Hanging upside down wasn't Jude's idea of fun. In fact, now it was his least favourite thing to do. He was sure.

The paramedic had told him to that he had to stay awake if he was going to make it out of this. He'd had four cups of coffee this morning so he thought he'd be fine. Turns out, loss of blood really does make you sleepy. His eyes began to feel heavy as he registered more and more pain, the shock and adrenaline of the initial incident wearing off.

He wanted to see Zero. God, how much he wanted the man to be right here with him – just not in the crashed, upside down, destroyed car. No, he wished Zero was here talking to him. He was probably stuck in traffic now, missing his practise. And he had definitely missed the meeting with the league and Jelena. God, he was so fired.

Jude stopped thinking and released a small laugh. It was weird the things you think of when looking into the face of death.

Jude's heart fell to the pit of his stomach. Something bad was about to happen. Before he'd even finished the thought, the whole body of the car dropped closer the tarmac floor beneath it. Jude's left arm smacked onto the side and, despite being dislocated, hurt incredibly so. But that wasn't what made Jude scream out in pain. The shard of glass sticking into his side stuck itself further in and dragged up the side, increasing the size of the gash. His throat hurt from his screech, but his heart leapt when his ears heard the sweetest sound of all.

"Jude!" It was Zero. His voice sounded raw and full of terror, but all Jude could feel was hope.

"Gideon," he whispered to himself. "Zero! Zero!" He shouted as loud as he could in his tiring state.

"Jude!" Zero's voice came again. "Jude! Jude. I'm here, I'm here."

Jude turned his head to the right and saw the most beautiful sight. Zero, red-faced and sweaty, with eyes wide with fright and worry. He was beautiful. "Hi Stupid," Jude smiled, content now that he had seen Zero.

Zero chuckled. "Too right Stupid. How'd ya manage this? I told you to drive carefully."

"I did." Jude's mind began to slow. "Umm... I think you need to tell the EMT..."

"Tell the EMT what?" The paramedic's head popped into view nest to Zero's. "What's wrong Mr. Kinkade?"

Jude swallowed and began shakily. "When... err... when the car dropped further, I banged my arm... and the shard of glass... in my side... caught on the door, and tore the... hole in my side wider..." He was talking slower and his mind was growing foggy. He could feel his eyes slowly growing closed.

"Hey, hey. Mr. Kinkade? Remember what I told you? You have to stay awake alright? Otherwise we won't be able to get you out safely."

"Come on Stupid. Do what the EMT says and keep your eyes open." Jude forced his eyes open and he could see the sheer desperation spread across Zero's face.

"Okay, there we go Mr. Kinkade."

"Jude." He perked up.

"Pardon?" The paramedic looked completely confused.

"My name... is Jude... Mr. Kinkade... is my father..." Jude and Zero both chuckled whilst the EMT smiled. "Doc? Is it normal... for my whole left side... to be numb?"

"Under the circumstances, I think you're lucky you're whole body isn't numb." The paramedic responded truthfully.

"See Jude. I told you, you are one of a kind. Even the Doc says so." Zero perked up, his voice sounding hopeful for the first time since he'd arrived.

"I'm not a Doctor." The EMT admitted. "I am working towards becoming one though."

Jude smiled. "You'll make... one hell... of a good one." His words began to slur together slowly.

"Thanks Jude. We'll be back in a second; I've just got to speak with Zero here. Is it alright if we leave you for a sec?" Jude nodded his head. "Okay, now just stay awake okay." Another nod. "Good."

Ж Ж Ж

The EMT scrambled out from under the car and gave Zero a hand up. "Okay, I'm going to give it to you straight. At the rate he's losing blood, he won't last much longer. I need you to talk to him, keep him responsive. If he loses consciousness, he could end up losing a lot more."

Zero felt his breath hitch and his heart stop for a second. "Okay, I can do that. How long will it be before they can get him out?"

"Not much longer." The chief fire-fighter came jogging over. "We had to delay the extraction whilst we made the car stable. The body is squashing down because it's a convertible, not the really strong support you'd get in a normal car."

"So what does that mean?" Zero asked, feeling completely stupid with this whole situation.

"It means that we'll have to cut him out." The Chief stated. "Not cut him into bits. But cut the car apart, so we can extract him safely. But we'll have to be careful. Things like this... they have very high risks involved. If my men don't cut at precisely the right angle, at precisely the right speed, so many things could go wrong. It's a risky manoeuvre, and highly dangerous."

"Could Jude... die... if this goes sideways?" Zero asked shortly, not trusting his voice to stay monotonous.

The Chief waited a second before looking Jude straight in the eye. "Yes. But it Jude's last hope."

Zero turned away from the Chief and the EMT who continued to talk about the best way to cut into the car. The idea of procedure made Zero sick to his stomach. His breathing became erratic as his vision blurred and spun. He wasn't steady on his feet. Everything was going wrong. He couldn't lose Jude. He just couldn't.

Jude. The one person who could calm him down right now was the one person facing life or death. He knew his needs were selfish but he reasoned if he could give Jude something to think about, Jude would stay awake.

Shakily and unsure, Zero made his way over to the car. The EMT jumped into his path. "The Chief said that due to the already weakened body of the car, they're going to cut as quickly as they can. It'll be a rush job, but considering how much blood Jude may have already lost, that's a risk we'll have to take. You need to talk to Jude to keep him awake. You need to keep him calm. If he's not calm, his panic will make his heart beat faster, which will pump more blood and more will gush out of his injuries. Can you do that?"

Zero took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, I can do that." He crouched down next to the car and lay flat on his stomach. He craned his head so that he could see Jude and adjusted his position accordingly.

He was about to say something – anything – when a familiar noise filled his ears. The noise was soft and sweet, whilst being joyful. How something so pure could be occurring in a situation such as now was beyond Zero. All he could do for a moment was listen, as Jude hummed a song. He knew the song, but not by name. He loved it when Jude hummed; there was just something so peaceful about hearing it that it made you believe there was no darkness in the world. That was what made Jude even more special to Gideon.

"Are you singing?" Zero asked. He couldn't resist the slight giggle that escaped his lips.

A smile spread across Jude's face. "Humming," was his simple reply. "How are you doing?"

Zero was completely confused. "How am I doing? You're the one hanging upside down, in a crumbling car, with multiple injuries, and you're asking how I'm doing?"

There was a moment of silence as Jude looked deep into Zero's eyes. "Yes?"

Zero sighed and shook his head. "You really are something special aren't you, Jude Kinkade."

"Thanks. You too."

"Okay, I'm gonna let you have a pass for that this time because you are hanging upside down." Zero cleared his throat. "Alright, now Jude there's going to be a loud sawing noise, and it's going to be fine. The fire crew are just cutting the car apart so that we can get you out safely. Does that sound okay to you?"

"If it means they get me out of this car, they can cut me in half." Jude replied sarcastically.

"Hey now, I happen to quite like you in one piece." Zero replied coyly. "Top half and bottom half are both equally pleasurable." He and Jude laughed. "Okay just gimme a sec." Zero pushed himself out from under the car. He turned to the Chief. "Hit it Chief!"