Summary: What if Thomas hadn't been fast enough at the end of 1x06?

There was a short, bemused second in which Thomas had time to appreciate the fact that the branch he held had in fact caught the arrow that would've killed him. That second ended abruptly as the crossbow clicked again and a fiery pain exploded in his chest. His breath caught, and he stared down in stunned fascination at the arrow lodged a few inches beneath his collar bone. His attacker seemed equally shocked and the moment stretched. Thomas gasped in a breath and felt the first wet rattle in his chest. His vision swam sickeningly, and his knees buckled. The other man seemed to come back to himself then and he raised the crossbow. As Thomas knelt there, dazed and on the verge of consciousness, one thought ran through his head. After everything, this is how it all ends? He closed his eyes as the other man aimed.

"Magnum!"

Juliet knew something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was, but the feeling wouldn't let her go. The thought of Thomas out there alone worried her. At first, she had scoffed at the idea. Magnum was ex-SEAL and, although it galled her to admit it, an excellent PI. He was fully capable of handling a simple door knock on his own…right? And yet, as she sat at her desk, she couldn't help but feel as though he was somehow in danger. She took a deep breath and laid her palms flat on the desktop. He's fine. He's fine. He's fine. He's…

"Bugger all." She muttered, grabbing her keys and running for the garage.

As her neared the house, she heard the blaring alarm of the Ferrari. She wanted to believe that he had simply forgotten the code again, wanted to believe that this was just another instance of Magnum being Magnum. That hope died as she pulled into the driveway and saw a blonde woman scrambling out of the Ferrari toward the house. Juliet threw her car into park, jumped out, and drew her gun.

"Stop right there." She commanded. The woman paused and turned slowly around. "Where's Magnum?" The woman didn't answer, but her eyes darted to the forest. A moment later, she made a break for the trees. Juliet was on her in a second, her long legs easily outpacing the woman. The struggle was brief. The woman threw kicks and punches, but they lacked any power or skill. In less than a minute, she lay unconscious in the mud. Juliet started toward the house, then paused. Off to her right, she could hear the sounds of a struggle. Magnum…

She broke out into a dead run into the forest. When she finally reached them, her heart clenched. Thomas knelt on the ground, eyes closed and listing to the left. Blood covered his chest and Juliet nearly gagged at the arrow that impaled him. Three feet away, a wild looking man aimed a crossbow at him. Juliet didn't stop to think.

"Magnum!" She screamed. The man with the bow turned toward her and she shot him in the chest. He flew back and hit the ground with a painful thump. He wasn't moving, and Juliet wasn't sure if he was alive or dead. At that moment, she didn't much care. She kicked the bow away and ran to Magnum, catching him as he fell.

"Magnum? Can you hear me? Thomas!" She gave his shoulder a small shake. His eyes fluttered open slowly, as if the effort was costing more energy than he had to spare.

"J-Juliet?" He rasped. He coughed weakly and blood trickled from one corned of his mouth. "What are you…why…"

"Shhhh, don't try to talk." She soothed, cradling him gently. She dug her cellphone out of her pocket and dialed 911, trying to ignore the way the blood made her finger slip across the screen. Once she was sure that help was on its way, she quickly stripped of the blouse she wore over her tank top and pressed it to the wound. Thomas whimpered softly and tried to curl in on himself. Juliet could feel tears building in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I know it hurts, Thomas, but help will be here soon. You just need to hold on a little longer, alright?" Thomas's breaths became more labored, his lips taking on a blue tint.

"Something's not…I c-can't…br-breathe…" He gasped.

"I think the arrow may have punctured your lung. Just focus taking shallow breaths and try not to talk." Juliet held him closer as he shivered in her arms. Despite her best effort, blood continued to well up through her fingers. Thomas stared blankly into the night, his eyes only half open. They stayed that way for another five minutes before he spoke.

"Didn't think…never thought it would…" He trailed off. Juliet frowned.

"Never thought what would?" When Thomas didn't answer, she moved her free hand to his cheek. "Thomas?"

"Never thought I'd die like this." He mumbled, his eyes drifting shut as his head lolled limply against her chest. Juliet could hear the sirens now.

"You're not dying here, Magnum. You hear me?" She whispered fiercely.

Hospitals were never silent, but Juliet didn't seem to notice the noise.

"Higgy?" A soft voice called. Juliet was startled out of her reverie. Rick sat in the chair next to her, eyes bright with concern. He laid a warm hand on her bare shoulder. "You alright?" Juliet glanced down at herself and noticed for the first time the blood that covered her jeans and her tank top…and the waiting room chair. She shook her head.

"This…this isn't mine." Her voice broke and a tear spilled down her cheek. TC knelt in front of her and squeezed her hand.

"Katsumoto filled us in on what happened. You did good, Jules. You saved his life by being there." He said gently. She snorted.

"We'll see about that." She muttered.

"Hey, none of that." Rick said firmly. "Tommy's a strong son of a bitch. He'll pull through. Now, let's get you cleaned up. I brought some clothes for you to change into." With that, he stood, pulled her to her feet, and walked her down the hall toward a staff only a door where a nurse was waiting. "Jules, this is Annie. She's gonna take you to the showers. We'll be waiting here when you're done."

"But, Thomas…what if-"

"We'll come get you if we hear anything." TC promised. Juliet nodded and after casting one last glance at her blood-stained chair, followed the nurse through the doorway.

Rick's head jerked up from his chest. It was fifth time in the last ten minutes that he'd had to shake himself awake. Despite the horribly uncomfortable chair, he kept nodding off. He'd already been in bed when Higgins' frantic call had woken him. By the time he'd arrived at the hospital, Thomas was already in surgery and he'd been forced to guess at his friend's condition based on Juliet's brief description and the terrifying amount of blood that covered her. During the seven hours Thomas spent in surgery, a nurse came out twice with updates, but they were always cautious and uncertain. It wasn't until the surgeon himself had informed them that Magnum was alive and in recovery that Rick finally let some of the tension bleed from his shoulders.

Now, some ten hours later, he was sagged into a chair beside Thomas' bed in the ICU, waiting for the man to wake up. Higgins was asleep in the chair opposite him, folded into an impossibly uncomfortable position. Rick ached for the coffee TC had gone to get. He'd already had a dozen cups of the terrible brew from the hospital vending machine and the promise of real, fresh coffee from his favorite café was all that was keeping him going at the moment. He knew he was exhausted, but he fought it. The idea of Thomas waking up—alone, confused, and in pain—was enough to ward off sleep. The man in question lay disturbingly still in the bed. After years of friendship, Rick knew that Magnum was nearly always moving, even in his sleep. He seemed ridiculously small and fragile surrounded by the myriad of wires and machines. At least they'd taken him off of the ventilator, Rick thought. He knew how much Thomas hated them. The oxygen mask was uncomfortable, but it wouldn't trigger panic like the vent would.

Rick was startled from his thoughts by a soft moan. Instantly awake and alert, he grabbed Thomas' too-cold hand a gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Tommy? Can you hear me?" Rick asked softly. Across from him, Juliet was awake and leaning over the bed, concern shining in her brown eyes. Magnum's brow furrowed, and his head rolled from side to side. "Easy buddy, it's okay, you're safe." He soothed as Magnum began to pant. "Can you open your eyes for me?" It took a minute, but Thomas finally managed to pry his lids open part way. Rick smiled warmly used his free hand to smooth back Magnum's hair. "There you are. You gotta stop scaring me, man. I'm getting too old for this!" He joked. Thomas blinked slowly a few times, still trying to focus on his friend.

"S'rry." He slurred from beneath the mask. Clumsily, he raised a hand and tried to pull it off.

"Leave that on." Juliet admonished gently as she replaced the mask. "You still need it."

"Juliet?" He asked, confusion evident in his tone. "What 'appened? You 'kay?"

"I'm fine, Thomas. You're the one we've all been worried about. What do you remember?" Thomas thought for a moment, then frowned.

"Don't know…kinda jumbled…"

"We were working on a case for Henry Barr, trying to locate Elizabeth Cole." Juliet prompted. He nodded slowly.

"Went out to talk to hunter…I get in an accident?"

"No, buddy. That hunter took a shot at you with a crossbow." Rick explained. "Got you in the chest." Thomas glanced down, as if noticing the bandages for the first time.

"Elizabeth?" He asked.

"Dead." Juliet answered sadly. "Katsumoto found enough evidence in the cabin to figure it out. It turns out Barr's assistant killed Elizabeth to keep her out of Barr's life. He buried her out in the woods. A few decades later, our hunter finds her body, pieces a few things together, and figures he can blackmail Barr."

"Thought Barr did it…thought he…" Thomas trailed off, his eyes starting to close. Rick squeezed his hand.

"Why don't you get some rest, TM. We'll be here when you wake up, okay?"

"Kay." Thomas mumbled as he drifted off once more. A few seconds later, TC walked in, bringing with him the scent of fresh brewed coffee. He cocked his head at the sight of Rick and Higgins leaning over Magnum's bed.

"What I miss?"

As TC's large van rumbled into the drive at Robin's Nest, Magnum breathed out a contented sigh and closed him eyes. After more than a week away, he was excited to finally be coming back. A hand on his knee roused him and he turned to see Rick reach back from the front seat.

"You doing okay, brother?"

"Yeah." Thomas replied with a small smile. "Just good to be home is all." He paused and glanced out the window. "We going to the main house?"

"Higgy made up a guest room." TC explained. "I think she wants to keep an eye on you." Thomas nodded, but said nothing. As much as he preferred to lick his wounds in private, it hadn't escaped his attention how much Higgins had been hovering. Although she hid it under layers of sarcasm and playful jabs, he could tell that she was worried. He could only imagine what it must have been like and he felt bad for scaring her.

After TC parked the van as close as possible to the front entrance, both he and Rick came around to help Thomas out of the car. Once they'd extricated him from his seat belt, they each took an arm and gently lifted him. As they moved him to the ground, Thomas let out a gasp of pain and his knees threatened to buckle.

"Easy, man. Just lean on us. Let us do the work." TC said softly. A few minutes later, Thomas nodded and did his best to shrug out of their hold.

"I'm good." He said gruffly. Rick snorted. In truth, Thomas was far too pale and looked ready to collapse.

"Sure you are, buddy. C'mon, let's get you inside." He kept a supportive hand around his friend as they walked slowly to the house, TC following closely behind with the bags. When they reached the front step, the door opened before Rick could knock and Juliet beckoned them inside.

"Hello, Magnum. How are you feeling? The truth, please." She asked, with a knowing look. Thomas looked sheepishly at floor. Clearly, he didn't look as fine as he'd hoped.

"I'm a little tired." He said quietly. Juliet smiled and took his arm.

"I expected as much. Come, your room is just down the hall." Together, the four of them made their way to one of the spacious guest bedrooms. By the time they arrived, Thomas was exhausted. His legs shook, and his still-healing lung wheezed with every breath. He all but collapsed onto the mattress. For a few minutes, he lay quietly as his friends fussed around him, pulling off his shoes and turning back covers. He was only dimly aware of the conversation going on around him.

"He needs to take these." Rick said.

"I'll take care of it." Juliet offered. "There's coffee and malasadas in the kitchen if you lads are interested."

"Get some rest, buddy. We'll be back in a bit." Rick said, giving his leg a light squeeze before following TC out. Juliet sat on the edge of the bed and held up a glass of water and a small orange bottle.

"For your pain." She explained as she shook a couple into her palm. With surprising gentleness, she lifted his head enough for him to swallow the pills.

"Thanks, Higgy." Thomas mumbled sleepily. "You didn't have to do all this."

"Yes, I did." She said softly, but didn't elaborate. She glanced away for a moment before continuing. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"When I found you in the woods…you were hurt pretty badly and you said something. You said, 'I never thought I'd die like this.' What did you mean by that?" She asked hesitantly. Thomas was a moment in answering.

"I guess, after everything, the SEALs, the camp…it seemed crazy to me that I was going to die alone in the woods, shot by some boar hunter."

"You didn't have to be. Alone, I mean. I know that I complain, but I want you to know that, if you'd asked…I would have gone with you. And," she added quietly, "should you need me in the future, I'll be there." Thomas stared at her, stunned. Before he could reply, Juliet gave his shoulder a light squeeze and slipped out of the room.