"Oh, this is truly something." I crowed, holding up the frock coat and looking closely at the stitches. They were so fine I could barely see them against the dark navy of the fine wool, smooth beneath my hands as opposed to the slightly itchy fabric of Will's current coat. The golden chain on the cuffs gleamed brightly, matching the gold bullion of the epaulettes sewn to the shoulders. The most wonderful part though was on the inside, hidden from everyone but something that would mean the world to Will. The bright red and greens of the Murdoch tartan in a light wool ran in smooth lines up and down the coat lining. I traced my fingers over it, "Mr. Cooper, you even matched the patterns!"

"Well, it is for a wedding, your wedding." The fine boned tailor who'd taken care of Dalian uniforms since I had been born, shrugged. "I figured I should at least put some effort into it."

"But the time it takes to match everything, you must have been exhausted after!" I folded the coat back into its box, looking out over the rest of the counter. He hadn't just made the coat, he'd made Will an entire Reserves uniform. Trousers, waistcoat, shirt, tie, and he'd even ordered a new belt and hat from England. The most outrageous piece though as the new sword, shining in its leather and brass scabbard. "And these other pieces, you really didn't need to."

"Your family's been good to me." Mr. Cooper began to fold up the other items, placing them in the long flat box. "And it isn't as if you won't be paying me for it."

"Oh yes, I've got my purse with me." I fumbled for it, trying not to drop Rigel's leash. He found the display of new boots incredibly interesting, and I'd already apologized to Mr. Cooper once when he'd knocked over several pairs. "Just tell me how much." The price he named was high, but something I'd expected. I was still counting out bills when I had a thought. "Could you throw in a new pair of those Oxfords and a new pair of socks? I may as well have everything new for him."

"Of course, Miss." He made his way over to the boxes of shoes stacked up behind the counter, settling them and a pair of socks in the box. Thee tissue paper covering the clothes crinkled slightly as he did. "If you're getting everything new though, should I include a new tie pin? I happen to have a lovely gold one, with a sapphire on it."

"Why not?" I muttered, slipping a few more bills onto the pile. "Thank you again for everything, Mr. Cooper." He nodded to me as he pulled packing string out and proceeded to wrap the box up. It was rather awkward to take it in my arms and manage Rigel at the same time, but eventually I made it to the door and managed to slip outside. The city was still rather cold, and I was thankful for my coat as the breeze quickly brushed aside the warmth of the tailor's shop. My hat was also proving rather warming, a nice beaver felt with bobbing feathers. My carriage was close, just a short ways down from the door, and I had already reached for the door of it when I paused.

"You're not Lewis." I muttered, looking up at the strange man in the shabby top hat in the driver's seat. "Where's my coachman?" I glanced around, thinking maybe Lewis had just asked a cabbie to hold the horses while he relieved himself. But there wasn't a cab around, only a pair of men that had been talking to each other.

"Oh, he's just taking a nap Miss." One of the men that had been leaning up against the building shoved himself upright. His fellow followed him, but clearly the first one was the talker. "Now, just get in the coach and he'll be fine."

Rigel was already growling, and I clutched at the box as I stumbled back. "Get away from me."

"Now now, Miss." The man grinned at me as he spoke, "Don't be like this now. I don't want to let Freddie here loose, he's got an awful temper." The man beside him quickly dipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out a knife.

My heart was in my throat, and I let go of Rigel's leash. "Nis." With hardly a growl Rigel launched himself at the man with the knife. Ezekiel had trained Rigel with that word from when he was a puppy to attack. Will had suggested it, saying it was unlikely I'd accidentally say something in Gaelic. It had been fun when he was a puppy and he would worry at Ezekiel's arm, but Rigel was a massive dog now. The man fell under almost two hundred pounds of fierce muscle, hair and bone. I could hear him scream as Rigel sank his teeth into his arm, shaking his head back and forth and tearing at him. There was a clatter as the knife was dropped, the man's writhing sending it underneath the horses. I could see the man beating at Rigel with his other hand, and I half started forward to try and protect him when I noticed the other man curse and leave his fellow.

He came straight at me.

I dropped the box, trying to run, but he grabbed my wrist, snarling something that I couldn't understand. He pulled, whirling me back towards him. I could see the confusion in his face as my hat came flying off my head, and then his eyes widened when he saw the hatpin in my hand. Pearl studded on one end, it was six inches of steel and sharp as a needle. I jabbed it towards his eyes, and he lurched backwards but didn't let go. I could barely hear anything over the man yelling as Rigel mauled him, but I could hear an engine rushing towards us and I saw his eyes turn towards it for a moment. It was all I needed to stab the pin into his arm.

"You bitch!" He yelled, his attention fully on me again. I didn't even have time to move as his hand whipped around, cracking me across the cheek. I fell, hard, to the pavement and my vision went black for a moment as my head smacked into the sidewalk. Things came back to me in bursts, the noises were suddenly too loud and my vision swam. I heard a yelp, and a shadowy form was standing over me and growling loudly at a figure that ignored him and began laying into another with his fists. Two more cloudy figures followed, and I felt my eyes begin to close.

"Anastasia, what happened?" A voice was suddenly close, fingers gently probing at my head. But it seemed as if my tongue would not work, and the figure turned away and began to speak quickly. It returned, and my vision cleared for a moment. Oscar knelt over me, Rigel watching like a concerned mother as he slipped his arms underneath me. "I need you to press your head to my shoulder, I don't have a stretcher so I'm going to have to lift you." I tried to do as he asked, but my head felt as if it weighed as much as Rigel. And then I was out of the cold, laid out on a leather bench in the back of a car. Oscar was still warm underneath me, his arms holding me as he called for Rigel to come in. I heard his claws click on the floor, and he whined as he laid down. I turned, looking out the windshield. My carriage started off, driven by someone else as my coachman was currently sitting next to the driver, the tailor's box clutched in his hands.

My tongue was thick, and I coughed before I could speak. "Oscar?"

"Yes, yes." He held me tighter to him, "You're safe now, I've got you. Nothing's going to happen. We're going to get you home, and get to the bottom of whatever the hell happened here. You're going to be fine." My head was still on his shoulder, and it was pounding as the car drove. Every bump made me groan, and Oscar shifted me a bit to try and relieve it. "I'm sorry, I would try and pull my jacket off for a pillow, but it's going to be hard enough getting you out of here." I closed my eyes, burrowing further against him. His arms were tight around me, "You need to stay awake, at least until we can get a doctor."

"Will, he hates when I have to see doctors." I mumbled, wincing as we went over another bump. The tires crunched against gravel, and I tried cracking an eye open. Everything was so bright though, and I squeezed them shut again. "Where are we?"

"We're at your house, I'm going to have to lift you again." Oscar wound up shifting me several times as he worked on getting me out of the car. He kept apologizing under his breath as he kept touching me, although I hardly cared. Everything was so bright, and Rigel was whining and as soon as Oscar carried me inside it seemed like I was surrounded by a never-ending parade of loud, concerned servants. Oscar started me up the stairs as he explained, his voice was the only one I could stomach listening to at the moment, he kept it low and spoke as much to me as to them. "I saw men trying to take her outside the tailor's, I had my driver pull over and rushed to help. Between myself, my driver and my valet we made short work of them. Her coachman was inside the carriage, bound and unconscious. My valet got him out and into our car, the three of us bound them up with the rope they no doubt had intended for her." I heard a door open, and the soft blues of my room seemed so bright they hurt as he continued. "They're in the coach, my chauffeur drove it back and my valet drove us here."

I groaned as he set me down, the pillows soft under my head. "Oscar, please."

"Shhh, Anastasia." He muttered, setting something down on the nightstand. "Look, I even saved your hat. I'm going to call for a doctor, don't move and don't go to sleep."

"I'm going to call for Mr. Fields." I heard Peggy say, "And her mother."

"And the police." Oscar said, standing. "But hold off on them. I'm rather curious about why they wanted her."

I clutched at Oscar's sleeve before he could leave. "Will."

He knelt down by the bed. "What about him?"

"Send a wire to Will, please Oscar. Please." It felt as if my head was full of wool, but I held onto this thought. It wasn't the same as being sick, it was worse. Will would be furious, and worried, but I didn't want him to come home and find me like this with no warning.

I felt him squeeze my hand. "Of course, I'll tell him you were attacked but are safe now."

"And to hurry."

"That too, but I don't want you to worry. I'll be here until he gets back. You need to rest now, Anastasia. Don't exert yourself." Oscar leaned over, and for a brief moment I could see the stubble on his face, the lines around his eyes. But he pressed a kiss to my forehead, leaving the door open behind him. I laid back on the pillows, trying to keep myself awake. I could hear a maid fussing around the room, drawing curtains and bringing blankets and more pillows.

The room was dark by the time I heard Peggy coming back, her voice worried. "Dr. Julius, thank you for coming again. I swear, this poor girl, attacked on the street!"

"What exactly happened?" I could barely make out a face, bearded and with a shining pince nez as he leaned over me. It was the same doctor from when I was sick, and I found the touch of his hand comforting as he gently touched my face.

"Some thugs tried to kidnap her, and one of them struck her and she hit her head on the sidewalk." Peggy floated behind him, her hair loose and around her shoulders.

"Hmm," He probed at my scalp, nodding when I flinched away and tried to cover my eyes when he asked for the lights to be turned up. "She has a concussion, her brain has been injured. Keep it dark and quiet, nothing to excite her, and introduce activity slowly. Someone should be with her at all times, to help her. Call me in a few days, and I'll see how she's recovering." Peggy assured him that he would, seeing him out of the sitting room before coming back.

I looked to her as she sat down. "Where is everyone?"

"Oscar and Ezekiel have hauled those monsters into the stable, and I don't want to know what they're doing to them." She sniffed, smiling at the thought. "His men are with them, and Lewis is being seen to by Dr. Julius now."

"Rigel?"

"Getting babied by the cook." She snorted, "He's probably bruised, but seems to be fine. Doesn't seem to have problems eating, I'll say. He's already eaten the steaks that were for your dinner, you'll be back on soup, Miss."

"Wonderful." I muttered, closing my eyes. "And did Oscar send word off to Will?"

"Yes, had one of the kitchen boys send it down to the offices since he's on the ship at the moment." I felt her draw the blanket up over me. "And I put the box in your dressing room, so you have nothing to worry about." Her fingers brushed my hair aside, "Mr. Murdoch is going to be furious when he gets home, it's a good thing Oscar is having those men hauled off to jail after he finishes what he wants to do, otherwise we might have a murder." She kept on in that vein for awhile, and I lost myself to her chatter, to the point where I was surprised when it stopped.

"Annie." I turned my head, seeing the barely discernible face of Ezekiel in the chair by me, Oscar standing behind him. The lamps were turned as low as they could go, in fact Peggy had brought a few candles to provide some less intense light. "We learned who hired them."

"It was Evan Perry." Oscar growled, "That whoremonger."

"He gave it up pretty quick." Ezekiel grinned, "At least after he saw what his friends looked like. And he knew a bit more than either of them." His face, what I could see of it, fell though. "Still, I can't believe that they thought they could grab you right off the street."

"It was three men against one woman, they had the odds." Oscar grunted, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

I looked to him, "And one dog." I reached for his hand, noting the handkerchief wrapped around his knuckles. "What did you do?"

"I may have had to beat some information out of him." He hissed as I unwrapped it, revealing bruised knuckles and even a line of blood. "Really, it's fine Anastasia. It really doesn't even hurt."

"Oscar." I murmured, "You shouldn't have done that." I looked up to him, seeing the way his eyes were wide and almost frightened. "You shouldn't hurt yourself, not for them."

"It was for you." He mumbled, "I had to learn why they wanted you. Bribes didn't work, and well, it turns out beatings did." He didn't withdraw his hand though, letting me gently grasp it. "Perry hired them to bring you to one of his places, you were to be a gift." His voice dropped, a rough growl emerging. "For Henry Reichster, a birthday present. God, I want to kill that man."

"What?" My voice was far too quiet.

"Apparently one of Perry's girls fleeced some friend of his." Ezekiel took over, his voice deceptively calm. "That caused a big fight, and he figured he had to get back in his good graces. Today is Reichster's birthday, and the plan was to grab you off the street and take you to be whored out to him. He apparently always comes to this place on his birthday, all Perry needed was you."

"We need to prosecute them." Oscar said, finally pulling his hand away. "We can't get Reichster on it, but we can get Perry."

"I don't," I groaned, feeling my head begin to throb. I gasped, the pain suddenly overwhelming. My brain was rebelling at what Ezekiel had said, that I was being kidnapped to be given to Mr. Reichster, and the pain cut through any thoughts I might have. It took quite some time for it to fade, and the two of them were soothing me the whole time. My eyes clenched shut, I tried to finish. "I don't want to cause a scandal."

"Anastasia, we can get him on conspiracy, attempted kidnapping and assault." Oscar's voice lulled me out of my fog. "It's an airtight case, we have witnesses and another victim. A whoremonger hiring brutes to kidnap a woman less than three months before her wedding? There's not a jury in the country that wouldn't convict." He slowly stroked my hand, "I'll give you my own lawyers, but we have to do this."

"Annie, he's right." Ezekiel placed his hand on my shoulder. "None of this will fall on you, you'll come out the winner. But something has to be done."

"Mother?"

"She agrees with us, the only reason she isn't here is that she's hysterical to the point where it wouldn't be good for her to be here." Ezekiel shook his head. "My mother is with her, calming her. She is coming to stay tomorrow."

"Will?"

"The message has been sent, and if he hasn't given the order to push the engines as hard as they can, Captain Fraser will. He might even be down stoking the engines himself." Ezekiel chuckled briefly, but it died. He gently squeezed my shoulder, "You need to do this. Not either of them, you, Annie. It has to be you to press charges." He was right, no one could press charges on my behalf, not since I had gained my majority and Father had died. It would mean I'd be in the papers, but Oscar was right. With what happened, we could at least punish the men who tried to take me, even if we couldn't get Mr. Reichster.

I looked to Oscar, "Alright, I will."

"Thank you, Anastasia." Oscar pressed my hand to his lips. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."

"So will I." Ezekiel added, "Although we're going to need another chair." The sounds seemed muffled to me as he brought the chair in and I felt sleep claim me. My dreams seemed to shift, one moment I was in Will's arms, the next I was at breakfast, and then I was back in my room. It was so confusing that it got to the point where I had no idea what was a dream, and what were my brief moments of wakefulness. At one point I was at dinner, enjoying my wine while listening to Ezekiel and Oscar. "Do you care for her, Oscar?"

"Of course, she's a very good friend." Oscar sounded almost affronted, his napkin coming up to wipe at his face.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

The young Vanderbilt's face fell. "I care for her enough to see how happy she is and to not want to ruin it."

"That's good, I don't know what I would have done if you said something else." Ezekiel smiled, reaching out to grab a glass and hold it out to a footman who filled it with some kind of sparkling blue wine. I held out my own glass, greedily sipping at it once it was filled. It was light and tasted like blueberries. "Although, if you're staying until Will gets back, I'm staying with you. And we're having a few drinks."

"Should we really be drinking if we're going to be guarding her?"

"She's on the fifth floor, with only a few points to get to her, plus the staff will already be looking out. Unless Perry hires someone who can fly, she should be fine and we can share a beer or two."

"You sound so confident."

"I told Annie I'd hire assassins for her once, there's not a lot I wouldn't do for her."

I watched Oscar's eyes narrow a bit. "Do you care for her as I do, then?"

"Hardly, she's my annoying sister that is constantly causing me problems. But I love her still. Although I'm going to have to talk to you about that. I can't have you ruining her wedding, you know."

"I won't, but you may have to come over and drink with me after." Oscar laughed, and I quickly drained my own glass, eager to follow them wherever they were headed and drink with them. But as soon as I stood, my head swam and I felt the pain begin to build behind my eyes. It throbbed in time with my heartbeat, and I groaned as it ripped through me.

"Wake up, dear." A voice urged, soft and gentle. "Darling, please, wake up." The pain only doubled as I opened my eyes, even the low light from the lamp piercing through my eyes. It took a moment for me to be able to open them again, seeing Mother in the chair by the bed. She leaned over me, her hand on my cheek. "I was so worried, it's been so long."

"Mother." I muttered, trying to rise. It was difficult and she had to help me, supporting me as I made my way to the bathroom and back to the bed. I glanced in the mirror on my way back, seeing the massive bruise covering one cheek. I had no doubt that I had a matching one under my scalp, leading me to my unsteadiness. Rigel did not help the situation, constantly trying to weave himself between my legs and whining when Mother refused to allow him onto the bed. She fussed for a moment, tucking blankets around me. I glanced down, "Who changed me?" I had been stripped of my coat and dress, and was wearing a soft nightgown and a light dressing gown. My hair had even been brushed out.

"I did, you've been asleep for almost a whole day." She gently pressed me back onto the pillow. "The police are waiting for you to be more, well, present before you give your statement."

"Am I? Present, I mean?"

"Hardly." She shook her head, "You kept asking for wine, and for Oscar or Ezekiel. And Will," She patted my hand, her voice wavering for a moment. "You wanted Gareth as well, but you especially seemed to want those two boys I found chatting in your sitting room when I arrived. Both of them are staying here, as am I. The house will be rather full for awhile." She stayed by my side, her sewing in her hand. The quilt was almost finished, and it spilled over her lap and onto my bed. I kept slipping into sleep and back out of it, and it felt like I could barely keep track of time. I closed my eyes for what only felt like five minutes, but Peggy was bringing my dinner up. Then I was listening to Ezekiel read, and nodded off for what felt like hours but it barely been ten minutes.

It was after one of those moments of sleep that felt like it was minutes but had been hours that I finally woke up to my head not hurting. I simply blinked up at the canopy of my bed for a few moment, grateful that the pain had at least gone for now. It had been so constant it was rather strange to not have it forcing me back to sleep, or dogging my steps as I stumbled around my rooms. I shifted up, sitting and looking over. The chair by my bed had played host to a rotating circle of friends and family over the days, even Morgan had taken a turn by my side. It had been rather funny to see Abraham sat there though, clearly awkward considering my nightgown was all that I was wearing. Instead of Abraham though, Will was in the chair. He was still in his uniform, his hat on the nightstand and his greatcoat thrown over him like a blanket. I shifted, taking a drink from a glass of water beside his hat before speaking. "You're back."

His eyes snapped open and he almost surged to his feet, his greatcoat falling down to the floor. "Ana, thank God." His hands immediately came to my face, pulling it up to look at him. "You know me?"

"Of course I do, Will." I smiled, bringing my hand up to cover his. "How long has it been since you got the message? I've been a little fuzzy on time."

"Five days." He sat on the edge of the bed. "We weren't even tied up before I was gone, Captain Fraser practically shoved me off. But you were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you." He shifted, pulling his hand back. "They said you needed sleep the most, so I sat down to wait."

I sat up, looking closely at him. "You haven't shaved."

"Not since I heard, I've barely slept." He rubbed his hand across his stubbled face, and I could see the dark marks under his eyes. "What happened, Ana?"

"You'll hear about it all." I shook my head, slowly of course. "I'm going to be pressing charges against them. I'm going to have to tell it a lot."

"I'll be by your side the entire time." Will took my hands, kissing them. "You won't be alone."

My heart felt as if it was wringing itself out like a rag. "You're tired, here, lay down with me." I fumbled at the buttons of his jacket for a moment, but my fingers were so clumsy that he wound up undoing them himself and throwing it down with his greatcoat. He stayed on top of the blankets, but he did curl up close to me.

He chuckled, "Wouldn't want to shock your mother."

"After this, I doubt there's anything that could." I turned to him, burrowing back into the warmth of the blankets and the softness of the pillows. I could feel his hand come up to rest on my hip, his fingers stretching over me to touch as much of me as he could. For once, after what had happened, my sleep was actually restful.