Summary: Linda has been kidnapped by some wizards looking for Hastings, she doubts he'll bother showing. It's not like he cares about her that much anyway

Authors Note: So this one I found in it's own separate document - I guess because at the time it didn't really seem to fit in to any of the other collections I'd already started up. It's just another way in which I imagined Lee and Linda getting together. Again this was also written in 2007 (do I need to keep repeating this?) so I've tried to edit things like grammar and spelling but largely left it untouched.

She felt fear grip her, would he come? Would he? It had been three days, it was nearly midnight. Would he get her? The wizards waited around her, grinning. They had already guessed the outcome. He wouldn't come.

"He's not coming, just as we thought," sneered one wizard, the leader.

"There is still an hour!" Linda answered back fiercely but her hope had already died. Why did she think he would come save her? Why? If Linda was in his position, not even she would save herself. Not after what she had done. Not after how annoying she must've been.

She hid her panic well, slowly the minutes went down, 12:00 was closing in. Then the 'bong' of a grandfather clock could be heard in the grand entrance of the mansion. Linda tried hard not to struggle out her bonds like a panicked animal. It took much self-control to keep her face straight and her breathing normal. She forced herself not to move, not to show fear. A wizard tilted her face up and she glared up at him, he grinned back.

"We'll have fun with you… little witch!" growled the wizard, his fingers burned and Linda tried not to wince. She succeeded, but a tear did stream down her face because of the pain.

"Still not gonna shout and scream? Damn girl, you're strong!" another wizard called, he was young, looked like a teenager.

They toyed with her, tortured her into revealing everything she knew about Leander Hastings, his plans, his goals, where he was hiding. She never opened her mouth once. Not even to yell. She was exhausted, the sheer willpower it took to keep her mouth shut for so long, the skin under her nails was bleeding. That's how hard she had dug her nails into her skin. The wizards laughed, one chucked flames at her, they narrowly flew past her face, burning the tip of her nose. Then they healed it, if ever so slightly and did it again and again.

Suddenly a yell was heard. The other wizards turned, another wizard fell, then more. One by one they seemed to drop lifelessly to the ground. Soon only three were left, the teenager, the leader and another wizard who seemed about middle-aged and very smart.

"Who's there? Come out!" called the leader of the group.

Nothing.

"Damn chicken," grumbled the youngest wizard. He fell dead a second later.

"Come on out… we can talk about this," murmured the leader again.

"I'm afraid talking, is out of the question," Linda sat up at the sound of the voice. Her heart skipped a beat and for a moment she forgot all about the torture she had been through.

"Who are you?" the leader whispered quietly.

"Good question, sadly… I'm not going to answer," A jet of flames spiralled quickly towards the two standing wizards, they ran… both… straight into a bolt of lightning. No remains were left. Hastings stood still, his hands raised slightly from his attack. Linda stared at him, wondering what he would do. He took a step closer and a ball of flame appeared on his right hand. He used his other hand to loosen the knots and set Linda's bounds free. She stood up shakily.

"Y-You… came…?" It came out as a question.

He didn't move. The darkness of the mansion closed in around them. Suddenly she felt herself wrapped up in a strong hug. Then Lee stepped back as fast as he had come onto her, he looked at the ground as if embarrassed.

"I was… delayed…" He murmured. Linda looked questioningly at his face.

"Um…" Linda murmured, she felt awkward. Lee Hastings had just hugged her. Why? "Why… did you come?" she asked.

He looked and stared at her, the look on his face, she couldn't read it at all. It seemed pained but she couldn't imagine why. He stepped closer to her, even closer until he was right in front of her and she had to tilt her head to look up at him. His eyes were dark, there was a wave of emotion that flickered in his eyes, but Linda couldn't read it. His hands reached behind her and pulled her close to his body. He held onto her as if afraid she would disappear. Then his grip loosened and Linda stepped back slightly, his arms were still wrapped around her. She was confused.

"I…" Hastings started awkwardly. The silence stretched.

"You…?" Linda persisted.

"Maybe… this will explain…" He murmured slowly, he pulled her in closer, hesitated and then held her close to him again. He tiled her chin up and stared into her confused eyes and then lightly kissed her on the lips. The light kiss soon turned into one of passion and Linda's arms which had been hanging uselessly at her side automatically wrapped themselves around Hastings in an attempt to hopefully pull him in even closer to maximise the feel of the kiss.

He stepped back first, awkwardly. Linda hid a smile at his uneasiness.

"Shouldn't get… carried away…" he muttered, not noticing her grin.

"Right…" she answered back. A rosy tinge was on her cheeks. "Um… Lee…?" she whispered, he nodded in the darkness for her to speak. "Thanks." She said lamely, "and… I'm… well, I'm sorry for being such a-" she was cut off, his finger was on her lips to silence her.

"a bother? Such a big annoyance?" a light smile played on the edge of his lips. "That's one of the reasons I think I have fallen for you," he whispered, his voice was husky. Linda stared back wide-eyed and then smiled herself and leaned in for another kiss.