A/N: This is the first story in what I am titling my "Iris Project" The basic premise is I take the song "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls along with my favorite pairings from all fandoms and see what comes out. The only similiarties between stories are: They are all called "Iris", they are all one shots (duh), and they are all inspired by the same song. Other than that, they'll move around every conceiveable category available I'm sure. Please enjoy and stay tuned for the next installment

How long had he been here? Days? Weeks? Months? It could have been years and he wouldn't have known the difference. The hours dragged on endlessly in this white hell he had been delivered to. White walls covering his prison cell, doctors walking by covered completely in white clothes, white lights shining in his eyes and reflecting off the surgical instruments as they experimented on his still living body. When was the last time he had seen a friendly face? When was the last time someone had looked upon him as something other than an object to be puzzled out rather than a true human being?

Then, as they dragged his unresisting body back to his cell, he heard it. It was so faint, just the barest whisper, but it was there. A soft breath of wind calling a name he barely remembered. "John."

John turned to see her. Helen. The name he remembered while his own slipped into shadow. She, too, had been changed by this place. Her skin so pale, her once shining hair now limp, her bright eyes lacking true fire. John wasn't sure what he was going to do other than return to his room until he saw the silver trail glinting down her chest. Vivisection. They had taken his beautiful Helen and cut her open while she was still conscious for every second of it. His eyes caught with hers. "John," she repeated in a firm voice, though her eyes were still vacant as though she couldn't understand why this name meant so much to her.

"Helen," he called back to her. That sparked light in her eyes and she began to struggle. An instinct rose up in John. A need to prove to this woman exactly why she remembered his name so clearly. With a roar, he ripped himself from his guards. Helen did likewise. Neither one had been bound during their walk as they had been so docile before this point. They ran to each other, meeting in the middle of the hallway in a tangle of clutching limbs. "Helen," John whispered, stroking her hair. "My Helen."

Tears formed in Helen's eyes as she ran her hands over the face she still saw in her dreams. She rested her forehead against his for a moment. Then she surged up to kiss him hungrily. For the briefest of moments, there was nothing but the two of them. For a single shining second they were in heaven. And neither wanted it to end.

Finally they had to pull away to breathe. "I love you," Helen whispered through her tears. "God, John. I love you so much."

"I love you too," he promised her. "Whatever happens, whatever they tell you, remember that. I love you, more than anything else in this world. Promise me."

"I promise John. I promise I'll remember."

They were suddenly, violently ripped apart by guards, tears streaming down both their faces. There were a few futile struggles but both were easily over powered and injected with sedatives. "I love you," they whispered as the drugs began to do their work once again.