AN: Many thanks, Lanternfan, for your reviews to the last couple of chapters; I'm glad you enjoyed them and found everyone to be in character.

Waking up in a hospital room was a strange sensation. I started to come round with a strange pounding in my head and, even with my eyes shut, I could tell I wasn't waking where I usually did. The unfamiliar bed, the unfamiliar smell, the unfamiliar pain (my jaw ached, my ribs ached, and my nose didn't feel too good either)… but I could also feel a pressure on my right hand then I suddenly felt a pair of soft, gentle lips on it. I squeezed the hand gripping it slightly; it was an almost automatic and involuntary response before I heard my name being called, almost in elation.

"Freddie!" the voice was Tori's.

"Freddie!" Is there an echo in here? That sounded like… my mom's voice. I opened my eyes, taking a moment to adjust to the light… light? Last thing I remember was the alleyway, it was dark, the goons…

I was hauled back to the here and now by the sight that greeted me as my vision came into focus; three smiling brunettes eyeing me with a blend of delight and apprehension on their faces.

"M – mom? Carly? Tori?" I didn't have much of a voice.

Tori asked what I remembered and my mind flew back to… I guess, I hope, that it was only last night; I've no idea how long I'd been out. The restaurant, the walk home, the thugs, what they said they wanted to do to her… oh my God. I looked at her; was she ok? Did she get away from them? All I wanted was to keep her safe from harm. The look on her face, her smile, her face being unblemished, her words – it all told me that she was fine so whatever I'd been through had been worth it; I had to be certain though.

"Three guys… said they'd… Tori, did you get away from them?"

"Shhh. Yes Freddie I was fine, thanks to you, you saved my…" and then she trailed off awkwardly. From the corner of my eye I could see her dad was in the room; his expression changed as the cogs in his mind processed why his youngest daughter was at a loss for words. In spite of the pain and the situation I amused myself with the thought that, had I not already been in a hospital then I may be about to be admitted to one.

I turned my attention to my mom. There was a mingling of fear and relief in her eyes as she looked at me; memories of Christmas came flooding back and a feeling of regret swelled in my heart. Regret that we'd left so abruptly after Christmas and I hoped that she felt it too for pushing me into it; however that was a conversation for later.

"How are you mom?" I asked her.

"Never do this to me again young man" she began. "I was so worried when Tori called me last night, especially after how Christmas ended." She hesitated before continuing "I'm sorry Freddie, for embarrassing you."

I smiled at her; it looks like we're going to do this now then. "I love you mom. I just hope that one day you can accept that I'm growing up!"

Mom swooped down on me and I briefly wondered if there was danger of her suffocating me with how tight she was holding me. I lifted my left arm to hug her back, wincing in pain as I did; my injuries were even worse than I had originally thought. She must have registered the wince as she released me and gave me a concern-filled look as he righted herself. She then turned to the doctor and asked for a list of my injuries. Wow; three broken ribs, broken jaw, broken nose, dislocated shoulder (put back while I was out), a fairly comprehensive bruise collection – no wonder everything hurt; at least I didn't lose any teeth. I'm glad Mr Vega heard the litany as it means there are fewer places for him to swing at when he gets me alone…

I was surprised to see Carly stood there but she wore a similar look to that of my mom, clearly relieved that I was ok but crestfallen that I'd received so many injuries. It was good to see her again. Mr Vega decided he needed to have a discussion with his youngest daughter and they left the room as Carly stepped closer.

"We were so worried when Tori called last night" her soft voice was laced with fear and concern.

I tried to reassure her that I was fine. I'm not sure she believed me; my face probably suggested that I wasn't particularly fine. She pulled me in for a gentle hug; seeing the pain my mom had unintentionally caused me probably tempered her actions somewhat. She surprised me by placing a soft kiss on my forehead and whispering "I'm glad you're gonna be ok" before gently clambering off me and returning to the floor.

"I gotta call Sam" she said suddenly and dashed out of the room; now it was just me, mom and the doctor. Mom immediately began plying him with questions; her medical knowledge meant that she could make it a thorough interrogation. She asked specifics about the injuries, how long I'd need to be in hospital, recovery times, any physio or rehab I may require. Before long she had cajoled quite an extensive list out of him; I had a feeling copies would be attached to a number of noticeboards around LA.

Carly disappearing to call Sam caused another thought to occur.

"Did Sam not want to fly down with you?" I asked mom.

"She wasn't at Carly's last night; I think it was Pam's annual 'Be a better mother day'" she added sniffily; no Freddie, she apologised, now isn't the time to make snide comments on your mom's parenting… "Anyway Carly called her from the airport but she would have had difficulty getting there on time – and found it very difficult getting the money together for the flight, last minute seats on a red-eye weren't cheap; worth every penny" she emphasised lest I think she resented paying out the cash to fly down to my bedside "but I doubt Pam or Samantha would be able to raise the cash given their… home circumstances" she concluded delicately. I smiled my understanding.

"She's relieved that you're ok" Carly's voice declared as she re-entered the room.

I gave her a look of surprise and noted drily "She's usually delighted when someone hurts me."

Carly responded with a reproachful look. "She really has grown up Freddie; she was concerned when we told her what had happened to you and she really wishes she could be here now." I opened my mouth to comment but she cut me off "Not so that she could make your injuries worse" though the smile played on her lips as our eyes met, confirming that we were sharing that particular thought.

Mr Vega looked around the door with an announcement that he needed to head to work but that he'd look in later; he'd take the opportunity to get a formal statement from me (because he's Tori's father they'd need someone else to take her statement) and he'd use that as an opportunity to look in later. He bade us farewell and my girls sat quietly with me until the groan of my stomach sent mom bustling for a nurse or someone to provide some food.

The surprises kept on coming as André suddenly walked through the door. He looked over to Tori and greeted her.

"Hey muchacha" before looking at me with a broad smile. "Man, the lengths you go to to keep that girl from her homework!"

"Oh my God André, I totally forgot we were meeting today. I'm sorry."

"Hey it's chill" the musician replied. "Your mom told me what went down last night; I'm just glad you're ok and Freddie's still breathing after all of it." The concern for us both was evident in his eyes and his tone.

"You should go" I told my girl. "If you guys have work to do, get it done."

"I'm not leaving you" she insisted.

I tried to tell her that I was fine, that Carly and my mom were there and that she should go and do what she needed to but she has a stubborn streak; she refused to leave so André simply joined the little gathering in my hospital room instead. Hot on his heels were Robbie, Cat, Beck and Jade; having learned the story from Mrs Vega André had let them know what happened and Beck had turned taxi driver to collect the gang and bring them to see us.

A nurse arrived with food and pointed out that too many people were now gathered around my bed; Mom, Carly and Tori backed out of the room very reluctantly to allow the newcomers a chance to talk to me while I ate.

"Was there much blood?" Oh Jade, you are the only person that could open with that question and in such a blunt, conversational tone.

Beck looked slightly aghast at his girlfriend's directness; I just smiled and confirmed that I did bleed a bit at the scene (according to Tori and the cop who brought me in anyway, I don't remember too much once the kicking started).

"Cool" A gleam flashed in the mean girl's eyes before it was extinguished by a gentle nudge from her long-haired boyfriend.

"Are you hurt badly?" Cat was far more sympathetic in her questioning. I went over the list of injuries the doctor had recited earlier; I think I remembered them all. The red velvet-haired girl's expression became more and more sombre as they continued to mount up; tears were threatening to well in her eyes when I had finished.

"You took all that for Tori" her voice was soft and carried a faint trace of awe.

"I did what it took to keep her safe" What else could I say?

Robbie complained that I was putting the rest of our gender to shame between this and the taco truck incident; I just laughed it off. Beck confirmed that you do whatever it takes to keep your loved ones safe, which sparked a playful argument with Jade over which one of them would do the protecting if they were in that situation. I have to admit that I think if you put Jade up against a goon or two then I'd back here to win.

Mom felt she'd been away from my bedside for too long so André left to make room for her; he told me he and Tori would find a quiet corner of the hospital and begin their homework assignment. I asked him to take my cellphone to Tori and get her to call some of my college friends, in particular my roommate Tom and project partner Andy, to let them know what had happened; Tom as I obviously never made it back last night (he knew Tori wasn't driving so he'd have expected me back last night) and Andy so he didn't think I'd bailed on our study session. André took my phone from the side of the room, where most of my stuff had been left when I was put in this bed, and headed to find my girl.

"That's two more visitors in the next ten minutes" I joked, though it proved to be prescient as my two friends joined party. Neither stayed long; they made sure that I was ok, Tom made a couple of unsubtle remarks about how my girl was going to thank me for this later (typical former High School jock really) and gave Cat an uncomfortably creepy look; Robbie looked angry at him, Jade looked ready to slug him. Andy, meanwhile, promised our project was in good hands and that, if I wasn't out of hospital or back in class tomorrow, he'd swing by with notes and information about what I'd missed (it turned out that they'd keep me in overnight for observation and order a couple of days of bed rest afterwards).

Mr Vega returned mid-afternoon on official business (at least in part). He took my statement, asked a few questions about the thugs, looked for descriptions; I gave all the detail that I could and he seemed happy that between us we'd described the trio. Now it was up to LAPD's finest to catch them.

Day moved into evening and finally people began to depart; despite the fact that I'd just laid there all day fatigue was setting in for me and the medical staff began clearing people out. Tori's friends left with waves, best wishes and a promise that they'd see me after school tomorrow. The Vegas, meanwhile, had offered Carly and my mom houseroom for a couple of days; they could only be away from Seattle, work, college and Sam for so long. Mr Vega asked Mrs Vega, who had arrived with Trina during the afternoon, and Tori to take their guests to her car; he wanted a little chat with me before he went back downtown and closed the door behind them leaving just the two of us in the room.

"Do you know how many times I've thought about how I would react to finding out a guy was sleeping with my little girl? Or how many different things I thought of doing to him?" His face was a mask and his tone even.

"Well at least those goons saved you the job of putting me in a hospital" I said, gesturing to our surroundings. He dropped his poker face for a second and allowed a small grin.

"Freddie, I'm her dad; that means it's difficult for me to feel that there's a guy on the planet who'd good enough for her."

"My mom thinks the same towards me" I interjected.

"You've been together for what, about six months now?" I nodded; we'd started dating last summer. "I guess I always knew this day would come eventually, as much as I want to lock her away and keep her from every guy until she's about seventy." He took a steadying breath and continued "What happened last night proved one thing; you're one of the good guys Freddie. Tori loves you – that much is obvious. You proved last night that you love her and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe. As her dad I can't ask for more than that." I chose to remain silent and awaited his next comment. "So long as you keep looking after her, keep making her happy and keep her safe… you will always be welcome at our home, at any time." It seemed he was talking through slightly gritted teeth but the meaning was clear; her dad, however grudgingly or unwillingly, approved of our relationship… all of it.

"I'm not going to tell her father he doesn't have to worry about her sir – again I know from my mom that it would be a waste of breath" he chuckled slightly "but I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure that she will always be safe with me."

Her dad gave me a warm, genuine smile; I smiled back, though I made sure to not make it too cocky. Inside, however, I was feeling elated; I had gained his approval and his blessing to stay with Tori whenever we wanted to.