When Chloe opened her eyes, it was dark. She had been in such a deep sleep that she forgot where she was for a moment, and when Chloe saw the silhouette of a figure sitting in a chair by the window, she jumped into a sitting position.

"You're safe, Chloe," Valentine's deep voice said from across the room.

Chloe relaxed and looked around her. "Can I turn on a light, or will it give us away?"

"You can turn on the one next to you if you like." Valentine was sitting so still. He looked like a statue.

Chloe leaned over and turned on the lamp, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. "God, this is an awful room, isn't it?" The room had marble floors and walls with all marble surfaces. The only soft things in the room were the bed and a few chairs.

"Now you know why I prefer your old room when I'm in town." Valentine stood, reaching for a black doctor's bag that was on the floor next to him. "May I look at your hand?"

Chloe nodded and scooted to the edge of the bed. Valentine joined her, and she felt the bed dip as he sat. The fact that it pulled her closer to him was something she didn't fight.

He rolled up her sleeve and grew angry when she saw the rope burns there. He checked the other wrist and cursed softly under his breath. "You weren't supposed to get hurt!" It was the second time he had said it.

"Did you expect me not to fight back and go willingly? I didn't know if Dimitrie was friend or foe." Chloe had to clear her throat as it clogged with fear once more.

"Tell me everything. It will help." Valentine's touch was tender as he put antibiotic ointment on her wrists and wrapped them.

Chloe started by telling him about meeting Lada and how rude she had been. That she had made plans to leave as soon as she could, but it hadn't been fast enough because Lada had cornered Chloe in the bathroom.

"Are you really going to marry her?" Chloe asked softly. "How can you stand to touch someone, love someone so cold?"

"I have no intention of marrying her. I never did. There's an adage that says keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I never trusted Lada. She is from an old and wealthy family. Her parents grew up with my uncle and father. I don't know for sure, but I think she had an agreement with my brother, and when he died, she lost power and was eager to regain it. That's all I thought it was, and so I paid little attention to her. Then about two years ago, when my uncle died, another person rose to take his place. I already knew about Dimitrie and knew it wasn't him, but I had a hunch, so I let her into my circle."

"And pushed me further away," Chloe nodded as she remembered how, two years previous, something had gone wrong quickly, causing a lot of backtracking. Chloe had thought it had to do with Valentine's uncle, but now she knew it had been Lada.

"As for touching the woman, I have never done that. I have no desire to." Valentine had moved onto her hand. He had removed the bandage, and at the sight of the angry red wound, he stopped talking.

"And Dimitrie? He's on your side now? You had your talk?" Chole's heart soared at Valentine's words. He didn't love Lada. He didn't even like her.

"Yes, thanks to you, we have realized we share the same goal, but we thought it wise to play it safe and have him stay my enemy for the time being."

"Was he the one who told you that Lada was following you and that she would kidnap me?" Chloe had a sudden thought that someone might have bugged his room, and they might be listening to them right now.

"Dimitrie had teamed up with Lada, claiming to be even madder at me than ever before because of his losses in battle last month. What's wrong? Valentine asked her with a frown as he watched her look around the room.

"Are they listening to us?" she asked him in a whisper.

This obviously amused him as it caused his beautiful smile to emerge.

"It's safe. Please continue with your story." His voice was an amused rumble.

Chloe enjoyed his amusement for a moment before her memories sobered her once more. She told him about the bag over her head and being put into the back of the van. "When they pulled me out, the man with Dimitrie wanted to have a little fun with me first, but Dimitrie told him I was his." Chloe swallowed hard at the memory and hissed at the cleaning solution hit her hand.

"Ouch!" she yelled as tears filled her eyes, but she wasn't crying at the pain. She was crying at the memory.

Valentine picked up her hand and kissed her wrist, meeting her eyes as he did. "You're safe, I promise."

"Are you sure? Isn't my being here like being under the enemy's thumb?" Chloe shuddered at the idea of Lada finding out she was there.

"I'm sure. As I said before, she thinks you're dead. Continue, please," Valentine said as he pulled what it would take to give her stitches.

Chloe watched him work. He gave her a shot to numb her hand, then threaded a needle. Then with a shaky voice, she told him every step Dimitrie had taken. "He wasn't exactly gentleman, but he wasn't pleased with having to hurt me. When I wouldn't scratch him, he told me I was too kind-hearted for my own good."

Chloe swallowed hard. "I get Dimitrie had to play it the way he did. He had to make them believe that he was capable of doing those things to me, but even the idea of it..." She shook her head. "How do you survive it? You are a healer, not a fighter. How do you get over and survive the horrible things you must have seen in the last twelve years?"

He was silent as he wrapped her hand and then started to place his things back in his bag. Chloe was at the point where she thought he wasn't going to answer when he spoke.

"I think of you. I think of holding you and loving you. It's where I find my peace." He snapped his bag closed and placed it on the floor. "I'll run you a bath. You'll need to keep your hand dry." His goal was not to let Chloe acknowledge his statement.

He may not let her verbally say something, but her heart acknowledged it.

"Fine, but you'll have to help me undress since one of my hands is numb." Chloe wasn't sorry in the least about the situation.

Valentine considered her comment for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, let's go." He led the way to the bathroom, turning on the taps and setting the temperature of the water. Then he turned to Chloe and motioned for her to sit on the edge of the tub.

"I'm not wearing any underwear, so it should make your job easier." Chloe reasoned.

"Because your underwear is ripped and in shreds on the floor of a warehouse," He reminded her with a bit of a bite to his voice as he started on her shoes.

"It's fine, Valentine. I'm fine." It had been a little joke to relieve the tension, but it was apparent that he didn't appreciate it.

"You do understand that I knew they were going to take you, and I had to let them do it, don't you?" His fingers were rough with the laces. "It was all my nightmares coming true. I sent you away twelve years, made us both miserable, so something like this wouldn't happen." Despite the anger in his voice, his hands were gentle with her feet.

"I'm sorry, Valentine." Chloe shook her head.

"What are you sorry for, coming back, getting kidnapped, or your inappropriate joke?" His fingers were working on her shirt buttons, and there was nothing remotely romantic about his clinical movements.

"My joke," Chloe watched his face so close to hers. His anger didn't scare it. It made her angry too. "I'm not sorry I came. I love my father, and I love you. I needed to see you so I could know that it's over once and for all." She wasn't shouting, but there was matching anger in her voice.

He placed his hands under her arms, lifted her, and then worked on her belt and pants.

"Now you know, so you can go home and forget about me once and for all!" His voice was low and hard.

"No!"

"No?" his voice held a warning.

"No!"

"You were taken, but I was in control this time. Next time I might not be, and you might actually end up dead. Do you know what I went through the past two weeks, knowing this was all going to happen and that there was a chance it could go horribly wrong?" He picked her up and placed her gently in the tub. Despite his anger, he was still gentle.

"I'll go home, Valentine. I see now that I must." Chloe reached up and grabbed his face. "I had almost given up hope. I had nearly given you up, but seeing you, hearing you say you love me. I never could. You are what I think of when I get scared or lonely too."

Chloe pulled his face to hers and kissed him hard, and to her amazement, he didn't pull away. His eyes closed, and he cupped her head, returning her kiss with a passion Chloe had forgotten existed. It was a brief minute where anger and fear didn't exist. Where it was just the two of them like it had been all those years ago, but as soon as it started, it was over. 

Valentine pulled away from her and stood up, clearing his throat. "I'll find you something to eat."

Chloe hadn't realized she was crying, and she wiped away her tears, nodding as she watched him leave.