The following morning, as Rose began to awake, she groaned in agony, the pain coursing through her entire being unbearable. Reaching over, she groped around the bed until she found the first aid kit Hans had provided her and pulled it closer. Reaching inside, she searched for some form of a pain medication, and let out a groan of frustration when she saw there was none in there. As she closed the container, it was then that she finally noticed the other bed was empty.

Where was Hans?

The first thought which came to her mind was he had gone outside, and getting out of bed, she headed over to the door. Opening it, she glanced around outside, and saw he was not out there. Noticing how good the fresh air felt, she leaned further out the door, and breathed in the crisp morning air. Everything was calm and peaceful, and for a brief moment, she completely forgot about her current situation.

Just as she was about to step back into the room, a hand firmly grasped her arm and yanked her back. In the blink of an eye, she was thrown backwards onto the floor and pinned down roughly. "What do you think you are doing?" Hans demanded, anger in his facial features and his gun pressed tightly to her temple. "Did you really think you could escape?"

"I…I wasn't trying to escape, I swear," she stammered, trembling violently with fear.

"Don't lie to me!" he yelled, pressing the gun harder into the side of her head.

"I'm not! I'm not! I swear, I was just looking for you," she pleaded, tears running down the sides of her face by now. "Please don't kill me."

Having pity on her, Hans pulled the gun away, and backed up. "Next time you pull a stunt like that, I won't be so lenient. Understood?" She quickly nodded, and he stood back up. "Go back over onto the bed, and stay there," he added, and she quickly scrambled up off of the floor to go over onto the bed, trying her best to stop crying the entire time. After the shock of what just happened wore off, the pain she had been experiencing came back stronger than ever, the intensity enough to make her double over in agony.

Sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the room, Hans watched her intently. He felt a twinge of guilt when he saw she was clearly in pain, but that quickly disappeared when he once more envisioned her standing in the open doorway. She should have known better than to do something as idiotic as that. In his mind, the little bitch deserved it.

For the rest of the morning, Hans proceeded to make various phone calls, making sure his plan was still running smoothly. By the time he completed his final phone call, he was taken by surprise when he saw it was nearly two in the afternoon. Standing up, he straightened his shirt and tucked it in before putting on his suit jacket. "I have some errands I must run. I don't know how long it will be," he informed Rose as he buttoned up his jacket. Walking over to her, he handcuffed her to the bed and gagged her mouth, commenting as he did so, "After this morning, I simply do not trust you. You have left me with no other choice but to do this. Once I return, I will remove them." She looked up at him with pleading eyes, but did not once make a sound.

Giving a tug on the handcuffs, Hans double checked to make sure they were secure before walking out of the room. Left with nothing else to do, Rose simply sat there and waited, hoping it would not be long before he returned.

)))))

It ended up being nearly eleven that night before Hans got back to the hotel room. As he reached into his pocket, he frowned when he heard a muffled noise coming from within the room. Just what was that girl trying to do this time?

Opening the door, he flipped on the light switch, and was taken by surprise when he found a man in the bed with Rose, tugging impatiently at her robe in an attempt to open it. The look of pure terror in her eyes made a sudden surge of protectiveness overtake him, and setting down the bags he had been holding he quickly made his way over to them and yanked the man off of her, tossing him up against the wall. "Who do you think you are, breaking into my room like this?" Hans demanded, his gum aimed at the center of the intruder's forehead.

"Hey man, I was only messing around. I wasn't going to actually do anything. Oh god, please don't shoot me," the man begged.

Not wanting to deal with disposing of a body, Hans pulled his gun back. "Leave. Forget you ever saw us, and never come back. If I see you ever again…I swear I will kill you. Do you understand me, you little shit?" Hans threatened, his voice low and dangerous. The guy immediately nodded, and as soon as Hans let him go he scrambled out of the room. Bringing his attention to Rose, he could see she was silently crying. Walking over to her, he said in a soft voice as he undid her handcuffs, "I'm sorry about this. Had I returned sooner, this could have been avoided." Once her hands were undone, she pulled the cloth gag from her mouth, which increased the volume of her cries. Seeing the way she clutched her abdomen, Hans knew her cries were not only from fright, but also from pain. Not wanting to hear anymore, Hans gently pulled her to him, softly patting her back as he murmured, "There, there, everything is okay now. He's gone."

Rose was taken by surprise at how comforted she was by this, and scooting closer to him, buried herself against his chest, grateful for his strong embrace. Who would have guessed her kidnapper would be the individual protecting her? "I'm sorry, I'm fine now," she said as she pulled away, and wiped her eyes. "The pain I've been experiencing and the fright of what just happened got to me."

Not knowing what to say to this, Hans simply stated, "Go get cleaned up. That should help. Take the black bag over there with you."

Nodding, she got up off the bed, and grabbed the bag he mentioned before heading into the bathroom. Once there, she curiously opened the bag, and was pleasantly surprised to find a fresh change of clothes, along with a few essential toiletries, and a bottle of pain medication.

Had he actually gotten her these things?

Why?

As she proceeded to take a shower and change her bandages, she tried to figure out what could have made him decide to do this. Stepping out of the bathroom, clothed and refreshed, she was brought back when she found a take-out container sitting on her bed. "What is that?" she asked.

"Considering you have not eaten all day, I assumed you would be as famished as I am," he explained. When she looked over at him, she saw he had a matching container sitting next to him, and realized he had been waiting for her to begin eating.

"I am, yes," she said as she sat down, her mouth watering at the smell of the food. "Thank you…for everything. You didn't have to do this."

"Of course I did. These were things you needed. Despite what you may possibly think, I am not a heartless bastard. My plans do not involve making your life a living hell."

She simply smiled at this, before beginning to eat. After a moment of silence, Rose gained the courage to ask, "May I please turn on the TV? I cannot stand having it silent like this anymore."

He gave a slight nod. "You may," he replied, and the two of them listened to the television as they proceeded to eat the meals he had ordered. Once she was finished, Rose realized just how tired she was. Throwing away her empty container, she slid into her bed and buried herself down within the sheet and covers, letting out a sigh of content before quickly falling asleep.

Once Hans could tell she was in a deep sleep, he headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. As he came back into the main room, he turned off the television, before getting into his own bed. Just as he could feel slumber beginning to overtake him, he could hear Rose beginning to move about. Looking over her way, he frowned when he saw she was turning back and forth. She had slept still and soundly the previous night. Why the change?

"No…no, please no…" she suddenly began to whimper, and Hans finally realized she was having a nightmare. Before he knew it, he was seated next to her on the bed, lightly caressing her forehead as he quietly shushed her. What was he doing? This was his hostage. Why was he so focused on keeping her comfortable?

…Just what was this young woman doing to him?

After a moment, she eventually calmed back down, and once more grew still. Hans was brought back when she suddenly grabbed his waist and gave him a squeeze as she rested her head on his thigh. His immediate reaction was to push her away, but instead he found himself leisurely running his fingers through her soft hair. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, she was quickly thawing out his icy heart.