A/N: This is really far outside anything I've written to this point, but I also think it has the most potential as far as longevity goes. Give it a try, please. And if you find errors along the way, I apologize. It's 3AM here.

One more note - I didn't start watching the show til season 2. So if things are a little...off...that's why. That should make more sense as you read on.

Disclaimer: All the characters you've never heard of are mine. The rest, sadly, are not.

She felt blood dripping out of her nose and felt yet another blow to her once gorgeous face. Her head was so fuzzy she wasn't even sure she was still in the same building. She glanced up through her eye that wasn't swollen shut to see the same wrecked red car she remembered seeing on the way in. Yes, she was in the same place. And at least she could hear his voice.

"STOP! What do you want? Look!" he yelled as he yanked his shirt up and spun around. "No wire! No wire, no gun, no weapon, no cops."

Once again, the man by the red car cocked his fist and hit her, and this time she cried out in pain. She'd been hit so many times she was nearly numb, but she felt that one.

"Bloody fuckin' hell," Cal said as he felt all hope draining from his body. He was desperate to make this stop. "Please stop!" he nearly screamed at the top of his lungs. Then he continued more calmly seeing he had everyone's attention. "No one knows I'm here. There's no calvary comin'. There's no threat here to you. Just stop. She's had enough, yeah?"

With that, the man sent Gillian one more blow that laid her flat on the ground where she'd been previously kneeling. "I'll say when she's had enough. You got it?"

Cal glared at the man hovering over Gillian's limp body and wished looks could kill.

The man pulled his fist back and repeated himself more loudly, "I said, You got it?"

Raising his hands up begging him not to hit her again, Cal replied, "Yeah, I got it. You're the boss."

"Actually, I'm the boss." A second voice, thick with a Russian accent, came from Cal's left, and a man with slicked back black hair and a suit to match walked out from the shadows.

Cal's eyes were glued to the man as he walked toward Gillian. He wanted to do something, anything to get them out of this situation, but there were too many of them. Three more in addition to the two he'd already been acquainted with. And those three had guns.

Cal's heart started to beat wildly as the suit got nearer to her. He leaned down, grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her face off the floor. She whimpered at the pain, but it was nothing compared to how the rest of her felt.

"Shame," the suit said. "She was so pretty. Look what you made us do to her." He pushed her head back toward the floor.

Gillian found the strength to turn her head toward Cal, and it was only then that he saw the extent of her injuries. One eye was swollen shut and had a cut above it. Her cheeks were each covered in bruises, and one had a deep gash on it. Her lip was split, and her nose was bleeding. He wasn't sure, but it looked like the arm facing him might have been broken. All he could do was stand there. Helpless. He had no power to help her, and she knew it. He felt suddenly sick.

As the suit walked back toward Cal across the cold cement floor of the warehouse he said, "I don't think we've been properly introduced." The man's thick Russian accent was getting on Cal's nerves. "I'm Maximus. You can call me Max. And my friend over there with your friend, that's Dominik. So there. Now we've met!"

"Pleasure's all mine, I'm sure," Cal sarcastically said. Realizing he had no defense but his wit, he added, "So you're just great then?"

"Excuse me?" Max inquired.

"Your name," Cal shot back. "'Maximus' means great, yeah? Maksim means greatest. Your mum must have thought you were just great. You got a brother named Maksim, Max?"

Max starred Cal down for a moment, then smiled, and yelled, "Dom!"

And with that, Dominik delivered a kick to Gillian's stomach that Cal felt across the room. He clenched his fists and told himself now was not the time to be a smartass. Maybe it was the time for mind games, but being a smartass was out of the question. At least while Gillian was still in the line of fire.

"Any more wise jokes? No? I didn't think so," Max said with venom. Then turning suddenly casual, he asked, "So how do you know the delightful Dr. Foster?"

"I think you already know that, mate, since you called my office." Cal was staring at Max, his stomach telling him something very bad was coming.

Max paused. "You seem to know about names, Dr. Lightman. Do you know what 'Alec' means?"

Cal stopped breathing and just starred. No, no. It can't be...

Max had hatred in his eyes and he knew he had Cal right where he wanted him. "It means 'defending men', which is quite suitable for him." Max was now looking at Gillian with his hands behind his back. He shifted his gaze to Cal's right and said, "Come out, friend."

One of the armed men stepped out of his cover of darkness. Cal tilted his head to the side with a look of mock surprise on this face as he did his best to keep his breathing even.

"Hello, Cal. Seems you're doing an excellent job taking care of my Gillian," Alec mocked when he was fully out of the cover of darkness.

"Yeah well, looks like you're taking care of her much the same as you did when you were married," Cal jabbed at him. "You set this up then?"

"What can I say?" Alec said throwing his hands out and with a huge smile on his face. "Old habits die hard, and when the boss has a problem, you try to fix it!"

Cal could only guess that the problem referred to had to do with drugs, based on Alec's history and the fact that he was flying higher than the clouds in clear sky just outside.

"What problem?" Cal inquired.

"It's simple really, Dr. Lightman," Max said as he took over the conversation. "We have a deal set up for tonight, but rumor has it there's a cop in the bunch. Might be, might not be. But the deal's too big to turn down."

"How big?" Cal asked, wondering what he was being dragged into.

"$5million." Max stated. "All I need you to do is come along, and find the cop. And that's the end of it!" Max gave him a huge smile with his last statement, acting as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"That's it. I help you, you let us go. Why should I believe that?"

"Because you're a valuable resource for me, Dr. Lightman! I could use your help in the future. Who knows, if you do good enough, maybe I'll even cut you in on future jobs," Max offered.

A business proposition?, Cal thought. This bloke is drunk with power…

"Thanks, but no thanks," Cal replied. "You can keep your blood money."

"It's drug money Cal, not blood money," said Max, acting offended that Cal had confused the two.

"Yeah? It looks like plenty of blood's been spilled over there," Cal said pointing in Gillian's direction. "Can I go see how she's doin'? If you want me thinkin' clearly for this job, you've gotta at least gimme that."

Max stared at him for a moment, and then realizing Cal would have to be stupid to try anything said, "Fine. Go see your friend."

Cal walked as casually as possible over to where Gillian was lying on the ground, despite the fact he wanted to run. He didn't want Max to have any idea how much she meant to him, though he figured it might be a little late for that based on all his yelling earlier. Either way, there was no reason to add fuel to the fire.

When he reached her, he knelt down on the ground and pushed her hair out of her face, revealing more bruises. He felt instantly sick as he quietly asked, "How you doin', love?" When he received no response other than a few blinks of her eye, he got very anxious. "Can I move you? Try to get you up off this floor? That car's near enough. We can lean you against it. You up for it?"

Gillian let out a small grunt and nodded her head ever so slightly. Deciding it would be better to roll her away from him to avoid crushing her possibly broken arm, Cal placed a hand on the middle of her back and the other on her rib cage.

"Gimme a little help if you can, love," Cal gently requested. She twisted her legs as best she could to assist him in rolling her over, and she winced and cried in pain as Cal turned her over to her back. He noticed that after each time she reeled in pain she seemed to drift farther away and out of consciousness.

With warning, Cal said, "I'm gonna pick you up now, alright. It's gonna hurt like hell, but it'll be better in the long haul, yeah?"

Gillian was fighting back tears and clenching her jaw from pain, but she did her best to put on a brave face and be strong. He swallowed as he placed an arm under her knees and the other around her back.

As he was about to lift her, Dominik said, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Just need to get her up right, that's all. Maybe stop some of this bleeding." Cal shot him yet another deadly look with his last statement which made Dominik's lips curl into a sadistic smile. He had no doubt about the hatred Cal felt for him. You didn't need to be an expert in micro-expressions to see that.

Focusing his attention back on Gillian Cal said, "On three. One, two, three." Cal lifted her up and she screamed into his shoulder while she wrapped an arm around his neck. Staggering over to the car, Cal leaned her against the least deflated tire and gave her a look pleading for her to be strong.

"Anything broken? Anything but surface wounds?" Cal quickly asked, silently praying he could see all the damage that was done.

Still fighting back tears, Gillian simply shook her head no. After choking her tears down she murmured, "No. What you see is what you get." She tried to laugh but it came out as a half-sob.

Cal's heart swelled with pride at the strength she was putting forward. He reached for her arm and she hissed at his slightest touch. Being able to see her up close now, he could see her wounds were worse than he'd thought. Blood was trickling down from the cut above her swollen eye, and the front of her shirt was covered in blood. It was in her hair, it was in her mouth, it was everywhere. He was almost certain the gash on her cheek needed stitches, and maybe her lip too. Her arm was deep purple and in the shape of a hand. Cal's rage flared again as images of Dominik grabbing her hard enough to leave that mark entered his mind.

"How long have they had you here, love?" Cal wondered.

Gillian swallowed and replied, "Since I left at 3. What time is it?"

"Six," Cal replied.

Three fucking hours they'd been using her as a punching bag. He wanted to square off with dear ol' Dom and see how he'd fare against someone with a little more experience. Cal glanced behind him and saw a small sea of faces that showed no remorse whatsoever. All but one.

"I'm gonna get you out of here," Cal promised.

"No, Cal." She reached for him and immediately regretted the movement as she felt every muscle in her body rebel. "They'll kill you. Just do what they ask," she begged.

"And then what? Hope they're men of their word? Your ex-husband is over there. Seems he doesn't think my science is such crap after all. I don't think we've got a chance in hell here. If I can get you outta here, we'll be doin' good," Cal explained.

Confused and feeling herself start to slip away from consciousness again, Gillian only said, "What? Alec..."

Across the room Max said, "Alec, go see what's taking your friend so damn long."

When Alec approached, Gillian turned to look up at him. Her mouth dropped open, her breathing ceased, and she felt as if she were paralyzed.

Cal simply looked at her, hating Alec for what he'd gotten her into and wishing he could take away her pain. The swelling around her eye made it hard to clearly see the expressions on her face, but there was no missing all the pain, confusion, and feelings of betrayal displayed on her broken features. He looked up to see a flash of regret in Alec's eyes and decided to play on it.

"Alec. Look at me." Cal waited a moment until he was sure he had Alec's attention and then stood so Gillian couldn't hear him. He spoke softly and quickly, knowing he had little time. "If you ever loved her, if there was ever one small moment in your miserable life that you cared about her, get her out of here. We don't have to take her to the hospital, but we have to get her to someone who can."

No response, and Gillian was starting to weave in and out of consciousness again. He waited a moment more and saw Max approaching. He stepped closer to Alec and said more quietly with hatred, "She was your wife you prick. She wanted a family with you. She loved you and stood by your side as you fucked up both your lives. This is the least you can do for her. Tell him to drop her at Founder's Place and get me a phone call so she can get to a doctor."

"What the hell's going on?" Max asked angrily as he approached.

Alec looked down to see Gillian's beaten form and noticed just how pale she was. He turned toward Max and said, "She's in rough shape boss. Let's just drop her someplace and hope someone picks her up."

"You two getting all friendly or what? Why would I let her go? She's my leverage, genius! Besides, she's your ex! She made you miserable. Let her be miserable for a while!" Max said while patting Alec on the shoulder.

Cal chimed in, "As long as she's sitting here bleeding out and nearly unconscious, I'm not gonna have my mind on your job."

Max smiled and replied by saying, "Well maybe I'll just shoot her then. If she's dead, you don't have to worry about it, do you?"

Venom in his eyes, Cal stepped toward Max and said through gritted teeth, "You shoot her you might as well shoot me cuz I'm not doin' a damn thing for you then." It was then Cal began silently praying Alec hadn't mentioned Emily.

Amused at Cal's passion on the matter, Max said, "Fine. Alec, you take and dump her wherever you like."

"I'm goin' too. I'm not letting you just dump her wherever you like. She's taken care of, or shoot me now," Cal volunteered, throwing his arms out wide. "$5million is a lot of money, you said so yourself Maxie."

Max narrowed his eyes at Cal. "Duke – you go with them. Make sure they do it right!" One of the armed men stepped forward and nodded.

After loading an unconscious Gillian in the back of a van, Alec drove to Founder's Place as Cal had instructed. Duke sat in the passenger seat while Cal sat in the back doing his best to keep Gillian's limp, unconscious body from moving around too much.

When they pulled in Duke suspiciously asked, "Why this place?"

"I drive by it every day," Cal quickly said. "It's never busy, but people come and go. We'll drop her and leave before the next person walks in or out, and I know someone will eventually find her here."

Convinced, Duke simply replied, "Do it," and turned back to change the radio station.

Alec climbed out of the driver's seat to help Cal with Gillian.

"Keep your hands off her!" Cal growled. "She's got you to thank for this. Just pull out your cell and dial 853-9212 when Duke isn't looking. If someone answers, tell her to hold on for me."

With that, Cal headed for the covered entrance to the apartment building. He laid Gillian away from the door and headed back toward van, noticing on the way that Duke wasn't exactly a good watch dog. He was too busy fiddling with his firearm and smoking. When Cal reached the back of the van, Alec quickly handed him the phone and nodded.

Putting the phone to his ear and stepping behind the door so he was out of sight Cal said, "Torres, listen to me. You've gotta come down to the front of your building now. Gillian's in a bad way and she needs to get to a hospital. Don't call me back or I'll have you to thank for being dead." He said everything he needed to in 5 seconds flat, hung up, and gave the phone back. As he was climbing back in the van, he looked up to see a worried Torres looking down at him from her balcony. He gave her a look of warning and closed the door.

###############

Ria watched as the white van sped away through the parking lot. She then looked down toward the front of her building and it fully registered what Cal had said. She sprinted as fast as she could out her apartment and down the stairs. When she reached the door she gasped at what she saw. She knelt next to Gillian to check for a pulse as she dialed 9-1-1.

"I need an ambulance at 900 Maple. It's Founder's Place. A friend of mine has lost a lot of blood and she's unconscious. Yes, she has a pulse. Her face is all bruised, and she might have a broken arm."

After a few more minutes, Ria heard the sirens of the approaching ambulance. She thanked the operator, and hung up to make another phone call.

"Reynolds, it's Torres. I need your help."

Since I didn't start watching til season 2, I obviously never got to know Alec's character. I hope this isn't too far off for him. I really don't have a firm idea of where this is going at this point, but if you find it interesting let me know and I will continue working on it.