-GABRIEL'S POV-
After Riley was asleep, Gabriel lay downstairs on the couch. His mind was racing. Did they really just do that? What was he thinking? She was practically drugged with all the painkillers in her system.
Gabriel fell into a restless sleep a few minutes later. He woke around dawn, and the house was silent. Instead of going back to sleep, he made coffee and watched the early morning news. The manhunt was ongoing, and the media was oblivious to what they went through.
It was around 7 when he was aroused from his half asleep state by Riley screaming his name.
"Gabriel! No!"
He leaped up from the couch and raced up to his room. She was still screaming his name, and he was surprised the whole house wasn't awake. When he swung the door open, she was sitting up, her knees pulled to her chest and her head was hidden behind them. The sheets were in knots and strewn everywhere, and he could see the sweat pouring off her as he got closer.
"Riley!" He shook her shoulder.
Her head jerked up, and she blinked a few times. "Gabriel?" She whimpered.
Gabriel opened his arms, and she fell into them. Riley started crying again, deep, heart shattering sobs.
"Shh, Riley, it's okay." He whispered and kissed her hair.
He rocked her gently while he whispered soothing things in her ear and kissed her hair. Slowly but surely the sobs tapered off into whimpers, then silence.
The sun was rising and filling the room with golden light. The bedside clock read 8:30 am, and Gabriel held her until she woke up.
-RILEY'S POV-
She woke up wrapped in Gabriel's arms and her head against his chest. She lifted her head, and realized he was awake.
"Mornin' Sunshine." He smiled softly down at her. The nightmare. They had been on a mission, and suddenly the man who had been torturing her came out from behind a building, grinned at her, then shot Gabriel.
She tucked her head back into his chest and felt him tighten his arms around her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly.
Riley shook he head against his chest. All she wanted right now was to know he was alive.
Riley didn't know how long they sat there, but noises from downstairs let her know the rest of the house was awake. She started to slowly climb out of his arms, ignoring the pain shooting through her body.
"You know you aren't supposed to get out of bed."
"Well, we need to leave soon so we aren't found."
"We can wait a few days." He said firmly.
"We need to at least look for a new place to hide."
Gabriel let her go and rolled into the messy bed. "Riley, lighten up! We're both injured, and here we can get the right treatment."
Riley sighed. Every moment they spent here put the Cassidy's and Dr. Wilkerson in danger.
"Gabriel, we-" she was interrupted by his bored sigh.
"Riley, if you don't relax and get into the bed, then I'll..."
"You'll what?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Don't test me, Riley Neal." He smirked.
"Hey, you threatened me." she said defensively.
"come on, Riley." He patted the bed next to him. "It's warm."
She sighed again, then slowly lay down next to him on top of the blankets. She was definitely starting to feel the full force of her injuries.
The room got quiet, leaving each of them to their thoughts.
"How much of it do you remember?" He asked softly.
Riley took a deep breath. "What do you mean? Of the torture? Or our escape?"
"All of it."
Riley took another deep breath. Was she ready to talk about this? No. Would she ever be ready to talk about this? No. Better now than later.
"I remember the torture, the things he said." Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them come forward. "Everything he said was true." She whispered the last part.
"No." He said roughly, angrily.
Riley remembered every word. '"You should have died that night you killed your mother's boyfriend.' 'Your mother hates you.' 'You'll never be able to keep Gabriel safe. If you could, you wouldn't be here.' 'Failure. That's why the president sent you to Cyber command. He didn't you protecting him.'" She whispered.
Against her will, tears started streaming down her face again. "Oh, Riley. None of that's true. You're the best protector-partner anyone could ever have." Gabriel pulled her into his arms again.
She squeezed her eyes shut, and the tears were coming down at full force. He rolled onto his side so she was against his chest. At this point, the entire front part of his shirt was tear stained.
Her body was at an awkward angle, which hurt her ribs. She shifted closer so their bodies were aligned and touching shins and chests.
Riley cried for a long time, until her eyes wouldn't produce any more tears. Gabriel held her through all of it, humming some song. She finally pulled away when someone knocked on the door.
"Riley? Gabriel? It's Dr. Wilkerson. I need to change your bandages."
"Come in." She called shakily, and quickly wiped away the tear streaks on her face.
Dr. Wilkerson came in with a doctor's bag and sat down on the bed. Riley held out her wrists and he slowly started to unwrap the tape and gauze. There were only a few stitches, the rest of the cuts only needed a bandage.
"I think the stitches can come out before I leave." He said and rewrapped her wrists.
"Gabriel, Dr. Cassidy needs you in the workshop." Dr. Wilkerson said as he left the room.
Riley started to follow, but Dr. Wilkerson stopped her. "You need to get some rest. Stay here, Gabriel will wake you if they need you."
Riley glowered at him as he walked out the door. She knew they were searching for whoever took them. Maybe it was the same people who framed Gabriel. Whoever it was, they were going to pay.
