Annahlea woke with a jolt staring at what looked to be a cave ceiling above her. She started to panic as she noticed that her nightmare was actually a reality. She was in Afghanistan, she was caught in cross fire and she and Tony were captured.
Tony.
She quickly went to raise but found it very difficult, almost as if someone was sitting on her while driving a pole into her lungs.
"Be very careful, your lung was punctured by your broken rib. Get up to quickly and you may tear the stitching and I'll have to redo it. We have no more anesthesia," a male voice called to her. Heeding the advice she slowly sat up, mindful of her ribs and looked to the voice. Finding an older gentleman sitting in a chair absorbing her she shrunk back into her "bed".
"I am not your captor, I am like you, here against my will. My name is Yinsen," he introduced, holding out his hand. Cautiously, she took it replying, "Annahlea DeMarco. Would say nice to meet you but I have a feeling we've met before."
"You have a very good memory Ms. DeMarco, we met in Bern for a few moments nearly eight years ago," he smiled at her.
"Yeah well, in my life it's important to never forget a face," she replied, also smiling. It was then she noticed what she was dressed in, only a couple of layers of bandages around her chest, her stomach exposed, a scratchy wool coat and some loose burlap pant with a rope around her hips.
"Yinsen, can you tell me what happened? What's going on? Where Tony is?" she asked almost begging.
"Your convoy was ambushed on the way back to base Miss-"
"Please, just call me Annah."
"Annah. During so you and Mr. Stark were in the very close proximity of a missile which exploded beside you. It appears though as Mr. Stark covered you from the blast quite well, as you only had a few shards in your upper bicep. But, the blast sent you back and you hit a rock, thus your unconsciousness and Mr. Stark landed upon you, thus the broken rib and punctured lung. I went in and fixed your lung and set your rib, everything is okay it will just need extra care and will be very sore. You were pretty lucky, in a way," he told her.
"And, Tony?" she asked, fearing the worst and her heart ripping in two as she watched Yinsen heave a sigh.
"Mr. Stark received the blunt of the attack, a large amount of shrapnel penetrating his chest. I was able to remove some, but some was still heading towards his left ventricle. I placed an electromagnet in him, to keep the metal from invading and he is currently hooked to car battery in order to power it. Meanwhile he is asleep and under anesthesia, the pain with last a while, and he will need time for the body to adjust, so I put him under a dosage that will last a month," Yinsen explained.
"He's alive? Thank god," Annahlea could once again breathe as she let out a few tears of joy, looking away she smiled to herself as she calmed herself from the idea of the one person she couldn't live without, being with her still.
"You love him," Yinsen stated, interrupting her thoughts. It wasn't a question, and Annahlea looked back in surprise at him, before admitting defeat.
"That obvious?"
"No, not really. But, the look of relief and joy on your face at the news of his condition, is the look I've seen many times on the faces of the women in my village, when the men would return home from war," Annahlea smiled at the floor, she had been in love with Tony Stark from the moment she had learned what love was.
"Yinsen, how long has it been? Since we've been here? How long have I been unconscious?" she asked changing the subject.
"You have been under my care for two weeks now."
"That means Tony is still out for another two weeks right?"
"Yes."
"Can I see him?" she asked hopefully.
Yinsen once again sighed, sinking Annahlea's heart, "Miss- Annah, now that you are awake men will be coming for you very soon," he pointed to the video cameras that Annahlea had already picked up on, "You are here for a reason Anna and one reason only… as far as the Ten Rings, your captors, can see… you are Tony Stark's weakness… They will not kill you Anna, they will not leave you alone either- they will break you, Annah. They will make you wish you were dead so by the time Mr. Stark awakes, you are begging for him to do whatever they say so the pain will stop, if only for a moment… And Annah, I fear that if you only were to ask once Mr. Stark would be at their knees…"
"Tony would never betray his country Yinsen-"
"Not even to stop the suffering of the woman he is in love with?" Yinsen cut in, stopping Annahlea mid-sentence.
"What?" Annahlea asked, shocked, "Tony does not love me Yinsen, maybe as a sister but he is not in love with me."
"Annan, during his operation, Mr. Stark did not call out in agony or pain, he only called out for you, searching, for you in the little moments he was awake... I fear that I may have crushed him when in a heat of a moment I accidentally told him you were gone, in the sense you were no longer beside him, to get him to calm down… but it only increased his heart beat and… I have never seen a man die spiritually, Annah, and it is something I hope to never see again. He passed out after and has not awoken again since I received the right amount of anesthesia to put him under for good… For this reason Annah, I must beg you to stay strong… to stay you… when the men come to break you, you must not let them, you must not let them get to Tony… for your country, for mine… and if that is not a strong enough motive, you must stay strong for Mr. Stark himself, Annah. I can tell he is a good man and if he loses you he will… he will not be the same."
Annahlea looked at Yinsen, her eyes wide and her increased heart beat causing her to pant. Fear tried to claw its way into her heart, making her want to scream and cry. But with the thought of Tony in her head she pushed it down and gave Yinsen a firm nod.
Meer moments later voices and heavy boots could be heard coming toward them. Annahlea looked to Yinsen and gave him a small sad smile, "Let it begin."
With that the door busted open and after a few shouts of Arabic, Annahlea was pulled out by her hair.