With Trembling Hands I Held Your Life Inside You

[eternalscribe]

Title: With Trembling Hands I Held Your Life Inside You
Author: not_from_stars
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: FH Women of the Otherworld // Fantastic Four // Charmed
Character(s): Savannah Levine, Johnny Storm, Eve Levine, Wyatt Halliwell, Chris Halliwell, Clayton Danvers, Jeremy Danvers
Words: 8,876
Summary: How much would it take to push someone over the edge?
Notes: I started this for sky_more_blue a few months ago when she wasn't feeling well. It is now finished... I think. I promise nothing about sequels or a lack thereof...
Also, the title comes from a line in a Heather Dale song: "with trembling hands I held your life inside you, but failed to earn your favor for my own"



* * *

The rescue had seemed to go off perfectly. Johnny and Eve had managed to track down Bryce and broke in to get to Savannah before too much damage could be done. Johnny had just gotten her untied when Bryce came into the room. When Savannah saw him, she tensed... and then her eyes widened when she saw the gun.

"Say goodbye, Savannah," Bryce said calmly as he pointed the gun at her.

She waited to feel the bullet, but then cried out when Bryce suddenly shifted his aim and fired the gun at Johnny.

"No!" Savannah screamed when the impact of the bullet caused Johnny to slump into her. She tried to hold him up, but both of them went to the floor. "Johnny... no..." She started tearing her shirt off over her head to she could press it to his wound -- trying to slow the blood down. This wasn't happening, not to Johnny!

Eve let loose with a spell that knocked Bryce into a wall and caused him to drop the gun. Bryce fired back with a spell that hit Eve, and then ran from the room. Eve started to follow after him, but Savannah stopped her.

"Let him go. Johnny needs a doctor!"

Savannah's hands were shaking as she held the shirt over the bloody wound. "Johnny... oh god, Johnny I'm sorry..."

Johnny shook his head and tried to cover one of her hands with his. "Sssh, baby," he tried to comfort her. "It'll be okay..." He fixed his eyes on hers. "Can't stop me..." He smiled at her and then closed his eyes. When he didn't open his eyes again, Savannah started screaming.

A few hours later, Savannah was sitting in the waiting room of one of the best hospitals in the area -- Cabal controlled of course. Her hands were curled around a cup of something that had been pressed into her hands, but every time she looked down, all she saw was Johnny's blood on her hands and her arms. Sue, Reed and Ben were there, but Savannah hadn't been able to speak after they got Johnny here and into surgery. It had been Jeremy that made the calls after Eve had alerted him to what had happened.

"It wasn't your fault, Savannah," Sue was once again telling her. "Johnny knew what he was getting into when he went to find you. It wasn't your fault he got hurt."

Savannah didn't believe her, and when she looked at Sue, Johnny's sister got the feeling that the younger girl wasn't really hearing anything she was saying. The other girl's blue eyes were so dark that they looked almost black in her white face.

The doctor came out and Savannah never moved as he looked around to see who he needed to inform about his patient's condition. Jeremy nodded to Sue, who went to stand beside Savannah again.

"I'm his sister," she said quietly. "This is his girlfriend."

"Johnny's going to be fine," the doctor said. He started saying a lot of other things, but Savannah didn't hear any of that.

Johnny's going to be fine.

Eve was watching all of this and was concerned by the fact that so far her daughter had had no reaction, and she was pretty sure she was in shock.

"... he needs rest, but the bullet didn't do much damage and it didn't hit anything on the way out of his body."

"When can we see him?"

"You can see him now, but don't stay too long. As I said, he needs rest."

Sue nodded and looked at Savannah.

"You go first," Savannah said in a quiet voice. "You're his sister."

Sue looked like she wanted to argue with her, but Eve gave her a subtle shake of her head. Savannah was in shock and pushing her would be bad right now. Taking a deep breath, Sue turned and started after the doctor, Reed walking with her.

"Savannah," Jeremy said, coming to crouch down in front of her, encasing her cold hands in his. "Honey, he's going to be okay. I know the surgeons and they didn't have to go in to remove the bullet. It passed right through. It didn't hurt any internal organs."

"He got shot because of me," Savannah said in an empty voice. "Bryce tried to kill him because I love him."

"Baby girl, Bryce would have shot any of us so that he could get away," Eve tried to explain to her. "It's not your fault."

"He was aiming the gun at me. He should have shot me. But he didn't. He shot Johnny. He did it on purpose. He wanted to kill him. Wanted to break me."

"But he didn't kill him and he didn't break you, Savannah. He's going to be fine and so are you." Jeremy looked at the tank top that Savannah was wearing. It was stained with Johnny's blood from when she had been laying over him to stop the bleeding with her hands. "Sweetheart, maybe a shower and a change of clothes would do you some good." He was pretty sure it couldn't be helping her to see her boyfriend's blood all over her every time she looked around. He also wasn't above getting one of the doctors to sedate her or do something if she didn't fight her way out of her shocky state soon.

"I don't want to leave him, yet," she said in that same tone of voice. "I need to be here right now."

Jeremy nodded and patted her knee before getting to his feet. He beckoned Eve over to one of the corners so that they could talk in hushed tones without Savannah overhearing them.

Not that Savannah would have cared if she had heard them. Right now, all of her attention was focused on a hospital room down the hall where her boyfriend lay after taking a bullet that should have been meant for her.

Later that night, Savannah was sitting in a chair beside Johnny's bed. He was asleep and she was holding onto his hand. She had tears trickling down her face as she listened to him breathing. Everyone kept telling her he was going to be okay, but seeing him in the hospital bed and a little paler than normal had her scared to death.

"I'm sorry, Johnny," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. It should have been me here instead of you. But you know what, he's not going to get away with doing this to you. I promise you, I'm going to make him pay for this." Her whispered voice hardened. "I love you and I'm going to make him sorry." She stood up and leaned over him to kiss him. She let her forehead rest against his for a few moments. "I love you." She pulled back, and stiffening her shoulders, she left the hospital room.

"Savannah?" Johnny's voice was soft as he fought past the medication to wake up. He had heard her voice -- had heard her talking. "Savannah?" He turned his head in time to see the door shutting behind her. He reached for the call button. Her leaving like that just couldn't be good.

After she had spoken to Johnny, Sue had slipped out of the hospital. Making herself invisible, she had hurried after Savannah. She wasn't exactly sure where the other girl was headed, but Johnny had said that he thought Savannah was going to do something bad.

"Worse than anything I have ever thought of doing," Johnny had said.

Finally catching up to her brother's girlfriend, Sue stepped out in front of her. "Savannah, wait."

Savannah stopped and looked at her, and Sue was slightly taken aback by the rage in her eyes. "What are you doing here, Sue? Shouldn't you be with Johnny?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"I have something I have to take care of."

"Johnny needs you right now, Savannah. He needs you in one piece. Let the authorities handle your brother."

"The authorities can't do anything to Bryce," Savannah said flatly. "All he'll understand is Cabal justice. Old school justice."

"So tell the police where to find him and let them arrest him," Sue said. "Let the police and a court take care of him."

"You don't understand how they work, Sue. I do. The police can't do anything to Bryce. The Cabal structures own most of the regular law enforcement agencies. He'll never be arrested, never see a trial. He'll get away with this if someone doesn't stop him."

"So let someone else stop him."

"I can't." Savannah met Sue's eyes and hers were full of fire. "He tried to take Johnny from me. He knew that killing Johnny would destroy me or at least push me over the edge. "

"What do you mean push you over the edge? Savannah, you're not making any sense!"

Savannah looked at Sue and there was sadness in her eyes. "Ask Johnny. He'll know."

Savannah said something in Latin and her image blurred in front of Sue before fading away completely. She heard footsteps running away from her, but she couldn't figure out which way they were going.

"Savannah, come back! Savannah!" When there was no answer, Sue turned around and headed back to the hospital. She had to find Eve and talk to Johnny. "Don't let anything happen to her," she whispered. She was afraid of the effect it would have on her brother.

Johnny was agitated as he listened to Sue and Eve talk. He was sitting up in the bed and he looked at Eve.

"Is Savannah right? Do the Cabals own most of the law enforcement in the area?"

"If Savannah says they do, then they do. Benecio and Lucas have been teaching her about the ways the cabals work so she's better protected against the Nasts." She looked at them both. "Besides, do you think any jail could even hold a sorcerer if he doesn't want to be held?"

"God dammit."

Sue shook her head. "So you're telling me that these people just get away with stuff like this? No one can stop them or punish them?"

"There's a supernatural council and they usually take care of things like this -- if they can get to the offender before the other cabals do. Jeremy is on the council, as is Paige. The problem is that the Nasts have never recognized the council as having any power because they have witches. To the Nasts, witches are lower than low unless they work for them. Savannah is a special case, however, due to her mixed blood." Eve sighed. "If the whole thing with Kristof's death hadn't happened, they would have continued to try to get Savannah to work for their Cabal because of the fact that she has access to so much power -- and she was the daughter of the heir apparent. With the kidnapping of Savannah, it would have been the right of the Cortezes to take Bryce and punish him since Savannah is an adopted member of that family due to Lucas being involved with Paige."

"And now... after the shooting of Johnny?"

Eve looked away.

"Eve?" Johnny's gaze was intense.

"Now it becomes the right of anyone who is willing to go after him for the attack on Johnny."

"And you think that's what Savannah has in mind?" Sue's voice was full of shock. "She's only a kid. He'll kill her."

Johnny looked at Eve and his voice was tight. "So what you're telling us is that Savannah is taking it upon herself to try and take down the guy that shot me? The same guy who has wanted her dead for years, who has tried to terrorize her and kidnapped her. He's a powerful sorcerer several years older than her... and because of him attacking me, she's going after him."

Eve nodded reluctantly. "You're like an anchor to her Johnny. You make her feel normal and loved -- like you can keep the darkness in her at bay. Bryce tried to kill you because he knew that it would break Savannah if you died -- and if you survived it would cause her to eat herself up with guilt that you were hurt. Either way, he had a good chance of destroying her."

Johnny curled his fists in the blanket. "He shot me to hurt her?"

Sue recognized that tone of voice. "Johnny, don't you even think about it."

"Eve?"

"Bryce is an asshole, Johnny. He has to get it from his mother because Kristof never acted like that in all of the time that I knew him." Eve said quietly, pacing the room as she talked. "You saw how she reacted when she thought Leah had killed me to get her to do what she wanted. I know my daughter... and you know her, too. She'll claim the right to get justice for what happened to you -- no matter the risk."

"So we need to find her." Johnny said quietly.

"Wrong," Sue said. "We need to find her. You need to stay here."

"Not happening, Sue," John said steadily. "That's my girl out there who is going to try to do something stupid because she is pissed that someone hurt me to get to her."

"Damn it, Johnny! This wasn't some sort of motor cross stunt where things went a little wrong. You were shot. You need to stay here and where you can be taken care of in case something goes wrong."

"How do you plan to find her?" His question was directed at Eve.

"Jeremy called Clayton and he will meet us here." At Johnny's sour look, Eve smiled faintly. "I know you're not too fond of him, Johnny, but he is the best tracker in the Pack. He'll find her."

"See, Johnny," Sue said calmly. "This is all figured out. You stay in bed, and we'll take care of Savannah."

"And how do you plan to get through to her?"

"What do you mean?"

Johnny sat up again and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I mean, how do you plan to get through Savannah's emotions and rage to get her to stop what she plans to do, Sue? She won't listen to you, you have no emotional ties to her. I do. Savannah will listen to me. I can reach her, I can get through to her while none of you can. She's going after that asshole because of me." He looked around. "Where is my firesuit?"

"Johnny, you can't go out there! Eve, talk to him."

"What do you expect me to do? That's my daughter that is out there, ready to do something to get herself killed and Johnny's right. He's probably the only one that can stop her. He loves her and she loves him." Eve sighed. "I'm sorry, Sue, but I'm willing to do anything to keep my daughter alive. Johnny can do that if we can get him to her in time. Which we can't do if you keep arguing with him!"

Eve found Johnny's flight suit in the small hospital closet and brought it to him. "There's still blood on it," she said apologetically.

"Eve, that really is the least of my worries right now," he said with a tight smile as he started pulling it on. "We are going to go out and retrieve Savannah -- and then I am going to kick her ass for even thinking about doing something so dangerous."

If it wasn't for the fact that she knew how much Johnny loved Savannah, and how he would never really carry through with that threat, Eve might have bristled. However, she could hear the undercurrent of fear in Johnny's voice. He was very worried about what was going to happen to Savannah if they didn't get to her in time.

"Johnny, I wish you'd think about this. The doctors are never going to allow you to check out of here in your condition."

"I'm not asking them for permission, Sue. I'm going, whether you like it or not. My girlfriend is out there doing something dangerous and I would like to find her before I have to go to her damn funeral." Johnny's gaze was intense as he looked at his sister. "If it was Reed in trouble, you wouldn't allow anything to keep you away."

Sue had to admit that he was right. "Just be careful, Johnny."

"Aren't I always?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do I need to remind you what happened last night and why we're even having this discussion?"

Before Johnny could respond, the room phone rang and Eve answered it.

"Hello? Yeah," she nodded. "We're on our way down." She hung up the phone and looked at Johnny. "That was Jeremy. Clayton is downstairs waiting for us."

"Then let's go," Johnny said firmly, heading out the door.

Clay gave Johnny a slow smirk when they met up outside the hospital.

"I have to say, you're a lot tougher than I gave you credit for."

It was no secret that Johnny and Clay didn't like each other -- hadn't liked each other since a certain visit to Stonehaven one Christmas. Clay didn't like Johnny because he was dating Savannah, and Johnny thought Clay was an overbearing bully. He really didn't like how bossy he got with Savannah.

"Oh?" Johnny said, some of the arrogance coloring his voice again. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, you got shot, bled all over Savannah, had surgery... and yet, not even twenty-fours hour later, you're out here all set to get into another fight with the guy who shot you."

"What do you mean I bled all over Savannah?" Because this was apparently an important point.

Clay looked at Eve, who gave a long sigh. "Damn you, Clayton."

Johnny looked at Eve as well. "Eve?"

"When Bryce shot you, Johnny, Savannah tried to hold you up against her, but you're bigger than she is. The two of you went down and there was so much blood. She pulled off her shirt and was using it to try and slow the blood. It was getting all over her... her shirt, arms, face... but she didn't seem to notice."

Johnny closed his eyes. He could only imagine how that had affected Savannah.

"Then when you closed your eyes and didn't open them again... she freaked out a little. She didn't speak at all during the ambulance ride to the hospital, and when we were waiting for word on your condition, she just sat there." Eve ran a hand through her hair. "We tried to get her to go clean up, but she wouldn't leave until she knew you were going to make it. Honestly, when she finally left the hospital, I thought she was going to go shower and change her clothes.

Johnny gave her a look. "You're telling me that she sat there, covered in my blood for several hours, and no one thought that it might have affected her in a negative fashion?"

"I think they were all more worried about what they were going to have to do with the kid if you didn't make it," Clay drawled. "Sedated her, definitely. Have to lock her in a supernatural loony bin, quite possibly." He pinned Johnny with a look. "After all, she's the reason you got shot. Do you have any idea what that would have done to her mind?"

"Clayton, shut up," Eve hissed angrily. "Johnny didn't die, he survived. If it had looked like a near thing, I would have called Wyatt." She looked at both of them. "We have got to find her and we're running out of time."

"Eve is right, but let me tell you something, Clay." Johnny's voice was tense. "Don't you ever doubt how much I love Savannah, or how far I would go for her. If something goes bad tonight and I have to make a choice between getting Savannah safely away from there, or helping you and Eve, I will choose Savannah." He looked at Eve and shrugged slightly. "Sorry, Eve."

Eve smiled. "No worries. I wouldn't expect anything less. My daughter is the most important person to me... and I trust you to keep her safe."

Johnny nodded. "Good to know." He looked back at Clayton. "Well? Are we going to find her or what?"

"Give me a moment," he said, before going around the side of the building. After a few minutes, the largest wolf Johnny had ever seen came back to their sides. The fur was the same blonde as Clayton's hair had been and those were definitely Clayton's eyes looking out at him.

"Son of a bitch," he murmured.

Clayton let out a bark that sounded a lot like a laugh. He then pointed his nose into the air and then sniffed for a moment, before dropping his nose to the pavement. With a short snarl, he took off running.

"You follow him from the ground," Johnny suggested. "I'll follow from the air." He stepped back from her. "Flame on!" When Johnny's flames kicked in, he took to the air.

Eve watched him for a moment before she started running after Clayton.

Johnny heard the roar of thunder and saw the streak of lightning at about the same time that Clayton let out a triumphant howl. He dropped to the ground next to Eve and they were soon joined by the wolf. Peering into the street that Clayton had led them to, Johnny felt like his heart had stopped for a moment.

Savannah was standing in the middle of the street and each of her hands were at her sides. When she lifted one of her hands, Johnny could see something glowing . She threw it towards the other end of the street, and as she did that, a bolt of lightning streaked along the buildings. His eyes followed the lightning and that was when he saw Bryce at the other end of where Savannah was.

"What in the hell have you done?" Bryce demanded as he threw a fireball at Savannah. Savannah didn't dodge it and Johnny cursed as the spell hit her in the chest, knocking her back a few steps.

Wait.

A few steps? What the hell had she done?

"What's wrong, Bryce?" Savannah demanded. "Don't you like it? I mean, you wanted to see all of my power in action. You wanted me to give in to the darkness that lives inside me."

"Oh, I see, your precious boyfriend must have died. I wish I could say I was sorry."

Johnny swallowed hard when Savannah turned her head and he could see the pain in her face. He could also see streaks on her face and arms that he didn't want to think too much about. He bit the inside of his cheek as he watched her cast another spell again and ice balls flew towards Bryce. To his dismay, he could see the shield come up in front of Bryce, stopping the ice from reaching him.

"No, he didn't die," Savannah said, her voice hard. "He'll live, but you shouldn't have attacked him, Bryce. You made a very big mistake trying to kill Johnny."

"What do you think you'll be able to do about it, witchling?" The tone of Bryce's voice was mocking. "The boy isn't a sorcerer or with any Cabal. Even your precious Lucas can't do anything to me."

"Well, you're partially right, Bryce. See, I've been studying Cabal laws -- and I'm a very dedicated student. I'm under the protection of the Cortez Cabal. You violated Cabal Law when you kidnapped me and told me how you were going to kill me." Savannah raised her hands again, and those watching could see the red sparks of power arcing through her fingers. "You tried to murder Johnny during a rescue attempt -- wherein, he was rescuing someone that was under the protection of another Cabal."

"Again, he is not with any Cabal."

"No, but I am. Therefore, you wronged me personally when shooting him." Savannah bared her teeth. "I claim the right of punishment for that."

"Even if you had the power and knowledge to defeat me, you would never risk the loss of your humanity by willfully killing me. That's one of the many flaws inherent in your witch blood, my darling sister."

"There are many things that I would risk for Johnny, brother dear," Savannah hissed. "If killing you and losing my humanity keeps him alive and safe from the Nasts, then so be it."

Johnny took in a hissing breath when Savannah said that and he turned a worried gaze on Eve. Eve didn't notice his look and as he watched her, he realized that she was working on some kind of spell. He looked at Clayton, who barely moved his head. It wasn't time to move and reveal their presence yet. Johnny clenched his jaw. He hated having to wait right now. He wanted to swoop in there and grab Savannah -- and make sure that bastard would never come near her again.

"There was something that you overlooked in this little scheme of yours, Bryce. Johnny is my light and my anchor. He was all that stood between your family and all of the darker powers within me. He has been keeping me grounded and balanced out." Her eyes narrowed. "Harm him, there's no longer anything that keeps my power at bay." Her hand shot out and a force bolt slammed into the side of Bryce's head, drawing blood.

"You little bitch," Bryce hissed. "You're going to pay for that."

Johnny wasn't sure what Bryce did, but the next thing he knew, there was blood seeping from Savannah's nose and there was a wound above her eye that was dripping blood down her face. Savannah didn't seem to be aware she was bleeding as she opened her hand and Bryce went backwards into the wall.

Johnny clenched his fists and had to bite the inside of his cheek so he didn't call out to his girlfriend. He hoped Eve finished with whatever big spell she was casting soon because he didn't know how much longer he could handle watching Savannah get hurt. He knew he wouldn't be able to watch Bryce bleed her much longer before he lost his head.

He started to say something to Eve when it felt like the world exploded around them. The air above them seemed to heat up and when he looked above their heads, he saw that the sky had turned red. As he watched, the red was joined with streaks of dark blue and those swirls started downward. They started hitting the ground around Bryce and caused the sorcerer to scramble as he threw spells back at Savannah. When the parts of the street started exploding around the combatants, Johnny wasn't exactly sure who the power was coming from -- until he looked at his girlfriend.

Savannah seemed to be balancing on the tips of her toes and the winds of power moving around her caused her dark hair to fly back from her face. When he looked at her eyes, he knew without a doubt that she was the one that caused the eruptions of asphalt and stone around her and her brother. He was becoming worried. She was so small compared to her brother. How much more of this stress could her body take as they threw magic back and forth at each other? If he wasn't afraid that the wild magic would cause his flames to hurt Savannah instead, he would torch Bryce Nast once and for all.

Savannah made a slight movement and another spell slammed into Bryce, causing his nose to explode in blood. He stiffened and both of his hands flew out at her. Johnny and Clayton watched as a hail of bricks went flying towards Savannah. He saw her hand shake and knew that her body was starting to show signs of collapse from the fight. She lifted her arm quickly to throw up a barrier, but some of the bricks got to her before she raised the barrier.

It was bad enough to see some of those bricks hit Savannah -- knowing that she was going to be bloody and bruised from it. What made Johnny lose his composure was first hearing the sound of bones breaking in the arm that she had raised in front of her face as bricks impacted with it; then hearing that high-pitched wail of pain from her that followed. When she went to her knees, he saw her barrier spell falter and knew that Bryce would send the rest of those bricks and crush her.

"Savannah!" Johnny's voice was more of an angry roar than anything. He was done watching and waiting. Those sounds from her were just too much to keep him from reacting. He called up his flames and moved out in front of Savannah. He used his flames to shoot the bricks away from her and send them back at Bryce. "Leave her alone, you bastard!"

He was happy to see several of the bricks slam into Bryce's body and knock him back into a wall. Clenching his fists, he started advancing on the man that had terrorized Savannah and had shot him.

Bryce managed to get to his feet and spit blood. He gave Johnny a sinister smile. "Ah, the boyfriend. I see you're not as near death as the witchling thought you were. I'll have to remedy that."

"Shut up, Bryce," Eve said, stepping out of the shadows behind him.

Clayton moved to where he was between Johnny and Bryce. This also put Bryce right between him and Eve.

"Get her out of here, Johnny," Eve commanded in a voice he had never heard from her before. "Get her back to the hospital. Clayton and I will meet you back there."

"What are you going to do?" Johnny asked as he moved closer to Savannah. As much as he wanted to pummel that bastard some more, Savannah needed him.

"You probably don't want to know. He tried to kill my daughter. Clayton and I are going to make him regret that."

Johnny nodded once and since the other two seemed to have Bryce under control, he dispersed his flames and gathered Savannah up in his arms. He held her close to his chest, more than a little concerned when he realized that at some point she had lost consciousness. "Hurry up and get your ass back to the hospital, Eve."

Johnny didn't remember how he got back to the hospital. He remembered coming in the doors to the Emergency Room, and the look on the triage nurse's face when she saw him and the unconscious girl he was holding. He remembered calling Sue's cell phone and her and Reed meeting him in the ER while he waited for a doctor to examine Savannah. He remembered calling Isabel and Summer, leaving messages for them and for their boyfriends.

"Johnny, you're bleeding." Sue's voice was worried when she saw the blood on his firesuit.

"It's not my blood," he said tightly, keeping an eye on the door that Savannah had been taken through.

"So she did go after him, then? How badly was she hurt?"

"The doctors are examining her now. I know that her arm is broken at the very least."

Reed laid a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "She'll be okay," he said in what he hoped was a comforting tone. "She's tough." She had to be to be Johnny's girlfriend.

Johnny nodded. He wasn't really paying too much attention to the conversation as he was focused on that door. When the doctor came out of the door, Johnny was on his feet.

"We're going to have to admit her," he said quietly. "She hasn't responded or woken up, so we're assuming that she could have a serious head injury. However, we can't diagnose the extent of it until she wakes up."

"Is she going to be okay," Johnny asked in a tense voice.

"From what we can tell thus far, she should heal. It could be that she just exhausted her energy stores and that plus the wounds she sustained from the bricks and the magical attack has kept her unconscious."

"And if she doesn't wake up, what then?"

"Mr. Storm, all I can do is tell you what we know right now. Her left arm is broken in four places. She has burns across her chest and shoulder. She's lost a great deal of blood and her vital signs are elevated. However, that could be from all of the casting you said she was doing against Bryce Nast, and therefore we don't know yet if it's from something more serious. We have no way of knowing what spells he used on her. She's got multiple cuts, bruises and other abrasions. She has a head wound, but we don't know how bad it is." The doctor ran a hand over his face. "So, we have to admit her. We have her hooked up to an IV with antibiotics and pain medication. She's going to need it if --" At Johnny's glare, the doctor cleared his throat. "--when she regains consciousness."

Johnny nodded. "I'll sit with her. Trust me when I say that you do not want her waking up in your hospital without someone she knows there with her."

"Mr. Cortez didn't say anything about her being dangerous."

That caused the doctor to receive an angry look from Johnny.

"Don't ever say that about her. She's not dangerous, but she freaks out about clinics and hospitals. Something happened to her when she was a kid."

The doctor nodded. "She's being taken to room 915. It's a private room, something Mr. Cortez insisted on."

"Mr. Cortez has good judgment sometimes." Johnny watched the doctor walk away and went back to Sue and Reed. "They're having to admit her since she hasn't woken up yet. They don't know if it's the head wound or exhaustion that has prevented it. Her arm is broken in four places, and she has a lot of cuts and bruises. I'm going to stay with her." He gave Sue a tired look. "Can you hang around here and wait for Eve? I don't know what happened after I got Savannah out of there, but I know this will be the first place she comes to in order to find out about her daughter."

"Of course," Sue said with a nod.

"One more thing," he said, handing her a slip of paper with some names and numbers. "Call Isabel and Summer. They'll want to know."

"We'll make sure they know what's going on and where to find you guys."

"Room 915," Johnny said, walking down the hall to the elevators.

In room 915, Johnny Storm sat next to Savannah's bed. He had pulled a chair as close to the bed as he could get it, and now he was leaning forward, holding her hand between both of his. Every few moments, his jaw clenched as he looked her over. She was covered in enough bruises that if he didn't know her so well, one wouldn't be able to tell what the natural colour of her skin was. Not that the pasty whiteness of her skin was a good indicator of anything right now. There were so many bandages on her that he had long ago lost count -- if you believed him. Honestly, anyone that knew Johnny and Savannah could tell you that he knew exactly how many bruises and bandages covered her body. He looked at the cast on her left arm and swallowed the growl of anger he wanted to make. The cast went from her fingers to almost her shoulder and he hated what that cast represented. The beeping of the machines that she was hooked up to did nothing to alleviate his concern for her -- or calm the fury that filled him. If it wasn't for the fact that Savannah needed him, he would be out there hunting the man that had done this to her. He had called both Isabel and Summer again... and had also called Eve's cell phone since she hadn't come back to the hospital yet. All of this waiting and worrying about what had happened after he took Savannah from the scene of the fight wasn't helping matters any.

"Come on, baby," he whispered, bringing her hand up to her lips. "You have to wake up for me now, Savannah. I need you to wake up."

There was no response from the girl on the bed and he sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours since she had been admitted and still nothing. There hadn't been even a small sign of life or recognition from her. She hadn't opened her eyes, her breathing hadn't changed. There had been nothing. One of the doctors had suggested that there was damage to her brain and she may never wake up again.

That doctor was no longer on her case. A call to Paige and Lucas had made sure of that.

The idea that Savannah might never wake up again was not something that Johnny was willing to even think about. She would wake up and he would be here when she did. He would be the first thing she would see when she opened those blue eyes of hers.

"Please, baby," he tried again, a thread of desperation coloring his voice. "Open your eyes for me."

A sound from across the room caused him to lift his eyes from his girlfriend's face, but he didn't move anything else. He didn't have the energy to smile even when he saw those familiar white lights.

"Chris. Wyatt." He nodded at them, but even he could hear the weariness in his own voice. He wasn't exactly surprised that they were there, only that it had taken awhile longer than he would have liked. "What brings you here?"

His joke fell flat, but then, he had known it would. He wasn't exactly in top form with Savannah being like this.

Chris moved to the bed as Wyatt looked at him. "What happened?"

"Savannah got kidnapped. Eve and I rescued her. I got shot. Savannah went ballistic. She went after the guy who shot me -- one of her brothers. He tried to kill her. She unleashed on him. He did the same to her. She hasn't woken up since then." He looked at Chris. "What took you so long? She's been like this for the last day and a half. I thought you could sense her because you're her white lighter or some shit?"

"I can't sense her when I'm in the Underworld," Chris explained, looking Savannah over. "Which is where I was with Wyatt. Our mom and aunts were in trouble and they needed our help. As soon as we came back topside, I felt her."

"Then we got calls from Isabel and Summer that there was some kid of trouble." Wyatt added as he looked from Johnny and then to the girl who was like his little sister laying in the hospital bed. It looked like she was hooked up to every machine the hospital had.

"Does your family get frequent flyer miles for all of those trips you take to the Underworld?"

"We should," Wyatt said. "Where did you get shot?"

"I'm fine. Take care of Savannah first."

"We'll take care of her, but after I heal you," Wyatt said firmly. "I have no desire to be on the receiving end of Brat's temper if she wakes up and I haven't healed you."

Johnny sighed. "After seeing how she reacted to me getting shot in the first place..." He reluctantly let go of Savannah's hand and undid his shirt.

When Wyatt peeled off the bandages, he whistled softly. "Dude, you're lucky he didn't kill you."

"I'm a hard person to kill," Johnny said, looking from him to Savannah. "Unfortunately, Savannah was the one that tried to hold me up and got covered in my blood before they got me into surgery." He looked at Chris. "I've never seen her like she was when I found her fighting that bastard, Chris. She was a force of nature -- pissed off nature."

Wyatt put his hands over the wound and in a few moments, there was no evidence that Johnny had ever been shot.

"Thanks," Johnny said tiredly. "Now Savannah."

Chris was examining Savannah. "If he heals everything, there will be a lot of questions from the staff."

"No there won't," Johnny said, running a hand over his face. "This is a Cabal-run hospital. Magic is normal to them. There won't be any questions." He sighed. "Besides her grandfather won't let there be questions."

"Wyatt," Chris said in a low voice. "She's hurt bad. Everything I'm feeling from her is a lot more faint than usual."

"What's that mean," Johnny demanded, alarm evident in his voice.

"It means that I have my work cut out for me," Wyatt said softly as he moved around Johnny to lay his hands on Savannah's head and chest.

Johnny watched all of this with worry that he wasn't exactly very good at hiding. Him being hurt, that was nothing, he could handle that. However, having Savannah like this wasn't something he had ever imagined, and the reality of it was painful on a level he had never experienced before.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Johnny looked at Chris. "Nothing is happening!" He burst out.

"Give him some time," Chris said calmly. "She's hurt pretty badly, so it takes longer for the magic to work on her than it did you."

A few more minutes went by and then Savannah's eyes finally opened. "Johnny!" Her cry was full of fear as she set up in a panic and tried to get out of the bed. "Johnny's been hurt!"

"Easy, Brat," Wyatt said softly, pushing her gently back down. "You need to stay still. You were --"

"Johnny!" Savannah said again, her voice full of anxiety. "Bryce shot him, Wyatt!"

Johnny leaned forward so Savannah could see him and took her hand again. "It's okay, babe," he said softly. "I'm right here. I'm okay." He ran a hand over her face, hating the fear he could see in her eyes. "I'm safe. Wyatt healed me."

Savannah closed her hand around his. "I tried to stop him, Johnny."

"From what I saw, I don't think he'll bother me again." He said it more for Savannah's benefit. He wasn't worried about Bryce Nast. If he ever came near him again, he'd torch him, simple as that. However, he realized that Savannah needed reassurance right now that he was safe.

"What happened, Savannah?" Chris asked her after making sure Wyatt was all right.

"Bryce... he shot Johnny. There was so much blood and he wouldn't wake up. At the hospital, the doctor said he wasn't going to die. Everything was so dark around me. I promised Johnny I would make him pay."

Johnny stroked her face. "I didn't expect you to endanger your life, baby."

"I thought you were dead at first," Savannah whispered, looking at him. She felt herself trembling again, and from far away, she felt Wyatt's hand on her arm. "Even when the doctor said they had got the bullet out... you were so pale and hooked up to machines... and it was my fault."

The three guys exchanged looks, and then Johnny shook his head. "No baby, no. What happened wasn't your fault."

"He wanted to kill you just to hurt me," she said softly. "If I didn't love you and you hadn't come to rescue me..."

"Stop it," Johnny said firmly. "Stop it right now." He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned close, his face inches from hers. "What Bryce did was not your fault, Savannah, you hear me? He's not the first one who has tried to kill me and I can probably guarantee that he won't be the last." He stared at her. "I didn't come to help you because you love me. I went after you because I love you. Love works both ways, baby. There was no way in hell that I could have allowed him to hurt you any more or to kill you like he has threatened to do." He was fighting not to be self-conscious of talking to her like this. Johnny wasn't someone who talked about deep feelings -- especially in front of other guys. However, he needed to make Savannah understand a few things -- for both of their sakes. "Look, babe, you've told me so many times how much you love me and how much you want to protect me and keep me safe. What makes you think that I don't want to do that for you as well? You're not the only one with instincts and the desire to keep those you love safe from harm. I have never felt anything like I did when Eve told me that Bryce had you -- this was so much worse than when I saw you fighting Leah years ago. All I could think about was how scared you were of your father's family and how many times they had tried to hurt you. I knew there would be risks when I went to rescue you with Eve, Savannah. I chose to take them."

"Bryce said --"

"I heard what he told you when you were fighting him, Savannah," Johnny interrupted. "It wasn't your fault. He wanted to hurt you, to make you feel guilty over him shooting me. He wanted you to blame yourself because he thought he could beat you that much easier if he broke your spirit." He let out his breath when Wyatt and Chris stepped back a few feet from the bed, giving them a little more privacy. "When Sue came back to my hospital room and told me that you were going after that bastard -- god, Savannah, I was so scared for you."

"Scared? But why?"

Johnny ran his fingers down her face. "Because I thought I was going to lose you, sweetheart. I had survived a bullet -- and I still might lose you. Don't you understand by now? Having something happen to you would take a part of me with you."

"But --"

"No," he said firmly. "You're going to hear me out. I should have said these things long before now."

"You don't have to --" She knew how much he hated talking about deep feelings and anything like that, so she was trying to change the direction of the conversation so he wouldn't feel like he had to say any of these things. "Johnny--"

Her words were cut off when he laid a gentle finger against her lips.

"Yes I do, Savannah." He looked into her eyes. "It's long past time that I told you this... and it's time that you heard it. You need to listen to me and not interrupt me. I never imagined loving anyone like I love you, baby. I was always the playboy, the ladies guy. I was all about the fun I could have with no strings. Then when I met you, something inside me changed." He stroked her cheek. "You were so sweet to people and you were so full of fire and passion. Even as I learned more about you and the things you had been through, there was still this innocence about you and I wanted to protect it." Wyatt made a snorting sound at that, but Johnny ignored him. "I mean, yeah, I thought you were hot and wanted to have sex with you from the moment we met, but there was so much more to it than that ... even though it took me awhile to realize it. I should have admitted it sooner than I did, but I thought that it would take something away from who I was." He shook his head. "Dumb, I know, but Sue was the one in the family that believed in true love. She's the one who fell head over heels in love and wanted to date only one person. That was what she and Reed were meant for, not me -- or so I had always believed. I was the guy who played the field and never got attached to anyone. I just didn't think that being in a relationship was for me; it didn't fit the image." He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, stiffening a little when he recalled how bruised she had been just a few minutes earlier. "Then I met you and the more I got to know you, the more I wanted to be with you. When you started dating Chris, I thought everything would be fine and that there wouldn't be any feelings and thoughts that I needed to be concerned about. As you know, dealing with deep feelings or thoughts is not something that I tend to do very well -- or at all. I could continue to casually date as much as I wanted and all would be well." His thumb moved along the back of her hand. "But that's not what happened. Things got even more tangled up in my head and the thoughts got worse."

Savannah gave him a confused look and shifted on the bed. "What do you mean? How did they get worse?" She and Johnny had been together for awhile now -- been through a lot of ups and downs -- but he had never spoken much about the feelings he had had before they started dating.

"I got jealous," he said sheepishly. "Every time I saw you with Chris or heard you talk about him, I got jealous and angry. I didn't want you seeing him -- or anyone else. I wanted you all to myself."

Savannah blinked. "But --"

He placed a finger over her lips again. "I know. I was dating others and sleeping with other people. I had no right feeling like that where you were concerned, but I did. I started thinking about things and what I wanted... and then you got turned into that panther cub. You remember that? I showed up in the room, and there you were, tearing everything to shreds. I wanted to keep that panther as a pet and give it to you so I could tell you how I felt and what I wanted."

"I remember," she said softly. "That was right before I got into it with Umbridge and you were livid that she had hurt me."

"Yeah," he agreed. "It should have been a sort of a sign that I was already more attached to you than I had thought." He ran a nervous hand through his hair, then looked into her eyes. "Savannah... I love you, and you know that."

She nodded. "I know you do, Johnny. I've never doubted that."

"The thing is, Savannah, if anything happened to you... it would kill a part of me -- a big part." She started to speak, but he shook his head. "Hear me out. You're kick ass and you're rarely afraid of anything that happens unless it happens to someone you care about. You didn't think about your own safety when you went after Bryce -- even though you had to have known that there was no way you could have won right now. When I woke up and found out where you had gone, all I could think about was that I had to get to you and keep you safe. I couldn't handle the thought of him killing you -- and when you wouldn't wake up..." He shook his head. "I've never been that scared in my life, babe. It's not something I ever want to experience again." He smiled. "Sweetheart, you've told me so many times that I'm your balance and your anchor... it never occurred to you that you might have that effect on me, too." He laced his fingers with hers. "From the very beginning, you've loved me unconditionally. You knew my reputation and how I behaved... and you didn't care about any of that. You told me over and over again that you saw so much more to me than any of that. You've amazed me in so many ways by just being who you are." He met her eyes again. "You can't get yourself killed, Savannah. I couldn't take it."

Savannah swallowed, staring at him. He had never talked like this... or this much ... about his feelings before. It surprised her that he was saying all of this now in front of Chris and Wyatt. She reached for him, and Johnny pulled her into his rams, his chin resting on her hair.

Wyatt and Chris smiled at each other, and left to go get Summer and Isabel to let them know Savannah was going to be okay.