Hey, guys! How are you all? I know Tumblr has been an emotional mess since July 2, but I don't know about here. So, I worked as fast as I could to get this next chapter out, and I'm sorry that it took this long, but here it is. Enjoy chapter eight, New Experiences.

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Tangled or its characters. I do own enthusiasm for the new Tangled short(s?) due out next spring. :P

Chapter Eight

New Experiences

Rapunzel couldn't see anything, couldn't feel anything. She was alone. There was no sound, no warmth. No… well, anything. She strained her ears against the deafening silence, wishing she could hear something, anything, to explain where she was.

She vaguely remembered something that had happened, but she couldn't remember what exactly. She seemed to recall someone or several people being upset, but she couldn't remember for the life of her what had made them so upset. She wanted to help them, make sure that they were okay, but she was stuck in this dome of nothingness. There was only her, and the sound of her shallow breathing.

Her breathing… She could hear again! She strained her ears and began to hear more sounds. She could hear something that sounded like a bird chirping. Was she outside? Had she fallen asleep and just been enveloped in a weird dream? What was going on?

She heard another sound, something like a really quiet sniffle, followed by a whispered voice. Was that… Eugene? Was he crying? Her Eugene, crying? What on earth was going on?

She felt the pressure of the darkness around her lighten and she tentatively opened one eye to gain insight on to where she could possibly be. She could see that she was in her bedroom, tucked into her bed, the covers pulled up only to her stomach. Her window was open, which explained the bird that she had heard. The room looked empty, but she could feel the presence of someone else. She gently turned her head, searching for whatever could be causing the feeling of being watched, but it began to ache for reasons she still could not grasp. She had her sense of feeling back, but for all she cared right now, it could go right back to wherever it had been, thank you very much.

She shifted herself ever so slightly, but was greeted with a sharp pain tearing across her chest. Despite herself and all attempts to be quiet, she uttered a pained whimper. She heard a breath catch beside her and another sniffle, followed by a slight clearing of a throat.

"Rapunzel?" someone asked. The voice sounded strained from worry and lack of sleep, and it was slightly cracked from tears, but the concern and love outweighed every other undertone lying within it.

She carefully turned her face so that her gaze was towards the direction from which the voice came from. It was someone with brown hair and brown eyes, and they were looking down at her the way only one person could. "Eugene?" she whimpered. The pain in her chest was becoming more and more defined, and it hurt for her to breath, or do anything else for that matter.

"Yeah. It's me, sweetheart." He gave her a weak smile as he reached up one hand to tuck a few damp pieces of hair behind her ear, staring intently into her green eyes, which were clouded with pain."I'm right here, darling."She vaguely noticed his other hand was gently holding one of hers, and he raised their entwined fingers to kiss the back of her hand before gently placing it back down on the bed, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth over her knuckles.

Rapunzel tried to smile back, but her head hurt far too much and it came out as more of a wince. She could feel her eyes start to tingle with unshed tears, which quickly began to trail down her pale cheeks.

These tears did not go unseen by Eugene, who immediately sat down next to her on the bed, using one hand to stroke her hair as she began to cry harder. "Hey, hey. Sh, sh, sh, it's gonna be okay. What's hurting?" Eugene mentally cursed himself for asking such a stupid and obvious question, especially at a time like this.

"My," she sobbed, trying to inhale some much-needed air, "my chest. It.. it burns. I don't know how to describe it. I've never felt anything even remotely close to this."

This took a moment for Eugene to process before he realized that this must be the first time she had felt pain, or at least for longer than it took to wrap some hair around it, sing, and make it like it had never happened. He couldn't help but give her a sad little chuckle. "It's called pain, baby." He cupped her cheek. "You don't know much about that, do you?"

Rapunzel shook her head, instantly regretting it as it made her head pound. "I guess my hair always took care of that."

Eugene was at a loss for words as he trailed his thumb gently down her face. "The doctor said that you lost a lot of blood, and it will take some time for your body to build up some strength again, so you'll have to stay in bed for a while, okay, love? But I'll be with you whenever you want me here. Just call my name and I'll be right there by your side."

Rapunzel gave a small chuckle as he began on his little rant. "Eugene?"

"Whenever you need me, I'm your man."

"Eugene…"

"Just say the word, like I said, and-"

"Eugene!" she practically screamed.

"What?" He looked at her worriedly, fear beginning to cross his features.

"Calm down, honey." She was only trying to be funny, but she was still in so much pain she really just wanted him to be quiet for a little while.

"Oh… Okay." He seemed to take the hint and sat next to her in silence. After a few minutes he finally brought himself to ask the question that was bugging him. "Do you remember what happened?" He looked up from his hand to study her eyes intently.

"Kinda… We were walking back from the lagoon, right? And there was this person, and he… he had a sword and you tried to get to me, but you couldn't make it in time, and then my arm and chest hurt, and you were taking me to the castle, and I was on my bed, and then there was more pain, and then nothing, and then I heard you and I woke up." The scared look on her face broke Eugene's heart, and he wished for nothing more than to be able to make it all reverse, so that she could go back to her normal, happy self. He hated seeing her like this, and it just wasn't fair at all.

"Well, the doctor left some herbs for pain like he gave you last night. Do you want them?" He reached for them before she even gave him an answer, already preparing them for her.

"Yeah," she managed to say, voice weak from lack of energy. She took the herbs from Eugene, and after a few minutes, the pain had dulled down to a moderately less painful throb. "Thanks." She managed to produce a weak grin this time, before she nestled her head farther into the pillows.

"Is there something else I can get you? Water, something to eat?" He felt so helpless, knowing that the only thing for her to do now was to wait until her injuries healed, which according to the doctor, could take as long as a few months.

"No, I don't think so. Unless you know how to make the pain go away for good." She gave him a weak smirk, trying to be funny even when she was so obviously in pain.

"I might be able to help," he declared, returning her smirk full-force. He gently leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in the softest of kisses. He pulled back when he heard her groan. "Did I hurt you?" Panic filled his voice and his eyes at the same time.

Rapunzel gave a gentle laugh. "No, silly. It actually felt kinda… nice," she said while grinning up at him.

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Glad to be of assistance."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Rapunzel drifting in and out of consciousness while Eugene held her hand in both of his, stroking it gently while he waited until she had the strength to be awake for a little longer.

He was still so upset with himself that he had let this happen in the first place. She was practically in a coma and it was all because of him. Well, maybe coma was a bit of an exaggeration, perhaps, but it felt to him that she was fairly close. If he had just made her stay next to him and not let her run ahead of him, then this would have never happened. He should have known that something bad would happen. She was a curious girl by nature, and sometimes that natural curiosity got the better of her and led to some bad things. That was, in fact, how she had learned that poison ivy was not a fun thing to play with.

And he should have expected this kind of foul play from that filthy monster of a man that had ran past them. He could not wait to get his hands around that man's neck. He swore if he was walking out in Corona and saw that fool…

His thoughts were interrupted as Rapunzel shifted beside him, her tiny features scrunched up a little from pain. Who was he trying to fool, brooding over his thoughts wasn't going to help him, it wasn't going to help her, it wasn't going to change the past. He cleared all thoughts from his head and focused back on Rapunzel, who had opened her eyes and was studying his face intently.

"It's not your fault," she whispered.

Heavens, she could read him like a book! He gave a heavy sigh. "Yes, it is, Rapunzel. I let you run ahead. I didn't get there fast enough. I couldn't help you."

"Eugene! You saved my life! If you hadn't brought me back to the castle, I could have died out there! I could have been long gone by the time help could have come, but you… you did what you knew had to be done, and if you hadn't been there to save me, then…" she trailed off as she thought of the possible outcomes of the scenario.

"Rapunzel… I don't ever want to lose you. Not now, not tomorrow. Not even years from now." He framed her face with his hands. "I love you too much to think about losing you, do you know that? I can't even think about life without you."

Rapunzel gave a small chuckle. "Is that why you want to get married?" She smiled up at him, gazing intently into his chocolate brown eyes.

Eugene's stony expression softened a little. "Yeah… I guess it is." He ran a hand down her hair. "I love you." He gently kissed her nose.

Rapunzel giggled. "And I love you." She nuzzled her nose against his before she laid her head back down on the pillow. "Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" she asked, looking down at the silver ring on her left hand.

Eugene returned to his position of sitting beside her on the bed. He gave her a half-smile. "Kinda. But it will be so much better, and everything will fall in place, I promise." He nodded his head, affirming his statement.

"What about this?" She motioned gingerly to her chest and arm, which would no doubt scar from her cuts.

"The only thing that matters about those," he said, taking her hands in his, "is that you are safe and sound and breathing." He raised one of her hands up and kissed her palm. "That's what matters the most, and it doesn't change how I'll look at you. You will always be beautiful to me, okay? Nothing can change that, ever."

Rapunzel gave him a shy smile, an unusual thing for her. "Eugene?" She looked up at him through some hair that had fallen in her face.

"Yeah?" He gently brushed the hair from her eyes, waiting for her to speak.

"You're beautiful to me, too." She reached up and tucked some of his hair away from his face. "And nothing will ever change that." She tenderly put an arm around his neck and carefully lifted herself up to kiss him.

Eugene smiled into the kiss before he felt her shaking from her efforts. "Whoa, whoa, easy now Blondie." He wrapped her in his arms and settled her gently against him. "We can't have those stitches coming lose. I'm afraid you'll have to tone down your romantic endeavours for now, as much as I absolutely adore them." He smirked as she rolled her eyes. "Now, promise me you'll get some rest now."

Rapunzel opened her mouth to protest, but Eugene quickly cut her off. "Ah, ah, ah! You need to build your strength back up. Plus, you need your beauty rest, so you can wake up even more beautiful than you already are." He kissed her forehead softly, and she leaned in to his touch. "I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?"

Rapunzel yawned, despite herself and snuggled into his chest the best she could without hurting herself. "O…kay," she managed to get out through her yawns. As she settled herself, she heard Eugene begin to hum their song from the boat, and she allowed herself to be carried away on the tides of a deep sleep.

I don't know, I'm not too fond of this chapter, but I figured that Rapunzel would have some worries and fears and Eugene would want to help her all that he could. Leave me a review and tell me what you think. Or, if ya got a tumblr, let me know so I can follow you, and vice versa… No? Okay. Reviews would be stupendous, though.

EugeneLoverRapunzel