Author Note: Thanks goes to jamie. .9 and wildfirerose for becoming a followers of this story. Thanks also goes to THE Kid Hardy, DeeMarie426 and Leasha Orton for the awesome reviews. I love reading your thoughts. Like always, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, it contains strong moments for the entire group.

"Oh cursed fate eternally

Deliver me your doom

But know true hope it born

My faith is stronger than your agonies

Hope survives your pain"

'Village and Void' from: Final Fantasy XIII-2

Chapter 21: Dropping the Veil

Mia's eyes continued to burn with tears. She didn't know how long her secret would be kept hidden. Her anger and frustration was growing more intense with each passing day. She missed Dean with a fury of passion within her heart. Skye watched her friend with sorrowful eyes. She couldn't imagine feeling what Mia was in that moment.

Back when she had a pill addiction to pain killers, she had no one to help her through the pain and the struggle to get clean. She hoped that Mia understood that she really was there to help her no matter what. Rydia was her best friend and she wasn't about to let her little sister go through the same thing alone. It was time that Dean knew the truth and they both knew it.

"I'm going to tell him." Mia finally stated as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel they would staying in for the night.

"Are you sure?" Skye asked.

"Yes, it needs to come from me."

Skye placed a comforting hand on her shoulder letting the woman know that she was there with her. Mia shrugged the gesture away and got out of the car. A beep came from Skye's phone simultaneously as she got out of the car. She wondered who would be texting her at that time; but when she looked at the screen and saw the name, her heart began to race uncontrollably.

"I'll see you in the morning. I need to do this now before things get out of hand and Nick ruins my life."

"Stay strong and let him know that you are trying to get clean."

"I'll text you later."

"Good luck."

Mia gave her a half smile and continued on towards the front doors. Skye swiped her finger against the screen of her phone to read the message that had been sent to her by Seth. It seemed odd to her that he would text her at that point in time; but she was still curious as to what the message read. "Can we talk?" Was all it read.

"Sure, where and when?" She typed and sent.

"My room. I'll be there shortly. The number is 1102."

"Alright."

Something didn't seem right and all the warning signs were flashing red inside her mind. She slowly walked towards the elevator to reach the second floor. Her room was the very last room at the end of the long hall. After unlocking the door, she sat her bags down on the floor and reached down inside the side pocket of the larger of the two bags. Her hand pulled out a photo of herself and Seth from last year the week before she made the decision to walk away.

Her thumb brushed across the glossy paper thinking about the day it was taken. A smile curved at her lips and she quickly folded the picture up and returned it to its original place within her bag. It was time to make her way down to the first floor and find out what Seth wanted to talk about.

The Arena

Rydia packed up the last remaining items into her pull-along bag. Mia's sudden leaving alarmed her in more ways than one. She knew that after their father died things have been different with her. Her attitude charged drasticly and her mood swings were closer together. Almost like she was bi-polar or hormonally imbalanced.

"You ready yet?" Roman asked from the open doorway.

"Yeah, so what is this surprise you have for me?" She asked trying to get him to spill his guts to her.

"It's called a surprise for a reason, Ry. I'm not saying a word."

Her bottom lips came out in a pout. He laughed and closed the small distance between them so he could kiss her lips. She smiled against his lips and pulled away, pushing him out the door as she pulled her bag behind her. Roman led the way towards the parking garage and opened the passenger door to his rental for her to get inside.

The butterflies returned in her stomach just as they had when she stepped into the ring to look AJ Lee in the eye for the first time on live TV. It had been a successful night to say the least and she was proud of herself for not messing up anything. It took almost three months to get where she was and now that she had tasted the success, she didn't want to give it up.

"Were you okay tonight?" Roman asked.

"Yeah, it felt great being out there in front of all those people." She answered with a smile and tucked a large chunk of hair behind her right ear.

"That's not what I meant. I meant about the kiss between you and Seth."

Rydia wasn't surprised that he asked her that. He was being cautious about Seth's intentions and he had every right to be that way. She reached over and took hold of his hand, twining her fingers through his. "There is nothing to worry about. I felt nothing when he kissed me. You are who I want."

"That's good to know."

His smile returned and it made her heart flutter ever single time she saw it. She watched him pull into a slightly crowded parking lot of a restaurant she had never heard of. Her surprise was starting to become clear to her. They had never had an official first date and it seemed to her that was exactly what he intended to give her.

Hotel Room 301

Mia slowly made her way towards Dean's room. Words continuously ran through her mind, trying to find the best way to tell him about what has been happening with her over the last several weeks; but there has been no easy way to put it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Please don't be asleep." She whispered.

The door unlocked and Dean stood in the open doorway with his hair disheveled, scattered in every direction. It didn't matter to her, he still looked amazing in her eyes. His eyes glassy from waking up from sleep. She felt bad for waking him up; but she had to get it off her chest and get it out in the open.

"Mia..." He said softly with a wanting in his voice.

"Can we talk? There is something I need to tell you."

Without any words at all, he stepped aside to allow her inside his room. The second she walked passed him, she could smell his cologne on his body. The desire for him escalated, making it really hard to concentrate on what needed to be done; but she remained calm and proceeded to sit down at the edge of the bed.

"I was wondering when I was going to get to see you for more than five minutes." Dean commented crossing his arms over his chest while leaning against the nearest wall.

"I guess I deserved that comment."

"Am I going to get a reason as to why that is?"

"You saw it didn't you? The words written on your car tonight."

Dean shifted his body to look directly at her. There was an urgency in her voice that alarmed him into thinking that there was something really wrong. "How could I miss it?" He replied in a soft stern statement.

"This should have come from me a long time ago; but now that Nick knows and pretty much revealed it to you, I need to come clean about it."

"So it's true then?"

"Yes...I wanted to tell you; but I've been struggling with the loss of my dad."

He remained where he was for a moment before taking steps closer to her. The guilt was taking over and tears began to roll down her cheeks. Dean didn't know what to say to her to make it okay. He didn't want her be that way and wanted her to be the woman he had fallen in love with, not the shell she was now.

"I'm sorry. I am trying to get clean. Skye has been helping me."

"Mia...why didn't you tell me this sooner. I could have paid for the help you needed instead of relying her, someone untrustworthy in my eyes."

Mia remembered that Dean had never forgiven Skye for leaving Seth over a year ago. Before she actually met Seth, she didn't know whom Skye was referring to when she talked about letting her soul mate go; but now that she had met him, she couldn't understand her logic. "If I went to rehab, I'd loose my job and I didn't want to loose that to. My dad was the reason I pushed through all the hardships and continued on when I wanted to give up. He's the reason I made it this far. Without his guidance I would never have met you."

Dean knew her well enough to know that everything she spoke was the truth. He's never seen her lie except to protect someone she cared about, meaning Rydia. He knelt down in front of her and took her trembling hands into his own. "This is the grief you needed to feel at the funeral. You can't cover up the emotions with drugs or pills."

"I know that now. I should have let you be there for me. I just didn't want you to see me so weak."

"It's not weak to grieve over someone."

She pulled her hands away from his and wiped away her falling tears. In her mind, she had a pretty good idea of how this was going to end just by looking at the expression on his face. Mia stood up and began to walk towards the door. "I think I kind of already know where this is going. I'm just going to go and save yourself the trouble of saying it." She stated.

Dean scrambled from the floor and pulled at the junction of her elbow. He realized that she assumed that he was leaving her and that was far from the truth. Mia turned to look at his hand holding her arm. "I'm not going anywhere. You need me more than ever now. If I left because of something like this, I'd be contradicting myself and that ring on your finger would mean nothing."

"My sister is already walking on eggshells around me cause of my ever changing moods. I don't want you to be on the receiving end of that."

Mia turned away and yanked her arm free of his grasp. She turned the handle of the door and slightly pulled it open before Dean pushed it shut behind her. She was trapped between his arms with her back against the door. He leaned in closer just barely hovering over her lips. "I love you and don't you ever doubt that."

His lips came in contact with hers and all her walls came crashing down around her. She returned his kiss in an explosion of passion. Her hands snaked around his neck, pulling him closer. Dean moved away from her lips and proceeded with a nip to the hollow of her neck and gentle kisses to the sensitive skin.

Mia was overwhelmed by the sensations she was feeling within her own body and feeling his want against her lower stomach. Before she could blink, he picked her up and held her against the cold door with her legs wrapped around his waist. "I love you..." She whispered.

He lifted his head away from her neck and looked directly into her eyes for a moment before smiling. He loved it when he heard those words come out her mouth. It was time he proved just how much he did love her by giving her what she wanted and needed. "I love you to, princess."

Hotel Room 1102

Skye hesitated in knocking on the door. So many thoughts were running through her mind; but the one thing that was clear was that she hoped that Mia got a positive result in telling Dean the truth. Her fist finally connected with the door and in a few seconds Seth opened the door, greeting her with a smile.

"Come on in." He stated.

She walked passed him, hoping that it wasn't a bad idea to be there. Seth closed the door behind him. After the kiss between himself and Rydia on live TV he finally understood that his feelings for her weren't what he thought. During the whole gesture, he couldn't help but feel like he was betraying Skye at every move of his lips.

Her long red and black hair sparkled against the lights adding more to her already present beauty. It was a perfect contrast to her blue eyes. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked curiously.

"I know the real reason you left."

His words caught her off guard, not expecting those particular words to come out of his mouth. Thinking about it made her feel even worse about everything. She could have told Rydia 'no' when she asked her to go with her to Ireland; but the fact was, she didn't and it was forever embedded into her mind.

"So she told you..." Skye whispered looking away from him.

"Just so you know, I could have handled not seeing you for a couple months. I would have understood why you wanted to go."

"Seth...I'm..."

He held a finger to her lips to silence her obvious rambling attempt. He had only one thing in mind for this conversation. It was something he had to do and get her to know that he still cared deeply for her. His finger left her lips and traveled to the back of her neck. Skye blinked several times trying it comprehend what he was doing.

"Seth...what...are..."

Before she could say another word, his lips captured hers. The connection was electric and it sent sparks throughout both of their bodies. It was the feeling he had been looking for the whole time he was sorting out his confused feelings. He regretted turning her away from the beginning; but he just had to know if she was genuinely there for him.

Skye savored the feeling of his warm lips on her own. She had been dreaming of his kiss for so long that she almost had forgotten what it actually felt like for real. Her hands reached up and cupped his face, hoping to make it last a little longer.

"I'm sorry that I doubted your intentions." He whispered against her still parted lips.

"Don't apologize. You had every reason to not trust me."

"It doesn't matter. The past is the past and the future is now."

Skye smiled and wrapped her arms around him, holding on for dear life. Her heart was racing and it felt like it could escape her chest at any given moment. His lips placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. He knew that Nick would eventually find out and target her just like the sisters. He couldn't let him harm her now that he finally had her back in his life. "I'll think of something." He mentally told himself.

Kemoll's Fine Dining

Rydia sat across from Roman in a secluded table away from all the other customers. She figured he had done his research on her taste in food, because the restaurant was Italian and it happened to be her favorite type of food. Unfortunately they were a little under dressed for the place; but in her eyes it didn't matter. She had all her wanted right in front of her and the guilt of not letting him be that person sooner was starting to weigh heavy on her heart.

"Is this okay for you?" He asked softly.

"This is perfect. How did you know that Italian food is my favorite?" She replied with her own question.

"Mia told me about a month ago."

Rydia chuckled a little, realizing that Roman had had this planned for quite some time before it actually happened. Nothing could have prepared her for him when he appeared out of nowhere on that plane three months ago. The waiter returned to their table carrying two plates of pasta. He placed one with baby shrimp on top in front of Rydia and one with chunks of chicken on top in front of Roman. "Enjoy your meals." He stated and walked away.

Roman continued to watch her, loving every detail of her. He noticed how delicate she was when she took her first bite of the food in front of her. She chewed daintily and he found it to be the most adorable thing. Looking up from her plate, she met his gaze and wondered why he was just watching her.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She asked wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"No, I just admiring just how beautiful you are."

The heat in her cheeks returned, turning them to a light shade of pink. Now it was Roman's turn to chuckle. He never expected her to blush so easily; but it also concerned him. He thought maybe she had never heard such compliments before from a man and if that was the case then he made a mental note to say things to her more often.

"Roman..."

"Yeah..."

"Thank you for being so patient with me. No one would have stuck around as I tried to figure things out."

Roman reached over across the table and took hold of her hand. The feeling of his skin touching hers made her body instantly ignite. "There is no need to thank me. I told you that I wasn't going to give up on you no matter what happens. From the first time I saw you, you were all I could think about. You are everything."

Another blush tinted her cheeks and before she knew it Roman had leaned the whole way over the table to capture her lips. Her hand instinctively reached up to touch his face. New feelings swelled in her heart and she was pretty sure it was the one word she never thought would exist in her life. Love.

End Note: I had originally planned on putting a full scene of intimacy; but I decided against it due to not know if you readers would like to read it or not. Let me know what you guys think about it. Would you want to read something like that?