Author's Note: So I've gotten several reviews that Kerrigan is too emotionally fragile but never directly addressed them. I always felt that it wasn't her own mental strength but what having a purpose did to it: in essence, Kerrigan puts her problems aside out of absolute necessity.

The result of that, naturally, will be that she bottles things up until she can deal with them. It's only a matter of having the right catalysts; with Amon out of the way their frequency only will increase as people realize she isn't technically needed any more.

Cantina, Hyperion

Sarah sighed and laid her head against the bar. She stared glumly at her half-eaten slice of cake and put the fork down on the plate. It was good, but she was too upset to eat. After everyone had sought her out to wish her a happy birthday, they'd largely stayed away.

Jim had gone off to socialize with the crew. Sarah wasn't mad at him for leaving her; in fact, she'd asked him to. The crew needed to be reminded he was their commander first, her lover second.

Still, it didn't make being the outcast of her own party any less painful. The crew's restraint on their thoughts had slipped as many of them had gotten drunk, and the number of background thoughts forced her to listen to the closest ones regardless of whether she wanted to or not. She'd tried talking to the crew, but even before the alcohol had taken effect many of them were only mildly interested. Their manners had only gotten worse as they drunk more.

Behind her, Stetmann pounded the Lost Viking machine as he lost his last life. Sarah decided to try and talk to him; two social outcasts could relate to each other, right?

Wrong. Stetmann saw her approach and quickly scuttled away. Sarah returned to her seat at the bar, more alone than ever.

"Can I get you something?" asked the bartender. Sarah ignored him until he made to move away.

"Get me a whiskey. Don't dilute it or anything."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You sure? You don't drink often."

"Just do it. Give me two."

He sighed and passed her the bottles and a glass. "Jim's going to have my hide for this."

Sarah ignored him and poured herself a glass. She stared at it before downing it in one gulp. Immediately she started to feel lightheaded and her vision blurred slightly, but it was worth it if it kept other people's thoughts out of her head. A wave of loneliness suddenly rushed over her and Sarah quickly took another drink, then another, trying to ignore the bitter emotions. She soon downed the first bottle and started on her second.

"Nobody likes me. I try and try, but they still see me as a monster." Her eyes burned with tears and she quickly poured herself another drink, but her hands were shaking so much she dropped the bottle.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," catcalled a marine at a nearby table. His comrades laughed. Sarah shot them a warning look that only drew more laughter as they noticed the heat in her cheeks. The trio soon lost interest and Sarah returned to being immersed in her own thoughts.

"Maybe they're right. Maybe being labelled a monster is more than I deserve. I can't protect anyone or anything I care about." The tears began to fall from her eyes and Sarah buried her head in her arms, not wanting to give anyone incentive to judge her.

"That's all that people judge by in the end. Not my intentions, not my situation, only the outcome. People a century from now won't remember that I tried to help the sector, only that the Queen tried to raze it. Even Jim can't convince them all otherwise..." The inundation of alcohol to her system finally caught up with her and she blacked out. Her limp form slid off the barstool and fell to the floor.

A raucious bout of laughter erupted from a nearby table as the marines saw her fall. Swann, who had been returning from the bathroom at the moment, turned at the noise and, upon seeing Sarah lying spread-eagled on the floor, walked back to the officer's table and tapped Jim on the shoulder.

(music - Mega Man X4: Dialogue)

"Easy, darlin'. It's time for bed."

Sarah regained conciousness slowly and realized she was being carried.

"J...Jim?"

"Shh, I'm here, darlin'. Just rest."

As they passed the laboratory, Sarah felt herself yanked from his grasp. Maybe it was her fevered brain, but she thought she saw the Queen of Blades standing before her.

"Welcome back, my dear."

Sarah was too stunned to speak for a minute. "You...you're dead. Jim killed you."

The creature laughed. "Quite the contrary," she purred, "I never left you."

"Wh...what are you talking about?" Sarah asked.

"You know that answer already. Did you really think someone long ago built a tool just for you to leave the Swarm? You know Narud told you that the artifact didn't work properly because that wasn't it's function, my dear."

"G...Get out of here!" Sarah felt the alcohol-induced fog dissolving from her mind and stood to face the Queen. "You don't own me. I am my own mistress."

"I don't own you because I am you! We are one and the same!" The Queen suddenly lashed out before Sarah could react. But instead of slicing her in half, Sarah felt the Queen's lips on hers. Sarah tried to push the latter away, but it felt as though she were trying to pull something out of a vacuum cleaner.

The Queen of Blades laughed maniacally. "Enjoy your false peace of mind while it lasts! You might destroy the Swarm, but we will haunt you to the day you die!" She suddenly disappeared as though she had been pulled in and Sarah felt a tightening in her chest.

Sarah felt the fog return and slumped against the center console of the lab. Suddenly the door opened and Jim ran inside.

"Sarah! Are you..." his voice cut off as he caught sight of her. He backed away and drew his revolver. "You." His voice was laced with hatred.

Sarah tried to respond, but her body wouldn't obey. The Queen spoke for her. "That's right, Jimmy. I'm back." He immediately fired his weapon at hearing her echoing tones. The explosive shell destroyed the console.

"Move another muscle and I'll pump you full of lead. What did you do with Sarah?"

The Queen laughed. "When are you going to wake up, Jim? I am Sarah."

"Don't lie to me! What have you done with her?!"

Sarah caught sight of her reflection in the tank and noticed that she'd somehow become infested. Her eyes were still emerald, but she suddenly noticed their hue change to amber as the Queen completed her reassertion of control.

Desperate to reach out to him before she was trapped, she summoned her will and broke free for a moment. "Jim, you have to help me! Where's the artifact?" She was about to explain why when the Queen shut her up.

"You expect me to trust you, Queen Bitch of the Universe?! Let me remind you of what I promised the last time I agreed to that!" He raised his revolver.

"This is for DuGalle and thousands of retreating UED that you slaughtered for sport!" He shot her in the leg and the Queen fell to the floor.

He cycled the drum and fired again, shooting the kneecap on her other leg. "This is for the 8 billion people that died in your quest for the xel'naga artifact!"

"This is for Aladris, Razsagal, and Fenix!" With each name he shot her once in the chest. His revolver now empty, he dumped the spent cartridges and loaded a golden bullet from one of his pockets.

He stood over the Queen, aiming the revolver straight between her eyes. "And this is for all the pain you caused both me and Sarah these past four years!"

The weapon discharged its deadly payload once more. Sarah's jailor disappeared from her mind and she was in control once more.

"Jim..."

"Sarah?"

"I...I'm sorry. You'll have to lose me to save me."

He knelt down next to her and held her hand. Though it was doubtlessly paining greatly to do so, he nodded in understanding. "Rest now, darlin'."

She nodded with the last of her fading strength as her vision blurred.

(music - Mega Man X: Cast Roll)

Instead of fading to black like she thought it would, her vision suddenly focused and Sarah found herself on the floor of the bathroom in the cantina. Jim was in the exact same position he'd been in her dream.

"Had a couple, huh? When'd you learn to party like that?" he joked.

Sarah smiled but as she laughed her head throbbed painfully. Not helping was the fact that the jukebox was still playing at near-maximum volume, even though the door partially muted the sound.

"Ugh..." she groaned suddenly as her stomach heaved. Jim immediately realized what was happening and guided her to the toilet, gently holding her and occasionally kissing her cheek to remind her that he was there for her.

After a while, Sarah stumbled over to the sink to wash the taste of vomit from her mouth. Jim gently pulled her closer and she leaned on him as she washed her mouth out.

"Why'd you suddenly drink so much, darlin'?"

She let the question hang for a while before answering. "I...don't know. It just hurt so much I didn't care about anything but stopping it."

"So you do this regularly?"

"No. I thought I could take it, that I could resist trying to run from it...I couldn't. I'm not strong, Jim."

"You are. Nobody else has come even close to what you've experienced, and even then it's driven many to insanity."

"But I'm still not strong enough."

"You can't take everything alone. I know it's uncomfortable for you to trust someone else, but people are made to go through life together, and it's hard enough that way. Going alone will only make things worse."

"But who can I go with? Nobody else on this ship trusts me enough to even hold a conversation that isn't about warfare!"

"You have me, Sarah." He pulled her into his arms. "You always did, even when the Queen held you captive."

"What's that going to mean if the rest of the galaxy hates us?" she whispered depressedly. "I thought we could deal with it, but every time someone thinks something about me or us I hear it whether I want to or not." Her eyes welled up again. "...I never knew they could hurt so much..."

Jim silenced her before she could continue, keeping one arm around her and the other petting her head as she cried into him.

"If you knew it would be this much trouble, would you still have loved me?" Sarah looked up at him in confusion, unsure of how to answer for a moment.

"I...I would've still loved you, Jim. But I don't know about whether I'd want this relationship thing. I want it, but you don't deserve to go through this for my sake, Jim."

"I promised I'd never leave you when I set out to collect those artifact pieces, darlin'. And I'm a man of my word." He kissed her lovingly. "Besides, all of this has only brought us closer."

Sarah nodded. It was true; she couldn't speak for Jim, but she knew that with every misfortune her love for Jim had only grown. She hadn't been sure before Tarsonis, but after four years of separation they'd gotten together almost on sight. When the Dominion had captured Jim, she'd gone after Mengsk and stayed human for him. She had infested herself and set out to stop Amon with the very real possiblity of her death for him. After the xel'naga was dead, she set out to disband the Swarm so they could live their lives out in peace.

"It...just pains me to see you go through this voluntarily and know that I'm the source of it. Especially when I can't do anything about it."

Jim could tell that she didn't want to talk about this matter any more and switched topics. "I'm sorry tonight didn't turn out like we hoped it would, darlin'." He rocked her gently to calm her. "But remember you still have your plan to carry out. You're making good progress with convincing the Protoss; you went from having nobody in the Hierarchy on your side a few months ago to having the majority, and they're convinced enough to defy the official resolution." He paused for a moment. "You are who you choose to be, Sarah. If you want to be the person who destroys the Swarm, then you will. I believe you can." He tightened his grip around her and tenderly nipped her ear. "I wouldn't trust anyone else."

Sarah felt her knees grow weak as she felt his love. Her legs gave out and she would have fallen to the floor if Jim hadn't scooper her up in his arms.

"You're welcome," he smiled as he kissed her and felt her lips form one too. Jim felt a burst of emotion within himself and realized Sarah must have been using telepathy to impart her feelings on him. Normally he would have objected at having to communicate this way with her, but he knew her feelings were too complicated to describe and so he didn't mind. "Let's go to bed."

Sarah gratefully wrapped her arms around his neck and soon fell asleep.

Central Hive, Char (music - Mega Man X4: Magma Dragoon stage)

With the assistance of several intrepid Dominion scientists and Ariel's cure, the Swarm had finished de-infesting the first "shipment." Many of them had to be subdued; as Sarah had feared their mental stability upon emerging from their infested body was near-nonexistent. Some had managed to recover over the few days that they had been waiting, but others had gone mad during that time and committed suicide. In all, about 50% of the original batch of newly recovered humans had done so. To Zagara, it didn't matter; all she wanted was to have the process done. After the infested were gone, she could make her move. She would keep to Kerrigan's oath of not infesting humans, but in reality the broodmother had no intention of breaking the hive mind.

"Have the Dominion arrived, Izsha? The prince informed us they would be here by the previous rotation!"

"Negative, Zagara."

The broodmother growled impatiently. "And our Queen decides to trust them!"

"Kerrigan has her reasons, Zagara. Remember that we still don't know everything about them just as they do not know everything about us."

"Easy for you to say! You were once a Terran yourself, Stukov!"

"I am just reminding you that they were to exchange additional resources for the de-infested, Zagara. Their may be a reason they are delayed; remember that Terrazine is hardly found anywhere besides Bel'shir."

"Stukov of all of us should speak least of patience," remarked Izsha in a rare moment of opinion.

Zagara ignored the rebuke. "What of Kilysa? Has she broken away as she threatened?"

"Her Leviathans have left the remainder of our fleet, which is still holding in orbit at your request. Broodmother Niadra has volunteered to pursue her."

"Rash, that one. She is too confident of her abilities. Being created by the Queen herself does not impart immortality. She has her own weaknesses and oversights."

"Niadra has proven to have tactical thinking surpassing your own, Zagara. Kerrigan created her with the intention of being her successor. And remember her first lesson: nothing comes without a price. Kerrigan may think on a higher level than you, but with that power comes emotional complications."

"Such is only the nature of Terrans," growled Dehaka. "The Primal Zerg possess the same ability without these complications you speak of."

"And yet Kerrigan defeated you and your pack despite being outnumbered and attacked by two other packs at the same time. Primal Zerg may possess independent thought, but it lacks the complexity of Terran thought or is simply not used. Otherwise she would not have been able to outwit you."

Suddenly the communicator sprung to life.

"Praetor Nahaan." Stukov addressed the figure.

"Alexi Stukov. It has been...a long time. However, my business today concerns Broodmother Zagara."

Zagara stepped forward as the other occupants of the war room dispersed. "You address me, Praetor?" The Zerg had quickly learned, through Sarah's dealings, to be acquisient to the Protoss when dealing politics with them.

"If my sources are correct, the Dominion has not yet collected adequate resources for the personnel exchange, no?" Off Zagara's confirmation, Nahaan continued. "As with last time, the Hyperion will be in the Char system to oversee each effort."

"And what do you wish me to do?"

"James Raynor and your Queen will be landing on the surface. I want you to capture him on their last...visit. I will have warriors on hand to apprehend Kerrigan, on the condition that you do not harm them."

"And why should I cooperate? Our duty is to our Queen!"

"She has only led you to believe that, and she seeks your destruction. You are a creature of free will, Zagara. Will you willingly watch the Swarm and yourself destroyed?"

"Destroyed? She does not seek this. We are not to perish in the process."

"And how would you know she speaks the truth? You cannot confirm it because she can easily resist you, and she needs your cooperation to make her scheme happen. You as a leader should be willing to protect your subjects, especially if they are being manipulated. You should be familiar with the Brood War, Zagara. Kerrigan kept her intentions from the remainder of the sector, even her own Swarm, until she was in a position to take power."

Zagara growled. "That has nothing to do with this, Praetor. Your kind are no more trustworthy than we are."

"But it does. You cannot be assured of the honesty of her intentions based on her past deeds, and her power and mostly-human state ensures you can't use the hive mind to discern the truth. Think on this, Zagara! She is completely human now, more so than she has ever been these last four years! Would she leave the Zerg around in any form if it meant that someone could rally them and disturb her again?"

"It makes no difference what her intentions are, Praetor! I will not cooperate!"

"Oh, but you will. You see, with Kerrigan gone, you'll have the opportunity to take what you always wanted for good. You have been naught but a pawn to Kerrigan these years; now you will be in charge, as you aspired to when she was de-infested the first time."

"And I will not. I am satisfied in my position," Zagara grumbled after a brief pause.

"You say it, but you don't believe it. You always wanted the Swarm for yourself, or at least a portion, no? Kerrigan gave you autonomy within her will, but you always wanted to be that will. She made you stronger, but only for her purposes."

At seeing Zagara hesitate again, Nahaan pressed forward. "Yes, indeed. Your power is strong among individuals, but infinitesimally small compared to that of the Swarm. The Zerg's purpose is to grow stronger. Kerrigan has banned you from evolving the Swarm as it will be gone soon. That will change under you. You can gain as much power as you can collect, as can your Swarm. All you have to do is allow me to dispatch a contingent of warriors to subdue Kerrigan."

"And take James Raynor from her. That will be difficult."

"My warriors will take Kerrigan by surprise. She will not have a chance to alert him before she is gone, whether they are together or not. Even if he suspects something, we have a countermeasure in place. Once Kerrigan is gone, you are free to take Raynor prisoner. It is imperative that he be spared, but do not allow him to return to his ship, lest he set out to rescue her."

"And what assurance can you offer me that we will not be thwarted?"

"The Protoss Protectorate is bound to the Hierarchy's will, and that currently is to execute Kerrigan. The Terran Dominion takes no interest in this affair beyond recieving infested, and should Raynor's Raiders set out to rescue their leader, our combined might will crush them utterly."

"And if I refuse? What assures me of the honesty of your intentions?"

"Then you'll always be a princess, never the Queen." Zagara roared in anger and swiped her talons through the image. Nahaan realized he'd pushed more than enough. "The choice, of course, is yours, Broodmother. I hate the Zerg, but in particular, Kerrigan. I am willing to put aside my differences with the remainder of your kind to see her dead."

Zagara calmed herself and nodded. "Very well, Praetor. I shall play along, but do not think for a moment that I will not suspect you or follow you beyond what I have promised now. Your kind are fractious: it is not my responsibility to cover your scheme."

"You will not need to, broodmother. There are many who dissent with my opinion, but they cannot defy the Hierarchy so long as that body remains behind me. There are not many who will risk execution or exile on account of aiding our mortal enemy."

"Inform me when your warriors will arrive."

"You will not be disappointed in your decision, Zagara." With that, Nahaan cut the transmission. Zagara summoned the other members of the war room back.

"What did Nahaan want?" asked Stukov.

"Mere Protoss political harassment. Nothing more," Zagara lied. She already knew Stukov would be a problem if he found out.

Suddenly they all felt a weak tugging in their minds. Zagara thought she recognized the presence as the Queen's, but her reach was not so small or weak. One thing was clear: it was the same signature but no longer that of the Queen she owed allegience to. That being had died when the xel'naga artifact hit her for a second time. The broodmother pushed the presence from her mind. Nahaan was right: it was time for the Swarm to have a new leader.

Hyperion (music - Mega Man X4: Iris)

"I can't, Jim," Sarah sighed as Zagara pushed her out. "It's just as I feared. My psionics aren't any less powerful than they were before, but I can't communicate so easily with the hive mind any more. The removal of the nerve chords was the biggest problem, but using the cure two more times probably exacerbated it."

"Zagara knows better than to judge you by your appearance, Sarah. And she's loyal to you."

"But I'm losing my ability to control the Swarm!" Sarah began to panic. "What if she decides not to listen and kill us all off? Then I can't stop her!"

"Easy now, darlin'. The Zerg aren't politicians."

"Broodmothers still retain free will! It'll be the Brood War all over again! I know some of them don't approve of Zagara, and without access to the hive mind I can't read their minds to ensure that they aren't keeping things from me!"

"We'll deal with it together, Sarah. Like everything else."

"But..." Sarah was cut off as Jim kissed her. He felt her relax slightly as their lips met and she kissed him back. He stared into her eyes and tried to convey calming thoughts to her.

"Don't go fretting about things that you can't control. We'll make ends meet. We both want to be with each other, so we will."

Despite how much Sarah wanted to believe it, she couldn't. She had lost the one thing she had control over. It didn't matter that it was the Swarm; Zagara was loyal to her. But it scared her to no longer be in control.

"C'mon, listen to me, Sarah. Everything'll be alright. I know it."

She gently untangled herself from his embrace and eyed him. "I wish it would be. Jim, I need to be alone for a bit."

He nodded and let go of her, but not before giving her a quick peck on the lips. She smiled in response and left the room.

The crew of the Hyperion were rather apologetic towards Sarah, making her walk through the ship surprisingly pleasant. She knew they were sincere in their apologies, even if they subconciously hated her.

She paused next to a large window as the ship dropped out of warp space to cool its FTL engines, smiling at the beauty of the star system they had jumped into.

Suddenly a metal hand clamped down roughly on her shoulder. Sarah recognized the marines from the previous night.

"Hey there, baby. You're looking good."

She didn't need to read the marines' minds to know they were drunk and that provoking three men in power armor was dangerous, but part of her was tired of caring about the crew's desires.

"Sorry, you picked the wrong person to screw."

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," the marine snarled nastily. His friends edged closer, leering suggestively. "Your choice."

"I got a better idea. Why don't you go screw each other instead. Better yet, go fuck yourself."

"Okay then...I guess you want it rough!" The marine tried to tackle her, but Sarah dropped and rolled aside before he could.

"Men are such pigs..." Another charged at her with a syringe, spreading his arms to block her from rolling beneath him, but Sarah cloaked and began running in the opposite direction. She squeezed between another goon and the wall just before the former got the idea to spread his arms to prevent that. Once she'd gotten what she judged was a safe distance down the corridor, she ducked behind a doorway and opened a hatch on the far side of the hallway telepathically. She could have easily taken all of them, but between her and three dead marines, the crew would more likely believe the latter.

The marines had finally realized she wasn't in the vicinity any more. "Hey, where'd she go?"

One of them saw the door closing. "Must've gone this way!"

"Ah, fuck that! I ain't chasing her through Swann's armory! C'mon, let's get rid of this stuff and out of these suits before someone asks."

(music - Mega Man X4: Dialogue)

Sarah cursed her luck as the marines began to head her way and continued to run down the hallway. Of all of the advances made in cloaking tech since it was pioneered, however, eliminating the shimmer caused by a cloaked object moving was not one of them. One of the marines spotted her and fired a stunner. Sarah realized too late what it was to avoid it, and the energy web shorted out her cloaking device. Without cloaking to hide her she was an easy target for a second shot that paralyzed her enough for the marines to seize her and drag her towards their chosen spot.

"No!" Sarah protested, but even her psionically-augmented strength couldn't wrest her from her captors. Her hands weakly clawed the floor and walls searching for a handhold, but there was none. She managed to utter one more call for help before the marine with the syringe jabbed it into her arm and the strength drained out of her.

The marines soon dragged her into a vacant room where a cot had been set up. Sarah was roughly tossed beside it while the three exited their power armors and began reaching for paraphernalia unrecognizable to her blurry eyesight.

The leader grabbed a spike-studded bat and a cleaver, while the larger goon grabbed a crude bludgeon fashioned from a sharpened gear and a rod. "I'm gonna have a little fun before I get to it." One of his compatriots shook his heads and made for the door. "Hate the sight of blood, Frankie?"

"Nah, just hate the sight of her. Besides, someone's gotta keep watch." He turned away in slight disgust as his pals advanced upon Sarah, who was watching them with wide eyes. All three of them had great reason to hate her: they had been Moebius marines before joining the Raiders following the overrunning of the Foundation's headquarters on Tyrador VII. Their entire company, Goliaths and all, had been ambushed by none other than the Queen herself, and all but the three of them subject to her abuses. They and the others had been forced to watch as Infestors randomly picked eight of them to infest before eight more of them were forced to fight them for the Queen's sport. Some were slowly and excruciatingly executed by means ranging from torture at the Queen's hands to drowning them in spawning pools. Though the Queen ultimately paid far more than letting the artifact locations escape her, the trio had been imbued with a burning hatred from that day on. A group of dropships had found the survivors soon after the Queen grew bored and continued her search.

The marines paused for a moment, delighting in the complete reversal of their roles since the last time they had met her. The one with the cleaver leaned down and received a punch under the chin as he tried to engage the quick release.

The punch wasn't painful - Sarah still didn't have the strength to even stand - but the marine immediately drove the knife down, barely missing her neck and leaving a long slash on her face as she feebly dodged the blow.

"I show you what it fucking feels like!" he snarled as he swung the cleaver again and again. After the second swing the other marine slammed his weapon across the back of her head and both of them began beating her viciously. While she was stunned the pair succeeded in stripping off her hostile environment suit and resumed their vicious assault. The third marine exited the room and slumped against the corridor wall as if faking sleep, seemingly oblivious to the cries of pain issuing from within.

"No, no, please!" Sarah gasped in between cries of pain as the duo continued to slash her with their weapons. Her regeneration could heal such wounds in time, but it couldn't keep up such a high rate of healing for long; her energy reserves were still very finite. Even though she could channel her psionics to feed it unlike most Zerg, she couldn't control her regeneration rate and it didn't make every slice and blow hurt any less.

The vicious butchering suddenly stopped as the marines heard a scuffle outside. The door was knocked down and Sarah could see Jim standing with a group of marines behind him.

"Hey! What's going on here!?" Jim demanded and drew his revolver.

"Just a private matter, sir," the larger one said, moving to block Sarah from Jim's view.

The commander's eyes narrowed. "Don't play a professional for a fool, son." The former responded by throwing his weapon at him. It gouged deep into Jim's power armor, but did not penetrate. The other marines raised their rifles, but Jim pushed them down.

A scream from inside the room caught everyone's attention and Jim took a step back as he saw Sarah stand, covered in blood and looking like a reanimated corpse, but with eyes blazing.

"You can do what you want to me, but I won't let you harm Jim!" She seized both of her assailants and the cleaver with her mind.

Jim quickly recovered. "Sarah, no!"

She turned at the sound of his voice and obediently released her hold. The psionic glow of her eyes quickly faded and was soon replaced by tears as she sank back to the floor, exhausted.

"Sarah! Sarah, are you okay?" Jim quickly knelt next to her and cradled her naked body in his arms. A single tear fell from her eyes onto his armor. "It's okay. I gotcha. You're safe now."

Sarah was unable to respond, but she lifted her gaze to meet Jim's and gave him a brief smile of thanks before she passed out.

Author's Note: A couple of Mafia II references here and there as a prelude to another story I'm working on...keep an eye out for that one in the coming months.

EDIT: So I made a small wording error that will have major repercussions later. That has been fixed.

I've been thinking over this chapter and decided to re-write the last scene. I simply couldn't find adequate justification for the original, and I wasn't happy with how it turned out.