**** Sorry for the delay in posting, I have been very busy at work and with Thanksgiving - Thanks for reading ! ****

When Steve came to he was naked and handcuffed to metal fencing. His arms were spread outward at shoulder-length. His feet were touching the ground, his legs spread slightly and his ankles were bound by rope to the fencing. There was also rope draped through the links and wrapped tightly around his midsection hindering his movement.

He felt blood trickling down the side of his head where he had taken a nasty hit from the butt of the gun. His head throbbed and his vision was blurry. He figured he probably had a concussion. As his vision began to clear he looked around the small, dimly lit room where he was being held. The entire room was made of concrete. Off to his left were stairs, a dozen or so….he could hear the muffled voices coming from behind the half opened door at the top of the stairs. His attention was drawn to his right as a whispered voice called to him, "Steve….Steve"

He turned and at the sight of an apparently healthy Matt, he smiled, "Hey Matthew, I'd say it's good to see you but…"
Matt chuckled nervously, "I know what you mean. Where's Danny?"
"I came alone"
"What?"
"Listen Matt, you have to trust me okay? I chose not to tell Danny about this….he's…."
"He's what? What in the hell is wrong with my brother?"
Steve hushed the now tense young man, "Matthew! Keep it down….Danny's fine. Stan is being transferred to Nevada and there's a good chance that Gracie is leaving Hawaii"
"Oh shit. Well….Danny's not 'fine' then is he!"

"And that's why he's not here Matt! I had to make a decision fast and I know that he might never forgive me for leaving him out of this but it's a chance I have to take. Your brother won't admit it yet, but he's leaving Hawaii. He'll follow that little girl anywhere and hell if I'm going to risk his life by bringing him here. Gracie needs him just as much as he needs her"

Matt looked at the SEAL, glad to see that nothing had changed since he last saw him. He saw anger and determination in Steve's eyes. The same steely resolve he saw in those eyes eighteen months ago when he had showed up in Hawaii scared out his ever-loving mind with the Ocinco organization hot on his heels. He had watched in utter amazement as Steve had single handedly taken out member after member of this brutal drug cartel. Even back then they had figured the cartel would be back to exact revenge, but he sure felt a lot better now that McGarrett was here….God that sounded so selfish…

His thoughts were interrupted as Steve asked, "Matt…..Matt!"
He responded in a hushed voice, "Yeah, yeah….."
"Matt, have they hurt you?"
"No. They haven't hurt me at all"
"Good, that's real good. Now help me out here. How many men have you seen?"
Matt closed his eyes as he thought, "Umm, six"
"Okay, good that's what I expected" Matt was sitting on a chair a few feet from him as he added, "Matt, how are you restrained?"
"Just my hands. They're tied with ropes. I've been working on loosening them"
"Any luck?"
"A little bit"
They heard a commotion coming from their left as the door opened. Steve added, "Keep trying to get loose and keep your mouth shut"

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They drove to the hospital in silence, wiping their eyes and cheeks as tears still fell. They didn't expect Chin to be awake for several hours but they needed to be with him…to be with family.

Kono stared straight ahead as she spoke softly, "How are we going to tell him Danny?"
Danny responded haltingly, "Chin…and Gracie…...Doris, Joe…..MaryAnn"
"Oh God Danny…..Catherine. We have to call her"

Danny ran his hand across his face before responding quietly, "Not yet Kono. Like I told the Governor I think we need to find Doris first"
They again became silent as they thought of Steve and Catherine. Things had been pretty tense since Doris McGarrett had reappeared in her son's life. Her return had also happened to coincide with the decommissioning of the USS Enterprise resulting in Catherine's temporary return to the Island.

Then Kono asked, "Danny….what happened between them"
"What?"
"Steve and Catherine. I tried to ask him about a week after she left and he just clammed up so I didn't push him. But I know you…..and you would have pushed him for answers"

Danny smirked, "Yeah we talked…it was just too much for him Kono. His Mom….showing up and then just choosing to fucking disappear again. Catherine didn't do anything wrong Kono, she just wanted to protect him"
"We all wanted to protect him but what did she do?"

"She was very angry at Doris for showing up the way she did, for messing with Steve's head. But you know McGarrett and his response to her was the same he was giving all of us, that he was 'okay'. Steve told me that Cath wanted him to push Doris harder for answers and that they had a pretty bad fight about it. She told him she wouldn't stand by and watch his Mom destroy him again. She left with the understanding that Steve would call her once he figured things out with his Mom. Then three days after she left, Doris disappeared again"

"Does Cath know Doris is gone again?"
"No. Steve was so confused Kono. He loved his Mom but he felt so horribly betrayed. And Catherine…..he loved her dearly but he just wasn't ready to close the door on his Mom. He felt horrible when Catherine left but he understood why she did"

"And now…..he's dead….he's dead and they last words they spoke to each other were words of anger"
"I know, God I know….." Danny reached over and the two held hands as they drew near the hospital.

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"Well look who's awake here. Have you two been catching up on lost time?"
Steve smirked, snidely responding "Yes, Thanks for asking. Matt and I are just trying to figure out which one of you low-life's we should off first" Steve's stone cold glare met that of Sebastian Cordoba as he added, "We've decided that it's going to be you"

"You talk tough McGarrett…..for now. Bit you see, my men and me, we've been talking too. Matthew here, he made a mistake. You returning the half million dollars corrects his mistake but he needs to learn a lesson that he will never forget. That way he'll never make the same mistake again. You on the other hand, you killed Freddy and your partner killed my cousin. Those are not 'mistakes' and since Detective Williams is not here to share in the punishment, it's all yours" With that Cordoba backed away and the two monstrous thugs Alvarez and Moreno moved forward and began pummeling Steve with punches to his head, face, chest and abdomen. They continued steadily for three to four minutes stopping only occasionally to shake the pain from their hands.

Matt watched, wincing with every blow to the SEALS body. He cringed every time Steve's head bounced back from the fencing.
He took every hit without reacting until finally Matt could stay quiet no longer, "CORDOBA, STOP THEM….PLEASE STOP THEM! THEY'RE KILLING HIM!"

Sebastian Cordoba grabbed Matt's hair pulling his head back as he answered coldly, "That's the point Matthew"
Releasing his grasp on Matt he called out, "That's enough boys! We want to make sure McGarrett isn't hurt too bad….not yet anyway"
The laughter of the men nauseated Matt and he watched in disgust as they all made their way up the stairs slamming the door closed behind them.

Matt was shocked as Steve spoke, the pain in his voice evident, "Maatt"
"Yeah Steve…..you alright?"
"Sure…..I've taken worssse" Steve spit through his swollen and cut lips as his mouth filled with blood. "Shit, I lost a fuckin' ttooth"
"You don't look very good buddy"
"Don't wworry 'boutt me…how are your hand's coming?"
"Still working on them Steve"
"Keep at it…..MMaatt"

Matt watched as Steve's eyes closed. His face looked horrible. One eye was already swollen shut and there was a deep, bloody gash across the eyebrow. The gash was caused by a ring worn by Moreno which had also opened up a cut across his cheekbone and his nose was also bleeding. Bruises covered his right side, chest and sternum. No matter how tough the man was…he had to be hurting like hell.

Matt didn't have a clue what Steve was planning but he knew he had to free himself or they would both be in trouble…

****** Hope you're still enjoying ! *******