Susan finished undoing the buckles that held his arms, allowing him to move. When she heard his whisper, she blinked a few times. A strange choking noise came from her throat and she threw her arms around William, tears streaming freely down her cheeks to wet his shoulder. She held him close to her, eyes closed tight, soft laughter shaking her body.

William jerkily raised his arms around her, and held her for several moments before speaking. I wish... I could... be there for you. It's... all I want, now. But... I'm broken," He finished in a cracked, tortured whisper. "You... I... I can't...." Sitting so close to him she could feel his heartbeat throbbing beneath every inch of fevered skin. It pounded hard and fast.

   Pulling away from him gently, Susan put a cool hand on his neck and looked into his eyes, "I know where we are, Will. I haven't forgotten." she sighed and pressed her lips together, "But I will do anything to bring you back, I'm not giving up on you. I need you." she insisted, a desperate note in her tone of voice. She kept her eyes locked on his as she spoke, "I know you can conquer this."

Sagging wearily, William sighed, frowning. "Where are... we again? It's hard... hard. To think, to speak..."

   Dreading the words as they left her lips, Susan murmured, "The hospital." moving her hand to place it over his pounding heart, "Just breathe."

He looked up at her, face twisted in denial, then his expression softened and tears filled his eyes. "But... I was home...." His hands started to tremble, his shoulders began shaking. "My home...."

   Susan moved to take his hand in her own, "It was a trick. A cruel trick, Will."

William's chin fell to his chest, and he began softly sobbing. He reached for her and drew her into a tight embrace, and cried into her shoulder for some time. He swung a few times from barely audible weeping to body-wracking sobs. He was not only releasing the pain of loosing his home all over again; the torture he had endured here for years was not at an end, and he knew he was not strong enough to go on alone. Even to actively seek death. They had shown him that they would not let him die.
But now he had Susan. He... wasn't alone. He could go on if she was there. He held her tighter as the thought came to him, and his tears slowed and finally stopped. When he pulled away from her, his face was weary, red and tight from tears, but more at peace than she had ever seen him.
"I will be there for you," he whispered. "Though my heart is black and blue. We can't let them know."

   Listening to his whisper, Susan kept her eyes on his and smiled secretively, "They won't take it from us." she whispered back. She drew her fingers across his face to wipe the tears away, "I am glad I have you." she breathed, still catching her breath from being held so tight. It had felt good, being held. Of course, his sobbing had wrenched her heart with every cry.

While the tears faded, a natural ruddy red appeared in William's cheeks. He gently pushed her off of his lap, smiling wryly. "You're lucky this place has taught me to control my body. If not I would have been all over you in a heartbeat."

   Susan laughs and scoots to sit next to him, "I don't think they'd let us." she runs her fingers through her hair, "He said I only had until the end of the day to see you."

William dropped his arm to his side so it was in warm contact with hers. Didn't actually grab her hand, but it was better than nothing. He sighed deeply.
The problem was, beneath his newfound feelings for Susan, far beneath his rekindled desire to live, were his instincts. He had lived in this terrible place for too long not to know how it worked, how they knew everything. A tiny voice in Williams heart screamed that they knew, they knew. They are going to use you, use her. It will hurt. It will hurt like nothing has hurt before.
He shuddered.

   Susan felt him shudder, and it took her only a few short seconds to figure out why. Her conversation with Dr. Horrible still penetrated her thoughts from the back of her mind.

   They had to do something, but how? How could they even communicate without being listened to? She ran her fingers through her hair again, fighting the overwhelming sensation that threatens to pull her under into despair. She draws in a shaky breath, "Does saying, 'we have to be careful' even scratch the surface?" she asks dryly.

William was silent for some time. His hands slowly drew together in his lap until he was clenching them together. "Maybe... if we make it no secret. Face them... head on."

   Susan perks up at that, her eyebrows raising in thought as she leans her head back against the padded wall. She draws her knees up, and props her arms on them, "I like that a lot better than trying to sneak." she glances up to the ceiling, a smile on her face, "Lets do it."

William slowly got to his feet, legs uncertain, drawing Susan up with him. He gave her a half-smile, looked up to the cameras that he couldn't see but knew were there, flipped them the bird, then gently folded the slim girl before him into his arms, and bent down for a kiss.

   Susan responded with a laugh before pressing her lips to his, her arms wrapping around him tightly. For that moment, she felt a strange sense of freedom, perhaps a false sense of nothing to loose, and found herself not caring what was going to happen. She had William. He had her. And together they had nothing, and everything.
  Yet, she knew they were going to hurt him. Seeing him in such a dark place just a while before crushed her heart. The memory sent a jolt of fear through her chest and she clung to him all the more, taking her lips from his and burying her face in the crook of his neck, "I love you, Will." she murmured.

He held her tight as well, the scent of her hair wafting up, making him break out in goosebumps. He smiled tightly, knowing her fears. "I love you too." He glanced up again, and started stroking her back. "To the end of the day, you said... I wonder how much time we have before they come."

   "It's impossible to tell time here." she huffed, keeping her arms wrapped around him as she spoke, "But I want to tell you something." she said, moving her arms and taking one of his hands in her own, holding it close with her thumbs over his palm, "That no matter what happens, everything I do, will be for you." she said, keeping her eyes locked on his intensely.

   While she spoke, her thumb looked to be stroking his palm, when in reality she wrote; K-I-L-L-D-R. E-S-C-A-P-E.

William understood. He smiled at her, and nodded deeply, keeping his eyes on hers. "Likewise. They will still hurt us, probably in front of each other. We have to be strong, and trust the other to be strong." He sighs, drawing her back into an embrace. "But you're so small and cute. If I didn't already know how tough you are, I'd be worried," he grins.

   Susan laughed as she embraced him, "'Cute' usually isn't what people use to describe me. But I'll take it." she sighs against him, "I didn't know you had such a handsome smile."

William's face and ears colored a bit at the compliment. His arms fell to her lower back, he exhaled heavily, and the embrace became something a bit more as his hands pressed up and down her back.

   Susan's heart skipped a beat and she raised her lips to his, putting passion into the kiss and moving her hands to his hair.
   She heard the door open and clung to him all the more, turning a scathing eye on the bulky orderlies that stepped into the room. She felt that it was really beginning now, and her urge to fight welled up in her anew, burning intensely. William's embrace and this burning made her     vibrate with anticipation, and a strange smile spread across her face.

William saw the fire, and wondered what to do. No matter what he had said, he didn't want her to be hurt. So he brushed his hand against her cheek, feeling her smooth, cool skin. He tilted her face to his and kissed her again, as gently as he could. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the orderlies hesitate and glance at each other, eyes uncertain and surprised over their surgical masks. And he had to laugh. Didn't want to interrupt them, did they? Felt embarrassed at the display of affection, did they? He was still laughing when they snapped out of it, stepped forward and snatched his arms away from Susan.

   Susan found herself smiling at William, even as his arms were taken away. His laugh made her laugh, and she kept laughing. The other orderly clamped a large hand on her shoulder and twisted her arm behind her back, enough to make her wince, and steered her to the wheelchair sitting just inside the door. Susan kept her eyes on William the entire time, a demure smile on her face. Her wrists and ankles were strapped down, but she didn't put up a fight, too focused on Will to inflict what harm she could.

   Yet, she felt a needle of fear stab her heart. Fear for the future. What future? It was an almost silent whisper against the hope she felt rising in her chest. She wanted to savor what she now had with William, to hold onto every moment no matter what happened. She resolved to do just that, and sent a wink in William's direction, burying the fear deep down.