A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in yonks, I've been busy with other fanfics You need to bug me about updating
Anyway, just so there's no confusion, this chapter is set six years after the first, so Roman (who now goes by Leo (all is explained next chapter)) and Alina are now eleven This chapter took a while to write, so I hope you all like it!
-ScottishLaura

"Leo, come on, you'll be late for school again! It's bad enough you're sitting detention this afternoon, let alone being late every single day." Leo shrugged.
"I'm not the one that wants to go to school." He gestured towards Alina who was sitting at the table, ready for school, her school bag at her feet. Nero shook his head.
"Leo, I want you ready in three minutes, or I'll drag you to school in whatever you're wearing." Leo shrugged again.
"Eh. I'll get over it." Nero rolled his eyes, and pointed to Leo's room.
"Go. Now." For once, Leo obeyed. He knew when his dad was at the end of his temper. Two and a half minutes later, he emerged from his room, school uniform on, minus the tie. Nero sighed.
"Leo, tie."
"Lost it." Nero groaned.
"Alina, honey, can you go and see if you can find it?" Alina nodded, and sped off to Leo's room. A few moments later, she came out, tie in hand. She gave it to Nero, and sat back down again. Nero walked over to Leo, and knelt down, quickly but neatly putting it on for him.
"OK, kids, lets go." Alina stood up, and briskly walked out the door towards the car. Leo walked slowly towards the car, dragging his feet the whole way. Just as he was about to get in the car, Nero closed the door, and pinned his son against the car.
"Leo. What is wrong with you? You were a straight A student and suddenly your grades drop, you leave all your friends and go and hang out with some 'dodgy' kids. You need to buck up, mister, or I'll consider boarding school." Leo mocked surprise.
"Oh no, not boarding school, dad, anything but that!" He tried to twist from Nero's iron grip, but failed.
"I'm serious, Leo. I want your grades to at least a C by the time April comes around." Leo frowned.
"April? But that's-" Nero smiled.
"Two weeks. I know. So you'd better get a move on with that then." Leo sighed.
"Look, Leo, I know you're a smart kid, and we raised you better then this. You can do so much better-" Leo interrupted him.
"We raised you better then this? Dad, we've hardly seen mum since we were five. The last time she was here, last year, she offered no explanation, nothing, then a month later, she was gone again." Leo sighed. Nero sighed.
"Roman Cahill Nero. You are a good boy, and I love you very much. I can't tell you where your mother is, but I can promise you that she will come back. She loves you very much, and so do I. So can you please try? If not for me, for your mother." Leo sighed.
"OK. I'll try." Nero smiled.
"That's my boy." Nero wrapped his arms around Leo, and Leo wrapped his arms around his father.
Inside the car, Alina's calm manner broke slightly. She turned and looked out the front window, quietly shaking. She knew that Leo had been arguing with the teachers at school, and she knew that his friends were not good people, and she also knew that she was going to get picked on at school again. Every day, she would be singled out. People found all sorts of reasons to pick on her, her name being 'weird', her being too skinny, too nerdy. She was too caught up in her thoughts she didn't hear Nero and Leo get in the car. Nero looked over to her.
"Honey, are you OK?" Alina snapped out of her daydream.
"Wha-?"
"You're shaking. Are you feeling alright?" Alina nodded.
"I'm fine," she lied. "I just sneezed before, that's all." Nero frowned, but let it go. In the pit of Alina's stomach, she felt that gut-wrenching feeling she felt everyday when she knew what was going to happen at school. As the car pulled out of the driveway, Alina was back in her thoughts. She knew that there would be some reason for her to be picked on today, maybe a new reason, maybe a pathetic reason. Either way, it was inevitable. She sighed. The worst thing was that Leo was one of the ones who picked on her. It wasn't as though he hated her, it was his friends, the pressure they were putting on him to be "cool". She sighed again, and looked up to see that dreaded school approaching. She saw Leo's friends waiting at the front gate, and she knew that her dad would have turned the corner before she was through it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Have a good day, kids!" Nero called cheerfully as the pair got out. Alina closed the door behind her, and muttered.
"That's likely." She sighed, and started walking. She walked, staring at her feet, hoping that if she felt invisible, maybe she would be invisible. When she walked through the gates without a single snide comment thrown her way, she looked up. That was her mistake. She saw a row of boys, all taller then her standing in front of her. They all had their sleeves pulled up, and the one at the front looked angry. Alina wanted to shrink into the ground. She looked quickly down the line, her heart dropping when she saw Leo standing there, grinning. Her bottom lip quivered. The boy at the front walked up to Alina, and grabbed her tie.
"I heard you were talking to my girlfriend yesterday." Alina didn't say anything.
"I heard you told her that I was cheating on her." Alina frowned.
"It wasn't me! I've never met your girlfriend! She's not in any of my classes!" The boy frowned.
"That's not what I heard." He yanked her tie, sending her flying to the ground, her bag flying off to the side. Alina hit the ground hard on her side, feeling the bitumen against her cheek. She immediately felt the warm trickle of blood down her cheek, and onto her neck. The boy pulled her to her feet, and dragged her around a corner. He pushed her against the wall, and pushed his palm against her windpipe. Alina immediately couldn't breathe.
"No, please, no!" Her vision went blurry as she struggled to breathe. The boy laughed and threw her to the ground, and she just lay there, panting.
"Hey, Mark, come here for a minute!" A tall boy approached, and Alina would have groaned if she could.
"Show this piece of trash what happens when you mess with Jacob James." Alina smiled slightly. Something bad was going to happen, that much was impossible to deny, but at least she could get something out of it.
"Who's Jacob James?" She smiled when she saw the anger on the boys face. The boy named Mark stepped towards Alina.
"He's Jacob James." The boy brought his foot down on Alina's head. She passed out at that point. From the back of the group of boys, Leo shuddered, but didn't speak up. Another boy joined the pack.
"Oi, Jacob, want me to help?" Everyone turned and looked at the new arrival. It was a short boy wearing school rugby uniform and spikes. Jacob James smiled.
"Go right ahead." The boy was shoved to the front of the group, and everyone took a step back as the boy got to work. He kicked hard and fast, leaving long scratches down Alina's side, face and back. A few moments later, he stepped back to admire his work. Alina was lying on one side, with three long scratches running the full length of her ribs, slowly staining her shirt red. She had numerous small cuts along her cheeks and forehead, her wrist and ankle were twisted to awkward angles and her shirt had lots of shreds hanging off now. The school bell went, and all the boys ran, leaving Leo on his own with Alina.
"I'm sorry, Alina." He turned and ran, leaving his sister behind.

At recess, Alina wasn't where she had been attacked. There was no sign of her, and Leo suddenly got scared. During his first lesson after recess, Maths, there was an announcement over the speakers.
"Staff and students, your attention please. Could Roman Nero please come to the front office immediately, that's Roman Nero to the office, thank you." The teacher just waved to Leo, and he turned and left, panicking. He arrived at the front office soon after leaving, and he looked around. He walked to the receptionist.
"Uh, I was called over-" The lady at reception looked up.
"Roman Nero?" Leo nodded. "Please come with me." She lead him through some offices until they were at the principals office.
"Roman."
"Call me Leo, please." The Principal nodded.
"Leo. Your sister has been injured, we believe it was severe bullying, and as a result, is now in hospital." Leo gasped. "I have, however, arranged transport for you to be taken there immediately." Leo nodded. "Your father will be here shortly." Leo just nodded, and slumped back into the chair. A few moments later, the receptionist knocked at the door.
"Your father is here, Roman." Leo nodded, and stood up, quietly thanking the Principal. He followed the receptionist to where his father was waiting. Leo looked up, and ran straight to his dad.
"Dad!" He wrapped his arms around Nero, sobbing gently. Nero rubbed his back.
"It's OK, Leo, she'll be fine. She'll be fine. She's a fighter, she'll get through it." Nero nodded to the receptionist and mouthed a "thank you" before prying Leo's arms from around him. He placed a hand on each of the boys shoulders, and knelt down.
"Leo, Alina will be OK. I need you to calm down, and get in the car. We'll go straight to the hospital, OK." Leo nodded, and his sobbing subsided. Leo let himself be led from the reception to the car where he got in, put his seatbelt on and stared aimlessly out a window. Nero sighed after watching him for a few moments. He started the car, and began the drive to the hospital. The silence wasn't broken during the trip, and after Nero parked the car in the long-term parking, the pair walked through the hospital to Alina's room. She was lying in the white hospital bed, and she looked deathly pale. The cuts on her face stood out against the white, and the blue sling around her arm looked frightening. Leo was frozen standing at the door while Nero walked in and sat on a chair next to the bed. He reached out and held Alina's uninjured hand, gently rubbing it. He was gently murmuring to her, saying things, some that didn't even make sense. Leo finally moved a bit. He took a few steps into the room, taking in the surroundings. After a minute, he sat in one of the chairs scattered around the room. He sat watching Alina's steady breathing for a long time. He didn't know how long for, but soon enough, he dozed off. When he was asleep, he dreamt of the last time he had seen his mum.

There was a knock at the door. Alina and Leo were eating dinner, while Nero was standing in front of the TV, lecturing the twins about why they should be doing homework instead of watching TV. Nero was distracted, and went to answer the door. He had a small conversation with the person, and then the twins heard the door close. Nero walked back in.
"Leo, Alina, guess who's here?"
"The ice-cream man?" Leo asked hopefully.
"Not quite, but close enough." From around the corner, Raven stepped out. Alina squealed with delight.
"Mummy!" She stood up and ran towards Raven, reaching out to her. Raven smiled, and picked her up, wrapping her up tight. Leo giggled, and ran towards Raven too, and she picked him up, too.
"Wow, you two have grown! Last time I saw you, I could pick you up with one hand." Leo grinned.
"I grew 4 centimeters last month, mummy!" Alina smiled.
"Me too! And 5 the month before that!" Raven smiled. Nothing had changed with the twins. She gently put them down and stepped towards Nero. Nero wrapped her up tight, and gently kissed her on the cheek.
"I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too." Leo stuck his tongue out.
"Eww, Mummy, Daddy, I'm trying to eat dinner, here." Raven and Nero smiled.

The dream faded. Leo sat up abruptly, looking around the room. He looked at his watch. It was after 4:00. He had slept through about 5 hours, but only remembered the single dream. He sighed, and looked around the room. Nero was sitting in the same place as before, but now there was another figure, a smaller, thinner one sitting next to him, holding both Alina's hand, and Nero's hand. Leo frowned.
"Mum?" The figure turned around. Leo smiled, and jumped to his feet.
"Mum! You're back!" Raven smiled, and Leo hugged her tight.
"I'm back, Roman." Leo smiled.
"It's Leo, mum. No one calls me Roman any more." Leo smiled.
"Leo, then." Raven wrapped him up in a hug. "Now, are you going to sit with your sister, or sleep again?" Leo smiled.
"I'll sit." Raven smiled, and Leo pulled a chair over. He sat for hours, watching Alina, hoping, waiting for her to wake up. At about 9:00, Raven fell asleep. A few minutes later, so did Nero. It was midnight when Leo was feeling tired. He was nodding off when he saw Alina's eye twitch. He whispered her name.
"Alina…Alina, wake up. Please, wake up." She didn't move. A few minutes later though, her head moved, and her eyes opened.
"Alina!" Leo breathed. She smiled.
"Hello, worlds worst brother." Leo smiled back.
"I'm sorry, Alina, I really am." Alina smiled.
"Mum?" She asked quizzically. Leo's face lit up. He nodded. Alina's eyes widened.
"Should we wake them?" Leo shook his head.
"Not yet. Just promise me you'll wake up in the morning." Alina smiled.
"I promise." The pair talked quietly until Alina drifted off. Leo smiled, and closed his eyes.