Seeing Booker out cold in front of me made everything feel cold. Very cold, and all I could do was blink and try not to scream in how he was crumbled in my embrace.

He looked so out of it, the way his skin was barely hanging onto his body and against his skin, his hollowed eyes against his distinct cheeks that were covered sweat, stubble, and dry blood. His hair was longer than when I saw him previously in Paris, longer and greasier with some blood caked in spots here and in his locks of hair. The clothes he was wearing were grimy and dirty, a bit too thin from being through far too much. almost dangling off of him since he was too skinny for me to even recognize him at first. I could see some skin damage, almost like sores, along his collarbone under his shirt and near his wrists.

He was out cold, his clammy cheek against my hand as I was looking at him with pure fear and a sense of dread. I instantly checked his pulse, trying to find it against his neck that had stubble against it. I couldn't feel it, which made me feel worse now as I tried for his wrist.

Nothing.

"Booker….Booker, can you hear me?" I asked, sounding so unsure and rushed as I was watching for some kind of sign. This was not right, him being in here all alone and at that state. What brought him here? How long was he in here for? Who did this to them? Was he in this kind of state for a long time? It was all going through my head so fast it was making my mind spin in worry and sadness as he wasn't responding to me.

"Please wake up…come on….wake up." I started to say in a rush and I shook him gently in hopes that it would help. I still got nothing from him, having me fear the absolute worst. Was he…..no! He couldn't be! I felt so lost holding his body against my own and pressing my forehead against his own, rocking slightly back and forth and mentally yelling at him to wake up.

Booker…Sebastian…..why would this happen to you?

I knew his banishment was for 100 years, but there was always a sense of hope in me that I would see him again. I loved him so much as a brother, a pestering little brother who still loved me all the same for who I was. I knew of his burdens and pains that he still harbored, the demons that were keeping him awake at night and making him drink. I would hold him sometimes in those nights, hearing him cry into my shoulder for his wife and sons and wish them to be alive with him. But now, I was the one weeping into his body as it was so still against my own.

"Please…please wake up. wake up for me…please!"

Now I was begging against his cold forehead, tears coming down my face as I was feeling so much pain for him being gone. He wasn't waking up, he wasn't moving within my arms. What a way for him to die, alone and afraid, cold in this place covered in his blood. I could feel my own heartbreaking for him and I prayed that God would bring him back.

I was clutching him so hard, crying so deeply that it was hurting to move or breathe. I didn't care about the mission, not while I was holding him there. All I could think was how he was alone…all alone here with no one to hold his hand, to pray over him, to love on him. I wasn't there when he was banished, I didn't know how it felt to be turned away by your family for a betrayal that unfolded. But I knew Booker's heart and his soul: damaged and yearned for acceptance and love. Did it get worse for him while I was away? Was he spiraling down with no way up? This was not what I wanted for him: loneliness in death

He was never meant to be alone.

"Don't leave me…please don't leave me here. Please, Booker…don't have me be alone now. I….I need you. I need you to wake up now, okay? That's all you need to do….just…just wake…." I sobbed and rambled against his forehead, my eyes slammed shut and my fingers wrapped in his tattered jacket and hair. I couldn't let him go, I couldn't find the strength to do it.

I needed my French ally with me once more, his endless sarcasm and melodramatic view of the world and yet his laughter from winning a stupid bet or thirst for a new adventure that was rare for him. It made me think of how he was with the others. His love for football with Joe, his drinking games with Andy, his philosophy debates with Nicky, and his cultural appreciation for French art with me. Even worse, Oliver never got the chance to meet him, learn from him, and laugh with him. And Nile, poor Nile barely knew him for a short while but I had a feeling they'd be thick as thieves.

"Soeur."

It was barely said, but I heard it, making me stop and sniffle a bit as I moved my head away and looked down at his face. His eyes, still closed, were barely fluttering. It was the faintest of movement, but I saw it as a weary breath that shook his upper chest was heard in the cold empty room. I gasped, crying in relief as his eyes fluttered open and he locked his eyes at me. His brown eyes, dark and filled with pain, was looking at me now in disbelief and sadness as I cradled his jaw in my hand, still holding him close to my chest as I was feeling my tears hit his face freely.

"Am I in heaven?" He asked, his voice so different from how he would usually sound. He sounded like a wounded animal, his eyes searching mine as I grinned and shook my head. Leaning down I pressed my lips against his forehead briefly before I stayed close and searched his orbs.

"Tu es en vie," I whispered hoarsely against his head, feeling his skeleton-like fingers move slowly to reach up and trace my wet face, touching my tears but trying to see if I was real. He took another breath, he sounded like he was in pain from just breathing as I pulled away a bit more to see his face fully in front of me. He looked so skinny and frail, and the only thing that I focused on that showed me that he was my Booker was his eyes. Those eyes that were filled with both joy and pain, with remorse and anger for living in this life. But they were kind, kind and youthful.

"Je suis désolé," he said in a breath, wanting to cry himself as I shook my head at him and gave him a watery smile.

"You're safe now, frère," I said to him soothingly, still holding him in my arms on the ground, giving him a quick scan over and looking back at his face, "I'm gonna get you out of here, alright? We all are."

"We?" he asked.

"We're all here," I said to him, my voice was shaking from all the tears I went through. He looked so hurt from hearing that, almost like I said the wrong thing as he was shaking his head.

"It was supposed to be only me," He said, his voice sounding only a bit stronger but not all the way. I looked at him in confusion, not understanding. I was about to ask him when I heard the sound of running feet, coming our way, having me look over at the door. It was closed, leaving us there in the room safely, for now.

If the guards knew we were down here, then Booker and I would be in big trouble. I didn't know where Oliver or Nile was since we were supposed to meet back up at the elevator with whatever we found. How was I going to show up with a groan man who looked like death? Booker was weak, too weak to fight after he just woke up from the dead for who knows how long. I had to protect him, and my gun I had earlier was too far away for me to get it now. I wasn't going to leave Booker's side, not when he was vulnerable and somewhat healing in a sense.

I looked back at Booker, giving him a caring look as I grabbed my gun that was on my thigh holster, placing it on the ground before I got out my bow. Laying out a few arrows in front of me, as I did before, I took the gun to place it on the ground near me in case I needed it. I had to think of a plan in how I was going to do this and get both of us out of here safe, safe to the others who didn't know about him yet.

"I'll protect us," I said to him, wrapping my other arm around his middle, hoisting him up a bit. He was still weak and leaning against me, not able to move his limbs or his body around too much as I shuffle a bit to have him lean against my back, blocking him from view from whoever would come in the door, "We're gonna get out of here and get somewhere safe, okay?"

"Eleanor…" Booker said against my shoulder blade as I placed the second gun I had near him, just in case he needed it.

"No," I cut him off, "You're coming back with us in one piece, I'll make sure of it,"

"I'm not worth it," he said in a groan.

"You're worth to me," I said back to him getting the arrow ready in the string and gripping my bow tightly, "More than you realize. I might have left you for the past 80 years, but it's not happening again. Not while I have a say,"

"Please…" he tried again to argue with me, but I wasn't having it anymore. I knew he was stubborn, we both were. Two French stubborn Immortals trapped in a room wasn't the best scenario, but I was too wound up in my tears and emotions to argue with him.

"Sebastian," I said his proper name now, hearing him go quiet, "I'm not going to leave you here and be alone. We're not meant for loneliness in this life, you understand me?"

He said nothing as I heard the noises outside the room getting louder and more frequent. I could feel his skeleton fingers grasping my bulletproof vest from behind, trying to clutch to me tightly as I was training my eyes on the door, drawing the arrow back slowly and shift a bit on the ground. This felt like suicide, pure suicide as I was placing my own body and life in front of Booker's. Maybe I was looking stupid right now, not going along with the plan that the others were going through, but I had someone I needed to protect and I was going to do that no matter what.

I heard footsteps right outside the door, but no one was peering in just yet. I gripped the arrow in my string extra hard as the door was pushed up. I saw it was at least one guard, coming right in and I released before I second-guessed myself. I got him right in the throat, his blood bubbling out from where I shot and he fell to the ground. I went down to reload, but the second guard was right behind him and he shot at me once, slicing right into my jawline as I drew up my arrow. I cried out in pain, feeling the skin along my jaw peeling back and the blood coming down. I thought he was going to shoot me again as I slammed my eyes shut from the pain, ready to brace the impact of bullets and take the brunt of them for Booker's sake.

But there was a scuffle in front of me as I opened my eyes.

Oliver was in a fistfight with one of the guards, slamming him with his fists over and over as I was still having my arrow out at the ready in case he needed it. But the way Oliver was moving showed me that he was holding his own against the guard. The gun that guard was fell to the floor, so now he was trying to take Oliver out with his bare hands. It was almost memorizing to see, how Oliver knew where to duck and how to slam his fist against the guard's ribs.

Oliver threw him to the ground, the guards' head bouncing off from the ground briefly before he there reached for looked to be a knife. Within a second, he gripped the knife, aiming it high where Oliver was about to strike him down, and he stabbed Oliver right in the throat. Oliver fell backward, blood coming out from his mouth and his throat.

My heart plummeted as he fell to the floor.

"OLIVER!" I screamed in fury, my jaw still bleeding out as I releasing the arrow and seeing it fly through the air and into the hand of the guard. The guard cried out, rolling over to look at me now, collapsing to his belly on the ground and was about to crawl over me when a lone gunshot was heard right behind me near my ear. I cringed from the sudden blast that went by my ear, but I saw the guard with a lone gunshot through one of his eyes, he fell to the floor in a heap. It was quiet again in the room, and as I looked over my shoulder I saw where the gunshot came from.

Booker, holding the gun out in front of him and breathing heavily.

"Thanks," I said to him in a shaky tone. Seeing him nod his head as he dropped the gun on the floor in a heap, already looking tired. I looked back at Oliver now, seeing that he wasn't moving. Now I was in a panic. I got up from the ground, Booker not against me anymore, and was sitting up on his own. I rushed over to Oliver's body, once again seeing no movement. Now I felt like I was going through some kind of Deja Vu. My jawline that was barely shown through my damaged skin and the slice was slowly sinking back behind the new skin that was growing in, but I was focused on Oliver. Once I rolled him onto his face, he was gone.

His mouth was covered in blood, all along his parted lips and down his neck and throat. The knife was still in his throat, sticking up precisely as I grabbed the handle and yanked it out swiftly. The wound started to close automatically, though my face was still etched in panic as the hole in his throat was getting smaller and smaller. I framed his face in my hands, making sure everything else looked and felt okay with him as the wound was now closed all the way.

"Oliver…Oli," I said his name who fast and almost in an urgent manner, hearing Booker behind me try to get up carefully with his wet energy. I didn't know what came over me, already seeing the evidence that Oliver was going to wake up and be fine. but that small part of me in the back of my brain, that small inclination that maybe something could go wrong, was evident and present. But, of course, I was proven wrong. A few seconds later, his eyes shot open and he took in a massive deep breath, almost arching his back off the floor. I kept my hands on his face, making sure he stayed grounded as he was blinking rapidly and looking around for a brief moment before we both locked eyes.

"You're safe," I said instantly, feeling him reach over and grab my elbows within his hands, "You're alive and you're safe, Oliver. You're good…okay?"

He nodded shakily, having me grin at him. Half of his face was covered in blood and sweat, his eyes were piercing and almost looking so frightened after going through his first actual Immortal death. It had to be a lot for him, and I could only imagine what he was thinking at that moment as I was perched over him and looking so concerned for him.

"Come on, I'll help you up," I said to him, putting an arm under his back and helping hoist him up to a sitting position. He sat up, then reaching over to his throat to see if it was still there. He felt only the blood that was smeared on his neck and skin, his eyes going slightly bigger since he felt no wound and no knife. His eyes went down to the bloody knife that was on the ground next to him.

"I got it out for you to heal," I explained, seeing him then shiny moved his arm up to attempt to smear off the blood from around his chin and mouth. He was struggling a bit since it was now getting on his arm and hands. it was almost frantic for him to get the blood off. I then looked down at the dead guard, seeing the jacket he was wearing and I stripped it off of the body. Finally getting it in my hands, I grabbed Oliver by the chin very gently with my fingers and moved the fabric across his mouth. Most of the blood came off now, Oliver was watching me the whole time as I was getting his face mostly clean, only around his mouth and nose since I knew it was going to be a bother.

The next thing he did made me lose my train of thought, since as soon as I let the soiled jacket fall to the ground, he leaned in and pressed his lips against my own in a kiss.

Everything in my brain was shut down for the brief moment, all I could feel was the warmth of his lips against my own and feeling almost like I could fly and soar out of my body. It was almost like adrenaline that was going through my veins and seeping into my bones from how he was kissing me. My body as frozen so still and my eyes instantly went shut when our lips touched, it was both the most thrilling and the most intimate feeling I ever felt in any moment of my long life.

It only lasted for a long moment or was it a brief moment? Either way, it was a moment for me as I finally felt him pull away from me and look at me dead in the eyes. I thought I was going to be remote from him kissing me, and maybe I was going to show that to him. But there was none of that, all I saw was adoration and almost affection in those eyes that I fell for a long time ago and I was denying it.

He licked his lips suddenly, having me slowly grin at him widely as he was looking petrified.

"I'm so sorry—" he was about to apologize, but I shook my head.

"Don't be sorry," I said to him calmly and with my own shaky tone since that kiss knocked the wind out of me and my lungs. His eyes went wide as I smiled warmly at him, "I felt that through me, Oli," I didn't know why I was using that nickname with him now, but it felt so right to say his name like that. I even saw a flicker in his eyes in how I gave him that nickname, a smile was back on his lips again as I felt some feet staggering behind the both of us.

A throat cleared, having both Oliver and I looked at Booker.

"As touching as this is for me to see," He said in a gruff, coughing a bit as he was trying to stay upright, "I think we should leave before this shit gets worse,"

I shot up, Oliver getting up too and I wrapped an arm around Booker's waist to have him not fall to the floor. His weight was ver light, having me feel a bit bad for him at that moment. Oliver walked over to help with Booker's other side, Booker now eyeing up and down and giving him a gruff of a smirk, "So, you're the new one, huh?"

"Yeah," Oliver said, rearranging his hold on Booker's skinny waist and throwing his arm over his shoulders, "I'm Oliver. You must be Booker. I heard some stuff about you,"

"That I am," Booker said as all three of us were huddled together in the middle of the room "Sorry for having to meet you like this, I'm way more polite. As for what you heard about it, it's probably all true."

"We'll have a proper reunion later," I said to him as I released Booker, knowing Oliver had him securely. I walked back to grab my bow and arrow on the ground, getting them back onto the holster on my back and then getting some of the guns for all three of us to use. I had to be fast now and regroup since now it felt like we were losing a vast amount of time. The others had to be somewhere up on the surface level of the lab, and Nile had to be close by. We had to find the others and find them fast.

I gave Oliver and Booker a gun as I loaded up my bow and arrow at the ready within my hands, "We're gonna get Booker back in the truck and out of harm's way. The others could still be here in the lab,"

"I can shoot on my own," Booker reasoned as Oliver was walking with him over to the door, grunting along.

"Clearly since I'm holding you up," Oliver sarcastically said to him as he was rearranging the weight. Booker gave him a side look and dryly chuckled. I looked out the small window through the door, seeing nothing there but the body of the guard that I killed on the ground right at the front of the door. I looked back at Oliver and Booker.

"I'll go find the others and make sure they got all that they needed from the doctor. Oliver, make sure he gets to the truck and he stays there,"

"First of all," Booker said as he was giving me a low glare of a look, "I'm not going to be babysat by a child—"

"Really?" Oliver asked him with a hint of agitation as Booker went on, still staring at me and ignoring Oliver.

"And secondly….her office is here on this floor in the very back on the right side. I almost got a hold of the files and data she had on Nicky and Joe on my first attempt, but they got to me first. I knew it's still there,"

"I'll get it then," I said to him as I was about to kick the door open before I looked back at Booker now, giving him my own attempt of glare, "And, just for the sake of the delicate situation we're in and all of that….can you play nice?"

Booker gave me an irritated glare, though I wasn't going to look away from him. he finally rolled his eyes, almost in annoyance as he nodded his head. Oliver gave me a look too, having me sigh and shrug.

"You're gonna see all the colors of Booker within the next few hours," I warned him, though he said nothing as I kicked the door opened. I went out first, an arrow was drawn and clearing the hallway. Once I knew it was safe, I motioned with my head as Oliver was helping and half-carrying Booker out of the room. I was walking down first, knowing the other two were right behind me. Now I had to almost do double duty, but Oliver could hold his own from what I saw. As much as I wanted to push that kiss he gave me to the back of my mind, it was still engraved in me and it made me go a bit faster in this.

I stopped us at a corner, looking around the corner to make sure it was clear. Of course, I would look at the right time, seeing Nile take down two more guards on her own. Rightfully so, throwing one over her shoulder and shooting the other at the same time. As the second one was about to get up and get to Nile, once again I drew back and shot at that guard, getting him right in the back of the neck.

Nile looked as she saw the arrow sticking out of the guard and then she looked up at me. I turned fully to face her down the hall, seeing her jog over to me and looking a bit relieved to see me.

"What happened to you?" She asked, "Oliver got worried and he went off to find you and I got rid of the rest of the guards here in the basement. You good?"

"Yeah I'm okay," I said to her, "Listen, there's been a bit of a hiccup on the game plan and I need you to stay calm," She gave me a questioning look, not understanding what I was saying. A slight look of panic was on her face as she was shifting in her stance and was staring at me intensely.

"What happened?" She asked now, her voice getting low, "Is Oliver—"

"He's fine," I reassured her, "He found me back where I was with….with the predicament,"

"We didn't plan to have a predicament," Nile warned me, but then I heard the shuffle behind me. I moved to the side, giving Nile a clear view, as Oliver brought Booker around the corner. As soon as she saw him, I saw her face start to slowly crumble and her eyes getting big from shock. Booker looked at her with a grin on his face, still leaning on Oliver since he could barely stand and I saw the adoration and love on his face when he saw her. The first few seconds no one moved or said a word, but it was all in their eyes as I finally heard Booker speak to her.

"Heya, kid,"

Nile dropped her gun and took the last two steps, wrapping her arms around Booker. Booker hugged her back as Oliver rebased him, Oliver coming over to me and we both were letting them have their moment together. I could tell how Nile was holding Booker close she was trying not to cry, and the same for Booker since he was digging his head into her shoulder. I never knew what kind of relationship they had together because of how brief it was for both of them to be together. But by judging how they were holding each other with such a death grip, I knew they were was something embedded there.

Once Nile pulled away, she eyes him up and down, Booker grinned at her as he could see she looked grave with his condition.

"I've been in worse conditions, Nile. Trust me," He reassured her, but she shook her head.

"What happened to you, Booker?" She asked, her voice low and wavy, "You're not healing up properly,"

"It's a lot to explain," Booker answered, "This might not be the best place."

"We need to get him to the truck," I said to Nile, seeing her gaze come over to me, "I need you to help Oliver and get him in the truck, guard him and keep him safe. I'll find the rest of the group and get that information we need,"

"On your own?" Nile asked, Booker dry chuckling though it shook his whole body.

"Eleanor's a force to be reckoned with when it comes to a fight," he explained, Nile and Oliver watching him now as I loaded another arrow on the string, "Give her the right amount of pressure, and she'll shine through it,"

"Just get him to the truck before he collapses," I said to Nile and Oliver at the same time, "In that duffel bag at the back of the truck, I have my medkit. Do a check up on him and see if he needs anything."

"What are the others gonna say, Eleanor?" Nile asked me then suddenly, having the mood shift in the hallway. I knew what she was thinking about, and from how Booker was leaning against the wall he knew too. The 100 years of Banishment. It was hung in the air like a white flag of surrender, having me think for a brief moment. If I told them now, how would they react? I knew it stung Joe the worst with what Booker apparently did. Nicky and Andy were also affected, but it was different. I shook my head at her.

"I'll deal with them," I said to her, though Booker was getting up a bit and was looking uncomfortable with the thought.

"Eleanor," Booker started, already sensing that this was going to be an issue.

"C'est assez," I warned him, seeing him go quiet again as I took a long breath, "We'll figure it out later. Let's just get out of here before we're in even more shit, okay?"

All three of them nodded her heads as Nile walked over to have Booker lean on her, his arm around her shoulders as she held onto his waist, a sense of worry on her face from seeing the state he was in. He just smiled at her as I looked over at Oliver.

"Protect them," I said to Oliver, seeing him nod his head.

"I won't let them get hurt, Eleanor," He promised me as Nile and Booker starting to make their way to the elevator. I searched his eyes, seeing the scattered blood on his face and how he was still composed himself. It made me finally give in this time and leaned in to kiss him softly against the lips. This was not a place for a kiss, not covered in blood and surrounded by death. And yet, it was so natural for me to kiss him there with guns in our hands and a fire in our hearts.

Once we pulled away from each other, I felt him press one more small kiss on my lips before he searched my eyes. Almost like a lover about to be taken away from the other. It broke my heart.

"Be careful," He said to me, almost pleading as I nodded.

"Always," I said back, then moving away from him and down the hallway on my own. I was being bold with him now, and there was no sense to turn back or diminish the fire that was set in me. It gave me one more reason to get all of this over with and done. I knew the others were going to be fine without me for the briefest of moments, I had to trust that in them all now as I was trying to remember where Booker said to go. He said the right side, which made me go in a bit of a jog as I was going along the hallway wall, dodging the scattering of bodies of the guards that were all over the floor. I had to give Nile credit where credit was due: she was going to be fine fighting on her own.

I saw the very last door, which were double doors, and I knew it was the right place as I moved inside and cleared the small place.

It was, indeed, an office. The desk as right in the middle with a laptop, files were all over the top of the glass desk and a bulletin board that was perched on the side of the wall. Some vials and beakers were filled the chemicals, some blood samples in vials that were perched on holders on the counter to the right, and TV screens showing what looked to be progress reports. Once I knew I was alone, I lowered my bow and arrow slightly as I was looking over at the file, seeing some of the reports that were typed up on both Nicky and Joe back in London at Merrick's Lab. But some phrases were highlighted and circled with a red pen, having me read them over briefly before I looked at the samples and vials that were perched on the counter. I walked over, looking at some of the pictures that were seen.

Booker…she was experimenting on Booker now.

"Damnit," I said, trying to think about what to do and how to do it. This was bad, now there were at least three of us that she had information on. But what she was doing to Booker, it seemed just as a bad, if not worse. I was too lost in what I was ready and what I was feeling when I didn't hear the door behind me and someone walking into the room.

"I thought I would find you, eventually."

I whirled around, pulling the arrow back and aiming right at the head of Dr. Kozak