The Ties that Bind

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A.N. I think I'm getting better with the updating. It's only been what? Two weeks? I have up to chapter 7 on my IPod but I might cut this down to six chapters. I'm not sure I'll see how it goes; it appears that my Iron Man stage has come and gone. Ah well, enjoy! Also note the rating change.

Rhodey POV

There were hands on my skin, they felt like heaven but they were trembling. I groaned lightly as my consciousness returned and opened my eyes only to close them again as lighting went through my brain. The back-up lights were on and the light coning from them was pathetically dim but it was still brighter than the total blackness I desired. I went to sit up but a pair of soft hands on my chest stopped me. "You have a head injury Colonel Rhodes, it would be beneficial for you to remain lying down," the voice trembled and I looked up to see Madeline above me. As I watched she slowly sat back placing her hands in her lap and I instantly missed how they had felt on my body. I nodded and moved myself into a sitting position and closed my eyes waiting for the spinning to stop. When the world was turning at a rate I could handle I looked back over at Madeline. Her hair was dishevelled slightly and even at that she had to be the sexiest woman I had ever seen in my life. My second observation was that she was trembling, and that apart from a thin cut on her cheek she appeared fine. A second run over her body with my eyes told me I was wrong.

Upon second glance I realized that her wrist was slightly off. At the sight my military training kicked in and I reached over to get a better look at her wrist. As I did so she cowered slightly and I cursed my stupidity. "I'm not going to hurt you Madeline. I just want to help, I see you've hurt you wrist," I felt like a negotiator trying to talk someone out of jumping off a forty story building. Madeline was flat against the opposite wall of the elevator and I felt helpless. I had never wanted anything more than to know why she was like this. Had someone hurt her? Had she hurt someone and didn't want to do it again? Something told me that although she was capable of it, she would probably never do such a thing. I really didn't want to even think of the first option, the very thought of someone's hands on her that weren't loving made me anger.

Made me furious.

I glanced back up at her and frowned erasing the thoughts from my memory. I held out my hand and waited, "Let me help you Madeline. I know first aid, it's mandatory at work." It felt like deja-vu waiting for her hand again. Slowly she placed her hand in mine, wincing slightly at the slight exertion put on her wrist. I moved myself over to her slowly so that I could get a better look at her wrist given the crap lighting in the elevator. It was red and swollen, but from what I could tell it wasn't broken. It looked to be a bad sprain at best, but even at that it was probably still extremely painful. I lowered her hand to my lap and sighed, "Does it hurt a lot? It's not broken. But I still imagine it hurts." She frowned and shrugged saying nothing, no doubt trying to play it down.

"Listen honey, I know it hurts but you're going to have to work with me on this one because we don't know how long we're going to be own here." I'm not sure where I drew enough courage to drop my formal façade, but all I wanted to do was help her and I couldn't do that if she was fighting me. I heard her sigh shakily and looked up at her, "It… It hurts a lot actually. It's not so bad now, just kind of numb…" I silently thanked whatever deity was helping us to communicate. I nodded and looked around; there wasn't anything here that would help me wrap her wrist. "Do you happen to have anything that I could use to wrap your wrist with? Like a ribbon? Or a belt?" I almost died when she handed me a tensor bandage, "You carry a tensor bandage around with you? Cautious little thing aren't you?"

She smiled lightly and a small laugh escaped her, "Yeah I guess, I just don't being unprepared." I smiled lightly as I began to wrap her wrist, the fact that she was putting a lot of trust in me not lost on me. After I had finished I carefully gave her her wrist back and leant against the wall. My head hurt like hell, "Fuck." I sighed lightly and closed my eyes rubbing my temples trying to push away the pounding headache. Without warning the elevator dropped a good twenty feet causing me to fight to keep my consciousness. The pain that shot through my brain caused my eyesight to go black in some places. When I could see straight again I glanced over at Madeline and frowned. Her knees were pulled to her chest and she had her arms wrapped around them, her head resting on her knees. She was trembling. I frowned and crawled over to her putting a hand on her arm. The fact that she didn't flinch from my touch worried me, "Maddy baby you okay?" She didn't answer and continued to tremble, "Madeline, honey talk to me." I shook her lightly and realized my mistake instantly when a sob escaped her lips.

I had absolutely no fucking clue what to do with a crying woman.

I sat there for a moment watching her cry. After the initial shock I reached out to her with very slow deliberate movements I wrapped my arm around her whilst slowly pulling her into my lap. I felt her tense and fight against me slightly but her resistance was minimal and she curled herself into my arms. "I….I'm so so…..sorry!" Her sobs made me want to die. The fact that she was this terrified disturbed me.

I frowned and rubbed small circles into her back, "You have no reason to be sorry, please don't ever apologize for being afraid." We stayed that like in silence as I listened to her sobs slowly begin to subside. After a couples minute we were just sitting in silence which was interrupted by voices coming from the other side of the door. I shifted Madeline's weight so I could lean closer to the door listening intently. Madeline stayed silent, clinging to my shirt staying close to me. As I listened the voices came closer, the word became for apparent but the voices were unfamiliar. Careful so as not to disturb Madeline, I began to yell to the voices. The sound bounced off the walls of the elevator making my head throb to the point of being insensate. I could hear the voices answer on the other side of the door. They made fast work of the doors and within in five minutes they were open. Ignoring the voices telling me not to I stood walking out the elevator carrying Madeline in my arms.