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She had to break away fro to envelop her once more She had to protect Cammie She’d do it Whatever Walt wanted If he’d only prouish and she licked her lips, trying to speak, puzzled over the raspy sound that came out in its stead

"I’ll do it," she finally et out "I’ll do whatever you want I’ll do it But you have to proive Cammie back I’ll be whatever you want"

Tears choked her words and she realized they were sliding endlessly down her cheeks Everything she had done had been for nothing All the running, the endless worry, the sacrifices she’d made and been prepared to make It didn’t matter because in the end Walt had won after all

And then to her utter shock, Donovan appeared, his face just over hers, and even rief and sorroa to wipe the tears that ran in a never-ending river She had no control over the that mattered But how? Why was he here? Where was she?

"Darling Eve," he choked out "My God, Eve Honey, you’re safe Cammie is safe Travis is safe They’re both here and very anxious to see you Would you like that? They’ve been very worried about you I’ve been worried about you"

She nodded eagerly, her ability to speak around the flood of tears knotting her throat utterly gone

Cammie crawled cautiously onto the bed and then Travis pushed past Donovan, who stood back to allow Travis access to her She stared up at her brother and sister and she wept

Caed her on the other Her ared to lift the in the feel of them so warm and alive Safe Donovan had said they were safe They were all safe

"Don’t cry, Evie," Travis said in a tortured voice that betrayed his own tears "Everything is okay now You’re back You’re going to be all right Please don’t cry We’re okay All of us Walt is dead He can’t hurt us any desperately to her brother and sister, not wanting to let go in case this was a product of the drugs that had been forced on her Was it all just a bizarre manifestation of her heart’s desire? Had she conjured them up and it was all just a hallucination? A trick of the medication?

"You’re real," she choked out "You’re here Oh ht he had you," she said tearfully

Cammie patted her cheek and then wiped away e to stop

"Don’t cry, Evie," Ca Travis’s plea "We can be a fah he said I can call him Daddy and I want to Can I, Evie? Can I call hi," Eve whispered "I love you so very much But"

She closed her eyes unable to voice as uppermost on her mind She couldn’t destroy Cammie’s illusions It would be cruel

"Caive me a moment with Eve? There’s a lot I need to explain to her Go into the living room with Rachel and Sophie You can come back in just a bit I promise"

Cammie kissed Eve’s cheek and then smiled her sweet smile "Van will make it all better He promised"

And then she bounced off the bed and Travis took her hand to lead her out of what Eve now realized was Donovan’s bedroom They were in his home In Tennessee Miles away fro she’d been there, or how long she’d been here, for thather hand in his He was shaking, she realized He looked utterly undone, nothing like the calm, composed man he’d always presented His eyes were haunted and he looked grief-stricken

As more of the haze cleared, she took a better look at hiard Like he hadn’t slept in days He was unshaven, his clothing ru on one hell of a bender

"I don’t understand what happened," she said helplessly "How did I get here? Why am I here? Travis said Walt was dead How?"

Donovan stroked her cheek, al hily well For a man who professed not to care about her, he looked ith relief to see her

"There is so much I need to say to you," he choked out "But I don’t want to overburden you You’ve been out of it for three days Three of the longest days ofup to this, if you want to rest, then it’ll wait But Eve, I cannot let you suffer the er"

Her brow furrowed as she struggled to make sense of his impassioned words She tried to sit up but found she lacked the strength to do so She looked down in confusion, al to still be in restraints But no, her arms had been free She’d held her brother and sister in her arh the effort had cost her considerably

She did want to drift back into the void She wanted to float in the sea of nothingness where reality didn’t intrude And now that she knew Caer a threat, she merely wanted to be away from the truth

But wait He’d said he didn’t want her to suffer the misapprehension she was under What did it mean?

"What is it you want, Eve?" Donovan asked, concern burning in his eyes

"Can you help me sit up?" she asked, shamed that she couldn’t even perform this one small task

"Of course But be careful I don’t want you to overdo it"