knew what he was doing. He'd already gotten rid of the gun. Rick didn't have a game plan right now, but, he'd come up with something soon enough.

For right now, though, they were gonna stay at an old friend of his- Craig Dixon. Yeah. He knew Craig would help him out. After all... he had before. Rick's past wasn't exactly squeaky clean- to say the least.

Memories began to invade his mind and he gripped the wheel tighter. No, he wasn't gonna think about that right now. Not right now. He couldn't. Because if he did, he'd go crazy. Dawn was crazy enough. He'd started to believe there was just no hope at all for her. Someone had to have their head screwed on tight.

He heard a low moan come from her and tensed a little. It wouldn't be long now. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with her- who the hell would be? But he had to do it. There was just way too much at stake now- thanks to her stupidity and lunacy. Wishing he'd never gotten involved in all this was just pointless and a waste of time he didn't have.

"Tucson, here we come," he muttered.

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Stay tuned. Cya.