A/N: So, I finally finished the next chapter. Sorry for making you wait so long, but I wanted to make you suffer *very evil grin* No, I'm kidding; I was busy (and very very tired ;))

If this chapter makes anyone cry or scream or destroy anything, I'm really sorry. But I had to make him suffer, or it would not have been realistic.

I better stop talking now, you'll see what I'm talking about.

Dedicated to :berta 101 (mmhh, good idea, I'll think about it ;)), csigirlie156 (sorry if I allowed you to become too bored (and whatever it involved)), SusanWATfan (Thanks, I didn't know if it was realistic, but I tried to get into Danny's head and feelings in a situation like this), missusmesser (I like the smoke signals, maybe you should try it...) higherbeingfriendsfan (yeah, I guess deep down I have this little anti-Jack side either, and it showed its nasty face in the last chapter ;)), Zonya (it was sooo cute seeing Danny cry in the episode 'Clare de Lune', here you don't see him, but at least you can try to imagine it), bdoney (Ok, this chapter is Martin's POV), lapmal (there will be more D/M in it), rabbitmonkey (Thanks, trying to be as realistic as possible for a fanfic), fairygurl621 (mmh, maybe, maybe not... you'll have to wait and see), thebondgirl (I hope I was able to help you, and I guess you'll see your ideas soon) and itsideout389 (I said earlier that I didn't actually watch Endgame, only read the end, so I don't know too much about the plot. My story will probably focus on the relationships M/S D/M, but thanks for letting me know some of your ideas).

Chapter 7

Pain exploded in his body. It felt like millions of red-hot needles digging into his flesh and tearing up his skin. Never before had he felt such horrible pain. Only a second ago there had been millions of thoughts in his mind, spinning like mad, and now everything was gone, making room for the pain to spread in his head.

And it did. It flooded through his body and filled his mind. He had never quite believed people claiming they'd rather die or wished they were dead in the face of pain. Of course there were some kinds of pain he couldn't imagine because he had never actually felt them. But he just couldn't believe that there was something so horrible that you would rather die than continue to feel the pain.

Now he understood completely. Although he desperately tried to think about anything but the burning sensation in his upper body he failed miserably. It seemed like every positive thought had been swamped out of his head the moment the bullets hit his skin.

He wanted to die. He wanted this pain to just be over, to stop, even if it meant dying right here, right now. It was just too much.

Then the pain faded away. The burning nearly stopped and his mind relaxed slightly. Being able to think clearly again, he realized that this horrible pain had been caused by the bullets penetrating his body, meaning that it had only lasted a split second.

To him it had been an eternity. An eternity filled with pain and sorrow. But it was over. The pain didn't fully go away, of course it didn't, but compared to what he'd been feeling only mere seconds ago, it was heaven.

Wait, it was heaven?

Maybe he had been wrong, maybe the pain hadn't gone away because the bullets had stopped hitting him, maybe he was just...

'That is completely insane. You are not dead. You don't feel pain when you're dead... or do you?' How could he know? He had never been dead or anywhere close to it, nor had anyone else who was still able to tell you how it felt like. Again, the thoughts in his mind started spinning like mad as he was trying to figure out whether or not he was dead.

There was only one way how he could find out. He had to open his eyes and see. Very slowly he forced his eyes open. Well, opened would be said too much, because he only managed to create a small slice, just wide enough to get a glimpse of his surroundings.

That was if he had been able to see anything at all. The world around him was blurred and everything was lit with a bright white light.

Was it heaven?

Oh no, obviously it wasn't. As his eyes got used to the light (which was caused by the street lights standing around the car), he recognized the outlines of people, cars and buildings. His head hurt like mad, even the tiny movement of opening his eyes had caused so much pain. And as he felt no need for causing himself more pain than he already felt, he closed his eyes again.

Immediately, everything turned black. The pain slowly faded away, getting weaker and weaker, and finally it stopped.

Then he passed out.

He awoke some time later, the pain returning with full force. For a few seconds it was so intense that he thought (and hoped) he would pass out again. But he didn't. Instead, the pain lost some of its power and his head became a bit clearer.

He tried to concentrate on his surroundings. When he was shot there was barely a sound audible (yeah, well, except for the shot of course), but now the area was filled with sound. Screams, people talking, the distant sound of sirens. Everything assailed him, nearly splitting his eardrums. After the silence it sounded like an airplane was taking off right next to him.

When his ears finally managed to organize the sounds he recognized a voice. It sounded familiar, but his brain had too much to deal with and it took him a while to create a face matching the voice. Finally, he succeeded.

Danny.

He wanted to speak, ask Danny if he was okay, ask him what had happened, where he was, but nothing happened. Not even the simple movement of opening his eyes was possible. But he had to wake up. Maybe he would never get a chance to talk to him again. Although he didn't know the whole impact of his wounds, he felt it was bad. Really bad.

It was important to talk to Danny. There were so many things he needed people to know. He had somehow already accepted the fact that he would die and now he prepared himself for saying goodbye. To Danny, Jack, Viv, his family... to Sam.

Oh God, Sam. He knew that he was the one who had broken up with her, but there was so much left unsaid between them that she needed to know about. So many things he needed to tell her. He hadn't wanted to end everything like he did, he had wanted to talk to her and explain everything. When she had come into the bullpen that morning it just slipped out, and he had been so cold toward her.

He had been hurt. She had hurt him. But there was still so many things left unsaid. Important things. Things like the fact that he loved her. Maybe she knew, he felt it must have been quite obvious. But he wanted to tell her. Something like this had to be said. It just had to be.

And now he was running out of time.

Even if it wasn't possible to talk to Sam, at least he had to tell Danny. Danny was the only person he really trusted to tell Sam what she needed to know, because he was the only person who really understood. Understood him, understood Sam, understood about their relationship.

With all the power he had left, he opened his eyes. He wanted to speak up to attract Danny's attention, but he was already looking at him. Martin heard him say his name and ask how he felt. His throat was extremely dry and he had to cough before he managed to croak, "Like shit."

When he got a small smile from Danny he returned it, asking what happened. He remembered the shots, but there wasn't much else left in his mind. As Danny explained their situation something hit him: Danny had also been in the line of fire. "You okay?" He managed to ask, but the talking made his throat burn like fire and he coughed again. It was important to stay awake now, but it was really hard. Danny assured him that he was okay and kept telling him to stay conscious.

He was feeling so cold. Although the pain made his body burn, he couldn't feel his arms or legs at all. Everything was numb. He told Danny and his partner ordered someone to get a blanket, then fixed him with a concerned stare. Martin wanted to speak and tell Danny what he needed to, but suddenly his face vanished out of sight. Why did he go away? He needed to talk to him!

Desperately he grabbed Danny's arm and said "Don't leave me." Danny came back and reassured him. His voice and words were comforting, and despite the situation he relaxed a bit. Still, he needed to talk to him.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, partner?"

"Could you... could you please tell... tell Sam that..." It was hard to speak. His voice was croaky and he only managed a whisper, "I'm sorry... for everything that happened. I didn't mean to hurt her. I never meant to... Just tell her that I'm sorry and that... that I..." He needed to say it, but he just couldn't. His body was just too weak, but that wasn't the only reason. As he spoke the words it hit him that he would probably never see Samantha's face again.

Danny took matters out of his hands. "That you love her?" He asked. Martin managed to nod. Danny was on the verge of tears, he could hear it in his voice. It was hard to keep on talking, especially upon hearing that Danny was so worried.

"Yeah, tell her that I love her. Will you?" When Danny affirmed that he would tell her, he went on. "And tell Jack that he was a great boss, and tell Viv that it was an honor to meet her... and you know that you're my best friend and the best partner I've ever had..."

He wanted to go on, say everything that was on his mind, tell Danny everything he needed to know, but he interrupted him. "Hey man, you're not going anywhere, so don't you dare and say goodbye to me. I won't ever let my partner die, especially not like this, you understand?" While saying this he took hold of Martin's hand and squeezed. The simple touch and those words managed to do what nothing else could've achieved: He had hope again.

'Maybe this isn't the end,' He thought, 'Maybe there's still hope.'

The EMTs arrived, interrupting his thoughts as they started asking him questions and treating to his wounds. They took him to the ambulance, and he thought that Danny would come back now. He had to make room for the EMTs, now he could come back.

But he didn't. "Danny." He was shocked at hearing how weak the word sounded upon coming out of his mouth. It sounded so desperate and lost. But he didn't really care. He needed Danny to come back. "Danny." Finally, he heard Danny coming into the ambulance and sitting next to him. "Danny."

"Yeah, I'm here partner. You're gonna be okay, and when you get out of hospital you're gonna tell Jack and Viv and Sam what you told me yourself. Understand?" He just nodded. Danny had managed to give him some hope, but it quickly faded away again.

He was so cold. Everything was cold now. His arms, legs, his body... The only warmth left was the touch of Danny's hand.

He closed his eyes, trying to consume the warmth Danny gave him. But it didn't help. Slowly, the cold crept up. Then it reached his heart.

Now all the warmth was gone.

Everything was gone.

A/N: I know, not a very good point to end it, but I wanted to update today (while I'm writing, it's 10.16 p.m.). I would stay up longer to finish it, but I have to go to school tomorrow, so... sorry. I'll write more of Martin's POV, I guess it will be out Friday or Saturday. 'Til then! Review!

Edited 08/11/09