Listen to the song on the side as you read :) Also, this chapter is dedicated to FashionKilla14. This girl has been with me from the start, literally. I was so happy because she was my first avid commenter and reader. She continues to support me till this day. So thank you girl! I appreciate you and thank you for continuing to support me on not only this story, but on my other story The Fire We Make as well :)

Tobias stepped into my apartment and I immediately knew it was going to be a long night. He had his NY cap perched on his head but underneath I could see his eye beginning to bruise. A gasp escaped my lips. As many times as I've seen him bruised and cut up it still surprised me.

"Are you fighting again?" I asked, slamming my door behind me. I crossed my arms as I watched him walk farther into my apartment.

"Yes," he replied honestly, casting his eyes down so I wouldn't have to see his face.

I scuffed before turning my head to the side. Of course he was. Why did I think he could ever think about his health for once? His near death experience did nothing to him. Hell, telling him that I was pregnant only influenced his behavior. Typical behavior from a coward 'man.'

I walked into my kitchen and began rummaging for my box of chai packets. I needed something to calm me down. Things were already bad between us and I had a gut wrenching feeling that it was only going to get worse. I fumbled around to find my favorite mug and I realized that I didn't wash any dishes. Sighing, I rolled up my sleeves and began to wash the small pile of dishes. I felt hands rest on top of my shoulders and I dropped the plate I was holding. Clank! No dishes broke thankfully but as I turned around to get a good view at Tobias I wished it had.

He was beautiful, even with his battle scars. With his sad, irresistible hazel eyes and his charming loop sided smile, I knew I was going to be under his spell again and I couldn't allow myself to do that again. Redirecting myself to the sink, I began to finish what I started. I heard Tobias sigh before he leaned his back against my counter top.

"I didn't have a choice. Fighting is in my blood, I need to do it," he claimed.

I ignored him and continued to scrub all the dirty dishes in my sink.

"Do you even still think of me?" He asked after a moment, his hands clasped in front of him. "Do you still think about me as you pass by the little Chinese take out place you love? Remember how we used to go there all the time? Or do you still think of me as you go to Noel's home? How you used to tell Noel you had to go home early to study, but you used to sneak over to my apartment instead. Reign, do you miss me as much as I miss you?"

I threw my dish towel down in anger as I wiped my hands. He had some nerve. "Of course I do. You were the single most important thing in my life and then you weren't."

"I can still be that person," he growled, stepping towards me. I stepped back until the back of hip bone hit the sink. "I'm still the person you fell in love with."

"Tobias, you lied to me-"

"To protect you!"

"To protect me?" I spat back. "Do you really think you lied about doing drugs, about your condition, to protect me? Did you really think that fucking Rachel was to protect me? You have some fucking nerve Tobias."

Tobias clenched his jaw as his eyes fixed on mines. "I never slept with Rachel. It's been a huge misunderstanding from the beginning,"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Then what is it? Why did you have to lie about it? I'm not dumb Tobias. At least have the decency to own up when you cheated on someone."

"I never cheated on you," he growled, stepping even closer. Now our faces were inches apart. "I would never cheat on you."

"Then explain!" I cried out loud, throwing my hands up in furry. "Explain what I witnessed between you two because there was something. And I swear to God if you try to deny that there wasn't-"

"She has cancer Reign."

My blood ran cold as I snapped my eyes up at him. My heart was pounding like a drum during a summer festival. Rachel has cancer? Tobias sighed deeply, bowing his head down. He was inches away from my face and I could see his chest rise slowly. He gazed up at me slowly, his hazel eyes shining brightly.

"That day when you walked into us in the bathroom was the day I found out that she was sick. First, I thought that she had a bladder problem because she kept running off to the bathroom in between our dances. So her fifth time running off the bathroom I followed her in there-"

"You what?" I asked, startled at he would do such a thing.

Tobias rolled his eyes. "I knew she wasn't using the bathroom by the way she smelled. She smelled like vomit Reign."

I stiffened, staring at him wide eyed. He stepped back, giving me space. I immediately felt cold, no longer feeling the warmth that bounced off of him and onto me.

"I caught her spilling everything out of her stomach for what appeared to be the third time in that hour. I rushed over to help her but I caught her off guard and she got some throw up on my shirt, which is why I had my shirt off when you came in. I was rinsing it off and I pulled it over my head and saw you gaping at me."

I recalled what happened so many months ago. That was why I jumped into a relationship with Julian. But as much as I wanted to forget my worries about Tobias I couldn't go through and have sex with Julian. It wasn't like me at all. Instead, Julian allowed me to sleep next to him on his bed and the whole time I only thought of Tobias.

"She was pissed at me, which was expected," he continued on, removing his NY cap. He ran his hand through his hair messily. "She tried avoiding me but she couldn't. We were stuck together for Scott's wedding. And then I saw her at the hospital the same time I came for my checkup, only she was going through chemo. So, I waited until she was done and I ambushed her in a way. She was angry, telling me whatever I saw was a figment of my imagination but I knew she was scared. She was keeping this secret from everybody. I knew how she felt because I was doing the same thing. So I told her everything. I told her how I didn't have long to live and that I was going to need a heart transplant in order to keep living. I told her how it was no point, that it didn't matter if I died because there was nothing worth living for."

Tobias chuckled as he recalled a memory. "That's what really pissed her off. She went into a long lecture of how life was sacred and that I should be thankful I wasn't diagnosed with stage four breast cancer."

I placed my hand over my mouth, not believing any of this. This... This whole time she's been sick and nobody knew, not even Noel. But why? Why did she keep this from everybody?

"From that day on she made me promise to keep her illness a secret and in return she would keep mines. We were both lonely people trying to hold on to the remaining pieces we had left. We... We didn't want the pity of others. We didn't want them to look at us like the way you are now."

I immediately casted my head down. "I feel like such a bitch."

Tobias chuckled. "Don't. Though she was dying she was definitely still an ass."

"A trait you both seem to have," I replied. I looked up and I could see a faint smile on his face.

I shook my head trying to retrace my memory. Though it wasn't spelled out in front of me, how could I have missed this? How could Noel? What didn't add up was why Rachel was wearing Tobias's hoodie and was in his bed.

"What about when Rachel was in your hotel room," I said after a moment. "She was practically naked underneath and you were eager to kick me out."

"She was drunk, well we both were. But nothing happened," he said quickly, after I huffed my chest out. "She puked all over her clothes and on mines so I had to tell her to change in anything that looked comfortable to her in my suitcase while I went to take a shower. And when I got back I saw you."

I pulled my hair back as I digested all this information. "But why lie Tobias? Why couldn't you have just told me? Why let me hate you? Why let me believe that you cheated on me?"

Tobias have me a sad smile. "Have you been told that you're going to die? It changes your perspective on a lot of things. You learn to respect the privacy of others."

"I was heartbroken Tobias," I retorted, swallowing the sob stuck in my throat. "I thought you were like any other guy out there. I didn't know what I did to deserve this."

Tobias shushed me before coming closer to me. He tried to wrap me into my arms but I wasn't having it. I wasn't going to allow him to make me crumble under his touch.

"What about your heart? Was your plan for me to fall in love with you and then leave me out of the loop until you died?" I questioned, my body shaking. The look on his face said it all; he was never going to tell me.

I pushed passed him before I walked out of my kitchen. I could hear him call out my name but I ignored him. This is why I never open up, for this reason exactly, because of this feeling. It was worse than catching Rachel and Tobias together. This was ten times worse. It felt like I was being stabbed in the chest with a knife, each painful memory cutting deeper than the last.

I recall the first time I saw him, I was pissed off at Noel. I remember how I was practically speechless when I saw him. Then I remember the time I found him outside the bar, of how we got in a heated argument and I opened up in ways I never had with him. I remember the warmth I felt as he held me tight. I remember how he would tickle me to no end, just so he can see me smile. I remember how we acted so normal before we left for Noel's wedding, how blissful and happy we were. Only it was all a lie. Everything he says is a lie.

"I promise," I heard him say. "I was going to tell you."

I felt his hand wrap around my wrist and I broke down. I yanked my wrist away from his grasp and scowled at him. I could feel hot tears run down my eyes and I quickly brush them away. I could see his own eyes filled with guilt and regret.

"When we're you going to tell me? When I get a call about identifying your dead body?" I interjected, my voice coming out stronger than I thought.

"What am I supposed to tell our child Tobias? That their father was a coward?" I spat. Tobias clenched his jaw and looked the other way, too weak to face me. "Or am I going to have to tell them he's just like their grandfather?"

"Don't," Tobias seethed, his face furious as he faced me. "Don't compare me to him. If you're so concerned about what what they're going to think of me don't tell them about me at all!"

"Don't you get it? I don't want to have to tell them about you!" I cried, clenching my hands into fits. I walked up to him, my short body staring up at his pained face. "I want them to know you. I want them to be able to come to you when they have bad dreams. I want them to know what it's like to have a father who's there for them through the good times and that bad-"

Tobias turned his to the side and I could see a single tear fall from his face. I placed my hands on his jaw tenderly and made him face me. His bright hazel eyes were filled with tears. My own face was running with tears and I didn't know how to stop them.

"They deserve to know the man that I fell in love with. They deserve to know about the strong and undefeated Tobias Sorensen. They deserve to have both a loving mother and father! You and I both know how fucked up that made us."

"What do you want me to do?" He choked, his eyes still gleaming.

"I want you to fight for us!" I exclaimed, removing my hands away from his face.

"I tried," he gasped, moving away from me.

I could see the snow begin to pick up outside of the balcony and I knew that the roads must be terrible now. There was no way Tobias could go home in this condition.

"That day, after we got together that night and we were eating at the small little restaurant and we discussed our favorite colors and food, remember how I had to leave? I left you at the restaurant alone because I realized that you were worth fighting for. I met with my doctor, begging him to get me on the transplant. But they wouldn't allow me. I fucked up," he claimed, rubbing his hands through his hair. "They said someone who did drugs and smoked and fought for a living didn't deserve a heart. They didn't even fucking give me a chance."

I jumped as I saw him knock over my lamp. His chest was rising up and down quickly. His hands were bawled up into fists and he began pacing back and and forth. I could see veins popping out of his neck as he became even more upset.

"They didn't even give me a chance to prove that I've changed," he continued, his eyes looking at me now. "You made me change Reign."

Though my heart was beating repulsively in my chest, I continued to stand strong. "You don't get to do that Tobias. You can't keep saying these things that make me want you and expect that things will be okay! Things between us will never be okay!"

"Does that mean we give up?" He growled, his feet making noises as he stepped in front of me. "Does that mean that you forget everything we've been through?"

"No! Of course not, but-"

"Dammit Reign I want you! I want you and our baby!"

His confession made me stop talking. I stood paralyzed in front of him, unable to move or speak. I didn't think that he even cared that I was pregnant and now here he was confessing that he wanted to raise it with me.

"I want to know if my child looks more like you or more like me. I want to know if they pass out the minute they touch their bed like you do or if they lay in bed for a good half an hour before sleep finally catches up to them. I want to teach them how to throw a mean left hook, especially if we have a little girl. I... I want them to have a life I always dreamt of having. I want you to have a life that you always dreamt of having. I just want to be a family.

"And I know I've fucked up. I know I gave you a shitload of reasons to never trust me again, but I need you. I need you like the our lungs need air in order to breathe. No scratch that. I need you more than that.

"You are my sun Reign. I've been searching, traveling, tearing myself apart literally trying to find you and I'll be damned if I let you go. You complete me as cliche as it sounds. There's always been an empty void in my heart and I never knew why I until I met you. You put me back together so well, I forgot that I was broken."

Tobias sighed, his shoulders slouching. He looked like he aged ten decades. I wiped the tears that fell from my face with the back of my hand, trying to contain my emotions for once.

"So let me spend the night with you. Let me hold you in my arms for one last time. Let me make you feel how much I want you-- how much I need you. Then after that you can decide whether you want me in your life or not. But I need you to at least feel how much I need you."

I had a feeling he sensed my unsureness because the next thing I knew he was crouching in his knees in front of me. I could hear soft sobs fall from his lips as he lined his head next to my belly.

"I need you both."

Aww, Tobi! He's gonna make me tear up! So, I hope this chapter cleared up some of y'all's questions. If you still have some comment and I'll answer! I will not answer if Tobias lives or dies however. That'll ruin the whole ending!

Questions:
•Did this make you relieved or make you more tense?
•Did you expect for Rachel to be dying too? This has been the plan since the beginning btw aha
•Do you think Reign will take Tobias back?

Q&A!! Ask your questions for any characters! I'll list them so it'll be easier.

•Reign
•Tobias
•Julian
•Rachel
•Noel
•Scott
•Me!! (Charlie aka starbucksaddict)
•Any other character

I'll be posting the questions next chapter so be sure to ask your questions.

ALSO!!!! Please check out my cowrite story called The Fire We Make, pleaseeee.