“Hey!” A jaunty Irish voice answered, “Hannah! How are you?”

Hannah narrowed her eyes at a spot on the wall as a headache began beating soundly in her head, her temples throbbed, her cheek burned, her knees gave way and she sunk onto the floor, the phone clutched in her hand. “Kian?”

“Yeah,” he said, sounding less excited now; his voice was laced with confusion and hurt mixed with a sprinkle of worry. “Are ya alright? Did I catch ya at a bad time?”

“Emmmm,” Hannah glanced around the room, which was in complete disarray. The television was stuck on a channel, emitting a low humming noise while the picture continued to scramble in black and white. “No, no, I’m fine.” She swallowed and gently took her hand from her cheek. She winced and turned her small groan of pain into a gasp of surprise, “I haven’t heard from ya in months, what are ya calling for?” She made her voice sound more like normal, but it wasn’t easy.

“I’m home,” he said, sounding confused, “I left a message on your answer phone saying so. Hannah, ya sound weird, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly, “I’m glad you’re home. I’ve gotta go now.”

“Wait,” Kian laughed, “I wanted to see if you were available to grab a pint.”

“I’m not,” Hannah replied, her voice defiant, “I’ve got lots of things to do here.”

“Like what?” Kian asked, “Since when are ya too busy to see your favorite lad in the whole of Ireland?”

Hannah felt a small smile spread across her lips, but she couldn’t see him like this; couldn’t see him right now, or let him see her. “I’m not too busy for ya,” she assured him, her voice light and airy, “There’s this lad whose a bit of a jealous arse, and if he finds out I’ve been out with a pop star----well, let’s just say things won’t be very pretty.”

She mentally kicked herself for giving him too much information to go on, but Kian seemed to think she was joking; her voice sounded it, she prided herself on being a good actress. “I’ll beat him up, then, come on.”

“Kian, I can’t,” she said sternly, “I just can’t right now.”

“Did ya get married since the last time I saw ya?” Kian asked, and she could practically see his grin through the phone.

“No,” she laughed falsely and then coughed, making her head hurt more and the swelling of her cheek seem to get larger, “Unlike you, I can’t go prancing around the world hooking up with whatever girl is ready, willing, and able.”

“I didn’t realize you were a lesbian,” Kian teased, “Who is this lad, then? Or is it a bird?”

“Kian,” Hannah’s voice held a threatening tone, “Don’t. Ya know what I mean.”

“I do,” he agreed, “But I want to see ya. It’s been months.”

Hannah heaved a huge sigh, “When are ya leaving again?”

“Next week,” Kian answered, feeling defeated.

“I’ll catch up with ya at some point.”

“I’m calling ya back, Hannah, I’m determined to see ya.” He smiled, laughed, and became serious, “I miss ya.”

Hannah could feel the tears start to build behind her eyes. In all the years she’d known Kian, she had never had to lie to him, ever. He always saw right through her even when she had tried to. Her acting had greatly improved over the past seven months, since hell had decided to call at her door.

Before she would allow any emotion to show through the phone to him, she said, “Goodbye, Kian,” and hung up.

Just as soon as she did, there was a crash in the kitchen announcing the arrival of a very large, very drunk, and very mean Irish man. He called her name, and she could her him drunkenly swaying around the kitchen table, mumbling curses under his breath as his hip jutted into random inanimate objects.

“HANNAH,” he bellowed, “Get me some damn food!”

Hannah felt her eyes close and her breath slow down as her heart beat quickened. She always had this response to him. She went into ‘yes dear’ mode and bustled into the kitchen, trying to look as if she wasn’t dying inside.

When a knock sounded at the front door in the early morning of the following day, Hannah didn’t want to go and get it. She knew she had a black eye, a skinned knee, a headache the size of England, a bruise under her left eye, a cut under her right and god only knew what else. She had passed out last night, and hadn’t had time to finish assessing herself.

He always forbade her to tell anyone, and said that if she did, he’d kill her. Having someone guess her condition was just the same as letting the truth slip from her mouth.

“HANNAH!” An urgent male voice called.

Hannah sat up in bed, the covers falling away. She grabbed a long robe and some sunglasses and flew to the door. Opening it a crack, she was met with a sight she hadn’t expected to see.

“Hannah Livingston, get dressed, let’s go.” He smiled a cheeky smile at her and awaited her reaction.

“NICKY!?” Hannah gaped, nearly forgetting her predicament.

“The one and only,” he laughed, then sobered, “I’m here on Kian business. He requests the honor of your presence this morning…and for the day…for a bit of fun.” He slid his sunglasses down his nose and peered at her, his blue eyes sparkling with question, “Why are ya wearing sunglasses in your house at ten o’clock in the morning?”

“Why are you wearing them outside?” She retorted, an eyebrow raised. She held back a groan as her headache increased.

“Hangover?” Nicky guessed, “Can I come in?”

“NO,” she answered quickly, then recovered, “Em, I mean, er…no?”

Nicky laughed, “What’s the matter? Kian was in a right mood yesterday after you turned him down. He sent me ‘cause he figured you’d at least think about it.”

“Since when can I not say no to YOU?” Hannah replied, a small grin hitting her lips without warning.

“Since always,” he looked into the house, over her head, “Did ya have a party last night?”

Thinking quickly, she realized the house was still completely torn apart, and probably worse so now. “Yes.”

Nicky raised an eyebrow, “Nice. Now can I come in?”

“I can’t go anywhere, Nicky,” Hannah stated, searching her brain for a plausible reason to decline. No matter how much she missed them, and how much she wanted to see Kian, she couldn’t go. He would know right away and he’d make a bigger deal out of the situation than need-be. “I have to clean up after last night. And do laundry, and…emmm…stuff.”

“Mark’s in the car, if I call him, he’s gonna come and pick ya up and bring ya kicking and screaming.” Nicky pointed to the car in the driveway; Mark was sitting in the driver’s seat beating his hands against the steering wheel and bopping his head along to the beat of a song. “So make this easy on his back, and go great ready.”

Hannah bit her bottom lip, her voice losing it’s control, “I can’t.” She slammed the door on his face, turned on her heel and flew to the bathroom. She couldn’t hear him yelling for her when she turned the shower head on.

“Where’s Hannah?” Kian asked, as Nicky and Mark entered his house. Kian’s smile faded as he saw the looks on his friends’ faces.

“She wouldn’t come,” Mark shrugged, “I dunno what was wrong with her.”

Kian looked to Nicky, “She wouldn’t even come for you?”

Nicky sighed and shook his head, “Something’s wrong, Ki. That house, it’s a mess. It’s run-down and dirty. I don’t know why she’d move from that really nice flat she had with Ella to that piece of crap.”

“She mentioned a lad,” Kian replied, sounding faraway. “When Ella gave me the number and address, she didn’t say why she moved in the first place. I figured it was because she could afford to, but--”

“I’m sure it doesn’t cost more than the monthly at the flat,” Nicky said, flopping onto the sofa.

Mark took a seat beside him, “I’m seeing Ella later, I could find out.”

“Why don’t you find out now? What if she’s in trouble? I gotta help her.” Kian began pacing the room frantically, looking like a madman.

“Ya can’t if she won’t let ya,” Mark said reasonably, “But I’ll call Ella, and see what I can find out.”

Twenty minutes later, Mark came back in the room looking tired and out of sorts. He looked seriously at Kian, who was now sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. His blue eyes met Mark’s, and they pleaded with him for good news. Mark didn’t have any.

“Ella said she hasn’t seen Hannah since she moved six months ago. She says she moved in with some lad called Jake and that he’s not very nice, but Hannah says she loves him.” Mark took a deep breath, “Ella’s worried about her. Hannah refuses to see her, but she calls her once in a while to let her know she’s okay. Hannah quit her job…four months ago, but nobody really knows why.”

“Jesus,” Kian muttered, “What’s he doin’ to her?”

“Has he got her locked up?” Nicky asked Mark, who shrugged and ran a hand through his long brown hair. “Fooking bastard.”

“She loves him?” Kian asked, his voice sounding strained.

“That’s what Ella said Hannah told her, but Ella doesn’t really believe it. She says Hannah sounds scared every time she talks to her, and at the littlest noise, Hannah slams the phone down. She usually calls back and gives some poor excuse, but Ella can see right through her.”

“I used to be able to,” Kian muttered. “I should’ve known that something was wrong when she refused to see me. And then you,” he gestured towards Nicky.

“Listen, lad, we’ll sort this out, we’ll help her,” Nicky assured his friend.

“I don’t know if we can,” Kian replied, his voice had lost all its jubilance and was now flat and depressed.

“Ella says we have got to do something. Jake works all day, and goes to pubs at night. A neighbor told Ella’s mum that he’s always crashing into the house really late, drunk as anything.”

Kian’s eyes were tearing, “Does he beat her up?” He coughed, trying to clear his throat, and his eyes of the salty liquid that wanted to force its way out.

Mark inclined his head slightly, “Sounds it.”

“Are ya sure ya wanna do this?” Shane asked, adjusting the black ski cap that adorned his head. “Kidnapping is against the law.”

“So’s beating up your girlfriend,” Nicky hissed, looking determined. He glanced at Kian, who was unusually silent. “We’ve gotta help her,” he said to Shane.

Bryan took a deep breath, “We’ve gotta do this fast, we dunno when he’ll come screaming up the drive.” He glanced nervously behind him as if some monster would jump out of the bushes and attack their car.

Mark, at the wheel, turned in his seat to look at Kian, “Are ya going, or what?”

Kian nodded and opened his door, “I’ll be back as soon as possible. Get your mobiles ready, if any cars come up, call 911.” He nodded stoutly and jumped from the car.

It was eleven pm when he quietly slid the sliding glass door open and took a hesitant step into the quiet kitchen. He was round the back of the house, and he knew the lads would be moving their car to the woods now, so that he could make an easy escape.

The house was dark, and he figured Hannah was probably asleep as he crept silently through the house.

Creeping into the bedroom, he saw two figures in the bed and silently gasped. There was no vehicle in the driveway, how could he possibly be home?

Kian panicked; part of him wanted to start beating the shite out of the creep who had his arm around Hannah, and part of him wanted to run far away because he knew that if he was seen, he’d get Hannah killed. He could see Hannah’s form outlined in moonlight streaming in from the open window above the bed, and his heart ached to touch her. He wanted to grab her and run; he just wanted to protect her.

He knew that he couldn’t.

Thinking quickly, he ran from the house and jumped into the idling vehicle.

“He was there,” Kian panted, as his band mates stared in confusion at him.

“WHAT?!” The four of them said simultaneously.

“There was no car!” Nicky hollered, craning his neck to look into the driveway.

“D’ya suppose that truck parked on the sidewalk belongs to him?” Shane asked seriously.

“Fook!” Kian hollered, “What truck!? Jesus, Shane, I could have gotten Hannah killed!”

“Or yourself,” Mark reminded him, “Good thing ya didn’t do anything rash.”

“I don’t care about meself,” Kian growled, “We need to get her the hell outta there. I promised her when we were ten years old that I’d always take care of her.”

There was silence for a moment, while everyone watched Kian’s depressed expression, “We’ll get her tomorrow,” Bryan suggested.

“In broad daylight?” Kian demanded, “How?”

“She’s lasted six months,” Nicky said reasonably, “She can handle one more day.”

Hannah ached all over when she rolled out of bed and onto the cold floor. Every bit of her felt as if it had been punched, kicked and swung at with random blunt objects. Last night had been a very weird one; she’d dreamt that Kian had come into the house to kidnap her, and that Jake had killed him, but she knew it was just an awful nightmare. Still, though, her voice was hoarse and her throat was scratchy as if she’d been screaming at the top of her lungs.

She literally crawled into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Her watch read 9:15, and she groaned. She had slept late again, which mean she hadn’t gotten Jake his breakfast. He wouldn’t be the most pleasant person later on. He had come home earlier yesterday because one of his co-workers told him that his girls’ boyfriend was back in town. He wanted to make sure she wasn’t with him. Luckily, Hannah hadn’t been.

Hannah desperately wanted to see Kian, to be with him, like old times…but she knew it was impossible. No matter how bad she wanted to get out of her current situation, she refused to put Kian at risk by asking for his help.

She carefully got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and began cleaning up the mess from two nights before. Every once of her body screamed in pain as she bent to pick up some broken glass, but she pressed on. She’d felt deeper pain than this before.

If there was one thing Hannah Sprout was good at, it was pushing her body to its limits and then some.

The living room was completely spotless when the doorbell rang three hours later. Hannah didn’t know who it was, and didn’t want to answer it.

But the voice that called to her sent chills up her spine, and she couldn’t stop her feet from going towards it. “Hannah, let me in. Right NOW.”

Hannah closed her eyes and took a deep breath before reaching out and pulling the door wide open. Kian stood there looking weary in tattered lose fitting blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a hooded sweatshirt pulled haphazardly over it. His hair was flat against his head as if he hadn’t showered that morning, and the bangs were in need of cutting; it was blond with some darker highlights running through it, and Hannah’s fingers tingled, wanting to run a hand through it.

He stuck his hands in his sweat shirt pockets, his eyes looked sad as he said, “Can I please come in?”

Hannah’s green eyes flashed with sorrow, and she moved aside. Kian took a step in, bringing him directly next to her. “Your eye,” he said, one of his hands gently touching the puffy and red cheek under her swollen eye. She winced, pulling away; he let his hand drop to his side.

“What’s going on, Hannah, what’s he doing to ya?”

Hannah moved and shut the door, then stood across from him, gathering as much strength as she could muster. It would take all her strength to lie to him, especially directly to his face when he was looking like he was. He almost looked like a lost puppy, begging for some sort of answer as to why she allowed her life to go the way it was.

“Everything’s fine, Kian,” Hannah said, looking away, her eyes falling onto the clock on the wall. If Jake decided to come home for lunch, he’d be there soon. She swallowed, “I’ve got a lot of stuff to do, so----” She put her hand on his upper arm and gave it a gentle push.

Kian didn’t move, his blue eyes stayed on her, “Hannah, I have known ya since we were in diapers. You stuffed sand in my mouth at the playground, for God’s sake. Give me some credit. I’m not stupid, I know ya. Something’s not right here.”

Hannah sighed and crossed her arms across her chest, “Kian, it’s not what you think. I ran into a door---”

Kian snorted, “Come on.”

“This ISN’T your problem,” she said forcefully.

“I know,” he replied quietly, “I’m making it my problem.” Kian glanced out the one window which had its shades pulled back, letting in a crack of Ireland’s sunlight. “The lads are in the car out there. Pack up some clothes. Let’s get ya outta here.”

“I can’t,” Hannah said, sounding surprised at his suggestion.

“Why the bloody hell not?” Kian requested, cocking his head to the side and looking at her sternly; his eyes narrowed and she took a step back.

“I can’t just leave. He’ll find me. Don’t ya think I’ve tried to leave before?” Her voice became hysterical, “He nearly killed me when I did it before. God, Kian, don’t be stupid. We’re no match for him.” Her voice lowered and became softer, “I am not match for him.”

Kian’s hard edge diminished as he watched a scared little girl watch him with frightened eyes. He reached out, and before she could move away, he had wrapped her tightly into his arms. She fell into him, letting her aching muscles rest and her shoulders relax themselves; Kian could feel the tension in her body fall away from her.

He heaved a huge sigh of relief and her hair blew out of her face. A few tears escaped her eyes, because even though she was remarkably scared, she also felt whole.

Having him there, having him hold her, made her feel the safest she’d ever felt in her entire life. She didn’t want him to let her go, but sudden realization hit her a few moments later and she harshly pushed him away.

“Kian, you have to get out of here.”

Kian looked hurt, “I’m not leaving without you.”

“If you don’t go, you’ll be leaving with me in a body bag. And you’ll probably have one of your own as well.” Hannah shook her head, tears cascading slowly down her red cheeks. Kian reached out and gently wiped them away with his thumb.

He felt his heart rip in two as he watched her; she was no longer the quick witted, fun-loving, care-free girl he had known. This monster had turned her into something unrecognizable.

“I don’t want you to get more hurt than you already are. If you leave with me, you can come on tour. He won’t be able to find us.”

Hannah laughed sardonically, “You think he won’t look it up on some website to find out where the tour is?”

Kian shook his head, “I won’t let him hurt you anymore.”

“You can’t do anything about it.” She took a step forward and opened the door, letting the sunlight fall over her swollen face. When she spoke next, her voice was thick and sad, “Go.”

Before Kian could respond, and tell her that short of giving her a tranquilizer and drugging her up so she passed out, he would do whatever it took to get her out of there, a shrill horn shouted from down the street and Kian knew that it was too late.

Jake entered the house swaying on his feet with a bottle of some sort of hard liquor clutched in his large hand. Hannah’s mouth dropped open and she shrunk back against he opposite wall. Kian watched her with worried eyes.

“Hannah,” Jake slurred, “Make me some dinner.” He turned to sit in his chair, but saw Kian standing by it, and gave a sickening chuckle that chilled Kian’s bones. “Who are you?” He asked, his voice hard and menacing.

“I’m Kian,” he replied, and looked towards Hannah, “I’m a friend of Hannah’s. I’m here to get her the hell outta here.”

Jake snorted, “A friend? Or a fook buddy?” He hiccupped and took a swig from the bottle. “Hannah didn’t tell me she was fooking some other lad.”

“She’s not,” Kian responded, his voice harsh, “She wouldn’t.” He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Hannah was trembling with fear. He looked at her, “Go pack a bag. Right NOW.”

Hannah knew not to mess with Kian when he was in one of his moods, so she had no other option but to trust him and allow him to help her.

“You bastard,” Kian growled, taking a step towards Jake.

Jake let out a laugh that wasn’t mirthful, “I’d watch who I was calling names, kiddo.”

Kian raised an eyebrow, “I’d watch whose best friends ya were beating up on a regular basis, if I were you.” He took another step, “I’m not gonna let ya do it any longer.”

“I’d like to see a runt like you try and stop me,” Jake laughed, drinking some more from the bottle. A lot of it dripped down his chin. He threw it against the wall where it shattered; Kian heard Hannah screech from the other room and run out.

“Get back in the other room, Hannah, I’m handling this,” Kian instructed, holding a hand up.

Hannah shook her head, “Kian, don’t. He’ll kill you.” She sniffed, “I’m not worth it. I’m not worth you dying over this.”

Kian looked at her, his eyes boring into hers, “Don’t ever say that again. You’re worth it. You’re worth ten times what I am.”

Jake rolled his eyes and reached out to grab Kian’s shirt, but Kian ducked out of the way. Hannah began crying furiously; she leaned against the wall and slid down it, huddling in a corner.

“Jake, please don’t hurt him,” she said, her voice muffled and shaky. “Don’t kill him.”

Kian’s eyes went back to her and all he wanted to do was scoop her out and pull her out of this mess; he wanted to just kiss her tears away and pretend none of this had ever happened, but things were never that simple.

When the fist was raised and Kian heard the sickening sound of bones being crushed, his life with Hannah flashed through his eyes.

He saw them at age nine, when he had leaned in and given her a quick kiss on the lips; it had been their first kiss; she had slapped him shortly afterwards.

He told her when they were ten, after she’d fallen off her bike and broken her leg, that he would always take care of her, and he’d never leave her; most importantly, that he’d be there when she needed him.

When they were twelve, he’d kissed her again on a dare; she hadn’t hit him.

Year fifteen rolled around and the two of them were inseparable, there was no friendship in the world that could compare to theirs. They got teased at school, because they were so close and Kian wasn’t getting any ‘benefits.’ He ignored the taunts, ‘cause he didn’t care. He just wanted her in his life.

He saw them at sixteen when they had started becoming more than just friends. The time he confessed that he had a crush on her she hadn’t run away screaming.

Then he saw them at seventeen when he had broken up with her to pursue his career with Westlife. He had broken her heart, and had never forgiven himself for it.

At eighteen they decided to just be friends.

At twenty two, when he saw her crumbled on the ground, crying her eyes out, but trying to be strong, he’d realized he was madly in love with her.

Kian blacked out shortly after.

“HANNAH!” Kian screeched, sitting up in bed and wincing as he felt pain rush through his body.

He felt a strong hand on his shoulder push him back against the pillows. “Kian, it’s okay.”

Kian’s eyes fluttered open and he stared up at Nicky, who looked back nervously. “No, it’s not fooking okay! Where’s Hannah?”

Shane stepped up towards the bed and Kian looked at him; he swallowed, “She’s down the hall.”

“Ya gotta calm down, Ki,” Bryan was saying from the doorway he had just entered from, “The nurses say you gotta take it easy.”

Kian’s forehead furrowed in confusion, “What are ya talking about?” He tried to sit up again, but Nicky’s hand held him in place.

Suddenly he remembered everything until he had blacked out. He remembered the fist connecting with his nose, and the blood gushing out smothering his clothing in thick red liquid; he remembered the blinding pain. He remembered Hannah’s screams, and Jake’s cold laughter.

“Is she alright?” Kian choked out, his eyes blurring as tears crowded around, wanting to get out.

Mark and Ella were now entering Kian’s line of vision; Ella looked tired, her cheeks were stained with fresh tears, Mark looked sick to his stomach. “She’s gonna be okay, they say,” Mark said, slipping a shaky arm around Ella’s trembling shoulders.

“She’s unconscious,” Nicky explained, “Before we got in there, he was beating her up pretty badly.” He took a deep breath and turned to Shane.

“Jake ran off when we got there…” he coughed, “Bry tackled him, but he got free. The ambulance arrived, and the police, but he was gone.”

“So he’s just running around?” Kian asked, his voice strained.

“We guess,” Mark said, “Nobody’s sure what’s happened to him.”

Kian’s eye twitched and he let out a groan of pain; he touched above his eye and felt a large gauge. “Is my nose broken?” he asked, wiggling his nose a little bit.

“Yeah,” Bryan replied, nodding.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Nicky assured him in an overly calm voice, “You’ve got some stitches, and the broken nose…and bruises. But you’ll be fine.”

“I don’t care,” Kian said quietly, “I just want to see Hannah.”

“That is not a good idea,” Shane replied sadly, “Emmm…the doctor doesn’t want you to. Just yet.”

“How bad does she look?” Kian asked Mark directly, he knew Mark wouldn’t lie to him.

“She’s okay,” Ella whispered, “But she looks really bad, Kian.” Tears sprang from her eyes and Mark wrapped her in his arms and rocked her back and forth.

Kian didn’t stop the tears that broke from his eyes.

“Didn’t you hit her once?” Mark asked as Kian spooned some green jell-o into his mouth.

Kian spit it out, causing it to fly across the room and splat against the front of Mark’s white shirt. “NO! I never hit her.”

“She told Ella that you did,” Mark replied, brushing the jell-o to the floor and then grabbing some toilet paper from the bathroom to clean up the floor.

Kian glared at him, “I never, ever have hit any girl. EVER.” He stressed the ‘ever’ to make his point more clearly. “Wait,” he said suddenly, dropping his spoon. “She stuffed sand down my pants once and I slapped her on the butt. Does that count?”

Mark did all he could not to laugh, “Em…I don’t THINK that slapping on the butt is considered ‘hitting’ since it does happen sometimes.” He winked, “But that might be what she was referring to. She used it as an excuse when Ella confronted her about Jake hitting her. She said you hit her, too.”

Kian groaned, “Well, fine then. But I never hurt her.”

“Maybe not physically,” Mark sang, throwing the messy jell-o away.

“I broke her heart,” Kian stated seriously, his voice suddenly not his own. “I won’t deny that.”

Mark put his hand on Kian’s leg and Kian glanced up, tears rimming his blue eyes, “When she wakes up, you have to tell her you love her. Don’t wait any longer.” Kian opened his mouth in shock and then closed it. “You do the best impression of a fish I’ve ever seen.”

“I’ve never said I loved her.”

“You don’t have to SAY it,” Mark laughed, “You’ve known her since you were teeny. Of course you love her.”

“Oh, you didn’t mean in love,” Kian muttered, swallowing hard.

“What, so now you’re IN love with her?” Mark’s smile spread all across his face.

“I’m gonna kick your arse, Feehily.” Kian glanced down at himself and looked back at Mark, “Once I’m feeling better.”

“Yes, I’ll watch from my window to see Mr. Kian Egan hobbling up my drive on his crutches with his fist in the air like an old grandpa. Then I’ll start shaking and I’ll really head for the hills. I might even pee myself in fright.”

Kian laughed loudly and nearly choked; Mark handed him a glass of water, “I dunno how you got it outta me.”

“Got what outta ya?” Mark asked seriously, slipping into the chair beside the bed.

“That I’m in love with Hannah.”

Mark chuckled, “It didn’t take much, it’s not as if you put up a fight.” Kian raised an eyebrow in anger and then rolled his eyes. “Plus,” Mark added as an afterthought, “It’s written all over your face.”

“If you start singing ‘Written In The Stars’,” Kian growled, “I really will kick your arse.”

Hannah’s eyes were open, but her face was emotionless; it was as if there was nothing going on inside her head. She’d been conscious for four days now and had said little to nothing about what had happened. Kian had been banned from the room, the doctors said they didn’t want him to upset her. He had been discharged the day before she woke up, but hadn’t seen her yet.

His heart ached, he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat; all he could do was think about how much pain she’d been through. He wanted to tear Jake limb from limb but the lads kept him in check. One of them stayed with him each night, making sure he didn’t do anything he’d regret…or anything that might land him in the hospital with more than just a broken nose.

Any physical pain he’d felt all his life, was nothing to the emotional pain he suffered now. All he wanted to do was hold her, but he was kept at a safe distance.

The starched bed sheets of the crisp hospital bed were thrown off her body and she breathed heavily as if she’d been stifling. She couldn’t get the image of that night out of her mind. The worst thing about it was she didn’t know how Kian was. She asked the nurses, but they wouldn’t tell her anything.

The thought of Kian being hurt because of her was too much to bare; she wanted to jump from the bed and run as far as she could as fast as she could and just escape the entire world.

Her broken ribs, broken limbs and numerous stitches would not allow such a thing to happen.

“Hannah,” his voice was low, his mouth in a thin straight line; his hair was all over the place as if he’d run a mile and his eyes held a degree of sadness that she had never seen there.

She stared at him, almost unable to comprehend that he was standing in front of her. He was alive, he looked alright despite the bruises under his eyes and around his nose; a zombie probably looked more rested than he did, but he was still there.

“Kian,” she choked out, her eyes widening as he took a hesitant step towards her. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” he laughed as a tear fell from his eye, “How are you?”

She reached out for him and he took a seat on the side of his bed; she gently touched his face and a small smile spread across her lips, which were split, dry and cracking. “I thought you were dead…why haven’t you come to see me? Where have you been?”

Kian took a deep breath, “They wouldn’t let me see you, baby…this is the first time I’ve been allowed on this floor, even.”

“But why?”

“They thought I’d upset you,” he ran a hand across her bruised cheek.

Hannah shook her head, “They were wrong.”

Kian shrugged and wiped the tears from his eyes, “They caught Jake. He’s in jail. He was in some fight at a pub---”

She put a finger to his lips, “The nurses told me, and some lawyer who came in to talk to me.” Tears sprang from her eyes, “God, Kian, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he stated angrily, “You have nothing to be sorry about.” He pulled her into a tight hug, careful not to hurt her more than she already was. Though she did hurt, just being held, she didn’t care; she let the pain wash over her body because it felt so good to have him there. She didn’t care how much she hurt, he always made things so much better.

“It’s over, isn’t it,” she said, pulling away from him and gently wiping her eyes.

Kian nodded, feeling a lump in his throat, “Yeah, it is.”

“When can I get out of here?”

“In a couple days, if you’ll come stay with me. We’ve got some time off, so I’ll be home for a bit…I want to take care of you.”

Hannah laughed and then cringed because it hurt, “I don’t need taking care of.”

“Well, that is a straight-out lie.” He smiled at her, “Just let me do something for ya, for once, okay?”

“Fine,” she stated reluctantly. As much as she wanted to be with him, she hated thinking she needed someone to take care of her, and watch over her; she had always been so strong before, so independent. She’d get that back again, someday, she knew she would.

“Hannah,” Kian whispered, leaning closer to her. She looked up at him, tears blurring her vision. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, “I’m IN love with you.”

With every once of energy she could muster in her tired body, she kissed him; and that said more than any words could.

-lyrics from Third Eye Blind’s “Wounded” on their “Blue” CD

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