From the Ashes

"The homefront has calmed down a bit, though Roman's mom is pretty anxious."

"Alright... What did you guys tell them?"

"That a bunch of kids were playing soccer at The Gazebo, and it was an awful accident."

"Okay, good. His lip is torn to hell... Do you know how painful it was, Maize?"

"I know, Allie... I can't even imagine. He passed out from the pain at the match, not the blood loss. How's he feeling?"

I glance up from the corner of a dimly-lit hospital room, where I hold the curly-wired phone, to look over at Roman's sleeping form tucked into the neat blankets of the hospital bed.

"He was feeling alright before he fell asleep. He's all numbed up, he can't feel a thing in his face." My brows knit as I continue to gaze at Roman. The dark, ruffled hair that falls over his closed eyes and thick lashes. His pasty skin, his swollen lips that I love to kiss, now cross-hatched with temporary black stitches like some horrific patchwork monster.

"That's good, at least," Mazie says, her voice heavy. My heart has been aching nonstop at the thought of Roman's pain. He has suffered enough. "Is he just gonna need stitches?"

"No, fortunately. If he doesn't want any bad scarring, he'll need surgery. And there's no way to save his piercings, but that's the least of our concerns."

"Of course. I doubt he'll want to get them repierced after this."

"I can't imagine," I agree, taking another sorrowful glance at Roman's unconscious form. I untangle my fingers from the curly cord that I had been playing with absently as Mazie's static sigh floats through the phone.

"I'm glad he has you there with him, Allie," she says softly, "He really needs someone like you." My eyes travel to the floor at her words, my heart stirring curiously.

"Absolutely," I whisper. I hear her yawn on the other end of the line, and I take a glance at the circular clock that ticks away above the door beside the bed. My head almost spins in exhaustion at the time.

3:12.

"I'm gonna get going. Bennen's waiting eagerly for an update. I'll be here at my camp all day tomorrow, so call me with any news, alright?" Mazie says. I nod involuntarily.

"I'll definitely get ahold of you. Goodnight, Mazie."

"Goodnight, Allie." I hang up the phone with a gentle clack, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hand. My legs ache to sit down, my eyes beg for rest, and my head throbs for sleep. Walking over to the side of Roman's bed, I sink wearily into the chair I had moved to rest beside him. I lean forward across the bed to slowly sweep Roman's dark hair back, running my hand through it over and over as I take his hand in my other one. I hum gentle tunes to him as he sleeps, pausing periodically to kiss the back of his hand. My voice is rough from all the screaming and cheering at the match earlier.

The sound of a gentle knock floats from the door frame behind me, and I pause to glance over my shoulder and see Wim standing there with a cardboard drink holder in his hands.

"May I come in?" He asks in a whisper. I give a tired nod.

"Of course."

He pulls up another chair beside me, his eyes continually flickering to me while he does. Taking a seat, he pulls one of the three styrofoam cups out of the holder to offer it to me.

"I picked up some coffee from the Starbucks in the cafeteria. Do you like caramel macchiatos?" He asks in a whisper. The enticing smell works its way to my nose as I take the drink.

"That's very sweet of you, Wim. Thanks," I tell him softly, leaning back in my chair to wrap my hands around the warm cup. "I can pay you back once we get to Alpine Mine." He snorts with a bemused look, taking a second steaming cup out to drink from himself.

"That's highly unnecessary," he chuckles, reaching across my lap to set the holder with the last drink down on the bedside table. "I got one for Sage too, but it looks like he'll enjoy it later." I give a light smile as I look across the bed to where Sage sits at the small round table, sound asleep with his head down on his crossed arms.

"I guess so." My eyes travel back to Roman as I take a soothing sip from the beverage. I watch him sleep with a deathly stillness, watch the slow rise and fall of his chest underneath the blankets.

"How are you doing?" Wim's gentle voice whispers. I turn my head to look at him curiously. His gaze is steady as he watches me with his deep green eyes that lie behind wildly dark curls.

"I'm fine. Just worried a bit, is all."

"You look exhausted, Allie."

"I feel just fine. I don't know when Roman will wake up, but I don't want to be asleep when he comes to." I didn't think it was possible for Wim's look to get any softer.

"Allie," he whispers, "You need to sleep while he does. Or you'll just be even more tired when he's conscious." I look away from Wim with a frown, gripping my coffee more tightly. His words hold truth. I set the drink aside, knowing the caffeine won't affect me much at this point.

"Alright. But you should probably sleep, too. We all need it." Wim's attractive scent reaches my nose as he leans over me once more to put his drink next to mine, and my heart gives a slight tremor when his warm hand brushes my arm on its way back.

"I will, then. Go curl up in that nice chair, Allie," he suggests, indicating the large cushioned chair in the corner.

"You go ahead. I'm gonna stay right here," I tell him, scooting my chair close to the bed to rest my head and arms down on the mattress beside Roman's body. Resting my eyes feels wonderful.

I hear Wim sigh with a chuckle as he moves around the bed.

"Whatever you say, crazy girl," he whispers with a slight note of his accent, and of affection. I ignore them, and move one arm to lie across Roman's chest, my fingers brushing the skin above the neckline of his shirt. I relax every muscle in my body after nestling my face in the crook of my other elbow, and it doesn't take long at all to pass out.

The feeling that you get when you're awoken in the middle of the night, with minimal sleep under your belt, is really unpleasant. Not to mention the addition of the fact that your state of lucid consciousness is out the window by that point, as well. So when I wake up by my torso being tossed violently off of Roman's bed, one might understand the reason I tumble out of my chair and flail around like a mindless re-re for a few seconds before I become truly and acceptably functional.

After regaining full, dazed consciousness, I pull myself up using the chair, alarm gripping my chest like a vice. Under the low light of the bedside table lamp, Roman's form thrashes to fight the blankets that he's tucked into while gasps and low shouts issue from him.

"Roman!" I bark, scrambling to grasp him and shake him awake. Beads of sweat cover his face as it turns from side to side, and his thrashing intensifies once my hands hold his arms. With a jolt, he wakes up, his smoky eyes wide with fear as they look straight into mine, filled to the brim with concern. Sage appears at my side, as startled and groggy as me, while Wim sits alert in the chair he had been sleeping in. Roman's eyes screw tightly shut as his hands come up to grasp my arms, right above the elbows. I sink onto the bed beside him as he gives a shudder.

"Thea..." he whispers in a harrowed voice, and I move towards him to take him in my arms. He slowly buries his face in my neck, wary of his stitched lip, as he wraps his arms tightly around my middle. I enclose him protectively in my arms, giving Sage a look of concern as Roman's back expands and deflates beneath my grip with his heavy breathing. With a brisk flick of his head, Sage motions for Wim to follow him out of the room. While the two leave, I run my hands through Roman's hair, smooth it back, kiss his forehead deeply. He calms down, but stays in the shelter of my neck. After a few moments of silent comfort, I pull away gently to hold his face in between both hands and look him in the eye. From where he sits slouched over, his raven hair hanging in his eyes, he looks at me with a weary steadiness.

"Were you having a nightmare?" I ask in a whisper, fingertips running over his skin, brushing his hair to one side. His eyes shift between both of mine slowly.

"Yes." His voice is a low rumble. I lean up to kiss his forehead briefly.

"Tell me about it?" I venture softly, searching his face as I continue to caress his skin lovingly. His features are blank, his eyes vague and worn. He drops his head down to place his forehead against mine, and my hands move to disappear into his shaggy hair. Closing his eyes, Roman gives a deep sigh, his forehead pressing more firmly against mine as he tilts his head to touch noses. His patchwork lips are inches from mine.

"The usual," he whispers, and my hands reach the end of their journey to grasp handfuls of the soft hair on the back of his neck. "Being burned alive." My breath stops as my heart twists painfully.

"Roman," I whisper, my voice shaking with emotion, "My Roman..." I kiss him deeply on the cheek, wanting more than anything to feel his lips on mine. His hands shift, one to press against the back of my neck desperately, and the other to hold me tightly against him by the small of my back. My kisses trail all over his face, and onto his neck and shoulder once he presses his brow into my own neck.

"I'm alright," he murmurs after a while of this comfort, "The moment I wake up is the worst, everything dulls after that." I nod, stroking his hair and continuing to kiss him. With a groan, he pulls me onto his lap, and I shift my legs in time to situate them on either side of him before he presses me closely against him, his head slumped down and resting with his forehead flat on the top of my shoulder.

"I don't usually get them as often, anymore," Roman whispers lowly as I run my hands through his hair again, which I know he likes. "But the pain from last night must have triggered it again, I think. I haven't had one in a long time." I shut my eyes tightly against the pain that wracks my heart at his words.

"What can I do?" I whisper, my voice barely a squeak. Roman's hands pull me just a bit tighter against him.

"You're already doing more than anyone ever has."

Sitting in the space between his crossed legs, with mine wrapped around his body, I hold him closely against me as I kiss the side of his head. I slide my arms around his neck as he tightens his hold on me again, our bodies flat against one another with such warmth. Kissing his temple, one of my arms slides down his chest as I move my hand to brush his jaw line with the backs of my fingers.

"Roman?" I breathe, my kisses halting.

"Yes, darlin'?" his voice whispers at the softest decibel in my ear. The sound of it sends chills up my spine from where his hands hold me.

"I love you..."

He pauses before grasping my hips and slouching slightly away, leaning back to look up at me from where I sit in the middle of his lap. Both of my hands move to touch his strong jaw line with my fingertips as I gaze down at those eyes. A small smile twitches at his malformed lips.

"Do you mean that?" he says with a weary calm, his smoky eyes holding a lot of heartbreak behind a glimpse of affection. The immense emotion I feel in my heart for him is something that I can't keep to myself.

"With all of my heart, Rome."

His eyes shut as he leans back more, pulling me close against him as he tilts his head up to keep his face centimeters from mine as I'm pulled to rest on my knees that lie on either side of him.

"I actually believe you," he whispers as his hands caress their way up to cup my face. I watch him with a searching look as his thumbs draw tender lines on my cheeks. "And, Thea?" his hands grasp me a little tighter as he sits up a bit straighter against me.

"What, Roman?" Pressing his nose against mine, his eyes gaze steadily right in front of me.

"I love you. And I'll always mean everything I tell you." With a smile I can't prevent from covering my face, my hands move up to grasp both of his wrists.

When he says tender things like that... He puts so much meaning into his words, in a way that makes me believe him without a doubt. I'm not used to this at all, but it's glorious. I can't help but think back to the other guys I've dated, the one who would talk to a thousand girls behind my back, multiple times after I had found out. Or the one who emotionally abused me, guilt-tripped me, and almost blackmailed me when I wanted to break up with him because I realized I could do better than a perverted asshole. I don't trust very easily in a relationship because of my experiences, as most girls could probably understand.

But Roman...

He gives me no reason to question my trust. I know we've just started out... But I feel safe with him.

"I have trust issues," I tell him suddenly, sitting straight up in his lap, "And some mild jealousy problems... Well, maybe not mild. And when I get into fights, I get really irrational. Like, harmfully irrational." These confessions keep spilling out of my mouth as Roman watches me with a steady curiosity, a half-smile formed on his stitched lips.

"Why are you saying those things?" he asks in a soft voice. Slightly embarrassed, I swipe a hand through my hair as I look away.

"I just thought they were important for you to know... I don't want to mess this up. Already, this relationship is far from normal," I mumble, hoping he's understanding what I'm saying.

"Yes, it is," he whispers, sitting up to pull me against him gently. He takes my chin in his hand to guide my face toward his.

"You and I have started something so amazing," he tells me tenderly, holding my gaze with such emotion, "It's like nothing I've ever had. And it's everything I've wanted." My heart swells and flutters at his words as they strike a blazing chord in my chest.

"That's exactly what it is for me," I whisper, my hands touching the sides of his neck. He gives a happy, airy chuckle.

"I have a really hard time trusting anyone, a girlfriend especially. And major jealousy issues. We're not so different, darlin'."

No... We're not, I guess...

I tilt my head in to place the lightest kiss onto his top lip, our skin barely brushing as I carefully avoid his damaged lip. He's closing his eyes with a sigh as I give him a few normal kisses on the cheek. Shifting to sit even closer to him on his lap, I drape my arm over his shoulder to lean on it as I look at him. In a soft voice, I begin to tell him about my problems with trust. About the virtual-cheater, the emotional abuser. The way I can't help but put my all into a relationship, and have gotten nothing but hurt and disappointment from it. I tell him how safe I feel with him. How easy it is already to trust him, how crazy it is that I feel amazingly secure with him even at this point in our fresh relationship. Throughout my explanation, we end up lying back in his hospital bed, Roman's head propped up on the pillow to listen as I lay snugly on top of him. He nods every so often, listening silently to my thoughts and experiences. I'm pretty sure I rambled a little bit... but he doesn't seem to mind at all.

Stroking my back tenderly with his fingertips when I fall silent, Roman gazes up at me from where I lay with my head resting on my hand and my elbow propped on the pillow beside him.

"I'm the same way with relationships," he says in a quiet voice, "I don't fuck around with my emotions. You give it all, or there's no point." One of his hands moves to stroke my cheek lightly. "I hate people like the dicks you dated. And the stupid whores I've dated. Fucking pointless." I look down at his chest, covered in a hospital gown.

"That's one of the reasons I thought you were a dog," I confess softly, my curiosities about his past pushing me towards questioning him.

"What's that?"

"I noticed you only dated whores. I had no idea you were like me with relationships, I thought you were only in them to have sex," my stomach twists painfully at the mention of his previous girlfriends. The thought of my Roman having sex with another, and possibly multiple women hurts so much.

"I'm actually really shy when it comes to going after girls," he confesses as he looks sheepishly away, a small smile on his lips. I look at him, my brow staying furrowed.

"You always seemed like a smooth-talker, with girls flocking to you, and all," I say with a forced smile. He shrugs as my look falters.

"They came to me," he says simply. "I guess whores were the only girls I attracted. Sadly, I didn't know they were whores until they cheated on me." He draws his thumb and forefinger under the bottom of my jaw near my chin lovingly. "I suppose that's why real girls like you stayed away." I give a nod, closing my eyes against the lingering pain that stirs my heart still. Silence falls between us for a few seconds before Roman speaks.

"Thea, what's wrong?" he asks, my eyes still closed. I'm too tired to hide the fact that my heart is hurting now, and he probably sees it in my expression. Opening my eyes slightly, I keep my gaze on his chest.

"How many girls have you slept with?" I ask in the softest voice, afraid of the answer. He pauses as my pulse quickens painfully.

"Four." My breath catches, the number like a hot knife to my heart. I wasn't expecting that many, after he told me he was shy.

"Oh," I breathe, laying my head down on Roman's chest to hide my face from him.

"Aleithea," he says as he rolls over, taking me with him. I lay on my side, my head on the pillow as Roman leans on his elbow to get close to me. "Does that bother you?" he asks, stroking my bangs away from my face, now blank with embarrassment at my stupid emotions.

"A little," I whisper, afraid my voice might give away my distress.

"Darlin'," he pleads, his body falling against mine as he slides one arm over my waist and the other between my cheek and the pillow, "Please, please don't let my past affect our relationship now, because I wish I could take back a lot of it. I sought comfort in the wrong places, but what happened happened, you can't let the past hurt you." He speaks tenderly, lovingly, soothing my heart with his words. "Nothing about the past matters. 'Cause now I have this beautiful, real, amazing girl to love, and I want to do everything in my power to have the best relationship I can with her. I can hardly believe how lucky I am that she loves like I do." I open my eyes, staring up at Roman's face as he leans over me, stroking my cheek with his thumb. His eyes are glassy. "I'll always take care of you, Thea. Your emotions are everything to me…"

Having my inner pain mended like this is a very new thing to me. And I can't explain how wonderful it feels to be reassured and soothed. With rocketing hope, I smile as I reach up to hold Roman's face in my hands.

"Thank you," I whisper, pulling him close to kiss his cheek over and over. He lays his head down next to me before pulling me firmly against him.

"Of course, Thea... I have to take care of my girl, that's my job!" he laughs lightly, "I hate seeing you upset, darlin'." He entwines his legs in mine, our bodies so close. He squeezes me tightly in his arms, and I bury my face in his neck. He holds me against him as one of his hands runs soothingly through my hair. "I love you, Allie," he whispers. I nuzzle my face even closer into the base of his warm neck, my lips pressing against the top of his shoulder.

"I love you, Rome," I murmur into his collar bone with a light-hearted sigh, the hand that isn't wrapped underneath him moving to tightly grasp the other side of his neck. A contented hum rumbles deep from his chest as he sighs, too, his head against mine.

"I wish I could kiss you, so badly," he says quietly, and I give a light chuckle.

"After your surgery, you can," I reply as I place kiss after kiss onto the skin around his neck. He lies still for a moment.

"I hope it feels the same."

Amy and Rob arrived at the hospital before dawn. I had fallen asleep in the cozy chair before they did, and woke up to Amy gently shaking me awake. They were going to go through with Roman's surgery, and I couldn't be in the room for it, I guess. It lasted only an hour or so, but it felt like years to me as I waited out the procedure in the hospital's cafe with the rest of the crew. I had been really anxious to find out if Roman would have more scarring or not, and if he wouldn't have too much nerve damage. During the surgery, I had given Mazie another call from Wim's iPhone, to let her know Roman was being worked on. Talking to her had also helped calm my nerves a little bit. Sage and Wim were good at distracting me as well, coaxing me to play silly little games like "I spy," or tic-tac-toe, or hangman on a small tablet of paper as we sat at a cafe table.

Now, I sit slumped in a chair outside of Roman's hospital room with Amy, Rob, and the boys. Rome should be done soon, and once the doctor comes out to tell us he is, we file inside. My poor Roman looks really drowsy from just waking up, but he's smiling as his mom approaches him with a careful hug.

"Hey, sweetheart," she says as he wraps his arms around her to return the embrace. Wim and Rob circle around to the other side of the bed, and Sage and I line up behind Amy as she greets her son. "How are you feeling?" she asks the question we're all wondering. Roman nods drowsily, a crooked smile forming on his swollen and reconstructed lips.

"I feel alright." Amy places a gentle kiss on his forehead.

We all talk to him for a while, before he says he wants to get out of here. Amy took care of the insurance and paperwork during his surgery, so he gets dressed in the clothes his mother brought for him, and we lead him out. After checking out, Amy asks Roman to ride with her and Rob, leaving Sage to drive Rome's truck with Wim and me. With little shut-eye in my system, sleep takes me like a rapist. Pardon the analogy.

"Allie, we've arrived," a voice floats through my head as consciousness comes knocking. I groan as I crack open my eyes and pry myself off of Wim's shoulder. Muttering a jumbled cuss or two, I blearily wipe at the drool I so kindly deposited on Wim's sleeve.

"Sorz..." I croak. Wim chuckles as Sage pats my leg.

"We're here," Sage says, and the truck rumbles to a halt at the base of the property.

"Thanks," I mumble, rubbing at my eyes.

"I'm gonna drive Wim back to his camp, do you want to come with us, or stay here?"

"I'll stay here, I need sleep," I answer, drumming Wim's leg before he opens the door and moves out of the truck to make access for me. I wrap my arms around his neck as he pulls me into a warm hug, and I thank him for all of his help and support with Roman. I wave the boys goodbye as they pull back out onto the road, and I feel a twinge of worry for Sage, since he hasn't had much sleep either, and he's off and driving to Wim's camp and back.

I head up to the upper cabin, where Roman disappeared, and I climb up to the second floor to find him sitting on the end of his bed. He looks up at me as I rap my knuckles lightly on the door frame, and he smiles.

"There's my girl," he whispers as I approach him, my heart soaring at his words. He pulls me to stand in between his legs as I drape my arms over his shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" I ask. I kiss his forehead and play with the hair on the back of his neck as he wraps his arms around my lower back.

"Beat," he murmurs into my chest as he rests his face in my soft bosom. "The doctor said I need a lot of sleep, and I don't think that'll be a problem whatsoever."

"I'm exhausted, too," I chuckle, and Roman falls back onto the bed to take me with him.

"Nap time, then," he sighs as he scoots out from under me to lay with his head on the pillow. I crawl after him, wrapping my arms around his body after he pulls me to lie on top of him. Nestling my head in the crook of his neck, I sigh in content and comfort as Roman's hands trail up and down my back gloriously.

"Mm, I love you," I murmur, sleep making my eyes heavy.

"I love you, too, Thea," Roman says as he places a kiss gingerly on my forehead.

"I'm really glad you're alright, Rome," I tell him as I slide my hands up to frame his face, propping my chin on his chest. He blinks down at me for a beat as a tired smirk tugs at his swollen lips.

"Weren't worried about me, were you, angel?" Tilting my head to the side, I lay my cheek against his chest as I close my eyes with a slight smile.

"I just wanted those pretty lips to be fixed," I giggle with an exhausted lightness. Angling his head down slightly, he narrows his smoky eyes with a smile.

"Why's that?" I slide up his chest, which expands beneath me in a slow, silent gasp as my fingers disappear into his hair. I bring my lips close to his, shifting to poise right above him as my sigh graces his skin in a tantalizing way.

"Because I love your lips, your kisses," I breathe with a small, devilish smirk. I touch my lips lightly onto his, which twitch beneath mine as his hands move to my hips.

"Oh, trust me..." he whispers, his voice rough. His grasp moves down to brush over my butt to the backs of my thighs, sending chills of desire through me as he pulls one of my legs up against the side of his body. I bury my hands deeper into his hair as my hips almost involuntarily grind against his. I want to kiss him so badly... I need to kiss him. But I don't want to damage his lips, so I kiss and nip my way across his jaw line and down into his neck as his hands grasp at my thighs, my butt.

"Thea," he groans, his voice, his touch, and his hard buddy underneath his cargo shorts turning me on. I lift my head to cup his face and press my nose against his, his hands holding our bodies so close to one another.

"I am so in love with you," he whispers, his hands sliding up my back to bury into my hair and grasp my head. I move my knees to rest on either side of him, straddling him as I lay with my upper body against his.

"Oh, Roman," I whisper as I kiss the side of his cheek next to my hand, "I love you so much." His hands slide out of my hair as I lean back to sit up on him, my hands gliding across the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt as I feel the contours of the warm muscles beneath. His own hands move to caress their way over my legs, up my sides, changing direction to touch my stomach on their way back down. My hands continue down his torso lightly to slide up and grasp his hands and press them closer against my abdomen. He smiles up at me.

"Little abs," he breathes, his hands moving mine as they inch gently up to feel the soft skin that lies right between the dip where my ribcage meets. I stroke the backs of his hands as I giggle, feeling my own diaphragm move underneath his touch.

"Noooo," I shake my head. He chuckles beneath me as he pulls his hands out from under mine to find the hem of my shirt and softly touch the warm skin underneath.

"Your skin is so soft," he sighs, his fingertips lightly stroking the skin of my stomach, gently exploring the contours of my sharp hips.

"I'm glad," I say with a soft smile.

His hands slide around to my bare back underneath my shirt as he sits up against me, suddenly, his face almost level with mine since I'm straddling his lap. His hands grip my lower back, pressing our hips and our bodies close as I slide my arms against his chest with my fingertips touching his jaw.

We've come so far, Roman and I. Already with a connection and a foundation of trust that I didn't think was possible for two people to share, especially so early. I suppose that's what's possible when two people truly want the same things in a relationship. We aren't the same. We share similar qualities and interest, but we've got our number of differences. But we love the same. And I think that's the most important thing we could share. If Roman and I have come this far already, since the time we were paired in those last days of school... how close can we grow over the rest of the whole summer?

I'm more than happy to find out.