The rescue.

Bending on the sink of the hospital´s bathroom, water drops falling from the tip of his nose, Steve closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"NO don´t leave me!".. Opening his eyes again, he look to himself on the mirror. The redness and swelling of his eyelids will go away, but the memory of those terrified and desperately whimpered words and the moment they finally found his partner will never be erased from his mind.

x-x-x-

As soon as the kidnappers realized their mistake, they fled the island, leaving everything behind, including their hostage. Nevertheless, it took the team two more desperate days to discover the location where the criminals had been hiding. Two days on which Danny had been left alone, unattended and tied.

Knocking down the metal door of the old building hidden amidst the rain forest, Steve´s legs felt like jelly and his heart hammered unmercifully with anticipation and dread of what they would find inside.

At the far right side of the spacious room, against the wall, through the rays of sunlight that filtered through the rotten and disarmed ceiling, Danny was lying like a ragged doll on a dirty old mattress, chained to the metal bedrails and wall. He didn´t seem to have listened the chopper, neither his friends approaching rapidly but cautiously to his bed. Or maybe he didn't have the strength, or maybe worse.

A hand was tenderly placed on his brow. Two fingers of another hand found his pulse point on his neck. It was there, and relieved sighs were heard. Then they saw it, Danny´s chest was raising and falling, calmly, barely noticeable. Then, the pulse quickened, as if finally realizing something was happening, someone was there, he was not alone anymore. His heart hammered frantically behind the now bonny chest cavity.

"Give him room guys, please, make some space." Steve, kneeling beside his friend, was desperately assessing his condition. Definitely thinner, with dirty and ragged clothes which obviously had not been changed since day one, a three month´s beard and greasy and disheveled hair, skin soiled and scaly with dirt. Steve´s heart skipped a beat when he saw Danny´s hands.

It was evidently that at some point, maybe when he was left behind, Danny had desperately tried to free himself, unmercifully ripping all his skin and flesh on the chains and manacles. Now, they were attached. Skin, flesh, dried blood, metal and oxide were a momentary irreversible mix. Several fingers where definitely broken. Long and dirty nails crowned each flaccid and curled extremity. Only with God as witness of the cruelty of the attempts to free himself from that imprisonment, Steve swallowed the lump on his throat, but was unable to stop the tears from falling. Only one ankle was tied. It hadn´t run much better luck than the wrists. It was obvious it was at least dislocated, if not broken, and both bared feet presented numerous colorful bruises. They will certainty not try to open the chain manacles, in any way. They will let the doctors do that. Surely it required some surgical procedures. For the moment, their only option to free their friend was cutting the chains.

"Junior, bring the clamp to cut the chains". Lou´s low and touched voice commanded, as he lowered himself on one knee beside Steve while opening a bottle of water. Exchanging a quick glance with the Commander, both men saw the shared anguish of their souls through their watery eyes.

"Danny?" Returning his fully attention to his partner, Steve tenderly reached for his head, turning it slowly to face them. A low, weak and pitiful grunt was their response.

"Ok, ok buddy". Steve gestured Lou to bring on the water. Complying, the older man placed the bottle peak on the parted and ragged lips, while Steve held his head slightly elevated. The cool liquid made its magic. Denied the vital element for more than two days, Danny´s body didn´t wait an order from his mind to react. Opening his mouth wider, he desperately allowed more water at a time. Proving to be too much for his condition, he choked and started to cough with the little and almost nonexistent energy he possessed.

"Sorry, sorry". Lou reacted afterwards, and, placing the bottle at the foot of the bed, helped Steve to lift Danny´s upper body. They manhandled their friend as much as the chains allowed them, so he was slightly reclined on his partner's lap, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed and holding him in position with two strong arms, trying to find a way to ease his breathing.

Finally calming down a bit after the coughing fit and the change of reality plus position, two opaque blue eyes merely appeared behind the heavy eyelids.

"Hey buddy". Steve was able to hold Danny´s gaze just for one second, and then contented with following his partner´s line of sight while he was trying to reorient himself or at least try to understand what was happening and who was there with him. His sight now reached Lou´s face. Despite the moment and all the emotions, Grover´s smile was a peaceful place to stay. Accompanied by a strong hand pressing his thigh, Danny just rested there for a moment, blinking slowly and allowing the tears to leave his eyes. A hand smoothed his hair back, as it should be, and then wiped his dampened cheeks.

There was so much he wanted to tell them, but his mind was turmoil and his body didn´t feel well at all. Danny´s look was now fixed on the bottle at the foot of the bed; his throat was dry and a pitiful whimper was all his could manage to try to ask for water. But his friends were already on it, and immediately the cool rim of the bottle was pressed to his lips, this time with awareness of the amount of liquid he was allowed to take. Sooner than he expected and to his annoyance, the bottle was removed, but before he could manifest his disapproval the precious and cool liquid was slowly being spilled on his face, while a hand tried to clean as much grime as possible away. Given his condition, it felt heavenly. He closed his eyes, and not being able to find any reserve of strength, he let his head and all his body rest like death weight, while taking comfort on his friend's presences and attendances.

"He´s hot man". "He has a fever" "…infections…" "…shivers…" "Where the hell are those clamps?…" Calming down, he was drifting and listening to them speak. Words were so near but at the same time they were becoming so far away. Until, through his closed eyelids, he felt the lights change as a figure moved, and at the same time he felt his friend lift him up a bit and move from beneath him.

"NO don´t leave me!".. The panicked and yet weak and rather lucid request was heartbreaking.

"We´re not leaving you, we´re not leaving you". Shushing words forced their way through his panic, and Danny found himself pressed on a firm hug. "We´re going to cut you free, ok? And the paramedics are here." Steve had to make an effort not to gag at the smell as he cradled his friend. It was all so overwhelming, it was hard to realize it has been only a few minutes, just the time that took Junior to get the clamps from the chopper and allow the paramedics to approach once the place had been secured.

Danny had so many things to tell them, to ask them, to thank them, to claim to them. But his brain was once again submerged between cotton, and the stupidest thing came out.

"I peed myself."

"Alright, don't worry about it."

"H..rts."

"Alright, alright. We´re going to the hospital now, ok?"

"Home." The barely and weak spoken word was as far as the rush of the panic induced adrenaline allowed Danny some lucidity.

Steve exchanged another look with Lou, while Junior finished cutting the chains, not without a huge amount of effort, and the paramedics went into action, motioning Steve to give them room.

The last thing Danny felt before giving up to dizziness and sleep, were two pair of hands lifting him from behind the knees and below the shoulder blades, and another pair holding his head and placing it with care on the stretcher. Danny never felt those same hands remain holding the sides of his face, nor his arm being cleaned, tested and pocked many times to try to find a vein to connect him to the IV bag.