Lydecker is sitting on the padded floor, leaning against the white padded wall that has seen better days. His one knee is pulled up and his hands are resting on the floor on either side of him as he is blankly staring at the wall in front of him.

The door being unlocked draws his attention and then two of the asylum nurses enters the cell. Two men, not too big or burly, just a bit taller than Lydecker himself. Under normal circumstances he would be able to take on two guys like that with his military background but it was soon after he arrived here that he realized very quickly that there is nothing normal about this place. Especially not the people working here. They all have some sort of superhuman strength. They don't even flinch by getting hit in the face with an object. Lydecker knows that because he has already tried it.

Without any words the two men steps up to Lydecker to take hold of him when he tries to move away from them. But the men merely keeps on stepping closer until he is cornered and then they grab hold of his arms. As they lift him to his feet, Lydecker starts fighting in any way he can just like he always tries to. The one man unhooks an electric prod from his belt and sticks it into Lydecker's side. As they are members of the Conclave and they have beyond human strength, it's not that the fighting is going to do them any harm, but the squirming and kicking is quite annoying.

A strangled yelp is heard and then his body goes just about limp and they continue to drag him out of the room and down the hall. Lydecker weakly tries to clench his fists to try and recover his strength but there is no hope as they drag him into the elevator that goes down into the basement. He has to get a grip and fight before they get to the basement, because nothing good ever happens in the basement.

Exiting the elevator that has reached the basement, Lydecker has regained some strength and he tries to pull away when he is suddenly lifted into the air. The next moment his heart almost stops at the shock of sudden extreme cold as he is dumped into a bath-like stainless steel tub with ice water.

He barely has time to get his head above the water, when his feet are restrained with leather straps to the bottom end and his hands are pulled up and restrained to the top just above his head. He tries to pull out of the restraints but he has just enough strength to keep his head above the water.

Moments later two of the 'doctors' comes in and without any word the one sticks a patch onto the side of Lydecker's neck that monitors his heart rate. The doctor disappears out of view and when he returns he places electrode patches on Lydecker's forehead.

This is going to be another day from hell…

Not too long another person enters the room. The brown haired man.

"Colonel Lydecker." The man in the white coat greets with a wicked smile on his face.

By this time Lydecker has started to shake and shiver from the freezing cold that is enveloping his body.

Lydecker remembers watching the man standing next to him asking him questions. And for the life of him, he can't even remember what those questions were. He just remembers letting out a few curse words and telling him to go screw himself.

The man then looks up at the other doctor and nods. The next moment the only thing that Lydecker is aware of is pain. Pain everywhere, on his whole body, over his whole body and running through his whole body. His screams seems to fade as his vision turns white.

When it stops he is panting for air in between coughs as he tries to pull himself up to keep his head above the water.

The man then continues to ask him questions, he doesn't tell them what they want to know and the pain starts again and again and again and again…

When Lydecker wakes up, he finds himself feeling cold, very cold. When he regains his vision he finds himself still inside the tub of ice water.

The doctor leaning over him with an injection speaks, "You passed out but not to worry, you won't again."

Lydecker starts panicking, there is no way out, there is no way to get away from the pain. There's only one solace from the pain which is the blissful state of unconsciousness and that has been taken away from him as they keep on injecting him with a medical compound that keeps him from passing out.

A few times later the doctor monitoring his health stats speaks up, "His heart rate is dropping."

The man that was next to him then disappears from sight and then the two nurses comes into view. They unfasten the restraints and lifts Lydecker out of the water. They then drag him down the hall back to his padded cell. They drop him into the middle of the room and then exit and the door locks behind them.

Lydecker is lying on his side, unable to move. He can't even roll over. Every single fibre of his body is in tormenting pain. He is shivering rather violently from the ice water he was in for far too long and he was left in the wet clothes lying on the floor. The shivering isn't helping with the pain stabbing at his muscles. Everything is just pain… and it is cold…

Lydecker is pulled from his thoughts as the shivers he's got draws him back to reality. His eyes drops down to his hands on the table before him. He stares at his hands that are shaking and shivering. Is it the cold? Or is it the trauma?

The blanket lying on the bed suddenly pops up in Lydecker's mind, so he slowly gets up to go and curl up on the bed underneath the blanket.

As he turns, he spots Max lying on the couch. She is fast asleep.

Lydecker tries to remember when Max got there. What were they talking about? How long has she been there? Lydecker wracks his brain trying to recall as he stares at Max's sleeping form.

Why is she here?

After a long time musing, Lydecker makes his way over to the bed with the bad limp that he has from his knee. He pulls the blanket off and then he makes his way over to Max. He carefully places the blanket over her, trying not to wake her.

He then stands there looking down at her. Why is Max doing this? Why did she drag him out of that place? Why is she taking care of him?

Why?

He has done nothing to her except…

Hurting her…

As Lydecker thinks upon that word, 'hurt', he suddenly realizes that what has been done to him…how is that different from what he had done to her back at Manticore?

After a long time staring at Max, Lydecker limps back over to the bed. He then gets on and curls up as far as his injuries allows him to. He is still shivering, but that's fine. At least he is no longer in that place…

When Max wakes up, she feels warm and comfortable. As she opens her eyes, she realizes that this is not her and Logan's room. She then realizes that it's Lydecker's apartment.

Sitting up, Max discovers the blanket that is lying over her. Looking over to the bed where the blanket is supposed to be, is Lydecker. Curled up in a feeble position shivering.

She knows that she definitely didn't take the blanket. So the only way the blanket got to covering her, is if Lydecker covered her with it. But why would he do that. He needs it far more that she does.

Getting up, Max makes her way over to the bed and then places the blanket over him.

After giving him one last questioning look, she makes her way to the door.

Looking back at him lying on his side, his eyes closed, almost screwed shut, Max recalls a memory. When Lydecker was down on the floor and a gun pointed at his head about to shoot at any moment. She has often recalled that day at that genetics conference. She remembers a very distinct feeling that she got and it's the same feeling she has been having around Lydecker since she found him.

The only way she can name the feeling is...to..protected?

Max frowns to herself as she leaves and closes the door behind her. Why would she feel protective of Lydecker?

TBC...

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