A/N: My dear readers. Here comes the second story of the one-shot-collection.

Partners

It is rated T for the mention of torture.

This story is beta-read by Daemon. All remaining mistakes are my own. :D

Enjoy!

Chloe stared at the flickering light above her. It was the only thing that kept her awake, day and night. She didn't know how long she'd been here already, or what time it was. But she knew, she wouldn't let them win. So she kept herself awake.

The wounds on her wrists where the chains had cut deeply into her flesh sent a sharp pain through her body. But pain was good. It meant she was still alive. She chuckled and then shivered again from the cold within her, caused by her wet clothes sticking to her. She leant her head against her arm, the only rest she allowed her emaciated body; the only rest she allowed herself when they didn't look. But as soon as they came back, and that they did often enough, she would straighten her head again, staring them directly into their eyes. And no sound would leave her mouth when they connected the wires to her body again, sending shock waves through her.

But she also knew her strength was ceasing. She could barely hold her eyes open when one of the guards rushed into the room, barring the door. She tried to straighten her head again, tried to keep her eyes open, but it didn't work this time. She was too exhausted. Sleep was already in her bones, gnawing at every cell in her body. Her lips were dry, and she still smelled the dried blood from where they were cracked open. But albeit she was so thirsty, each time when they had come back into the room and she had glared at them, she had only slowly tilted her head backwards when the water was poured down on her, letting it look like she didn't really need anything from them. But secretly she eagerly awaited the liquid, drinking it hastily before they turned it off and started the electroshocks. She didn't care about those shocks. They were so many, so often, that she already got used to it.

She also didn't feel the hunger any longer. That only added up to her exhaustion. Her energy was running low. She knew that. And she also knew that no one else was aware of where she was. She'd still been on medical leave from the shot wound in her shoulder that Jimmy Barnes had given her. The wound that was throbbing so painfully now. But villains didn't care about pain or sick notes. Especially not when they were old faces that still had a bone to pick with her, or several.

She was tired, so tired that she'd already thought about giving up. But that wasn't an option for her.

She couldn't give up now.

She wouldn't!

Screams were echoing through the building, accompanied by shots being fired. Chloe opened her eyes again, staring at the door that was suddenly ripped open as if it was made of paper. Then, a figure entered the cold and sticky cell of hers. The guard who had hidden in here tried one final attack towards the figure which looked like Hellboy, but without the horns and was thinner, much thinner, right out of a comic book.

Hellboy threw the guard through the room, and with a loud bounce, he smashed into the opposite wall before he fell limply to the ground. Chloe blinked again and saw Hellboy turning to her, his fiery red eyes staring at her like two laser points. She grinned cheekily. She didn't know why, but grinning seemed the most reasonable thing to do now.

She shut her eyes for another brief moment, and when she opened them again, Hellboy was gone; replaced by a man approaching her, covered in black, the same fiery eyes fixed on her as he came closer.

Her mind was playing her tricks, Chloe concluded. It had to be; caused by the dehydration and lack of nutrition. She took a breath. Her whole body hurt when she filled her lungs, too exhausted to even breathe properly, and she chuckled again. But it quickly died down. As well as the grin on her face, which shrunk into a faint smile. She shut her eyes again.

The next thing she recognised were two warm hands on her cheeks, lifting up her head, and the warmth from their fingers spread through her body, awakening the last resorts of energy that were still inside of her, giving her new strength, and she opened her eyes again.

Two brown pupils were staring at her now. They looked gentle and strongly reminded her of brown tempest stones. Her mother had had a thing for stones when she was young, especially those with spiritual powers. She'd never believed in such things, but right now, she could feel this power running through her body, heating her up, supplying her with the much-needed energy. Just like what tempest stones were known of.

The two warm hands wandered from her cheeks down beneath her shoulders, grabbing her, and lifted her up. Her own arms were so stiff that she didn't even have to keep them straight to free the chains from the hook. She let her arms drop down, and they landed on a hard but also soft cushion, covered by fabric. No, not only cushion. Her fingers grabbed at something; something that was small and smooth and she could rub it in between them.

Chloe opened her eyes again as she felt herself being lifted in a somewhat horizontal position, and this time she could concentrate enough to recognise a face. "Oh, Lucifer," she uttered and a pleased smile appeared on her face again.

"Hello, Chloe," she heard his calm voice reply.

"You were Hellboy," she commented and let out a low chuckle, closing her eyes again and playing a little longer with the soft hair on the back of his head.

"I was what?" Lucifer questioned, staring down at the limp figure in his arms. He smiled relieved at her, even though she couldn't see it. Her eyes had closed again as he carried her out of the room. Her head rested on his shoulder, close to his ear. He felt even breaths leaving her mouth, and gripped tighter around her.

Lucifer had told himself that he only rescued her because she was a much too interesting human being to let die. But when he got the frantic call from the douche, asking him if Chloe was with him, if he'd seen her; when he'd heard the panic in his voice, something else had stirred up inside of him. Something he couldn't quite decipher, yet.

He stepped outside, barely registering the several S.W.A.T. teams rushing into the building when he made his way over to the ambulance vehicle. These little humans were too slow. As always! They'd waited for more than a day before they called him. It had taken Maze only an hour, two at most, to find out who had captured her, and where she was. And he'd decided to go there by himself.

No, he would not have relied on the S.W.A.T. team to get her out. Not when it came to Chloe. He would never entrust her life to someone else.

They were partners now: He was hers, and she was his.

She was his.

A/N: The end. I hope you liked it. Please leave a comment and let me know :D

Have a nice day!

:o)