"Could you wait outside please?"

Higgins watched as the two men left the room, her eyes fixed on the door until it had closed behind them. Only then did she turn her head to stare at Doctor Anders.

"We actually met yesterday." Dr. Anders was making notes on Higgins' blood pressure as she spoke. "I wouldn't blame you for not remembering; you weren't at your best." She turned her head and smiled sympathetically down at the bleary brown eyes regarding her with a wary expression. "You're doing a lot better now. At least, according to these readings. How are you feeling?"

It took a long moment for Higgins to realise she was meant to respond. Dr. Anders waited patiently and was finally rewarded with a whispered, "water?"

"Ice chips will be easier on your stomach for now." And, seeing the distrust still swimming in her patient's eyes, Dr. Anders sighed before she offered another smile, this one less sympathetic but tighter somehow. "We've had an HPD detective asking about taking a statement from you. Do you feel ready to talk to the police?"

"... 's." It was barely even a sound, let alone a word, but it was clearly meant to be an affirmative answer.

"Would you like me to send your friends back in?"

This time the answer was just a nod, but it was coupled with an almost pleading look and Dr. Anders gave a nod of her own.

"Okay," and she finished entering the last of her notes as she spoke. "Your friends will be right back in, with some ice, and I'd imagine the detective will be here within an hour or two. If you change your mind, if you don't feel up to talking to him, be sure to let him know."

The only reply was another nod, smaller than the first, and Dr. Anders made a mental note to warn both the pair by the door and whoever HPD sent that her patient needed as much rest as she could get.

…

Magnum stumbled as his feet caught on yet another tree root. This time he couldn't catch his balance and he fell, landing hard on his hands and knees. He felt the pain shooting through his knees and burning in his shoulder and for a brief second he was worried by the lack of pain in his hands. Then the wind picked up again, bringing rain with it, and cold hands were pushed to the back of his mind.

'Shelter,' he told himself firmly, trying to force his inner voice to sound strong and steady. 'Just. Find. Shelter.' He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his chest, and tried to push himself to his feet. His left arm was nearly useless and his right shook with the strain and he was barely able to push himself up before they collapsed under his weight. He dropped again and caught his head on a rock, seeing flashing lights behind his eyelids from the impact. Staying where he was didn't seem like such a bad idea: it was surprisingly comfortable on the ground.

He really didn't think it was fair, the way everything kept spinning even though he was laying down. Staying still and being flat was meant to stop the world from dipping and tilting but he could feel it rolling beneath him, waves of movement swelling. The motion was so extreme, it was threatening to tip him off the ground, throw him off the planet and send him hurtling through space, lost and alone forever.

A distorted little voice was telling him that there was something wrong, that he should be worried. But it was so quiet, wavering. It sounded a little like it was coming from the bottom of a well. And who ever paid attention to voices in a well?

…

"I really don't remember." And her face, usually controlled, betrayed how that made her feel. "I remember leaving the pub, and that's about it." She didn't even seem to realise she had called La Mariana 'the pub', an English-ism she had been careful to avoid since Rick had bought his bar.

"I'm sorry to ask, Jules. I know you told Katsumoto everything."

She offered a small smile that quickly faded, but it was enough to tell Rick that she understood his worry. It had been two days since she and Magnum had gone missing. She had been found at the side of a road by a delivery driver, and there was still no sign of Magnum. And she had no memory of where they had gone or what had happened.

All anyone knew for sure was that she had multiple broken bones, bruises over her entire body, and a massive concussion. If Magnum was in as bad a state as she Higgins was, then he needed medical attention as soon as possible. No one was willing to admit that it might be too late.

…

Moving was impossible. Nothing seemed to work like it was meant to. His legs shook and his arms trembled and his eyes wouldn't focus. He wasn't sure what was happening, if his entire body was numb or on fire. He thought he was meant to be looking for something. Or someone. He was sure there was something he should be doing but…

Thoughts kept forming and splintering, like waves crashing together on a sand dune. Oh, the beach was lovely this time of year. Sun beating down, the ocean crashing down on overheated skin, glorious and bright. Gulls screeching and ice-cream melting. Was a child crying? Was that the noise he…

Oh, he'd always wanted kids. Even when he was a child himself, he'd always looked at babies with a sense of awe. He'd always been great with kids, too. He would speak in funny voices, pull funny faces, make toys dance and act out stories. Maybe, one day, hopefully sometime soon, he would…

What had happened to his childhood toys? He knew some of them had been boxed up and put in the attic when he'd hit his teenage years. What had happened to those boxes? Come to think of it, what had happened to the Christmas decorations that had been up there?

Magnum let his mind wander, not really caring that every train of thought was jumping off the tracks. At least it proved an interesting distraction from the pain that was searing his body with every breath he took. At least his thoughts were keeping him from dwelling on the heavy feeling in his chest that was making his lungs fight for every breath. At least he didn't have to pay attention to the tightness in his throat that was making him feel like he was choking.

At least he could ignore the blinding agony that was making it feel like his head was splitting in two.

…

"Are you sure about this?"

"Positive!" Higgins almost snapped the word, but didn't look away from the laptop screen. She kept her eyes fixed on the estate agent's listings that she was scrolling through. "I dreamt about this company's sign last night and I can't get it out of my head. I must have seen it wherever I was with Magnum."

It made sense. That didn't make it any easier to watch her wincing in pain at the brightness of the screen. Or to see her taking slow, deep breaths to try to control the pain so no one would try to insist she take the painkillers that made her feel fuzzy.

She was sure she could recognise wherever it was she had been when she had lost Thomas if she could just concentrate for long enough.

"Juliet?" Kumu was careful to keep her voice gentle and level. "Maybe you could use a break?" Kumu was as worried about Magnum as the rest, but she was scared for Higgins too; the younger woman's hands were shaking and her face was deathly pale.

"I can't stop now." Higgins' voice shook, betraying the strain she was feeling. "We have to find him. I can't lose him."

No one asked again if she wanted to turn off the screen, even when she started closing her eyes in a grimace everytime the screen moved.

…

He hadn't moved. At various intervals it had felt like he was running or falling or even swimming. But, actually, he had been laying still for hours as the sun moved across the sky above him. He hadn't noticed as the hottest hours of the day had scorched the leaves of the plants around him. He didn't notice as the shadows started to get longer. He didn't notice the temperature dropping slightly as the sky was touched into fire. He didn't notice the colors in the sky either.

His body was sprawled on the ground, limbs at odd angles that would have been painful if he had been aware of his own body. The blood running from the messy, swollen cut on his left temple had slowed to a sluggish trickle, the dark red of the fresh blood edged in the black of dried blood, and the shadows and shades of dirt.

His chest was the only part of him still moving, the slight rise and fall easy to miss by all but the most keen of observers. In his mind, tumbled and twisted by pain and blood loss, he was running, searching desperately for Higgins so he could protect her, so they could get back to the road and race away. But in reality, in the world not governed by his fevered imagination, he lay still, his body on the very edge of giving up.

…

A sudden surge in activity was the only hint they had that something was going on. The number of people rushing through the corridor seemed to almost triple, and then suddenly drop away to practically nothing. It was as if every staff member had suddenly rushed to the same location, and there was no one left to fill any other space

In Higgins' room, where she was still shaking from the pain she had caused herself by studying the estate agent's website, Rick and T.C. shared a look.

"Tommy?" Rick sounded both hopeful and scared. He was hoping as hard as he could that his brother had been found, but he was terrified of the sort of state he would have to be in to warrant so much attention.

"Who else could cause such a fuss?" T.C. tried to joke, but it fell more than a little flat. They were too worried, too exhausted, too tense.

So, even when Katsumoto came hurrying in, dirty and disheveled, obviously in a rush to tell them something, they still didn't really dare to think it might be good news. Even Higgins, who had quickly sat up when the door flew open, looked like she was trying to very carefully arrange her face to look completely blank.

"You were right." Katsumoto's news was too important for him to waste time on greetings. "He's got a list of injuries as long as my arm, including a grade three concussion and some broken ribs. He's looking at weeks of recovery time. But they're pretty sure he will recover."

If he stressed it a little, putting some extra weight on the words, no one called him out on it. After all, they were just as relieved as he was.