I'll be updating as much as I can before I have to stop, so expect them soon for now! And for all of you who have wished me well in my upcoming surgery, thank you! It really means a lot!

They made their way slowly through the dimly lit hall. Each room they passed held nothing more than their room. Two chairs with handcuffs dangling from them. Steve's stomach lurched at the thought of what might have been done here. He felt beyond tired, but he knew he could keep going. Danny on the other hand, well, he didn't know how his partner was even still conscious and putting one foot in front of the other. He stumbled frequently and his breathing was so harsh and ragged that Steve winced every time Danny drew in a shuddering breath. He could feel Danny's much too fast and weak heartbeat and it did little to reassure him. When they finally came to an old elevator at the end of the hallway, Steve looked it over doubtfully. It was the only way out of this hall, which seemed to be the lowest floor of the bunker, but it looked so old he would have doubted it even worked if Elin had not just used it. He pressed the button and after a few clangs and grinds, the doors parted enough for them to enter. Once inside, he saw that there were only two more floors of the bunker. Weighing his options, he decided to take them up only one floor. Danny needed that cure now and he would soon too. He wouldn't risk leaving without it. He only hoped Danny was up for it. He looked down at the man. Danny was paler if that was even possible, and Steve could see the small ulcerations starting to form on Danny's arms. The disease was progressing faster with Danny than with him. Steve knew if they didn't find that cure soon…well, he didn't want to think about that.

"Danno?" he asked quietly, giving him a small shake to rouse him. Danny was conscious, but he wasn't all there. "You with me partner?"

"Mmmmhhhmmm…" was all Danny seemed to be able to manage.

"Chin and Kono are close to finding us. I was able to get a call in to them. We've got two more floors to check for the cure, ok? According to the map on the wall here, the floors look pretty small. Do you think you can manage that?" Steve asked.

"Yeah…try." Came Danny's almost inaudible reply. Steve held his friend tighter. He couldn't lose him. Especially not like this.

"You're doing great Danno. We're gonna get that cure and we'll be okay." Steve said, almost more to reassure himself than Danny. The elevator opened and they stepped out into the next hall length floor. Steve's hopes rose a little when he saw labs and testing equipment. The whole building seemed recently deserted. Maybe Elin had ordered the scientists all away…or killed. Systematically, he checked every room. He paused before the very last one, then pushed the door open. He was immediately blasted with frigid air. It took a moment for his fuzzy mind to realize that he had stepped into an industrial walk-in fridge. The room was full of shelves, each one held at least a hundred small vials all the same. They made their way into the room and Steve picked up one of the small bottles and read the label. He felt his heart rise in relief when he read the label: Periculosis Pestis Antibiotic.

"We got it Danny. We got the cure." Danny didn't respond. A moment later, Danny went completely boneless in his arms. "Nonononono…not now. Come on, we're so close! Stay with me Danny!" Despite his best attempts to rouse him, Danny did not stir. He looked around desperately for a syringe so he could give Danny the life-saving contents of the vial, but there weren't any in sight. Gathering all of his waning strength, Steve hoisted Danny up and carried him into the hallway and set him gently against a wall. He ran through all of the labs and did not find a single syringe. What the hell kind of lab doesn't have a syringe? He thought. Spotting another ancient phone and praying to God it still worked, Steve tried to call Chin. The moment he heard the click indicating the call had been answered, he spoke into it.

"Chin! You there?"

"Steve! We got your location and we're en-route. You guys ok?"

"I'll be okay, but you guys gotta hurry. Danny's worse. He's not going crazy yet, but he's bad off. I've got a couple vials of the cure. There's a whole fridge of them here. I don't have a syringe and there aren't any here either, so I can't give it to him."

"Copy that, EMS will be coming in with their own containment unit to make sure this doesn't spread."

"Tell them to hurry. At the rate the disease is progressing in Danny, I don't even know if he'll last long enough to make it to that final stage."

"We'll be there soon. Half hour tops. Just hang in there."

"Ok. I'm going to try to get Danny upstairs." They hung up and Steve bent over his partner. Danny's skin was burning hot, yet his fingers were ice cold. Painful looking bumps covered his arms. Despite his raging fever, he shivered as violently. And then there was his breathing. Quick, shallow breaths that wheezed through his lungs. His pulse was weak and erratic, barely beating. He tried once again to wake Danny, but his friend remained dead to the world. It was a struggle, but Steve managed to get them both into the elevator. He was starting to feel the fatigue even more as the sickness in his own body took hold. He sank to the floor next to Danny and closed his eyes as they ascended. He opened them almost immediately as Danny began to stir. After a moment, he spoke.

"Steve?" he said in a whisper, barely recognizable as the voice of the loud and strong detective.

"Right here buddy. We got the cure. Chin's coming with some doctors and we'll get fixed up. They'll be here in about thirty minutes, ok? Just hang on another thirty minutes." Danny's eyes closed again.

"I don't think I can. Steve, we've both seen the research. Either I'm going to die, or I'll turn into one of things. You have to leave me here. There's still one more floor. I know you're strong, but you're sick too. You can't carry me out and I don't want to hurt you if I…change."

"Shut up Danny." Steve said, his voice breaking. "You're going to be fine. All we need is a syringe and you'll be okay just hang on. Please-" Danny stopped him.

"Just…just take care of Gracie, will ya? Tell her Danno loves her…" Danny's body went limp just as the elevator doors opened. He pulled Danny out, then snagged a swivel chair from one of the many deserted offices on this floor. Slowly, he managed to get Danny into the chair and he pushed it toward the exit like a makeshift wheelchair. Steve didn't give a damn about what Danny could become. He was his partner, damn it. If the roles were reversed, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Danny would go through hell for him. Steve was going to get Danny out and Danny was going to live.

They made it to the door and pushed out of the bunker. It was in the middle of the jungle. No wonder it took so long to find them. Steve waited for the longest twenty-six minutes of his life for help to arrive. He had pulled Danny from the chair and had pulled Danny close to him, trying to still the violent shivers wracking his friend's body. He could feel Danny's heartbeat falter every so often and his breathing would hitch. Just as he heard the hum of the helicopter's rotors, he felt Danny's heart stop.

"Danny?" he gave him a shake. Realizing that he was the only one who could do CPR on his partner, Steve bent over and forced air into Danny's lungs, then started compressions. They were weaker than they should have been, but they were enough. At the same as the helicopter landed, Danny drew in a shuddering breath and his heart resumed beating, even if it was weak and fluttery. Chin, Kono, and two medics in full body protective suits swarmed them. Feeling the relief that help had come, Steve allowed the darkness at the edge of his vision take over.

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