Kyle had come to the conclusion that he wasn't meant for captivity. After throwing the chair at Snitch Gravel's head, he needed more. To take someone down, do whatever it took to facilitate their escape.

He just couldn't sit there doing nothing anymore. Like never before, he could practically feel the serum bubbling in his veins. The sensation was so persistent, he checked his own skin from time to time just to make sure it wasn't visible. Nothing in the world could calm him down properly, not even the thought of Kay and the danger he was putting her in.

"Shhhh." She ran her finger from his temple, down his jaw. "It's okay. We're okay."

"I'm doing it again?" he asked, even if he knew the answer. It was so hard to fight the feeling of helplessness that he became stiff and scary for no reason.

"Yes," she whispered, continuing to caress his face with gentle moves.

It worked. His muscles unknotted and he felt himself sagging. Kay nestled into his arms, resting her head against his chest like she always did when they were alone. His hand covered her belly out of sheer reflex now, trying for the millionth time to tell if he felt anything different.

"We'll be fine," she said again, though her tone wasn't as certain as it used to be.

He looked down at her just to meet her forget-me-not blue eyes staring back. There was a lost quality to her gaze as she reached out a hand and pushed the hair off his forehead.

She continued to take him in, running her hands on his face as if she were blind and this was her way of seeing him.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

She nodded and nibbled on her lower lip. "I just realized it's been so long since I really looked at you."

He couldn't keep in a smile. "Okay, good to know."

She punched his shoulder lightly. "I don't mean I've been ignoring you. It's just that I feel like I was starting to take you for granted again. You know, like you'll always be mine."

"I will always be yours. I proposed to you, remember? That's part of the deal."

She shook her head again, a smile playing on her lips. "We're here. There's nothing guaranteed."

And he finally understood. The thought was scary and a little morbid, but he found himself copying her. He ran his hand through her hair, taking in every shift in the shades of gold, her eyes, the light freckles on her little nose, the skin he loved so much. He was trying to memorize every little detail about her to hold forever in case... Well, in case he needed it.

Kay continued her own exploring, her hand sliding over his ribs.

"They've done so much damage to you," she whispered running her fingers across the holes in his t-shirt.

"I'm mostly healed," he said. He could use a new shirt though. His current one was in tatters.

"It doesn't matter." She stopped touching his scars and looked up at him. "They still did it to you. You felt it. And all for what?"

"They're not doing it anymore." Kyle held her tighter against him, a little worried by her mood. "I'm more worried about you."

"They haven't touched me. It's you they want dead." She took his face in her hands and got on her knees, fire burning in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," he said automatically.

"Promise me that we'll either both escape or go down together in a blaze of glory."

His eyes flitted towards her belly again. "I can't. Not if--"

She waved him away. "I'm starting to think it's stress induced. All in my head."

"That trick's not going to work on me, Kay."

"Then survive for us." She put her hands on his cheeks again. "Don't do anything stupid."

And there it was. Her way of chiding him for what he'd done when Snitch Gravel called him into his office. The rage inside him protested against such a commitment, but he still nodded for her.

She let out a sharp breath and planted a kiss on his lips. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Kay. And you're right. We'll be fine."

She smiled at him and it was honest.

A door opened loudly at the end of the corridor. Kyle tensed and sat up straight. Kay pulled away from him, her eyes wide with fear. They both knew the chances were slim for them to come for Jerry.

"Kyle, please," she whispered

"I-- I'll do my best. But please, go to the safe spot this time."

She nodded and scurried away while he got to his feet. The further Kay was from the entrance, the better. No need for the goons to even see her. To make sure she was as protected as possible, he walked to the bars.

The moment the three men came into view, his breath hitched in his throat. One of them was Snitch Gravel himself, wearing his black suit and scarlet shirt and tie. At least he'd left the ridiculous top hat off.

"What, no more lovely chats in your office?" he asked before he could help himself.

"You've made my office quite uncomfortable and I don't want anything else broken. It's the only decent place in this pile of ruins." Snitch Gravel took in the cage as if looking for Kay.

Kyle did his best not to glance over his shoulder as well. It didn't matter since Snitch Gravel's analysis of their lodgings only lasted a few seconds. Then he gave a nod and his two men disappeared back the way they came.

"Why did you send them away?" Kyle asked.

"Someone's a lot more loquacious this time around," Snitch Gravel observed.

"Want me to go back to being quiet?"

"Unless you have something useful to say, yes."

Kyle's hands tightened around the bars and he bit back another sarcastic answer. He'd promised Kay he'd avoid getting hurt just to appease his need for action. It didn't work. His insides felt like storm clouds. The more he looked at Snitch Gravel, the more he thought about what he'd done to all of them, and all he wanted was to make him pay.

"There you go. I still want answers regarding the Counters."

He gritted his teeth, refusing to give him anything useful or even ask what the hell he meant.

"Outer space," Snitch Gravel said, waving his hand impatiently. "Potential traitors. That sort of stuff."

Yeah, he was barking up the wrong tree. Jimmy was the only one who held that information.

Snitch Gravel's eyes narrowed. "Do I need to make you talk?"

"What are you going to do? Torture me again?" Kyle stepped back and spread out his arms. "Give it your best shot."

Snitch Gravel let out a laugh. "You know, I've actually managed a very nice exchange game with both Sam and Jerry. A deal of sorts. They ask things and I ask things and everyone gets their answers. But you..." He shook his head. "You remind me so much of your father."

Kyle hit the bars of the cage, the affirmation only further fanning the flames of his anger. "Strange, since I'm nothing like fucking Freider."

Snitch Gravel raised his eyebrows. "Oh? You're on first name basis now? Since when?"

"Since he's dead. Did I ever get to thank you for that, by the way?"

The amused smile slid of Snitch Gravel's face and at that movement Kyle realize the guy couldn't tell if he was serious. Was he that much of a monster in everyone's eyes? Even Kay sometimes seemed afraid of him now.

It's still his fault. The exhaustion and the torture had led to frustration, a constant need for release.

"Talk," Snitch Gravel ordered.

"Fuck off. I meant what I said during our last chat."

"So did I. You either answer me, or I'll make you."

"I don't put out on the first date. You'll have to buy me flowers."

Snitch Gravel shook his head, his features filled with disgust. "Oh, you dick." And he waved his hand dramatically.

The sound of movement from behind had Kyle whipping around. The wooden door had opened and Snitch Gravel's former companions burst in and grabbed Kay who had been sitting on the platform before it, safely out of sight. She didn't scream, just twisted to face them and tried to yank herself out of their grip.

Fear slammed into Kyle so hard, his entire being rattled. He saw the danger, his lack of judgment, the consequences of his stupidity.

"Alright, I'll talk."

Snitch Gravel quirked an eyebrow. "You gave up so fast."

He didn't care. His heart pounded in despair every moment those goons touched Kay, every second in which she wasn't safe.

"Yes, just ask away and I'll tell you all I know. Just let her go."

Snitch Gravel just grinned like a maniac. "After all this time, she's still your predictable weakness. And she's been so compliant all this time. Such a lack of fire. I'm a bit disappointed. Tell me, did the prospect of marriage soften you?"

Kyle wanted to scream that he didn't care about all that shit, but he knew better, so he just shook his head. "You got me. Full cooperation. Just..."

"Let her go?" Snitch Gravel asked.

"Yes! Please!" Shit, he'd sounded too desperate.

"Are you actually willing to beg for it?"

"Whatever. Humiliate me all you want, I don't care. Just don't hurt her."

The joy on Snitch Gravel's face morphed into suspicion, as if he believed they were hatching a secret plan he couldn't see. If only. As it was, they were completely at his mercy.

"And you'll give me what I want?" he finally ask.

"Yes. Anything."

Snitch Gravel didn't look convinced as he raised his eyes to his men. For a moment, he seemed to assess the situation, then he shrugged.

"Very well. Drop her."

The moment the words were out, Kyle's blood froze in his veins. Time seemed to slow down as he turned around again. The two men grinned as their boss' order registered. At the same time, they released Kay, pushing her away from them.

With a scream that pierced Kyle's very soul, she toppled backwards and down the flight of stairs leading back into the depths of the cage. He could see everything. The widening of her eyes, the fear on her face, the way her arms waved, trying to help her regain some semblance of balance, how her fingers clutched empty air. Time flowed normally again, and in the blink of an eye, before he could do more than take a step towards her, her body plummeted at the bottom of the stairs.

Everything came crashing down around him. He knelt next to her and lifted her head, his other hand on her thigh. Her eyes were closed. The hand he had on her was getting wet.

He lifted it and stared, taking in the red coating it, so familiar and yet so foreign on his skin. His eyes moved to her hips to the blood spreading fast down her thighs.

His mind cracked and his vision blackened, left with nothing to focus on but the blood on his hands.

There were sounds around him, maybe other feelings than the rage, but they meant nothing. Everything was broken.

Kay had been pregnant. She no longer was. Snitch Gravel had taken his toll in the form of their unborn child and possibly even Kay.

Everything went to hell.

He twisted, still in his crouched position and took in Snitch Gravel. He was screaming words Kyle couldn't care to understand, waving his hands and his fists, looking beyond them. Then, his eyes lowered and fell upon his prey, the result of his actions, of his thirst for blood. There was a slight widening and his pupils shrank.

Kyle could see it all very clearly, calculate the distance between his target and the bars. He sprung forward. His bloody fingers wrapped around the front of Snitch Gravel's shirt.

"Like what you've done?" His voice didn't sound like his own anymore, more like an animalistic growl.

The fear on Snitch Gravel's face became evident and amplified as he glanced over Kyle's shoulder at the result of his actions.

"You sick fuck. Are you happy now?"

Snitch Gravel's desperate gaze turned to Kyle and his mouth opened, but no words came out. All the better. Kyle didn't need his input. With all the force he had left, he pulled Snitch Gravel towards him, ramming his body against the bars. Once, twice, three times... Then the shirt slipped out of his wet hand and Snitch Gravel fell against the opposite wall. Blood flowed from his nose and there was a cut on his forehead from the bars.

It wasn't enough. It wasn't even close to enough. Not for what he'd done. But he would pay for it. So Kyle wrapped his hands around the bars and pulled them apart. The metal put up resistance, but it would yield.

Snitch Gravel got back on shaky feet, his gaze still trained behind Kyle, at the crumpled mess that was Kay.

"Wait," he called, his voice a strange mixture between panic and authority. "Back off and let me in."

"Sure." Kyle pulled harder, straining as hard as he could. "I can't wait to end you."

"I can save her."

Bullshit. 

"She's bleeding out, you moron," Snitch Gravel said. "Now let me in, or she dies."

Somewhere in the back of Kyle's mind, his words made sense. The little bit of sanity he had left called out to him, tried to pull back his murderous side. But murder sounded so appealing right then. Wrapping his hand around Snitch Gravel's throat and squeezing until it snapped.

"Come on! Snap out of it. Use your logic."

Kyle didn't want to use his logic. He didn't want to think, to focus, to have to face what had happened, what it meant. The agony building up inside him. All he wanted was to destroy.

"Come on," Snitch Gravel said between his teeth. "I know you're still in there. I know you want her to live."

Kyle's vision blurred and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Snitch Gravel continued to move his lips, say things that didn't matter. Love. He said something about love.

Love was gone. He had lost it the moment Kay had collapsed, the moment she...

She's still alive. She's bleeding out.

He had a point. Snitch Gravel had a point. And as much as it hurt, as much as he dreaded it, Kyle pushed himself back to the surface to face everything.

It wasn't easy. The darkness clawed at him, tempting him with the bliss of numbness, of retreat. Of finally giving up and escaping all the pain. But he wouldn't succumb to it. Not when there was still hope, when he could still save Kay.

So he loosened his grip on the bars and stepped away. Snitch Gravel moved a little closer, with a slight limp, eying him warily, blood trickling down his face.

"If you touch me, I won't help you, and then she dies."

Kyle just nodded and stepped away, letting the murder inside the cage. He threw Kyle on more fleeting look, then hurried to Kay's side. He took her pulse, put his wretched hand on her stomach, then fortunately turned to him.

"Pick her up and follow me."

Kyle complied at once, his body on autopilot, his mind trying to make sense of what had happened. She felt so soft in his arms, so small and frail, leaving shining rose petals on the floor.

Snitch Gravel hurried out of the cage and Kyle followed, his surroundings a blur, focusing only on what was before him, his destination. They went up three flights of stairs, back to Snitch Gravel's office which was still missing the window, and then through a door hidden by wooden paneling.

Kyle only caught glimpse of a low bed with rumpled sheets before Snitch Gravel led him on, through another door, inside what looked like an infirmary.

"Put her on the bed," he instructed as if Kyle was too dumb to figure it out himself. He also threw his blazer off and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. The front was covered in the blood that kept flowing down his chin.

Kyle lay Kay down on the bed gently. The moment he let her go, the panic seemed to crash into him and paralyze him. He had no idea what to do to save her. He was useless now.

Snitch Gravel came to the bed and connected her to a heart monitor. The sound of her heartbeat relieved a bit of the tension in Kyle's shoulders.

Snitch Gravel let out a deep breath too, then he turned away and returned with two IV bags and a butterfly needle. His hands a little shaky, he stuck it in Kay's skin, on the top of her hand. Seeing just the small drop of blood the action produced had Kyle's entire body tensing again. He needed to keep his shit together.

"What, are you a nurse now?" he snapped, trying to distract himself.

"Shut up," Snitch Gravel replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper. He wiped the blood off his face and focused on putting up the IV bags.

"What are you giving her?"

"Saline solution. Glucose," Snitch Gravel mumbled and stepped away. The he opened a cabinet next to the bed and pulled out two glass phials filled with reddish liquid. He filled a syringe with the content of one of the phials and headed for Kay.

"Get away from her!"

Snitch Gravel completely ignored him as he injected the liquid in the butterfly needle. "This will help her heal," he said as an afterthought.

Kyle clenched his fists, but relaxed once Snitch Gravel put the syringe away, broke the top of the other phial and downed the content himself. Then he dropped on a small round chair and covered his eyes with his hands.

It only lasted a second before he banged his fist on the cabinet next to him. "You fucking moron," he growled. "Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?"

Kyle's vision blackened, but he forced himself out of it. There was no way he was losing it with Kay lying between them. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you were my father and it's my duty to tell you things I haven't told anyone else yet."

Snitch Gravel sneered at him. "If I'd have known--"

"What? You wouldn't have ordered your goons to throw her down the stairs?" He leaned forward, clenching his fists.

Snitch Gravel pulled back, fear breaking through the anger on his face. "I didn't order them to throw her. I wanted them to let her go. The wording was--"

"Fucked up? Careless? Ambiguous?"

Snitch Gravel winced, but didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed a towel and threw it to him. "See if you can help with the bleeding."

Kyle caught it out of reflex, but just stared as Snitch Gravel turned with his back to him, crouched and started rummaging inside another small cabinet. Finally, he turned back and threw Kyle something else wrapped in plastic foil.

"Don't just stand there," he hissed.

His tone reawakened Kyle's desire to lose it and murder him with his bare hands, but he forced the feeling away and focused on what he was holding. It was a hospital gown. So he raised his eyes and glared.

Snitch Gravel got the message and headed for the door, letting himself out.

Kyle's first impulse was to search for a way to escape, but he beat it down because he had something else to do. Something a lot more difficult.

With shaking hands, he maneuvered Kay out of her filthy clothes and into the hospital gown. The moment he pulled her jeans off, he was shocked by the amount of blood. Why was there so much blood? He tried to make it stop using the towel, but he was way out of his league. This was not an open wound he should apply pressure to. He had no idea how miscarriages worked and what he could do to stop it.

You can't stop it. It happened.

An agony so complete took over him, all he wanted was to be on that bed instead of her. Or dead. Instead, he searched around the infirmary for stuff more useful than a towel. He found some wet wipes and used them to clean Kay's face.

She looked so fragile with the IVs and the heart monitor hooked to her. The fear and despair inside him only grew as he realized there was nothing he could do to help her, to make this better.

He rolled the small round chair next to the bed and sat, taking her hand and leaning his forehead against it.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he muttered.

Because it wasn't just Snitch Gravel. Kay had asked him not to look for trouble, not to taunt their enemy. He couldn't keep his damn mouth shut and now this happened. Tears slid down his cheeks and he felt like he was drowning, suffocating in misery. How could he ever make this up to her? What if something happened to her and she died too?

His hands started shaking again, together with his entire body. He couldn't face it. And he'd never imagined that he'd come to love a possibility so much in just a few weeks, feel this as a loss greater than he could handle.

There was nothing there but pain and the seconds ticking by, maybe to the end of Kay's own life. If she died, he'd find a way to take as many goons with him as possible and join her.

The door opened and he jumped. Snitch Gravel was back, together with an old Japanese woman. She was so short, she barely reached Snitch Gravel's chest, and her eyes were almost completely shut, getting lost in the deep wrinkles on her weathered face. She stepped in without fear, her thin lips stretched in a soft smile.

Kyle straightened and wiped his face. His hands were still coated in blood.

The old woman only spared him a glance before she focused on Kay. Her smile turned bitter.

"I am so sorry for your loss," she said in Japanese.

Kyle couldn't answer. There were no words. He just nodded in acceptance of her.

"Come on." Snitch Gravel waved him over. When Kyle just glared at him, he groaned. "Don't make me send you to your cage. As long as you listen, you get to stay here."

Even if he still wanted to throttle Snitch Gravel, the promise of staying by Kay's side had Kyle moving past the old woman and back through the bedroom and into the office. Snitch Gravel had balls turning his back to him, leaving himself open for potential and highly probable murder.

The office was empty, and Snitch Gravel headed directly for his desk. Without asking for an invitation, Kyle dropped on the only chair. His knees were weak as he swung between murderous rage and complete misery. Holding back his anger was the only purpose he had left.

"Who's that woman?" he asked.

"A midwife from the village." Snitch Gravel crouched behind his desk and resurfaced with a large bottle of brownish liquid and a heavy glass. His hands were shaking.

Kyle watched him struggling to open the bottle, all his senses going haywire. Why was he even sitting there? He should be doing something.

Finally, Snitch Gravel managed to open the bottle and poured himself a full glass. He drank almost all of it in one go.

"All my knowledge of what to do in these situations stops here," he said, refilling his glass.

"Pour me one, too."

Snitch Gravel squinted at him. "Why? You feel like cleaning vomit off my floor?"

No, he felt like numbing himself down. If vomit was involved, who cared? "Shut up and do it."

Snitch Gravel shrugged, pulled out another glass, and filled it for him. Kyle took it and drank. He couldn't even feel the taste, the burn he expected. It was just liquid. There was too much going on inside him, the battle for control overwhelming. His senses were fried. But that meant he could down the drink just as fast as Snitch Gravel.

Raising his eyebrows, Snitch Gravel poured him another, then drank his third. The second glass burned, so Kyle could no longer chug it in one go, but it still went down easily. Whatever that thing was, it packed a punch, went to his head, numbed out the murderous feeling inside him.

Snitch Gravel filled his glass again. The bottle was almost empty now. He dropped on his chair and leaned back. His nose and his head were no longer bleeding, but his face was still dirty from the aftermath. Kyle fleetingly realized that he'd almost crushed Snitch Gravel's skull and yet he was still alive and sharing a drink with him.

"Who knew?" Snitch Gravel asked. His voice was the tiniest bit slurred.

"No one," Kyle answered. His voice was distorted as well. "Even we didn't know for sure. She never got to take a test because you kidnapped us."

Snitch Gravel's gaze became alert. He put his glass down and rested his hands on the desk, leaning slightly towards Kyle. "Then don't tell her."

Kyle jumped and poured a little drink down his front. "What?"

"If she's not sure, just don't tell her. She fell, got hurt. She got her period. The end."

Ignoring how weird it was to talk about Kay's period with Snitch Gravel, Kyle shook his head. It hurt like a bitch. That drink had done more damage than he'd realized. "I can't lie to her about something like that."

"And what good would this truth do her? It will just hurt her, fill her with fear the next time she's pregnant."

Kyle bit his lip. He didn't want that. What he did want was to actually have the chance to get her pregnant again. He brushed away the stupid thought. They weren't dying. At least she wasn't, if it was the last thing he did.

"You'd be doing this for you," Snitch Gravel insisted. "To have someone to share your burden with."

That wasn't true. Except it sort of was. "It's her body. She has the right to know what happened to her."

"It's her body," Snitch Gravel retorted. "She'll handle it. She's strong."

God, Kyle hated the man before him. But instead of strangling him, he took another sip of the drink. It went straight to his head. He was tempted to ask what it was, but he didn't care.

"Do this for her."

"What do you care anyway?" Kyle snapped. "I'm a little shocked you're not gloating."

Snitch Gravel cringed and pulled back. He picked up his glass again and made the liquid inside it swirl. "There are some things which are sacred and should never be touched."

"Says the man who kidnapped newborns." This didn't make any sense. Kyle drank the rest of his glass. It made him even more nauseous as his intolerance returned in full swing. This was too weird. It was all just a nightmare and he'd wake up in his cage with Kay in his arms.

"There's a huge story behind that," Snitch Gravel mumbled. "Not one I'm particularly proud of. But all in due time. I need everyone for that."

"Did you ever want kids?" He wasn't sure why he was asking, but in his tipsy stupor, it seemed important.

Snitch Gravel surveyed him over his glass. He looked as hazy as Kyle felt. "Yeah, I did."

"So why don't you have any?" Except Kyle had no idea if that was true or not. Maybe Snitch Gravel had a buttload of random bastard children.

He leaned back in his chair and glanced at the ceiling, joining his fingers. "Tell me, if Kay died, would you think about having children with someone else?"

"What?" Was Kay actually dying and Snitch Gravel only kept him out here to prevent him from seeing it? From losing it and destroying everything?

"Then again, you might. You're a lot healthier than I ever was," Snitch Gravel said, his tone thoughtful. "I couldn't. So there you have it."

Kyle had no idea what to do with that information. It stirred something inside him, but the alcohol had done its job. His panic ebbed away, the pain numbed, and the beast returned to its slumber.

"Where is she?" he asked.

Snitch Gravel gave him a bitter smile and drank the last of his glass. "Nowhere and everywhere." He emptied the bottle in his glass.

"I'm not cleaning up your barf either. Just so you know."

"I don't usually throw up from getting shitfaced."

"Why are you getting shitfaced?"

Snitch Gravel reached out inside his desk and pulled out another bottle. "Because sometimes, I'm so fucked, even I can't stand myself." He raised his eyebrows and once Kyle nodded, refilled his glass. "Plus, I think you need a drinking buddy right now."

"Never got shitfaced, though."

"Never too late to try." Snitch Gravel toasted to him and drained his glass again.

Kyle just sipped his, aware he needed to be careful now if he wanted to succeed in knocking himself out. And there was nothing he wanted more. To escape the pain for just a few hours. Even if it mean getting drunk with Snitch Gravel.

"I didn't see you as a heavy drinker," he said. His voice was so slurred, he could barely understand it himself.

"I'm not," Snitch Gravel said. "I think I haven't drank a drop since your father died."

"Freider," Kyle corrected him automatically.

Snitch Gravel gave him a look which Kyle couldn't tell if it was skeptical, bitter or... longing?

"Freider was a moron," Snitch Gravel declared. "If I had a son, I could only hope he would be like you."

Kyle was definitely hallucinating. To make it even more obvious, Snitch Gravel turned to him, his eyes filled with sorrow.

"If I had a son, I wish it was you."

Yep, he was definitely hallucinating. Everything swirled and this conversation made no sense. Nothing did except the pain. So he drowned it in more alcohol.

🏯🏯🏯

Wow this chapter turned out huge. But I hope the content made up for it. I will admit that I absolutely LOVED writing it. Yes, I know I sound like a monster and you probably hate me.

But there were also humans in this chapter. Feelings. Developments. Hallucinations, obviously.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Don't forget to hit the star.