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Hell In A Handcart

She jerked awake, realizing she had fallen asleep...or passed out. She blinked confusedly for a few moments, wondering why she was going to hell in a handcart. She was in a vehicle of some sort, judging by the noise outside, and a swerve almost caused her to fall off the narrow bed...No, she was strapped to it, she realized, starting to struggle. She was tied down and they were kidnapping her--

"Kate." a beautiful face filled her vision, and she latched to him, a choking cry escaping her, "Calm down."

"Luke." she breathed. The panic inside her chest eased, and she glanced around, becoming aware that she was in an ambulance. A medic adjusted a drip that was going in her veins, while a monitor beeped close by.

"You were shot, sweetheart. Two shots, one in your leg and one in your hip . Do you remember?"

She thought hard. Her mouth felt cottony and she had to work for saliva before she could utter a word. "They were firing--they were going to kill Will." she remembered, her already racing heart pounding faster, "Is he--?"

"He's fine." Sensing her worry, he added, "He wanted to come, but I made him wait for another ambulance. He was a mess too, broken bones I suspect...but nothing immediately life threatening."

She let out a sound of relief, closing her eyes momentarily, "You should have gone with him." she murmured faintly. Luke's response was an impassioned growl.

"I'm with you, Kate." Luke said fiercely, staring into her eyes. He stroked her hair, adding softly, "I requested John to check on him, don't worry. He was with me when I bought the cops."

"Oh." she felt better that Will wouldn't be alone.She studied Luke's face, trying to put the pieces together, "You came for me. You got my message. You bought the cops."

"Yes." Luke sounded strange. Pained. "Yes, I bought them." it seemed he was overfilling with things to say, but he kept his mouth shut.

"You went ninja."

His smile was small but beautiful. "So I did."

She nodded, looking at the ceiling of the ambulance, a cold numbness filling her. The fluid in the IV had returned consciousness to her, and she had become aware of the dull throb in her legs. Of how her body felt so deadened and cold. That obviously couldn't bode well.

She had to stay strong, for Luke. "I'll be fine." she searched with her free hand, finding his fingers to squeeze, unable to look at him.

A hiss seemed to escape him, "Damned right, you will. You've made me promises, Kate. Commitments. Five years worth of them. I won't let you back out, you hear me?  You're going to give me all of it. Everything you said."

Oh, dear. She felt a tear track through her hair, her heart aching at his tone. He wasn't making sense in his grief. What on earth had she promised him? She cast around in her mind, coming up with nothing. She squeezed his hand once more, determined to keep a calm face for him. "Whatever you want is yours." she soothed, "I promise, Luke, you can have anything from me."

He gave her an inexplicable look, his face twisting slightly in emotion, but didn't say anything.

"I want one thing, though." she whispered, her lips cold, "P-promise me."

He looked at her, panic stricken, "Kate?" he studied her face, pale, before whispering in a rush, "Anything. Anything. Oh, please."

She licked her lips. "My ballerina. I want it."

He gazed at her.

"It was mine, wasn't it? I was jealous for nothing. You bought it for me...that night." her eyes slid shut, and she smiled to herself, letting herself get lost in the fantasy where nothing happened and she got to unwrap the present from Luke, "You know how thrilled I would have been?" she murmured, "My Luke getting me a present? A proper, feminine present, not something childish. I would have kept it under my pillow for years..." she sighed, "I want it. I want my present."

She felt him move, and opened her eyes to see him sit down heavily on the bench beside her, watching her raggedly. His face was deathly pale, his eyes glittering with feeling.

His voice was low, "Whatever I have...it's yours. Always."

She studied him keenly, "Even your heart?"

The ambulance jerked to a halt, and she looked around, alarmed, as the door was opened and cold air flooded in. The medics swarmed around her, and she turned away from them, latching on Luke desperately.

"Luke!"

"I'm here. I'm here." he whispered, his hand gripping her tightly.

She ignored the people milling around her. It wasn't difficult. To her it was as if they didn't exist, she was so intent on Luke.

"I love you, Luke." she whispered. The sound might have been dampened in the noise around her, but she knew he understood what she had said. Her gurney thudded to the ground, and she shifted to stare at him desperately. Her gaze latched to his, waiting for his reply.

"No." Luke said hoarsely, looking devastated, "Not like this. Not as a goodbye. Come back to me first."

She was being led into the Accident and Emergencies, and the medics were bustling around her, pushing Luke away as they examined her. She blinked when a sharp light was shone in her eyes, and someone was feeling her neck. There was an uncomfortable sensation of compression on her arm as her blood pressure was taken, while someone above her yelled for the arrangement of blood. All the while, she craned to see Luke.

He had been swamped by the staff of the hospital, being asked urgent questions. A file was thrust at him after a brief inquiry-- "Is she your wife?"

"I--she--yes--"

They started firing off rapid explanations of how she required emergency surgery, explaining the risks while shoving the consent form under his nose. She tried to keep him within her sight, but her attention was diverted by a young doctor insistently targeting stupid questions at her.

"Kate. Yes, that's my first name. I know I'm in a hospital. I got shot." She whispered faintly, "Please...I need to talk to Luke."

He ignored that, informing his colleague smartly that her senses were intact. She closed her eyes, panic starting to set in, sending a fine tremble coursing through her body.

"Asthma." she heard Luke say shakily, "She has asthma...No, not a smoker...Yes, I'm sure."

She concentrated on his voice pretending it was the only sound she heard.

When the gurney was moved again, she gasped, her eyes flying open, and turned to find Luke, who was watching her being wheeled away with a wretched expression, his eyes stark and helpless. It was so reminiscent of her childhood, her heart squeezed, and she was flooded with the same panicky sensation as she had had in that car, being taken away from him forever.

"Luke." she gasped, her voice keening, "Please."

 His face spasmed, and then as if coming to a sudden decision, he started for her, scattering the protesting doctors, and bent down to press his lips to her in a firm, almost painful kiss.

He pulled back, brown eyes enveloping hers even as her gurney moved, and she read his lips more than heard him. "I love you. I have always loved you. Please come back to me."