It was still dark outside when Kurtis awoke. He was awakened by the sound of Lara tossing and turning in her sleep. She was having a nightmare, and by the sounds of it; it was getting worse the longer she stayed asleep. Kurtis stood up, stretched and then walked over to the bed. Lara had begun thrashing in her sleep so Kurtis grabbed her wrists and began speaking to her in low tones.

"Croft, calm down." Kurtis kept repeating to Lara. He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them each in turn. Lara visibly relaxed and so did Kurtis. To be honest, it was rare for Kurtis to ever be relaxed, he spent so much time worrying about the people he loved. This causes quite a problem as most of the people he loves end up dead. His father, his mother, the whole of the Lux Veritatis. He didn't want Lara to end up dead because he had gone and done something reckless like go and fall head-over-heels in love with her.

Kurtis then placed both of her hands back under the duvet. He needed to go out and compile more information on Eckhardt and Karel, but he didn't want to leave Lara here; on her own. Eventually he decided he was going to have to if he wanted to get a head start. He wrote a note for Lara if she woke up before he was back.

Lara,
if you wake and I'm gone, I've gone to do some research on Eckhardt and Karel. I'll be back soon.
Kurtis.

He left it on the bedside table and was about to leave when he heard Lara begin to whimper. Kurtis turned to Lara and whispered "I'm sorry"

Half an hour later...

Hearing a loud banging noise, Lara awoke to see the barrel of a gun in her face. She caught a glimpse of the person behind it...Benoit. He was there, with a gun and there appeared to be no Kurtis around. Lara began to wonder. Where on earth was he?

Lara spotted the note and read it from afar. He had gone to do research. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he had left whilst she was sleeping, she would have liked to have gone with him. Then she remembered Benoit was here, with a gun.

Taking a deep breath, Lara attempted to keep herself relaxed. She physically felt that she couldn't relax whilst Kurtis wasn't here. Benoit grabbed hold of her wrist and dragged her out of the bed. Lara winced and tried to bite his wrist, but to no avail.

"Let me go you bastard." Lara said menacingly. Benoit rolled his eyes.
"Listen here you little bitch," Benoit said, shoving her into the bathroom, in which there was only one small window. "Your boyfriend isn't here to save you now so I can have you instead." Lara had to bite her lip to stop herself from being sick at the thought of him.
"Kurtis will be back soon and you'll regret ever crossing us." Lara whispered, breathing deeply. Benoit slapped her across the cheek.
"I don't want to have to hurt you, well not like that anyway." He said smiling evilly, his intent clear.

That was when Lara made play for the gun. They began a dispute on the floor but Benoit had the upper hand as he was bigger. Lara had hold of the gun and was about to pull the trigger when Benoit turned the gun on her as she pulled it. The shot went off and Lara took in a sharp intake of breath. Benoit's eyes widened when he realized what he'd done. He had shot Lady Lara Croft, in cold-blood. Lara turned herself over and gritted her teeth against the pain. Benoit picked up his gun and took one last glance at Lara before walking back to the door and leaving. He had left the door open ajar so Lara tried calling out. It didn't work. She crawled across the floor and slid out the door.

Once in the main room, Lara noticed that Benoit had left the hotel room door open also. She tried calling out again before crawling into the lounge.

"Help...anybody...please." Lara croaked, feeling the darkness on the horizon but trying not to succumb.

22 minutes later...

Kurtis had been at the local library for nearly an hour, checking the archives for information on Karel and Eckhardt. He was exhausted after his interrupted sleep on the dining chair and was now ready to go back to the hotel and sleep off his bad day. About five minutes after he had left Lara; he had felt a sense of adrenaline rushing through his veins as if something bad was going to happen. He had thought nothing of it until now...

Arriving back at the hotel around five minutes later, Kurtis asked the woman at the front desk if Lara had left the hotel at all. When the woman said that Lara hadn't been seen all day, or ordered anything to the room, Kurtis began to wonder what she had been doing since he had left.

Deciding to take the elevator, Kurtis got up the floor that he and Lara were staying on a lot faster than normal. He stepped out of the elevator as he was getting his key out and walked over to the room. The least he could say was that he was surprised. The door had been forced open. Kurtis removed his Boran X from his side holster and cautiously opened the door. Holding the Boran in front of him, Kurtis entered the room and noted that some of the furniture had been moved. Not by much but it was noticeable to him.

Kurtis checked around the suite for any sign of an intruder or even Lara for that matter. Since stepping in, Kurtis had wondered where Lara was. Checking through the whole of the suite, Kurtis finally walked over to the last room; the lounge. He opened the double doors and pointed the gun forward, in defensive position.

Entering the room, he walked around the flower print sofa that had centre stage in the middle of the room. That's where he found Lara. Not only did he find her, he found that she was in a pool of blood. She was knelt on the floor, slouched on the side of the glass coffee table. He was at her side in an instant, checking her now slow pulse.

"C'mon Croft, wake up." Kurtis said; a little sharper than intended. Her eyes opened sleepily "Croft, stay with me, you can't leave me now."

Kurtis was trying not to lose his cool. He knew that if he started getting hysterical, then it would rub off on Lara. He took hold of her shoulders and leaned her on him, giving her more comfort. Using one arm, Kurtis held Lara up with an arm around her shoulders. He could feel her blood seeping through his shirt and he wished that he had never left. He hadn't learned anything that he didn't know before so technically it wasn't worth it. He wished that he had not only left the suite but also that he hadn't ignored the adrenaline rush, which he had now worked out had been Lara's feelings.

Lara began to whimper softly. She wasn't the type of person to let out what she was feeling but the pain was intense. Felling like her insides were on fire, Lara attempted to move but felt herself being restrained. She panicked when she realized it was a person. Could it be Benoit? She asked herself.

Kurtis grabbed the cordless hotel phone and called the paramedics. Their ETA was around five minutes so all Kurtis had to do was keep Lara awake and breathing until help came.

Opening her eyes slightly, Lara could see the silhouette of a person. She tried to move her arms but found herself held tightly in someone's arms. She could hear their voice, telling her to wake up, that help was on its way. Doubts were all that she had. She felt like she was dying and that these could be her last moments. The voice sounded familiar. Was it Kurtis? Had he come to save her?

Kurtis was watching Lara, watching her confused expression. She was in pain, he knew that and he just wished that he could take it away. 'Where are those god damn medics?' Kurtis thought to himself. He hated seeing Lara in pain, especially when it was his fault. He was the one who left her alone after-all. Kurtis stroked a finger down her cheekbone, feeling like he wanted to cry.

Lara focused her eyes on the person, who she now knew was in fact Kurtis. She felt something brush her cheekbone and she revelled in the contact. Her skin ignited at the touch of the one person whose trust she still held, the touch was soft and gentle and she felt like she could have his fingers caress her for eternity. That's when she felt the burn of her wound. She closed her eyes tight, trying to null the pain, but it stayed; like a fire raging an assault on her body.

The medics arrived just as Lara closed her eyes. Kurtis had gone into full panic mode, Lara had gone unconscious and all he could do was watch as the medics worked feverishly. He knew that she was strong, she was a fighter.

He watched as they plunged an IV needle into Lara's hand and an oxygen mask on her face. To Kurtis, Lara looked dead; the only thing that told him otherwise was the steady beeping of the heart monitor that was now attached to her chest. Kurtis carefully stroked Lara's hand with his thumb. He had never shown his feelings before; there was never any need to, but now his love was wounded, maybe even dying and he had never shown her his gratitude to her for saving his life, and he had never told her that he loved her.

He was regretting leaving, all the pent up guilt was now getting to him as he felt Lara's fingers clench around his own. He knew that Lara wouldn't want him feeling this way, but somehow that didn't matter. Lara could be dying right now but there was no way he could know.

Kurtis...? He heard in his mind. He became quite confused by it; he believed that his mind was in shock and that he was imagining Lara's voice.

Kurtis...
Lara? Am I imagining this or is this real?
I...don't...I don't know...Kurt...Kurtis what's...Happening?
Lara! Breathe, just breathe. You'll be okay. Get some sleep; I'll be here when you wake up.
O...Okay...

Kurtis then felt the mental connection waver as Lara fell into a heavily sedated sleep. He wished he knew what her condition was but as he wasn't family, they wouldn't tell him anything.

He sat there, in the waiting room. After dozing off, Kurtis awoke feeling better. He still couldn't get his head around the fact that Lara had been shot. Standing up, Kurtis began to stretch his legs when a nurse caught his attention.

"Mr Trent?" the nurse asked, giving a sympathetic smile. Kurtis looked up and focused his eyes on the nurse.
"Yeah, who's asking?" Kurtis asked; his tone cold. The nurse rolled her eyes before replying.
"I'm Nurse O'Connell; I've been dealing with Miss Croft." The nurse said, her pride unmissable in her tone.
"How is she? Can I see her?" Kurtis asked, his questions overlapping one another.
"She's stable for now, if she makes it through the next twelve hours then she should be fine" Nurse O'Connell said. "And yes, you can see her now. Follow me"

She led the way down the corridor and through to ICU. She slid her card through the ID slot and was granted access, leading Kurtis though the ward. He casually stumbled behind the nurse, making quick work of her slow pace.

Nurse O'Connell escorted Kurtis to Lara's room; room 16. She opened the door and let Kurtis through.

"Visiting hours were over awhile ago but you can stay for a bit" the nurse said, letting herself out of the room. Kurtis nodded as he stood just inside the room, near the entrance. He looked at Lara's fragile form; she looked so pale and lost. Kurtis gingerly walked over to her bedside and placed his hand on hers. Using his other hand, Kurtis dragged over the nearest chair and sat down.

"Oh God Lara, what have we gotten ourselves into?" Kurtis asked no-one imparticular. Kurtis looked down at his hands where his fingers had entwined with Lara's. Because of this, he didn't see Lara's eyelids twitching, her body on the verge of awakening. Her perfectly sculptured lips parted as her body took in the much needed air from the mask on her face.

She felt her throat tighten as she tried to talk to Kurtis, who she spied sitting in the chair next to her bed as she took in her surroundings. Her eyelids felt like they were weighed down with lead weights. Using the hand that wasn't already occupied, Lara carefully removed the mask from her face. Kurtis felt Lara twitch and looked up as she removed the oxygen mask. He smirked at her when she smiled at him.

"Hey," Lara rasped; her voice croaky with underuse. Kurtis gave her hand a slight squeeze to show he was there. "How...How long have...have you...been here?" she asked, her voice becoming wheezy. Kurtis placed the mask back on Lara's face, and he felt her body relax.
"Keep the mask on," Kurtis admonished. "It's helping you breathe, your body shut down and it had to be jump started again. You're lucky to be alive" Kurtis said, kissing her knuckles.
"I know," Lara whispered as her eyelids drooped. Kurtis stood and kissed her forehead.
"Sleep Lara. Sleep." Kurtis whispered before lounging in the chair and going to sleep himself.

He awoke when one of the night nurses was checking Lara's vitals. He stretched his legs and then his arms and glanced over at Lara's sleeping form. Lara was having a dream from what Kurtis could tell and that relaxed him; knowing that she had survived the night was a sign that she was definitely going to pull through.

Silently walking, Kurtis stepped out of Lara's room and out of the doors of the hospital. 'God I need a cigarette' he thought to himself, pulling one out of the packet and grabbing his lighter. He had nearly lit it when, in the corner of his eye, he spotted a mercenary. He quickly replaced the cigarette in the packet and hurried back into the hospital.

As soon as he entered the ward he had broke into a run. His senses in overdrive as he neared Lara's room, only to find her room empty.

"Lara? Lara!" Kurtis shouted. He jumped when the bathroom door opened abruptly and Lara limped out. She saw the look on his face.
"What? Kurtis, what is it?" Lara asked, panicked.
"We need to leave, now. So get dressed and be ready in five minutes." Kurtis said, stalking out of the room and disappearing down the corridor.

Lara dressed quickly, not wanting to keep Kurtis waiting. She was just pulling her tank top on when a series of screaming and shouting began from down the corridor.