Olivia lay on her stomach on the small bed that had been given to her. Her shirt was pulled up in the back so that it rested right above her shoulder blades exposing the soft, milky skin of her back. She kept her head tilted to the side so that she was facing the wall, but she could hear everything that Peter was doing. The sound of vials tapping against each other and the sound of a glass container being put down on the metal tray assaulted her ears before she felt the bed dip slightly as Peter got up on it placing a knee on either side of her hips so that he could reach the area that he was going to do the spinal tap in.
"Relax." Peter said softly and placed his hand on her back, running his thumb gently down her spine until he found the right spot.
"Peter, you're giving me a spinal tap in one of the most unsanitary places imaginable and you're telling me to relax?"Olivia snapped, trying not to show how his touch affected her.
"I know it's a lot to ask for but this will be easier if you relax, it will get done faster." Peter pointed out and felt her relax slightly. "You're going to feel a small pinch." He then said while inserting the needle that had the anesthetic in it
"How long are you going to be in his debt?"Olivia asked trying to strike up a conversation, anything to get her mind off of the fact that not only was she getting a spinal tap but had an extremely attractive man straddling her hips from behind.
"I don't know."Peter sighed heavily and put a small bit of beta-dine on her back where he was going to do the puncture.
"What did you do to get in his debt?"
"I already told you, I had needed money so I borrowed some from him and now he's collecting."Peter huffed.
"Don't lie to me."Olivia said, not seeing the startled look that crossed Peter's face at her having called him on his bluff "You had to have done something more than just borrow money from him. If you had just borrowed money then you wouldn't have been in his debt for the past three years and your mother wouldn't have a target on her."
"You're going to feel some pressure."Peter said avoiding her question and inserting the large needle into her spin.
"Urgh." Olivia moaned painfully while grasping the sides of her bed and gritting her teeth.
"Sorry."Peter mumbled and put the fluid he had collected into one of the vials. He then took the needle from her back and pressed a piece of gauze there to stop the small bit of bleeding that had occurred. He then placed a bandage on the area and got up off the bed. "You're all done. Now I just need to get this to Eddie and then I'll be right back. Don't stand or walk around for a while."
"Okay."Olivia mumbled and listened to him leave before pulling her shirt down her back and rolling over to look up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure how long she had been lying like that but before she knew it there was a sharp sting behind her eyes and at her temples, a headache blossoming there in just a matter of seconds. The headache started as a dull throb but then great exceedingly fast until she had to slam her eyes closed against the bright light of the lamp, her stomach churning uncomfortably.
When Peter returned to the room it was to find Olivia curled up in a tight ball, her forehead covered in sweat, small moans of discomfort escaping her lips. He instantly went and got her a glass of water, holding it up to her lips and helping her swallow some of it down before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and one under her bent knees, lifting her up into his arms and bringing her over to his bed where he held her tightly to his chest.
"It's okay, the headache is a side effect of the tap, you'll be fine."He soothed her, rubbing his knuckles against her cheek while she clung to him. The feel of the warm skin on his neck felt great against her clammy forehead.
"You couldn't have warned me about this before?"Olivia groaned against his neck.
"I figured that you would put up less of a fight if you didn't know what was going to potentially happen."Peter admitted and pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Livia you need to relax."
"If you say that again then I'm going to hurt you."Olivia snapped.
"Tessa."Peter said softly. "She's the reason that I'm in debt to Eddie. She was his girlfriend and he was abusing her. She wanted out and begged me to help her escape, so I did. Eddie retaliated by targeting my mother and forcing me to do whatever he wants. If I try to escape then my mother is dead. If I do something against Eddie's orders then my mother is dead. If I try to help you then my mother is dead. She's everything that I have left. She raised me on her own after my father was institutionalized and even before that she was pretty much my only parental figure. Eddie knows that harming my father wouldn't affect me at all. The man was abusive and isn't exactly my favorite person."
"My father was great."Olivia said after a long silence, her eyes still clamped shut. "But my stepfather…I hated him. It's just my sister, niece and I now. My stepfather took off after I shot him and then my mom died of cancer when I was 14."
"You shot your stepfather?"Peter asked looking down at her and seeing her face starting to relax as the pain ebbed.
"He would hit my mother and me."Olivia nodded, her cheek rubbing against the fabric of his shirt. "I was nine years old and couldn't take it anymore, all the abuse, so I grabbed his gun out of his bedside table and I shot him three times. He lived though."
"How's your head?"
"It's better."She mumbled sleepily. "Peter, please let me go home. Please just get me out of here."
"Get some sleep Livia."He murmured and continued to sooth her, his knuckles never leaving the soft skin of her cheek. He eventually felt her go lax in his arms, her breathing even and deep indicating that she had fallen asleep. Peter reveled in the feel of her soft, pliable body in his arms but heaved a sigh when he thought about what was going to happen to her. If Eddie found what he was looking for with the spinal tap then she would more than likely be stuck in the compound like a prisoner much like he was. But if Eddie didn't find what he was looking for then the odds of him letting her live were very slim.
Peter lay back on his bed and lowered Olivia so that she was sleeping at his side. His eyes feasted on her beautiful, finally peaceful, face and his mind ran at a thousand miles per hour about what it was he would have to do in order to make sure that she lived. He wasn't sure how long he had laid there with her but before he knew it, she was stirring and her eyes blinked open. She cleared her vision then looked up at him before cautiously sitting up and rubbing her face gently with one hand. Peter sat up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Einai kalytero anthropo apo ton patera toy." He said quietly, making her turn around to face him with a curious look on her face.
"What does that mean?"She asked through dry lips, her head feeling a bit better and her heart beating at hyper speed from being so close to him.
"It means, be a better man than your father."Peter explained. "My father was a self centered coward that only thought about himself." He said and placed a hand on her cheek, his thumb rubbing against it. "I'm not going to let them hurt you."
"You'll help me get out of here?"Olivia tentatively asked and saw his brow furrow before he looked down at the floor and swallowed thickly.
"Yes."He said and then looked up at her to see warmth in her eyes along with concern.
"What about your mother?"She asked sadly.
"I'm not going to let them hurt you."He answered.
"You don't know me but you'll help me?"She questioned, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"Trust me Livia, no matter what you've done in your life; you don't deserve what Eddie would do to you."Peter explained. "My mother will know, the moment that they show up at her house, that I made a decision that wasn't about just me. She'll know that I'm doing something to help someone else. Maybe we could save her."
"Thank you."Olivia gave him a small smile. "But what will happen when we get out?"
"I don't know."Peter admitted and watched Olivia go over to her own bed, climbing under the covers. "We'll figure it out as we go. Now get some sleep."
"Thank you."He heard Olivia say one last time as he leaned over and blew out the oil lamp throwing them into darkness.
A/N: So a little delayed, but how about that season finale? Anyone else's reaction "WTF?"