As Tony lifted Elle into his arms and carried her to the van, her head fell against his chest and she closed her eyes.
"I'm…so…cold," she managed to say, her teeth chattering and her lips turning somewhat blue.
"We'll get you warm soon, don't worry," Tony told her.
Jack came rushing towards him. "Is she okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned. What affected Tony affected Jack as well.
"She's been hit in the shoulder and she's really cold," Tony explained. "We need to get her dry and warm. Fast."
In the back of the van, Tony pulled my soaking wet shirt off and wrapped me in his leather jacket. Acute pains shot through my left shoulder and I sobbed quietly, not completely aware of everything that was going on around me.
"It hurts," I managed to say.
"I need something to put on the wound," Tony told Chloe and Renee. Chloe handed him a towel that she had found somewhere in their gear and Tony pressed that down on my shoulder. I whimpered, my body stiffening as worse pain shot through my body.
"Just stay with me," Tony whispered. "I'll get you through this."
"What…about…Mr. Taylor?" I wanted to know. " Someone needs…to help him."
Tony reached down and cupped my face in one of his strong hands. I kissed it lightly with my cold lips. "We'll get him back, Elle. Don't worry. Just rest."
Following Tony's orders, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I was safe, I told myself. Dubaku didn't have me anymore. I was back with Tony.
Somehow, I slipped away into a darkness unlike any I'd ever experience before. It was cold and lonely. I was in pain and nothing I did would stop it. Tony wasn't there. In fact, I was completely alone. It was the worst thing I could ever remember.
When I awoke, I was lying on a couch in the same warehouse that Jack and Tony had taken me to before. A couple of thick blankets were lying over me and the wound in my shoulder was bandaged up well. Slowly, I sat up despite the fact that my head was aching dully. Probably from passing out, I assumed.
My shirt was still missing and someone had removed my soaking wet pants as well, however, right beside the sofa somebody had left me some extra clothes. I slowly pulled the shirt over my head, since moving my left shoulder was hard. Not only did it hurt, but all the muscles felt stiff.
Once I was dressed, I walked out into the larger room of the warehouse. Chloe was sitting at the computer and FBI Agent Walker was cleaning her gun thoroughly.
"Where is everybody?" I wanted to know, rubbing my eyes.
"They went to see what they could do about Henry Taylor. Tony said to tell you that he'd be back as soon as possible."
"Oh, well I think I'll rest until they get back," I decided.
As I lay on the sofa, I thought back to the other good memories I had about Tony. They were few, but I cherished each one.
FLASHBACK:
I woke up lying on the sofa in my apartment. Tony's arms were still wrapped around me and my head was still against his solid chest. I could feel him breathing in and out rhythmically and I realized that my own breathing was perfectly in sync with his. Despite the fact that I didn't want too, I got untangled myself from his arms and got went into the bathroom to take a shower.
When I got out, I pulled on some cheerleading shorts and a thin white tank top, then went to the kitchen to fix some breakfast. It was nine-thirty in the morning and I knew that when Tony woke up, he would be hungry.
As I made coffee, two strong arms slipped around me and I jumped, spilling the coffee grounds. "Tony!" I exclaimed. "You've got to quit scaring me like that!" I turned around in his arms.
"I don't really scare you, do I?" Tony asked, looking down at me seriously.
I brushed my fingertips over the slight scruff of his five o'clock shadow. "No, you don't. I trust you more than anyone else I've ever known."
Tony leaned in close and kissed me slowly and passionately, pulling me so close that our bodies were almost welded together.
"I love you, Elle," he told me, breaking apart briefly to catch his breath.
Tears came to my eyes. It was the first time anyone had ever told me that. "I love you too, Tony."
He kissed me again and this time, he backed me against the wall and knotted his fingers in my hair roughly.