Two and Three

Trust Me. We'll Be Fine.

"You're awake," Tony breathed and scooched across the floor so that he was huddled with the others. His leg boiled with every movement, but he ignored it for the time being.

"Yeah, I'm awake," Abbie said carefully. "At least I'm think awake. What is awake to one who knows so little sleep?" Tony frowned. He sincerely doubted that the metaphor -- or whatever it was -- was making anyone feel any better. Well at least she tried...

Now wasn't exactly the time he figured he'd get any insight into his friends' personal lives, but the dream wouldn't leave his head. He glanced at Abbie, then to Lisha and Michael. Was it just his mind making things up, or was that what people meant by fate? None of the news articles had dates or ages. For all he knew, they had all lived to a ripe ninety plus, with great grandchildren on the way.

For all he knew, that was the future they'd get if they got out of there.

When. When they got out of there.

"How are you feeling?"

"Really dizzy," she replied honestly. "And so tired.... " She seemed to notice that Tony was selectively resting his weight on his right side -- or maybe it was the blood. "What the Hell happened to you? "

He forced a quirky smile. "Same thing that happened to everyone here. Got kidnapped by a psychopath, forced into a little box, while suffering from multiple headaches and a dire desire to shít myself."

"Ah. I understand," she smiled back, though it looked like it pained her.

Lisha and Michael shared a look in which some things went down that Tony wouldn't understand lest he was in their heads, and unfortunately he wasn't that good. Michael leaned down to Abbie and whispered that she needed to conserve her strength, so she needed to stop making small talk. Meanwhile Lisha came forward and helped Tony back against the wall. The movement left a bad taste in his mouth and it suddenly felt like his stomach was turned upside down. Her hands pressed down against his chest, keeping him front falling what little distance that remained between him and the ground, as he scrambled as far as he could away from the others and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

"Are you okay?"  She asked gently as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

Tony wanted to nod and come up with some sort of witty comeback, but all he could concentrate on was the blur in his vision and the way every movement made him want to puke acid.

Lisha ran her hand over his forehead and snapped off some moisture. "Damn, you're burning up," she breathed and started tugging at his jacket. "How are you feeling? Be honest, okay?"

"It feels like I'm falling every time I move," Tony whispered and clutched his jacket to himself when she tried to pull it off. "I feel cold. Please...just leave it."

"Dude, you're really hot --"

"Why, thank you."

She sighed and tried not to roll her eyes. "You have a fever Tony. You've passed out more times than I like. Bruh, you're going to boil alive if you don't take this thing off." Her words were starting to mean less and less with each passing second. It was so cold in here, why couldn't she understand that?

But her hands were warm, so he let her peal off his jacket. She wrapped it around his leg which had varies in turn from being numb as ice to burning like fire. She kept telling him to look at her, and look at her he did. She seemed so serious, he wondered what he ever liked about her.

"You're cuter when you smile," he mumbled and reached out to stroke her face.

She took his hand away from her face, but didn't drop it and instead held it in her own. His words seemed to make her frown carve deeper. "You are too," she whispered as she stroked the top of his hand with her thumb.

He tried rearrange his face into a smile for her. "Everything will be okay, you know. Someone will find us, that guy with get the lethal injection, and it won't come down to what he said. We'll be fine."

Lisha nodded slowly, and it was like he was watching her move through a wall of water. Every movement seemed exaggerated and that just made his stomach lurch more. "Did you hit your head at all?" She asked in an even tone.

Tony tried to think back, but all his memories swirled together in a pool of mush. "It's possible," he replied at last.

She reached up and ran the back of her hand down his face. Her touch was like feathers or a personified heated blanket. He wanted to hold her hand to is cheek, but he knew he would come on too strong. He always did.

"Do you still feel dizzy?"

He tried to nod, but even that sent his balance crashing. The world took a wild dive as his head and torso fell back toward the floor. A pair of arms caught him, and suddenly he found himself pressed up against Lisha's body for support. It would have been really nice if the circumstances were different. If she holding him because she wanted to and not because she had to.

Still...it was okay to pretend...

Just for a little while.

"It'll be okay..." she repeated his words back to him, loudly enough to make Michael and Abbie look their way. They clung to words like lifelines. It was probably the only one they had left. "We'll get out...and...and everything will be fine."

Red dots started appearing in Tony's vision as Lisha gently stroked his hair like he was a child. There was something oddly comforting about it. Even the on and off pressure didn't make him sick. "Hey Lisha?" He whispered.

"Yeah," she turned her head down to meet his eyes.

"When all this is over....promise me you won't go to the University of Pennsylvania."

"Why?" She breathed.

"Just...trust me," he sighed as the red spots in his vision started turning black. "You...you can trust me right?"

"Yeah..." she whispered and craned her neck so she could gently press her lips against his cheek. "I'll always trust you...just..make sure you wake up..."

But he was already out.