Author's Note: Hello everyone. I know it's been a couple years since I posted a new chapter, story, or anything. I've been working on this new story for some time now and I'm finally getting around to posting it. First off, this story will be different than my other ones. Clara's time away from Aiden will be explored through flashbacks instead of leading up to them meeting each other later on. There will be more angst, fluff, and more time with Aiden and Clara.

Warning! This story contains: Violence, attempted suicide, some gore, vomit, and nudity later on.

Without further ado, enjoy!


(Chicago, Fall 2013)

It all happened so fast for Clara.

One moment, she had been torturing herself with guilt while approaching Lena's grave with flowers clutched underneath her fingers, and the next bleeding out from her shoulder by a sudden gunshot wound.

She can faintly remember Aiden calling out to her as she secures herself in front of Lena's gravestone for cover. The pain stings her shoulder and she clutches onto the flesh wound. She starts to process her surroundings, her gaze falling onto Aiden's as she watches him duck in and out of cover while firing at the men.

As much as Clara wants to question who these men are, a part of her already knows.

Mercenaries.

They deliberately shot at her first which means these people can only be from one group. The Chicago South Club. Damien wasn't joking when he told her she was going to wound up dead.

More blaring gunshots ring through her ears as she attempts to control her breathing. She continues to focus on Aiden who is doing his best to fight off the hitmen.

He shouldn't have to pay for her mistakes. A painful knot forms in her throat and her lips quiver with sorrow overwhelming her.

"Aiden!" Her voice strains out, her eyesight becoming blurry with tears forming. "Leave me!"

In this moment, she starts to accept her fate. She knows she's going to die. She deserves it. Why should he waste his time trying to save her? This was inevitable from the start.

Aiden huffs as he ducks down behind cover once again while reloading his pistol. Did he hear her right? No way he would leave her.

His heart races as adrenaline runs through him. As he watches Clara carefully, a familiar emotion comes over him.

A familiar feeling he had when Lena died.

Fear.

As much as he is angry at her, he can't bring himself to let her die. She didn't know.

Aiden can't begin to get into these thoughts as he resurfaces from his cover and fires at more of the men.

"Clara! Stay down!"

There is no way he can let her die like this. She has to be safe.

She needs to be safe.

As Aiden keeps track of all the hitmen, he catches a glance at Clara who is now staring at him with teary eyes. Aiden can tell just by her pained frown that she wants him to ditch her. He can tell she feels guilty and at this moment, he considers giving her another chance.

Time seems to slow as Clara lets out a pained grunt from a sudden bullet striking her shoulder. She collapses onto the cool grass and she blacks out.

Aiden's eyes widen at the sight of Clara going limp.

"No!" He exclaims.

His teeth clench as fear turns into anger. She can't be dead.

His grip on his gun tightens as he aims and fires more rounds on the remaining men. Blood splatters onto the ground as more hitmen collapse.

Five bodies turn into ten. Aiden takes in deep and exhausting breaths after finishing off the last hitman. Ensuring nobody else is out to shoot him, Aiden catches sight of Clara's limp body. A puddle of blood had already formed beneath her.

He can tell that she had lost a lot of blood as he makes his way towards her. Even though Aiden doesn't want to realize it, there can be a chance she isn't breathing.

He approaches her still body and kneels down. A frown reaches the vigilante's face as he places his hand on her back to turn her over. As soon as Aiden sees her lifeless face, realization hits him.

Massive loss of blood.

No breathing.

The exact horrific sight he had of Lena.

She's gone.

Another person losing their life because of him. His eyebrows furrow and a painful twinge stings his chest. Guilt overwhelms him as he reaches the back of his hand across her cheek and caresses her soft skin.

She didn't deserve this. Aiden can't help but wonder what might have been. If they could have just talked things out instead of him pushing her away, maybe this wouldn't have happened. All of the rage and bitterness he had for her vanishes in this moment. He catches a glimpse of the flowers resting beside Clara.

"She was leaving the flowers," Aiden realizes.

He picks them up and studies them. He releases a small chuckle thinking of how she had been more present than he previously thought.

He sets them on top of Lena's grave as he holds back tears from the thought of Clara coming by to leave Lena flowers.

Aiden gives one last glance at Clara's lifeless body before catching sight of her phone. He picks it up and sees a voice message ready to play. Aiden brings himself back to his feet as he stands and presses play.

While listening to her message, his hearts breaks even more. He hears the sorrow and pain in her voice and he can tell she had felt remorseful for her involvement in Lena's death. His trench coat grows drenched as he only now realizes it had started pouring down raining. The sky is grey and dull as more rain droplets make their way onto Clara's phone.

Thunder roars as Aiden tucks Clara's phone into his pocket. He turns and takes one last glance at Clara before releasing a shaky sigh. He starts to leave the cemetery thinking of all the destruction he caused not only to his family, but Clara too.

His breathing feels harder to control as he leaves the cemetery. He has to get away from here, or he might lose it.


A young woman makes her way into the cemetery. She pulls out her umbrella and opens it to where it hovers over her dark platinum blonde hair that reaches the tips of her shoulders. Her dark brown eyes scan the cemetery as she makes her way towards her mother's grave.

Cool heavy rain patters against her dark umbrella while she grits her teeth at the memory of her mother's death. She didn't die of old age or health issues. Her mother was murdered in cold blood by none other than one person.

Aiden Pearce.

The woman makes her way further down the cemetery until she halts at the sight of someone lying on the ground.

She walks closer to confirm what she is seeing and realizes it is a woman bleeding out on the ground. The woman carefully checks for any potential attackers before rushing over to the body. She kneels down and inspects the goth woman.

Who could have done this? Was she caught in some kind of shootout? And why-

In the corner of her eye, she notices a gravestone. She turns to look at it and the gravestone reads the name, "Lena Pearce."

"Lena?" She wonders, "Aiden's niece?"

It can't be a coincidence.

She raises her brows in surprise as she presses a finger to the her neck for a pulse. The woman lightly gasps. There is a pulse, but not a strong one. She had to get this woman medical attention.

Could this be an opportunity for her to test her device out?

At that thought, the woman wastes no time pulling out her phone all the while dropping her umbrella. She dials a number, doing her best to huddle her phone close from the rain and hits the call button. It only takes two rings before a man' voice picks up.

"Rachel?" He says.

"Call the med team," she demands hurriedly while reaching her arm around the woman's back, applying pressure to the wound. "Make sure they get here quickly."

Rachel applies more pressure to the woman's wounds as she explains what happened. Once the call ends, Rachel notices the woman taking faint breaths.

This could be what Rachel had been working towards her whole life. Could her tech save this woman in time? She is only left to wonder as an ambulance truck pulls in by the cemetery gates.

"This better work."


Beep. Beep.

Clara's vision shifts in and out. She blinks rapidly before her eyes adjust to the gleaming yellow lights on the ceiling. As her sight settles, she glances around the room she's in. She notices the beeping monitor, the blue blanket resting over her, and the chairs. She realizes she is in a hospital.

"It worked." Clara faintly hears a woman's voice to the left of her. "I told you it would!"

Clara turns her head towards the voice. A woman with dark platinum blonde hair and a man with hazel brown hair come into her view. They are both gazing at Clara with glowing grins on their faces.

Clara grows confused as to how she got here. It only takes a second for Clara to think back. She can recall the excruciating pain from the gunshots tearing into her flesh. Her stomach churns at the memory of Aiden calling out her name as he worked his hardest to try and protect her. Questions scatter in Clara's mind. Where is Aiden? Did he bring her here? Who are these people?

"I'm sure you must be confused, dear, so I'll keep it brief," Rachel says ecstatically while giving the man's shoulder a good squeeze. "You are alive right now because of this device behind your neck."

Rachel displays a picture on a wide screen TV hanging on the deep blue wallpaper. Clara continues to blink as she studies the picture that shows a neon blue chip attached to the back of Clara's neck.

Realizing the chip is on her skin, Clara instinctively reaches her hand behind her neck and feels the cool metal device beneath her fingers. It has to be the size of a penny. Being unsettled and bewildered at the thought of such a device being attached to her, she turns to look at the man and woman, her mouth agape as if she is trying to form a question.

Rachel continues, "Don't worry, it's not going to hurt you. You were in a critical state and that little piece of tech kept you from bleeding out since it's connected to some of your vital organs."

"There's no way," Clara ponders, being amazed, but also skeptical not just for the tech, but for these people as well.

"You're one of the first we've tested who's survived," the man speaks up, his eyes gleaming with wonder.

Clara weakly props her arms up the bed and winces at the pain coming from her shoulders. Managing to keep herself up, the pain subsides as she sits up and studies the two.

Both have warm smiles on their faces which gives Clara the impression that they may mean no harm. Clara doesn't understand how such technology could have saved her, but she still has mixed feelings about being alive. In a way she feels disappointed since she didn't receive the punishment she deserved, but on the other hand, she's glad since she wonders if Aiden is alright.

As Clara continues to stare at her two saviors, she realizes that she doesn't know their names.

"Who are you?" Clara asks.

"I guess we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Rachel," she says while she places her hand over her chest and gestures her head to the man beside her. "And this is my brother, Stephen."

"I could have introduced myself," Stephen argues while shooting her a glare with his lips quirking up.

"Please. I'm in charge of things and plus I'm older than you, so please let the adults talk," she sneers at him fully knowing that Stephen is an adult.

Stephen rolls his eyes before Rachel speaks again.

"We already found out who you are, Clara Lille. We got some records of you."

Clara's heart pounds quick in her chest at the thought of these people having some records of her. What kind of records are they? Do they know her affiliation with Dedsec, or Aiden? She still doesn't know these people too well.

What kind of people were they to develop a device capable of saving her from near death? They can't be regular doctors despite them wearing white coats. Are they part of Blume, or some other high tech company?

"Mainly we have your profession, age, and other basic knowledge," Rachel explains.

Clara quietly exhales in relief. They don't have deeper information about her at the moment. She continues to rub her neck, astounded at the tech.

"We can tell you're surprised," Stephen says with a wide grin, "Believe me we are too."

Clara chuckles lightly while still feeling uneasy.

"Yeah...I...I am," Clara says while she tries to form her next question. "How long will it take me to recover?"

"Well that's to be determined," Rachel explains, "Judging from where you were shot and the device helping with the healing, it should take half a year or possibly longer, so you'll be here for a while."

Clara nods and wonders if she will be able to get in contact with Aiden while she stays here.

"Well, we'll be out running some tests. We'll be back in a bit, so you can get some rest," Rachel says warmly.

Clara nods once more, still trying to process everything as Rachel and Stephen make their way out of the room. The door shuts and Clara is left wondering what is in store for her. The people seem friendly enough, but Clara can't shake off an uncertain feeling.

As Clara rests her head back onto the pillow, a growing sense of dread creeps its way into her. Are these people as friendly as they seem? Clara doesn't know much about how gunshot wounds are treated, but she still finds it strange that a piece of tech she has never heard of saved her life.

Just who are these people?

Clara scans her eyes around the room for clues and only then does she catch sight of a hospital gown that she is wearing. She continues to inspect the room until her eyes land on the mini table that sits next to her hospital bed. She sees bold letters in white that read, "Impulse." That has to be the company name.

The name is unfamiliar to Clara. She sighs before turning her head back to the window in front of her while the pouring rain patters against it accompanied with roaring thunder.

Would it be possible for her to contact Aiden? Despite the generosity, she can't come to trust these people. She especially can't tell them about Aiden. Would Aiden even want to see her? She's selfish for thinking he'd even care.

A part of her knows this isn't true since she clearly remembers him trying to save her, but there is always that self depricating voice in her head.

As Clara thinks more about contacting Aiden, she starts to wonder where her phone is. She didn't see any of her belongings while looking around. Did they take her things too? Maybe they had to take her things out of the room. She doesn't know.

Exhaustion wears on Clara, her eyes growing droopy. Her shoulders stiffen from her wounds being sore. She groans as she takes deep breaths while trying to relax herself. She hopes she hasn't gotten herself in too much trouble.

Meanwhile, Rachel makes her way over to her laptop, her brother having already gone off to another room, and she opens it. Curiosity finds her as she shifts through the information she has on Clara.

"There has to be more to her," she thinks to herself, going back to when she had found her by Lena's grave.

Why was she there out of all places near death?

Rachel rubs her forehead while reading through the same information she previously found. She wonders if the cemetery has cameras. She isn't an expert on info deep diving, or hacking, so that is something Aiden is one step ahead of her on and she hates that fact. Still she can find different ways around him.

She always finds another way to get what she wants.

Despite Rachel's lack of ability to hack, she knows someone who can work somewhat close in those areas, even if he is an amateur at it. She dials her close friend, Jonas, and calls. He promptly picks up.

"Jonas, I need another favor from you if you don't mind."

"Sure. What is it?" He asks, his husky voice sounding optimistic to help her.

"I need you to dig up the security footage of the cemetery. I'm trying to find out what happened to this Clara woman."

"Already on that."

A notification pops up on Rachel's phone. She notices a video file.

"When did you get that?"

"I had already tapped into the cameras when you called me to the cemetery. I'm sure you would have requested it given the woman was next to the gravestone of Aiden Pearce's niece."

"That was quick thinking," Rachel notes with a smirk.

"One of the many reasons you have me," he says.

Rachel can practically hear him grinning through the phone and she rolls her eyes.

"Thank you."

She keeps Jonas on the line as she views the video file. The camera feed is positioned just above Lena's gravestone along with many others, so Rachel can get a vast look at the cemetery.

The video starts with Clara making her way towards the gravestone with flowers in her hand. Rachel hums as Clara gets closer to the gravestone.

"Knew it wasn't a coincidence," Rachel says as she continues to watch the footage intently.

Rachel spots four men rushing behind larger gravestones from a distance, all of them holding guns. Were they fixers?

In the corner of Rachel's vision, she spots someone sprinting towards Clara from the opposite side of the cemetery. The video doesn't have audio, but Rachel can tell the person had shouted something.

Clara seems to have heard him as turns around and receives a bullet. Rachel watches her huddle behind the stone and catches the other person, who she suspects is a man, duck behind cover as well.

Once Rachel gets a glimpse of his attire consisting of a cap and a brown trench coat, she attempts to take a closer look at him. It only takes a quick glance at Aiden's face and the design of his coat for her to realize the man she is looking at is in fact Aiden Pearce. She had memorized his face multiple times leading up to this point, so it isn't difficult for her to identify him.

Upon recognizing Aiden, Rachel leans foward in her chair and brings the phone and inch closer to her face with the video now capturing her full attention.

She watches Aiden carefully as he engages in a shootout with the men. Every gunshot and movement of muscle from Aiden secures Rachel's attention. She makes sure to never miss a beat. The footage continues to show Clara collapsing from the second shot and Aiden approaching her.

Rachel studies Aiden intensely as he kneels down to Clara's body and caresses her cheek.

"As you can see, they know each other," Jonas states causing Rachel to jump in her chair.

She forgot that he is still on the line.

"Yeah..." she sighs, recovering from being startled. "No kidding."

As Aiden leaves the cemetery, Rachel grows even more curious as to where he is going.

"Did you get any footage of where he went?"

"No," he says with disappointment, "There weren't any other cameras around the cemetery, at least ones that worked anyway."

"Damn it," Rachel mutters with gritted teeth.

She clenches her hand into a fist at the missed opportunity.

"I'm sorry about that, Rachel," he says with remorse clear in his voice.

"No, don't be," she reassures him while rubbing her forehead. "You did what you could."

Rachel shifts her gaze back to Clara in the video. A moment of silence passes before Rachel speaks.

"I have to go."

She hangs up. It's about time she has a chat with this Clara Lille.

Clara was drifting off to sleep before Rachel opens the door and enters the room. With just a glimpse of Rachel's hardened eyes, Clara can tell that Rachel doesn't appear as welcoming as she was earlier.

Rachel stares at Clara for a moment before speaking.

"Hello, miss Lille."

Her colder tone rubs Clara the wrong way. Shivers run down her spine as Rachel takes a few steps towards her with her hands behind her back.

"Did she find out?" Clara wonders while attempting to appear unafraid.

"I see that you're still awake," Rachel stops right beside Clara's bed. "Why don't you tell me what happened to you at the cemetery?"

Rachel's eyes burn into Clara's with such intensity as she waits for an answer. Clara gulps, her heart starting to race. She tries to think of a response.

This woman definitely knows something.

Clara doesn't want to give up Aiden. She can't betray him like that again.

"I..." Clara clears her throat, "I don't know. It all happened so fast. I think I got caught in a shootout."

Clara sighs while hoping the delivery of her lie is good enough. She observes Rachel cautiously, the woman shifting her arms to her chest and crossing them.

"You were dying in front of a little girl's gravestone, specifically the niece of a man named Aiden Pearce, or the fox as the media loves to call him." Rachel rolls her eyes. "I'm sure you've heard of him."

Clara can see Rachel tapping her finger on her arm. She almost appears impatient. Clara doesn't respond and her mouth goes dry.

Rachel continues, "You had to have been visiting."

"I was just leaving flowers."

Rachel cocks an eyebrow.

"What's your affiliation with Lena Pearce?"

"I used to babysit for her," Clara says quickly before what she said even registered.

"Hm," Rachel nods as she glances away from her for a few seconds.

Clara can only hope that Rachel buys her lie as the silence becomes excruciating, but deep down she already knows that the mystery woman figured out what happened.

Rachel eyes Clara once more and leans down towards her causing Clara to grow tense.

"You're a good liar, Clara. I'll give you that," Rachel's voice is more mellow than before, "I already saw the security footage, so I'll spare you the interrogation."

Clara's lips press into a hard line and briefly wills herself to shut her eyes in defeat. Of course she saw it. Rachel straightens her posture back to where it was previously.

"You're going to help me find Aiden Pearce."

Clara freezes, dread consuming her. It's clear that this lady wants to hurt him.

"No," Clara shakes her head with furrowing brows.

No way can she sell herself out again to help shady people.

"No?" Rachel scoffs.

"Whatever you plan on doing with him, I'm not going to help you," Clara states firmly.

Rachel wants to laugh at Clara's sharp glare, but her bitterness gets the better of her.

"I'm giving you a chance here," Rachel warns her.

If she plans to kill Clara then she might as well do it. She is willing to die instead of making the same mistake twice. Clara remains silent and stares at Rachel directly in the eyes. She maintains her composure, her expression never changing.

Silence fills the room and the tension is evident. Seconds go by as Rachel anticipates a response from Clara. The quietness grows deafening with only the beeping of the monitor and the pouring rain outside to fill the void. When Rachel senses that Clara won't budge, she sighs.

"You do realize you're going through a lot to protect a monster who killed many people, right?"

Clara lightly gasps at Rachel's words and frowns.

"The people you must be referring to are the human traffickers and gangs hurting people," Clara defends him, her accent coming off strong.

Now Rachel can't contain her laugh at the sight of Clara being so passionate in defending Aiden.

"Of course you wouldn't know of his other atrocities. He must have really wooed you, huh?"

Pain forms in Clara's throat. She isn't about to go into any sort of feelings she had for Aiden at this given moment.

"Well since you're so loyal to him, it'll be difficult to get anything out of you, but believe me when I tell you that I'll find a way," Rachel says, her tone shifting from being to teasing to being filled with malice.

What is that supposed to mean?

"Just know that you're not going to be leaving anytime soon," Rachel grumbles before she turns towards the door.

Clara attempts to keep her composure as she watches Rachel open the door, but before she closes it, Clara can hear Rachel mutter, "Don't let her leave."

Clara doesn't know who Rachel is talking to, but she can only assume that someone is guarding the door.

As soon as the door shuts, Clara releases a shaky breath. What is supposed to happen now? How far would Rachel go to get information out of her? She may have screwed herself by defending Aiden's honor.

Despite Clara's willingness to take a bullet, a part of her is still frightened. She doesn't know who these kinds of people are and they definitely aren't some innocent scientists who made a ground breaking piece of tech.

Clara shudders at the possibility of torture or being used as bait against Aiden. She can't tell what would happen now and she can't escape even if she wants to. Not only are there potential guards outside, but her shoulders ache from pain as well.

All she can do is dread the oncoming future.