Feeling a cool cloth running over his face, Christopher forced his eyes opened and found himself down in the old dungeon. He tried moving his arms and found them chained to the wall. Looking around the dimly lit room, he found Oric wiping his hands on a towel and coughed.

"Awake are we?"

He watched the cook turn to him and asked "What happened?"

The man shook his head and said "You passed out on the way down here."

He leaned his head back and said "I meant what happened at the beach?"

"Don't joke. Your life is not looking so good."

Christopher closed his eyes and ran his tongue over his cracked lips. He took a painful breath and looked back at Oric.

"Eve?"

The cook threw his towel down and growled "You did a number on her. I should kill you myself."

He coughed again and felt his chest still burning. The woman's touch had been electrifying and left him in a numb state. He remembered all that power being ripped from every molecule of him and the pain that followed.

"Mind telling me why you wanted to hurt her again before your cousin arrives?"

"Johnathan?"

Oric flashed a cold smile and said "He's hellbent on killing you."

Closing his eyes, Christopher let out a painful sigh and tried to think of an explanation.

"I can't tell you."

Oric knelt down in front of him and said "Trying to protect her now?

He slowly nodded and heard "You don't get that privilege."

Oric stood up and walked over to an old table. He had drug out the old interrogation tools in case the man wouldn't talk but refused to use them on him. His hands had done a heck of a good job knocking the idiot into oblivion. The door opened without a sound and he looked up. He almost didn't recognize the man stepping into the room with murder in his eyes.

"He refuses to explain."

Johnathan ignored him and approached his cousin. He knelt down in front of the man and watched Christopher slowly look up. The man did look ruffed up good but he was past being tolerant with the man.

"You don't deserve to live."

Christopher closed his eyes and said "I know."

"Why?"

He looked up at his cousin and said "I couldn't stop it. I had to."

Growling, Johnathan stood up and walked up to Oric. The man watched him pick up the keys and return to the idiot. He released the chains and stood back.

"Get up."

Christopher looked up at him and he jerked the man to his feet. His fist hit the man's stomach and he watched the idiot keel over. Throwing him across the room, he listened to the man hit the ground and stared at him. Christopher slowly pushed himself up and looked back at him.

"Go ahead and kill me."

He crossed the room and knocked the man unconscious with a blow to the base of the head. He felt his hands itching to snap the man's neck but drug him back to his chains. Securing him once more, he walked over to Oric and handed him the keys.

"Get one of the aides to stand guard over night."

Oric watched him move to the door and asked "Why didn't you kill him?"

He pushed the door open and said "I'm not them."

He stepped out of the room and walked down the hall. His temper was raging beneath the surface and he watched all the inhabitants move out of his way as he walked. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and made his way to the East Wing. He stopped outside Grace's room and heard her with the children. He knocked once on the door and waited.

She opened the door and stepped into the hall. He watched her pull the door shut behind her and look up at him.

"Is he still alive?"

"For now."

She let out a sigh and asked "What made him do it?"

"He wouldn't say."

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and heard him step past her.

"Will Eve be okay?"

He kept walking and said "Yes."

Silently he disappeared into the West Wing and made his way to the open room. He found Abigail tucking the woman in bed and Tanner lying by the fireplace watching.

Abigail looked at him and said "She really needs a doctor."

He stared at Eve and asked "How bad?"

The woman sighed and said "I've never seen so many bruises and black marks on a person before that wasn't dying."

He shot her a look and she quietly left the room. The doors shut behind her and he looked down at Tanner. The dog was watching him, waiting for him to do something. Shaking his head, he moved to the bed and wrung out the soaking cloth. Sitting next to the woman, he ran the cloth over her burning face and let out a sigh.

She winced as he ran the cloth along her neck and he watched her slowly force her eyes open. He watched her look at him and try sitting up. The pain left her wincing and he stopped her.

"Not this time."

She looked at him and he saw her looking at the hand resting on her shoulder. He slowly removed it and soaked the cloth. Silently he slid it along her neck and up along her jaw. She wouldn't meet his gaze and he saw her flexing her hands to keep the pain inside. Her eyes closed as the pain grew and he slowly took a place next to her.

Carefully he wrapped an arm around her burning body and brought her into his embrace. She heard his steady heart beat through her foggy mind and focused on it. He ran his hand along her spine and closed his eyes. This was the last thing he wanted to be doing but there wasn't any other choice. He just prayed she would be able to rest soon and they could forget this happened again.