Shaun jumped out of bed, his heart pounding. Where could she be? he thought. Where could she go? He walked as quickly and quietly as he could down the hall and into the sanctuary. Everything was dark and silent. Shaun forced himself to take a deep breath. This had once happened before, and Lucy had made it very clear to him that it would happen again. She'd told him she had almost lost count of all the times she had found Subject Sixteen in the floor in front of the door to his room, mumbling in foreign languages, or found him walking a hole in his floor, seemingly confused about his surroundings. Lucy had made it painfully clear that the same thing would happen to Desmond. There was no stopping it, so long as Desmond had to use the Animus.

Maybe she's in that warehouse again? Shaun thought as he turned for the stairs and hurried up to Mario Auditore's study. She wasn't there, and Shaun hurried on, walking with long, purposeful strides, fighting the urge to call out for her.

The air outside was warm from the rays of the long-gone summer sun. The town below was quiet, the windows dark, everyone asleep. From the steps of the villa, Shaun could see the warehouses where Desmond had gone before. He set of quickly in that direction, keeping his eyes and ears open for any sign of the missing girl.

Shaun ran through the possibilities in his head. The warehouse, or any other empty building in the business district. Running across the rooftops. She hopefully hadn't made it past the walls. There was one possibility that was nearly impossible, and highly improbable, but it found its way to Shaun's mind and his racing heart: Abstergo. If it was Abstergo, you wouldn't be breathing, Shaun reminded himself as he neared the warehouses. He looked inside every single one of them, his surprise growing with every vacant structure. He had been counting on her being in one of them. Fear shot through him like ice water in his veins. Where could she be?

Shaun ran to the storefronts, checking everywhere that he could think of, only to emerge alone. Panic had his hands trembling, his breath coming in short puffs. He was afraid for Desmond, afraid she had disappeared for good, and he couldn't stop her name from slipping past his lips.

"Desmond!" he shouted, hoping beyond hope that she could hear him. "Desmond!" Shaun turned and ran towards the gate to Monteriggioni, ready to search for the girl outside the walls. "Desmond!"

Shaun whipped his head around as a scream shattered the silence. He stopped dead in his tracks, frozen, heart pounding in his ears, listening for something to tell him where the noise had come from. Another scream pierced his ears, coming from the direction of the villa.

God, no, he thought desperately as he raced back towards the villa. Don't let anything happen to them. Let Rebecca and Lucy be safe. Don't let them be hurt… Shaun repeated this mantra - Let them be safe. Don't let them be hurt. - over and over again as he ran as fast as he could for the colossal building. Another scream echoed from the villa, and Shaun pumped his legs as hard as possible, his breath almost nonexistent. Shaun's lungs felt like they were the size of a teaspoon, and they burned like they were ablaze. His side had a burning stitch and his thighs felt like he'd never walk again. He paused when he reached the front of the villa, trying to catch his breath. He placed his palms on his knees, trying to drag air into his lungs.

"Shaun!" Shaun jerked upright, his eyes scanning the roof of the villa. There stood Desmond, fear written all over her face as she stared down at him with wide eyes. "Shaun!"

"How… did you… get up there?" he called, gasping for breath. Relief flooded his system: she was okay. She wasn't hurt, and Rebecca and Lucy were still asleep.

"Shaun, help," she whined, wrapping her arms around herself. Shaun remembered her fear of heights.

"Desmond! Are you alright?" Desmond shook her head and fell awkwardly to her knees on the edge of the roof.

"I want down!" she cried, her voice shaking. Shaun looked around for something to help her. All he saw was a wagon of hay. An impossible idea came to his mind.

"Desmond, do you know how to do a Leap of Faith?" He watched as Desmond's eyes widened.

"I can't, Shaun! I can't do that! It's too high."

"Just stand up, can you? Just do that much for me." Desmond eyed him with suspicion before slowly and shakily rising to her feet.

"Now what?" she demanded.

"Jump into the hay," Shaun answered. Desmond flipped him off.

"Shaun, I said no-" Shaun watched in slow motion as Desmond stomped her foot, hitting the edge of the roof and slipping. Her balance was thrown to her left and she fell, a scream escaping her. Desmond landed in the wagon of hay, and things snapped back into real-time. He ran to the wagon, where Desmond was whimpering.

"Desmond, are you okay?" he asked as he pulled her from the hay. Desmond shook her head and brought up her right arm. It was bleeding, already spilling a great deal of blood down her hand.

"Ow," she whispered. Shaun took off his pajama shirt and wrapped it tightly around the wound. He took Desmond's left hand and placed it firmly on the shirt.

"Hold this. I'll put stitches in. Come on." Shaun put his arm around Desmond's shoulders and led her inside. In the sanctuary, Shaun sat Desmond in a chair at the tiny eating table and went to fetch the first aid kit from Lucy's desk.

"I'll numb it, okay?" Shaun said as he opened the kit. Inside was all sorts of neatly arranged medical supplies. Shaun grabbed the bottle of anesthetic - he couldn't remember what it was called - and a cloth and began to clean Desmond's arm, numbing it in the process. Desmond made little noise, her eyes still bright with unshed tears. When he was sure her arm was numb, Shaun pulled a needle and thread. Desmond's eyes widened.

"It'll be okay, I promise." Shaun took a deep breath and began to sow the edges of the wound back together. It was a long, deep cut that ran vertically down her forearm. Shaun knew it would take a while to stitch.

"So," he started casually, eyes locked on the work in front of him, "how did you end up on the roof?"

"I… don't know. I mean, I had a dream that I was Ezio again. There was something important up there. Really important. He climbed up there, but he didn't look for it, whatever it was. He just laid down and waited. It was… nice. But something… interrupted him. There was a noise below. He had to protect his family, because he didn't think the noise was one of them. He jumped up and was going to go fight…I… it was confusing. I don't even remember all the details." Shaun felt her eyes on his face and he nodded, trying not to let his concern show through.

"It sounds like something that could have happened. There's not much saying that the man was a heavy sleeper."

"He wasn't. After his father and brothers were murdered, he never slept very deep. He was always on guard." Desmond paused. "I guess being an assassin does that, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"You all sleep like feathers. I guarantee that if I went into the kitchen and threw a glass on the ground, you'd all come running in thinking that Abstergo had broken a window. It's part of being as assassin."

Shaun nodded thoughtfully, surprised that she had noticed little details about him like how he slept. It made him feel… important, somehow.

"Well, there you are," Shaun said, using his teeth to cut the thread. "That should keep, but I'll wrap it up anyway. Don't stretch it, or it'll bleed again. Alright?" Desmond nodded and Shaun took the gauze from the first aid kit and methodically wrapped her arm.

"Are you finished now?" Desmond asked as Shaun packed everything up and put the kit away.

"Yeah, for now. Come on, let's go to bed." Shaun wrapped his arm around Desmond's waist and led her to her bed. He pulled back the blankets and Desmond crawled in, being mindful of her arm. Shaun followed, and Desmond placed her head on his chest as soon as he settled down. Her breathing soon evened out and deepened. Shaun smiled and absently stroked her hair.

"You know what?" he asked her sleeping form. "I love you, Desmond."

"I love you too, Shaun," she answered, and Shaun nearly jumped into the floor while Desmond chuckled sleepily.