A/N: My apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. I had every intention of posting through the weekend and then, well, the weekend happened and here we are already at Monday morning. So I hope you enjoy and please leave me a little review to show me some love on this Monday. :-)

Danny leaned shoulder to shoulder with Kono. His adrenaline rush was starting to wear off, and he could feel himself starting to lose motivation and energy. He just wanted to sleep.

"You okay, brah?"

Danny jerked upright, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

"Hang in there, Danny. We'll get out of this soon."

"Sooner than you think." A voice on their right answered.

Danny felt his adrenaline kick in again as he looked over and saw their former captor, looking smug, just two feet away. "Well, drat, you didn't fall off the cliff like I'd hoped."

"Too bad for you, wise guy. 'Cause now I'm gonna take my time slicing and dicing you, and then I'm gonna take my time with your girlfriend there in a whole 'nother way."

Danny, grateful for the new rush of adrenaline, didn't respond. He gripped the knife he miraculously still held in his right hand and threw it with all his might. He watched with satisfaction as the man's smile turned to a look of amazement as the knife buried itself in his chest. He stumbled back a couple of steps and then disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

"I'm impressed, buddy."

"Steve?" For a split second, Danny couldn't believe his eyes. "Chin?"

"Told you it wouldn't take long." Kono grinned and nudged Danny's arm.

"Hey, cuz, you okay?" Chin knelt in front of her.

"Danny?" Steve knelt in front of Danny and gave him the once over. "They said you were shot. How bad? Where?"

Danny swatted at Steve's roving hands as he tried to find the gunshot wound. "Stop. Just stop. It's a through and through, and it's done bleeding."

"It was done bleeding." Kono corrected. "I haven't checked it since our tumble down the hill."

"What's with your hands?" Steve looked back and forth at the two.

"We were handcuffed together when we fell and..."

"And now no handcuffs." Danny finished her sentence, raising both his hands slightly, left wrist visibly swollen.

"Okay." Steve took off his backpack and started to rustle through it. "Let's stabilize those before we head topside."

"I don't know if Danny can..."

"Danny can make it." Danny assured them. "There's no way we can do a helicopter rescue with all these trees. And there's also no way to get a basket stretcher down here effectively, or you would have brought one with you."

"We could make that work, partner."

"No." Danny insisted. "I'll be fine. Stabilize the wrist and let's go."

"Danny, this isn't going to be easy." Steve cautioned him as he started work on the temporary splint for his wrist. "I can have Lou send down a basket."

"I can do this, Steven. I don't need you guys hauling my ass up this cliff."

Steve sighed. "It's not a sign of weakness, buddy. You've been in a car accident, shot, kidnapped and fell down a cliff. No one is going to think less of you."

"It's not that, Steve. It's not. I can do this so just let me do it, and we can get going."

Steve stopped wrapping his wrist and grabbed his shoulder. "Your family is safe, buddy. Duke got the protocol activated and everyone is safe. Grace, Charlie, Adam, Sarah and Abbey, Renee and the kids. They're in a safe house until we're sure this is over."

"You're sure? They got to all of us..."

"I'm sure, okay?"

"Then let's go."

"Chin, you guys set?" Steve looked over to see Chin putting the final touch on Kono's splint. He stood and put his pack on his back again and reached down for Danny. "C'mon, buddy, let's do this."

Danny grabbed Steve's hand and pulled himself upright, doubling over and swaying dizzily as he got to his feet.

"Whoa! Hold on, brah. Hold on." Chin and Kono both reached over to help Steve steady him.

"I'm okay." Danny straightened. "I'm okay, thanks."

"Chin, you and Kono lead the way. Nice and slow." Steve grabbed Danny's right arm and put it over his shoulders, wrapping his other arm around his waist to steady him, careful to avoid the bullet wound.

Ten minutes later, they'd worked their way back to the ropes. Steve grabbed his harness and started to get Danny hooked up. "Hang in there, buddy. It's a short climb."

"It's a short climb." Danny snorted. "On a good day, it's probably not a short climb. And today, my friend, is not a good day. Not good at all."

"Can't argue with you there." Steve muttered.

"Steve is that you?" Lou shouted down.

"It's us, Lou."

"Do you have them?"

"We got 'em, Lou. We got 'em."

"Ambulance is standing by. We'll help pull you up."

"Careful," Steve cautioned him. "Danny and Kono are harnessed up, but they're injured. Chin and I will help so pull slow and easy."

Chin and Kono were able to steadily climb and within seconds were well ahead of Steve and Danny. Chin looked over his shoulder at the pair, "You guys okay?"

"We're good, Chin. You guys keep going. We're right behind you."

"Okay, brah. We'll wait up top for you."

Steve could only nod as he tightened his grip on his partner and continued to climb. After a few minutes, he felt Danny falter. "Need a break, buddy?"

"I'm fine." Danny said, trying not to sound as out of breath as he was. "Keep going."

"We can take a minute."

"No... If I stop, I may not start again. Just keep going."

Steve patted his arm and readjusted his grip to take more of his partner's weight. "Alright, pal, let's do this."

Danny tried to take it one step at a time. With each excruciating step he told himself he'd ask Steve to stop after the next step. He could feel the gunshot wound pulsing with his heartbeat. Just one more step became his mantra. Just one more.

"Here you go, Danny. Here you go."

Danny opened his eyes to see Lou reaching out a hand for him. He wasn't even sure when he'd closed his eyes.

"Careful, Lou, careful." Steve had a hand on Danny's back and half-pushed him the rest of the way. "He's got a broken wrist."

Danny swayed but remained on his feet with the help of Lou as Steve quickly unharnassed him. Before too long, he was supported between his two friends.

"Alright, buddy, that was the hard part." Steve assured him. "We just have to follow this trail back to the road is all."

"You call this a trail?" Danny thought he said, but he wasn't sure it came out of his mouth as more than a mumble.

When they reached the road a few minutes later, they found Chin and Kono waiting with paramedics and a gurney. Steve and Lou gently maneuvered Danny onto the gurney and reluctantly stepped back to allow them to begin their exam.

"Pulse is rapid."

"He's burning up. Let's get him on fluids."

The team watched as the paramedics expertly cut off Danny's shirt to examine the bullet wound, got fluids started, and took another set of vitals. Danny barely moved through it all until an oxygen mask was secured over his mouth and nose. Then he thrashed and pushed the mask aside.

Steve quickly stepped over and grabbed Danny's hand. "Danny! Danny, it's okay! It's just oxygen, buddy. Let 'em put it on you, okay? You're fine."

Danny continued to shake his head back and forth so the paramedic couldn't secure the mask. He gripped Steve's hand and managed to lean up ever so slightly. "Wait.. wait a sec... the kids. Have to get the kids."

"I'll call Robertson-"

"No!" Danny pulled Steve down closer to him. "You, Steve. You get them. They'll be scared. They'll need you."

"You need me, buddy. I'll go to the hospital with you and be there when Robertson brings them."

Danny started to sit up. "Then I'll g..."

"Stop, Danny." Steve gently pushed his friend back down onto the gurney. "Okay, okay. I'll get them."

"I need to know they're okay." Danny pleaded.

"Okay, buddy, okay. I'm on it. Just take it easy."

Danny squeezed Steve's hand as he tried to pull away. He looked around at all of them, "Thank you. I..."

"No problem, bruddah." Lou patted him on the leg.

"Yeah, brah. We got you." Chin nodded.

Danny smiled, "Go get Sara, Chin. Make sure she's okay. Lou, Renee's tough, man, but you better take her to a nice dinner tonight."

"We really need to get going." The junior paramedic interrupted.

Kono smiled, "Go ahead, guys. Danny and I made it this far. We'll be okay until you meet us at the hospital."

Steve squeezed Danny's hand one more time, hugged Kono, and led the team to a cruiser he quickly commandeered.

Danny watched as they sped off and finally allowed the paramedics to secure the oxygen mask and wheel him to the ambulance, Kono walking alongside.