When he woke up, Tony was waving his leather jacket under his nose, the strong smells of oil, sweat and blood mingling unpleasantly. Harry pushed his hand away and sat up.

"We survived?" He asked. He could see nothing, the bright sunlight washing everything out in white and stinging his eyes.

Tony laughed and pulled him into a hug. For once Harry didn't mind, and clung to the other man. "We survived."

Tony helped him to his feet, but Harry cried out and fell back down when he tried to walk. He glanced down at his leg, and saw the large bruise spreading up from his ankle, partially covered by crimson blood. It was definitely broken again, but they couldn't stay where they were; a trail of scraps of metal lead right from Raza's valley to where they had landed.

Tony slung Harry's arm over his shoulders, swallowing a groan as he rubbed at the cuts from the crash, and together the two began stumbling across the sand.

Harry didn't know how long they walked.

The sun beat down on them, and the wind picked up grains of sand, flinging them at any bare skin. Tony wrapped his jacket around his head to hide him from the worst of the relentless sun, but neither of them could go on much longer without water, covered in scrapes and bruises.

They fell to the ground and staggered back to their feet, trying to put as much distance between them and their prison, tumbling down dunes and tripping over rocks hidden in the sand. Each time it was harder to get back up, to keep walking.

The cloying, earthy scent of rock filled Harry's nostrils, mixing with the smells of blood and soot that clung to both him and Tony. His lips cracked in the heat.

It was like the desert didn't wan them to leave. The heat sapped any energy they had and the deep sand tugged at their feet as they tried to walk. Dust clung to their skin.

After what felt like hours, Harry collapsed, unable to take another step, pulling Tony down with him.

"Come on kid." Tony said, struggling to his feet. "We got to keep going. Just a little further."

"I can't." Harry gasped. His whole body was in pain; the phoenix tears only able to partially heal an ankle he was still walking on or cuts that still had bits of stone in. He was fairly sure there was a bullet in his calf, each step causing it to burn with agony.

"Yeah you can." Tony panted. "Come on. Just get up. A little further."

Harry let himself be pulled upright. They didn't talk, all of their energy going towards putting one foot in front of the other to climb just one more rise, cross one more stretch of sand. Harry needed Tony's arm around him as much for support as for direction, unable to see anything with his sensitive eyes. The sickly aroma of blood caught in the back of his throat.

The next time he fell, Tony didn't get back up, sinking to his knees. Harry lay where he had fallen, his face half pressed into the sand. He tried to ignore the pounding in his ears and the spots in his vision, all the moisture sucked from his mouth hours ago.

He frowned when the thudding in his head got louder, fairly sure that this wasn't a good thing. He lifted his head from the ground, ignoring the sand that ran down the back of his shirt. He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat, sending him into a coughing fit. "Stark." The man didn't look up. "Tony." Harry dragged himself across the distance between them and gently lay his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Tony managed a weak smile. "The man who has everything, and nothing, and the boy who has nothing, and everything." His eyes drooped closed. "What a pair we make."

"No." Harry said.

"What?"

"We're not dying here." Harry said with an energy he didn't have. He forced himself upright, ignoring the pan throughout his body. "You were told not to waste your life." He dragged Tony to his feet, and the two began moving, stumbling along in the deep sand, Harry limping heavily, supporting Tony as much as Tony was supporting him.

The pounding in his ears was growing louder, but he forced it out, focusing on moving forwards. They climbed a dune and paused to catch their breath, and Harry frowned. He turned. "What is that?"

The sound wasn't in his head, he could feel the vibrations in the ground, a pulsing, droning clatter of noise.

Tony had turned, and began shouting. "Hey! Hey!" He held up his arms and waved, laughing and shouting. He grabbed onto Harry, squeezing him tight. "Harry, we're alright. We made it. We made it!"

Harry could make out two dark shapes in the air getting larger as they drew closer, and recognised the steady thrum of helicopter blades. With a new burst of energy, he got back up and lurched towards the landing helicopters, joining in Tony's laughter as his whole body protested.

Five soldiers jumped out of the nearest helicopter towards them, and the centre one dropped to the ground in front of Tony. "How was the fun-vee?" He asked.

Tony laughed, allowing himself to be pulled into a hug.

"Next time, you ride with me, okay?" The man said.

The next thing Harry knew, he was being carefully picked up and carried to the helicopter, flying away from the place that had been his prison for so long at high speed.

They wanted to take them to an Afghan field hospital, but Tony was adamant they return home, and that they stuck together. Harry had no problem with this, and soon the soldiers had gone, leaving him, Tony, and the man Tony introduced him to as James Rhodes, sat in a plane as they soared towards America, Tony's arm in a sling and crutches supplied for Harry once his shoulder had been realigned. They hadn't showered, but had each been given a change of clothes, and Harry had been given a pair of sunglasses to hide his eyes that unnerved so many of the soldiers around him, offering a small reprieve from the glaring lights all around him.

They landed in a military airport, and 'Rhodey' helped them both out of the plane. Two paramedics arrived, pushing a wheeled stretcher each, and Harry's nose wrinkled in disgust.

Tony seemed to share his thoughts. "Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of it." He waved the men away, and they hesitantly backed off. Tony put his free arm around Harry's shoulders, seemingly unwilling to be separated as he walked up to a pretty ginger lady dressed in an immaculate suit.

"Your eyes are red." Tony said. "Few tears for your long lost boss?"

"Tears of joy." The woman replied with a small laugh. "I hate job hunting."

"Yeah, well, vacation's over." Tony said. He led the way over to a large car, ignoring the woman's questions about Harry.

"Where to sir?" The driver asked.

The woman replied. "Takes us to the hospital, please Happy."

"No." Tony interrupted, and the woman looked at him like he was mad.

"No? Tony, you have to go to a hospital-"

"I don't have to do anything." Tony said. "Pepper, I've been in captivity for three months. There are 2 things I want to do." He looked at the woman. "I want an American cheeseburger, and I'm sure Harry does too."

"We need to take Harry to the hospital." The woman – presumably Pepper – said, looking at his injuries. Harry had been given a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, but he was still badly bruised and there were bandages wrapped around his wrists.

"Harry doesn't need a hospital." Tony said, then turned to look at him. "Do you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Exactly. American cheeseburgers."

"And what else?" Pepper asked.

Tony leant back against the luxurious leather seat. "I want you to call for a press conference. Immediately."

"I want you to call for a press conference, now."

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper repeated. "What on earth for?"

"Yeah." Tony said, before turning to the driver. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburgers first." The driver pulled away, Pepper reluctantly making the call on her mobile.

Harry frowned at the contraption as she put it back in her purse. "What's the date?" He asked.

Pepper looked at him, her face softening. "November 3rd." She replied.

"Year?"

Pepper frowned. "2008."

Harry swallowed, feeling himself pale slightly.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" Pepper asked. Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He had been taken in July of 2007, meaning he had been the Ten Rings' prisoner for over a year. Pepper turned to Tony. "Are you sure you don't want a hospital?"

"Yes." Tony's reply was unyielding.