A/N: Yay for long chapters! I hope you all like it! I'm getting close to the climax of this story. There will be about 3-5 more chapters in this story. Now I'm certain that all of you must be wondering where Will is. Hehe, you'll find out. ;) Enjoy!

Deteriorate

I awake the next morning without opening my eyes. Routinely, I take a deep breath in and the clear cut scent of water drifts into my nose. Slowly, the rest of my senses come back to me; and I don't know whether to freak out or moan in happiness.

My eyes open to see Chelsea looking at me with a nervous look on her face. Her teeth are practically grazing on her bottom lip as she looks at me in worry. Nonchalantly, I tighten my grip around her waist and pull her just a bit closer to me.

"Hi." She squeaks out.

"Good morning Chelsea." I whisper back to her.

"I'm sorry." She squeaks out again.

"Why are you sorry?" My eyebrows crease in confusion. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"But, but last night-"

I stop her words with a deep kiss that nearly makes her swoon. Gently I rub my thumb along her jaw line as I stare deep into her eyes. "Last night was the best night of my life."

I let out a gentle smile. "You realize I haven't slept in this bed for over six years?" I kiss her again. "That's because of you."

She blushes and throws the blanket over her head. I chuckle softly as I look around my bedroom. True to what I'd told her; I haven't slept in the bed for six years. But I'd sleep in it every night if I could do that again.

Chelsea emerges from beneath the blankets and lays her head on my chest. Once again, I nearly loose my breath at how perfectly she seems to fit with me. I guess we both realized that last night.

"But it was so unlike something we'd do." She complains.

"Did you not like it?" For a moment I feel like my heart was tearing in two. "We don't have to do it again."

But then she blushes and I feel better. She snuggles closer to me and wraps one of her legs around mine. "I didn't say that." She admits softly.

I kiss her deeply again. Her skin felt unbelievably smooth on mine. In my mind I could barely believe I knew what I was doing; but my body just seemed to know how to naturally react.

Gently my lips trace a trail from her shoulder all the way to her ear. She shudders beneath me, but it's not in disgust.

Abruptly there's a knocking on the door. "Chelsea! You do have a boat to catch, remember?"

Chelsea's eyes widen before me. "Shhhhhhit." She drags out the word and I just lift an eyebrow playfully at her.

My dad laughs from behind the door. "I'll drive you once you're done in there."

That makes both Chelsea and I blush. I kiss her one more time before we get out of the bed and begin to get dressed.

"Hey Chelsea?" I start as I slip on my pants and she puts on a bra. "How do you tell if you're pregnant?"

That makes her blush and she tugs a shirt over her head to hide it. I pull my own shirt on as I wait for her answer.

Even my hat is on my head when she finally responds. "You want to know if I…if I…if I'm pregnant?"

She laughs lightly to cover up her own nervousness. "I'll go check."

I raise my eyebrows. "You just happened to bring something to tell if you were pregnant?"

She shakes her head. "No. Your dad put it on the table."

With that statement, she leaves me alone in the room as she goes into the bathroom. I go out to the kitchen to find my dad drinking a cup of coffee; he was smirking to himself.

"You bought it?" I ask him as I drown my pills with another cup of coffee.

He looks at me quizzically; though probably for the pills. "Yes I did."

"Why?"

Seth begins to laugh. "Because I know that both of you are-" He pauses and chuckles to himself. "Were, virgins last night. So obviously neither of you used any sort of protection. I simply went out after you both got home and bought it, just so you could be prepared."

I roll my eyes. "Were we drunk?"

He laughs again. "I don't think you need to be drunk." He shrugs. "Sometimes it just happens."

I take a sip of my coffee. "Shouldn't you be mad at me or something? Isn't that was parents do?"

He shakes his head. "You're twenty four Vaughn. I can't exactly go ordering you around." Then he laughs again. "Besides, I was sixteen when your mother and I first had sex. This is nothing compared to that."

I shudder at the idea of my parents having sex. It's not I thought they didn't; it was just really gross to think about.

Chelsea walks out of the bathroom, and I can't help but stare at her in a new light. To me, it looked like she shone wherever she moved and she looked even more beautiful than she had yesterday.

She walks up to me with a grave expression on her face. She glances once at my dad and then she shallows hard.

"Vaughn. I'm…" She pauses and licks her lips. My eyes widen like saucers and my heart begins racing. I didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

"Are you pregnant Chelsea?" My dad asks her softly. Chelsea looks down at the ground and nods her head.

My mouth practically drops to the floor. "Are you kidding me? What are we supposed to do?"

Chelsea speaks without raising her head from looking at the floor. "Well, first you should come over here."

Then she lifts her head and takes a step towards me. "Then you can kiss me." She leans up and kisses me tenderly on the lips. Without leaning back down, she begins to whisper in my ear. "And lastly, we can call a doctor so I can say: Gotcha."

My head reclines back from her to see her face lit up with a smile. Chelsea holds up the pregnancy test and I see that in bold letters the word NEGATIVE was written across it.

"You're not pregnant?" My mouth is probably gaping more that it was when I thought she was pregnant.

She lets out a lovely, heavenly laugh. "Nope."

"Why would you scare me like that?"

"Hey, you scared me last night when you pretended to ask me to marry you."

"That has different!"

"Hardly."

"It is though!"

"Well, it's my revenge then."

I raise my eyebrows at her. "So you seduced me so that you could have a little revenge?"

The corners of her mouth twitch upwards in amusement. "No, I seduced you because I love you." She shrugs slightly. "I wanted to, and I knew you would never consent if I just told you."

"That's because I normally would have liked to marry you first."

"Well it's good to know you want to marry me, cowboy." Her smile is mischievous and doing things to my mind.

I chuckle. "But you don't have to worry about that anymore."

She laughs too. "You bet." Then she wraps her arms around my waist. "You're mine." With that she kisses me lightly on my lips. "And nothing," Again she kisses me. "Is ever," She kisses me slowly this time; rather seductively actually. "Going to change that." One more time she kisses me. "Nothing."

A moan comes from the back of my throat, and I kiss her this time; holding her to me. After a few minutes, I hear someone clearing their throat. My ears start flaming; I'd forgotten that my dad was sitting right beside me. Evidently, Chelsea had forgotten too, because I can feel her head face as her cheek brushes against mine.

"Chelsea, you do have to leave." He interrupts politely.

"Alright." She agrees, her face still blushing red. "Why don't you go out to the car and I'll meet you there?"

He laughs and shakes his head. But he does get up and begins to leave my apartment. Before he closes the door he calls out to us. "Try to keep it under half and hour!" Then the door shuts and I hear the lock click in place.

Chelsea blushes but she grabs my hand and drags me back to the bedroom.

True to our word, half an hour later my dad drives Chelsea to the boat that would take her back to the Island. I told my dad where I worked and he said he'd come visit once he was done dropping her off.

For the next week, my dad and I hang out the entire time; even while I'm working. My boss didn't mind; he was actually ecstatic to learn that my dad was alive and greeted him enthusiastically.

I learn a bunch of things about my dad. For one, I learn that Mirabelle was actually my mom's sister and not my dad's. I also learned that my dad had never met Mirabelle or Julia. I found out that my parents had known each other since they were about five years old; and my dad had been in love with her ever since.

My dad was an amazing cook; which is probably why I'm more than decent at it. Like me, he hates the rain and loves the country. He also hates mining; which gave me a smug sort of satisfaction. He also told me that he thought Chelsea was an amazing girl.

In turn, I told him all about my life. Showed him what I did for a living, and he loved the animals. I told him all about my disease, and the pills and headaches. I also told him he could come to the Island with me next time I went; that way he could meet all the people on the Island.

The day before we go to the Island, my dad and I are out at a bar. Just for a drink. He's drinking a strawberry milk latte in remembrance of my mom, though he had it laced with some alcohol. I had some red wine.

"So Vaughn," Seth begins. "You love Chelsea, don't you?"

Helplessly, I nod my head. I still couldn't actually say the words. My dad sighs and pats my back. "How long have you guys been dating?"

"Almost a full season." I answer him. "But I've known her for a little more than a year."

"Why don't you ask her to marry you then?"

I shrug slightly, my mood souring with the conversation. "Fear of rejection, I guess."

He laughs. And laughs. And laughs. Actually he laughs so hard that he falls off his chair and the bartender has to look over at him to see if he was okay. He was.

Seth gets back on his chair and calms down. I shoot a glare at him, but he just shakes it off. "Vaughn, a girl like that doesn't come along every day. I can tell that she loves you with all her heart and soul." Suddenly he chuckles. "And I could hear that she was loving you with all her heart and soul when she was here."

I groan. "Dad! That's gross."

He laughs and shrugs. "Hey, I wasn't the one making love!"

"Yeah, but you were listening! That's gross!"

He just waves his hand and for a second he reminds me of Skye. "That's not the point."

"Do you know you have a step-son?" I blurt the words out. Not once this week had I mentioned Skye.

"What?" His face is one of complete shock. "Amy got married again?"

I shake my head. "She was raped." My throat seems to close up again with the talk of my mom, so I take a drink of my wine to cover it.

Seth's shoulders seem to sag. "Oh Amy."

"He's on the Island, if you want to meet him tomorrow."

He just nods; looking glum. So I try to cheer him up. "So what were you saying before?"

He seems to perk up. "Why don't you ask Chelsea to marry you? If you ask me, marriage is much better than just plain dating."

That makes me raise my eyebrows. He laughs. "Your mother and I were married for a year before I lost my memory. It was the best year of my life."

I shrug, my hand unconsciously going to the ring in my pocket. "Maybe."

The next day when I arrive on the Island, Chelsea isn't there to greet me. That strikes me as odd, but I don't have long to think about it because the next second Julia has her arms flung around me.

"Vaughn it's so good to see you!" Julia gushes out. "I can't believe how much has happened since you've been gone!"

I raise my eyebrows at her. "What happened?"

Suddenly she laughs and when she speaks, she lowers her voice. "Well for one, I hear the Elliot and I aren't the only ones who lost our virginity this week."

That makes me blush. "How did you find out?"

Julia just laughs. "You know Chelsea can't keep a secret around me when I constantly bug her."

I chuckle. "Yeah that gets really annoying."

"Hey!" She attempts to look stern with me, but for some reason she's just way too happy.

"So what else happened?" I ask her, waiting for her to finish so I could introduce her to her uncle.

"I'm pregnant!" She exclaims, a smile lighting up her whole face.

"Are you serious?" I ask her. "I've only been gone a week."

She laughs. "And I'm only a week pregnant." Julia laughs again and pats her stomach lovingly. "It's called a honeymoon you know?"

"Congrats then." It makes her face light up into an even bigger smile. "So are you living with Elliot and his family now?"

Her smile disappears. "I want to, but I just can't leave Mirabelle alone, you know?"

Suddenly, my dad coughs from behind me and a brilliant idea sparks in my mind. "Julia, you move in with Elliot. I know who'll keep Mirabelle company."

She looks at me quizzically and I turn and tap my dad on the shoulder. He turns around and Julia gasps when she sees the colour of his eyes.

"Julia. Meet your uncle-in-law. My dad."

Her mouth is gaping open. "You're dad's alive?"

I nod and my dad reaches out his hand. "I'm Seth. You must be Julia." She takes his hand and nods back, a smile twitching on her lips.

Then she turns back to me. "That was Chelsea birthday surprise for you wasn't it? She found your supposedly dead father.' She shakes her head and laughs lightly. "She wouldn't tell me what it was."

Suddenly her eyes widen and she grabs my dad's hand. "Oh my god! I've got to show you to everyone!" With that she runs off with my dad as he shoots me a look that clearly said 'HELP ME!' I just laughed and waved at him.

I reach deep into my pockets to feel the ever constant touch of the ring. All of a sudden, I knew that I could do it. Quickly I begin to walk to Chelsea's farm. I pass a bunch of people being introduced to my dad, but no one stops me.

When I reach Chelsea's farm, I don't notice anyone around. Her animals were all grazing on a huge plot of grass and all her spring crops seemed to be coming along nicely. So I decide to try the house.

Gently I wrap on the door. All of a sudden there's a huge crash. Automatically, I yank open the door to find Chelsea sprawled across the floor and her window was broken. Anxiously, I run up to her and turn her over.

Her eyes were closed but I press my fingers to her neck and I sigh out loud in relief when I feel a pulse.

Suddenly her eyes flutter open and for a second I catch a look of fear before her face softens in relief. "Vaughn."

"I'm here." I whisper back to her. "What happened?"

She takes a deep breath but then looks up and shrieks. "Vaughn look out!"

With skill that only comes with many hours of practice, I whip my knife out of my boots, spin around and throw the knife at the person behind me. Just like I'd expected, the knife lodges itself deep into Will's lower abdomen.

Will's bright blue eyes widen in shock as he falls to his knees. He's still alive though; I don't like I hit any vital organs. And it's a small knife.

"You weren't kidding about that." Will mutters, his face contorted in pain.

I snort. "You're lucky I didn't throw that at your heart."

He nods, seemingly good natured about it. I guess having lodged in your stomach changes your outlook on life.

I stand up and walk over to the phone. Quickly I dial a number. The phone barely finishes ringing once before it's picked up.

"Chelsea?" It's Mirabelle's voice on the phone.

"Mirabelle, it's Vaughn." I speak into the phone as I glare at Will. He's clutching at his stomach. I cover the speaker end of the phone for a sec. "You might not want to pull that out. You might rip something out."

Will stops trying to take out my knife and I go back to my conversation. "Mirabelle, I need you to get Dr. Trent from the Hotel. And tell him to bring his medical equipment."

"Why? Vaughn, what's going on?" She demands of me.

"We found Will." I answer and then hang up on her.

Both Will and Chelsea are looking at me with something a bit akin to fear. It's unnerving me a bit; but I can't back down now.

"Why are you here Will?" My voice is deadly and he visibly flinches from it.

"Well, you see, I was-" I cut him off by throwing my hand into the air. Then I speak, my eyes narrowed at him. "I want a short and simple explanation. Not a story."

He nods quickly as he eyes my boots. I bet he thought I had another knife. I didn't; but I wasn't going to correct him.

"Harassing Chelsea."

"Why?"

He shrugs slightly even as he winces at the movement. "Cause she picked you over me."

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. This would never stop. No one would believe me when I told them Will has harassing Chelsea. She wouldn't admit to it because she didn't know the whole story. No one but Natalie would believe me and Will would sweet talk his way out of trouble. Then it would begin again.

I go to Chelsea and help her stand up. She gives me a shy little smile; but I can't return it. Her smile only makes my heart break even more with the thought of what I'd have to do to protect her.

Carefully I help her sit down on one of the stools by her kitchen. After checking to make sure she wasn't hurt, I slump against the wall. My head begins to pound and I take out a Tylenol pill from my pocket and swallow it.

"This is all my fault." I whisper softly.

"What is?" Chelsea asks as she turns to me.

"Everything. Your house being destroyed. Your animals being killed. This attack on your life. All the bad stuff that keeps happening to you is because of me."

"That's ridiculous."

"It's not though. Even ask the fake prince over there." I gesture to Will. "He destroyed your house. He opened your animal pens so that the wild dogs would get to them. He's even the reason that you haven't been getting a good night sleep for the past while."

Her mouth slowly opens as she stares at me and Will in disbelief. I have to swallow hard in order to continue. "And he did it because of me."

She turns to Will. "Is that true?" Wordlessly, he nods. Though I think it was because he was trying not to pass out. Blood was splattered all over him and was oozing out onto the floor. It was kind of gross, but I wasn't going to help him.

"You see. So, you see why I have to leave." I reach deep into my pockets as I say it.

"Wait," Chelsea looks at me, with genuine fear flooding into her face. "Are you breaking up with me?"

I nod. It wasn't exactly what I'd come to her house to do, but I could see now that I was fooling myself. No matter what happened, I couldn't continue living this life.

"Why?" I could hear the pleading in her voice. "Will's caught now, he can't hurt me!"

I shake my head. "I won't take that chance. If I leave you alone, then he will too." I take the few steps needed to cross over to her. Gently I take my hand out of my pocket and clasp her hand with it.

"Why are you doing this?" She looks up into my eyes, her own filling up to the brim with tears.

"Because I love you Chelsea. And I don't want you to get hurt like I am." With that, I gently kiss her mouth. I can taste the saltiness of her tears but I try to ignore it. Only when I feel my own tears mixing with hers do I end the kiss.

I turn away from her, and take my hand out of hers. But I leave the small item that was in my hand. Then I begin to walk out of the house, tears flowing freely down my face now.

But before I can open the door and leave, the door flies open and about half the Island swarms into the house. I'm pushed back up against the wall, but no one has noticed my tears.

Dr. Trent fusses over Will as everyone else prods him with questions. I can see Will looking up at Lily and she's looking down at him. The look that passes between then reminds me of the look Sabrina and Mark shared when they first met. It shocked me to realize that Will had fallen in love with Lily. Skye wouldn't like that at all.

My stomach begins to throb along with my headache. I rub my head and pop another Tylenol.

Absently, my gaze goes to Chelsea. Tears were still running down her face as she stares at my mother's diamond ring that I'd put into her hand. She glances up and her teary eyes meet mine. I quickly look away and pull my hat tighter over my eyes.

My knees begin to feel weak and I'm starting to wonder what was wrong with me. I'd taken my pills dutifully since the last accident. What was going on?

Suddenly there's a loud scream and I look over to see Dr. Trent with my knife. He had taken it out of Will's abdomen. That's got to hurt.

"Doc, you want to pass me my knife?" I call out to him.

He looks at me quizzically, his dark hair falling into his eyes. "Your knife?"

I nod; not providing an answer. He doesn't ask for one as he passes it to me. Maybe it was because he could see my tear-streaked face.

My stomach begins to throb again; harder than before. I glance over at Chelsea and without warning, I double over and hurl on the floor.

I'm slightly curious as to why no one was worried about that, but then I glance over at Dr. Trent and see that he was sewing up Will. I guess they thought I was puking at that.

Will is whimpering like a five-year old as the Doc finishes up. Lily and Julia have to hold him down so he wouldn't squirm.

"There. You're done." Dr. Trent tells him as he leans back and wipes the beads of sweat off his face. "You should lie down for a couple days and try not the get stabbed again."

Will attempts a small laugh, but he grimaces in pain instead. Lily offers to take him back to his ship and along with the help of Mirabelle and my dad, they leave the house. The only people left are Dr. Trent, Julia, Elliot, Denny, Chelsea, and I.

Dr. Trent stands up and wipes his forehead again. "Anyone want to tell me what happened?"

I barely hear what he said. Carefully, I set my bloodied knife on the counter. Then I grip the edge of the counter, my knuckles turning white.

"Chelsea?" Dr. Trent's voice is serious, but I can't seem to lift my seemingly leaden tongue to answer him.

"Chelsea, it's okay. You can tell him what happened." Julia and Elliot are trying to comfort her. Denny meanwhile is cleaning up all the broken glass from the window.

Chelsea glances up at me again. My heart throbs as I see that she's still silently crying. I can see her fist is clenched tightly and I know she's holding my ring.

Suddenly, I'm lightheaded. I blink my eyes repeatedly but it doesn't seem to do any good. I lift my hands off the counter to straighten up, but the minute I do that I can't seem to stand.

I fall to the ground with a loud crash. My head hurts worse than anything I've ever experienced before, and I don't think I could get up even if I wanted to.

Dimly I can see everyone crowded around me. My eyes frantically search for Chelsea. I find her right beside me and I can see that her hand is holding mine, even though I can't feel it. I can see tears running down her face as she says something; but whatever it is, I can't hear it.

Then my eyes flutter shut and I'm sent to the dark region of unconsciousness.

A/N: I'm such a jerk aren't I? The start of this chapter is so happy and the end is so depressing. *pouts* Review while you wait for the next chapter! Which, btw, will be from Chelsea POV! O.o