So sorry for the delay, I've been feeling super run down and needed to take a break. But we are back now!

TW for drugs and hospitals. Take all medical stuff with a grain of salt, I'm an animator, not a doctor.

Rose POV

Pain shot up my side. A rocking motion jolted me awake, and the pain I felt kept me awake. Hands were on me; voices I didn't know, but there was one I recognised.

"Dimitri?" I asked, forcing my eyes open to try to find him. A white ceiling was above me; I could see cords and items on the side but couldn't place where I was.

Long fingers curled around my left hand and squeezed. "I'm right here," Dimitri assured me. I held onto his hand, mourning the loss when he let go.

A bright light shined in my eyes, and a woman's face hovered over me. "Can you tell me your name?"

I squinted and tried to turn from the light, but something kept my head still. "Rose…What happened?"

"You were in an accident. I need you to stay still, okay."

An accident? My mind was hazy; the only thing that kept me from closing my eyes again was a pain in my leg. I tried to reach for it but couldn't. "My leg?" I asked desperately, "What happened to my leg?"

"Your leg is injured. We are almost at the hospital. Just keep talking, Rose."

Panic surged through me. "Wait. No, no, I can't go there." I tried to move again, but it only made the pain worse. "Mason!"

A chill touched my ankle, and I was grateful for the sensation for once. "I'm right here."

I tried to look at him but couldn't focus. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. "I can't go there."

"I know."

I was in an ambulance. The car accident returned to me, and I realised what had happened. I lifted my hands to my face but they were pushed down. I groaned as pain shot up from my right wrist. The woman appeared above me again, "You have to stay still." She looked beside her, "Keep her calm."

Again, Dimitri's hand took mine. "It's okay, Rose."

"No!" I cried, "You don't understand. I can't go there. I can't—Mason!"

Mason suddenly appeared by my head, bent over so our eyes met. "I'll keep them back. It'll be okay."

The promise wasn't enough. There would be too many for him to keep back. More shivers went through my body, and a sense of dread settled over me, an oppressive weight. We were close—I could sense the death. "No!" I shouted, fighting to sit up, tugging at the cords attached to me. "Let me go! I don't want to go there!"

The ambulance pulled to a stop, and the doors opened. Two doctors stood at the entrance, asking questions as the woman tried to hold me still again. I saw none of it—couldn't hear them over the sound of the crows.

It was like a blanket of black covered the outside. They were everywhere, and their eyes focused on me.

"Rose Hathaway. Nineteen-year-old female. Hit by a car with a possible fractured tibia and broken wrist, with multiple contusions. She was unconscious when we arrived on the scene…"

I ignored the rest; I wasn't fighting against them as they pulled the gurney out of the ambulance. I couldn't move, chilled to the bone by the dead. My blood became like ice in my veins.

Ghosts weren't tied to the place they died, but some never left where they drew their final breath. I discovered early on the ghosts that remained at the hospital were lost and confused. More than often, they were pissed off. Gruesome injuries and wounds showed on their bodies, with a terrifying look in their eyes that made me terrified they would drag me back to the world of the dead.

I should have died four years ago, and they knew it.

My need to escape returned tenfold, I jerked on the bed, gripping the railing to pull myself up. "Mason," I called, knowing he would be close. "I have to get out of here!"

Dimitri was at my side, unaffected by the ghosts that crowded the hallway. People were just passing through them. I couldn't avoid the icy feeling as I was pushed through them, their groans and cries ringing in my ears.

"You have to stay still. They are going to help you," Dimitri assured me, a pinched expression on his face. "It will be okay."

I caught the sleeve of his coat, pulling on it like it was a lifeline. "You don't understand. There's too many—Dimitri, please get me out of here. Please. Don't leave me here."

"I'm not leaving you," he promised.

I released him and sobbed. He didn't believe me—he didn't understand. No one understood. "No!" I knocked the hands away from me, pulling at the wires they stuck to my chest. The pain was pushed to the back of my mind, and the need to get out of there kept me going.

"Rose, you have to stop–"

"Let me go!"

"I need a sedative."

I pushed away a doctor, knocking the needle from his hand. I knew what they would give me, and I would sink into oblivion. I would be stuck there, pumped full of drugs and left a shell of myself. "Leave me alone! Please, Dimitri," I cried. "Please, don't leave me here! Mason, please! Please!"

A sudden stab in my arm made me still—it was too late. "Got it," a woman said, her hand pressed over my arm. Our eyes met, and she almost looked sorry.

The drug moved through my system quickly; I looked around the room until I found Mason standing beside me, his face among the doctors who stood around me. The edges around him grew fuzzy, slowly fading away with a sad look on his face. I didn't know when I would be aware enough to see him again.

Soon, all the ghosts in the room were gone, and I stared at the ceiling. The room was buzzing with movement, yet it was strangely silent for me.

xXx

Dimitri POV

I felt numb. It was the only way I could stand what I witnessed. It was the only way I managed to ignore her pleas for me to get her away from them.

When Rose saw Janine, I believed that was fear on her face—but it didn't compare to the absolute terror I saw once we reached the hospital. Rose's pleas were broken and distraught; each tore me apart when I ignored them.

I saw the looks the doctors shared when she called out for Mason; one asked if that was my name. Watching them sedate Rose was one of the hardest moments of my life. I wanted to protect her, but I didn't know what I could do.

How could I protect her from something that wasn't real?

Rose laid still on the bed now, letting the doctors work, terms were thrown out and equipment passed between them. I had no idea what any of it meant, and I didn't pay them any attention; I just stared at Rose. The dazed look in her eyes scared me more than anything.

"Sir, it's best if you wait outside." A woman was beside me, her brown hair cut in a bob, with purple scrubs. I think she was a nurse. When I didn't move, she gave me a kind smile and assured me, "They are doing everything to help her, let's give them some space."

Reluctantly, I stepped out of the room, back into the hall but that was as far as I was willing to go. The nurse followed me, closing the doors, but we could both still see through the small window.

"Are you her family? Boyfriend?"

I cleared my throat, closing my eyes to try to pull myself back together. "I work for her father. I'm technically her bodyguard."

Her eyebrows rose, but she didn't push it. "Do you know if Rose is on any medication? Any drugs or alcohol?"

I didn't want to be the one answering those questions. "Rose was diagnosed with PTSD and schizophrenia last year; she's on medication, but I can't remember the name." I squeezed the bridge of my nose, "Her father should be here soon, he would know. She was drinking last night, maybe early this morning."

"Okay. Anything else?"

My stomach fell to my feet, a feeling that I was betraying Rose when I replied, "Rose doesn't take her medication. She hasn't mixed anything."

The nurse sighed and glanced through the window before she looked back at me. "You're sure she's off all medication?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Stay here; someone will be out to give you an update soon." She slipped back into the room, and I was left alone.

I took a shaky step back and another until I hit the far wall. My hands were bloody, stained from her blood. Rose could have died; I was meant to be protecting her, and she almost died in front of me.

The phone call to her father was short and to the point, made as they wheeled Rose into the ambulance. I told him what I knew but didn't go into detail. When he arrived, I would have to tell him she ran out into the road, and I still didn't know why.

I stared through the window, watching as they worked on Rose; her eyes were closed. At least I could be grateful that she wasn't in pain and scared anymore. I settled against the wall, prepared to wait however long it took; I promised I wouldn't leave her, and until I was sent away I would remain by her side.

It was a few hours before Rose finally had a room of her own, and we were allowed to visit. Once Abe arrived, he had to give her full medical history, including her past suicide attempt. The fact it was an accident was on the tip of my tongue, but I understood how it looked.

Her reaction when we arrived hadn't helped, and they administered her medication along with padded cuffs to keep her from hurting herself or anyone else. Rose looked so small on the bed; her face pale and drawn when we walked in—there was no spark in her eyes. It wasn't like when drunk or high; she just stared blankly ahead as if we weren't there.

"Rose?" Abe called softly, tentatively taking her hand. She didn't react. "Are you in any pain?" he tried again.

A cast was on her right hand, covering her forearm to her fingers. A bandage covered her forehead, and she had a littering of other cuts on her body. They kept saying she was lucky not to be worse off, but as I took in her prone form, I wondered if she was lucky. Rose was stuck in a hospital, drugged; it sounded like everything she dreaded.

Abe scowled, shaking his head, "There's no need for these." He tugged at the cuffs but didn't remove them. He deflated, brushing her hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry, Kiz."

Rose's eyes moved, sluggish, she turned her head to look at us. It took her a minute to take us in and the recognition to show. Her lips parted, struggling to form words, hand twitching but unable to lift from the bed. "I…want to go…home."

I struggled to keep my composure; my hands gripped tightly behind my back. I wanted to give in to her request instantly.

"I know. Soon, Kiz," Abe promised.

A tear rolled down her cheek. "Mom will make me stay. I don't…want to stay. Please, don't make me stay."

"As soon as you are well enough, I'll take you home."

It wasn't the answer she wanted, and she began to pull at the restraints again despite her injured wrist, mumbling words and cut-off pleas in desperation to leave. The machine beside her beeped, and her heart rate increased alarmingly.

A nurse stepped in, going through a drawer before retrieving a syringe and injecting it into Rose's IV line. She gave us a tight-lipped smile, "You should let her rest now."

Abe stood by Rose, stroking her hair until she calmed and closed her eyes. He finally stood back up once she was asleep and stormed out of the room. I remained by the bedside, eyes refusing to move from Rose. I couldn't help but feel responsible for why she was there.

If only I had reacted quicker…

I followed after Abe, finding him down the hall with his phone out as he stalked back and forth. He barely glanced at me. "I won't let her near, Rose. Clearly, this is not what she needs."

"I'm sorry, sir. I should have stopped her."

Abe halted mid-stride and waved me off. "This isn't your fault. It's mine for letting Janine talk me into considering it. I'll make sure that she doesn't do anything else to hurt Rose. I won't let her go through this again."

"What do you plan to do?" I asked, just as eager to see Rose safe as well.

"I don't know," he mumbled, "but I need to get Rose away from here for a while. What we've been doing isn't working, but I'll think of something."

It was late; the nurse dropped by not long before to remind me visitor hours were ending. I hated to leave Rose's side, but I wasn't family. I didn't even know if Rose considered me a friend after how I spoke to her. Maybe if I hadn't called her delusional, she never would have been on that street. I could have just given her a chance or lied. Anything would have been better if it meant she wouldn't end up in a hospital bed, barely lucid.

She looked at me a few times, but never with any emotion—barely a reaction. Was that how the medication made her? It felt wrong to see after growing used to her firecracker personality.

This wasn't the same woman I had spent nearly every day with for a month.

I leaned forward, covering her hand with my own. "I'm sorry, Rose," I repeated the apology. I wasn't sure what I was saying it for exactly—there was a range of things. Mostly, I was sorry that I couldn't believe her. "I'll be back in the morning. Maybe your father will be able to move you out of here tomorrow."

Abe had been on the phone last I checked in with Pavel; he had even gone as far as to hire an expensive lawyer. I didn't ask too many questions; I just promised to help in any way I could.

"I'll keep you safe, Roza," I declared. I gave her a once over before I stood and grabbed my coat. It had begun to snow outside, and I would have a hard time finding a taxi. I sighed and reached for my cup of water that sat forgotten on the end table.

Before my fingers could touch the plastic cup, it flew across the room and hit the wall with a soft thump. The small amount of water left in the cup spilt on the floor.

How…?

I was stunned, staring at the cup on the ground.

What the hell was that?

This is basically the end of the first arc, we still have more to come :3