I want to start by thanking and welcoming my new followers and subscribers! Then I wanted to add that I'm terribly sorry for the delay, and even sorrier to have to admit that this may be a problem from here on out. As my classes begin to get more serious my free time to write and edit will become virtually non-existent. That said, I will not be abandoning this story! It may go on hiatus for a time here and there but I'm not done with this until it's marked complete.

oOo

In the parking garage was the ambulance, and in the ambulance was a single gurney on which he carefully sat her. Kristoff and Theo threw their bags in a pile with the rest of the bonds, then took seats at the front. Hans stood outside the vehicle at the back next to the open double doors. He started speaking into his radio again, calling someone who wasn't replying. Uli and Eddie. After a few minutes of no response he finally got one, and it sounded frantic.

"Uli, what is it?" Hans asked.

Static was his response, and then "It's him, he's up here-"

"Him who?" Hans asked, he'd started pacing. "What's going on?"

"McClane, he's-" The voice cut out.

Then Eddie's voice came in. "There's something wrong! They're coming back down!"

There was a split second where she watched the cogs in his head turn, then he disappeared around the side of the ambulance to the passenger door and ripped it open.

"Blow the roof!" He hissed at Kristoff.

"But Karl and Uli are up there!" The kid replied, worried about his comrades.

"Blow the roof!" Hans repeated more forcefully, and then there was the sound of a short scuffle and grunting, followed by a short silence.

Far, far above them, the building shook from the massive explosion. The four of them sat in silence for a while, as the realization sunk in. Hans had probably just killed Karl and Uli, in an attempt to kill John McClane. Charlie looked over her shoulder to the front of the ambulance where Theo and Kristoff were sitting, staring at Hans. They both looked like they wanted to say something, but neither of them wanted to anger their boss any further.

Finally Hans broke the silence, speaking into his radio again. "Karl, Uli, come in." He spoke. There was no reply. "Eddie, are you there?…Answer me!"

"Ed's dead, baby." Came the familiar cocky tone of John McClane. "And it's probably safe to assume the same about Karl and Uli."

"Theo?" Hans asked.

"Yeah?"

"Start the truck. Now." He said, then into the radio he asked, "Can you be sure?"

"Well, Karl's hanging from his neck, and Ed and Uli were on the roof last time I saw them." John replied. "So… yeah. Pretty sure."

Hans, now returning to the back of the ambulance, clicked off the radio and threw it into the truck before climbing in himself. "That's all I needed to know." He said as he shut the doors. "Let's go, Theo."

Theo and Kristoff shared a glance before looking back at Hans, who had started removing his clothes. "You're just going to leave them there?" Kristoff asked.

"They're dead." Hans deadpanned. "Now either start the truck, or get out." From one of the cabinets he removed a bag that turned out to be full of surgeon scrubs. "If you're coming with me, put on the scrubs."

Kristoff quietly crawled into the back and began changing too, and after a moment of silently fuming to himself, so did Theo. None of them seemed to notice or remember that Charlie was present as they stripped down to their underwear, stuffing their clothes into the bag that had held the scrubs. Charlie, dazed and drunk, openly stared at the sight of Hans, shirtless and in boxers as he unceremoniously wadded up his nice suit. He wasn't overly muscular, but rather thin and lean. Theo had more muscle than him. But the sight still made her feel a stirring deep in her abdomen once again and this time, with her inhibitions lifted, she couldn't bring herself to care. Even though he had killed countless people, all but tortured her here tonight, and now blown up a building, she realized what she wanted to do to him- or more specifically, what she wanted him do to her- and she didn't care anymore.

I must be delirious. She realized as she leered at his backside.

Once everyone was changed, Theo climbed back into the driver's seat, started the truck and slowly pulled out of the garage into the parking lot. Charlie expected them to be stopped by any of the police, SWAT or even other medical personnel, but because of the other ambulances on the scene, they fit right in.

"Lie back on the gurney." Hans told her as he covered his face with a surgical mask. With one last glance at the chaos outside the truck she eased herself onto her back… and that was the last clear thing she remembered that night.

oOo

"She's lost a lot of blood, Hans." Someone's voice cut through the fog of her mind. She felt strangely heavy, and numb. It almost felt like her body didn't exist. "We have to take her to a hospital, look how pale she is! She won't make it another night."

"…No, I know a place. Take the next exit and turn around. And floor it. Turn the siren on too."

oOo

There was a loud, annoying beeping and she heard a new voice speaking quickly but steadily. "BP's dropping again."

She tried to open her eyes but they wouldn't. Another voice she didn't recognize said "She's waking up. Give her more juice." and then she felt sleep pulling hard at her consciousness, like a promise of pure bliss. She immediately blacked out again.

oOo

"I said to get two rooms." A voice cut through her sleep sometime later. "With separate beds!" It was Hans, and he sounded angry. She felt the bite of cold December air on her face and limbs and a sensation of being jostled as someone carried her. She shivered against the wind as it cut right through her clothes.

"I know, it was all they had on short notice." Replied another voice. Theo, she guessed. "Everywhere is booked solid for the holidays, we're lucky they even had one room."

oOo

When she could finally pull herself all the way awake, there was silence. Well, almost. Her blood was pumping in her ears with a slow rested rhythm and around her she could hear people snoring softly. She started to stretch her limbs but was stopped short by the excruciating, ripping pain in her legs and arms. She hissed, slowly propping herself up to find herself in a large bed in a dark room. She pulled her knees up which made the pain flare even more. Examining where she felt the pain, she discovered that her leg had been stitched back together in some places. The pain was from where she'd ripped out a few of the threads. She also discovered, much to her horror, that she was nearly naked, wearing a flimsy hospital gown and nothing else. She looked up expecting to find a hospital but instead found a small room. It was dark save for the streetlight shining in through the window between the blinds, and she wasn't alone.

There were two queen-sized beds, and both were occupied by two people each- herself included. It didn't take long to recall the last thing she remembered, but she couldn't be sure how long ago it was. Her internal clock told her that she had been unconscious for more than a day at least. Next to her, the other person stirred to the sound of her hissing in pain.

"Was ist es…?" The man slurred and she actually wasn't surprised when it turned out to be Hans. He turned over to face her, sleepy unfocused eyes, taking in his surroundings in a confused stupor, hair a mess of bed-head. In any other situation she might have found it adorable. When he saw her sitting up he woke up quickly. Pushing himself into a sitting position he leaned against the headboard and said in a sleepy, gravelly voice, "So… you're finally awake then."

Finally?

"I… I ripped a few of the stitches." Was the first thing she could think to say. She was too tired to even be afraid. Plus she was trying not to stare at his naked chest again, noticing a sparse pattern of dark chest hair below his collarbone, going down the center of his abs and disappearing beneath the covers.

"Ah." Was all he said, followed by a yawn.

"How long was I out?" Was her first question.

"Long enough." He replied.

She let out an annoyed sigh.

"I suppose you want me to sew you back together." He huffed, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

At his sarcastic tone, she gave him an incredulous look. "I mean… gee, if you don't have anything better to do." She snarked softly. Her voice was too weak for any real attitude, but it seemed to be enough for him.

"Listen you," He ground out, leaning closer. "I just pulled off the heist of the century, lost some of my friends in the process and saved your sorry ass from a fiery death." He was clearly not a morning person.

"You killed some of them yourself." She countered. "You're nothing more than a common thief."

He lashed out, grabbing her roughly by the chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I am an exceptional thief, my dear!" He hissed. "And since I've moved up to kidnapping, you should be more polite."

She swallowed nervously. He glared at her for a while, daring her to talk back, then slowly released her.

"Ugh!" Came a tired groan from the other bed as Theo turned over. "Just fix her stitches and shut up already."

"Mmmh." Mumbled Kristoff next to him.

"Since you're awake I'm sure you won't mind going to look for a first aid kit then?" Hans shot back.

Kristoff groaned. "Why can't you?"

"Because my face will be plastered all over the news for the next few months." Hans replied, and started pulling the covers back over his shoulders. "And it would be a shame to almost get away with six hundred million dollars only to be recognized in our escape by some backwoods hick in the middle of nowhere."

"I got it." Theo sighed, letting Kristoff go back to sleep. He rolled out of bed, obviously still tired.

"I'll go with you." Charlie started to offer but Hans was quick to shut her down.

"No. You will stay here where I can keep an eye on you. Besides, you shouldn't be moving. You're on bed rest until I say otherwise." He rolled back onto his side, facing away from her.

"I won't be long." Theo told her as he placed his glasses on his nose. Then to Hans he said, "You be nice." before making a quick exit.

In the meantime she examined the work someone had put into her leg and arm. Not all of the cuts were stitched- just the more alarming ones- but they were all scabbed over. There was no more glass that she could see. Her right arm was in a sling and she couldn't lift it at the shoulder without a lot of pain. When she tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed to stand up, it hurt to move. Hans was right. Even if she could have moved she shouldn't be trying. It took a long time to ease her limbs to the edge of the bed, and it was then that she found she couldn't put any pressure on her leg at all. It hurt too much and some of the stitches even began pulling painfully at her skin as they too threatened to tear. She realized that it wasn't the thread of the stitches that had torn before, it had been her skin!

Blood had been slowly seeping out from the opening but it wasn't as bad or as fast as when the initial cut had happened. Apparently all of her cuts had been seeping because the sheets where she'd been lying were splotched with red and pink stains. Even slightly yellow-green in some places.

"How long has it been?" She asked again, whispering out of respect for Kristoff. She turned slightly to look over her shoulder at Hans.

After a moment of silence where she was sure she still wouldn't get her answer, Hans sighed, annoyed and said "Almost two days now."

"Why am I still here?"

"There's a special clinic I know of," He replied. "They don't ask questions so long as you pay your bill."

"I mean why am I still here?" She repeated. "With you guys. Why didn't you just drop me off at a regular hospital and be on your way?"

He turned over, probably to say something nasty, but whatever he was going to say stopped. He was going to say something snarky but lost his train of thought at the sight of her bare back. He had a clear view of the patch that covered her bullet wound and he felt an unfamiliar twinge of guilt. He had never felt guilty over a stranger before, let alone a hostage.

In the silence she looked him in the eyes to find him staring again. That stare. The same one from back in Holly's office, and all those times before that she still couldn't decipher. The same one he had when he first saw her in the lobby, when she'd surprised them all. When his eyes looked softer, and curious, but the hint of mischief was still ever present behind it.

"What?" She asked in a soft voice. And then the look was gone again.

"Nothing." He sighed. "I brought you with us because until I know I can get away before you alert the authorities, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"I wouldn't tell anyone." She insisted. It was true. If it meant going home and moving on from everything that had happened, she'd keep her mouth shut.

He considered this for a moment but said "I'm sure you would try. But they'll ask questions." He said, and turned his back to her again. "And they'll get the answers they want. It's what they do."

She hated to admit it, but she knew he was right. She wasn't prepared to survive an interrogation. "So what will you do?" She asked, carefully pulling her legs back onto the bed so she could rest- not that she needed anymore sleep. "With me, I mean?"

"I don't know right now, so will you please just go to sleep?" His voice had a hint of a whine to it.

She didn't reply, and not too long later she heard his breath change to the calm rhythm of deep sleep. On the nightstand next to her she found an alarm clock. It read 4:43 AM. Another perfect opportunity to escape. She thought bitterly as she picked at her healing cuts and played with the loose strings of her gown. It wasn't long before the sun started peeking over the horizon somewhere, and slowly the world outside the window started lighting up. Theo came back around 6:30 and Hans gave him crap for being out so long.

"I'm sorry." Theo said, still sounding tired. "We're out in the middle of bumble-fuck nowhere, it's not like there's a convenience store just up the street or something."

He was, however, carrying a bag, and a tray with four styrofoam cups that she assumed were holding coffee. "This place does continental breakfast but not for another hour." He explained, sipping from one of the cups. From a plastic bag he started pulling out items, and she realized that he'd had to make his own first aid kit. He'd grabbed a small sewing kit- with regular thread instead of the medical kind- some cotton swabs and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. It wasn't much, but considering what he said about where they were, it was probably the best he could do.

"Come on." Theo said to her. "Let's try to get you fixed up."

He helped her to her feet, not complaining when she had to move very slowly, and then carried her into the bathroom and set her on the counter. While he retrieved his supplies, and one of the coffees when she asked, she inspected herself in the mirror. The left side of her face was still swollen, and a dark purple bruise spread outward from her cheekbone, even her lower eyelid was purple. As she sipped on the bitter liquid, letting her body pretend for a moment that it was being fed, Theo began soaking cotton swabs and cleaning the edges of her cuts.

"Thank you, again." She said to him, "And sorry for making you get up so early."

"It's no problem." He replied, but then had to stifle a yawn. "We didn't really have the chance to rest much since… well you know."

"Where are we?" She tried, hoping he would be more open than Hans.

"Idaho." He replied after a second. "We stopped in a… a clinic last night- er- yesterday morning actually. They're the ones that fixed you up." He explained. "And before you ask, I can't tell you where we're going."

"Okay," She replied, even though she already had a pretty good idea that they were headed north. Probably planning to hop the Canadian border. "Do you know why you guys… why he's keeping me around?"

Theo shrugged, then placed the cotton and alcohol aside, grabbing the needle and threading a line through it. "I thought it was because we needed a hostage in case things with the cops went south." He got the thread through the eye of the needle and tied a simple knot in it, then cut himself a few feet off of the spool. "But we haven't had any run-ins since we left, so… I don't know." He admitted, then he took a steadying breath and slowly lifted the bottom of her gown as if he was afraid of what he might find under there. Carefully he pinched her skin together where she'd ripped the stitches out earlier.

She inhaled sharply.

"Sorry." Theo said sheepishly. "But I gotta do this."

"I know- just…" She grit her teeth and motioned for him to continue. "So how bad was it?" She asked in a strained voice, trying to distract them both from the situation. "My injuries and all that."

"Well you lost three liters of blood. They had to do a transfusion." Theo said.

"Hmm." She replied as she stared straight ahead and tried to ignore the sharp, itching pinprick.

"And I hear you had forty-two stitches." He said, trying to sound excited for her.

"…That's… kinda cool." She replied. "I guess." She almost yelped again when he pushed the needle through a particularly thick layer of skin.

"They said you were lucky to be alive." Theo offered.

"That's not as exciting to hear."

"And they gave you some reeaaally good drugs for the pain."

"That's more like it." She said with a small grin. She was in a pretty decent amount of pain and was sure Tylenol wasn't going to cut it.

After Theo finished sewing her up, he carried her back to the bed, where Hans was now sitting upright, sipping on his coffee and still shirtless. The sun had finally risen outside, but Kristoff was pulling the blinds shut.

"This coffee tastes like shit." Hans said to Theo, who was carefully setting her on the bed.

"I know, but it's still better than what they're serving downstairs. Believe me." Theo replied, then grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

Next to her, Hans handed her a pastry from the bag Theo had brought. When she didn't immediately take it from him, he waved it closer to her face. "Go on, eat something." He insisted. "I know you're hungry."

She hated that he was right, and grudgingly took the pastry from him. When he smirked at her for snatching the snack from him, she irritably asked "What?"

"Nothing." He replied, but his smirk implied otherwise.

Before she could say something that got her in trouble with him, Theo interrupted.

"Hey look, you're on the news!"

They all turned their attention to the TV and saw a photo of Hans' face posted beside the anchorman. The man in the photo looked quite different from the man sitting next to her. His hair was longer and limp against his face, and his beard wasn't groomed. In fact if Theo hadn't mentioned it she might not have immediately recognized it as Hans.

"Turn it up! Turn it up!" Kristoff said excitedly, climbing back onto his bed with a coffee and pastry of his own. Theo turned up the volume and they watched.

"…yet still no sign of terrorist Hans Gruber or anyone associated with him." The anchorman said. "Police have shut down all airports in California, and the FBI are conducting a nationwide search for the fugitive, who is believed to have survived the explosion on the roof of the Nakatomi Plaza."

"Wow." Charlie said. "You really pissed them off."

The feed cut to a few of the hostages being interviewed on the night of the heist. Most of them talked about how they were afraid for their lives, or saw someone getting killed. She wasn't surprised to hear a few people embellishing the story a bit; Claiming that they saw more terrorists than there were, or that they'd fought with some of them, or even that they'd witnessed a number of murders that night. It pissed her off more than she thought it would. Here she was, kidnapped off to who knows where and these guys got to go home, sleep in their own beds and not bleed all over the furniture… but they couldn't seem to get enough of reliving the events of that night.

What really made her sick was when the news was over and she realized that not a single person had mentioned her. None of her coworkers had talked about her kidnapping or murder. As far as anyone knew, she wasn't even missing. Or never existed.

"Did any of the other hostages die in the explosion?" She asked aloud as the final few minutes started to roll, replaying scenes from the night of the heist from the view of the parking lot.

"A few, yes." Kristoff replied around a mouthful of his food. "It was a huge mess."

So that's why. She thought with a sigh.

And as if he was reading her mind, Hans said quietly to her, "Nobody is looking for you."