Chapter Ten:

Notes: I am *so* sorry for the long wait! I went off to Comic Con for the weekend, and spent almost a week with my sister. Had a lovely time, and got lots of cool art, and a couple of books, plus my first ever autographed novel from a new paranormal author. I think there's just this chapter and one more, and then this fic is DONE. So pleased with the response to this fic, and again, I am SO sorry for the long wait.

The tide was coming ever closer, and Steve could feel the sun cooking the back of his neck and arms. He'd have a serious case of sunburn if his team didn't hurry their asses up. He could appreciate the view, however, of the ocean and the sky, and how the two seemed to always meet.

But he was more worried by the tide.

He was strung up tight against a large piece of driftwood, and he couldn't tug himself free.

He strained, as hard as he could, but there was just no getting loose.

He couldn't…

Get free…

"Steve!" A familiar voice called from nearby. He opened his mouth to shout, but the gag in place made him stop short. He cursed Terry yet again, feeling that the bastard was going to pay for all that he'd done. "Hey! Guys, I see him!"

Kino.

She could see him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and then blinked when he felt water up at his ankles. The wave had come and gone without him noticing, and it was getting here sooner…

And then Kino and Chin and Danny were all rushing to his side.

Kino was already cutting him loose, and Chin was calling for a medical team to get here. Danny grasped his shoulder after gently pulling free the gag.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked, emotion visible and deep on his face.

Steve exhaled in relief.

"Better, now. Danny…Danny, it wasn't chance that he took me. He planned on kidnapping me this entire time," Steve told him, and Danny breathed in sharply, and demanded,

"Are you SURE!"

"He outright told me, said that the only reason he was letting me go was because he had to regroup with his own people," Steve informed him hoarsely. He was dehydrated, bruised from head to toe, sunburned, and starving. He couldn't wait to get a proper meal in him, and get some rest after the harrowing adventure that he'd gone through.

It seemed as though he was finally safe.

But even as his team escorted him off down the beach of the direction they'd come through, he couldn't help but wonder for how long.

End

Notes: Next chapter is epilogue, and then I am DONE. =) Thanks for everyone who reviewed!