Chapter 7-

A/N: I know nothing about medical things so if I get something wrong here, please let me know so I can correct it.

Danny and Gracie stood outside NICU, looking in, watching the nursing with the baby, wondering if he was going to be okay. A few hours had passed since the baby was born.

The little girl looked up at her father with her sad eyes, "Danno is he going to be okay?"

What do you say in moment like that? You can't exactly tell her the truth, because even Danny didn't know what the truth was, and even if he did, he wasn't so sure he'd tell her. It would break her little heart to pieces and he didn't want to be the cause of that! No parent did!

Before Danny could answer, a nurse waved them into the NICU, and he and Gracie entered the small room. There were so many babies hooked up the monitors and with tubes coming out their tiny little bodies. A few of the babies were crying out but others were quiet and sleeping. Danny glanced around the small room, relating to the parents of these babies. He wanted to know how they manged to get through every day knowing that their child might not ever come home!

"I am sorry, Detective Williams, your daughter can't be in here," The nurse said regrettably as she glanced down at Gracie and smiled.

"Please just give her a minute with her brother and then she can go back to her mother!"

The nurse looked at Gracie's innocent little face and sighed. She couldn't deny this one thing to her, just in case something happened to the baby. "All right! Just this one time!"

Gracie nodded with a sad smile. "Thank you"!

"You're welcome, honey!" The nurse and glanced at Danny. "You change in here."

"You wait right here, Monkey. I'll be right back."

"Okay, Danno!" Gracie did as she was told and watched her dad walk into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Danny came out of the bathroom in his blue scrubs, and he reached out to his daughter, and together, hand in hand, they walked over to the baby.

Gracie looked at her tiny baby brother. It was so scary seeing him with so many tubes coming out of him. She had to tear her eyes away from him to look at all the machines and realized it was keeping him alive.

"Danno..."

"It's okay, munchkin!" Danny smile for her benefit, but he was just as scared as she was. "Little man is gonna be okay. I promise!" He kissed the top of her head.

Suddenly, the emergency alarms began to go off and the baby screamed so loudly, that they couldn't believe it came out of this poor little baby. Danny reached for his little girl and pulled her close to him.

"Daddy!" Gracie cried. "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, monkey, go back to your mother."

"But..."

"No go!" Danny said softly. "It's going to be okay!" He hoped it would be.

"All right!" Gracie nodded and rushed out of the NICU.

The nurses pushed Danny out of the way and started to check the baby over. He watched, unable to do anything to help the little guy! It was to much for him and headed into the hallway, watching from the window.

"God, you and I haven't been on speaking terms for awhile, but this isn't about me. That little boy in there needs you!" Danny paused a moment, on the verge of tears. "Whether he is mine or not, it doesn't matter, I love that little guy as if he were my own. It would kill all of us if he didn't make it. He's gotten this far, please, please, see him through it!"

The nurses and the doctors rushed the baby out of the NICU and down the hallway, away from Danny, and disappeared into another room. Several minutes later, a nurse came out to speak with him.

"What is going on?" Danny finally asked.

"He's bleeding internally and the doctors don't know why.

Danny's heart sank. He had no idea it was that bad. "I'll do anything. I'm AB-

"He's gonna need a lot of blood. Come on! We depleted most of our AB- units!"

They hurried down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

Elisabeth was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, while Wofat was pacing the floor, frustrated. It was a position she put herself in but she was doing it to protect the secret. Deep down, she knew exactly what Wofat was going to do and hoped that Steve make it to her in time.

"We've wasted enough time; where is Shellbourne!"

What could Elisabeth tell him? She knew she promised him something, but what? Did she make something up to lead him on a wild goose chase? Would he even let her go? No, she didn't think he'd let her live after telling him.

"I told you, I don't know! Even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you!"

Yeah that was good, Elisabeth thought sarcastically. That was surely going to piss Wofat off. He faced her, a look she was definitely familiar with; a scornful look. She knew was coming and braced herself as he slapped her hard. She took a shape intake of breath; it startled her more than she realized. Her face beat red, a welt forming across her cheek.

"Let's try this again..." Wofat stood back, looking her over. "You're going to tell me what I want to know."

Elisabeth said nothing.

"You really want to go there again?"

Silence.

"You know I can arrange what happened to your sister."

The blonde looked up at Wofat, hatred in her eyes.

"I see that hit a nerve." Wofat smiled. "Who else can I pick off...Oh that's right your new friends."

"Leave them out of this! They have nothing to do with you!"

"Well, that's not true is it, now is it?"

Kono! She and Wofat had a brief relationship not long before. Elisabeth was about to say you wouldn't hurt someone you loved and then realized, he had, he loved her, and nearly killed her. Wofat would kill anyone that got in his way.

"Let's see..." Wofat walked around her. "If I kill Steve, would that piss you off?"

As Wofat faced her once again, and if looks could kill, he'd definitely be dead! He smiled, happy that he'd struck another nerve.

"Now, let's try this again!" Wofat smacked her again and again in the same spot, each time harder and harder. Blood gathering in the corner of her mouth and her face blood red.

Steve had searched all over the house until he realized the surveillance was on the laptop. After locating it, he was only able to capture part of the plate. He was still very much determined to find her, but with each hour passing, the more frustrated he had gotten.

It had been awhile since Steve had last heard from Chin, when he passed the information along. Steve stood up from the sofa, stretched, and walked to the front door, opened it, and leaned against the doorjamb, glancing out at the night sky. He had begun to think of a strategy for finding Elisabeth. It was pretty simple, go in, attack, and save, and in his mind, it wouldn't take anymore than twenty minutes, but he was sure that it would take longer. Nothing was ever that easy!

The phone suddenly rang and Steve pulled the phone out of his back pocket and answered it. "Chin you got something for me?"

"Yeah, sorry about not getting back to you right away, there was an accident on the highway earlier and it was just me and Kono. Danny is still at the hospital. The baby isn't doing well."

Steve's heart went out to Danny and his family. "Oh god, I didn't know – he didn't tell me."

"Danny's a little preoccupied at the moment. When he has a little time, he will let you know!"

It was a little quiet after that and neither one was really ready to speak about anything when there was a little baby's life at stake.

After a moment, Chin broke the ice. "Got a hit off of the partial plates. The Mercedes came from a high end rental car place, but the car was paid in cash."

That wasn't what Steve was hoping for.

"It's not all bad news!" Chin continued on, "I checked the lodging around the area and I think I might have found something."

"Yeah?" That definitely piqued Steve's interest!

"An oriental man and his entourage rented a cabin in the woods shortly after you and Elisabeth arrived today."

"A needle in the haystack."

"Ah, but I thought to send a picture to the owner and he confirmed that it was Wofat!"

Chin was definitely a keeper! Steve smiled at the good news!

"I've texted you the address."

"Thanks Chin! I appreciate it!" Steve ended the call, shoved the phone in his back pocket and rushed into the living room, and packed up the laptop, and headed out, closing the door behind him.

Fifteen minutes later, Steve pulled off the highway onto a side road and drove down the long, windy dirt road. For awhile, it was bumpy and he hit pot hole after pot hole, until he hit a smooth path, and shut his lights off, the closer he got to the cabin.

It was to dark to see the framing of the cabin, but it looked like it was about three stories high. Steve pulled off the side of the road into a clearing, parked the car, and jumped out, and shut the door quietly, looking all around him.

Quietly, Steve went further into the woods, keeping himself hidden. From his vantage point, he saw two guards at the back door and one walking the perimeter of the house. He crept along the forest floor, watching each of the men very closely.

Once the perimeter guard headed back towards the other end of the yard, Steve quickly and quietly approached the guard unnoticed. Promptly, he wrapped his arm around the guys neck so that the crook of his elbow was under the guys chin, while placing that arm on the opposite bicep. He then placed his other hand on the back of the guys pushed the guys head and neck forward his flexed arm.

The guy flung himself around, fighting to get out of the hold, but Steve pulled tighter until the guy's body went lax. He threw the guy to the ground and headed for the house. The other two guards spotted him coming and started shooting at him. Steve dove out of the way, but one bullet hit in the left thigh. Steve grunted, reached for his gun from the back of his pants, and crawled to a small patio stone wall nearby; the flower bed obscuring his presence.

Steve set his gun down next to him, removed his belt, and wrapped it around his leg, and looping it through the hoop as tight as he could. Hearing someone near him, he picked up his gun, turned, and shot the guard. Another guard popped out from the left and Steve shot him quickly. Out of no where, another guard from the right started shooting at him and fired back, hitting the guy in the chest.

It was no longer safe for Steve to be outside and he hauled himself to his feet and went to the house. He took a one sweep around before opened the door and entering the kitchen. It was quiet, too quiet, but Steve was not going to let that bother him.

The kitchen was definitely bigger and more moderny than his own kitchen. As made his way into the living room, he headed for the stairs. It was to easy for there to be only a few guards, Steve realized as he headed to the second floor. Or Wofat was just to stupid to not have many more guards.

As the lieutenant commander reached the stop of the stairs, Steve saw Wofat coming out of a room at the end of the room, and moved back out of the way. After a moment, Steve peaked around the corner to see that it was clear. He was sure that Elisabeth was in that room, but there was a nagging feeling this was a total set up.

Hurrying down the hallway, Steve reached the door. He took one last look around and opened it up. What he saw, took him by surprise. "Elisabeth!" He whispered as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. The blond was tied to a chair."Elisabeth." He rushed to her sided, relieved that she saw her breathing.

Seeing her tied up and beaten like she was, only reminded him of his own beating at the hands of the same man, his brother, his enemy, but Steve knew that Elisabeth was far worse of than he had been.

"Elisabeth..." Steve knelt down in front of her, running a hand through her hair; her face was a bloody mess. There was a deep cut above her left swollen eye and her nose was obviously broken. Her mouth was bloody and swollen and her face had many deep cuts and bruises.

With the back of his hand, Steve gently caressed her right cheek and Elisabeth winced at the pain. She was definitely going to need plastic surgery to correct what the bastard did to her.

Shaking his head, Steve blamed himself for bringing her on this trip. If he'd left her back in Hawaii, maybe this would never have happened. She'd be safe and sound with the gang. That was a big if. If things were reversed, Elisabeth would be here protecting him.

The Lieutenant Commander reached for his knife at his side, opened it up, and started cutting at the rope, biting into her wrists.

Slowly, Elisabeth opened her one good eye, relief washing through her at the sight of him. "Steve!" She smiled, knowing he'd come for her. "Hi!" Her voice came in a broken whisper. She was in so much pain, but she didn't want him to know. She could see in his eyes how much the way she looked affected him.

Steve smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm gonna get you out of here." He cut the ropes binding her feet and legs.

"I am so sorry."

"What?" Steve looked up at her confused.

"Telling him where your mom is!"

Throwing the ropes away, Steve looked up into her eyes. "Babe, you have anything to be sorry for. This is all on me! I should never have brought you with me." He caressed the back of her cheek lightly.

"Don't put the blame on yourself, Steve, I came with you because I wanted to!" It was then that Elisabeth noticed the wound on his leg. "Oh my god, you're hurt!"

"No it's fine; I'm fine!"

"But..."

"Don't worry about it." Steve picked her up gently, cradling her in his arms. For the moment, they'd stared each other in the eye; the familiar pull, pulling them to kiss. The world around them dropped away, it was only the two of them.

Just as as they were mere inches away from touching, the door slammed shut, startling them. They turned to see Wofat standing there. "Aww, isn't this precious!"

There were several of Wofat's entourage behind him; it was to many to fight, but Steve would fight them all if he had to. Steve backed away towards the bed and slowly lowered Elisabeth to the bed. She winched, holding her side; broken ribs he realized. It was another reason to be upset with himself.

"Steve...Let's just get out of here!"

"No, this had got to end end right here!" Steve turned away, focusing all his energy on Wofat.

Elisabeth knew Steve was going to kill Wofat. It was going to be no holds bar. The thought pleased her more than she liked to have meant, but it hurt more if Wofat got the upper hand, and that was also likely. The cop inside her said Steve would go to jail. She couldn't let that happen but the more she move, the pain went coursing through her body. How was she going to end this and protect Steve. There was no way she could get up to stop this! What was she going to do?

The Lieutenant Commander moved forward, away from Elisabeth, looking Wofat directly in the eyes. "To many times I played by the book, when I could have easily snapped your neck, but I didn't, I I went by the book." Steve glanced back at Elisabeth; the injuries spurring him on. "That's all changed now!" He turned to face Wofat once again, getting into his fighting stance. "I'm going to kill you!"

Steve could not believe the words that came out of his mouth, but he was so close to the edge, it didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter that he was about to kill his own brother! The things that Wofat did, he had it coming to him.

The guards stepped in front of Wofat but he waved them off. "No, this is my fight! Leave us be!"

"Sir..." One of them spoke up.

"Do as you are told!"

The one who had spoke up turned and glanced back at Wofat and then nodded. He and the other guard left the room and closed the door behind him.

"Let's get on with this, shall we!" In one quick motion, Wofat was ready to go. He glanced at Steve quickly, noticing leg injury and knew it was his way in.

The first punched was thrown by Steve, but Wofat ducked out of the way. They went round and round till Wofat kicked Steve in the gut and Steve doubled over in pain. Wofat tackled Steve to the ground, throwing punch after punch, alternating between the face, stomach, kidneys. The blood pooling in the corner of Steve's mouth and nose.

Elisabeth ignored the pain and stood up and glanced around the room for something that would stop Wofat from the onslaught. The lamp would do, at least she hoped it would. She grabbed for it, ripped the cord out of the wall, and smashed it on top of Wofat's head. He stopped hitting Steve momentarily and looked up at her; he was pissed, but it was enough for Steve to take control and flip them over.

Steve started hitting Wofat over and over! Every impact was for someone hurt.

"Steve!" Elisabeth touched his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. "STOP!" With all her strength, she managed to pushed him off of Wofat. "Stop! He's out. I know how much you want this but this is not the way to do it." She took a deep breath, holding her side. "Do it the right way; find the evidence, make it stick, so he doesn't go anywhere!"

The made sense but Steve didn't really care. He wanted Wofat dead and gone, didn't care how that happened.

"Listen to me." Elisabeth got her knees, gingerly. "Killing him is not going to solve any of this! It's only going to land you in prison!"

"You're right," Steve stood up, held his hands out for Elisabeth, and helped her to her feet. "I am so sorry that I put you through all of this. I just...I just..." He glanced down at Wofat and then up at Elisabeth.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain any of it to me. I understand." Elisabeth caressed his right cheek; the cheek that some how managed to stay clear of any blood or bruising. "Come on, let's get out of here! We need to get cleaned up, we look like hell!"

Steve snorted. "I bet we do!"

They both walked out of the room carefully, painfully, and quietly. A few minutes after they'd gone, Wofat eyes fluttered opened and stared up at the ceiling. He then stood up slowly, walked out of the bedroom, like he was a man on a mission. A mission to destroy both Elisabeth and Steve.

TBC