A/N – Thanks for the comments! I hope everyone is staying safe. Try not to watch the news constantly because it will just drive up your anxiety levels. Hang in there.

Chapter 15

Elizabeth jumped when she heard gunfire. "Johnny!" she yelled before retreating into the bathroom. It has to be him. She locked the door and lay in the bathtub and then covered her ears. It's loud and relentless and she's scared.

At the sound of glass breaking, a sob leaves her lips and she can hear someone walking inside the room which is terrifying her.

"Elizabeth!"

"Francis!" She jumped up, threw open the door, and ran into his arms. He is the best thing she has seen in a long time.

The door flew open and Francis's gun lifted and he took out two guards.

"We need to get out of here."

"How?"

He looked down the hallway and took out two more men and then grabbed Elizabeth and they went into the room across the hall and locked the door. There is a dresser that he pushes in front of it and then he leads her to the bathtub. "Get in."

She laid down. "You get in here with me."

"Elizabeth…"

"Now! Francis!"

He sighed and locked the door and then she sat up and he moved behind her and she leaned against him.

"You need to lay down."

She moved forward so her head was in between his shoes and flattened as far as she could.

"How is Jason?"

"The surgery went well and the protocol is working."

"That's good."

"He's weak and can't move around much, but he's alive."

"Does James have my boys?"

"No."

She breathed a sigh of relief. The fighting seems to be getting worse, so she closed her eyes and said a prayer.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

James is cornered, so Johnny takes the opportunity and drops him with a crushing punch.

For a moment, he just laid there but soon rose to his feet.

"I'll allow you one—" His breath is knocked away again as Johnny decked him.

Frisco smirked. "Enough…"

"It won't be enough until he is dead."

"Where is Evangeline?"

James smiled as he rubbed his jaw. "She's probably dead. I'm sure that when the guard heard the shooting, he turned the water back on and she has already drowned."

Johnny surges forward but is blocked.

A man ran into the room. "The cellar is empty."

"The woods…" Johnny said before running out of the room. Several men followed and they run into the forest behind the house and there is a man who skids to a stop.

"Where the fuck is she?"

He holds his hands up.

"I will fucking blow you to pieces. Where is my girl?"

The man swallows hard. "Run straight back. There is a building. Here is the key. She's in the cellar, but I doubt—"

Johnny grabs the key and then knocks him out with one punch and races forward. They surround it and Johnny unlocks the door and runs inside, taking out a lone guard and then spots a monitor but doesn't see Eva in the hole. "Shit."

He unlocks a door and then spots the lid. "Fuck." He opens and is about to jump in when Frisco stops him and points. Johnny steps into the harness and then sits on the edge and is lowered down. He plunges into the water and grabs Eva and pulls her up. "I think her ankles are handcuffed." He tightens his grip and squeezes her a few times and miraculously, she coughs up water. "That's it, baby. You can do it."

The agents find a switch to drain the water and Johnny is relieved when it starts to recede. Eva coughs again. "I'm sorry. I'll do it. Please let me go."

"You'll do what?" he said softly.

"I'll sleep with you. Just stop! Why can't you just let me die?"

"Jesus…" Frisco said as he listens to her as he watches an agent go down a ladder in a hole adjacent to Eva's.

"Eva," Johnny's eyes fill with tears, "I've got you, baby. No one else is gonna hurt you."

She has yet to open her eyes and her voice is hoarse. "Just get it over with it. I have nothing to live for anyway. He's gone."

"Baby, please don't say that."

Tuning in to his voice, her eyes fluttered open and she screams. "You're dead. Am I dead?"

"Evangeline!"

Her eyes droop and she collapses against him.

"Frisco!"

The man opens the secret opening as water gushes into the second chamber and presses two buttons to unlock the handcuffs.

"She's free! Pull us up!" He tightens his grip.

Frisco pushes the button and after what seemed like an eternity, they are at the top and Frisco steadies Johnny.

"Let me take her."

"Her top…"

An agent takes off his jacket and turns around while Frisco takes her and wraps it around her while Johnny rips the harness off. He and Frisco get her in the jacket and zip it up and then Johnny lifted her and they went outside.

Liz and Francis rush forward.

"How is she?"

Johnny can't even talk as he shakes his head.

"There is a field right through those trees. The helicopter will be there in a minute. Elizabeth and Francis, go with him," Frisco said.

They hurry to the field and soon hear the helicopter.

"It's bad," Johnny finally whispered.

Liz nodded as a tear fell down her cheek. "We'll get her help."

The helicopter lands and then they get in and once they are in the air, Liz leans forward and takes Eva's pulse.

"It's weak, but she's alive."

"She was drowning when I found her. I made her cough up the water. She freaked because she thought I was dead." The other part was just too horrible to repeat.

Liz touched his knee. "I'm sorry. I'll stay with her, okay?"

He nodded. "Thank you."

Back on the ground, Frisco notified the hospital and then asked to speak to Epiphany. Once that was done, he headed to the van where James is being held.

"Let's go."

He slid into the van and then they headed to a secret location where James will be imprisoned until he is processed.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

When the helicopter landed, Epiphany is there waiting.

They got Eva on a gurney and then went downstairs.

"You need to get checked out too," Piph said as she secured Eva's heart monitor.

Liz shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You have bruises on your neck."

"Piph…"

"Elizabeth, I won't take no for an answer."

When they got off the elevator, Johnny followed Piph into a bay.

He is handed some scrubs and pulled away.

"You're wet and need to change."

He hurried into a bathroom and washed up a little and then put on the scrubs. When he came out, Francis is waiting.

"She's still in the bay."

He hurried towards it and then slipped inside.

Monica looked up at him. "We did a rape kit. She wasn't raped, Johnny."

"Thank God. Monica, she's in a bad way. She thinks I'm dead. I can't even repeat what she said to me. Mentally, she's fried."

Monica nodded. "She'll get the best care. Her body temperature is too low and we're going to have to use a feeding tube to get her some nutrients and she'll need a few bags of saline. I'm not going to lie. Her condition is critical, but I think you got to her in time."

Johnny sucks in a harsh breath.

"Once she is settled, I'll come to get you."

"Okay."

He stepped outside, looking weary and fearful.

"What happened?"

"Her body temp is low and she's critical."

Francis gripped Johnny's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Patrick stepped out of Liz's room.

"Is she okay?" Francis asked.

"Yes. She is dehydrated, so I'm giving her some saline."

"Does she have to stay in this room? I'd like to take her to Jason."

Patrick nodded. "I'll arrange transport."

"Does she have to be admitted?" Johnny asked.

"No. The bruises on her neck look worse than they are. She'll be fine."

"Thanks!" Francis said. They need some good news.

They watched as Eva is moved.

"I'll call you when she's settled," Piph said as she moved by.

About ten minutes later, Elizabeth appears in a transport chair.

"Hey. How is she?"

"She's critical. They are going to warm her up and she was severely dehydrated. She mentioned something about a feeding tube."

"They probably weren't feeding her."

Liz's hand slipped into Johnny's. "All we can do is pray and be there for her."

Johnny nodded, to upset to speak.

He walked with them for a bit and then stopped. "I'm going to stay with her."

Liz crooked her finger and Johnny leaned down and she kisses him on the cheek. "Hang in there. You're both very important to me."

"Thank you."

Liz is rolled into an elevator and Francis nods at his friend before the door closes.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Jason is going crazy. "Where the hell is she?" he asked Robin.

"Jason, you need to calm down."

"I'll relax when she's here."

Robin rolled her eyes. "I hear the elevator."

Jason mutters something under his breath.

Elizabeth is pushed into the room and a grin lights up her face.

Jason sucks in a breath, his eyes locking on her neck and then their gaze meets.

"I'm fine."

"He hurt you."

She can see the tension in his face. "You need to calm down."

"I just told him that, but he's not listening."

They park Liz next to the bed and another one is wheeled in.

"What are you doing?" Jason asked.

The nurse focuses on him. "I'm putting her in the bed."

"You're not putting her in that one."

Her head tilts. "Mr. Moore…"

Monica grinned. "It's okay, Leyla. We'll make it work.

Francis gets on the other side and slides Jason over a bit and then helps Liz get on the bed and Leyla adjusted her I.V.

"There," Monica said moving forward. "I was just making sure you were okay. Epiphany is helping with Eva."

"Is she okay?"

"No, but we'll do everything we can."

Jason nodded.

"She almost drowned," Liz said. "Johnny was lowered into a hole and saved her. They tortured her and she lost it," Liz said as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Jason kissed the top of her head. "She'll be okay. She has to be."

"Johnny is a hot mess right now."

"He saved her though." Jason felt useless since he wasn't able to help.

Robin turned away. "I'm going to go take a shower and then lay down. He's stable and doing well even though he was losing his mind."

Liz looked over her shoulder. "Thank you for taking care of him."

Robin nodded and left.

"Did she take our marital status okay?"

"Carly told her."

Liz smirked. "Well, I guess that's okay. I did want to see the look on her face though."

"Oh, it was classic. I set her straight."

"If you hadn't handled, I would have."

He smiled. "I love you, baby."

"Speaking of babies, I need them."

"I'm sure Frisco will stop by. He wants Georgie back too."

She closed her eyes. "It feels so good to be in your arms."

"They are still pretty useless, but I can hold a cup."

"My man is a rockstar."

His eyes fluttered shut. "Rest."

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Johnny sat next to Eva's bed. He can't even hold her hand because she's wrapped in blankets.

"I have a therapist on standby."

"Thank you, Piph."

"She is a great person. I need to braid her hair."

Johnny nodded. "Do you have some leave-in?"

Piph smiled. "What do you think you know about a black woman's hair?"

"Plenty... My girl has the most beautiful hair I've ever seen." He watches her wrap it every night.

Piph chuckled. "Maybe you are a keeper, O'Brien."

"I'm scared."

Piph moved closer. "We'll know what we're dealing with more when she wakes up, but if they weren't letting her sleep, she could be out for a day."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving her side."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "She's going to need your strength."

"She'll have it."

"What did she say when you found her?"

Johnny shook his head.

"You need to let it out."

"I don't know if I can."

Piph nodded at the guard in the hallway and then shut the door.

"That's Richie, by the way."

Piph moved closer. "Talk to me."

Johnny closed his eyes. "She was under the water. I was lowered down and I brought her to the surface. Her ankles were chained, so she was being held under."

"Jesus…"

"I squeezed her a few times. There wasn't much I could do and then she coughed. Her eyes were closed and she said, "I'll sleep with you. Just Stop! Why can't you just let me die?"

Piph's eyes pricked with tears.

"That bastard told her that if she slept with him, he'd let her out of the hole. He was torturing her, making her think I was dead. God knows what else he did. When she opened her eyes, she thought she had died because I was there. It crushed me and then she passed out."

He started to break down, the sheer exhaustion hitting him. Piph hugged him from behind.

"That's it, let it out."

Johnny turned and grabbed her arms as a tear rolled down his face and Piph wondered if either one of them would ever be the same. What Johnny had witnessed was brutal, but it was nothing compared to what Eva had experienced. They simply don't know how she is going to react when she awakes. One thing is for sure, Piph will be there. There is no way she's leaving either one of them alone.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

The next morning, Liz woke up and used the bathroom.

"I can't wait until they take the catheter out," Jason said.

"I know you are hating it. I'm going to call Frisco." She had memorized the emergency number.

"Okay."

Noises are coming from the hallway and Elizabeth's mouth dropped open when Georgie and Milo cleared the doorway, her hands cover her lips as she cried.

Cam lit up and Jake squealed and struggled in Milo's arms.

She held her arms out and it's filled with excited babies.

"Mommy missed you so much."

She kisses them and then turns toward Jason.

The boys get excited again, making Jason smile and then Georgie takes Jake and sits him next to his daddy.

"Hey, son," Jason said as Jake tries to pull himself up higher.

Liz sits next to him and Cam can't decide who he wants to go to, so he grips Liz's shirt and then his dad's.

"Hey, Cam."

He started babbling as Georgie and Milo watch.

"They were good but missed you," Georgie said.

"I can't thank you enough for watching over them."

"Is Eva okay?" Milo asked.

"No. She'll need our prayers."

Milo nodded.

Frisco appeared in the doorway and didn't like that Milo and Georgie are holding hands.

Georgie spotted him and rushes into his arms. "Thank you for helping them."

Frisco kissed her head and then glared at Milo, something Jason caught.

"I'm glad I could help." He retreated. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. It was like a mini-vacation."

He kissed her on the forehead. "You want to tell me why you were holding his hand?"

Liz smirked.

"No. Just because you helped, don't think you can come in here and tell me who to date."

"Georgie…"

Her hands found her hips. "I would think carefully before I uttered another word if I were you."

Frisco smirked. She looks so cute. "We'll talk later, but if he hurts you, they won't be able to find the pieces."

Georgie shook her head.

"I'll see you at Mac's later."

"Okay."

He left and Georgie watched the family for a few more minutes before Robin joined them and they hugged.

"I'm glad you're safe."

"The boys are a lot of fun. They kept me busy."

Robin checked them out. "They are cute."

"They are going to be heart breakers one day."

Robin nodded wishing things could have been different with Jason. "Yeah."

"Robin, this is Jake and the one with the curly hair is Cam," Jason said.

She moved forward. "They are beautiful."

"Thanks."

"I'm going to walk Georgie out. I'll be next door if you need me."

"Okay."

Once they were gone, Liz eyed her husband. "She looked green."

"Too bad. I'm not leaving you for anyone."

"Nice answer."

"It's the only answer."

They played with the boys for a while and then they were stolen by Alan and Monica who got them fed and changed. Eventually, they took them home with them so Liz could stay with Jason, but she will join them for breakfast.