He shoved Sidney toward the cell, then again to force him in. He pushed him into Pierce, who yelled as they fell to the ground in a heap. Pierce shakily removed his blindfold to see Sidney lying beside him, getting up.

The man kicked him in the chest. Hawkeye almost spoke up, but the words caught in his throat. The last time he'd protected a friend... he couldn't face the punishment again.

Sidney was kicked again, and again, and even more. He looked up at Pierce with his knowing brown eyes, which now were just full of regret. For what? For failing to save him? Sidney had risked his life to try, and now it was Pierce's fault for every hit he took. The man would kill the psychiatrist for trying to play him.

Hawkeye couldn't face that.

"S-stop."

The man froze and turned sharply. "What did you say to me?"

Hawkeye's eyes widened a bit, but he looked at Sidney and saw the wonder in his face. It made Pierce just a little bit proud of himself.

"Stop. Don't hurt him."

The man walked over to the now hyperventilating man. Sidney frowned at how any action taken by the man had Pierce panicking. The man had conditioned him entirely to fear.

The man knelt beside Pierce and glared at him. "Remember what happened last time you tried to protect a friend?"

Pierce nodded emphatically.

"Are you going to resist again?"

He shook his head.

"Good."

He stood and returned to Sidney, who was trying to get up again.

"There's no need for violence here, we c-" Sidney's placation was cut off by his own grunt as he was kneed in the gut. He slid back down the wall and suffered a few more kicks before the man wrapped his hands around his neck, dragging him up against the wall. Sidney struggled to breathe, but the enraged tightening of the grip made it impossible. He placed his hands on the man's but didn't pry or claw at them. His feet scrambled nearly imperceptibly, but he didn't try to beg. He never looked at Pierce on the floor, but he couldn't worry about the cost to his dear friend's psyche when he spluttered a silent cry. He mouthed it, not having the breath to say, "Hawk."

Pierce couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop!"

Nothing happened.

"You'll kill him!" Hawkeye yelled, a little angry, but mostly scared.

"Good. Damn weasel thought he could take you from me."

Hawkeye inhaled sharply. The man thought he owned him - well, he did - and was going to kill his friend for trying to help him.

It pissed him off.

Hawkeye stood, with effort, and walked toward the scene. Friedman kept his head up and didn't look at him directly, but he knew that Pierce was about to do something very dangerous.

It wasn't a smack, a crack, or a thud, but the sound of Pierce's fist slamming into the man's head was loud and shocking. The man staggered to the side, letting Sidney breathe again. He gasped, as did Pierce, who realized what he did. The man hadn't fallen, and he spun around once he could wrangle his rage. Pierce's eyes widened and he fell down trying to back away quickly. The man looked like a bull that just found its bright red target.

"You little BITCH!" The man roared. He went straight for Pierce, who was still scrambling away. "If you want to fight, go ahead! Throw the first punch! We'll see how you end up."

Pierce shook his head.

"No, no, you wanted this. Stand up and fight me like a man."

The panicking man paused. He was weak beyond recognition and always was a lost cause in a fight, but if the man was inviting him to, maybe he could defend himself somehow. Especially to protect Sidney.

He got to his feet slowly and made sure not to waver on his feet. The man laughed and spread his arms. "Go ahead, doc, hit me."

Hesitation and fear froze Pierce.

"If you can knock me out, go ahead and escape. What can I do to stop you? On the other hand, if I beat you, your friend dies and you'll never be able to stand again."

"You can't possibly think that's fair! He can hardly stand, let alone fight!" Sidney yelled, brought to rage at the injustice and the fear.

The man spun on his heels and yelled back, "It's more of a chance than he deserves!"

At that moment, while the man was turned away, Pierce sprung into action. He wasn't going to let one of the bravest men he'd ever known die because he was too weak. He ran at the man, reeled back his fist, and drove it into his side, a place the man had been favoring for a while now. A direct blow to the kidney. The man staggered, and with that distraction, Pierce kicked him behind the knee. The strong man fell to the ground, holding his side and yelling in outrage. He stood quickly and spun around just as Pierce was about to punch him in the head, which resulted in his fist being driven into his stomach. Pierce panicked, trying to drive him back down, but his next punch was stopped short when the man grabbed his wrist. He used the momentum of the punch to spin the thin man around and send him crashing to the ground. The man leaped on him and began pummeling the surgeon, but Pierce wasn't cowering yet. He wriggled and twisted until the man shifted. Pierce then used both of his legs to kick him away. The man fell back and Pierce kicked him in the face. He grabbed his now broken nose, a murderous glint in his eyes now.

Pierce scrambled up and reeled back, preparing to throw another punch. This time, when the man grabbed his wrist, he snapped it. Hawkeye screamed and fell to his knees, his wrist still in the man's hold.

Sidney came up from behind the man and wrapped an arm around his neck, securing him in a chokehold. The man jerked and released Pierce to try to remove the strangling hold on his neck. Hawkeye pulled himself back up. Sidney saw the desperation in his eyes, a raw need to survive. In a split second, Pierce brought up his knee, which smashed into the man's nose. Then the man fell limp in the psychiatrist's arms.

"What did you do?" Sidney asked, unsure if it was a trick.

Pierce reeled back, looking like he could fall over any moment. He started toward the man, then turned around and grabbed fistfuls of his own hair. He spun back around and left his hands fall from his head, staring wide-eyed at the man. He started back over to them, kneeling beside the large man.

"Is he..." Friedman started.

Hawkeye pulled his friend's arm from the man's neck wuickly and pulled the man to the ground. He felt for a pulse, breath, and heartbeat. His eyes widened and he sat back.

"He's... I killed him."

Sidney sat back.

"I drove the bones in his nose back into his brain and I killed him. No breath, no pulse, heart's stopped... th-there's nothing..."

"Hawk, you were fighting for our lives, there's nothing else you could've done."

"But I just killed a man. I don't care what he did, who he hurt... I killed him." Pierce looked horrified.

"Pierce, look at me."

He did, eyes wide.

"You do care what he did. He hurt you. It's okay to be glad that it's over. It's not your fault, he left you no choice."

"I could have-"

"Nothing you could have done would have changed this. Either he died, or we did. That was always how this would end. You know that."

Pierce sat back and nodded, running his uninjured hand through his hair. "I know. I know." He breathed shakily. Suddenly, he looked around, behind him, and at the door.

"What's wrong?"

"H-he'll kill me for this, he'll take you away and he'll hurt me..."

Sidney frowned. "Pierce, look at him. Do you see him?"

The surgeon closed his eyes. "I can't look at... what I've done."

"Look."

Pierce reluctantly opened his eyes and looked down.

"You fought for your life, and the man died. It's over now. He's gone."

Hawkeye was crying now. "I know. I know he's gone, but I feel like he's going to hurt me for it, like he'll punish me... he always does."

"Did."

Pierce pulled himself away from the body. Sidney went to him and just held him while the broken man trembled, wracked with sobs.