Tony found himself floundering in the water. It wasn't that he didn't know how to swim, but the water was choppy and filled with debris. He was completely clothed and his wet jeans and tennis shoes were dragging him down. Everything was bobbing and the water was slapping him in the face.

He felt the water close over his head and he beat his way to the surface feebly, but he was breathing in the water now. He slid under the water again. He held his breath as he managed to get his tennis shoes off. He tried kicking with his feet then, but he no longer knew which way was up. Panic was setting in and he couldn't take the deep breath he longed to take, to try and calm himself down.

He peered around to get his bearings, the water around him was clear. He realized he could see the sun sparkling on the surface and the bits of the boat as it floated up there. But nowhere could Tony see Magnum. Desperately he kicked with his feet, trying to make it back to the surface of the water.

By now his lungs were burning with the desperate need to breath, it matched the burning in his hand. His bandage was coming undone in the water and the wound was bleeding again, staining the water a faint, pinkish red. Around him the world was beginning to go grey and he didn't know what to do. He needed to breath, his whole body ached with the need to breath, but he couldn't. He hadn't made it to the surface yet.

Lethargy stole over his body and it wasn't worth the effort to make it to the surface anymore. Maybe, if he shut his eyes, when he woke up he'd back at the hotel asleep in his bed. He would wake to find the entire day had been just a dream.

Panicked he opened his eyes then. He didn't want it to be a dream. He liked Chris and Magnum and Mrs. Brown. They were the only people in his life who had ever treated him like he mattered. And if meant he was going to die, at least there would be people who might notice when he was no longer there.

He kicked again,trying once more to reach the surface. But it was just too far away, he'd sank too far in the water, he wasn't going to make it alone. And he had to breath, his body could no longer be denied the need to breath.

Just as he thought it was the end, he was going to have to breath and he'd drown, he felt a hand grip his. It was a strong, sure hand that pulled him inexorably to the surface. As they broke into the sunshine, Tony burst into a fit of coughing that shook him, expelling the air that he so desperately need. But the hand that had pulled him to the surface, pulled the boy into his chest and held him firmly as he coughed and spewed out all of the water he'd already swallowed. Finally the water was gone and he could suck in a breath – one and then another.

"That's it, Tony," he heard soothingly the entire time, "get it out. I've got you. Just get it all out. It'll be alright." The litany calmed and soothed him, and the arms held him tight until at last he could breath normally again, bobbing there in the water with Magnum.

The coughing spell left him weak. He leaned into Magnum and closed his eyes. He let the other man hold him up while he enjoyed the ability to just breath again. All around them was quiet, all he could hear was the lap of the water and Magnum's hear beating. It was the safest he'd ever felt in his life.

"Tony?" Magnum gave him as much time as he could. Tony knew they couldn't waste time, their peril hadn't ended with the boat blowing up. The men were still after Magnum and him, too. They had to find help and quickly.

"I'm okay," Tony rasped. His throat hurt now and his lungs ached, but he could deal with it, he had to.

"Sure you are."

Tony could hear the smile in Magnum's voice. He didn't push the issue though, probably because there wasn't much that he could do about it in the middle of the ocean.

"We've got to put some distance between us and Pearson," Magnum continued. "It's not going to take him long to get another boat and come after us. Our only hope will be if someone spotted the explosion from the air, maybe they'll come look for us."

"What about Mr. TC? Won't he notice that you're gone?" It burned his throat to talk, but Tony needed to feel like he was helping too.

"I really don't know, Tony. Yeah, sure, they're going to notice that we're gone, but I'm not sure they'll know where to look for us. So we have to do what we can to help ourselves until they can get here."

It sounded like something important to remember, Tony filed the words away where he could think about them later.

He and Magnum were silent a moment, just floating in the water. Tony took in the endless water around them, the shoreline seemed a long, long way away. He swam laps in his pool at home, but the ocean was different: there was waves that kept slapping at them; he kept swallowing water no matter how hard he tried not to; and, as far as he could tell, the bottom was nowhere to be found.

He was already tired, he wasn't sure how far he could get, but he gamely smiled at Magnum.

"So, we going to swim then?"

He felt Magnum's arms tighten around him in some emotion he couldn't figure out. Then he slid Tony around so that he was once again piggy back.

"You ride for awhile and rest," he said.

"I can swim," Tony protested.

"I know you can," Magnum said, "but you can't swim as fast as me," he pointed out ruthlessly. "If we're going to get away, we've got to go as fast as we can."

As miserable as it made him, Tony knew it was truth. He would just slow them down. He put his arms around Magnum's neck and clutched tightly.

"Loosen up a little, I still need to breath."

"I'm sorry," Tony said dejected. He was beginning to feel useless, a dead weight that Magnum would be better off without.

Magnum began to swim, long even strokes and they slid steadily through the water.

"You know that none of this is your fault, Tony," Magnum paused between strokes so he could talk to Tony.

Tony held on, remembering not to clutch too tightly. "You'd be able to get away better if you didn't have me," he pointed out reasonably.

Magnum stopped swimming. He slid around so he could see the boy face to face, "Tony, you were taken because you were with me. It's my responsibility to make sure that you get out of this okay."

He was so serious, Tony felt like he was looking into his soul, telling him something he should never forget.

"I learned a long time ago that you never leave anyone behind, especially a friend."

Magnum waited a minute to make sure Tony understood what he was saying before he looped the boys arms around his neck again and began to swim.

"I'm your friend?" Tony asked in a small voice. With his mouth pressed against Magnum's ear, there was no way he couldn't hear.

"Well sure you we are, Tony," Magnum answered. "You know going through something like we've experienced today makes a special bond between people. I wouldn't be surprised if 15 or 20 years from now, we don't still remember this and talk about it."

Tony was having trouble imagining his life 20 minutes ahead, 20 years was just too much. "Uhm, yeah, sure..."

He concentrated on breathing. He found that if he situated himself just so, that most of the water missed his face. He was so tired. He didn't think he'd ever been so tired in his whole life. He just wanted to sleep.

"I really don't know what I'm going to tell your father when I meet him," Magnum's words jarred him and Tony realized that he'd been close to sleep. He tightened his hold trying to think of what to tell Magnum.

It was time for the truth, Tony knew he could avoid it no longer, "Mr. Magnum, my dad doesn't even know I'm here."

"What?"

Tony wished that the good guys, or even the bad guys would appear then. Anything so he wouldn't have to tell Magnum the truth.

"He was here in Maui for a business trip and he left the day before yesterday. Mr. Magnum, he forgot he had me with him and... he left me here."

There was silence for a moment while Magnum kept swimming. Tony saw that, unbelievably, the shoreline was drawing closer.

When he answered, Magnum's voice was carefully controlled and neutral, "So, what you're telling me is, your father left you here when he went home, and that was… what…? A day and a half ago? And he still doesn't realize he forgot you?"

"He's pretty busy and I don't usually travel with him," Tony started to try to justify for his father but Magnum interrupted him.

"What about your mother? Wouldn't she notice you didn't come home with him?"

Tony didn't know what to say. It hurt so much to think that they just forgot about him. He was suddenly glad of the ocean they were in, so Magnum wouldn't know it was tears that was rolling down his cheek and not the spray from the waves.

Maybe Magnum knew anyway because Tony found himself caught up in a bear hug. It was all too much – being left and the events of the day. Tony found himself sobbing uncontrollably while Magnum treaded water and held him.

Tony cried until there was nothing left in him.

"Tony…" Magnum began, but then he stopped.

They both heard it at the same time, an engine. A boat was on the water. It came around a bend in the island from the direction they had just escaped from, and it was coming towards them, fast.

To be continued...

Yes, I know, it's a sickness.