The air reeks of medical supplies and over cleaned surfaces as Marilyns eyes flutter open, a steady beep sounding through her ears.

A bright white light burned her irises, forcing her to squeeze her eye lids tightly to soothe the pain.

"Marilyn?" The concerned voice of her father floods her senses, causing the girls eyes to slowly open so they can adjust to the light.

Her gaze shifts over to her left, her father's bloodshot eyes staring at her, a small smile resting on his face.

Marilyn sends him one back. "Hey dad." She tried to say but her bruised and swollen throat force her voice quiet.

Franklyn moves his seat closer to her. "How you feeling?" He asked.

Marilyn shrugs lightly. "Alright." She whispers, trying to sit up but stopping almost immediately when a sharp pain shoots through her abdomen.

Franklyn immediately shakes his head, holding his hands out. "Woah there, slow movement sweetie. You're not in great shape right now."

Marilyn nods. "Got that." She mutters.

Thinking through her own pain, her thoughts drift off to a certain fluffy blonde, her eyes widening in realization.

"Vance." She mutters, looking around to spot the boy. "Wheres Vance." It wasn't a question.

Her father looks behind him before raising from his chair and walking over to the deciding curtain.

Pulling open the curtain, Franklyn steps to the side so Marilyn can see.

Vance lay there on a hospital bed, bandages wrapped around his injured head.

"Oh my God." Marilyn mutters, her eyes tearing up. "This is my fault." She whispers.

Franklyn looks at her with a slight hint of anger. "Don't you dare say that this is your fault. It is no where near your fault Marilyn. That bastard—" Franklyn cuts himself off, trying to calm his own anger towards her kidnapper.

The two fall into a silence, the sound of beeping echoing in the background.

"He saved me y'know." You whisper.

Franklyn looks at Vance with a light smile. "I had hopes he would. He was searching for you. Even helped me put up posters and knock on doors."

Marilyns eyebrows raise in shock. Vance Hopper. Helping. Those are two words she never thought she'd hear those two words in a sentence. Ever.

"He has feelings for you Marilyn." Franklyn says with a hint of a smile.

Marilyn fights back her own smile, blushing lightly and looking away from her father.

"And from what I can see. You feel the same too." She hears her father say.

Marilyn shrugs. "Maybe." She says, raising her hand to play with her necklace.

But it wasn't there. "Oh yeah." Marilyn whispers to herself in sadness, thinking about her brother. "Dad I gotta tell you something." She whispers, her voice cracking.

Her father notices he hand by her exposed neck, thinking about the bracelet he spotted around Vances hand. Turning, he looks towards the same hand on the boy, spotting the necklace wrapped around his hand, resting in his clenched fist.

"Vance has it." He mutters, pointing to the boys hand.

Marilyn looks at him confused, looking over to Vance. She spots the necklace in his hand and let out a small sigh of relief. That was the only object that matters to her. She's glad Vance had kept it safe. Kept her safe.

But that isn't what she wanted to tell him.

"Dad, it's Casper." She whispers, her lip quivering.

Franklyn look at the ground sadly, shaking his head. "Don't." He whispers. "Don't remind me. Not now. Not when you're infront of me like this." He says.

Marilyn let's her tears fall. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone to the store." She whispers. "If I didn't go, he would still be here." She says.

Franklyn shakes his head, sending her a scolding look. "What did I say about blame Marilyn. This isn't your fault." He says.

The two hear a groan from their left, Marilyns head snapping in the direction.

Vance's eyes flutter open, the baby blue brightening Marilyns world in an instant, a small smile covering her saddened face.

"Vance." She mutters.

Vances head snaps toward her, his eyes widening with happiness. "Marilyn." He says with a small smile.

Franklyn smiles at the two, he's watch them grow up basically their whole lives. Sure, he'd come home from work to a complaining daughter and annoyed son but it was worth it. Hes known the two have likes eachother more then they let on, and it's nice to see that they're finally showing that hidden emotion.

A knock on the door breaks everyone from their silence, all heads except Vances turning towards the door. That boy couldn't care less about who was at the door. Marilyn was right here infront on him.

Marilyn watches as a nurse walks in, sending Franklyn a slight smile. "Sir, visiting hours are over." She says.

Franklyn nods, looking over at the kids. He walks over to his daughter, pressing a small kiss on the top of her head. "I'm gonna sort some stuff out for the funeral." He whispers.

Marilyn nods, a small pout crawling onto her lips.

Vance's heart broke for the girl infront of him. He knew exactly who they were talking about.

"Bye guys." Franklyn waves, leaving the room.

The nurse looks at them with a smile. "I'll go get your dinner." She says.

Vance rolls his eyes, nodding st the woman before she leaves.

As soon as she's out the door Vance looks at Marilyn. "How are you feeling."

Marilyn shrugs. "I've felt better." She jokes.

Vance chuckles lightly.

Before he could say anything, the nurse comes back in with two food trays, placing on on each bed. "There you guys go. Would you like anything else?"

"Some good food." Vance mutters, pushing the tray away from him lightly and Marilyn sniffles a laugh as the nurse leaves with a saddened face. Even in moments of grief, Vance still finds a way to amuse her.

"That bad huh?" Marilyn says, looking over at the boy.

He nods. "Horrible." He says.

"Wait, how do you know it's bad?" She asks thinking that Vance had only woken up a few minutes after her.

"I woke up a few days ago peach." He smirks.

Marilyn raises her eyebrows. "A few days ago? How long have we been here?"

Vance shrugs. "I asked your dad. He said around a week."

Marilyn looks at him with confusion.

Why would he ask her dad?

"What about your parents?" She asks.

Vance shakes his head, looking down. "My dad hasn't been here once. He probably doesn't even know I'm here." Vance mutters.

Marilyn feels an emergency amount of sympathy for the boy. His own father neglects him. That can do a toll on any kind of child. Even Vance. Marilyn has seen through his hard and tough exterior. She knows that deep down he's just a boy from Denver. A boy who hides his feelings.

Vance claps his hands. "But Ms. Beckett visits all the time. She left just before I took a nap." He says, his face brightening and Marilyn nods, smiling at his happiness towards the old woman who owns the Grab n' go.

Vance shakes his head. "Anyways, enough of that." He says, getting out of the bed, much to Marilyns shock.

"Woah— how are you-"

"Don't worry. I've don't this a million times." Vance says with a smile. "At exactly 8:15 the main lights in this wing go out and all the nurses and doctors go to the main room." He says.

Vance had clearly done this before.

Marilyn looks at the clock and as soon as it hits 8:15 the lights go out. Vance slowly jogs over to the light switch, flicking it back on.

"I will be right back. You wait here." He says pointing to the girl. "Not that you can move." He smirks before opening the door.

Marilyn laughs lightly, watching the boy stick his head out and check around.

The light in the hall was dim, not as bright as it was before. Just enough light to let snyone see if they came around. Vance slips through the door, Marilyns eyebrows furrow in confusion as he does so.

God, that boy was going to be the death of her.

+++

Vance felt alot happier. After days of watching her rest next to him, Marilyn was finally awake.

She's awake and she's okay.

Creeping down the hall, he looks around the different paths to spot anyone.

"Empty." He mutters, smilingnto himself.

He wasn't allowed to leave his bed, let alone his room. But he's good at not getting caught. He's Vance Hopper.

Vance usually goes out for walks, sneaking into the empty cafeteria and stealing the good food so he doesn't have to est the shitty excuse of a meal that the nurses give him.

Taking the same path as before, Vance walks right towards the cafeteria door, placing his hand on the handle. Much to his surprise, it was locked.

"What?" He whispers. It's never been locked before.

Groaning, he sends a punch to the door. He wanted to do something nice for Marilyn and the fucking door is locked.

Groaning, Vance steps away from the door, looking around. A small smirk rests on his face as he spots a Vending machine a few meters away from him.

"Perfect." He mutters.

Walking over to it he looks inside and spots all the different goodies in there for him.

"Score!" He says before looking at the pins and rolling his eyes.

Looking around, Vance checks for any sign of cameras or people.

Nothing.

Smiling, Vance grabs the top of the vending machine, giving it a small shake. That smalls hake turns into a bigger shake and soon the whole machine was thrown to the ground, landing on its side, the glass barrier shattering into tiny crumbs of glass.

+++

Marilyns head snaps up at the sound of the door opening, a smiling Vance stepping in, his hands filled with snacks of all sorts.

"Not the healthiest of dinners, but its better than that shit." He says, closing the door behind him and walking towards her bed.

Marilyn smiles brightly at him. "This is so much better." She says.

Vance dumps the food at the foot of her bed, grabbing a chair and dragging it over to her side.

Marilyn leans forward to grab a snack but winces when pain floods through her body, making her lean back down.

Vance looks at her worried, before standing up. "What do you want? I'll get it for you." He says, pointing to the pile of snacks.

Marilyn sends him a small smile before answering. "Reeses please." She says.

Vance nods, grabbing the packet and handing it to her. "Here you go." He says.

Marilyn smiles at him. "I love these."

I love you.

Vance clears his throat, pushing his thoughts from his mind.

"Oh, I uh," Vance mutters, looking down at his hand and unwrapping the chain from his fingers. "Here." He says, holding it out to her.

Marilyn looks at him with a smile, taking it from his hand, their skin brushing over eachother, causing a wave of butterflies to flutter around in both of their stomachs.

Marilyn looks over the necklace, spotting half of the butterfly missing.

"Oh, hold up." Vance says, raising from his seat and walking over to the clothes the doctors had removed so they could place him in a hospital gown. Grabbing the denim vest he wears all the time, he reaches into the chest pocket, pulling out the other half.

"I kept it, just incase Ms. Beckett could fix it." He says placing it on the bedside table next to Marilyn, her placing the necklace there along with it. Not having the strength to hold her neck up to put it on.

"Where did you find it?" She asks. She thought the grabber took it from her.

"Oh." Vance whispers, looking down. He can't tell the same lie he told her father, he has to tell the truth. "I'm so sorry Marilyn." He says.

Marilyn looks at him with confusion.

"Sorry? What on earth for?"

Vance looks up with saddened eyes. "I uh-" Vance clears his throat. "I found it outside of my house." He shuffles in his seat. "The night before that I heard a scream. Your scream."

Marilyns eyes widen lightly, connecting the dots. "It was your house. You were the one who looked out the curtain." She whispers.

Vance nods, looking down ashamed of himself. "I'm so sorry Mari. I could've saved you. If my dumbass just went outside to—"

"No." Marilyn says, shaking her head. "No. If you went outside he would've killed me, and quite possible you too." She says before grabbing his hand, which was resting on the edge of her bed.

Vance liked this feeling. His hand in hers. It made his feel warm and fuzzy inside. Something he's only felt when being around her.

"Enough of that anyway. What matters is that we're both here. Alive." She adds, running her thumb over his bruised knuckles.

"Anyways, enough of that." She says, copying his words from before and removing her hand from his. "Lets eat." She says.

The two eat in a comfortable silence, Marilyn staring at the wall, Vance staring at her.

Marilyn feels his gaze, looking over with a raised eyebrow. Swallowing what she had in her mouth, Marilyn smiles. "What?"

Vance shakes his head, his curls bouncing under the bandage. "Nothing." He mutters, biting into his snack.

Marilyn nods lightly before continuing to eat what she had.

The two spend probably another two hours talking and eating. Growing the bond they didn't know they had. When they talked about things they liked, the other person had already known. The two had no idea that when they were growing up they learnt more about eachother than they knew.

Vance let south a small yawn, looking at the time. "Its getting late. We should get some sleep." He gets up form his seat. "Your dad usually comes around seven."

Marilyn nods, watching him walk over to the light switch, turning it off, the light from the machines keeping a dim light around the room so they can still see.

Vance walks over to his bed, getting in and facing the girl on his right, sending her a small wave.

"Goodnight Marilyn." He whispers.

Marilyn smiles lightly, waving back. "Goodnight Vance."

Vance turns in his bed, facing the opposite direction and closing his eyes, Marilyn clouding his mind.

Marilyn closes her eyes, trying to sleep. Key word, trying. Her mind was racing at a hundred miles per hour. She hasn't slept in a nice bed since before she got taken. Sure, she's been in hospital for a week, but she was unconscious. Not asleep. She wasnt aware of her surroundings before. Now she is.

All she can think about is that greasy reptilian eyed pedophile.

A wave of fear rushes over her body as memories behin to flash through her mind. She shuffles slightly, trying to get more comfortable but nothing seems to work.

What if he didn't die?

Marilyn remembers how hard it was to take the man down, how many hits the two teens had to endure as they put all their effort into killing him.

Sucking in a breath, Marilyn looks around the room in fear. She can't sleep. Not like this.

Turning her head to her side to looks over the outline of the boy.

"Vance." She whispers. "Are you awake."

Vance, who was staring at the wall, turns around at the girls voice. "Yeah, are you okay?" He whispers back.

Marilyn shakes her head, even though Vance didn't see it. "Can you sleep with me? I'm scared." She whispers.

Normally Vance would call her a pussy and tell her to get fucked. But he's not the same Vance he was before. Well, at least towards her. With anyone else he would've rolled his eyes and flipped them off. But this is Marilyn.

His Marilyn.

"Sure." He says, raising from his bed and slowly walking over to her.

Marilyn shuffles to the side a little bit, pushing through her pain to make room for her.

Vance grabs the edge of the blanket, looking at her. "May I?" He asks.

Marilyn nods and Vance holds the blanket up, getting into the bed with her. It was a small bed, causing Marilyn move right to the edge so Vance had room.

Rolling his eyes, Vance shakes his head.

"Come here." He mutters, wrapping his arm around the girl, slowly digging it under her neck and pulling her to his chest softly, being carfull not to hurt her.

Marilyn shuffles closer, wrapping her arm around his waist and shuffling a little bit so her injuries didn't hurt as much.

"Comfortable?" He asks and she nods against his chest.

"Now I am." She whispers.

Vance nods, running his fingertips up and down her exposed arm, loving the feeling of her close to him.

"Goodnight Mari." He whispers, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head, surprising both Marilyn and himself. He didn't even think before doing it. It just happened.

Marilyn hears his heartbeat quicken and she guessed that he was nervous about his actions. Deciding not to embarrass him, the girl Ignores it.

"Night Vance." She whispers.

Vance closes his eyes, his heartbeat slowing.

Marilyn smiles lightly, closing her eyes. All negative thoughts from before had completely left her mind and were replaced with the boy in her bed. She felt safe.

He made her feel safe.