Woo! I've been so excited to write up to this part. c: I hope you like reading it as much as I do writing it. xD

I remember hearing voices. And feeling myself carried. I remember feeling… disconnected. But I couldn't hold onto any of the moments long enough to wake myself up.

.

My eyes opened as a sensation went down my spine. I literally jumped off of the bed I was laying on and crashed into things around me.

" 'Stella, it's okay. It's me, Maggie."
I remembered her. A huge wave of memories came back to me at once and I knelt to the ground, clutching my head. The memories weren't only my own. I was connected to another.

" 'Stella! Are you okay?" Anne came and knelt next to me, Maggie on my other side.
I looked up through my hair, only just now realizing my breathing was shallow.

"You need to lay back down." Anne tried pulling me up but I yanked free.
"Estella, calm down. Please," Maggie put a hand on my shoulder. I didn't react negatively when she did that. She was like my sister. The memories of her were the strongest right now.
I looked to her before I saw what was in her hand.
"Can I.." My voice was weak.
She understood what I meant though, and handed me back my dog tags and compass.

I put them on before feeling the sensation go down my spine again and jumped.

This time I heard him.

I looked around before seeing him standing in the doorway.
"Get out of my head, Ben."
My voice wasn't weak then. It was hostile. Angry.

"I-I just-" He couldn't seem to find any words. The connection wouldn't go away though. He was seeing everything. All my memories. The times when I was harnessed. The emotions before then. The breakdowns. The tears.
I was seeing his too. I didn't pay any attention to them, but I could feel them mixing into my own memories.

"Estella, please lay down," Anne didn't touch me this time. She was hesitant to even talk.
It was then that I realized what had happened before now.

"Where's my guardian? Where's Pip?" I became anxious now, looking around.
"Who?" Anne was obviously confused. But Ben understood.

"We didn't see your guardian when we found you all. Pip's here with Jeremy and Meredith. We got their harnesses off too."
I tried to find a connection with them, but couldn't. It was then that I realized I couldn't feel anyone but Ben.

"My harness…"
I could feel it in Ben. He understood my emotions. He understood why I felt horrible for having it off. But, at the same time I was glad.

I heard Pip's voice and jumped.

"Pip! Patrick!" I ran past Ben and into another room. I didn't know this part of the hospital well. I turned and ran down the hall and into the infirmary room. Pip, Meredith, and Jeremy were laying in beds on their stomachs.
Pip was the only one stirring.

"Estella.." his voice was quiet. I ran to him and knelt down so he could see me.
"I'm here. It's okay brother, I'm here," I took his hand and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

He looked to me and smiled a little, "Where are we?"
"We're with my old family. In the hospital."

His eyes seemed to go hallow for a second when he realized his connection with me wasn't from the harness. Once Ben walked in the room, he felt him too.
"Get out Ben," I turned to the doorway and saw him standing there, confused.
"He's not your brother, 'Stella," Ben stepped closer.
"I told you, get out. I don't want you here."
I saw hurt in his eyes. Felt it. Others were filing in front of the doorway behind him. Apparently everyone wanted to see this.

"Please, listen to me," Ben stepped even closer. He cleared half the space between us now.

I stood, never letting go of Pip's hand, and narrowed my eyes.

"Nothing you're saying is true. You know how it felt. It feels. You would be feeling this way too, if any of your family had survived."
I saw his expression change. He was angry. Sad. At his dad. At me. At his brother. He would like to have his family here too.

"My family is here-"
"I can feel it Ben! You know I can!"
He hadn't moved anymore, but he dared another step at this. I was beginning to make him mad.
"Shut up 'Stella," His tone was threatening. I took a quick glance around the room and saw that Pip, Jeremy and Meredith were the only ones in here. Meredith and Jeremy were to my right, Pip here, and the rest of the room to my left was empty.
"You really wanna do this? I have a chance now. You won't be the strongest one here anymore."
"You think you're stronger than me? You've been harnessed two months. You've got nothing on me."
"They do too. But go ahead. If I've gotten under your skin that well, this is going to be a fun time until I find my guardian."
"You aren't going back Estella!"
I let go of Pip's hand.
"I have a family to take care of again. They won't survive without our guardian. They don't have any family besides us. And you'll tear us apart!"
"They aren't your family. Jimmy was your family. And your mom and dad. And your little sister. Not them!"
"Shut up!" I ran at him, tackling him into the wall on the other side of the room. People from the doorway moved back, startled.

He pushed back, forcing me to back step. He was strong, I'll give him that.
He switched positions and I was the one with my back to the wall now.

"You want to try that again?" His voice was quiet. His face was so close I could feel his breath.
After living with guys who can feel memories, I learned a thing or two about hiding certain ones. So he didn't know that when I leaned in to kiss him, I was going to knee him in the stomach and pick him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Poor Ben. Guess this proves I'm not as weak as you think I am," I had a smirk on my face, and I could feel his anger rise.
He gripped my wrists, squeezing as hard as he could. I felt it begin to hurt me and flung him across the room.
"Screw you!" I held my left wrist gently. It was the one I'd broken.
Pip felt my pain and decided it was his turn to step in. He'd be harnessed longer than Ben, but not long enough to start his transformation.

"Back off Ben," He stood between Ben and I.
I felt Jeremy jump awake at the connection, but Meredith was somehow sleeping through all of this.

His worry was almost as strong as Pip's and it was making me feel a lot more emotions than I already felt. Which was bad for someone with bipolar.

I watched as Pip and Ben went at it, throwing each other around the room as Jeremy came to tend my hurt wrist.
"I don't think it's broken," I whispered, "But it definitely hurts."
"Can I hit him now?" Pip yelled from the other end of the room.
"No, hold him."
I nodded to Jeremy and walked over to Ben, who was struggling against Pip's grip.

"Pip was harnessed for almost nine months. He's stronger than you. This is the first time he's used violence, as you can feel. I guess it's a good thing or you'd be a lot more beat up than you are."
"I don't even hurt, you know that," Ben growled.
"Yes you do. As much as I do," My voice was shaky when I said that, concentrating on the emotions we shared. It was a lot harder than it seemed.
I was ready to take a swing at him when Tom entered the room.
"What on earth is going on here?!"
I turned to look at him, then looked to Jeremy. He walked over to Tom, and picked him up and put him outside the doorway.
"You walk in there, you'll probably get hurt. It's a lot easier to hurt you than it is to hurt us," Jeremy said. I heard his footsteps come closer to me.
"Go back take care of your sister," I put a hand on his arm and sighed, "Let go of him Pip."
Ben wiggled free and growled, "You're even worse now than you were before."
I balled my hands into fists. Pip moved away just in time for me to punch Ben in the face, sending him back into the wall again. I turned, holding my throbbing wrist.
"Good. Then that means I won't be the only one in this relationship treated like crap anymore."