The first bite of that pie was like heaven. Warm apple filling and crumbly crust I knew was homemade filled my senses, much better than the hospital food I had been eating. Mrs. Romano had cried a little, remembering the bloody mess I was when she found me. She cheered up at my assurance that I was alright, and proceeded to gush about my new haircut, saying it made me look so much more mature. Mr. Romano sat in the guest chair next to the bed, quiet as usual, but with a smile that let me know how relieved he was as well.

"Oh, Danny, after all of that, to see you now, all stitched up, it's a sight really…" She pulled a brush from her overstuffed handbag and sat beside me, fixing me up. I didn't mind.

"Thanks for the pie Mrs. Romano. It's really good!" I laughed softly. "And um…I'm sorry you had to see me like that…"

"Oh, think nothing of it Danny." She cooed, soothing my senses. She really was the best. Mr. Romano coughed, getting my attention.

"Um, Danny…I didn't want to bring this up yet, but…"

I straightened up, knowing it must be important if he was so hesitant.

"The man who…you know, did all that, told us where you were. We promised ourselves that we would protect him from the police, since he protected you."

"Johnny? He's okay? Where did he go?" I whispered, relieved to hear someone talk about him.

"He ran off before the ambulance or police showed up." He whispered back, catching the air of secrecy about it. "We told the ambulance that Gloria had been the one to wrap you up. And…he asked me to grab something of his so the police wouldn't find it. He left before I could give it to him."

Mrs. Romano realized what he meant and pulled her Mary Poppins-esque bag onto the hospital bed. She pulled out familiar sight, putting it in my arms. I stared at it, not sure how to feel.

"His coat…" I whispered, pulling it into my chest. I felt the soft fabric in-between my fingers. I could feel something wrapped in it. Opening it bit, I saw his diary. I didn't know that he took it with him…

A thought hit me hard. Who knows what he wrote in there! And they…

"Did you-"

"We didn't read it. I think that whatever he put in there's none of our business. You know I had to keep Gloria out of it more than once though, the rubbernecker she is."

She glared at him, annoyed. They often had this back-and-forth between them.

"Don't get mad at me Gloria; I think you owe Danny an apology for what you didn't tell her." He grumbled.

Her face fell, looking guilty. She turned to me, near tears.

"Tell me what? What's wrong?" I asked, more than confused. She hugged me tight around my shoulders, avoiding my healing stomach.

"Oh Danny, I had heard that…that monster had broken out of prison! I didn't want you to worry and run away again! I thought the police would have caught him before he made it there! But they didn't and I'msosorryhoneyitsallmyfaultI'msosorry…" she blurted, tears spilling over.

I was surprised, but I couldn't hold it against her. She really cared about me and I couldn't do anything to upset her.

"It's okay! It's okay…He would've found me anyway, and I'm glad it was in a place that you could've found me. I'm glad it was somewhere I had so many people who could protect me…" I comforted, hugging her back. "I'm just glad that Johnny did what he did before you got there…If he had killed you two…because of me…I don't think I could…could…live with m-myself." Tears spilt down my own cheeks.

"Danny…" she said, looking at me, eyes questioning me. I felt the memories of the things my father told me, about my mother, flood back into my mind. It felt like I was being stabbed in the stomach all over again. The tears came harder still.

"He told me…" I cried, squeezing her harder. "He told m-me…about how Mom was sick after she had me…how I k-killed her…just b…by being born…"

"Oh Danny…"

"He hated me…He…he had a reason t-to…hate me and…hurt me they way he did…" I blubbered, crying into her shoulder. "It was my fault…I really w-was a parasite." I cried, spitting the word out like venom "F-first her…Then Granddad…and you…two c-could've…"

We sat quiet for a long time, I cried harder than I had in a long time. She held me, trying her best to soothe me. Through my crying I could hear something. I opened my blurred, painful eyes to see Mr. Romano get up from his chair, kneeling down beside the bed as held my face in his hands. His wife let me go, surprised by her husband's actions.

"Danny, sweetheart…" he said, being gentler than I had ever seen him. "Your mother, bless her soul, was a very good and kind woman. I was good friends with Marshal. I watched her grow up with him and Stella before she passed."

His eyes swum with memories of a time long passed.

"When you were born, you made her the happiest mother I've ever seen. We never knew she was sick until after he killed her."

I looked up at his eyes, filled with swimming emotions.

"Danny…" Mrs. Romano started. "She chose not to get treatment because it would've kept her away from you for most of your childhood. And once he started hurting you, she made up her mind. She didn't want to leave you alone with him, even if she wasn't strong enough to protect you."

The tears stung my eyes, starting again anew. Her husband continued, seeing my sadness.

"He killed her, not you. No child should blame themselves for something like that." He brushed a tear from my cheek with him thumb.

"And Marshal, well, those things just happen. It's a shame and a tragedy what happened, but nobody blames you. He chose to take you in, give you a home and the love you needed so badly. He taught you so much. And when he passed, it was just his time."

I knew how close he and my Granddad had been. It was painful hearing him talk about his old friend so fondly and sadly. I hugged him tightly, not caring if my stomach would feel anything. He stiffened at first, not being as emotional as his wife, but hugged me just as tight. Mrs. Romano, being the emotional one, cried hard and squeezed us both in her usual, death hug.

It was comfortable, it was sad; it was that nice floaty feeling I used to get hugging Granddad.

Suddenly a new feeling overtook me, one I unfortunately knew all too well.

"Oh god-let go! Letgoletgoletgo!"

They did, just in time for me to grab the trashcan at the side of the bed and heave my stomach, that familiar acidy bile stinging my hoarse throat. So much for the pie…

Mr. Romano pushed the nurse button as his wife rubbed my back, trying to comfort me. Christina showed up eventually, fetching a washcloth and a glass of water with my pills.

"Jesus, Danielle, I thought I told you stick to the simple foods? Something that rich was bound to make you puke your guts out."

"But it was good..." I whined, smiling a little, taking a gulp of water to wash the pills down.

"Is she alright?" Mrs. Romano asked, obviously worried.

"Her stomach doesn't react well with fatty oily foods, thanks to her pain meds." She explained. That made sense of the bland hospital food I had been forced to eat.

"Oh, my, I'm so sorry, I never meant to-"

"It's alright. If anyone's to blame, it's Danielle. I warned you about that stuff."

"But I was dying for some good food! And it's Mrs. R's pie! The best pie in the world!" I grinned, feeling a lot lighter having had our conversation. My stomach gurgling and my stitches aching, I held the trashcan to my chest for dear life.

"Well, I hope you learned your lesson. No more sweets until you're off your meds."

"Okay…" I sighed, feeling like a scolded child. Christine smiled, her curly red hair bouncing as she stood up fully, turning to the Romanos.

"I'm really sorry to break up the party, but visiting hours are almost over. If I can't let the inspectors stay, I can't let you stay either."

"Oh, alright. Danny, please get better soon. Sorry about my pie, honey."

I set the trashcan back by the bed as she hugged me, lightly this time, kissing my cheek. She leaned up to my ear, whispering.

"Don't worry Danny; we'll keep an eye out for that nice young man."

She stood up, smiling brightly.

"Thank you…f-for the pie! Even if it did make me sick." I spat out nervously. She beamed grabbing her purse. Mr. Romano came to me too, hugging me tightly.

"Get better soon Danny. Once you do, come home. We'll always be there for you." He sighed, his deep voice comforting me. I hugged him back, as tightly as I could. As he kissed my cheek, I got a thought in my head.

"I will. And I'm sorry I couldn't be released today, but thank you for bringing my coat anyway. I'll keep it here."

He looked surprised at first, but smiled, patting the top of my head affectionately. I leaned into it, sighing with content. As they left, I felt sad to see them go. I gripped the coat in my fingers, letting it calm me like a security blanket.

"They seemed like nice folks!" Christine smiled, straitening the room a bit. "Who were they?"

"They're old friends of my grandfather. They're like…my family, I guess." I said as I hugged the coat to my chest, drawing my knees up to me.

"That's sweet that they would visit you." She gushed. "And nice coat. A little dark and gothy for my tastes, but it kind of suits you."

I looked at it. It wasn't really my tastes, mostly because I knew what kind of person it belonged to. A thought of the last time Christine had visited popped into my brain.

"Oh, right. Christine? Did you look into that favor I asked you?"

"I started to, but no real luck so far. Even with the wonders of the internet, finding people is hard, if they don't have social site pages. And I doubt you're looking for Monica Hughes in Alabama, given she's only 14."

I sighed. Finding his mother was going to be a challenge. I knew Nathan wouldn't talk to his father, but I promised to get in touch with his parents if I survived, even if I made that promise after a slight mental breakdown and while he was unconscious…

"Thanks for trying anyway." I smiled. She smiled back at me. Either she was the best nurse ever or I was slowly making a friend. Or both.

"Now, you get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow morning with breakfast, okay?"

"Alright…" I said, feeling a bit lonely at the thought of being by myself again. I put on a cheerful face anyway. She smiled, turning the light off and closing the door behind her softly. I could hear the faraway murmurs of her excusing the investigator down the hall. He meant well, I was sure, but I couldn't have him digging to deep into this. I needed to protect him. I…

I groaned, hitting my head on the pillow with a cushy thud. Why? Why did he kill my father for me? He didn't have to…As far as I could remember; I hadn't given him a reason. He probably pissed him off somehow. It was just personal vengeance, most likely.

I didn't want to think so cynically of him, but it seemed like what he would do. He had no reason to do it, certainly not to protect me like the Romanos thought. But I decided to push it out of my head. If it was still bothering me, but I guessed that I'd ask him.

"If I ever even see him again."

That thought made my stomach hurt. I'd never get to see him, thank him for what he did, even if that wasn't his motive. Never see his pale, angry scowling face, never get yelled at for doing nothing…never feel the panic I felt when he was too close to me…

'Fond memories aside,' I thought sarcastically. 'He really was a bastard…Not to mention him abducting me and holding captive in his basement…'

I could still faintly see the pale browning of the bruises on my wrists. I could still hear the buzz of the florescent lighting. I could still smell that strange, greasy metallic smell that wafted from him.

I realized I had smelled the coat in my arms. It was a strange scent, familiar yet dirty and unpleasant. It smelled like him, a thousand percent.

My stomach hurt again.

"Ugh, it's making me nauseous…" I said, laughing softly. He would do that to me. I reached out to toss the coat onto the guest chair, but stopped myself.

"He's so skinny." I thought out loud, it probably wouldn't even…"

Thinking ahead, I tucked the diary deep into my mattress so no one would find it. Growing more and more curious, I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. It was dark in the hospital room, the only light dimly shining from behind the blinds on the window. I touched my bare feet to the cold tile floor and stood up slowly, careful of my stitches. I pulled the sleeves over my arms, draping the long coat over my hospital gown. He was taller than me; the coat came about to my ankles as opposed to around the middle of his calves. I was only about 5 foot 2 inches, according to the doctor at my physical the day before.

"Too short for my tastes…" I thought, pouting a little. The sleeves scrunched up a bit, reminding me of his long, skinny arms and legs. I remembered his lanky pale form, my face coming to his upper chest, so it would be too tall for me. I tucked the dark fabric around myself, the fabric fitting around my frame and my smallish chest.

"Why did Nathan even find me attractive?" I asked myself. "I barely have any curves, I'm short, my hair is always a mess."

I chuckled. I was always hard on myself, but the one thing I like about myself was how I looked like my mom. I had her hair and eyes, dark brown and a lighter brown color. I couldn't stand it if I looked remotely like him. If I had his eyes, those haunting green eyes I remembered that would stare at me until I felt like crying…If I saw those looking back at me every time I looked in the mirror…

I gripped the coat closer to myself. His smell hit my senses again and relaxed a little.

"Thank you…thank you so much Johnny…thank you, thank you, thank you…" I muttered.

I took the coat off and held it to myself, lying down again. The quiet of the room didn't seem to bother me as much as it once had knowing that there was no way that my father, the man who created and attempted to end me, could ever be there. Never again would I feel that panic late at night in the back of mind.

Lying wide awake, waiting for my sedative to kick in, I held the soft coat in my fingers.

"At least let him be okay…" I asked, not sure who the request was meant for.

If those hobos made one more crack about my clothes or my hair or my injuries, I would gut them like the smelly trout-men they were, ribs be damned.

They just wouldn't shut up. I hurt too much to shut them up or scream at them, so I took it. For now anyway…

"Alright…Just gotta sit still long enough to get even a little better…"

"Pauly, Pauly look! He's talkin' to himmmself again!" One laughed, obviously drunk. They had visited the dive bar a few doors down from the alley, getting kicked out at last call hours later. Bottles scattered around them like they were little bottle people, worshipping their giant hobo gods. I ignored him the best I could using every ounce of patience in my beat-up body.

"Aw, Earl, he's been here in our alley for a little while n-hic-now…" the other, also drunken, hobo said. "Let's shhhow the boy a lil' hos-hos…hossspitality!"

He stood up, staggering over to me, bottle in hand. The strong smell of alcohol radiated from him.

"Here friend, take one, I won' miss it!"

I looked at the bottle he was offering me, grimacing in disgust. However…

"Don't call me boy…the last guy who called me that paid for it..." I muttered taking it.

"What'd you d-doooo…skinny?" He slurred, directing a large drunken, toothy smile at me. One that was quick to transform into an expression of pained shock as I quickly slammed the bottle against the ground, the glass shattering and the alcohol foaming, and stabbed the jagged end of the bottle into his leg. As he arched his back, howling in pain, I grabbed my knife from my boot and stabbed him in under his jaw and up into his head.

"That."

I saw the life leave his eyes as I twisted the knife, his blood falling onto my shirt and splattered across my cheek in all its warm, runny glory. He fell to the ground, silent and bleeding. I watched as the other hobo shouted his friend's name, and in his booze-fueled courage, charged me. I quickly stood up as he was inches from slamming me into the ground, swinging my arm to slash him across the face and punched him in the stomach. He fell to the ground grabbing at his face and screaming. I ripped off his orange hat, stuffing it into his mouth to muffle the screams.

"No need to draw attention friend. "People don't take kindly to folks like us getting rowdy and slumming about like drunken idiots", REMEMBER!" I mocked.

...

Finishing up, I stuck a shard of broken glass in their hands, making it look like they had a drunken argument followed by a gory stab-fest. I ignored the soreness in my chest and stepped into the street. The dark of nighttime surrounded me, and I stood, taking a deep breath. I didn't feel stinging, just soreness. I lifted my shirt, revealing the shoe-shaped bruises on my chest. I snorted, pulling it back down, hiding my pale, malnourished chest. They were still broken, but I could bear it now. I hoped it wasn't just the adrenaline that was causing it.

"Either way," I said to myself "I'm getting out of here…I need a shower."

Normally, I wouldn't mind the blood. But I was out in public, trying not to draw attention, and it was drunken hobo blood. Not a good combination of factors…

I headed to the public park I had passed days earlier for a sink-shower. Once I was done, I would plan my next move.

I had bought a hotel room when it had started to get dark, at least until I could figure out what I would do next. I laid out on the bed after a very long, hot shower, trying wash away the rejection, heartbreak, depression and anger I felt. I didn't work very well.

The cool air of the room hitting my bare skin, I sighed, reaching for my backpack, pulling out my sketchbook. Did I dare look inside to what I knew was there? The sketch of the woman I knew only so long ago?

I still wanted to apologize to her, even if she wanted nothing to do with me. Most of all, I wanted to know where she was. Was she okay? Was she mad at me? Was he still with her?

I decided to call my friend Michael, seeing as he had help me find her in the first place. I knew Michael from my organized crime days. He had the skills to find anyone, anywhere, so long as they were sloppy enough to leave a trail. Even the tiniest slipup and he could track them. I had asked for his help and the most he could do was send me in the direction of her last known location, about three hours away from her Granddad's house. It was only on the way that he had called me and told me she had used a credit card to board a train heading for her hometown, Whitelake. I figured there was only one place she could be, and I was right. I asked Michael to look up her name and he saw she was the owner of an old property on the edge of town, formerly owned by her Granddad.

I dialed Michael's number, lying back on the bed and waiting for an answer. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Hey, Nathan…What's up?" he asked. Something was strange about his voice. It was shaky and pained.

"Hey Michael nothing much…You okay man?"

"Oh…yeah…I'm great. Never better."

"Right…So, I was wondering if you could look up where Danielle is again. I know you just did, but we…got separated."

"Uh…I don't know Nathan…I just-"

The sound cut off for a moment, confusing me.

"Mike? Did I get cut off?"

His voice filled my ear again, he grunted as he came back.

"S-sure Nathan…Just give me a minute and-get out of there you idiot run-"

His voice got quieter but I could still hear him screaming. I sat up quickly.

"Mike! Mike what's going on! MIKE!" I screamed into the phone.

I heard the familiar sound of wood against flesh, the unmistakable sound of a baseball bat to the back of the head…the sound I had made so often as an enforcer for the Genovese family.

A husky laugh filled my senses as a new voice came to the phone. I recognized it immediately.

"Rufus! You son of a bitch!"

"Now Nathan, no call for that kind of language. You brought this on yourself. Because of you, Mikey here broke the number one rule. Do you remember the rules Nathan?"

I stayed quiet.

"I asked you a question. Or do you think you're too good to talk to me since you left the family?"

"I left Rufus! You can't touch me!"

"Nathan, I know that Mick decided to go easy on you when you requested to leave the family-"

"You beat me half to death!" I snarled. He didn't react.

"-but we told you we'd be keeping an eye on you. Now, what's rule number one? Answer or Mikey here loses his other ear."

Horror washed over me. Panic soon replaced it as I found my voice.

"…Don't betray the family." I answered, grim thoughts flooding my mind.

"Good. Now, why would you go and ask Mikey here, family property I might add, to help you when you know you're not in the family anymore?"

"It didn't cost you anything! I asked him as a friend!"

"It's the principle of it, and it's not even your biggest offence. Then you went and broke rule number two."

"…Don't talk to the police-but it wasn't about the family!" I yelled, desperation clear in my voice.

"But they know about you being in the family, don't they? You've brought unwanted attention to us Nathan. And that's something we can't afford right now."

Mike had told me about how the family had been on rough times with a few federal associations lately. I didn't think anything of it at the time…

"We know where you are Nathan. You've hurt the family for the last time. If you know what's good for you, you'll come quietly and make it easier on yourself. I'll be personally hunting you down this time. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll end it quickly."

"Let Mike live Rufus." I ordered, my voice sounding as threatening and angry as I felt. "You still need him if you're going to track me."

"…Are you honestly thinking you have a chance if you run?" he asked, his tone matching mine.

"A man's got to try, right? Rule number three: Never get caught." I taunted, hoping to get Mike out of the hole I had dug him.

"…Hmm…Alright. I'll let the computer whiz live. But I need some insurance that you won't run." He chuckled darkly. "Maybe this girl you had him find for you will do the trick."

White hot hatred flared up in me as I gripped the phone so hard I heard the plastic frame crack.

"You lay one greasy hand on her, you motherfucker and I swear I'll cut your nuts off and shove them-"

"Whoa! Touchy, aren't you?" he laughed. "That's the angry little teenager who came to us all those years ago. If only you knew where you would've ended up!"

"I'm not FUCKING AROUND!" I shouted, making sure he got the point.

"Heh heh…Neither am I."

He hung up. I screamed, throwing my phone at the wall. I watched as it burst open and the pieces scattered onto the carpet. Another scream ripped from my throat and fell to my knees, slamming my fists against the floor.

WELP, AHM BACK READERS! I apologize sooooooooo much for the very long delay. What can I say, college, amiright? Well, more like getting into college, finding a job, running myself ragged trying to find an affordable car, Portal 2 coming out, etc. And web comics. I love reading web comics. If you know any good ones, tell me!

Well, we learned a lot today, didn't we kiddos? We learned more about Danny's appearance, we saw Nny finally escape the clutches of Earl and Pauly the hobos, may they rest in peace. Also, we learned about how Nathan found Danny, which I'm sure had been bothering you like it had me. Also, yikes, Rufus, yous a dick! And yes, Nathan was in the nude for that entire scene. Shocking yes, but completely necessary, trust me. Wink.

Also, I listened to the song "Still" by Ben Folds while writing the Romanos/Danny scene. It's so sad sounding…helped me a little.

Okay, onto reviews:

To Dark-Harichan-

Yes…my telepathic abilities are coming along nicely. So far I can send out story updates and cook ham. Good ham. Honey-glazed ham. WITH MY MIND. It has been that long since I first posted this story. And it's been about ten months since the last one. Yipes, I'm terrible.

Also, you are definitely the strangest reader I have, living in a tube, going to be in the circus, anal-probing, Facebooking, etc.

Until the next (hopefully soon) update, my jello-like friend.

To bloody raptor:

I forgive you. I just cried uncontrollably until someone made me a pie. A chocolate pie. And yes, you made my world saying that you enjoyed the chapter. I hope I continue to please.

To NightcrawlerXalpha:

I don't really feel like being snarky today, so I'll just say I read your story and it wasn't really my cup of tea. Nothing personal, and I shouldn't have been so critical. No offense meant. Danny is who she is, for better or worse, sueish or not. My only wish is that I could've started this story later than I did to now when I know about bad character writing. I've been thinking about going back and editing it, but I'm afraid of accidently changing something plot related and not noticing it until the plot hole widens. Maybe someday. Until then, the story remains flawed.

To BattKattColourBlak:

Here's the next chapter, madame. Also, I have satisfied you Johnny itch, in all his bloody glory.

To BloodsuckerHater:

Thank you! I try.

To Jennacide:

First of all, I love your name! Clever. I'm glad Jenna enjoys! My imagination spawn has birthed another chapter for all to gaze upon. Here's hoping it satisfies!

To Chesirecat13:

I hope so! I work hard to ensure just that and I'm so happy to hear that from you!

To Starzinmyeyez:

Thank you! That's very nice of you to say! And here it is!

To BloodRaven:

Wow! You really love it that much! I'm touched, inspired really! It will never discontinue! I may lose faith in myself and refuse to write for months on end until I'm satisfied with myself, but discontinuing? PPSSSHHHAAWWW-not likely! I'll never forget, wherever I go!

To Cheeto-ScorpioDimagram:

Thank you! Awesome's what I aim for! Nny is on his way to a shower and possibly shave that goatee he's been trying out for the last few weeks (jk jk), and Squee, maybe next chapter…

Oh, psychologists, some are good, and some you just wanna traumatize with every little detail of your abusive childhood and your father trying to murder you after he escaped from prison—Or…at least that's Danny's experience. XD Here's the next chapter!

Okay everypony! Until next time!