Okay, so under 100k isn't happening :D This story deserves a proper ending. Initially, I aimed for no more than 40k but whoops... the muse went crazy and this is the result. It's too long anyway so a few follow up chapters instead of an epilogue won't hurt, right?

Thanks a lot for the lovely reviews, as always! It keeps me motivated to write and post new chapters soon.

Steve wasn't sure what he was expecting to see when he finally opened his eyes. It took his brain a few seconds to recalibrate after the dream, to remember where he was and why. But this time, a whole lot of confusion than normal coursed through his mind.

He hadn't even managed to make out the room that he was in before he was forced to close his eyes again because of the searing pain in his head. He held his eyes tightly shut, waiting for the stabbing pain to subside. It didn't go away entirely, but after a few seconds, once it had dulled, he tried to open his eyes again.

A trickle of sweat ran down his cheek as his eyes fluttered open. What he saw was accompanied by a flash of memories. His whole body was stiff and sore. He was locked in place, unable to move, pain shooting through his arms and shoulders down his spine. It was as though Steve's mind was taking him into a waking nightmare, the images of those days of his captivity flashing before his eyes.

A soft voice echoed in his head. At first, he thought it was part of the nightmare. But then he heard the voice again and some clarity began to return.

"Steve," the pleading voice kept calling out his name. His vision slowly cleared up and he quickly realized it was not a nightmare at all, this was way worse. It was like all his nightmares had become a reality.

The fear in Danny's eyes was the first thing Steve had noticed. His best friend knelt on the floor of the big warehouse room, trying to shift most of his weight into the healthy leg, his hands tied up behind his back, his face pale and sweat running down his face. Two armed men made sure he stayed down, the semi-automatic rifles in their hands.

Steve's heart skipped a beat when he finally managed to take it in. "Danny?" he whispered. He instinctively lunged forward to run toward his partner, but his muscles screamed in the process. The strain of supporting his own weight was agonizing and he could feel his whole body shuddering. The feeling of the restraints biting into his flesh brought him back to the dark place. He didn't have to look up to know he was hung by his wrists, the rope cruelly tight, leaving a warm bloody trail running down his forearms. Steve's bare toes could barely touch the ground, just enough to allow him to alleviate the pressure in his arms so he wouldn't pass out. He tugged at the ropes, ignoring the pain shooting down his spine, but they didn't budge. His stretched body was in agony, fighting the gravity, but he had to push that aside. There was something more important to focus on.

"Danny," Steve repeated, his voice trembling. "You okay?"

"Just peachy," Danny responded. "You?"

Steve just nodded, seeing that Danny wasn't convinced by that. He looked around, instinctively checking the surroundings and the possible way out of the situation and counting the enemies in the room. Two men holding Danny down on his knees, another two by the doorway, one at Steve's side, pointing a gun right at him, and he could hear the breaths of another man just behind his back. Six men with semi-automatic rifles, that was too much in their current situation.

In a moment Steve heard another pair of the steps, the ones he recognized immediately. Esther's steps were the only thing interrupting the silence, the sound that sent a bolt of panic through him as it brought more painful memories.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," she smirked as she stood where Steve could see her.

A strange mix of emotions washed through him, but it was once again white rage that stuck. He stared at her, his mouth shut tight, his nostrils flared. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," he spat out.

"You should have," Esther agreed. "But then your partner and girlfriend would be dead too."

Steve fumed but didn't respond.

"Oh, I suppose you know about your girl already, don't you?" she taunted. "I told you I've got a surprise for you. Isn't it a good one?"

His mouth was shut tight. He just stared at Esther without responding. He wanted to make a stand, however futile and useless it might have been.

"Hey," Danny called out to Esther, taking her attention from Steve. "Just tell us what you want. No one needs to get hurt."

Steve was certain Danny knew the answer to his demand already. He just couldn't stand watching the scene helplessly, leaving Steve to fight his inner demons on top of everything. So he did the only thing he could - he spoke up.

"You're right," Esther replied, approaching him. "But I really want to hurt you two, you know? Not only you and Five-0 just keep getting in my way, which is affecting business, but your partner didn't hesitate to kill my brother. Even after I was so generous to let him walk away alive. I owe him a payback."

Danny laughed, which made Esther's grin disappear. "Generous? No. No, I don't think so. You see, as I recall you were the one who had him kidnapped, brainwashed and almost killed, so you're not the victim here. And your brother? He got what he deserved."

Steve exchanged glances with his partner and shook his head, signaling him to be quiet and let him do the talking.

"No one asked you for your opinion so I recommend you to shut up, Detective, before I'll do it for you," Esther warned him, a smirk back on her lips as she leaned a little closer to Danny.

Danny exhaled loudly through his nostrils and stared coldly into Esther's eyes, trying to show he wasn't scared.

Esther made a step back and before Danny could even realize it, a fist of one of the goons flew at his jaw in a blur, whipping his face to the side.

Steve gritted his teeth and tried to keep eye contact with Danny, silently asking him to shut up, but he gave him a short, defiant look and kept on going.

"You're nuts," Danny said, scoffing. "This is stupid. Do you really think Five-0 is gonna let this slide? They're gonna come for you." He spat out a mouthful of blood as he spoke.

"Let's look at that," she said. "I've managed to get to your partner pretty easily, twice actually. And now I've got you, the new head of Five-0, kneeling right in front of me. Does it look like your team is a problem for me?"

"What I think is you just got lucky," Danny opposed. He knew talking back was probably going to result in him getting hurt, but he tried to buy them some time to figure out a way out of this, or for the team to find them. His nostrils were flaring as he struggled to keep his breathing under control. "And you're dumb if you think otherwise."

One of the men holding him hurled his fist into Danny's stomach without a warning. Danny hunched forward with a pained cry.

Steve pulled against the ropes in frustration, but they wouldn't move. "Danny!" he called trashing harder, but to no avail.

He watched Esther grab Danny by the hair and yank his head back. "Stop it!" he demanded.

Ignoring Steve's demand Esther held Danny's head back, staring into his eyes. "Don't tempt me, Detective. Or I'll make sure you suffer a lot more before you die."

She pushed his head forward harshly and another, even stronger punch to the gut came from the same man as soon as Danny managed to straighten himself up, making him groan in pain.

Danny gasped for air struggling back to his knees. He forced a smile on his lips and swallowed the fear growing inside him. Knowing talking to Esther will not only buy them time but also keep her focus on him instead of Steve, he decided to keep talking. "I've heard such stories about you, I'm a little disappointed, to be honest. Is that all you got?"

The back of Esther's gun hit Danny's temple in full force, a streak of blood rushed down his face and his vision fogged up for a few moments. As he regained his senses, he found himself staring into the barrel of Esther's gun.

Steve jerked his arms against the restraints as uncontrollable anger flooded him like a tsunami. "Danny!" he called out again, his eyes wide with fear for his partner and jaw opened.

"Okay, that's enough, blondie," Esther barked at him and looked over to one of the men holding him.

The man seemed to understand immediately, as he walked toward the table in the corner and returned with the duct tape and a piece of dirty cloth.

Steve could see how hard Danny had to contain himself not to show them his fear, but he knew his partner well enough to spot it. Talking was the only defense he was able to use and he was about to lose it now.

Before Danny could say anything else, the man shoved the cloth into his mouth while the other one held him tight. He tore a piece of the duct tape with his teeth and secured the tape over the cloth, giving Danny a grin.

"You can't say I didn't warn you," Esther said, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

The blood inside Steve's veins was boiling from rage. He shook his hands back and forth against the ropes, getting more and more angry with each thrust. The pain in his arms, shoulders and his stretched back was almost unbearable, he tried to stand on his toes as much as possible, but the position he was in was uncomfortable and agonizing either way. He had a raging fire in his eyes when he looked at Esther, who seemed to rather enjoy his glowering.

"Come on, darling," she grinned, making her way back to him. She stopped just a few inches in front of Steve, her fingers tracing feather-light along his bare chest, caressing down to the knife scar on his abdomen. "Why are you so angry? Don't say you didn't miss me."

Steve's fists clenched, breath quivering at the skate of touch. He avoided Esther's eyes. He couldn't bear to see himself reflected in her gaze, so helpless and weak.

Steve caught Danny's scared look when she had touched him. He knew what was going in Danny's head. His friend was afraid of Steve's reaction, afraid that he would break apart as his mental wounds were still far from healed. All the panic attacks and nightmares that Danny had tried so hard to help him through were always present even after two months of the recovery. And those nightmares were now real.

Steve tried not to flinch, not to move, tried his best not to show his weakness. It took all the will he had though because inside, he wanted to scream. All this felt just way too familiar. He swore to himself he would never get into a situation like this again and yet there he was. Hanging helplessly from the ceiling, he and the two people he cared about the most at the mercy of the woman who hated him, who wanted him to suffer as much as humanly possible. No matter how hard he tried to hide the panic creeping into his mind, he couldn't. His quickening heartbeat and shallow breaths gave him away and a smile tugged at Esther's lips.

Her touch brought his mind back to the time of his imprisonment. Steve didn't want to take his mind back to that place. He didn't want to put himself back in that cell, remember what it'd been like. Since he'd been found in the tunnels of the underground storage, he tried his hardest not to think about it.

He closed his eyes, just for a second, squeezing them shut, hoping that the memories, the pain, and aches in his body would go away. But with his eyes shut it only became worse. All of a sudden he found himself back there again. The darkness, the dank cell, and the sound of Esther's steps on the cold stone floor. He opened his eyes and it all disappeared. He couldn't afford to panic now, he knew that. He had to focus on getting them out of this mess.

"By the way," Esther's voice shook his mind back to reality, "the password on that flash drive? That wasn't very smart. Considering what - or who I have in my possession. I guess asking for it politely won't do the trick. Am I right?"

Her face was still just inches from Steve's, she was looking deep into his eyes. Steve pursed his lips, breathing through his nose. A feeble show of strength. But he wanted to make it clear that he wasn't going to be giving her anything.

"That's what I thought," Esther announced, holding Steve's gaze. "But I had to try."

Steve didn't want to be the first one to look away, but hearing Danny's quiet groan made him glance over his friend, whose face was already too pale. He was blinking his eyes and struggling to stay upright. Inspecting Danny's wounded leg Steve gasped. The strain Danny had put on it caused the wound to bleed again and Steve's improvised dressing was now soaked in blood. He needed medical attention - asap.

He glared at him, his head in a spin. He had to figure out a way out of this, otherwise, Danny would slowly bleed out. Feeling the sudden cold touch made him flinch. Esther's cold fingers gently but firmly grabbed his chin, forcing him to turn his attention back to her.

"You see, I could give you the whole speech," she said. "Threaten to kill your friends, family… blah blah blah."

Steve watched her warily.

"But I think you're too strong for that," Esther continued. "Not easily swayed or broken. It's one of the things I've always admired about you. You'd do anything to save them."

He didn't like where she was going.

"But luckily for me, I don't have to lose time with that," she announced. "I've made a few calls on my way here and it turned out a friend of mine knows someone who will break the encryption in a matter of minutes. Actually, my people are on their way to Halawa to invite him to join the party." Esther smiled, watching the anguish on Steve's face.

Steve stiffened. There was only one person in Halawa he'd known was capable of breaking his encryption. Aaron Wright. Seeing his annoying face and not being able to punch it was the last thing he needed right now.

But it was not the fact Esther might work with Aaron Wright that made a big lump form in his throat. It was the fact she didn't need him anymore. Neither did she need Danny or Catherine. Yet there they were, imprisoned and tied up like animals. And that meant they were all there for one thing only - Esther's entertainment. And he realized they probably won't live long enough for Aaron Wright to be their problem.

He didn't have any leverage anymore, no information to keep them alive a little longer, to buy some time for someone to find them. They were all in Esther's mercy regardless he spoke or not. And the worst thing was there was nothing he could do about it.

"You're quite a pair," she said. "One won't shut up, the other one gives me a silent treatment."

Steve knew there was no point saying that, but he had to try to buy them some time. "Let them go," he demanded. "You've got me, that's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I've got what I want right in front of me," she confirmed. "You should have just walked away and lived knowing what you've done, to live a pretty miserable life for a little longer. But you, my dear, made a mistake when you decided to kill my brother."

She looked over her shoulder, smiling at Danny for a moment before she turned her face back to Steve, staring coldly into his eyes.

She leaned forward, her pretty face contorting into a look of menace. Steve could feel her hot breath on his neck. "I want to see your face when I kill yours," she whispered into his ear and pulled away.

The rage seared through Steve as she turned on her heel. He strained against the restraints, fighting the ropes holding him at the place, but the movement only sent a bolt of pain through his body, the ropes dug deeper into the flesh. He watched Esther walking toward Danny, a smirk creeping up her face as she stopped and her eyes lifted to meet Steve's. She began to raise the gun toward his best friend, who instinctively closed his eyes as he could feel the cold muzzle pressed into his temple.

"Don't," Steve murmured. He tried to struggle, to break free, but nothing worked. He hated to feel so helpless, with no control whatsoever, to show his vulnerability to his enemy, to plead like that. But it was the life of his best friend that was at stake. "Don't do that."

Esther's grin grew wider. "No? Why not, Steve?" she asked, mocking him. "He's like your brother, isn't he?"

"He didn't do anything to you," Steve said, pulling at the ropes in hope of miraculously freeing himself. "It was me, I killed your brother, I was the one who let you rot in prison for years. It was all me. Do whatever you want to me, leave him out of it."

Steve's heart was beating against his ribcage like it was about to jump out of his chest. His eyes met Danny's for a moment and he could see the fear in his partner's eyes that matched his own. Steve wasn't afraid of death, he'd never been. The fear was for the life of his best friend and it was tearing his heart apart to see Danny in this situation because of his mistakes.

"You don't get it, do you?" Esther smirked and Steve's eyes moved from Danny to her. "I know it was all your fault, darling. But I've done my homework. I know the best way to hurt you is to hurt the people you love."

Steve remained silent, desperately forcing his brain to think the way out of the situation. But nothing came to his mind, he just shook his head in defeat, knowing that nothing he said would change Esther's mind. "Please, don't." It was the only thing he could get out of himself, tears welling in his eyes. The words just a mere whisper.

To his surprise, Esther lowered the gun slowly, staring into Steve's eyes. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You know, I've always had a soft spot for you," she said. "I can't resist if you plead like that. And I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a chance to save him. How does that sound?"

Steve was skeptical, he knew there had to be a catch, she would never give up her advantage. He knew she would ask for something he couldn't give her. But it got him some time for Danny. "What do you want?" he asked.

Esther glanced over her shoulder at one of the henchmen standing by the door and nodded at him. The man disappeared behind the door without a word.

"I'll give you a choice," Esther said, looking back to Steve.

"What choice?"

She went silent but her wicked smile remained as she stared at Steve intently. He got a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach. By now he assumed what she'd meant by that and he didn't like it a bit. It was worse than his worst nightmare, but unlike from a dream, there was no waking up from this one.

"What choice?" he barked in frustration.

"Patience, Steve," she said without even looking at him.

In a few moments, he could hear the steps, then the door had opened and two people entered the room. Steve's heart twitched, taking in the scene. His guess had been right - Esther's goon didn't return alone. Gripping her arm tightly, the man dragged Catherine inside the room, her hands tied up behind her back, her mouth gagged the same way as Danny's, a bruise in hues of blue and purple shining on her right cheek.

"As I promised," Esther taunted. "The cherry on top."

"Catherine," Steve whispered, his voice broken. With a corner of his eye, Steve could see Danny twitch nervously, looking at her too.

Catherine tried her best to keep the tears at bay but seeing Steve in such a helpless and painful position she couldn't hold it any longer. She tried to scream something that seemed like his name through the gag, desperately trying to pull her arm out of the man's grip and move toward Steve.

But it triggered the angry response of the man holding her. He slammed the back of his hand against her face, causing Catherine's head to whip to the left. She didn't make a sound other than her labored breathing. She wasn't about to show him her pain. There was a fire in her eyes as she looked at him defiantly, still trying to free herself from his grip.

Steve tugged at the ropes, rage tearing him apart. "Son of a bitch! Don't touch her!" he yelled.

"Or what?" he grinned, lifting his hand again but Esther stopped him, shooting her palm into the air before he could hit her again.

"I'm gonna kill you," Steve barked at the man. "You're a dead man, you hear me?"

His voice was full of pure hatred, but the truth was, he was scared. Scared like never before. The woman who had made his life a living hell for the last two months now had total control of not only his life again, but the lives of the two most important people in his life. His soul brother and the woman he loved. And he was not ready to lose either of them. He was not exactly in a position to help either of them and it was tearing him apart.

The man grabbed Catherine by the hair and manhandled her forward. When he reached the stopping point, he kicked her legs from behind, pushing her to the floor right next to Danny. She winced in pain as her knees met the hard floor with a thud and his gun was immediately pressed into the back of her neck.

"No!" Steve called out, desperately trying to free himself.

Danny and Catherine exchanged glances, they all knew what was going to happen next. Steve's heart ached as he watched them. This was all his fault. They were both here because of him. Too many people he loved had died because of him and he couldn't let that happen again, not with Danny and Catherine.

"So, as I said before," Esther smirked, standing a few steps behind Danny, staring at Steve. "I'll give you a choice, darling."

No, this was not happening. Steve shook his head wildly, unable to hide the emotions anymore. This was exactly what he'd been afraid of. "Don't," he pleaded as Esther's other henchman pressed the muzzle of his gun into the back of Danny's neck.

"Time to decide, Steve," Esther taunted, enjoying the pain she'd caused to Steve with those words. "Decide who lives and who dies. But pick quickly, because in thirty seconds I'll shoot them both."

Her words slapped him in the face. His heart pounded wildly in his chest and his breaths came in fast shallow gasps. "You don't have to do this," he tried to reason. "Leave them out of this. This is just you and me."

"Twenty seconds."

"Please don't… Don't do this. You've got me, you got what you wanted."

"Ten seconds."

"I swear if you touch them…"

"Five seconds."

Steve's look begged Danny and Catherine to do something, anything, but he knew any move would probably result in one or all of them dead before they would have a chance to get up on their feet. The muzzles of the guns were pressed against their skin, all three of them were all tied up and outnumbered. There was no chance any of Danny's or Catherine's move would be fast enough to save them.

Catherine's eyes were welling with tears. It was the image that was breaking Steve's heart into half.

Danny looked at Steve, his eyes silently saying it was all right, saying goodbye to his best friend. The look that expressed a thousand words. The smile that rose Danny's eyes was warm, loving, caring. It sent chills down Steve's spine - Danny didn't deserve this, none of them did.

Not even in his worst nightmare, Steve would imagine being in a situation where he would be forced to make such a choice. He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.

Steve yanked uselessly against the ropes once again with all the strength he had left. "Please." The last futile attempt to plead for the lives of his loved ones, the tears now streaming down his face like never before, his eyes begging them both for forgiveness as they exchanged the glances. "Please, don't."

"Time's up."

"No, no, no!" he yelled.

Steve's heart shattered into a thousand pieces as two gunshots rang through the room in almost perfect unison, echoing in his head. His jaw dropped and he didn't realize he'd been holding his breath as he watched the two most important people in his life slump onto the floor.

*to be continued*

I really enjoyed writing this chapter because I like being mean to the characters. I'm a little evil, I guess.

Let me know what you think, I'd appreciate your opinions.