Hey guys, so my amazing beta mirs13 thinks that I should split up the last chapter in two so there is one chapter to go! I am so glad you have stuck by our boys and I hope I have delivered the ending you all deserve! Mahalo for reading, Keep Smiling :)
This was going to be a long and torturous death, Danny concluded as the ropes now securing his arms from one side of the cave to the other pulled, stretching his muscles painfully thin making it feel like they were going to snap in half at any given second. Even though Danny was pretty much strung up, Catherine had decided to tighten the zip ties, with all the teeth on them, and leave them firmly embedded in his skin on each wrist. His feet remained loose and unbound which helped to keep him upright, but his knees were tightly fastened together with a strong form of rope. He had given up his struggle against the restraints a long time ago. Danny wasn't escaping from this; this was how he was going to die. Whether he would die of starvation, hypothermia or loss of blood he did not know, but he did know that it would be a close call. The only thing that made this death bearable for him was the fact that he could die knowing he was wearing the engagement ring given to him by the one person he knew loved him unconditionally, besides Grace of course. At least he could die in comfort knowing that.
Steve must have forgotten the fact that there were chipping devices put into both of their engagement rings not that long ago, otherwise he surely would have rescued Danny by now. Danny isn't too upset with Steve because of this. He knows that Steve is going out of his mind right now trying to find him. He knows that with all his heart; he swears he can feel Steve's anguish and determination to find him. It had been a smart move getting Catherine to give him his ring back and he is still holding out hope, no matter how slim it may be, that it might just save his life. "If I get out of this I'm going to have a nice long talk with him and try and knock some sense into that thick skull of his!" Danny muttered under his breath at the thought of Steve forgetting about the chips.
What must have been hours went by and his entire body was starting to shake and become achy. He was becoming increasingly sleepy, barely able to keep his eyes open, as he became weaker and weaker. His blonde hair had flopped down in front of his face as his head hung forward, hiding his beautiful bright blue eyes from view. Eyes that Steve once told Danny had drawn him in and helped him fall in love with Danny even more than he already was. The memory made him smile. That was all he had now, memories. He resolved himself to think about as many of those wonderful memories as he could right now while he awaited death, hoping it would make it easier when the time finally came. He was in trance like state, reliving those memories, when he suddenly heard a rustling coming from somewhere outside the cave. Lifting his head, he had an unexpected burst of adrenaline. He saw what he was almost sure were beams of light.
"HELP! PLEASE, HELP ME!" he shouted in a rough and pained sounding voice. He once again began tugging against the restraints with all he had left in him, this was his last chance and he wasn't going to waste it. His dress shirt with drying blood on it rubbed against his chest, reminding him that struggling to free himself was a useless endeavour. The lights were getting bigger and the beams were getting stronger as he heard footsteps quicken. Danny held his breath, waiting, when suddenly he heard the sweetest sound he had ever heard in his life, the sound of Steve's voice. "DANNY! DANNY! Hang on babe, I am coming!" That was the second Steve darkened the entrance of the cave!
"Oh god!" gasped Steve as he ran forward and grabbed Danny, giving him a relieved and passion filled kiss. Over and over again he kissed Danny, running his hands over Danny anywhere he could reach, reassuring himself that Danny was really there. He had honestly believed that he was never going to see Danny again and here he was, this whole time, wounded but alive. His Danno was alive. "Danny, my god, I didn't think I was ever going to find you. I thought I had lost you! What the hell happened?" Steve panted against Danny's lips, feeling the warmth of Danny's breaths against his face, making the fact he was alive all the more real. "You had me so worried babe!" His whispered words came out trembling, as a tear slid down his cheek. His breath hitched again as he raised a hand to cup Danny's cheek. Pulling back to look at his beautiful man's face, he saw that Danny was crying as well.
"You sure took your time in finding me babe, but I knew you wouldn't give up. Did you finally remember about the ring, dumbass?" he croaked with his famous Danny smile, leaning into Steve's hand, as tears of relief and happiness just kept falling. A noise from behind Steve made Danny realize they weren't alone and that the cave was full. There were so many people standing around, Chin, Kono, Duke, other members of HPD and … Catherine.
"I was so panicked, I completely forgot. I tracked every other bloody device that you own before I remembered – the Camaro, your phone, it all! I am so sorry. Now come on, let's get you out of here. I want to get you checked over by a doctor. Who did this to you Danny?" asked Steve, rubbing his hand gently over the fresh wound on Danny's forehead. It was really deep and would get infected if they didn't get it checked out soon.
"I will tell you about it later, I promise, just please, please get me out of these zip ties and ropes, please Steve!" Steve saw the panic in Danny's eyes. It was almost like he was begging because he thought they were going to leave him hanging there. It was heart-breaking. What the hell had these monsters put him through that Danny felt he that had to beg Steve for help? Steve quickly whipped out a knife from one of the many pockets on his cargo pants in order to free him. What took him by surprise was the way Danny flinched back; like he couldn't bear to be touched, even by the man who had sworn to protect him till death do them part, or will do when they finally get married. Steve tried to look into the glazed over blue eyes with genuine concern, but Danny couldn't even make himself face Steve. He was so embarrassed and ashamed that he had flinched away from the only man he loved and trusted.
"Oh Danny, what did they do to you?" Steve whispered as he began to cut him free. At the same time Chin approached carefully, giving Danny a soft smile as he slowly reached down –trying not to spook Danny – in order to untie the ropes binding his legs together.
After a few minutes of wrestling with the restraints and managing to dig the teeth from the zip ties out of Danny's skin, Danny fell forward into Steve's arms, wrapping his own trembling arms around Steve's neck. A round of applause erupted inside the cave now that their favourite detective was safe and in the hands of the most capable man they knew. Soon the officers started to pile out of the cave and into the quickly cooling night. The team would congratulate and thank them tomorrow; right now Steve just wanted to get Danny to the nearest hospital to be checked out and cleaned up. Then it would be off to home, if the doctors give Danny a clean bill of health, so he could fall asleep with the man he loved wrapped tightly in his arms.
Minutes later it was only Steve, Danny, Chin, Kono and Catherine left in the cave. Finally releasing himself from Steve, Danny smiled lovingly up at him. He then slowly turned and walked, more like shuffled in all honesty, over to Chin to give him a manly hug, but Chin wasn't having that. He wrapped his arms around Danny in a full-blown, bone crushing hug. It was mostly of appreciation, but he thought he had lost someone he cared about that day and he was just glad Danny was ok. Next he moved onto Kono, who grasped him so tightly, burying her face into his neck. He was pretty sure he felt a tear escape and slide down his neck, but he didn't let on or say anything, now wasn't the time for jokes. Just as he was letting go of Kono, Catherine moved forward to Danny. He flinched and took a step back towards Steve, avoiding his friends gaze as his breathing quickened and he started to panic.
"Danny?" Steve asked moving closer to him, gently placing a hand between Danny's shaking shoulders, trying desperately to calm him down and figure out what went wrong. What was it about Catherine that had spooked him? Then suddenly it was all so clear. Gritting and clenching his teeth, he tried desperately to keep calm. The joy and happiness in his eyes from a few moments prior, was replaced with rage and complete understanding as Danny's legs finally gave out and he fell to his knees. Steve quickly knelt in front of him and grabbed Danny's shoulders. "Danny! Danny, look at me! Who did this to you?" he asked sternly, but he already knew the answer. The swift glance toward Catherine and then back to the floor was only confirmation for Steve. It was also enough for Chin and Kono to figure out what had really been going on. Suddenly, all hell broke loose...
