"Hello daughter"

I don't feel anything at first. My body feels like it's floating. Where am I? I don't hear any sounds. I try to open my eyes but they feel like they are glued shut.

I feel like I'm in a whole new world. I know my eyes are closed but I am in some type of dream. This place looks familiar. I know I've been here before.

I see flowers in rows for miles. I see a tree with a tire swing. A little girl swinging with a man next to it. He seems familiar too. I start to walk closer to the scene in front of me.

When the sun shines on the people across from me. It's my dad and I. I remember now. He took me to a flower farm when I was ten. I remember because we had a picnic and picked our own bouquet.

As I inch closer the people start to fade away. "Wait, stop!" The yelling doesn't help but I run towards them anyway. When I reach the spot it all clears again.

"Hey baby girl." I whip around as quickly as I can hearing the sound of my dads voice. I would know his voice anywhere. How is he here?

"Daddy?" He nods. I'm stuck in my spot like I'm glued to the floor. My feet wont move as I stare at the man in front of me. He doesn't look like he's in pain, he looks perfect.

His brown shaggy hair and scruffy face. Glasses on the tip of his nose. It's my dad right in front of me. But how? "Hey baby girl. What are you doing here?"

"I..I don't remember." I rack my mind at the memories. Taken. I was taken from the shop. Axel? Madz? The bomb? Everything comes flying back to me and I stumble.

"Woah there. Let's sit down and talk about this." My dad grabs my hand and sits down with me on the field of flowers. "Sweetheart, do you remember what happened to you?"

"I was at my new bakery. With my friend Axel. He was just showing me what he baked when the bell rang. We got a package and it was a bomb." I shake my head. "Am I dead?"

"No sweetheart. Not yet. You're in what's called the Roya. It's like a dream but you have a chance to decide if you want to stay or go." I look up into my dads eyes.

"Not yet? So I could be." My dad nods his head. "But I don't want to die. I'm not ready yet. I just started my life."

"I know sweetheart I've been watching you. I sent someone to watch over you. You've met him already." Who is he talking about? Madz?

"Who?" I ask knowing what this answer will be.

"I found a man who was hurting. He was sad and angry at the world. I may have helped a little someone get lost and end up at your shop." Eleanor. He has to be talking about her.

"You sent Eleanor and Madz to me?" Once again he nods but with a big smile on his face.

"I've been watching over you two. Your love is real. A profound connection. You are two people who can thrive on this strong connection. I've never seen something so beautiful before." He can see and feel the love I have for Madz.

"I miss you daddy." I sob and lean into his shoulder.

"I'll always miss you Nova girl, but now you have Madz, Eleanor, and you've even met Georgia. She was always the light of my life. My best friend and now you two are connected." I snuggle in closer to my dad. Taking it all in.

"How do I go back? I'm not ready to let go yet." My dad looks at me and smiles so brightly.

"I'm happy you said that. You just need to close your eyes and think about the one person you want to see when you wake up. That's it. I'll always love you baby girl and I'm so proud of you." I look into my dads eyes and see nothing but happiness.

"Okay. I love you." I say not wanting him to ever forget.

"And I love you my little girl. I'll always be watching over you. Forever. You get back to that man of yours. He's been struggling since you've been gone." I bet Madz has lost his mind.

I close my eyes and think of Madz. All the good times we've had so far together. The laughs we've shared and how I want this forever. The love we have for each other.

My body starts to twitch. I'm back. "Come on darlin'. I need you to come back to me." That's Madz voice. I slowly blink open my eyes and I see Madz resting his head on the side of my bed.

I look around and see I'm in a room. Not a hospital room but it's close to it. I'm hooked up to an IV and the lights are dimmed. I lift my arm and stroke Madz face.

He jolts up and the shock I see on his face makes me smile. "Hi Madz." He sits there staring at me like I'm not real. "Are you okay Madz? I missed you."

Madz jumps up from the chair and cradles my face in his hands. "Nova. Dear God I thought I'd lost you. I didn't think you'd open your eyes again."

I bring his busted up knuckles to my face and give them light kisses. It looks like he did a slop job on cleaning up for himself. "You need to clean these hands up Madz and take a shower."

He shakes his head. "No way I was leaving you. I wasn't leaving you at all. I've only gone to the bathroom." I can tell he's still all dirty from what I can tell.

"Well you need a shower and someone to look at your hands." He shakes his head no and comes closer to me. Basically climbing into the bed with me. I don't mind so I don't say anything.

"I was so worried about you baby. How are you feeling? Do you hurt anywhere?" Right now I actually feel okay but I feel dirty.

"I'm okay. I don't feel much but I do feel really gross. Can I shower?" Saint then picks the time to walk through the doors.

"Thank you. Thank you. We were all getting worried that Madz was about to explode if you didn't wake up anytime soon." Saint says and it makes me chuckle.

Madz looks over at him and gives him a mean look. "I smack his chest. "Be nice, he's just trying to be silly."

"I didn't bring him into this club to be a clown Nova." So grumpy. I snuggle in closer to Madz and everything feels so right. Then it comes back to me.

"Where is Axel, is he home yet? How long have I been out? No one got hurt, did they?" I rattle out all the questions at once.

"Slow down sweetie." Saint says. "You've been asleep for a few hours but I'd still like you to relax. Axel is fine. In his room worried about you."

Madz jumps in. "She's not your sweetie. And Axel is fine. He's been so worried about you. We've had to knock him out to keep him from coming down here. No one got hurt. No one but you two."

"What about?" Do they know about my mom and what she did? "What about my mom? Where is she?"

"Darlin' the serpents killed her. I'm so sorry." I wait for the pain to come but it doesn't. I feel an ache in my heart but what she did was wrong. How she treated me was wrong.

I don't know how I feel about all this but I know I feel anger. "I checked over her Nova. There was nothing I could do. I'm so sorry." Saint places a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't be sorry. I'm angry for what she did. She tried to hurt me to get money and what happened to her is sad but her own fault." I belt out the words trying to stay calm.

Madz leans down and hugs me softly. "Shh, we all get it. No one blames you." I take in what he says to me and I'm happy that no one blames me.

I didn't ask for this to happen. I tried to keep everyone safe and happy but I failed. "How are you feeling? Do you need any more medicine? Any questions?" Saint pulls up in a rolling chair next to us.

"I'm okay." I say truthfully. "I do want a shower though. Can I do that?" Saint looks over at Madz.

"A shower is fine but I'd prefer you not to take one alone. You've been on some high dose pain killers and have some rough battle scars." I nod.

"I can help you. I'll keep my hands to myself." Madz smirks at me. I laugh at him and place my hand on his face.

"Id love to take a shower and I accept your help. We both need a shower at this point. You look just as bad as I do." Madz face settles on mine.

"You could never look awful." Thinking about looks I remember that Ghost cut my hair. My hands go to touch it and tears fill my eyes. I loved my long hair and now it's gone.

Madz is quick to grab my hands and pull them away. "Everything will be okay. We can fix this." I lay my head onto him. He's right. I bet it's not that bad. I had a pixie cut before. I can rock another one again.

"I'm ready for a shower now if that's okay." Madz stands up. Carefully he brings me to my feet and I wobble some. I definitely won't be able to shower alone.

"Woah, baby. I've got you." I give Madz a grateful smile and lean into his touch. "Lets go get cleaned up. I'll have someone bring us some clothes from my room." Nodding at him we head towards the bathroom.

I turn back and look at Saint. "Thank you Saint for taking care of me."

"Its no problem at all you're part of the family now. And we take care of our family." We walk away and into a large bathroom. It has a rain showerhead and it looks amazing.

I can't wait to get in here. "I was so scared I was losing you. I would be nothing without you."

"Madz you could never lose me. I'm like a pest you could never get rid of me." Madz smiles and moves closer to me. He places kisses all over my face.

"I love you darlin'." And I love him. My dad was right. Our love is something special. Something I will never let go of. I'm so thankful for that. My life is just beginning.