Sebastian backed down but only JUST in time, yet as the man lifted Serena's hair off her neck he snarled... half lunging at the man. Anna caught him around the middle and hauled him back just as he started laughing and Anna knew THAT wasn't a good sign. The man wisely dragged Serena away, if he stayed Seb would probably have him gouging his own eyes out in short order. It had been a long time since Seb had given in to his more destructive habits, but seeing him lick his lips.... that slick smile on his face... the barely restrained fury hidden under the defiant laughter in his eyes... She knew he was going to do something horrible if she didn't get him out of there. "Gun," she shouted and shoved Seb at Gunner. Sebastian yanked his vest straight as he straightened from his stumble and bared fangs he wasn't trying to hide right now, "You can't watch me forever Anna..."

Anna grimaced, "Seb... think clearly. If you hurt him you'll get yourself into some serious trouble. Whether he's her father or not a Shadow-kissed bond is something too precious for the Queen to allow him to break."

Sebastian snarled, "I don't CARE whether he can or not... He just humiliated her, and if what I think is true...I want him more than hurt... I want him broken."

He yanked away from the two of them, watching Serena be dragged away every part of him wanting to go for her, he looked at Anna knowing he couldn't. "Go after her... keep her safe... or I WILL go for him. I don't care what it does to me."

Anna took a breath, "Seb... she's bonded to you now. If you lose it, you could drag her with you. Do you want that?"

He shoved his hands into his pockets, "Go with her... Now."

Seb didn't ever give Anna orders, he knew it pissed her off... She looked at him as if he'd slapped her and then turned on her heel to catch up to Serena and her father. When she did she turned on the charm, "I'm very sorry sir, he will be taken care of shortly... For now allow me to escort you to your room?" She'd slammed every ounce of Guardian professionality into that sentence, her stance, her entire manner... "Please sir, I'll guard your quarters and make sure he doesn't come near your daughter... for your safety and hers. I will, of course, stand Guard outside the room to give you and your daughter privacy."

Go for it... she begged him silently... go for it or I'll have to sneak there anyway and that could get messy...

~*~

Meanwhile, Seb turned to Gunner. "If he hurts her... I'll never forgive either of you from keeping me from killing him."

With that he stalked off, sure Gunner would follow and not really caring... He had someone he needed to find. As he walked through the halls he spotted just the man he was looking for and caught him by his shirt, slamming him against the locker... Probably not as intimidating when it wasn't a Guardian doing it but Jace got the picture.

"What the hell?!"

Sebastian gritted his teeth, "I'm probably imagining things, I can't really trust my gift these days but if you ACTUALLY regret what you did then I need you to help me."

Jace hesitated, staring at the hand still tangled in his shirt... Seb let go and Jace brushed out the wrinkles before looking at Gunner cautiously, "If I say no is your goon going to rough me up?"

Seb smiled darkly, "No... I'll do it myself."

Jace sighed, "What and make yourself nuts in the process? What do you want?"

Seb stepped back, giving him space and trying to calm his anger... and panic. "I just outted myself as a not so friendly guy to my Guardian's dad, he doesn't really approve of our Shadow-kissed bond."

Jace frowned, "So you want me use compulsion on him... change his mind?"

Sebastian would LOVE to tell Jace to do more than that but he knew the toll it would take, "I want you to make him leave, leave his daughter here, for fear of his life... I don't want him to come back. If you have to, destroy his damn mind... I don't care. Just get rid of him and make him leave Serena."

The other boy arched a brow, "I'll help you... Never pegged you for the sadistic type though..."

Sebastian sneered, "Then you pegged me wrong."

Serena's father looked at Anna when she caught up to them, Serena however, did not meet her eyes. Anna had known, or at least guessed but she hadn't seen what had happened and now her father had planted stories in their head... The words were now his against hers. She knew that were to she say anything to anyone other than Sebastian, they might have their doubts. She knew it and she hated it. The fact that the headmistress was there basically doomed her to returned home to Italy. Her father finally nodded and smiled at her, kindly, "Why thank you. I am Camillo. And you are?"

"Anna..." Serena answered in a small voice. She knew what going to happen. She wanted to beg Anna to guard from within the room, to stop her father. However, she knew her father would say no and Anna would not be able to disobey him. At least, not without risking her career as a guardian. None of her friends even knew that the majority of her scars were from her father... That he had found her in a room with all of his friends snacking on her neck and joined them. That he and his friends had nearly killed her multiple times before. She kept her tears at bay as they arrived to the room, she didn't want to worry Anna. She didn't want to give the girl reason into thinking that there was anything wrong with this. She wanted her to think that she needed to leave Italy because of someone else... Not because of her father.

Camillo opened the door to the room and nodded, "Thank you again, Anna."

Then he ushered Serena in. Once the door was closed behind them, Camillo pointed to the chair, "Sedersi."

Serena made no attempt to retaliate. She might have been stronger, she might have been able to get out of the room but it would have done nothing for her. The temptation gave way to her want to leave. If she stayed, she at least gained something. She sat down where her father told her to, "Mi sei mancato, Serena."

The tears fell from Serena's eyes as her father pulled a seat up neck to her and pushed her hair aside, "Mi hai perso troppo, no?"

Serena stared straight ahead as he leaned closer, "Si..." She whispered before gasping as his teeth bit into her neck.
~
Gunner managed to catch Sebastian when Anna told him to and held him tightly so that he wouldn't run after Serena. He looked at Anna when he ordered her to follow after their friend, "For Serena," He said, trying to make it seem like less of a order and more something she truly wanted to do. Although, he was sure that she did. Serena looked pretty shaken up after her father showed them her... scars.

He released Sebastian when he calmed down slightly. However, the boy turned on him, saying how he'd never forgive them if he hurt Serena. Although, he highly doubt that he'd never forgive them. He did forgive him after he basically got Anya killed, "We are protecting her from your crazies."

He followed him as he stalked off, not wanting to leave him alone with anyone. He was surprised when he found that he went in search of Gunner's least favourite person, Jace. He looked at him and shook his head when Jace asked if Sebastian was going to have him beat him up, "And I don't need a reason," He spat back. God he hated this kid.

When Sebastian finished asking Jace exactly what it was he wanted him to do, Gunner sighed. He hated this part of Sebastian's insane moments, "Alright, that's enough."

He caught his friends forehead and rammed it into the wall, not hard enough to cause more than a headache, but enough to knock him out. He was scary how good he had gotten at that. He crouched down and lifted Sebastian onto his shoulder and looked at Jace, "Do what he wants. If you really want to make it up to the world what you did to Anna... Serena's been through worse."

He then turned away and carried Sebastian to the infirmary, hoping there was a Spirit user or something that was going to help him with his darkness that wasn't just knocking him out.

Sebastian was standing one moment, had time to think 'SHIT' and out the next...

~*~

Anna stood at the door and shifted nervously, why would Seb think Serena's father would hurt her? Had he seen something in the man's aura that she couldn't or had he just lost it over the man's insistence that he take Serena back to Italy. The scars were worse than what she'd thought, had Serena really been tangled up with a bunch of Moroi men willingly? She frowned, if so one of those Moroi men had probably made sure she was addicted first before bringing his friends... that's how it always happened. That's how nieve Dhampir girls ended up blood-whores addicted to the bite...

She could hear the father talking to Serena quietly though she couldn't make out the words, and even if she could they were Italian... a language she didn't know. She was just about to tell herself she was being silly, that Seb had just freaked out over Serena leaving and that his darkness had made him overreact when JACE stepped around the corner. She started at him, fist already pulled back but he held up his hands quickly and then put a finger to his mouth and pointed at the door. Anna frowned, and watched him as he went to the door and found it unlocked. He barged in and Anna was right behind him, planning to yank him right back out the door when her eyes fell on the sight in front of her. Anger ripped through her and she immediately slipped an arm around his throat, cutting off his air... pulling the hold so tight that it cut off his ability to keep feeding. "You son of a bitch!"

Jace grimaced, "Anna! He's a Moroi!"

Once she'd stopped his ability to breathe or feed and he'd released Serena she turned him to Jace, "Wipe him if you can, make sure he leaves Serena here..."

"That's what Seb sent me to do... I need him conscious in order to do it Anna!"

She loosened her grip only JUST enough for him to take a breath and then clamped down again so he couldn't scream.

Jace looked the man in his eyes, "After you entered this room, you and Serena had a long talk... You decided she wasn't worth the effort, the Queen would give you problems over the Shadow-kissed bond. There are plenty more Dhampir girls... Why chase after a brat like her? You never want to see her face again, she's nothing to you... a waste of time."

His words were cruel but he knew how to play a man like this, if he made the idea more like the man's own he was more likely to accept the compulsion. "Anna is going to let you go, she grabbed you because you were choking... she was only trying to help. Pretty girl like her will make a fine Guardian one day. As for me, I came because I heard the noise."

Anna grimaced and released the man, looking at Serena who was probably only just clearing her mind. She wrapped an arm around the girl and forcibly hauled her out of the room. Jace continued repeating what he'd said, over and over.

Serena hardly noted that Anna and Jace had entered the room. She just noticed that her father had stopped feeding and that she felt incredibly weak. She leaned against the couch smiling, her mind elsewhere, not paying any attention to the mayhem going on behind her as Jace spoke to her father and his eyes glazed over. He ate into every word, thinking of them as nothing more than his own. He accepted the fact he wanted to return to Italy alone. That there were other girls that he could find, plenty to pick off. He forgot how intoxicating it was to drink from the blood whore he had made. He just listened as Jace repeated again and again, driving it into his head.

Serena felt an arm wrap around herself and she was being moved off the couch. She stumbled and looked at Anna, drunkenly, "Dove stiamo andando? Dove mi stai portando? Quello che è successo? Voglio di più! Io voglio tornare! Io voglio tornare!" She struggled against the girl's hold trying to escape it and return to the room she had just been dragged from. However, she was in a weakened state and could hardly even break Anna's hold on her, "Per favore, per favore. Ne ho bisogno. Ho bisogno di lui," She cried desperately, as continued to looked over her shoulder. She looked at Anna and her eyes widened, "Sebastian. Egli è Moroi. Egli mi morde, no? Per favore, voglio Sebastian. Ho bisogno di più," She begged.

She leaned into Anna more, her legs struggling to carry her, "Voglio Sebastian."

Anna had no idea what the girl was saying but she had a clue that the first bit was about getting back to her father and the second was her desperate plea to be taken to Sebastian... she hoped she was right. "Calm down, I'm going to take you to Seb... just calm down first okay." She hauled the girl down the hall, against her will or not. Jace finally stopped, his head pounding as he left the room. He'd suffer tonight... tomorrow... probably a lot, for now though the deed was done. The man's eyes were glazed and he was still kneeling there, Jace had forced his compulsion so far into the man's mind that he doubted he'd be able to think of anything else for a while... it would be obvious he'd been compelled. So, he locked the door before he exited... by the time the man's mind cleared enough for him to unlock the door the evidence of compulsion would be gone and he'd believe exactly what Jace had told him.

Jace staggered down the hall and to his room, halfway there the hallucinations started and he scratched viciously at his arm to rid himself of the spiders under his skin... Once in his room he collapsed onto his bed and into nightmares... This is what he had brought on himself...

Anna finally got Serena to the infirmary where she hoped Gun had taken Seb, she was right... She hauled the girl to Seb's bed and groaned when she found him asleep. Then, seeing the red mark on his forehead she realized Gun had... sedated him. She glanced at Gun, "She's speaking Italian and freaking out... her dad was feeding off her. If I let her go I'm afraid she's going to make a run for it... She's an addict but... I think her father made her that way..." Her words were thick with sorrow.

~*~

Sebastian slowly became aware of voices and his eyes slowly opened, "Serena?"

Serena let Anna drag her out of the building. She managed to translate that Anna was going to take to Sebastian but she just couldn't get it into her head, in her state, that she needed to translate herself and speak English for Anna. She kept mumbling in Italian about Sebastian and getting bitten as they walked to the infirmary. Although, she had calmed down slightly, the blood loss catching up with her. She looked at Gunner when they got to Sebastian's room. Her eyebrows knitted together as they spoke, "Che non è Sebastian! Lui non è Sebastian!"

She struggled a little bit more, slightly more pathetically than she had when they had first left Camillo's room. Gunner looked at her than Anna, "Shit.... He really did a number on her..." There was anger behind his eyes. He thought Anna had been bad, this was insane, and her own father. He shook his head, "I'm glad Sebastian went all mental then.... At least... He'll leave her alone."

When Sebastian woke, Serena seemed to change. Her hands started to shake and she leaned into Anna more, as though she were hiding from something. When he spoke, Serena looked at him and seemed to perk up slightly, having not clocked him there before, "Sebastian! Mi ha morso, mi ha morso. Per favore, per favore. Mi ha morso. Ho bisogno di te."

Gunner stepped between the two and decided that he was the best to break it to Sebastian what had happened and was most capable of taking whatever it was he decided to do. Serena had stopped trying to get loose and was sinking to the ground, mumbling still in Italian. Gunner sat in the chair beside Sebastian bed, "You were right... Anna found Serena's dad.... feeding off of her.... She isn't thinking clearly... Keeps talking in Italian..." He looked at his friend, "If it is too much for you right now... and keep in mind any darkness can make her worse right now... If it is too much for you, we can take her down the hall and calm her down... Knock her out until she comes down from the high and is thinking a little more clearly."

Sebastian frowned, he had a good idea what she wanted and he couldn't give it to her... not that. He'd try to help her in another way though, "I'm alright..." He frowned and sat up, normally, he'd be against what he was about to suggest. With sorrow in his eyes he looked at Gunner and Anna, "She has to detox... with her history it could take a while and in the meantime she'll look for anyway she can find to be bitten..." He took a breath, "Use the restraints on my bed... I'll try to calm her."

Anna helped Serena onto the bed, hoping she hadn't understood what Seb had just said. She got the first wrist fastened with little trouble but she doubted Serena would stay calm for long when she realized what they were doing. She struggled for the second arm and then bit her lip when it came time to do her legs... She'd seen Serena kick. "Will that work?"

"Yeah... I doubt she'll hurt me... You two should go..." He climbed onto the bed next to her, slipped the ring from his finger and onto hers... maybe it would help her think more clearly. He tried to think of the little Italian he'd learned from his studies and tried it...

"Ti amo, Serena... Ti prego fidati di me, sono.... ammalati. Questo è meglio... sicuro."

He brushed her hair from her face, kissing her forehead, "Hai... bisogno di... riposo."

Unsure if he'd gotten it right he frowned, "Do you understand? You need to rest to get better... This was the only way I could keep you safe."

~*~

Anna had left the room and waited for Gunner, biting at her lip. "I hope she'll be okay..."

Serena looked at Anna as she picked her up and put her onto the bed. She didn't understand what was happening at first. She sturggled only slightly, more so because she wanted to go to Sebastian that be lying on the bed. When she clued in, she started to fight. She kept pulling her arm up when she could, trying to prevent Anna from locking her arm up. Even in a weakened condition, she managed to put up a pretty good fight before Anna managed to trap her other hand, "No, no, no, no. Per favore. Per favore... No, no, Sebastian...."

Serena was sobbing by the time Sebastian sat down next to her. She didn't like being trapped. This was the last thing she wanted. She quieted slightly when Sebastian placed the silver ring back on her finger, the fight seeming to drain out of her as she stared up at Sebastian, "Per favore," She whispered, "Per favore, lasciami andare..."

She sniffled, repeatedly saying no as Sebastian spoke to her. She looked up at him and pouted, seeming to realize that he was not going to bite her and she was not going anywhere. She struggled a little more against the restraints before truly giving up, "Stare qui..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She seemed to be focusing hard on falling asleep, trying to do as Sebastian told her. Wanting to make Sebastian happy. Soon enough, her breathing slowed and deepened as she fell asleep, her hair splayed on the pillow and her neck and fresh marks from her father and Anya for the world to see.
~
Gunner wrapped an arm around Anna as she said she hoped Serena would be okay. He left the infirmary, leaving the sounds of Serena's pleading far behind. He kissed her head, "She is strong... She never looks like it... but she is very strong. She kind of did this once... and she did it alone. Now, she has Sebastian. I'm sure she'll be fine... with time."

He looked at her, "Do you want to go get some food or... go to my dorm and just relax? Get away from everything?"

Sebastian took a breath as she closed her eyes, "I won't go anywhere..."

As her hair revealed the damage do her neck he frowned, she'd be angry when she woke up but something so small wouldn't hurt him too badly... He passed his hand over her neck and watched her wounds heal. He couldn't do much more than heal the wound themselves, trying to give her back some energy or trying to clear her mind would be too much. As it was, he'd used just enough that now he needed to feed and sleep.

The nurse came, he didn't leave but he made the feeder stand just outside the curtain and hold her arm through, he didn't want anyone seeing Serena like this. As he finished the nurse brought him actual food, Serena too for when she woke. After he ate he lay down behind her and wrapped an arm around her before falling asleep.

~*~

Anna sighed softly, resting her head on his shoulder a moment. "How about both? I could use some dinner and some time with alone with my guy..."

She kissed his cheek, "Maybe they have apples," she teased.

They headed first to the cafeteria, Anna grabbed something simple and then headed with him towards his dorm room. She ate her pb&j on the way there, it was comfort food and her stomach couldn't handle much more than that right now.

Once they got there she rubbed the back of her neck and hesitated outside his door, for some reason she was nervous... Maybe it was that this was the first time she'd been in Gunner's room when she wasn't out of it from being bitten or tired from the blood loss.

"Weeeell... here we are." God... that was lame.

Gunner held her head and laughed when she teased him about the amount of apples he ate. He stuck his tongue out at her, "They have apples. They always have apples. Someone gets hurt when they don't have apples," He joked before kissing her head.

When they got to the cafeteria he grabbed himself a sandwich as well and, lo and behold, an apple. He ate it on the way back to his dorm as Anna ate her pb&j. He was starving and on the edge of feeling dizzy. He hoped that the found would let him properly walk to his room. And it did because soon enough they arrived at his door. He was about to open his door when Anna informed him that they had arrived at his room. He looked over his shoulder at her and laughed, "Yes, we are."

Gunner didn't need a special bond with her to know that she was clearly uncomfortable. He guessed that she wasn't exactly fully present on the night she had spent with him. He placed his hands on either side of her head, before his kissed her forehead, "We aren't going to do anything... I don't think either of us are in any kind of shape to do anything. We are just going to be in there, together."

He turned and opened his door, pulling her in before a Guardian made a patrol of the hall. He walked her over to the bed and keeping true to his word, sat down and patted the spot next to him for her to join.
~
It was sometime later that Serena woke. Her head hurt but it was quiet... Sebastian was asleep. She started to sit up when she realized that not only were her hands tied to the bed but Sebastian's arm was draped over her. She sat there a moment, just thinking when the memories of what happened came flooding back. Her father, the endorphins, how willingly she gave in to him, how she acted after, begging to go back, wanting Sebastian to bite her.... She also remembered getting tied to the bed, Sebastian telling her to rest, to let him help her. She looked over her shoulder at him, unable to move to face him. She turned away and moment later and started to cry. How could she let herself do that... She could have fought off her father. She could have a Spirit user find out the truth of what her father did to her... She could have been okay... She could still protect Sebastian. But she went with him and let him do everything she had run away from. She looked at the restraints and noticed they were loose, Anna probably didn't want to hurt her... They weren't anything that she would have managed to get out of when she was freaking out but now... She slid one hand out of the tie and released the other a moment later. She turned and faced Sebastian. She placed her hands on his chest, "Sebastian," She whispered to him, "I want... to tell you what happened... with my father..."

She took a deep breath, her hands shaking, "He was always around... My mom was a blood whore and he liked her... He did not do much for me... other than be there. He would talk to me or play with me while he waited if my mother was... busy....." She closed her eyes, "Then when I was ten... He got tired of waiting and he looked at me... and asked me if I wanted to make Daddy happy," She brushed away a tear, "And I did... I wanted him to be my dad... I thought I was lucky... that he would come around. That was when he bit me... At first it was just when... he had to wait for my mother. Then it was something he did most days... I would go to school, come back and he would bite me and I would be better by morning so that no one knew," She took another deep breath, struggling with telling him, "He used to say that I was his favourite... That there was nothing better than to drink from a blood whore you made..." She sniffled, "He would always call me a blood whore and I would to out of it to even care... I noticed I had a problem when his friends came over and he went with my mother, saying they could use me while they waited... and I let them. I did not want to make them happy like I did my father... I just wanted them to bite me.... I talked to a counselor and she sent me here... I am sorry, Sebastian... That I let him do that again...."

Sebastian frowned and hugged her close, "It's not your fault... He was an adult and he took advantage of you love for him and by the time you could have realized the truth it was too late." He kissed her forehead, "The fact is, you managed something most real 'blood whores' never do... You woke up. You realized you had a problem and you went for help... It isn't your fault he came here and it isn't your fault that you caved, it was so soon after Anya's bite, it was still fresh in your mind. Often, when we're faced with someone who had so much power over us we still believe we're powerless."

He sighed, "You're still as beautiful to me as the day I met you... I'm going to help you through this, you're going to get better, and one day you'll be able to look your father in the face and know he doesn't have power over you anymore... and I'll be there feeling proud of my Guardian." He winked at her playfully and hugged her against him again, "It's going to take a long time, but I know you'll get there."

~*~

Anna smiled, relaxing a little... "It's not that I'm worried about doing anything... I mean..." She rubbed the back of her neck and stepped into the room, "I wouldn't mind..." She huffed, "And that made me sound skanky... I just mean... that if it was you... I wouldn't mind." She shook her head, "Nevermind... the point is, I'm not scared of being alone with you... I'm just worried I'll say or do the wrong thing and mess all of this up."

She took a seat on his bed and smiled at him as she changed the subject, hoping he'd just forget what she'd said... she felt stupid enough. She wasn't good at ACTUALLY flirting or being girly, she didn't know how to do any of that... She wasn't LIKE that. She sighed, "Tests are coming up soon... We have to make sure we score well or we won't make it in the elites..."

Serena looked at Sebastian as he spoke, telling that everything was okay, that it wasn't her fault. She could feel the love he had for her and it was.... almost overwhelming. She guessed that you had to have strong feelings for her if he saved her when he could have saved Anya. When he truly, and knowingly, risked his life to do it. Along with the love, she felt pride, he was proud of her... Proud that she knew she had a problem, that she sought to fix it. She smiled at him when he told her that he would be proud of her when she looked at her father and he no longer had power over her, "You already are proud," She informed him with a smile. It was weird feeling what he felt. She guessed on bad days though, this is how it felt for him with everyone he was close to.

She rested against him when he hugged her to him. She sat there a moment for leaning back ever so slightly and kissing him. She smiled at him when she drew away, her toes playing with his jeans a little. It was amusing how much taller he was. Her feet just barely reach the middle of his shin, "Thank you... For everything... Saving me, talking to me, being here.... Everything... It is very nice of you..." She gave him another small kiss, "As strange as lying in the infirmary like this is... it is nice."
~
Gunner looked at her a little dumbfounded when she said that she would be okay with doing... things with him. Despite what she said, he wasn't thinking she was a skank. The two of them had been through so much and together, without being together, for so long... He guessed they didn't really need the getting to know the other person. He didn't think there was a person who knew him better than Anna. She could probably even hold her own against Sebastian while he was brushing his mind.

He chuckled when she changed the topic entire to a far less interesting conversation. He placed his hand on her cheek, "Ya, ya, tests... You know... There probably isn't much you could say or do that would mess this up..." He kissed her before laughing, "And offering... sex... Surely is not one of those things."

He pressed his head against hers, "But... I only want to do it if you do... I mean, I want to, I'll probably always want to... but I'll only do it if you want to," He rambled, clearly struggling a bit, "So.... uh... tests..."