New chapter time! Yay! I liked the reviews, guys. You make my day. I'm going to respond to them right after posting this.

Chapter 5

In which Kevin is mortified.

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My head hurts, was the first thought that went through my mind when I regained consciousness. My jaw was throbbing, as well. I thought a stitch had popped, but I couldn't be sure without a mirror. I groaned and lifted my head up from where I was laying very uncomfortably.

"Hello?" I rasped out, wincing at the sound of my voice. I was in a dark, empty room with no windows. "Hello?" I called out again. What had happened?

I quickly found my answer as I licked my lips to get some moisture back into them, grimacing at the taste of Chloroform. The day came rushing back to me, and I groaned, resting my head back down on the floor.

"Oh, god. Javi," I whimpered into the carpet. What if they had done something to him, as well? I allowed myself to freak out for a few minutes before I heard the tumblers clicking open in the door's lock. The door opened, and I lifted my head to see Mikhail, carrying a bag slung over one shoulder.

"Oh, good, you are awake," he said with a toothy smile that wasn't in the least bit pleasant.

"What'd you do with Javi?" I managed to groan out, sitting up and glaring at the large man.

"Oh, your partner?" Mikhail smirked. "Absolutely nothing. You are the only one that my employer wants. It's too risky to take one detective, let alone two." My shoulders slumped in relief. Javi was safe.

"Do not look so happy, boy," Mikhail said, noticing my obvious relief. "I'm going to have quite a bit of fun with you. You and that partner have caused me quite a bit of trouble." I eyed him suspiciously.

"What kind of fun?" I asked, not able to help myself. Mikhail grinned and reached into the bag.

"First, I must make sure you do not fight back." And with that, he pulled out a syringe filled with a green liquid. I gulped, inching away from the large needle.

"Now, now," Mikhail murmured walking towards me and griping my hair. I struggled against him, but he was bigger and stronger than me, and he eventually got the needle into my neck. I whimpered in protest and held still, trying not to move the needle.

The injection felt like fire spreading slowly through my veins, expanding to the tips of my toes before it dulled off into a lethargic state that I later thought resembled roofies.

"Wha?" I mumbled. I would've sunk down to the floor, if not for Mikhail strong hold on my hair. My vision went blurry, and all I could hear was the sound of a zipper.

"Suck," came the command, before something hot, hard, and unwelcome forced its way into my mouth and down my throat. I chocked and gasped, drawing back.

"Keep your mouth on me, boy, or I will blow your brains out." Dimly, I felt tears streaking down my face, and heard a pathetic 'no' come out of my mouth, but soon I was being choked again and I let Mikhail fuck my mouth, sobbing around his throbbing length. His grunts got increasingly louder, and after a particularly loud one, the taste of bitter salt filled my mouth, and I gagged as he shoved me to the ground, trying to get his essence out of my mouth as soon as possible.

"That was nice, boy," Mikhail growled out. I heard him zip up his pants and saw his fuzzy figure approach me.

"Nononononononononononononono." It came as a constant stream out of my mouth as he drew back his boot to kick me. The first blow landed in my stomach, the second on my ribs, and the third on my head. I curled in on myself in a vain attempt to ward off the blows, but they kept raining down on me until the door finally opened.

"Mikhail, what are you doing?" A new voice said, causing Mikhail to stop and turn around. "You know the boss would rather him be in one piece when we transport him." I risked uncurling myself to blink wearily up at the man in the door. I couldn't make him out at all; my eyes couldn't seem to focus on him. The man walked over to me, and yanked me up off the ground, making me whimper again from the pain radiating from my abused body.

"Thomas, wait," Mikhail said. "Just let me do one more thing, just to see what he knows." Tomas waited for Mikhail to speak further.

"Whipping seems to have a large effect without permanently maiming someone." Thomas hesitated before I saw the blurry figure in front of me nodded. I struggled weakly as my shirt was ripped from me, and I was forced to lean against the wall, bracing my bruised arms against it.

The first crack of what I could only assume was a belt was like lightning flashing down my back. A cry escaped my lips and my screams only escalated. I knew that I later wouldn't remember what I had sobbed out in between lashes, but I was pretty sure that I hadn't given away any information about the case. When Mikhail was done, I sank to the floor again, a quivering mess of bruised and bloodied skin. I was sure that I had a concussion and at least one broken rib.

Both men left the room, arguing about something, and I drifted off into blissful unconsciousness.

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The next thing I heard was the sound of the door breaking in.

"Oh, mi Corazon," a hoarse voice whispered. "Lo siento no he tenido aquí antes. Oh, dios. Bebé, lo siento mucho." I lifted my head from my curled up position on the floor. My eyesight was a little bit better, so I could dimly make out a familiar figure standing in the doorway.

"Javi?" I whispered, barely able to believe that the figure I saw in the doorway was really him.

"Yeah, Kev, I'm here," he murmured, rushing over to my side and kneeling down next to me. "Oh, dios. What did they do to you, Corazon?" I shook my head, grimacing when even that small amount of movement caused my head to swim.

"They drugged me," I told him, voice weak. "I think they wanted information and then they were going to send me to their employer." I felt an arm slide around my back, catching on the lashes and another hooking under my knees.

"Alright, let's get you out of here." He hoisted me up against his chest and I curled against it, suddenly feeling very cold.

"How'd you guys find me?" I murmured. Javi's arms tightened around me for a moment and then he spoke, walking out the door.

"I gave some of the nurses a description of Mikhail for them to keep an eye out for, in case they came after Alexa," he started. "One of the nurses looked startled; said she'd recognized him. He had passed by a minute beforehand. He was supposedly transporting a patient to another hospital. So, we put two and two together once we figured out you were missing, and we found the ambulance they had taken. It was abandoned in an alley." By the time he had gotten that far, we had walked out of the building and almost straight into Lanie.

"Oh, sweetie," she murmured, pressing a cool hand to my bruised face. "Oh, god." She jerked her hand away suddenly.

"What is it?" Javi asked. I vaguely saw Lanie shake her head and gesture with one hand to a vague flat surface a bit further on. Javi walked over and carefully laid me down on what felt like a gurney. I shivered from the lack of warmth, it was winter after all.

"I need to talk to Ryan," Lanie told him. When he didn't move from my side, I assume she glared at him and I heard a stern "ALONE." Javi shuffled away, and I felt his absence almost immediately. If Lanie hadn't been there as well, I might have panicked.

"Ryan," she started, touching the corner of my mouth. I flinched away, the abrasions and cuts from when Mikhail forced himself on my itching in discomfort. She sighed and dropped her hand. "These are the classic signs for, you know-" I stopped her before she could finish.

"Yes, I know, Lanie." She rested her hand on my shoulder and I leaned into it gratefully. "It happened, and I would rather forget that it did." I watched her nod and beckon Javi back over to the gurney.

"He's got a concussion, two broken ribs, lash marks from a belt all up and down his back, and multiple cuts and bruises," she told the both of us after a thorough examination. "I don't know what they gave him, but I'm going to recommend blood tests when we get to the hospital." I saw Javi nod, and he helped load me into the back of an ambulance.

"Can I ride with you guys?" Javi asked. I missed the last part of the exchange between them, but apparently Javi had gotten her permission, because he climbed into the back of the ambulance with me and held onto my hand as the drugs from the IV Lanie put in me while I wasn't paying attention lulled me into unconsciousness.

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When I next woke, it was to a steady beeping noise and a heavy weight draped over my legs. I groaned and blinked up at the ceiling. That's right, Javi found me, I thought. Looking down at my legs I smiled as Javi's face came into view. He had his head on one leg and his arm draped across both.

"He's been here for almost a day," Lanie's voice came from the right. "If I were you, I wouldn't wake him up. He must've driven himself half mad with worry by now." I smile down at the sleeping figure and nodded, barely resisting the temptation to reach down and stroke his head.

"Does he know?" I asked, suddenly remembering about the one aspect about my kidnapping I desperately didn't want him to know about. Lani's face tightened, and she nodded.

"He saw when they brought the rape kit in," she told me. I turned my face away, wondering what Javi must think of me. Lanie sat beside me on the other side of the bed to Javi.

"Sweetie, he doesn't blame you," she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "If anything, he blames himself for letting you out of his sight. He blames that bastard who did this to you as well. He stormed into the interrogation room and had to be restrained my five people in order to not beat the shit out of him." I looked at her, confused.

"But it wasn't his fault," I protested. She shook her head.

"That's not how he sees it," she informed me. "It's his job to protect you, and, in his point of view, he failed." I shook my head and then remembered something important.

"The girl, Alexa. She's part of this." Lanie smiled and patted the hand which held the IV. I grimaced at it and placed it under the blanket.

"Beckett's already arrested her." I nodded. I knew she would put two and two together quickly.

"So, what happened after they found the ambulance?" Lanie grinned.

"We got lucky," she said. "A passerby happened to spot the car pealing out of the alley, and gave us a make, model, and partial." I shook my head in wonderment.

"If not for that, you guys might have never found me." Lanie smiled and shook her head again.

"Javi would've kept looking until the end of time itself." I looked at her, puzzled.

"Why would he do that?" Lanie rolled her eyes.

"Lord, almighty!" She cried. "I am tired of you two dancing around each other. You both are madly in love, why can't you just admit it?" I jerked back, startle.

"Wha-? No," I protested. "I don't feel that way, and he certainly doesn't, either." She gave me a pitying look.

"Do you know what he said to you when he found you?" She asked. "I was there, behind him. I heard the whole thing." I nodded hesitantly. "He said 'Oh, my heart. I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner. Baby, I'm so sorry." I snorted, even though it sent my heart racing and my mind whirling.

"My heart? You must have mistranslated." She shook her head.

"It's a term of endearment, Kevin," she informed me. He's been head over heels in love with you for years now, and you have been as well. You just don't seem to realize it." I shook my head and glared at her.

"No way in hell," I told her. "Javier's straight and there's nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise." Lanie opened her mouth like she was about to argue with me, but Javi stirred on my legs and blinked sleepily at my face.

"Kev?" He mumbled. I shrank back and turned my head away, not wanting to see the look of disgust on his face as he remembered what I allowed Mikhail to do to me. A thumb stroked my knee and Javi's face came into my line of vision. "What's wrong?" An annoyed huff came from Lanie and I turned to look at her; Javi kept his eyes on me.

"Ryan's busy being a baby, Espo," she told him. I flushed and glared at her again. "He thinks his IV's going to jump out and eat him." I blinked in surprise. She wasn't going to say anything to Javi about our conversation? The astonishment must have shown on my face because Javi eyed me suspiciously and Lanie rolled her eyes.

"Your IV can't hurt you," Javi said, pulling out my hand from underneath the blanket and putting it in front of my face. I began to feel a bit queasy. "See? It's already in?"

"Yeah, but it's in me," I muttered, tugging the hand back and pulling the covers over it once more. Javi chuckled and patted my knee, which his hand was still resting on. Lanie glanced at the hand pointedly and smiled knowingly. I barely resisted the urge to stick my tongue out like a five year old.

"How are you feeling?" Javi asked, ignoring the silent exchange between Lanie and I. I shrugged and moved my shoulders around a bit.

"I can feel the pain, but it's like it's not important," I told him. He nodded.

"Lanie said that would happen." I sighed and looked around at the white walls.

"When can I get out of here?" I asked petulantly. Lanie laughed at me, and even Javi let out a relieved sort of smile, now that I was seemingly back to my old self.

"When the doctor clears you," he said, lifting up the remote on the bedside, and pressing a button.

I sighed in relief as soon as the doctor waked into the room. There was only too much of Javi's intense stares and Lanie's knowing smirks one could take before they went criminally insane.

"Detective Ryan?" She asked. I nodded. "How are you feeling?" I shrugged and told her the same thing I had told Javi.

"Okay, well we can release you into someone's care," she told me. "Otherwise, you have to stay here under 24-hour guard." I groaned and rubbed my not blackened eye.

"And whose orders are these?" I asked tiredly. The doctor's smile was pitying.

"The captains." So no way to circumvent that, I thought, annoyed. Javi cleared his throat and the doctor gave him a questioning look.

"He's been staying with me, so he already has a place at my apartment," he told her. I sank back into the bed, nervous about sharing an apartment with the man after my newfound crush on him. He apparently took my movement for one that was frightened, and quickly added. "But if you don't, I understand." I shook my head and gripped his hand where it still rested on my leg.

"I would like that," I told him, still not looking at him. "Thanks." I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye, and he squeezed my hand gently. The doctor smiled as well.

"Alright, but I don't want any activity from you," she told me, her voice stern. "You are to stay in bed for the next three days." I nodded, listening to her rattle off what I needed to be eating, and how many times a day I should take my pain pills.

"Thank you, doctor," Lanie said when she was finished. "I'll check in on them every now and then to make sure Javi hasn't killed him." The doctor grinned and squeezed Lanie's shoulder.

"That's a good idea, Lanie. Now, we need to set up a follow-up appointment just to make sure that your ribs are healing fine and that there's no lasting brain damage." I nodded, and let Javi take care of the rest for me.

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Javi had to help me in and out of the car, and the entire elevator ride up, I had to lean on him for support. I curled into the gentle arm around my waist and tried to forget that it was just Javi trying to help his wounded and drug-addled partner. When we got up to the apartment, he half-carried me into the room, and laid me down on the bed.

"Stay here," he told me, as if I were capable of going anywhere else. "I'm going to go get some water for your pills." I nodded, and watched him leave, sinking into the multitude of pillows surrounding me. The bed still smelled like that soothing scent of cinnamon and vanilla, and I turned my head and nuzzled a pillow.

"Here you go bro." Javi returned with the water and I, with his assistance, sat up enough to drink it and swallow the two pills. He handed to me.

"Thanks, Javi," I murmured, smiling up at him. He smiled back and patted my head.

"You're welcome. Now go to sleep. I'll be out in the living room if you need me." I frowned. It was already eleven at night, but shrugged it off. Javi would go to bed whenever he wanted to. Not a moment sooner, nor a moment later.

"'kay," I murmured, eyes already drifting shut. The weight from Javi's body left the bed, and I frowned in disappointment before falling into a deep sleep.

My dreams were horrible, of Mikhail taking it even further, beating me into a near unconscious state before ripping off my clothing and raping me brutally. I must have cried out in my sleep, because a gentle hand shook me awake. I started, wincing at the sudden, painful movement and Javi's face appeared in front of my eyes.

"Kev, it's alright," he murmured. "It's okay, it was just a nightmare." I let him reach out and pull me against his chest, curling into his warmth. We sat there for a few minutes, my short, wretched sobs slowly fading into deep, even breathing. Javi laid me back down on the bed and stroked the hair out of my face.

"Go back to sleep," he murmured. I glanced over at his unmade side of the bed and sighed.

"Only if you come sleep here, too." He scowled, but relented. I curled up against him in the same position I had found us in that first night days ago. "Helps me sleep," I muttered, eyes falling shut again. A tentative hand twined into my hair, and I drifted off, at peace for the moment.

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