For the First Time

by Lara D

Daphne's teacher has a dangerous past and a possibly dark future. Who would've thought he was the Mustardseed she had met in her childhood? Something's up, and it's up to this Grimm to discover the truth, and maybe find love in the process. / AU; Published with Permission of Jordan Lynde; Complete.

61. Chapter 61:

A/N. I know you're thinking, "OMG! LARA UPDATED EARLY! YAAAYY!" (just kidding) I know, surprise, surprise! ^^ The reason why I'm not updating tomorrow, and have this for today is because I have a fever. So does my sister. And my brother. And my mom. And we all got it from our dad. So, we feel awful. My dad said none of us will use computers, iPads, iPhones –nothing. And we can only watch TV after naps for an hour. So, internally, I screamed, "Are you kidding me?" So, that's why I updated today. :3

For those of you who know I have a deviantArt, I uploaded two pictures I drew of Red and Daphne –with a scanner. Finally. So if you want to check it out, just type in the URL: imagine0139 (dot) deviantart (dot) com. And click the Gallery and go to "Featured". ^^

All right. We're going to get more action in this chapter (YIPPEEEE!) and a bit of horror (no, Bryant is not a zombie, nor is he Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, nor is he Voldemart) at the end. But on the bright side –we get some Sage. Yay!

Chapter 61: Don't Sleep

I began to struggle in Peter's grasp as the men disappeared from my view, heading towards Bryant and Mr. Firay. Peter held me tighter, snickering. "I'm not letting you go," he told me.

I ignored him, twisting as violently as I could. Bryant said something incoherent from behind me, and I heard the first sound of a punch landing in a hand. Then another sound— this time of a punch landing on a chest. I struggled harder, growing frantic. Even if Mr. Firay was an Everafter, he couldn't take on eight men at the same time.

"If you're that desperate to see your hero get beat up, I'll let you watch," Peter said, twisting me around again. "Here."

My eyes landed on Mr. Firay, who was being held still by four of the men. The other four men were standing in front of him, looking threatening. Bryant was standing to the side, wiping the blood off his face. I watched in horror as one of the men standing in front of Mr. Firay brought a fist to his face. Before it landed, I turned away, unable to watch.

"Do you want to count the punches with me?" Peter inquired. "That's one…" There was another smack, making me wince again. "Two."

"So, Matt, I hope you enjoy jail as much as I did," Bryant commented. "I'm very aware about the fact that you'll go back to jail if you were caught up in a gang problem."

My head snapped back to Mr. Firay just in time to see him get slammed in the face. "Stop it!" I shouted, trying to move towards him. "Mr. Firay!"

"Are you going to answer me, Matt?" Bryant asked, moving towards Mr. Firay.

The three men in front of Mr. Firay moved to the side to let Bryant through. Bryant stopped in front of Mr. Firay, bringing his head closer to him. He said something I couldn't hear. Without any warning, Mr. Firay elbowed two of the men holding him in the face, they both went down, and as they were going down Mr. Firay smashed them for the second time. Then, before I could blink, he sent his fist straight into Bryant's jaw, knocking him to the ground. Mr. Firay then moved forward to attack him again, but all five other men were on him in a flash.

"Mr. Firay!" I screamed as he was knocked to the ground. "No!"

While Mr. Firay was on the ground, the men surrounding him began to kick him violently. My heart thudded painfully in my chest as I watched him be beaten. I thrashed violently in Peter's arms, trying to break free.

"Stop it!" I shrieked again, watching as one of the men aimed a kick to his face. "Please! Stop!"

No one even glanced at me. Peter chuckled. "You may just get to watch him die."

"Bryant! Bryant! Please!"

Bryant turned to me, still lying on the ground. An amused grin spread across his face. "What? I can't hear you Daphne."

"Please, stop them!" I screamed at him, my throat already feeling raw. "Please!"

"What?"

"Stop them, Bryant! Please!"

"What? Hurt him more?" Bryant responded, feigning confusion. "If you say so…"

My eyes widened. "No!"

Mr. Firay let out a groan as someone stomped on his chest. When Mr. Firay tried to pull the leg off him, another person kicked his arms away. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Oh, that looks like it hurts," Peter commented.

Angrily, I brought back my head to smash it in his chest. He must have had his head down, because I felt my head bang against his jaw. This caused him to relax his grip on me, and I was able to twist out of it. When he went to grab me again, I brought my knee up to his crotch. Instead of him falling down like I expected him to, he grabbed my hair, yanking my head back.

"You bitch," he growled, pulling me closer to him.

Once again I brought my head back into him. He groaned in pain, letting me go for the second time. Without hesitating, I burst forward, heading towards the men surrounding Mr. Firay. I shoved through them, throwing myself on top of Mr. Firay. One of the men kicked my side, causing me to cry out in pain.

"Stop it!" I heard Bryant shout. "Don't hit her!"

Immediately the men backed up, leaving me breathless on top of Mr. Firay. He stared up at me, his eyes wide. Blood was tricking from the corners of his lips, and there was already a large bruise on top left of his forehead. He shut his eyes for a moment, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.

"Move," I heard Bryant order gruffly and a few seconds later there was a pair of legs in front of me. I looked up to see Bryant glaring down at me. "Get up, Daphne."

"No."

"Now."

I shook my head stubbornly, wrapping my arms around Mr. Firay. "No."

Bryant gave me a hard look. "Daphne, either you move away from him, or you're just going to have to be beat up with him."

"I'm not moving," I told Bryant, holding onto Mr. Firay harder. "I'm not leaving Matt."

Bryant glared at me for another moment before letting out a deep sigh. "Fine. I'll tell them not to ruin your pretty face. Okay, boys?"

There was a low chuckle throughout the group surrounding us. I shut my eyes, dropping my head onto Mr. Firay's chest, preparing myself. The slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed calmed me.

"Daphne," he whispered in a pained voice. "Don't—"

"I'm staying," I responded stubbornly, feeling my eyes begin to burn. "This is my fault. I'm not letting you do this alone."

There was the sound of shuffled footsteps as the men came closer to us. I held my breath, waiting for the pain. Before I felt any though, there was a low swear from Bryant. Mr. Firay turned his head, a relieved expression coming onto his face. My first thought was that the police had come, and I just hadn't heard their car. I turned too, letting out a sigh of relief. When my eyes landed on Sage, Wendell, and two other men I didn't know, my heart stopped.

Each of the men had a gun. Sage had his pointed at Bryant, Wendell had his pointed at the man closest to me, and the other two men were alternating their gunpoint between the other gang members.

"Sorry I'm late," Sage commented with a grin. "It took a little time to hunt down the backups."

Mr. Firay gave a low chuckle. "You made it just in time."

"I thought you said the police were coming!" Bryant shouted at the man closest to me. "Not these guys!"

"Oh, they police are coming," Wendell assured Bryant. "But we were already five minutes away when we called them. No service," he added when Mr. Firay gave him an annoyed look.

I stared at Wendell in alarm. Why was he here? Out of all the people in the world to being here, Sage brought Wendell? Who had been attacked by Bryant before? Who had probably never held a gun in his life before? When Wendell noticed I was staring at him, he sent me a small grin.

"Now," Sage started in an authoritive tone. "Move away from Daphne and Matt, or we'll shoot."

Immediately the men surrounding us moved backwards, putting up their hands in surrender. Bryant swore again, but also took a few steps away from us. Mr. Firay gently pushed me off him, climbing to his feet. He then pulled me to my feet, holding me up until I gained my balance. I smoothed out my shirt, wincing as my hand brushed my now bruised side.

Mr. Firay grabbed my arm, pulling me into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me hard. "Daphne, don't ever try to protect me again, okay? I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt again because of me."

I frowned slightly. "But you were getting hurt because of me…"

"I can handle it though," Mr. Firay responded, pulling me away so he could grin at me. "You, on the other hand, are a little more fragile."

I blushed slightly. Mr. Firay sighed lightly. "Your blush is so calming, Daphne."

I blushed darker. "What?"

Bryant cleared his throat loudly. "Aren't you two cute?"

"I hope you're ready to go back to jail," Mr. Firay said, turning to smirk at Bryant. "Quite the change of events, huh?"

Bryant glared at him. "I should have known you would rely on others to help."

"That's what friends are for," Mr. Firay responded with a shrug. "Oh wait. You don't have friends. You have followers. And now your followers are useless."

Bryant rolled his eyes. "This isn't over yet."

"Yes, it is," Mr. Firay responded with an air of finality.

"Matt!" Sage called to Mr. Firay, his gun still on Bryant. "Do you have anything we can tie these guys up with?"

Mr. Firay nodded. "Yeah, I have some rope."

"Where?"

"Daphne, in the trunk of my car is some rope," Mr. Firay told me, nodding towards it. "Go get it so we can tie these guys up."

I nodded, shakily taking a few steps towards his car before bursting into a full out sprint. When I reached the car I quickly popped the trunk, grabbing the rope that was piled up at the bottom of it. I turned back to where Mr. Firay was, trying to wind the rope up so I wouldn't trip on it. Mr. Firay was by Sage now, who still had his gun pointed towards Bryant. Wendell had moved over to where the two other men I didn't know were, and together they were keeping an eye on the rest of Bryant's followers. My eyes swept around for Peter, and I found him passed out on the ground a few feet away from me. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. When had that happened?

"Daphne! The rope!" Sage called back to me. "You're so slow!"

"I'm coming!" I responded, tossing it over my shoulder and marching towards them. "Jeez! I don't want it to be tang…"

I trailed off, feeling a hand enclose on my upper arm, pulling me to a stop. My eyes widened in surprise, and I turned my head to see James behind me. He sent me a hard look.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," James commented in a low voice. "But now I have no choice."

Something sharp entered my field of vision as James brought his arm around me. My breath caught in my throat when I felt smooth, cool metal press against my throat. I went rigid, holding my breath tightly.

"All of you, drop your guns or she gets it," James threatened. "There's poison on this knife. And I don't believe you have healing magic, do you, Matt?"

All four men with guns exchanged surprised looks. Wendell lowered his gun a fraction of an inch.

"Don't drop them!" I screamed at him.

"But Daphne—"

"Don't!"

"I advise they do it," James said loudly.

"Drop your guns," Mr. Firay ordered, turning to Sage.

I glared at him in frustration. "No! Don't do it!"

Sage looked between Mr. Firay and me for a moment, looking torn between us. He lowered his hand the slightest bit like Wendell had, and I heaved a frustrated groan.

"Times up."

An odd sensation ran through my stomach. For a second, I was too bewildered to have a reaction. My eyes dropped down to my stomach, where the handle of a knife could be seen. I dropped the rope, raising my shaky hands up to the handle. I touched it gently, and a scream tore through my throat as a horrible, burning sensation suddenly spread through my midriff. I screamed again, falling to my knees, causing the knife to shift inside me. More shrieks came from my mouth as I looked up at James in terror. He had another knife in his other hand.

"Daphne!" a panicked voice I recognized as Wendell's shouted. "Daphne! Oh my god! Stop him!"

James's eyes never left my face. He brought down the knife. Before it could come in contact with my skin, a loud crack sounded. James's shot open and he stumbled backwards, dropping the knife. He dropped to the ground with a loud shout of pain.

I slowly turned my head towards the group, tears blurring my vision. My gut felt like it was on fire. My vision swayed for a moment, but when I focused I noticed Mr. Firay was running towards me. Everyone else was just looking at me with a horrified expression. My eyes landed on Bryant and another scream escaped me— this time due to panic.

"Mr. Firay!" I shrieked in terror.

With all the attention on me, Bryant had somehow managed to pull out a gun, and he was now pointing it at Mr. Firay. Panicking, I looked all around for something to help with. Peter's body was just a few inches away from me. Immediately I spotted Merlin's Wand. I began to reach towards it and the tension it put on my stomach caused a great deal of pain, but I continued anyway. My hand closed around the handle and I yanked it back, fumbling with it until I had a good grip on it.. I turned back to Mr. Firay, who was only a few feet away from me now.

"Daphne, what are you doing?" he started, coming to a stop a few feet away from me.

"Don't stop!" I screamed at him, seeing Bryant aim his gun. I aimed my weapon, too, my quavering hand making it difficult to fix my aim on him. I tried to concentrate even though I was filled with terror.

"Why not—"

There was a slight movement from Bryant's hand. My heart jumped into my chest when I realized he was about to shoot Mr. Firay. Closing my eyes tightly, I slighty waved the wand. "Gimme some magic." A sharp bang rang in my ears, like a real gun, and my hand flew back from the force. I dropped the wand, gasping in surprise. When I finally opened my eyes again, Bryant was on the ground, shouting in pain.

"Matt!" Sage shouted in panic.

My eyes snapped up to Mr. Firay, who was staring forwards in surprise. His gaze dropped to his side, and my eyes followed. A small groan escaped my lips when I realized he was covered in blood. Mr. Firay furrowed his eyebrows, taking a few steps towards me. He dropped to the ground when he was next to me, putting a hand on his side.

"Mr. Firay," I started in a hoarse whisper. "Bryant… Bryant shot you."

"I'm fine," he told me, his jaw clenched. "Wendell, call an ambulance."

"I— I already did," Wendell responded in a terrified voice. "Are you okay, Firay?"

Mr. Firay took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm fine. Daphne, I need to put pressure on your wound."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, leaning back, and taking of his shirt.

I tried to prepare myself for the pain. As soon as Mr. Firay's hands touched my midriff the burning sensation returned and a gasp of pain left my lips. I tried to push him away, but he kept his hands pressed to my wound. I twisted uncomfortably, groaning as the knife inside me twisted with me.

"Take the knife out," I begged.

"I can't."

"Yes you can!"

"If I do you might bleed to death!"

"But Mr. Firay," I panted, closing my eyes, "it hurts!"

"I know," he responded, sounding pained.

"Help," I begged, not knowing what else to say.

"We have to stop the blood," Mr. Firay told me in a tight voice. "Hold on."

I groaned in pain when I felt the pressure against my midriff increase. "Stop! That hurts!"

"I have to, Daphne."

"No! Stop!"

"Daphne, please!" Mr. Firay nearly shouted. "I have to!"

My eyes opened as I saw Mr. Firay staring down at me, his expression filled with pain. His eyes were glazed over as he pressed his hands into my stomach, trying to stop the blood flow. My eyes watered as I took in his expression.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, dropping his head. "I'm sorry, Daphne. I have to do this."

"Am I going to die?" I asked, closing my eyes again.

"You're not going to die," Mr. Firay told me in a hard tone. "Just hold on a few more minutes, the ambulance will be here."

"What about the police?"

"They'll be here too."

"Will they take you?"

Mr. Firay was silent. "I don't know."

"You're hurt though." My heart rate increased again. "They won't take you to jail if you're hurt will they?"

"No, they won't," Mr. Firay assured me. "Daphne, calm down."

I reached up my hand towards the sound of his voice. After a moment I felt a hand enclose on mine and pull it back down to the ground. Tears formed behind my closed eyes again as I gripped onto his hand as tightly as they could.

"Don't leave," I murmured.

"I'm not going to," he responded quietly. "I'll always be here, Daphne. I love you."

I winced as he shifted the pressure on my midriff. "I love you too."

The sounds of sirens in the distance suddenly filled my hearing. Mr. Firay let out a deep sigh of relief. I relaxed too, suddenly feeling sleepy. I let go of Mr. Firay's hand, dropping mine to the ground, too tired to hold my arm up anymore.

"Daphne?"

"Mm?"

"Daphne, stay awake," he ordered me. "Come on, open your eyes."

I shook my head. "I'm tired."

"Daphne, you need to stay awake."

"No."

Mr. Firay gently shook my shoulder. "Come on, Daphne. Open your eyes. Don't sleep."

"Stop it," I muttered, turning my head to the side.

"Daphne!" Mr. Firay said loudly. "Just stay awake, okay?"

I mumbled something incoherent, not fully aware of what I was saying. Weariness washed over me, but I tried to fight it off. I wanted to make sure Mr. Firay would be okay. It was a tough feat. Mr. Firay said something to me, but it sounded garbled with the noise of sirens in the background. I drifted in and out of unconsciousness, struggling to open my eyes again. Finally I gave up, just as I felt the pressure on my stomach disappear. All noises were shut out as I drifted off into complete darkness.

A/N. After I went swimming with my siblings on Friday and finished this chapter, I realized that I can't reply to every anon. and non-anon. reviewer separately. So! For this chapter, I will reply to reviews both anon and non-anon so my inbox may breathe again. One full page that's in my inbox (I have like, four pages full of reviews. :3). Well, almost full –I'm so sick (It's a wonder that this chapter came out nicely) and I'm tired. D:

Let's Begin!

PenguinLoverGurl, Chapter 55: Aw, thank you! ^^ Lol –did you know Ellen has made a lot of people take their shirts off? I thought that was funny when I saw, "Alex Pettyfer Takes Off His Shirt On Ellen!" XD Lol –be flattered. It's good to be. A duh! If I'm a Filipina –which I am- I should go to the Philippines at least once in my life –in my case, I've lost track. :D Lol –if I wasn't Filipino, who do you think I'd be? Japanese? Chinese? Haha, thanks! ^^

PenguinLoverGirl, Chapter 57: Haha, I tricked you. XD Hahha –I am lucky you survived. Your reviews are awesome. Haha –nice reasons. True that –on Peter Bieber. Grr. Miley Cyrus ruined her career, she really did. Lol –It's Pe-rrry! Perry the Pla-ty-pus! Lol, all right. OH! Thanks! ^^ Aww, thank you! May the Lord bless and shine on both you and your loved ones, too!

Airene Archerway, Chapter 35: Lol –I saw the video. That was funny. XD Hahaha, lucky you!

Airene Archerway, Chapter 32: Shaine and Sairi are adorable. :D Lol –really? WOW. My brother's only 7, and my sister's 8, haha. Yes, you're right –Sairi, eight; Sage; twenty. Lol, you can PM me your Twitter if you'd like. :D Hahaha, Meanie Meatball? XD Hahaha –same thing for me and my friend. :D We're both pretty smart, too. Thanks!

Airene Archerway, Chapter 29: Ah! I did? MUST FIX. Thanks! :D Owwww. I got hit in the face with a football –my glasses almost broke. :D Lol, Finnick's awesome. Hahaha, true –that's why I have MSeed this way. :D Thanks!

Airene Archerway, Chapter 24: Lol –Daphnerseed, yes. :DHahaha, that's good. It works out in the end. :D Hahaha! What do you think of One Direction? Oh, you didn't get into too much trouble, right? Well, I'm glad you liked the pizza sticks thing. :D It was fun to write.

Airene Archerway, Chapter 22: Hahaha –I love Sour Cream. He is awesome. I love him so much. XD Hahah, well, after this story's over, she'll probably call him Matt. Hahah, really? I don't like cleaning very much. Oops, haha. :D I'll fix that. Thanks!

Airene Archerway, Chapter 17: Wendell is pretty awesome. Oh, thanks for pointing that out! ^^ Wendell doesn't have a girlfriend, lol. XD

Airene Archerway, Chapter 16: That's all right. :D Yep –that'd be really bad if Wendell still liked her. They can stop aging, and start aging –but they can't get younger. :D Poor Wendell and Gale. Hahah –I'm glad you found that funny. Thanks! ^^

Airene Archerway, Chapter 7: Yes, she does. :D Lol –true that. All right! And MANY similarities, my friend. Many. ;D Lol –too bad they're real minor characters. Lol –puppy eyes! Hahah, all right. A-durr. :D I did? Thanks for pointing that out.

Airene Archerway, Chapter 5: Not really. :D Hahaha –I will, in the future. :D But the kiss was cute, yes? XD Oh, sorry I haven't posted it –I don't think I will, actually. Just because I think it'll ruin Mark of Athena for me. But maybe I'll do a one-shot or something… Yes, I am thinking, "Why the tartarus do like a crazy teddy-bear slaughtering freak? Haha! You're just like Estrangelo Edessa -she loves Moth. Actually, check out her story, "Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned". She hasn't updated in awhile, but it's really good. Everyone says she's a Mary Sue. Could you point our Piper's Mary Sue-ness to me? LEO IS FRIGGIN AWESOME! My dad's name is Leo. :D Actually his friends call him Yoyong (Filipino thing), hee hee. But yeah –OMG! There's this picture of him on deviantArt; he's holding a ball of fire and in the background, it says, "This is why I'm hot." XD Thanks!

Airene Archerway, Chapter 2: Lol, at least you're reviewing now. XD Hahaha. :D That's all right –the amount of reviews made me SERIOUSLY happy. Really? That's cool –your friends read FFs. My friends used to, but now most of them are interested in makeup, weird sounding music, weird dancing, and boys. Bleh. (Well, people like Sage and Mr. Firay aren't bleh. ;D) Thanks! Yeah, it was pretty obvious, heehee. But that's a good thing –it shows you're not dumb. :D You're not weird –everyone's just unique. XD Haha –I like Ariana, too. Sigh! Gasp! XD Well, to keep it mysterious –Puck just can't make pizza.

killer bunnies, Chapter 57: That's all right -2 reviews is the maximum. :D Lol –arthritis is like…it's makes your movements limited. Like, being paralyzed…sorta. :D Hahah, I can't believe I got you, though. Sage is really great, isn't he? XDDD My mom wouldn't do that either. :D I liked that part, too! *highfive* Boo Kristen Stewart! And Peter Bieber, kinda. (I don't really have anything against him, but there are so many people fussing over him.) Lol, goodnight!

Puckabrina-Percabeth-Fax101, Chapter 57: It's not annoying at all, my friend. :D Aw, thanks a lot –that means gravy to me. ;D I can't believe you got your friends on this story…thanks! …A pregnant Sabrina? Hmmm… *grin grin grin* Maaybe. Lol! I'm not annoyed –really. :D Thanks!

Curlscat, Chapter 57: AHH! I'M SO SORRY! We're going to work on it! I'll send it to you –promise. Lol –I know, that was OOC, but she can trust Daphne, can't she? :D Lol. Thanks! Grrr- I'll fix it. Mr. Secretive Grocer is a very funny man. XD Oh, thanks –I'll fix that. Haha, thanks! Bahamas.

All right. There was a lot more, but I'm sick and I'm shivering. Sorry I haven't replied to all. Pray for me, you guys. I really hate feeling sick.

And I'm sorry this was such a cliffy –you'll forgive me next chapter. Promise. It has fluff and lots of humor. And sorry this was so cheesy –I couldn't eat it because of my braces. ;D

Until Friday!

~Lara