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Reunited

Aurora didn't move.

"Mom!" Francesco called out to her.

Aurora lay still; she didn't groan or grumble or twitch. Francesco shook her hand, calling her name repeatedly. As his panic set in, he shouted at her desperately.

"She's been like that for hours." Came a hoarse whisper from the other side of the room.

Teary eyed Francesco turned to the voice angrily. It was Logan. He was half-naked and chained to the wall on the other side of the room. He sat with his head tilted back against the wall.

"Dad?!"

Francesco hurried to Logan's side. Like Aurora, Logan had purple and blue bruises on his face and neck and bruises on his hands and feet where he was shackled. Hair stuck to a dried, bloody patch on his head. Logan's chest and arms were also littered with dried, bloody patches. Francesco kneeled beside him. The more he looked at Logan, the sicker he felt.

"Adam."

"Are you okay?" The boy asked with a trembling voice.

"You shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you two!"

Logan winced at the boy's outburst. "Sshhh... Headache."

"Sorry. How long have you guys been here?"

"Long enough for me to know... that your mother should have left with you... Why are you here?"

"His guys caught me." Francesco said as he diverted his attention to look around the room.

There were cameras in every corner and decorative grating on every window. The other door in the room led to the bathroom.

"Your grandfather let you run away?"

"I think he wanted them to take me, but I don't know what his plan is." Francesco looked back at Aurora's figure on the bed. "He's been torturing you guys?"

"Torturing me... He's been keeping her drugged; I don't know if she's aware of what he's doing to her." Logan gritted his teeth as he yanked at his chains. "I couldn't protect her again." He whispered, choking on his tears.

Francesco left Logan and wondered into the bathroom. There were cameras in here too. He searched through the cupboards, retrieving towels and antiseptics.

"Water," Logan said once he returned.

After taking a few sips of the water, Logan insisted he check Aurora's injuries first. Francesco bit his lip as he soaked the corner of a towel. "I'll check on her after." He pressed the cloth against the cuts on Logan's chest.

"Softer!" Logan groaned.

"Sorry." The boy mumbled.

Logan watched the boy he once happily called 'son' tend to his wounds. "You've changed."

Francesco met Logan's stare. "I haven't."

"You're not afraid anymore."

Francesco's hand hovered over Logan's arm.

"What happened?"

"I'm a Baggio. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Logan snorted. "Your mother would weep if she heard you."

Francesco glanced at the bed from the corner of his eyes. Aurora still hadn't moved. He finished cleaning the last of Logan's cuts and made his way over to Aurora.

Francesco sat on the bed next to his mother. The rise and fall of her torso was so subtle that, at a glance, it looked like she wasn't breathing. He pushed her until she was lying on her back.

"How is she?" Logan called anxiously.

Feancesco pulled away the blanket and quickly pulled it back. She was naked. The boy shut his eyes tight; there were red marks on her chest. Aurora shivered.

"Mom?"

Francesco took off his jacket and draped it over the blanket. "She's naked."

"Towels. Cover her with big ones."

Francesco hurried to the bathroom and back, doing as Logan advised. Once Aurora was under layers of towels, Logan made him check whether she had a fever. She didn't, but after he checked her, Aurora began coughing.

"Mom!"

Her coughing fit went on for a minute before it subsided. Adam brushed the hair away from her face and laid his hand on her head.

Aurora's eyes opened. "Adam?"

"Mom, you're awake!"

Seeing her son, Aurora burst into tears, shaking her head. "No!" She cried.

Another coughing fit took Aurora, and she coughed violently, coughing up blood and then fainting.

"Dad!"

"We don't have her meds!"

Despite remaining unconscious for the rest of the night, Aurora continued to have coughing fits. Her condition kept Francesco and Logan awake, frustrated, and worried.