*Hey hey…thanks for the favorites! And ghouse98, I appreciate the concern, but I really don't mind writing something quick if I have the time…to be completely honest, I'm not putting any time aside for this at all, and I'm not much of a planner anyway. Trust me, I am in no danger of wasting energy or pushing myself too hard, so don't feel guilty! Thanks though. Hope you all LOVE it. Review and favorite!*

*Chapter 15*

ALICIA'S POV

Marcus stood imposingly-even in his stripy pajamas-in the doorway, a look of obvious distress and disapproval on his face.

We must have been a really interesting sight- though MIndy had cleaned me up nicely of blood, I still could feel my black and white eyeliner caked all over my eyes, still slightly obscuring my vision- I'd have to rethink this a little bit next time.

Would there even be a next time?

Mindy was kind of a spectacle too- there was no hiding the awesome purple leather pants and jacket, and there was blood-probably someone else's- caked across the front of her plaid skirt.

She was still holding and swabbing my arm which looked like someone had papercut a game of tic tac toe into it- I still had no idea where those scratches had come from- and there were numerous medical supplies spread messily out over the counter where Mindy was sitting.

She was even still gripping the scalpel that she had worked in a pinch to cut strips of gauze away.

She hadn't removed her mask, but the faint untended to bruise blooming across her chin was visible, and it was clear that we weren't just playing with makeup-

We really were kind of messed up.

There was a long, loaded pause, and Mindy released the scalpel, and dropped my arm, surprising me as it hit my leg, and the alcohol swab hit the tile with a wet slap.

"Well, fuck," she said.

"Mindy," Marcus said, looking pained. "How could you do this?"

I saw obvious regret flash across her face- it was clear that she cared about Marcus just as much as he cared about her- he was her second father, and he was doing a great job of filling in for her first one.

"Marcus-"

"And you dragged Alicia into it too?"

I guess I looked worse than I thought.

"I-no," I said. "I came willingly."

My arm was starting to sting- after all, it had been cut and soaked in alcohol-and I carefully cradled it close to my chest as I started wrapping it sloppily with gauze.

Mindy broke her intense eye contact with Marcus to snatch my arm, frustrated again, with my lack of medical skills.

"Just fucking let me," she repeated, then her eyes snapped back to Marcus, as she realized how inappropriate her language was in this situation.

"Mindy, I can' t believe you lied to me like this," Marcus said, and the stoicism in his voice made her half-betrayal seem even worse. "You told me you were done with this."

She tucked the end of the gauze in, and dropped my arm for the second time, and I crossed both of them uncomfortably, taking in the situation.

"Marcus, I had to!" she said, taking off her wig and yanking the elastic out of her sloppy ponytail in one smooth motion. "Being Hit Girl…its all I know."

"I don't know why I didn't see this coming," Marcus held his hand to his forehead, and pulled up a chair at the island, sighing sadly. "The in house suspension, the random bruises you two denied having that day-"

"Please don't blame Mindy for involving me," I said quietly, not wanting to interrupt a possible heart-to-heart. "I…It was my choice."

Uncle Marcus looked at me for a half second, then grabbed my hand, and then Mindy's.

"I worry about you two as it is…please…please, don't do this!"

It was heartbreaking, yeah. I'll admit it.

Mindy's brow furrowed intensely, and she bit her lip uneasily- it was hard to see her so upset- I had never met anyone quite as headstrong as her before.

But clearly, hurt family was her Achilles heel.

No one said anything for a while.

Uncle Marcus' eyes were locked on MIndy's, and she stared just as intensely back, her lower lip quivering slightly.

"I can't stop this now," she said. "My daddy would have wanted me to finish off D'Amico's whole operation."

"Mindy, you can' t this alone," Uncle Marcus said, standing up and starting to pace.

"I…"

She was clearly at a loss for words.

"That's why I'm helping," I said, thinking quickly.

On a whim, I grabbed her hand, and squeezed it.

It stayed connected to my arm, so I considered it a good sign.

"And Dave, too," I continued.

Uncle Marcus whipped around.

"Dave's in this too?" he demanded. "He told me he'd watch out for you!"

Well, fuck.

"He is looking out for me," Mindy said. "In…in the way I need him to."

Marcus stopped pacing, and came to stand near us again.

His eyes froze open, as he took in the whole scene, and a sad smile took over his face.

"I can't stop you, can I?" he said finally. "Its in your system. Damon made you like this, and there's no changing you now. I can't stop you."

Mindy blinked slowly, but didn't break the eye contact.

"No," she said. "You can't."

He bit his lip like Mindy had a second ago.

"Are you…do you have Kevlar? What about tasers?"

"Yeah, we have Kevlar," Mindy said. "And I find guns more effective."

Marcus' eyes widened in distress.

He came forward and took both of our hands again.

"Please be safe. I can't lose either of you."

Then he turned tail and left the kitchen.

I stared on silently, not believing we had just gotten away with this.

*Hope you liked it…lots of hand holding I know, haha…review and favorite!*