A/N: Okay, it's official; I'm the WORST person ever! I am SO sorry for the huge delay in posting this chapter! To cut a long story short, real life went berserk and I finished off my course and started my first full time job which ate up all my time for fanfiction. So in the words of the almighty Bryan Adams 'Please Forgive Me'! And the wait is finally over, I hope you enjoy the chapter despite the ridiculous wait for it!
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Chin knew they needed to be moving faster than the pace he and Kono were making but the trail that had been easy to follow earlier had been degraded by the rainfall, making any chance of tracking almost impossible. He'd always considered himself to be a good tracker after growing up trekking through these rainforests with his father and various uncles but after spending the better part of a day tracking assassins and a witness through similar terrain with McGarrett he'd come to realise that there were subtler signs in nature that he had been overlooking in the past. It was some of these same oversights pointed out to him by McGarrett well over a year ago now that was aiding him in finding their missing team members and a small part of him appreciated the irony that he was using the knowledge in order to find the man whom had imparted it on him.
Kono kept her hand resting on her holstered weapon, her eyes and ears on high alert as she swept their surroundings. So far it seemed as though Steve and Danny had been keeping within view of the driveway seemingly in the hope of it leading them in the right direction and she was holding onto the hope that it stayed that way as she was sure her cousin would find it easier to follow the almost invisible trail that way.
Those hopes started to fade, however as Chin paused and turned his head in the direction leading away from the driveway. "They went this way," he commented with a small frown, "and going by the tracks still left behind, I'd say it was in a hurry."
"You mean like they knew someone was after them?" Kono gripped her sidearm instinctively as she glanced around the foliage again.
"I'd say that's a good bet," Chin didn't remove his eyes from the tracks he was following, the signs were still difficult to see and he was afraid of losing the trail if he glanced away.
Kono continued to follow her cousin closely with her hand still on her sidearm, ignoring the rivulets of water running down her back which had managed to find a way under the poncho she was wearing. After several minutes of silence between them, the sound of the rain hitting the leaves began to fade until the shower came to an end with the only noise coming from the rain-soaked foliage dripping onto the forest floor.
Kono looked up to the small patch of sky visible through the canopy to see that weak rays of sun were attempting to filter through the clouds. "It's about time we got a break in the weather."
"These tracks are getting easier to follow," Chin stated as he surveyed the ground before them, "it looks like at least three men have been through here; the rain hasn't been able to wash away all this evidence just yet. We need to pick up the pace."
Kono nodded, relieved to be moving faster after their friends' trail and she easily quickened her stride behind Chin.
"Chin, it's Duke, over."
Chin quickly responded to the static voice in his ear, "Duke, have you found something?"
"Not yet I'm afraid, but I just heard back from medivac; the helicopter's just taken off and is about ten minutes out, apparently the cloud lifted enough for them to make the flight. They're going to scan the forest from the air as they fly over."
Chin and Kono shared a look of immense relief at Duke's words. Chin started walking again as he replied, "That's good to hear, we're still following the trail from the basement, hopefully it's taking us in the right direction; we'll radio if we find something."
"Copy that, Chin." Duke ended the radio call as the cousins picked up their pace again with renewed hope.
oOo
Danny shook his head to prevent himself from succumbing to the cold and exhaustion that was calling him to close his eyes and fall asleep. He didn't know exactly how long he and Steve had been sheltering for but all of his instincts were telling him that it had been way too long. They needed to keep moving, back to the house where their only chance of escape and survival was but at the moment that task was too great; at least with the handcuffs still securely locked around their wrists. Danny was sure he would have been able to make the trip alone but with Steve still unconscious there was no way he could get them both back.
He continued to stare at the metal rings that were essentially anchoring them to the spot. He had already tried half-heartedly to pick the lock but with nothing but flimsy, wet sticks and with a busted arm he hadn't been expecting to succeed. He had even tried to dislocate his thumb like he had helped Steve to do but it seemed that when he actually wanted a dislocated appendage the universe wouldn't grant him one. And then there was Brennan's gun. Danny had seriously considered using it to shoot the cuff off, with Joe's sarcastic offer from not long ago ringing through his head. However, he had to admit to himself that he wasn't one hundred percent sure that it would work and wasting ammunition wasn't an option when he still didn't know if Brennan had any help lurking through the jungle or waiting back at the house.
He glanced back down at his partner, seeing that he was still out for the count with a frown plastered across his unconscious face and his breaths still short and rapid. At least the signs clearly showed that Steve was merely unconscious and while the trembling wasn't something comforting to see at least he wasn't so far gone that his body was no longer able to attempt to generate its own heat.
Danny shivered violently again as another drop of rain ran down his bare back and he glanced out to where the rain continued to fall outside their leaky shelter. As he was watching, the sound of the rain in the trees lessened as it became easier to see and it wasn't long until the downpour ended completely. Danny continued to stare out at the forest for a few moments longer as he absorbed the good luck they'd been given. He waited several more moments to ensure that the rain didn't start up again before turning back to Steve.
Deciding that it was now or never to get moving he tried to rouse his prone partner. Grabbing Steve's shoulder with his good arm, Danny shook him gently while calling out. "Steve! Hey, Steve it's time to get a move on." When his partner still didn't stir Danny shook his shoulder harder. "Steve! C'mon, we need to get outta here so stop sleeping on the job!"
This time his efforts resulted in a small frown and an unintelligible sound coming from Steve but he still remained stubbornly unconscious. Glancing desperately outside again Danny knew he had to get them moving somehow but there was still the problem of a two hundred pound Navy SEAL and a handcuff keeping them from going anywhere.
Deciding that Steve would thank him later, Danny turned back to his partner and used his good arm to slap him across the face while yelling in the most military voice he could muster, "McGarrett!" He winced as the sound of his hand connecting with his friend's face sounded loudly around him.
The hit accomplished what he had intended however, and Steve's eyes flew open as he gasped, his un-cuffed hand wrapping around his torso and clutching his injured side. "D-Danny?" His chattering teeth made the word difficult to get out and he blinked several times in order to bring his partner's face into focus.
Danny could have cried with relief when Steve's gaze focused on him. "It's about damn time, Sleeping Beauty! C'mon, I need you to move your ass so we can get outta here, I thought you might object to being dragged," he held up the cuffs to emphasise his point.
Steve glanced around their surroundings as his partner spoke, not knowing how they had got into their current location or even where their current location might be for that matter. All he could focus on was how much he hurt. It was everywhere, all through his body and as much as he knew he needed to be paying attention to Danny he was finding it hard to focus on anything else at the moment. All it was was pain and cold.
"Steve? Steve!" His name accompanied by his partner's hand shaking his shoulder brought Danny back into focus again and he turned his head slightly to see him better.
"Can you hear me?" Danny was more encouraged this time when Steve was able to maintain his focus and he nodded in reply. "Okay, good. Now I know it's the last thing you want to be doing right now but we need to move and I can't do it on my own so you're gonna have to prove to me that my daughter's right in calling you 'super-SEAL'. Can you do that?"
Could he do that? Of course I can do that, you're a SEAL, McGarrett now get up and act like one! "Yeah," he replied and gave a small nod, trying to summon up the energy to move, knowing that even with years of training and experience with managing pain it was going to be a monumental effort.
"Okay, I'll help you sit up," Danny gripped the back of Steve's shirt to help pull him up when he was ready. His partner's face had somehow managed to pale even more upon awakening and Danny found himself doubting if he would be able to make it up.
"Okay," Steve nodded to Danny and braced himself for the onslaught of pain that he knew would accompany the movement but he still wasn't prepared when every nerve seemed to be on fire when he half pushed and was half pulled into a semi-sitting position. The world turned to grey around him as he cried out and for a second he thought he might fall straight back down again but with his partner supporting him yet again he managed to stay upright. His head throbbed unbearably at the movement and the pain from the gunshot wound in his side stole his breath away for several moments, tempting him to fall back into oblivion. However, with a few encouraging words from his partner and several slower breaths, his vision began to return to normal and he was able to pick up clearly on what his partner was saying.
"See not so bad, huh?" Danny downplayed his concerns at Steve's obvious pain.
Steve breathed out heavily in a small attempt at a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, piece of cake." Neither of them mentioned their serious doubt of Steve's ability to get to his feet.
"What happened to your arm?" Steve noticed Danny's misaligned appendage for the first time.
"It objected to dragging your heavy ass out of the rain," he brushed off Steve's concern. "We have to keep moving and to do that you're going to need to be on your feet."
"Danny..." Steve hated almost more than anything to admit to not being able to do something, but he was also a realist and he knew the chances of him walking anytime soon were slim. His body was still shaking and his fingers and feet were more than a little numb. And then there was the unbearable throbbing in his head that had him on the brink of passing out again and the still seeping wound in his side.
"Uh uh uh, don't you 'Danny' me, you are going to stand up and we are going to walk out of this mess you landed us in!"
"I thought we agreed that you got us in this mess," he whispered back and Danny was annoyed and surprised that his partner was still able to manage to smirk at him under the circumstances.
"That doesn't give you the excuse to-" Danny began before Steve cut him off.
"Shh!"
"What?" Danny frowned, surprised and a little more than annoyed. "No! You're going to-"
"No, listen!" Steve insisted, his eyes closed with his brow furrowed in concentration. "Do you hear that?"
Danny frowned as he tried to pick up on what Steve had heard, straining his ears as he listened. And then he heard it. It had to be the sweetest sound in the world to him right now as the distinct thwack thwack thwack thwack grew louder. Looking back to Steve he confirmed the noise. "Chopper."
Steve breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't been imagining the noise; it had been a blessing to him on so many occasions similar to this that he had been afraid that his mind was playing a cruel trick on him.
"Wait," Danny's unease returned. "What if it's not for us? It may just be a coincidence." He looked to Steve for his opinion.
"Worth the risk, whoever it is, they won't be with Brennan." Steve felt his remaining strength wavering and the edge of his vision was blurring again. He was sure it had to be for them, and even if it wasn't, he knew that Brennan wouldn't have any resources at his disposal, much less access to a copter. "You need to get their attention," he added, quickly losing his grip on consciousness.
"And when did we become a one man team?" Danny turned back in time to see his partner's eyes roll back as he collapsed back to the ground behind them. "Steve!" Danny quickly checked for a pulse, his heart hammering in his chest until he felt a beat beneath his fingers. "Dammit, Steve!" He cursed out of frustration and concern. Danny could still hear the chopper above the canopy, it seemed to be moving slowly and Danny hoped it was because it was searching for them. Hoping that Brennan had no hired help still scouring the jungle for them that he would alert to their position, Danny grabbed Brennan's revolver and shot three successive shots out of their hiding place, ensuring there were still enough rounds left in case he needed them.
With no other way of alerting the helicopter to their position he hoped he'd done enough to get their attention and glancing back at Steve he found himself praying that it wouldn't be too late.
TBC
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A/N: So... was it almost worth the wait? Or am I still in the bad books? *Cowers behind laptop* I really can't thank you all enough for sticking with this little story despite me making you wait this long, you're amazing. And I mean it!
And to save you from having to ask, I have no intention of making you wait so long for the next chapter, it'll just come down to finding time around work :) Ok, rambling over...but seriously thanks for sticking with me! I will see you soon on chapter 10 :)
