Ana's POV

What just happened? I am sure I woke up when I heard a bang against the door and saw a blonde haired woman looking in, platinum blonde with a face arranged in a snarl as she tried to look through the window in the door but she disappeared just as quickly, I am sure I heard her scream "Bitch, you're taking what's mine" and then all I could see was the back of the security guard again.

Maybe I was dreaming but suddenly I have a visceral reaction to the evil that she managed to convey in that brief look and screech, it is tugging at the recesses of my memory and I can't hold the contents of my stomach and it empties down my front as I struggle to avoid my body but with the pain, I can't move. I am mortified and the immediate reaction of an involuntary sob simply sucks some of the vomit back into my throat making me struggle for breath and while trying desperately not to cough because of the pain radiating from my ribs, I end up struggling to breathe, thankfully an alarm goes off and a nurse comes sprinting into the room, the security guard follows her in and I am embarrassed at the state of myself.

Neither of them appear to pay any attention to the mess with the guard asking if he can help move me and the nurse I think is more than a little appreciative that he is strong enough to easily pick me up and turn me to the side to stop any damage from any further emissions. He leaves me with the nurse after a gentle pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile and returns to his post outside with his back to the door.

The nurse is particularly concerned as this doesn't look like a normal reaction to the medication and I feel silly but I have to tell her that I think I reacted to the strange woman who looked in the window and woke me up with her screaming. She looks at me like I may be a little crazy and pats my hand saying "Don't worry, sometimes the drugs you are on for the pain cause hallucinations" and I desperately wish that was true. There was something about that face and those eyes that just plain scared me. I don't know if it was because it woke me or if it was because it reminded me of something, that tantalisingly fleeting memory or if it was because she looked plain evil.

I look towards the security guard but don't have the energy to ask if I can speak to him, I don't even know his name and I am a little embarrassed that perhaps I did just dream it. The nurse efficiently changes my clothes, makes sure I no longer feel like I am going to vomit and leaves me with a "Go back to sleep, you are safe here" and I drift back off into an uneasy sleep.

Sure enough, the nightmare that had plagued me last night comes back and I am woken by the nurse as she settles me again and while she offers to increase the medication to help me drop back off to sleep, I am now too scared to do so and ask if I can possibly read for a little while. I am given my tattered copy of Tess and I couldn't be more grateful that Kate thought to bring it in, it provides me with one thing that isn't different in my life from just a couple of days ago.

Reading brings me back to a happy place and without realising it I must have fallen asleep because when I next wake, it is to a scent I am starting to recognise, a soft kiss on the forehead and two luminous grey eyes smiling at me.

Christian's POV

I have been watching her sleep for the last 10 minutes and I feel a peace returning to me, I have taken what is apparently her favourite book from her hand, it figures, the romantic tragedy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles and replaced it with my hand. Again, I felt that jolt that occurs every time I touch her and I marvel that as soon as I touch her, I can feel my heart beat a different rhythm, a slower, calmer fuller rhythm and it soothes me.

Finally, I can't resist and stand and place a soft kiss on her forehead and almost regret it as her eyes open but they look happy to see me and so with a smile I wish her a good morning and am rewarded by a glorious smile that lights up her face and eyes and bathes my soul with happiness.

"Good morning beautiful," I say and am rewarded by that blush "Are you ready for casting today?"

She surprises me with a voice that is getting stronger stating, "Well I know who they should cast as the handsome prince and the wicked witch". I love it, here she is making puns when she could be wallowing in self-pity. I laugh hoping I am the handsome prince but I am a little intrigued as to why she mentioned the wicked witch.

"Uh huh and who is the wicked witch?" expecting her to say anything but what she says next. "There was an evil looking woman that appeared at my door last night and screamed at me but the nurse said I must have been hallucinating but I am sure I wasn't." My heart drops through the floor as she lowers her voice and almost whimpers "It really scared me". I can't look at her and she says sadly "I wasn't hallucinating was I? You know who it was don't you?" and she loosens her grip as if she is about to withdraw her hand but I am not letting go, there is no way I will survive if she pushes me away.

I was hoping Ryan had managed to keep Elena away enough that Ana hadn't seen her and without having to say anything Taylor walks out of the room to speak to Ryan. "Can you give me a minute Ana to find out what happened?" I manage to say and lean against the bed, holding her hand as if it is my lifeline and in a way, I know it really is the only thing keeping my tenuous grasp on the situation.

A couple of minutes later Taylor texts me as he walks back into the room, I guess he doesn't want Ana to hear what he has to say. "Ryan said Mrs L managed to look in and screech something. Ana woke up, was physically sick and choked on it because of her position in bed. Ryan helped the nurse to reposition her and left the room. Nurse cleaned her up and came out shaking her head about the fact that Ana had been "Hallucinating about some wild woman at the door that had scared her so much that she had thrown up". Ryan did not tell the nurse that it was true that someone had attempted to breach the room."

I can't believe that Elena had managed to hurt Ana and the only reason for that was me again, when will I stop causing this poor girl pain? It all comes crashing down on me and I let go of her hand, she doesn't deserve to have another monumental fuckup in her life, the poor girl has had so much already.

I bury my head in my hands trying desperately to keep from breaking down in front of her and attempt to regulate my breathing which is proving to be a much bigger task than I thought, I run my fingers through my hair and then realise I just need to draw the crap away from her and me being here just keeps bringing it to her. I dig deep, stand and turn to walk away, still not looking at her, I can't let her see my despair. It isn't Taylors gasp, although that sound alone galvanises me, I simply feel her and move quickly spinning to catch her as she almost falls out of bed trying to grab me.

"Ana, what are you doing? You are going to hurt yourself,"

As I hold her in my arms she looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes pooling with tears and says, gritting her teeth at the obvious pain, "Christian, I don't know what is going on here and I think you may have some idea but please understand I am not blaming you. I am NOT because I know you wouldn't do that to me. I know I don't know you. I know you don't know me. But I know in my heart that you would not hurt me. I just know so please don't leave me because then you WILL hurt me." And she bursts into sobs that seem to wrack her whole body and with all her injuries must be causing so much pain and I can't bear it and try to absorb her movements with my body so that she isn't moving, I don't even notice that I am holding her to my chest and it doesn't hurt.

"Ana, honey, please, please stop moving, you'll end up back in ER and I don't think I can handle it and that will be my fault like everything else. Please stop crying, I don't know what is going on but I need you to understand I am working on figuring it all out, you just don't need this crap in your head – importantly I need you to understand that it is nothing to do with you. It does all connect to me and I am working out how to make sure that you are kept safe." I can't believe how good it feels to hold her and she slowly stops crying, sniffling into my shirt as she calms and then apologising for doing so and I chuckle as she does, reluctantly laying her back down and wiping the last stray tears away.

I know that I need to tell her something so as she is looking at me with those eyes that see right through me, I say, "Anastasia, you know from the interview that I don't say much about my private life and I am an extremely private person, but it is impacting on you and it is killing me to know this. I am getting closer to finding out why this has happened to you and I promise full disclosure but not now, I want you focussing on getting better. I want to help you do that, you are right, we don't know each other but I haven't wanted anything more in my life. Will you trust me?"

Those blue eyes turn impossibly bluer and her mouth moves to a soft smile and she says "Despite the fact that I thought I was in trouble because you called me Anastasia, I trust you."

And I don't care that I don't know her and she doesn't know me but without conscious thought, I find myself smoothing her wild hair with my hands as I hold her beautiful face, then looking deep into her eyes I plant a gentle kiss on her soft lips. And it just feels right.