fellowshippers | Part 3 of Time Waste Me

Title: Time Waste Me (3/8)
Pairing: Dom/Elijah
Rating: R
Summary: Elijah is kidnapped. In this part, Sean and Billy arrive at the Wood house.
Archive: Once You Pop (You Can't Stop)
Author's Notes: Thanks again to my fantastic beta

di0nne, who fortunately saves everything!

Elijah followed Al down the hall, a gun against his back, stumbling a
little but knowing that if he fell there'd be hell to pay. He could
feel every bruise on his body with every step that he took, sensing
them worsening as time dragged on. He tried to concentrate more this
time on where they were leading him, what they were all doing, but he
soon realised they were going somewhere he hadn't been before. Al
stopped abruptly in front of him and he almost fell forward, just
managing to lean back at the last second and avoid a collision. Al,
who had been talking rapidly into a cell phone for around twenty
minutes about satellite tracking and time constraints, snapped the
phone shut suddenly and turned to grin at Elijah. He handed the phone
over Elijah's head to the man behind and said, "The number's already in
there. Just hit the green button." He leaned forward, right over
Elijah, reeking of body odour and, oddly, sulphur. "You fuck up and
you're gonna end up like Carl. Capiche?" Elijah felt the lackey nod
behind him.

Elijah was forced into a chair, Al's hand on his shoulder the only
restraint. A shudder of revulsion ran through his body at Al's harsh
grip and he shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to imagine
Dom's warm and slightly bony embrace in its place. He was shaken
roughly and, sighing, opened his eyes. "Don't you pass out on me,
shitface. You're gonna be talking soon," Al growled at him. "I
wasn't--" Elijah started but, thinking better of it, shut his mouth.
Al leered down at him coldly. A moment later the phone was pressed
against his cheek, rather inexpertly so that it was hard to hear or
speak, but he could just make out his mother's frantic voice in his
right ear. In his left ear Al muttered, "Tell her you're okay and
we'll contact them with more information later. That ‘s, if you want
to keep your kneecaps." Elijah gulped, forgetting the wild plans to
reveal his location over the phone, doubting he had the courage to
follow them through in the first place but knowing now he would not.
"I'm fine, Mom," he said, trying to sound calm but knowing he was
failing. "They're--they're gonna call you later, okay? Tell Dom--"
The phone was yanked roughly from him at this point and he tried to
keep listening to the conversation, but the talked turned his back.

Al turned to him, smiling in a way that Elijah knew instantly meant
trouble. He went over what he'd said in his mind, then cursed in his
mind and shut his eyes, knowing Al's question before he asked it.
"Who's Dom?"

__________________________________________________________

It had taken a while to set up a base of operations at Elijah's
mother's house, and every second Dom was lamenting the fact that they
had so long, that it was almost a full day since the kidnappers had
first called Hannah. There had been no demands made and only one call
since to inform them that Elijah was alive and they'd be in contact.
Elijah was scared, though, Debbie said she could hear it in his voice
when they called. A full day and Elijah still wasn't back with Dom
where he belonged. It was destroying him.

Being at the Wood home didn't help. Dom felt like he was intruding
somehow, that by being outside the family he didn't have any right to
be feeling the same pain, fear or anxiety, no matter how many times
Debbie told him otherwise. He spent almost all his time separate,
alone, in the spare room or at the dining table. He'd tried reading
the paper, working, talking, anything to keep his mind from creating
new and painful images for him to see, but it didn't work. Nothing
else mattered but Elijah. He sat quietly in the dark spare bedroom of
the almost silent house, clutching the a pillow he had thrown against
the wall not twenty minutes earlier in his sweaty palm, listening to
the occasional footstep in the hall. Of course none of them could
sleep, the mere thought of it was ridiculous. The doorbell jolted him
out of his stupor, and when the door to the bedroom opened he had to
squint against the light of the hallway to see who was there.

Sean's worried face swam into view, half cast in shadow until he
flicked on the light-switch, half blinding Dom. Standing, Dom took two
steps across the room before his knees buckled and he collapsed. Sean
met him on the ground and supported him, hands clenched against Dom's
back. Dom fell against him, dropping his face to Sean's neck. It was
damp and salt water-sticky. Dom was shocked to discover that the tears
were his own.

"It's alright, it's okay, he'll be fine, we'll find him," Sean was
saying, too loudly for the small room and the claustrophobic
atmosphere. His words cut through Dom's mind, through the pictures of
an Elijah scared and broken, replacing them with visions of a joyful
reunion. "Don't go away," he mumbled into Sean's warm shoulder before
it pulled back. "What's that, Dom?" "Don't leave," he said, sounding
pathetic even to his own ears, but Sean seemed to understand. "We're
family, Dom, I'm not going anywhere," Sean said, smiling and kissing
his head before pulling him back in close, and finally, finally, Dom
smiled.

_____________________________________________________________

"Jesus Christ, Dom, ye look like shite," Billy said, pouring himself a
morning cup of coffee. Dom laughed a hollow chuckle from deep in his
throat and noted the bags under Billy's eyes. "You're sexy as ever,
though, Bill," he said, sitting down at the table, his head dropping to
its cold plastic surface. He listened to the comforting and familiar
sounds of Billy's footsteps, the order in which he made
breakfast--sizzles in the frying pan and the occasional popping of the
toaster. Somehow, just the sound of Billy being there made the time
pass faster and it seemed like no time at all before Billy tapped Dom
on the head to signal breakfast was ready. Dom sat back to allow Billy
to put the plate down in front of him. When he saw the breakfast Billy
had prepared, he smiled. "Elijah's favourite," he said, his voice
sounding strained and too high in his ears. Billy widened his eyes,
then sighed. "I'm sorry, Dom, I didn't--" "Where's Sean?" Dom
interrupted, not wanting Billy's sympathy. "He's out in the living
room, talking to that detective with the long hair."

Dom stood up, dropping the spoon to his bowl with a loud clang. Billy
stood, too, with a placating hand stretched in front of him. "Why the
fuck didn't you tell me he was here? I want to talk to him. Did he
say anything? Is Elijah--" "Hey, Dom, calm down, alright? There's no
news, he's just going to stick around here today in case--well, you
know," Billy said uncomfortably, unsure of Dom's reaction to what he
had to say. "In case they call again. The kidnappers. You can
say it around me, Bill, I'm not a fucking child," Dom sneered. "Look, I
didn't mean to upset you. Please, just sit down and eat? You'll feel
better," said Billy desperately, but he could see that Dom was beyond
the point of listening to what Billy had to say. His face was flushed
with anger and he was glaring daggers, for his part relishing the
opportunity to lash out, to yell, to think about anything but the slow
passage of time until he had word of Elijah. Looking at the pained
expression on Billy's face he growled, angry now with himself for
yelling at Billy, who'd done nothing to deserve it. Unable to take
Billy's pitying glance, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door
behind him.

Billy walked slowly back to the table, beginning to clear away Dom's
forgotten breakfast. Before he could get it off the table, the tears
in his eyes started to overflow. He sat down, balled his hand into a
fist and cried.

Green Queen