So…I'm happy to say that I'm back for good now :) I finished my training and passed all my exams, so I'm officially done! (Thank God I never have to attend another extra class EVER AGAIN). Hopefully I'll be able to read all the new fanfics I've been missing, but for now here's what may or may not be the second to last chapter. And thanks so much to HopelessRomantic1994, mozzi-girl and NiekaWow for the reviews! Seriously, they meant the world to me :')

Mal Fallon's PoV

I wasn't allowed to ride in the ambulance. I didn't see anything that happened after those bright white door closed.

But what I did see was the dark blue color that Natara's lips were turning as I carried her out to the street; screaming for help. I did see them put a dozen tubes into her arm and a mask on her face as they forced air into her lungs. I saw the grim face on the paramedic that was forcing her to breathe.

I lose track of time as I sit in the waiting room, the bullet wound I got trying to escape already carefully treated. I get some odd looks from the nurses, probably from the fact that I've been trapped in a basement for two days, but no one says anything.

After what feels like hours one particular nurse walks by me, and I can tell that she's coming for me just by her face.

"Malachi Fallon?" She says sweetly. I stand up and she offers to shake my hand. I don't take it.

"How is she?" I'm barely able to say.

I know the answer even before she says it. I can see it in the way that her posture changes, the way her dark eyes seem to widen with sympathy. I guess I must have picked it up from Natara. "I'm sorry, Mr. Fallon".

"No".

"She's not doing well" she continues. "She's awake…but I'm afraid she won't have much longer. She's barely hanging on".

"No" is all I'm able to say again. This has to be a joke. Natara, who's survived so many things that any normal person could, can't possibly be dying. "This can't be right".

"I'm very sorry, sir" the nurse says, giving me a sympathetic smile. Everything, even her expression, is perfectly rehearsed. The little bit of Natara in me tells me that she's done this a million times before. "We tried our best to get whatever she ingested out of her system, but the fact is the results for the substance won't come back in time. We have no way of knowing what's in her system, let alone how to treat it". She clears her throat professionally. "If you'd like a little time to collect yourself before you go—".

"No" I say for the third time. I can hear the emptiness and disbelief in my voice, and I know that she must too. "No…I want to see her now".

She nods, taking me away from the waiting room. I pass the few people that remain in there during the day, and I can almost feel their eyes on me. I know that they're wondering why I'm being taken and not them. I certainly don't look sick or hurt.

The nurse leads me to a room just at the end of the hall, opening the door and stepping aside to let me in first.

"Natara…".

She isn't moving. Her eyes are open, but other than that, there's nothing to suggest that she's still conscious. There are tubes in her nose and an IV in her arm, but she doesn't seem to notice any of this. All she does is stare at the door; watching the two people who just entered her room.

Her eyes follow me as I walk across the room, and I already know that something isn't right. There's still warmth in her perfect caramel-colored eyes, and she still has same face that would always draw people's eyes. One that made you want to pay attention to whatever she had to say, whether she demanded it or not.

But when she looks at me, I can see what's wrong right away. There's no recognition in her gaze, none of the same loving warmth. I'm a stranger. An intruder. She doesn't know me anymore.

"Natara…" is all I'm able to repeat as I pull up a chair, reaching across the sheets to take one of her cold hands in mine. Her fingertips are already fading in color. I don't think she has very long.

What I should do is tell her it's okay to let go. That everything will be okay if she just gives up. But as I swallow the lump in my throat and open my mouth to say it, the words won't come out. I know that Natara, if she was with me, wouldn't want that. She would want to fight to the end, no matter how hard it is. She would want to show that she's stronger than anything Shawn did to her.

I don't say anything though; I'm too torn between telling her to go and telling her to stay. I want her here more than anything…but I want what's best for her. I'm not used to making decisions for her, and I hope I never will. She was never one to let people do things for her.

I start to get up, knowing it doesn't matter what I do anyway. She doesn't know who I am, I can tell just by the way she looks at me. If anything, I'm just making everything worse. I should just leave and let her rest. Who knows? Maybe somewhere under that blank face she's fighting to stay alive.

I start to slip my hand out from hers, but I feel the slightest movement, lighter than a feather brushing my skin. I glance down to see her hand slowly curling around mine, and I when I look at her face I can see a silent word escaping from her slightly parted lips.

"Stay".

I sit back down, brushing a strand of hair that's fallen in her face behind her ear. She looks at me strangely. She doesn't know who I am.

But she still doesn't want me to go.