She drifted between sleep and consciousness, content to sleep in my arms, resting her head on my shoulder as her even breathing tickled my neck. God, I'd missed this. God, I'd missed her.

I sat up straight when the door opened and a nurse walked in, instinctively tightening my grasp on Alex. "Who are you?" demanded the nurse.

With the hand that wasn't still stroking Alex's hair, I flashed my badge. "NYPD." Then I hesitated and added, "Her girlfriend."

"You can't be here, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"I can be and I will be." Then I softened my tone. "How is she?"

The nurse shrugged. "As well as can be expected after being sexually assaulted, thrown down two flights of stairs, and being used a punching bag for the past year."

My poor baby. My heart constricted and I hardly dared to voice my next question. "Will she be okay?"

"Hard to say. She's a fighter, though."

"Is she dying?"

She hesitated. "I don't think so, but she lost a lot of blood. She was admitted three days ago – didn't say a word to us and didn't regain consciousness until this morning – but she's stable now."

"What happened to her?"

"The works. Raped, beaten over a period of time by her boyfriend. There was extensive vaginal trauma. But I guess I shouldn't really be telling you this."

"Her – her boyfriend?"

"You can ask her about it. Can you wake her up for me? I need to change her IV."

Poor Alex. She hated needles. I pressed my lips to her forehead and gently rubbed her back. She opened her eyes, fear-filled baby blues flickering up to meet mine, and I was quick to reassure her. "It's okay, baby. It's okay. The nurse just needs to change your IV."

Alex shook her head. "Don't want it."

"I know, baby. I know you hate needles, but I'm here. I've got you. Just squeeze my hand really tight if it hurts, okay?"

She considered for a moment, then finally nodded.

The nurse took the needle out of Alex's arm and wheeled the IV out of the room. She returned a moment later and sat down beside Alex on the bed. "It's going to pinch a little, Alex. Can you give me your arm?"

Alex scrunched her eyes shut and squeezed my hand tightly as the needle went into her arm. A few tears welled up in her eyes from the pain and I quickly kissed them away. "See, baby, that wasn't so bad. You did so well, Alex. I'm proud of you."

I held her close as the nurse left the room, stroking her hair reassuringly and murmuring sweet nothings in her ear. It felt so good to have her in my arms once again. God, I loved her.

"I – I'm dying," she whimpered, curling into me. "I'm sorry. I didn't –"

"You're not dying. The nurse says you're going to be okay."

"But – but it hurts!" She let out a strangled sob. "It hurts so much."

"I know it does, baby, but you've got to hold on." I hesitated for just a moment. "Can you tell me what happened, sweetie?"

She lowered her eyes. "He hurt me."

"Who did, baby?"

"My – my boyfriend."

"Oh."

"I didn't – I didn't want – I love you, Liv. I'll always love you. But here – here I'm not Alex. Here I'm Emily, and Emily needs – needed – a boyfriend. He kept trying to pick me up and finally I just said okay and he seemed like a good enough guy but then – then we moved in together and he started to hurt me. I'm sorry, Liv. I didn't want any of it!"

"I understand, sweetie. I know you didn't want it. I love you, baby, and I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. You don't ever deserve anyone to ever hurt you. You're my princess and you deserve to be treated like one."

Alex began to cry again. "I shouldn't – I shouldn't have called you. Now – now they – they're going to have to relocate me!"

I hugged her tightly. "Shh, baby. Don't think about that. I'm here now, and I love you, and I'm not going anywhere. I know you've been hurt a lot, and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but I promise that from now on, I will protect you. No matter what it takes."

She rested her head in the crook of my neck. "Liv, I – I'm scared," she admitted. "What if – what if he finds me?"

"Velez?"

"No, my – my boyfriend. He said if I ever left, he'd find me and he'd kill me! What if he does?"

"I won't let him, baby, I promise."

She buried her head in my chest. "Now I have two people trying to kill me!"

It would have been funny if it hadn't been so serious.

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