"Agent Owens and I will secure the hostage," Donovan said. "For this to work we need to strike hard and strike fast."

He looked around at the group gathered before him. It was a collection of the FBI's finest operatives and men he had worked alongside for the past four years. After a week of hunting down who was behind Maddy's kidnapping and interrogating them, they had found her location.

"Our intel says that the hostage is being held in the basement," he continued. "But we will coordinate our attacks to fall at the exact same moment, we can not risk the hostage being shot. Is that understood?"

A round of nods was the response.

"You have your instructions, now suit up."

The squad dispersed and Donovan stepped away from the table with a map of their assault. The house they had commandeered was crowded with tactical equipment and smelled of metal and strong coffee. The sky was ink black outside. The quiet neighborhood remained unaware of the mass of FBI agents that were in their midst.

Near a row of bullet vests stood Carter, pulling one over her head. Donovan approached and reached out, tightening the straps for her. She looked up at him as his hands made quick work of the task.

"She's going to be fine," she said as if reassuring herself more than him.

"She will be."

"Link will be relieved he can leave the safe house."

Donovan grabbed his own vest and tugged it over his head. As he had helped her, Carter helped him, securing the straps. Though the help was not needed it had become something of a tradition, as if the gesture could be a physical reminder that the other was going to be okay. That they would make it out of any situation alive.

"I'm ready to leave the safe house," she said.

Donovan raised a taunting eyebrow. "I thought you were planning to stay so we had an excuse to elope."

"We can still elope once this is done." She cocked her head. "Though do you want to still have a traditional wedding?"

Donovan grabbed a gun holster and strapped it to his leg as Carter did the same.

"I would still like a normal wedding," he said.

"How about this," Carter said, straightening and placing her hands on her hips. "We'll fight for it. Whoever wins gets to decide what we do."

Donovan slid a gun into the holster and nodded. "Sounds fair enough."

"Good." Carter took a gun and loaded a clip into it. "Let's go get Maddy back."

The group assembled once more, checking equipment and connecting comm links. When satisfied, they slipped out of the apartment and into the night. The air was chilly and stirred the budding tree limbs, sending shadows skittering on the ground. Like silhouettes the agents cut through the neighborhood without a sound, approaching a solitary two-story house on the outskirts.

Donovan and Carter moved as one, their breaths in sync. As they neared their target, Donovan halted the group. They took cover, crouching beside houses. In the darkness barely anything could be seen, but Donovan felt Carter beside him.

"Bravo team," he said, "are you in position?"

A fizz of static filled Donovan's ear.

"Confirmed we are in position."

Donovan checked in with the remaining teams.

"We move in on my signal." He raised his gun, feeling as Carter shifted next to him, her body humming with energy. "Move out."

As one unit twenty different shadows rose and surrounded the house. The windows were dark and it seemed empty. They arrived at the side entrance and paused. Carter tested the handle. Finding it locked, she quickly disassembled it. In Donovan's ear came the confirmation that all the other house locks had been dealt with.

"Now," he said.

Carter opened the door and darted in on whisper treads, Donovan protecting her back. Their first hostile appeared from a side door and fell with three shots to the chest. The shots barely made a dent in the silence, muffled by the suppressor attached to Carter's gun. Around them, they could hear similar sounds floating through the hallways and rooms.

"Heading to the second floor," a voice said in Donovan's ear.

With Donovan clearing their rear, Carter turned down a corner and slipped into a narrow stairwell. The wooden steps were old and groaned under their combined weight. The air smelled damp and musty. Exposed pipes crisscrossed overhead and the only light available was a dim bulb in the corner.

Carter took out a man at the base of the stairs. In the center of the basement was Maddy, tied to a chair, her head hanging to the side unconscious. Her black hair was matted and her clothes were dirty. Other than a few bruises she looked mostly unharmed. As Carter moved around securing the area, Donovan sank to one knee beside Maddy. Flipping open a knife, he sawed away at her bindings. One pale hand flopped as he moved to the next set of ropes. She began to stir.

The pounding of footsteps was the only warning Donovan had before he heard a bang and felt something cut across his neck, burning. Carter raced forward and fired. The man collapsed but not before firing off a few rounds.

One of them made contact and Carter jerked with the force of the hit, crashing to the ground. Blood began to pool over her shirt and down her arm.

For a moment, Donovan was petrified until his mind kicked back in and into overdrive.

"Agent down, I repeat agent down! I need an emergency helicopter here now!" Donovan scrambled to Carter's side, blood soaking into the knees of his pants.

"Someone secure the hostage!"

Confirmations flooded Donovan's ear but he didn't hear. His heart was pounding and he felt ready to shatter. The shot had been one in a million, hitting right past Carter's vest and into her chest.

"Donovan," Carter grimaced.

The weakness in her voice nearly broke him but he gritted his teeth and forced his mind to remain in control, pummeling his emotions into submission. His hands shook but he fought harder.

"You're going to be fine," he said. "Just stay with me."

Carefully, he unstrapped the vest. Her shirt was slick with blood. As he bunched up the fabric and pressed it against the wound, his men descended the stairs, freeing Maddy. A man crouched beside him.

"I need sheets, towels, blankets anything you can find now!"

The man sprinted away and Donovan stared down at Carter. With her remaining strength, she looked back at him, one hand hovering for a moment as if to reach for him.

"Save your strength," he said. "Medics will be here soon. You're going to be fine."

The last statement came out almost as a threat, daring the universe to try and steal her away from him.

"You can..." she whispered. "Pick...the wedding..."

"We already said we would fight for it and that's what we're going to do," he said, keeping his voice controlled. "We're going to fight, Carter. You're going to fight."

Donovan was cracking and he feared the pieces would never be able to be put back together if he broke right then. Pressing the wound harder, he yelled at himself to hold it together. The man returned with towels and Donovan used them.

"Helicopter is ten minutes out," the man said.

Donovan gave a single nod to show that he heard. Carter's eyes dipping closed, her breath a strained wheezing sound that cut him in two each time. The minutes seemed to drag into eternity until there was nothing left but the sound of Carter fighting to stay with him and the blood that wouldn't stop coming.

Forever was broken when two EMT men rushed into the room and nudged Donovan out of the way. He went but never took his eyes off Carter. The men said nothing, working with the efficiency of their profession. When they began to carry Carter away, strapped to a stretcher, he went after them.

What followed was a haze of conversations and blurring sights, the beating of the helicopter blades as they sliced through the air. The only thing that remained clear through it all was Carter, her skin pale and eyes closed as if she had already said goodbye to the world.

When he was no longer allowed to be by her side, he found himself in a hospital lobby, seated on a hard faded blue chair staring at the swinging doors that had stolen Carter.

It was the spot he remained when Steve and Maggie showed up. It was the spot he remained when James took the seat beside him. It was the spot he remained as the shadows changed, time went on and people came and went like ghosts.

Across the way he was dimly aware of Steve burying his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking. Maggie's eyes red and her hand resting on Steve's shoulder. James spoke and laid a hand on Donovan's shoulder but Donovan barely felt the contact.

Nothing mattered except for the doors.

When dawn was breaking over the world, the doors opened and a doctor walked out. Donovan rose, his body aching, but he didn't care.

"Mr. Owens," the doctor said. "She is out of surgery and resting, you can see her now."

Steve stood with Maggie and pushed through the doors, his age showing on his face. When Donovan stepped forward, the doctor raised his hand.

"Family only."

As the doctor turned away, an inhuman growl rumbled through Donovan and he lunged for the man but James blocked his path holding him back.

"Easy," he said. "Just give Steve a moment, you'll get to see her."

But Donovan didn't want to listen, he wanted to tear the man limb from limb, he wanted to rip the doors off their hinges and throw them across the room, he wanted to scream until his lungs fell apart. He wanted to see Carter, see that the nightmare he was living through wasn't real. James held onto Donovan, seeming to understand all of this.

Even when the anger faded, Donovan didn't move, he stood rooted to the spot, a statue in the tide of an emergency room.

When the sun had broken into the windows, the doors opened again and Steve and Maggie walked out.

"I'll take you to her, son," Steve said. His voice was weak but relief was etched into his posture.

Donovan said nothing, allowing himself to be herded through the doors and down a sterile hallway. When they got to Carter's room, Steve opened the door but remained there. Donovan walked in. Carter lay asleep in a thin gown, looking fragile. A monitor was hooked up to her and her heartbeat filled the room.

The sound was the last straw, Donovan stumbled forward and collapsed into the chair, tears slipping out. Taking her hand, he laid his head on the mattress, burying his sorrow, fear, and relief into the soft folds.

"Don't ever leave me," he whispered.

Exhaustion crashed over him and he found he couldn't move. But he found it didn't matter, he had no plans of moving. The day was eaten away and their solitude was untouched.

The twitch of a finger stirred Donovan and he raised his head. Carter was scowling, trying to fight memories. When she finally opened her eyes, Donovan found himself cracking for a different reason. Her blue eyes found him and he knew there would never be a more perfect sight.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

Her voice was a dry rasp and he rose to get her water. When she had drunk the whole cup, her face looked more alive. She then took in his appearance, he still wore his tactical gear and her blood still stained his hands.

"You look like hell," she said.

"And you look beautiful."

As she let out a weak chuckle, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Tears of exhaustion and happiness leaking out.

"Hey," she said, cupping his face, her thumb brushing his cheek. "I'm here."

"You are."

He sat down on the chair, cradling her hand between his. She frowned, remembering something.

"Did I say you could pick our wedding?" she asked.

"Yes, but I don't care anymore. What you want is what I want."

Carter let out a breathy laugh but then grimaced and stopped.

"I want the wedding you want," she said, the edge of her lips curling. "I want a good memory."

Donovan smiled back at her. To him, it didn't matter anymore what type of wedding they had, what matter was that she would be his. That when he woke up, fighting the nightmares of that day she would be laying right beside him.

**********************************************************************

So...hi.

How are you doing?

Kind of an emotional rollercoaster, uh? Well, at least you know how they came to have a normal wedding. Also Maddy is fine and Link is happy to see her. I didn't put that in cause I felt it detracted from the scene. Also it's just a given Maddy and Link will be together and fine.

I didn't know who would be after Link when I wrote that scene in the special and I still don't know now so that's why I didn't address it. Yes, I'm lazy, do you want me to take away this? Ha! Didn't think so.

So I wrote this chapter cause one: enough of you wanted to know how the cliff hanger ended that I figured I would put you out of your misery.

Two: I wanted to see what Donovan would do if Carter really was in danger of dying. She's so strong sometimes it's easy to think that would never happen. But of course it does happen, especially in their line of work, so I wrote it.

What did you think of it all?

Need some ice cream? Well, of course you do, when does anyone not need ice cream?

If you want to leave anything else behind feel free to do so!

If that something is a vote, a comment or a follow I will derive great pleasure from it!