Hey guys! Alright, I recently got inspired to keep writing this story, so be on the lookout for more. Sorry for the long wait. I don't own any W13. Please review, and thanks for reading!

Crash.

Loose, animalistic screams floated down the hall towards the agents.

Steve briefly flashed to the time he'd mistakenly shown his pet bunny to Olivia's cat. The animal had opened its mouth wide and screamed itself silly. The shock of his fluffy pet bunny shaking in terror was not a memory he called upon often, but a powerful one nonetheless.

Someone was screaming like his rabbit. Orderlies, nurses, went into panic mode- running towards the noise. Someone hit a button on the off-white walls, and all the doors shut, cutting them off from the problem.

"Nooo. Stay away from me!"

Joshua's face paled.

"That's Claudia!"

The group ran towards the sound; Mrs. Fredrick and Leena distracting the nurse who had told them they weren't allowed to see her.

Joshua rounded the corner and got to Claudia's room first, followed closely by Steve.

She was in the back of the room holding up her IV stand like a sword, her flower patterned hospital gown hanging off one shoulder, arm bleeding from a ripped out the IV site. Her eyes were black pools of terror, tears mixing with screams and babbling and nonsense. Before now, he never would have guessed Claudia could devolve to this.

Two doctors were attempting to talk her down and a nurse was grabbing a syringe of tranquilizer.

"Ms. Donovan…" one of the doctors said. "You need to get back into bed. You're in the hospital; you just had major surgery…"

"I'm not crazy! I don't need to be treated!"

Her voice was a good octave higher, tight, but breaking and choking with sobs.

Then suddenly she noticed Joshua through the large glass walls.

"Oh my god." She inhaled a shaking breath, eyes fixing on him before letting out a scream of frustration. "Why won't you just leave me alone? I…want to be normal. Just let me be normal!"

"Claudia," Joshua said, instantly in the doorway and frowning at her. "Get back into bed this instant."

"No!" she screamed back, too loudly, "I… I won't do what you say. You're not real. You're not real!"

As she stumbled back, she yanked a random syringe out of a cabinet she ran into.

"Stay away!" she demanded, hyperventilating and eyes widening at the medical staff once more, "Or... or I'll jam this into my arm! It'll kill me, right?"

"Yes..." said the doctor slowly. "but you don't want to do that."

Steve looked at Joshua to see a tear streaming down his face. Just then, Artie and Myka caught up and saw the catastrophe.

There wasn't time. The wild look in her eyes was not going away, and things had just escalated to suicide. He had to do something.

"Claud" Steve said, stepping in the room with his arms open, his face pleading. "I won't let them hurt you. You can trust me."

"Steve?" her voice breaks his name in half as she turns her eyes on his. "They want to treat me. Don't let them treat me! I don't want to be treated! I'm… I'm not crazy."

"No," he said, three feet away now, keeping an eye on the syringe poised over the crook of her arm. "No, you aren't crazy. Just put that down, okay? I won't let them treat you. Or hurt you. You are safe with me. You know that.

Two feet.

She stared at him in wonderment.

A foot away. He touched her arm lightly, causing her to gasp and drop the syringe, which clattered to the ground.

She wrapped her arms shakily around him, glaring at the mass of people behind his back, as if daring them to come any closer.

She could trust him. He was her partner. Steve loved her. She was safe.

As he accepted the hug, pulling her tight, he quickly extracted his own syringe and pressed the plunger into her arm. There was just enough time to see the accusatory look of betrayal before the tranquilizer set in.

"I'm sorry, Claudia." he whispered in her hair, "I'm so sorry."

So? What'd you think? Please review, and thanks for reading!