Chapter Sixty-one

"This is insane…what the hell am I doing?"

Jake looked down at Peter sleeping in his lap. Even unconscious Peter's breathing was a unevenly paced shallow gasping. By staying with him Jake had bought Peter a few hours of life, but the more time that passed the more futile the gesture felt. Jake had been caught up in the moment having witnessed Peter and Neal's loyalty to one another, but now sitting basically alone in the dark the romance of self-sacrifice was wearing off. With nothing else to focus on Jake's still relatively fresh brand suddenly flared up again and throbbed painfully. Trapped between a literal rock and a hard place Jake closed his eyes as tears slipped down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry…I can't do this."

Even though he knew he was leaving Peter to die he was still careful when he moved him so that he could stand up. Peter didn't wake up but he did start coughing. Continuing to pointlessly care for Peter Jake knelt down and rolled him onto his side to keep him from drowning in any blood he might cough up. Getting back to his feet Jake took a few slow steps back before stopping. Shaking with indecision Jake was finding it hard to leave the helpless Federal Agent to his fate.

Not wanting to stand here and watch Peter die, but also unable to bear the thought of going back to the Labyrinth to grovel to a merciless York Jake was frozen in place. He knew in the end he didn't have any real options, it was over. One way or another death was coming for him. He had tried to fool himself into thinking he was giving up his shot at the sky to stay with Peter to try and make himself feel noble. However in his heart he had known that with Neal gone York was going to just seal them up in this tomb, there would have been no room to negotiate. Jake didn't see how helping Neal escape in the first place was the most selfless thing he'd done in a long time.

With all paths blocked Jake stared down at Peter and suddenly found himself envious of him; Peter was actively dying while Jake had a long wait for starvation. Laying on the blanket without the advantage of Jake's body heat Peter started shivering. Sighing heavily Jake sat back down and pulled Peter back into a warm embrace. At the very least the longer he kept Peter alive the longer he staved off being left alone. Shifting back into his protector role Jake smiled as Peter's shivering calmed.

"I do want to thank you for at least pretending to care about me…it's more than I deserve."

Finding himself terrified that Peter was going to slip away soon Jake rocked gently to try to comfort them both. Closing his eyes Jake found himself crying once again. After all his years trapped in the Labyrinth he was finding these last few hours the hardest to bare. Needing to find some measure of control Jake reached up and dug his nails into the fabric over his brand. Pain radiated through his chest but since he was the one inflicting it he found some relief from his mental torment. The pain helped wash away his thoughts and gave him something other than death to focus on. Grinding his teeth together he dug in harder. He was close to his goal of making himself pass out when a noise tore his attention away from the bath of pain.

Holding his breath Jake waited for the sound to repeat itself with his heart racing. Coming from beyond the narrow gap in the stone that Neal had disappeared in was the distant sound of foot steps. Jake's first thought was that Neal had given up and came back, but as the noise got closer it became the distinct sound of boots on stone and multi pairs at that. Being barefoot Neal wouldn't make nearly as much noise returning to them. Jake was so stunned that he couldn't even react when a man's face peered in on them from between the stone.

"Contact, I've got contact!" The man announced to the others before kneeling down to Jake's level and smiling at him. "Hello, you must be Jake."

"Y…yes…how?"

"Neal told us about you."

"He made it out?" Jake asked in disbelief even though it was obvious that he must have.

"He did, he's doing just fine, but he's very anxious to see you two safe as well. I'm Liam, this is Taylor, and Mitch with me." Liam introduced the rest of the team that Jake couldn't see. "We are from Enhanced FBI SWAT. Do you know what that means?"

"Not…uh…not exactly." Jake admitted.

"It means we're the best of the best." Liam chuckled. "We are going to get you two out of here. Okay?"

Still in shock Jake just nodded. He had convinced himself that rescue was never going to happen so now that it had it felt like he was witnessing something truly impossible.

"Good. First things first: I need know if you can wake Agent Burke."

"He's out cold."

"I was afraid of that. Can you find his pulse?"

Jake pressed his index finger against Peter's throat. It took him a moment but he found the artery fluttering below the surface. "It's weak."

"I'm more interested in timing. When I say go, start counting until I say stop. ...Go."

Jake silently counted the beats as directed, noticing a lengthy pause in between beats.

"Stop." Liam called the time.

"Forty-two." Jake reported.

"Not great." Liam said bluntly. "Do you know what a sternal rub is?"

"No."

"Make a fist like this." Liam poked his hand through the gap and demonstrated. "Then rub your knuckles hard against his sternum, don't be gentle."

With Peter still resting against him Jake reached up and followed Liam's instructions to no effect. The rough raking of his knuckles against Peter's sternum was meant to cause pain to rouse him, but Peter was too far gone to be concerned with pain.

"You can stop." Liam instructed. "Okay, Plan B. I need you to take this and jab the sharp end into Agent Burke's thigh. It's atropine, it's going to give him a bit of a kick in the ass so stand clear afterwards because he might come out swinging."

Jake had to lay Peter back down in order to get up and retrieve the atropine pen from Liam. Walking over to him Jake felt he was trapped in some sort of dream that was going to reveal itself as a cruel joke at any moment. Stepping up to the gap that was keeping Liam separated from his patient Jake just stared at him in a daze. Liam smiled sympathetically at him.

"Everything is going to be okay." Liam assured. "You're about to save a life, there's no rush like it. I've been at this job for seven years now and it never gets old. Right, guys?"

"Never." Taylor and Mitch agreed in unison.

"You can do this, Jake." Liam said putting the pen in Jake's hand and closing his fingers around it. "One step at a time and we are going to have you both safe on the surface in no time. Sound good?"

Nodding again Jake took the atropine from Liam. Crouching down next to Peter Jake followed Liam's instructions as he raised the pen up and brought it down hard on Peter's thigh. The reaction to the drug wasn't instantaneous and Jake was just about to look to Liam for further instruction when Peter woke violently. Arching his back Peter roared like a bear that had just discovered a rival in his territory. Worried about him hurting himself Jake put his hand on Peter's chest despite Liam's warning for him to get back. With his heart pounding unnaturally Peter moved with surprising speed as he grabbed Jake and rolled him onto the floor to pin him down.

"Stand down, Agent!" Liam barked in a commanding tone. "Stand down!"

Waking to a fight and determined win the familiar order still managed to penetrated Peter's chemically induced rage. Although he didn't understand what was happening at first he did stay his hand and released his captive. Jake sat up looking completely unconcerned by the assault. With his heart still pounding in his ear Peter stared at Jake in confusion.

"Jake? What…"

"Look behind you." Jake smiled.

Automatically looking over his shoulder Peter gasped sharply as his out of control heart jumped up into his throat. Just the sight of the Liam's standard tactical gear was enough to streak tears down Peter's face. Forcing himself up on shaky knees Peter staggered over to the stone barrier before kneeling down again. Peter offered his hand for Liam to shake. Smiling brightly Liam reached through and shook Peter's hand.

"Thank you."

"It's an honor, Agent." Liam beamed.

"Is Neal okay?" Peter asked anxiously.

"He is, he's at the hospital in stable condition. He drew us a very accurate map to get to you. We could have been down here looking for you for days without it." Liam said before getting out a small foil package with a squeeze top and handing it over to Peter. "Drink this, it will get your blood sugar up. Jake, do you need one?"

"I'm fine." Jake assured.

Knowing that the only thing keeping him upright was atropine and adrenaline Peter drank the sickenly sweet liquid Liam had given him. With his head still spinning at the fact that they had been found Peter's elation turned to panic as he started coughing against a thick sluggish feeling in his chest. So close to rescue he was terrified of drowning in his own blood before he got a chance to see Elizabeth again. The fear closed his throat making it increasingly difficult to catch his breath.

"Agent?" Liam asked concerned.

"He has broken ribs." Jake explained.

"Okay. Just relax, Agent, even if one side has collapsed you've still got one good lung." Liam assured. "Panic is the enemy. You're going to be okay, I promise."

Peter nodded and fought to center himself. Falling back on his training for high stress situation at the Academy Peter started breathing more slowly and deliberately to calm himself. Every breath was still a painful fight but he focused on the side that was getting enough air to quell his panic. Liam watched Peter with a clinical eye while the other two Agents started chatting with someone on the radio. It took a moment but Peter successfully battled through the spell. When Peter looked stable again Liam turned his attention to Taylor for a second before looking back to Peter with an excited grin.

"Better?" Liam asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Agent Burke," Liam's smile widened "while we are waiting for the second team to get to you would you like to speak with your wife?"

"Wha…what? Yes, yes, please."

Liam chatted with Taylor again as they set everything up. With a beaming smile Liam offered Peter his radio through the gap. Reaching out for the radio Peter's hand trembled so violently that he couldn't take a hold of it. Liam reached though with his other hand to gently support Peter's wrist to help him steady his grip. Peter found himself suddenly breathing easy as the prospect of hearing Elizabeth's erased his pain from his mind. Swallowing hard against the butterflies in his stomach Peter pressed the contact that activated the radio.

"H…Hon?"

"Peter…"