Steve stopped to take a sip of water from a bottle one of the officers had given him before. He was no good to Danny if he didn't have his strength. The rain was unrelenting as thunder rumbled in the sky. According to his watch, he had passed the hour mark five minutes ago. At this point, the other officers would be heading back to the camp if they hadn't found Danny.
Steve continued forward, refusing to give up on his partner. He was almost to the clearing by the cliffs when something on the ground caught his eye. He closed in on it and bent down. Steve's breath caught in his throat as he picked up the sweater Danny had been wearing the last time he saw him. It was covered in blood.
He had been here; Danny had been here. Steve was so close to finding him.
Steve's whole body shook with anticipation and fear as he ran to the clearing of the cliffs. Danny had to be around here somewhere. He spun around, looking at the tree lines or any other place that his partner might be. There was no sign of the Jersey native at the clearing, and Steve's mind told him what his heart refused to believe; Danny must have gone over the cliff.
Steve carefully moved to the edge of the cliff. It was a long drop down to the rocky shore. If Danny had survive, he was definitely injured. No one walked away from a fall like that without a scratch.
Steve tried shining his light over the cliff, but the rain distorted the view of the rocky shore.
He could feel it in his bones; He was close. Danny was down there somewhere, and there was no way that Steve was turning back now. He pulled the bandana from his pocket, wrapping it above his eyes to prevent the rain from clouding his vision.
Using the gauze and tape he had brought with him, Steve wrapped his hands, leaving his fingers out. He taped the flashlight to his right forearm hoping that it would stay secure against the rain. Steve pulled the two pocket knives out as he dropped his legs over the edge of the cliff. He left Danny's sweater at the clearing in hopes that Chin would eventually make it there and figure out where they were.
Steve's foot found a sturdy rock, and he felt for a spacing between the rocks. Finding one, he secured one of the knives between the rocks, using it as an anchor. He repeated this process a few more times until he was about eight feet down the cliff.
He had a long ways to go, and he hoped Danny could hold on that long.
Danny groaned as cold air tore through the small cove. Thunder shook the dark recess, and Danny felt tears in his eyes as shivers assaulted his broken body.
"You're pathetic, you know that?" Danny shot up as the voice that haunted his nightmares rang out.
"No!" He screamed as Rick Peterson, his ex partner, stood in front of him, one hand wrapped around Grace's throat and the other trailing the tip of a knife along her arm.
"Get the hell away from her," Danny snarled. He tried reaching for his daughter, but the pain caused his body to spasm as he fell to the ground.
"You can't save her, D. You're too weak. You always were too weak." Rick moved the blade closer to Grace's throat, and Danny eyes locked on his daughter's as his body refused to move.
"Danno, help me please. I wanna go home," Grace cried, and Danny saw the joy in Rick's eyes as Danny's world fell apart.
"Please, Rick. Kill me. She's just a child. Kill me, please!" Danny pleaded as tears fell down his cheeks.
"This is me killing you." Rick brought the hand from Grace's throat to the top of her head, pulling her head back. Danny screamed while his body refused to move as Rick moved the blade to Grace's throat.
"You couldn't save her," Rick said, and with menacing quickness, he slid the knife across Grace's throat.
Danny's screams echoed in the cove as his muscles unfroze, allowing him to run at Rick. He collided with a wall of the cove instead and Rick vanished into thin air. He crawled to the small form in front of him. Sobs rippled through Danny as he cradled his little girl in his arms. He couldn't save her. Rick was right; He was weak, and it had cost Gracie her life.
Chin doubled back as he had found no sign of Danny or Ron's mysterious partner. At this point, the other two officers would be headed back to the campsite, but he refused to return without Danny.
The storm was worsening as lighting lit up the sky. Thunder shook the trees around him.
Chin knew that Danny had been shot and was most likely succumbing to infection by now. He tried to put himself in Danny's shoes. If he was attempting to save Grace when he knew there was little chance that he was going to survive, what would he do? He would probably try to take out the threat once and for all, even if that meant dying as well.
Chin picked up his pace, setting at a steady jog. He knew exactly where Danny was, and if he was right, Steve would be trying to save him right now, no matter the cost.
Steve estimated that he was about half way down the cliff by now. The intense rain was making it hard to see, but the smell of salt water was growing stronger with each step.
He would be lying if he said that he wasn't afraid. He had no rope, no net to catch him. The knives were working well as anchors between each step, but one wrong placement and he could end up with a broken leg, or worse.
His right hand was wrapped around one of the knives when lightning struck a boulder just a few feet above. A painful vibration ran through the cliff as large debris of rocks rained down on Steve. A piece made contact when his right shoulder, and he cried out as he involuntarily yanked the knife out of its place and dropped it. He swung as his right arm hung loosely in the air. The left anchor was still in place, and he grimaced in pain as he pulled his arm up and attempted to grab onto a rock. He found a stable placement for his feet and slowed his movements for a minute in an attempt to catch his breath.
Steve counted to five before beginning his movements again. With one knife left and an injured shoulder, he slowly made his way down the cliff.
Chin made good time getting to the cliffs. He had ran the whole way, only stumbling a few times on the wet ground. He looked around for any sign of Danny or Steve. There, at the edge of the cliff, lay a bloodied sweater. 'Danny,' Chin thought as he recalled the scout leader's description of what Grace and Danny had been wearing at the campsite.
He bent down, picking up the garment before looking over the cliff. He couldn't see anything past a few feet, but he knew what had happened here; Danny had went over.
Chin plucked the satellite phone from his backpack and called the one person he could always count on answering.
Kono read over the report on Ron Alberts. It wasn't much, but she was looking for anything that could help her locate her team.
The two officers that had been with Chin and Steve had returned to the campsite almost two hours ago without Steve, Chin, or Danny. They reported having split up with Steve and Chin under orders to return if they didn't find Danny within an hour. Kono, however, knew that Steve and Chin would search through the storm until they found their teammate, or they would die trying.
Kono looked up from the table at HQ and into Danny's office where Rachel, Stan, Grace and Charlie sat solemnly. The more time that ticked by, the worse it looked for Danny.
Suddenly, Kono's ringtone broke the deafening silence. She instantly picked it up hoping for good news.
"Kono!" Kono instantly recognized her cousin's voice. Relief flooded through her as he spoke.
"I know where they are," Chin's voice relayed through the static of the storm. She could barely make out what he was saying.
"Chin, where are you? I can't pick up the signal," She stated, trying to locate the call.
"He… partner… Danny… cliffs… Steve," was all that came through the static before the call dropped.
"Chin!" Kono yelled to the dead line. Her heart sank as Rachel met her gaze through the glass of Danny's office. She felt alone without her team, and she had no idea how to help them.
"Dammit," Chin cursed as the call dropped. He could only hope that Kono had heard him. He had no way of getting down the cliff. Doing the only thing he could think of, Chin began walking back. If Kono hadn't heard him, then Chin had to get to the campsite and get help.
Danny sat dazed as he stroked Grace's hair. His hands were covered in her blood, and her beautiful brown eyes stared back at him, frozen. He cradled her in his lap as he begged repeatedly for her to wake up.
The rational part of his brain told him that it didn't make sense. Rick Peterson was in prison, and Grace was somewhere in the jungle, not in the cove. But Danny couldn't think rationally. All he saw was his little monkey dead in his arms. There was nothing he could do to bring her back.
"It's your fault you know." Danny's head snapped up as Rachel stepped towards him. "You are the reason she is dead."
"I know," Danny whispered. "I'm so sorry, Rachel."
"I don't want your apologies, Daniel. I want my baby girl back!" Rachel screamed. Danny couldn't speak as he stared at Grace's soft face, still in his arms.
"I tried taking her far away from you, but you just couldn't let go. You had to follow us out here, and now look what you've done." Rachel gestured to their dead daughter. "You bring nothing but pain and anger to people's live, Daniel. That is why I left you." Rachel moved forward, reaching down to grab Grace.
Danny held tighter, attempting to block Rachel's hands.
"Please don't take her from me," He pleaded, his voice shaking with despair.
Rachel shook her head as she pulled Grace into her arms.
"She's already gone, Daniel." Rachel vanished, taking Grace with her.
Danny tried standing, reaching out at the dissipating form of him ex wife, but his knees gave way and he fell back to the ground. He cried as he looked at his daughter's blood on his hands. She was gone, and he had nothing left.