Oh wow, the replies to the latest chapter were pretty heavy.

I regret nothing.

Lilli's vision had grown fuzzy. All she imagined when she closed her eyes was the truck incoming towards them, and all she could see was a man's blue eyes.

As she was screaming and trying to grab at Matthew, she was pulled out of the vehicle. She screamed and fought with the arms, and a gentle voice filled her ears.

"Lilli, calm down,"

Her eyes widened and she felt the man's arms sit her down. Matthew's body fell forward, limp and she started screaming again.

"MATTHEW!"

Getting up to help, she felt someone push her down again, and the large man went to Matthew, pulling him out of the wreckage, and setting him down.

"L… Ludwig?"

Lilli's eyes widened as the man set Matthew gently on the floor, and pulled off his shirt, putting the cloth over the wound over his belly.

"It's my fault, I'm sorry, Lilli," He whispered, tears dripping onto Matthew's face and he stared at him with wide eyes.

He looked familiar…

Lilli went to him, and bent down to the man's chest, listening to his heart. It was beating quickly, yet there was no strangling noise in his lungs. He sounded healthy and Lilli felt her heart soar as she realized that he was ok.

"No hemorrhage, just a lot of blood. Lift your hands for a bit, let me see how bad the stab wound is," She said gently, as Ludwig was close to breaking down. He shook his head, and pulled his shirt back, and a spurt of blood came up.

"Pretty bad," He whispered in German and then put the pressure back. "I called the paramedics, we're okay,"

He said gently, Lilli going to Matthew's face and petting his gently.

"Are you hurt, Lud?"

"Sprained arm, a bit of whiplash. Maybe a broken rib, but not much else," He held him, hearing the noises start to fill his ears.

Lilli grabbed her phone and starting calling people up.

"He'll be okay… I hope…"

Vincent walked out of the gallery, his face full of glee. He couldn't be any more prouder of himself, seeing as though he got a hefty down payment for a commission for the drawing he was going to be working on in a couple of weeks, after some remodeling and some meetings with sketches.

He found himself happy. Happier than he's ever been.

Of course, there were the problems with his family, the looming sense of his sister's sickness, but that was something they could fight.

He was okay.

Everything was okay.

His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his slacks, opening it and putting it to his ear. There was a hurried breathing and a sound of clothes being put on.

"Ja?"

"Lilli and Simon were in an accident,"

Vincent's heart stopped.

Everything that had been good and everything that made him happy suddenly went down the drain. His face grew pallid and he bolted to the car.

"What happened, what is it?"

"I'm not sure, but all I know is that there was an accident. I haven't gotten a call from Lilli, I … Vincent, please hurry, I'm getting my stuff ready-"

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the diner around the corner of the house. I was waiting here for-"

Vincent didn't care, he was already driving. He put his phone back to his face and said with an eerily calm voice.

"Okay, just stay put, I'll be there in no time,"

It took too long to get Rachel and leave. Rachel was wringing her shirt and she wore a bandana. For some reason she hadn't brought her wig with her.

Vincent was too scared to really care. The words that rang in his head mixed between "Fuck, fuck, fuck," And a mixture of Simon and Lilli's names. The idea of losing any more family members was starting to weigh on him.

Simon was so happy with Lilli. They were going to be a family; they were going to be okay.

He slammed on the breaks and parked beside the scene. Sirens blared and Vincent held himself together as he saw a large truck bashed into Simon's car.

Oh no.

Vincent threw open the door and ran to the scene, screaming Simon and Lilli's names at the top of his lungs. People parted for him and Lilli appeared in his gaze.

He was only slightly relieved.

Her petite little hands were covered in blood and there was another blond man beside her.

He knit his brows, and then heard a calm voice beside him.

"Lilli!"

Simon ran to her and held her and Vincent's worry flew out of his person. He took a deep breath and covered his chest, his eyes closing as he realized that he had been holding his breath.

"Oh thank god," He said, and Simon turned to Vincent. The look of dread on his face brought Vincent's anxiety through the roof, especially because both of his eyes were visible to him.

He hadn't seen them in such a long time…

"… Vincent… I'm going to tell you something… And I want you to hold yourself together,"

Vincent laughed and rolled his hand, brushing off his comment. He walked to him and hugged him tight.

"I don't have to worry, you two are okay,"

Simon pulled away from him, and the sirens kept blaring. Snow landed around them, making the scene eerily innocent.

"I… I wasn't in the car with Lilli..," He whispered, and everything stopped again.

Vincent swallowed as he realized what that meant. He looked up at Lilli, who looked liked she'd seen death.

"No…. No, no,no," Vincent stared at the car, and noticed his sweater. The paramedics had a body on the gurney, quickly talking to themselves as the moved around the body.

"No… no, he's at home, he's…"

Simon turned to Lilli who began to cry again.

"I'm… He's lost a lot of blood,"

The tall man beside her looked like he was about to break down. Vincent himself was starting to shake.

"No, no, he's at home, he's probably painting something stupid again, No he can-"

The paramedics moved away from the body, and Vincent saw Matthew.

He'd never seen him so still before. He remembered their first night together, when Vincent woke up at the weirdness of another's bed.

Matthew looked so peaceful asleep.

He looked asleep, but there was no peace in his face. There were bags under his eyes, and he was so pale, and then he noticed that his shirt had been ripped open and there was a wound the size of a baseball on his stomach.

"Matthew," Vincent whispered and he screamed his name again.

"MATTHEW!"

He was about to jump the tape when the large man grabbed him and Simon pulled him back. He was kicking and fighting, tears rolling down his cheeks and sobs breaking out of his mouth.

Choruses of Matthew's name came out of Vincent's mouth, and everything started growing dark. All he saw was Matthew being pushed into the ambulance and being hurried off.

Vincent didn't stop screaming. He fought against the taller man, shouting at him, and yelling at him to let him go. That he wanted to go with Matthew, that he shouldn't be alone right now.

It was until Rachel grabbed his face and put him to his chest when he started to calm down. His screams turned into sobs and the tall man fell against his younger sister, weeping into her chest and holding her tight.

Rachel only pet his head, kissing him and holding him. There were no words of calming from her, because she didn't even know if he was going to be alright.

Vincent didn't stop crying.

"I can't believe this is happening," Lilli whispered against Simon's chest as he held her. They were all in the waiting room, as Matthew was in the intensive care unit. His wounds had been severe, and he had died on the way to the hospital.

That information was withheld from Vincent, as the drugs that the doctor gave them started to kick in. He was numbed down, his head in Rachel's lap and his eyes filled with tears. It was so weird to see Vincent so broken apart.

Lilli found it hard to look at him.

"He saved you… I..," Simon whimpered and Lilli brought him into a kiss, whipping away tears.

"He saved both of us," She whispered as she rubbed her belly, as she remembered exactly where the pole was. She didn't want to think about it, the images were ingrained in her head.

She was bottling all up. She couldn't just break down now, now when everyone was too dazed to notice. She'll do it at home, behind her doors. She'd do it some other time, when Matthew wakes up.

Ludwig was set against the other wall, a phone in his large hand. He was speaking gruffly into it, as he was hopped up on meds as well. He was right about the broken rib, and he was also sporting a bad bruise on his right side and he sighed.

"Ja.. Ja, I am fine. The other guy not so much…," He whispered, and held the bridge of his nose and shaking it a little. He took a deep breath and then stared at the ceiling.

"Sure. Of course," He whispered and sat up, holding his belly. Rachel looked up, noticing that Vincent had fallen asleep and walked to Ludwig.

She took his hand, kissed it, and slid into his lap, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Ludwig kissed her cheek and gently pat her thigh.

"Is everything alright? Your brother seemed distraught," Ludwig whispered, and turned to her, his eyes sad and confused. There was a stormy look to them, and Rachel kissed his lips.

"That's my brother's partner,"

"Fuck…"

"What happened?"

Ludwig looked away from her, and pressed his head against her chest. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and pressing against her soft skin.

"I hit black ice. I was swerving and trying my best to keep still, but… I..,"

Tears rolled down his face and he began to cry gently, feeling his arms start to shake. Rachel was worried, because in the small amount of time that she had been with the man, he had never shown much emotion.

"Ludwig, he's alright. He's going to be fine,"

Ludwig dug his face into her chest and cried harder. He didn't say anything, his quiet cries filling the room.

His phone rang again and he pulled it out, leaning back and taking a deep breath. Rachel wiped away his tears, and kissed his lips smiled.

"Hello?"

There was a little string of curses, and then the person began to talk. Ludwig shook his head.

"Yeah. I'll give you the name. It's Matthew Williams,"

There was a silence from the other end of the phone. Then a chorus of "no's" and Gilbert was pulled away from the phone as someone started sobbing.

"MATTHEW!"

Ludwig's eyes widened as Alfred started screaming on the other side of the phone. Rachel stared at Ludwig, who sat up straighter.

"Does… Does Matthew have a brother?"

"Y… Yes. His name is Alfred Beillschmidt,"

There was more screaming from the phone, and Ludwig hung up. He lifted Rachel up with not much of a problem and set her down on the chair beside him. He put his head in his hands and his leg started bouncing.

Tears were pouring down his cheeks and he rocked back and forth.

"I… That's my brother's husband," He whispered and ran his fingers through his hair. The sudden realization as to why Matthew looked so familiar hit him right in the face.

"I almost fucking killed my brother-in-law's only family…" He dug his face in his hands and Rachel brought him into her arms again.

Vincent woke up on and off. The sedatives where doing a good job, numbing him down to not let him feel anything.

Matthew had been in surgery for the last couple of hours, and all he wanted to do was hold him. Even if he just got to see him breathing, Vincent would be okay for the rest of the night.

That wasn't possible.

When he woke up, he was on a sofa, in his home. He was still too numb to really care, but he did notice a blond man asleep on a sofa.

He looked like he'd been through hell. There was a large gash on his face, and the way he slept, he looked like he'd been abused as a kid. He was tucked into himself and Vincent realized that he used to sleep like that.

Worried, and constantly scared of coming out their shell.

Vincent felt a sudden comfort with the man in the room. He was confused about that, but the drugs were still too present.

He hoped the man wasn't tormented more that he used to be.

There was a racket as he woke up. His eyes opened, and there was screaming going around him.

He felt a little drunk, as if he'd gotten hammered the night before and decided to down a shot of tequila to fight the morning sickness. He grunted as he sat up, putting his fingers to his head.

"Fuck-"

"AND YOU FUCKING THINK I'M JUST GOING TO FORGIVE YOU?"

Vincent looked up to see a small man with large eyes pushing back at the blond he saw the day before. For a brief second, Vincent mistook him for Matthew.

But his hips were bigger, and he was a lot huskier than his boyfriend. But very attractive, nonetheless.

"I already told you, I'm sorry. What more do you want from me?" The man was pushed again and then the smaller man broke down. He began to sob, fell against him and punched him.

"You hurt Matthew-"

Vincent felt his skin prickle. The man that looked like he could break at any moment was the reason Matthew was in the hospital.

He stood up, and walked to the blond. He pulled him away from the man that looked like Matthew, lifted his arm and punched him right in the face.

"VINCENT!"

Rachel pushed him back, her eyes red and staring up at Vincent. The dutch man was shaking, tears bubbling in his eyes and pointed at him.

"Why is he here,"

Rachel went to Ludwig, holding his hand as he touched his nose. Blood dripped down his stern face and Rachel glared at him.

"He's my boyfriend,"

Vincent went to throw another punch at him, when someone held him back. He turned to them, seeing bright red eyes and a growl came out of thin lips.

"You throw another punch at my brother, I kick you right in the fucking balls, you understand?"

Vincent pushed him away, and glared down at the smaller man. He was short, he could take him.

"And who are you?"

"Gilbert," He glared, and then everything began to click in Vincent's head.

"Oh, so you're the asshole who fucked Matthew and decided to move onto his brother," Vincent's lips curled into a smirk as Gilbert's face grew red.

"I don't need you to bring up something as stupid as that just because you're pissed-"

"You're asshole of a brother almost killed my boyfriend!"

Vincent pointed at Ludwig again and then at Rachel.

"And you, you're defending him!"

"I'm not defending anything Ludwig has done," She whispered, putting a rag to Ludwig's nose and smiling at Alfred as he handed her another one.

"Then why is he here?" Vincent growled, and Rachel sighed.

"He… the reason that he was coming here was to visit us. He wanted to talk to you about me and him being together,"

Vincent snorted at that, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Right. As if after all of this, I'd let you anywhere near my sister,"

"It was an honest to god accident-"

"I want you to shut the fuck up," Vincent glared at Gilbert, who shut up and went to Alfred, pulling him into an embrace.

Ludwig stared at him, and then sighed.

"… Vincent, right?"

That brought a scoff to his lips, and he looked like he was closing in on himself again. Tears filled his eyes and he began to shake.

"Yes,"

"I… I'm really sorry… Alright? And I'm grateful for Matthew. If it wasn't for him, my cousin wouldn't be here, and we'd be stuck with two bodies,"

That made Vincent let out a wince. He had heard Lilli talking about how they were placed. The image of gore and Matthew being impaled went through his head.

He didn't want that image.

"Rachel is sick, and Simon, at times, refuses to talk to me," Vincent whispered and he fisted his hands at his sides, he stared at the ground and he felt his chest start to throb.

"Matthew's the only thing that has made me feel okay for the last couple of months. He fucking came here, not knowing anyone or anything, and we just met a little over a year ago,"

Vincent scrubbed his face and looked at Ludwig.

"I… I'm just… He's one of the most amazing things that's happened to me, and you almost took that away,"

Vincent began to cry and the smaller blond walked to him, and took his hands. He looked so much like Matthew, especially after he cut his hair.

"You really love my brother, don't you?"

He shook his head, unable to lie to the innocent looking man. His smile was genuine and sweet and he grinned up at him.

"He's okay, you know that?"

Vincent shook his head against, and Alfred pressed his face against his chest and hugged him gently. He was crying and shaking, but Alfred said nothing.

Vincent didn't say anything. He was too tired and too sad to feel embarrassed about his mood swings. And, also, the drugs were still running out of his system.

"I'm still mad at your husband for screwing my boyfriend over,"

"I know. It gets brought up constantly at family reunions," Alfred laughed and Vincent smiled wide at the shorter male.

"Come on. Let's go take you to your room so you can sleep this off. I know they over did your morphine,"

He pushed him over, making a gesture to Gilbert who shook his head and moved Ludwig and Rachel to the living room.

"What exactly happened between Gilbert and Matthew… He never really talks about it,"

Vincent whispered, wiping his face, then surprised to be handed a tissue by the younger man.

"Well… Gilbert was doing a lot of bad stuff before I met him. Usually involving drugs, stuff like that," He whispered and Vincent opened his bedroom, going to sit in his bed. Alfred took a seat on the chair for his dresser, and smiled at him.

"Really? That guy?" Vincent crossed his arms and then laughed. Then again he didn't look like the run of the mill stoner.

"Mhm. We met in therapy after Matthew gave him a lecture," Alfred laughed, and set his hands on his lap. He grinned at him, seeing Vincent turn a shade of red, remembering his own lecture.

"Matthew told me about your little spat, by the way,"

That made him turn redder.

"But… Gilbert was sick. Him and Ludwig had been abused their entire childhood, and honestly.. Matthew was a huge wakeup call…," He stared at the ground, his thumbs moving against each other.

"… What'd he do?"

"Broke his nose after a fight,"

That was a surprise, and it was evident on Vincent's face. Alfred smiled.

"I was going to visit him, when Gilbert fell in front of me with a broken nose and spitting curses at Matthew. So I drove him to the hospital, and the rest well… Time was good to my tiger. He sobered up, and we got married two years later,"

Vincent smiled. Then knit his brows.

"… Matthew has mentioned a baby?"

"Oh, that," Alfred blushed bright red and rolled his hand.

"That's a different story,"

As if on cue, there was a loud cry and a gentle "oh no" of Gilbert. Vincent smiled at Alfred who sighed and turned to him.

"You're not the only one attached to Matthew, you know? Friedrich adores his uncle. We all do. Gilbert never really had romantic feelings for him, but he is the reason he found me,"

Alfred's eyes filled with tears and he stared at the ground.

"Matthew really does keep everything together, Vincent. Matthew is the reason I'm here. He's the reason I can be with my baby and with my Gilbert,"

He looked up at Vincent, who was looking completely awful.

"Ludwig knows this too. Gilbert was hurting himself, and even though he didn't know Matthew, he knew he owed everything to him. Gilbert hadn't talked to Ludwig in almost ten years.

That made questions rise up. How old was Gilbert anyway?

"And… he almost killed him…" Vincent covered his face and leaned forward.

"… Yeah… He almost did…," He whispered, and then reached forward, and lifted his face.

"Come on, cheer up. He'll be awake tomorrow. For now, let's just relax. You have a lot of talking to do with Ludwig and Rachel. They really worried for you…,"

Vincent stared at the big blue eyes, and then realized that him and Matthew looked nothing alike. But the same raw, and loving emotions were almost exactly the same.

Vincent felt his heart throb at the idea of losing Matthew.

"I… I will in a while… I just need some time to myself…," He whispered and Alfred smiled wide at him.

"Take all the time you need,"

He stood up and closed the door, leaving Vincent to rethink some things.