Thank you for all the reviews! Apologies for not updating earlier, but I'm on holiday at the minute and the wifi is absolutely atrocious- this is the first time I've been able to get on the network! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Please leave a review! The next chapter is already written and I will put it up (if the wifi works again) if I hit 315 reviews. Enjoy!

Chapter 24:

Sunday marked the last day of the Easter holidays, and tomorrow I would be back at school, trying to control my class. Hopefully, they'd be more manageable after a two week break in which I imagined they'd done nothing more than stuff themselves with chocolate Easter eggs. My marking was up to date, and I'd written my lesson plans for the next two weeks, so I was free to spend the day how I pleased.

Will arrived promptly at ten, as we'd agreed last night. Still a little light-headed from consuming one too many cocktails last night, I'd barely managed to get out of the shower and change before the doorbell rang.

It was a hot day for once, so I was in navy shorts and a white striped t-shirt. I'd already slathered myself in sun cream, since I had a tendency to burn, and now resembled a deep-fried, oily chip. My hiking boots didn't exactly complement my outfit, but I figured it better to be comfortable than trendy.

I'd already packed a bag for our walk: a light picnic, a couple of water bottles, a collapsible water bowl for Monty, a bottle of suncream, plasters and, most importantly, a fully charged mobile phone, were already packed in my rucksack. Even if Will was with me this time, I wasn't making the same mistake again- a working phone was my top priority.

Half eaten cereal bar in hand, shoes unlaced and still bleary, I opened the door to a sensibly dressed Will.

"Morning." I looked over his outfit of a collared t-shirt, tight across his biceps, and a pair of gym shorts.

"Good morning." He leaned over and planted a quick kiss on my lips, seeming a little more jittery than usual. "You ready to go?"

"Are you okay?" I asked, confused by his nervousness. I hoped something hadn't gone wrong with the company, things were barely back on track; he could do without another setback.

"I'm fine, honest." I wasn't convinced by his answer, but let it go, answering his initial question instead.

"Yeah, nearly. I just need to tie my boots and grab my bag. Have you got suncream on?"

"We're in England, I don't need sunscreen."

"So that's a no?"

"Of course it's a no. Alexis, look at me: do I look like I need sunscreen?" Okay, he probably didn't need suncream- his heritage meant he looked perpetually tanned, like a bronzed God or something.

"That doesn't mean you're immune to skin cancer, Benedict." I grabbed the bottle from my rucksack and threw it at him. "There's a mirror in the hall if you need one to put it on."

"Okay, fine. But, I'm telling you- I don't need it." I laced my boots while he started lathering himself in lotion, before moving to the mirror I mentioned to do his face.

"You'll thank me when you live to 80."

"Sure, sweetheart." He replied as I finished tying my boots and set about finding Monty, clipping him onto his lead. He returned moments later, dropping the suncream back into my bag and hoisting it onto his shoulder. "This bag is coming with us, right?"

"Yeah. It's just got some food and drink- nothing much, but we'll need it."

"Cool. You ready to go?" I nodded, pulling Monty along with me.

"Yeah, let's go." I glanced down at his shoes as we headed through the door. "You sure you'll be okay to walk in them?" His pristine nike trainers didn't exactly seem like the best footwear for a walk in the mountains.

"I'll be fine. I don't generally bring walking boots with me on business trips, but I will next time."

"There's a next time?" I asked.

"Of course." He looped his arm around my shoulders as we made our way down the stairs. "Business trips to the UK have got a whole lot better recently." He looked at me, grinning broadly, and I smiled back shyly.

We decided to take my car to go on our walk, driving to the very car park that Will had driven my car from before, and taking the same route as last Sunday. Hopefully, this walk wouldn't end as disastrously. I'd decided that putting a hyperactive Monty in the back of Will's very expensive, rented car would not bode well for anyone involved, so my little fiat was our car of choice, even if it meant Will was somewhat cramped in the front seat. Fiats were definitely not built for hulking Americans. By the time we arrived the car park was packed; all manner of people were out walking on such a glorious day. Squeezing into one of the last available spaces we locked up and began to walk. Monty ran ahead of us up the valley, whilst we held hands and meandered on after him. Will insisted on carrying the rucksack- looking every inch the model in his black Ray-bans.

"So when do you go back to school?" He asked as we crested the first ridge.

"Tomorrow. The holidays have gone so fast- I'm hoping the kids will be less hyperactive when I get back."

"Hey, you teachers get more vacation time than the rest of us!"

"It's definitely a perk, but is well-needed after spending the rest of the year running after the tykes."

"I wouldn't know: I was always impeccably behaved at school."

"Yeah, sure. I bet you were a hell-raiser."

"No, that was high school and college. At elementary school I was the perfect student."

"The second part I believe, the first I'm not so sure about. I'll need proof to believe you were an angel."

"You wound me, sweetheart."

"Hey, it's not all bad: every girl has a soft spot for a bad boy."

"Well, I'm glad I fit the bill."

We stopped for lunch at the top of the ridge, finding a fairly flat spot near the cairn that marked the summit. Well, if you could call it a summit. Having lived in Colorado and been surrounded by mountains all his life, Will was hardly blown away by what we'd climbed, but he still enjoyed the view; it was green and lush as far as the eye could see. In fact, he liked it so much that he asked a random walker to take a picture of us and Monty, all cuddled up together in front of the view, which he then made his new screensaver for his phone.

After Will devoured the ham sandwiches I'd made, we decided to head for home. It was around one when we started our descent. Monty ran alongside us, straining against the lead, trying to chase the sheep, something that definitely wasn't happening ever again. I needed to get back home in time to leave for Sam's house to meet Elinor later that evening, but we walked fairly quickly. It took us a couple of hours to get back to the car, by which time it was half past three. The car park was significantly emptier than it had been this morning: most of the walkers having called it a day once the sunshine had gone in earlier this afternoon.

"So, only the hardcore walkers remain." Will observed, as I opened the boot of my car and popped Monty in. He was a little muddy from walking- I'd have to give him a quick hose down in the communal garden at the back of my flat before I let him loose on my cream carpets, or my leather car seats.

"Will, I hate to break it to you, but I think you'll have to buy a pair of walking boots before you're classed as hardcore."

"You mean my sneakers don't make the cut?" He teased, looking down at his now rather muddy trainers.

"Sorry! Their rules, not mine!" I laughed as we clambered into the car. "So…" I hedged awkwardly, not quite sure what Will's plans were for the rest of the evening. I knew he had to head back to London tonight, but I wasn't quite sure when he was going, and I needed to get to Sam's.

"You want to go somewhere for dinner?" He asked. "I was going to drive back down tonight, but I think I might go down tomorrow morning instead."

"I'm sorry, I can't. I'm meeting a friend at 5 for tea." He looked stricken, but tried to act casual.

"Where are you off to?"

"I'm just going to see Sam. He and his soulfinder are in Derby for a few days before they move up too Edinburgh, and I want to meet her before they go."

"You can't, Alexis." He said sharply.

"What?" I looked up at him, bemused.

"You can't go!" What the hell was wrong with him? There had been something wrong with him this morning, that he'd refused to admit; he hadn't been quite himself all day. I didn't like controlling men, soulfinder or not, it wasn't on. He must have discerned my thoughts from my expression. "No, seriously- you're in danger if you go, I can tell."

"It's Sam, Will. What danger could I possibly be in?" He shook his head adamantly, worry spreading across his features.

"It's my gift, Lex. I don't know what the danger is yet, but if you go you'll be in danger- you're a giant beacon right now. I wasn't going to tell you because I thought I could find a way for you to be with me all evening, so I could protect you from whatever it was." I still wasn't completely accepting this explanation, and it must have shown on my face.

"My gift's never wrong, Lex. You glow until the danger happens, or until you change your plans to avoid the danger. You're in danger until tomorrow morning at the earliest- it's why I decided to drive back to London tomorrow, rather than tonight."

"Are you sure this is about danger? I mean, it's not because I'm going to see Sam, is it? I mean, with that, you have nothing to worry about that- we're nothing more than friends. We were never going to be. I just want to meet his soulfinder, nothing more"

"This isn't about my ego, or me trusting you and him, Alexis. You could be going to see you mother and I'd have the same reaction. I don't joke about my gift, ever." He looked so worried, and so serious, that I had no option but to believe him.

"Okay, fine." I agreed. "But if you're lying..." He launched himself over the console, and wrapped his arms around me, whispering into my hair.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I'm not lying, I promise; I just need you to be safe- it's why I've been on edge all day. It's not a ploy, honest- I just need to make sure nothing happens to you. It might not be going to see Sam that's the problem, it could be something else, but it's not worth taking the risk."

"Okay, so if I consciously decide not to go and see Sam, then I should stop glowing, right? But if it's something other than Sam, then it must be something else that's causing me to glow?"

"Right. Try it right now- make a conscious change to not go and visit him this evening." I shut my eyes for a second and did as he instructed, imagining myself spending the evening going over lesson plans, rather than visiting Sam and Elinor. As I did so, Will let out an audible sigh of relief. "Thank God, you're back to normal; no danger."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. That seemed rather unbelievable, and very convenient for Will considering how much he disliked the person I was visiting.

"Yeah, positive. I'm not lying Alexis- I swear on my grandmother's grave I'm not. Promise me you won't go." The crazed look in his eyes was enough to convince me.

"I promise." I replied solemnly, watching as the tension left him as a result of my answer.

"Thank you."

"Surely it's me that should be thanking you; I'm now a danger-free zone. I'll ring Sam when I get in to cancel." I said as I turned on the ignition, and pulled out of my parking space. It was time to go home.

On the way, Will got a call from his PA. His partner, Tom, the joint CEO of Benedict Security, who had been visiting ill relatives in Denmark at the time of the hacking, had unexpectedly decided to fly into London at the last minute tonight to help him look over their security systems for the rest of the week, before flying back to the States. He hadn't had signal in the mountains, so it was the first Will had heard of this plan, something that he wasn't all that thrilled about, considering the fact that he was still stressed that something might happen to me. Pulling into my flat, I convinced him to go, practically pushing him into his car. Tom had put personal matters aside for the time being to help out, and his plane was landing at Heathrow at eight, meaning Will would be able to pick him up from the airport and head straight to the office to start looking stuff over before bed.

"I will be fine, Will." I assured him, for what must have been the sixtieth time. Unfortunately, he still didn't look convinced. "I promise I will not go to Sam's house."

"You swear?"

"I swear." He nodded, still not quite satisfied. "Now go, I'll be fine."

"You sure you want me to go?" Leaning up on my tip toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him soundly, pulling away only when I got breathless.

"That didn't seem like a 'yes', to me." He said smugly. It was the first kiss that I'd initiated between us.

"That was a 'get in the car right now, or it's not happening again' kind of kiss.'" I replied with a smirk, watching with delight as he all but leapt into the driver's seat, winding the window down to talk to me.

"Don't make me regret this, Alexis." He said seriously, taking my hand and holding it in both of his. "Promise me you won't go and see him."

"I promise." I replied. "I'll ring you if anything happens. Now get going, you; you don't want to make him wait at the airport for hours!"

"One for the road?" He asked cheekily, tapping his finger against his lips. I rolled my eyes, but obliged, leaning into the car through the window and placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"Now go!"

"Anyone would think you wouldn't want me!" He said, pretending to act like I'd hurt him.

"You know full well that I want you." He wiggled his eyebrows at that. "You are such a perv, Benedict!"

"You love it, sweetheart." I didn't reply to that; his head wouldn't fit out the door if I did.

"Drive safely, and ring me when you get there, okay?"

"Will do, sweetheart." He replied, pulling out of the car park. "Speak to you soon." I waved him off, watching as he wound his way through the parked cars and out of sight. It was about three hours to London from my flat, what with all the road works and inevitable traffic jams, so he should get to Heathrow by the time his friend's flight landed; it was quarter past four now. Turning, I took Monty to the hose in the garden to shower off some of the mud, before heading inside to ring Sam and tell him I wasn't going to be able to make it tonight.

Opening the door, I grabbed a scruffy old towel and dried Monty off, feeding him his dinner and re-filling his water bowl, before picking up my phone to tell Sam the bad news. It rang a few times before he picked up.

"Hello, Lex. You okay?"

"Hi, Sam. I was just ringing to say that I'm really, really sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel tonight. I'm so sorry it's such late notice but.." What did I tell him? He was a savant, so Will's gift wouldn't surprise him, but I really doubted he'd believe that I'd be in genuine danger going to his house to eat ravioli; even I struggled to believe Will's explanation.

"But what? What's wrong, Alexis? Are you sure, I mean Elinor's ravioli looks amazing- it should be done half an hour after you arrive."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, but I can't. It's Will."

"What? Will's not letting you come." He sounded concerned, and I struggled to justify Will's reasoning.

"Yes.. No. Well, yes technically, but not just because he doesn't want me to see you."

"Right…"

"Sorry, I didn't explain that very well. Will's gift is to sense danger. Or, more precisely, when someone's in danger, or going to be in danger."

"Okay.."

"So, I was with him today, and he could sense I was in danger. In order to work out what the danger is, you have to change your plans until he no longer sees that you're in danger- so you change your plans to avoid what the danger is. Well, at least that's how I think it works."

"And coming to see me and Elinor to eat ravioli puts you in real danger, right?" He asked, unimpressed.

"Yes, apparently so. I know it sounds unbelievable, but-"

"Are you sure this isn't a jealousy thing with him? I mean, come on, Alexis! What could really happen to you? Me and Elinor are off to Edinburgh soon, I thought you wanted to meet her."

"I do, Sam, I really do, but I can't. Not today, anyway. He's not lying, Sam, I can tell. He was really worried, and he didn't want to leave me tonight in case something did happen, even after I promised him I wouldn't go and meet you."

"Alright, okay. How about we compromise? You're only in danger if you come to see me and Elinor, right?"

"Yeah. Well, at least I think that's how it works."

"Okay, so how about we come to you? That won't cause you danger, will it? It's only you coming to my house that put you in danger wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Well, I think so.. I'll have to ring and check with Will first, but I think that it was just the original plan that caused the danger. When I made my mind up not to visit you I was fine."

"Okay, perfect. So we can come and see you, right? How about we meet in that little café on the corner of the high street by Tesco? You know, the little one? It's only a few minutes' walk from you. We can just have a quick chat, you can meet Elinor, and be gone in half an hour. If you don't tell him, Will won't even know you've gone." I did know the one he meant. It was a quaint little tea shop, open all hours, that was a haven for tourists and locals alike.

"That sounds nice, Sam, but I will have to ring Will first, to make sure it's okay."

"It will be fine, Alexis. Are you going to have to ring him every time you do anything to make sure it's okay with him?"

"No, Sam, I'm not. But you didn't see how worried he was when I said I was going to see you tonight. I'm not going to not tell him that I'm going, especially when he only wants to keep me out of harm's way, even if this is a totally different plan that avoids the danger I would have been in if I went to your house. Besides, I'm only checking in with him now because he was so worried earlier. I'm sure I'll be fine- meeting you at the café should avoid whatever danger he sensed."

"Okay, Alexis. Text me when you've heard back from him. Do you want to meet at the café at five? El can put the ravioli on hold for a bit, and we'll miss the evening rush at the café."

"I'll see you there at five, unless I text you to tell you otherwise." I confirmed.

"Okay, see you soon hopefully, Lex." He said as he hung up the phone.

As soon as I heard he'd gone, I rang Will, biting my nails as I did so. Hopefully he'd say I'd be fine to go. I mean, it was only going to Sam's house that caused me danger, right. I mean, what could possibly happen to me walking five minutes to a little tea shop and staying for half an hour? I mean, it wasn't as if kidnappings and muggings happened frequently in rural Derbyshire! Unfortunately, Will's phone didn't even ring; it went straight through to answerphone, leaving me with a decision to make. What did I do?

Will had said that I was only in danger if I went to Sam's house. When I changed my plans to go and visit, then I was out of danger; I was fine. This was a new plan, something different. It didn't mean I was in danger, did it? I tried to ring him again, but just got the same response. I left a message. It was twenty to five now, about the time I'd be setting off if I were going to Sam's house.

This was ridiculous. I wasn't going to let Will's gift dictate my life; I wouldn't be able to go anywhere at that rate. Besides, I wasn't going to Sam's house, which was what caused the danger; I was doing something completely different. Something danger free. I'd be fine. I grabbed my shoes, tying the laces, and firing off a quick text to Sam before I changed my mind. I'd got a missed call from Alice, but I decided I'd ring her back tonight when I had more time. Grabbing my keys, I left Monty, and hurried down the stairs. I'd be back in half an hour, and he had everything he needed.

I was going to be early to the tea shop, but I didn't mind. It just meant I'd be able to get a good table for the three of us before everyone arrived. Leaving the flat block, I stepped out into the glorious sunshine; it was a lovely day now that the sun had re-appeared from behind the clouds.

"Miss Anderson!" I heard a little voice yell. I turned to see where the voice had come from and saw little Daisy Law on the other side of the road. Her older sister, Diana was in my class, and they were both very sweet. She dropped her mother's hand, and crossed the road to see me.

She didn't see the car careering out of control around the corner. I did.

Time seemed to freeze for those few seconds. Every moment infinitely longer than the last.

Ten seconds.

I watched in horror as she stepped further into the road.

Nine seconds

The car drew closer, Daisy's mother still totally unaware of what was happening.

Eight seconds.

She wasn't going to make it.

Seven seconds.

I didn't have time to think; I acted.

Six seconds.

I dropped my bag.

Five seconds.

I leapt into the road.

Four seconds.

I raced towards her.

Three seconds.

She turned and saw the car.

Two seconds.

She screamed. Her mother turned to look, but it was too late; she was now nothing more than a mere bystander in this event.

One second.

I had her in my arms.

Time sped up again, when I had her. I didn't have time to move. I felt the impact, I heard her scream. All the air left my lungs in a rush. Our entwined bodies were thrown forward, the gravel ripped at my skin, my head hit the tarmac. It hurt. My head felt fuzzy. Someone was screaming, someone else came and picked up my hand. They said something. I couldn't make it out. I opened my eyes to see, but it was too bright. I felt Daisy wriggling in my arms. I let them go lax. She was okay. Thank God. My eyes slid shut, my senses were overwhelmed. Darkness was better. Much better. And with that, I let myself slip away.

Please leave a review!