Hello again! I'm back here as I promised with another portion of our favorite PIs' adventure. More notes at the end of this chapter. Have a nice reading.

Chapter 4

The next morning Thomas woke up first. Unfortunately, the side effects of the drug he was given were still with him – he felt cold and had a hell of a headache. He wondered how long it would take until he's better. However, he knew he should rather worry about other things, namely his chest and ribs. It's not like he was never in a fight or suffered from that kind of injuries, on the contrary – when he, TC, Rick and Nuzo were captured in Afghanistan, he had much worse injuries, some of which could have been fatal but this time it was different. He wasn't alone, here there was Juliet and although she was a former MI6 operative and was quite capable of defending herself, she definitely counted on him and if they were to survive and come back home safe and sound, he had to be physically fit.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and found out that it wasn't that dark anymore. There must have been a window somewhere in the room but he decided not to turn and look for it in fear of waking up Juliet. Without doubt, she was very tired and she needed her rest. That's why he didn't move a bit, just lay there, focusing on the strange feeling of having her in his arms. It was amazing that to him it felt natural, like she always belonged here. He never experienced something like that in his life – not even with Hannah, though he thought he loved her. He didn't know what it meant or maybe he knew but didn't want to admit to himself, let alone tell her. He sighed quietly and delved into his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Juliet was slowly coming round and with each passing second of regaining her consciousness, she started feeling a growing headache. It was like the morning after a very good party with lots of drinks except that wasn't the case here. She tried to put her killer headache aside and the first thing she noticed was the fact that she was still lying in her partner's arms and despite the not very favorable conditions, she felt surprisingly comfortable. It seemed strange to her but if it wasn't for the situation and the place they were in, lying with her eyes still closed she would say it felt like home, like it was an everyday habit of sleeping by Magnum's side.

So many different feelings came over her – she was surprised, excited even but most of all it really scared her. She was scared of this growing affection she felt for Thomas with each passing day and she was afraid that sooner or later she'll have to confront her feelings and talk to him. She just didn't know whether she would be brave enough to take that risk.

At that moment, another wave of cold hit her and she shivered. Without giving it a second thought, Juliet snuggled closer to him. She was surprised when he instantly pulled up the blanket and gently caressed her arm.

"Morning." She heard Magnum say and she smiled against his chest.

"Morning." She replied and moved her head to look at him.

He met her eyes and beamed at her. "How was your night, Higgy?"

"Actually, not good. You were snoring like a freight train." She stated, her face deadly serious.

"What? No way!" It was evident he was truly surprised.

"Calm down, I'm joking." She said with a smile.

Magnum chuckled at her words and at that moment his sore ribs brought him back to reality. He instantly gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in pain.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Thomas. I forgot that I can't make you laugh." She told him with remorse.

"It's okay. Actually, I forgot about it too." He replied quietly and after a few moments he added, "How are you feeling today?"

Juliet sighed. "The coldness hasn't left me yet and it really comes in waves just like you said but right now there's something else I have to deal with."

"What is it?"

"My head is killing me. I've had some bad headaches before but this one is unlike any of them. What about you?"

"The same – that throbbing in my head is driving me crazy. A hot coffee would be so nice."

She grinned at his idea. "Yes, I definitely agree with you." She said dreamingly. "Think about what we would be doing now if we weren't being held here."

"That's easy. We would be having some tasty breakfast in La Mariana, Rick would make us some toasts or something more traditional Hawaiian. Then we would probably meet our new client there." Magnum said.

"Or… perhaps something much more likely to happen. I would be sitting in La Mariana, waiting for you because you slept in again after having a late evening with Rick and TC." She stated, making him burst out laughing, one more time resulting in intense pain.

"Oh my God, I did it again. I'm so sorry, Thomas." She said, mortified at her own actions.

"Hey, it's really okay." He whispered, trying to calm her down.

"No, I think I should get up and look around this room to see if there's anything that can help us get out of here."

As soon as she had said that, they heard some muffled voices and a few seconds later the door was unlocked and opened. Nick came inside, having a gun in his hand. His other team members were there too, one of them also armed and the other, Burt was holding a tray.

"Rise and shine!" Nick shouted and greeted them with an evil grin.

Both Thomas and Juliet shuddered at the creepy man.

"Oh, isn't that sweet? Two partners together."

Juliet got up immediately and Magnum followed her suit.

"Sorry for these safety measures." The man told them and pointed to the guns. "We had to take them after your impressive show of strength you offered us yesterday, Juliet."

"Thank you but you shouldn't have. I will gladly show you another one today as well." She replied with a shrug.

Burt grunted at that, his menacing glare never leaving her.

"I'm sure that your friend here would really like to see that again." Thomas added with a sarcastic smile.

"You think you're so smart, huh?" Burt muttered under his breath and his hands started shaking a bit. "I can teach you a lesson or two, pal."

"Please, do so. I can't wait." Magnum continued, trying to unnerve the man even more.

Just as he thought that the attacker would throw the tray away and charge at him, Nick stepped in.

"Whoa, Burt. Hold your horses. I promise you'll get your time with Mr. Magnum here but not now. We've got other things to do." His tone of voice was quite commanding and really hard to ignore.

Burt seemed to calm down, though he didn't do it willingly.

"Now that it's settled, I can finally tell you with what we're coming to you." Nick told his prisoners. "We brought you some breakfast. It's nothing fancy but I guess you may be hungry so here's your food and a bottle of water." He said, pretending to be polite, then nodded at Burt.

After a short hesitation, not wanting to make Nick angry, the man went to the PIs and crouched down, though keeping his distance. He intentionally dropped the metal tray in front of them, making it very loud and almost knocking everything off.

Although they couldn't see his face due to the mask he was wearing, it wasn't difficult for Thomas and Juliet to notice that his eyes were full of hatred.

"Only one bottle? There are two of us." Magnum said pointing at Juliet and himself.

"It's not the Plaza Hotel." Burt muttered under his breath and stood up abruptly.

"Sorry about that but you see our initial plan didn't include you, Mr. Magnum. So one bottle must be enough for now. Besides, I'm sure you're a perfect gentleman and you'll know what to do in such situation." Nick stated. "By the way, how was your night? Did you both sleep well?" He asked, giving them a knowing grin.

"Yes, we slept like babies. Better than at home actually. " Juliet replied sarcastically.

"Good." Nick chuckled. "I have to warn you that the coldness and the headaches will probably stay with you for a while. Oh and don't worry about the food or the water, we didn't add any extra ingredients to them." He informed them with a wink. "I think that's it. Enjoy your meal." He said, smiling broadly and turning towards the door. Suddenly, he stopped. "If you would like to use the bathroom, you can do it now. One at a time."

Juliet and Thomas looked at each other. "Go on. I'll wait." Magnum said.

"I won't be long." She replied gazing in his eyes, she knew what he would say if it wasn't for those men present there but she didn't have to hear it, she knew him so well. She took his hand and held it for a few seconds before she gave him a reassuring squeeze meaning she got the message – she would try to gain as much information about the place they were being held in as possible.

"Be careful." He whispered so quietly only she could hear him.

Juliet sent him a tiny smile and gave him as much quiet response. "I will." She turned and was surprised with a black bag that was being held in front of her.

"Put it on." Burt growled and pointed a gun at her. "Keep your hands up and don't even think about doing anything stupid again."

She rolled her eyes but she did as she had been told and the man pushed her through the door and down the long corridor. Unfortunately, Juliet had to admit that with her eyes being covered, her plan to try and learn the layout of the place went down the drain. However, although it would be hard for her to see anything with that cloth on her head, it didn't mean that she wouldn't get anything.

First, they were walking straight on – she figured it out that it must have been a narrow corridor after she had supposedly tripped a couple of times and collided with concrete walls. Then they turned left and after a few seconds they turned right. What was interesting while walking there, every now and then Juliet felt some whiffs of air coming from somewhere above.

When they finally got to their destination, Burt took the bag off her head. "You have five minutes." He stated and closed the door, leaving her alone in the middle of what supposed to be the bathroom.

The first thing she did was to check things out in this place. It was very tiny, there was no window and it looked like someone has forgotten to clean this area for a long time. The sink looked awful, covered with dark spots, the mirror was the place where a couple of spiders lived happily, weaving their delicate webs. The toilet didn't look any better. Juliet tried to find anything that could be of use to her and Magnum when they would manage to escape but unfortunately there was nothing like that. There was one small cabinet on the wall but it was almost empty – only an old filthy bandage was stored inside.

She sighed. This thing won't help them in need. After using the toilet, washing her hands and splashing her face with cold water in that not very clean sink, she heard her captor getting rather impatient as he suddenly banged on the door.

"Time's up. Get out, now!" His voice was sharp and cold.

"I'm coming." Higgins said and opened the door. "Don't you know it's rude to bang on the door like this?"

The man's only reaction was his angry look and an outstretched hand holding the black bag. Juliet took it reluctantly, putting it on very slowly in order to see anything behind him. The only thing she managed to notice was the badly-lit corridor and two metal doors in the distance.

"Come on, I don't have the whole day for you!" He snapped, getting visibly angrier by the second.

"All right." She said and raised her hands.

They went back to the room she and Magnum were being held in. As soon as they entered the place, Thomas stood up heavily and came closer to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching out to her and taking her hands.

"Yes, I'm fine." Juliet replied and met his eyes as Burt took the bag off her head.

"Don't worry, pal. I haven't touched your girlfriend." Their captor said with a sly grin on his face.

Magnum shot him a warning look which made the man's grin vanish at once.

"Are you coming or not?" He asked impatiently and tossed him the cloth. "Then you know what to do."

"Do you have this one in blue? I really prefer that color." Magnum told Burt who nudged him painfully in the ribs. "Hey, I'm coming." He protested and whispered to Juliet, "I'll be right back." With that they finally left the room.

While her partner wasn't there, Juliet looked around the room. It was surprisingly spacious and the walls and the floor were made of concrete. The door was heavy, quite thick and metal, making it impossible to force it but the lock in it was actually quite different – if they had Magnum's picking tools, they would easily open it and…

Exactly and what then? What would they do when they freed themselves from this room and had to confront those men? She wasn't afraid to fight them, in her job for MI6 many times she had to face even greater number of enemies and she somehow managed to come out of it, maybe wounded but alive. Here, the situation was quite different. After those drugs they were given, she was aware of the fact that in any critical situation, she wouldn't be able to give a hundred per cent of herself and as far as Magnum's condition was concerned, he surely would want to fight but stood little chance of beating the enemy.

Juliet let out a deep breath and continued exploring the room. There was nothing there beside the mattress they slept on. However, there was a small window with some metal bars in it and no glass at all. It was quite high up on the wall, making it impossible to reach it from the ground. Fortunately, the wall's surface wasn't very smooth and it had some kind of humps. Just as she was wondering how to climb it to get to the window, she heard some talking and then the sound of opening the door. Immediately, she leaped toward the mattress, pretending she was resting.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Burt didn't come inside, he just pushed Magnum roughly through the door, at the same time taking the bag off his head.

"What? I only asked a question." Thomas stated and turned to confront the man.

Burt didn't give him any reply, just slammed the door in his face.

"Thanks for giving me a warning." Juliet said and stood up quickly. The moment she did that, she felt that painful throb in her head again. She frowned, closed her eyes and her hand went straight to her temple.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked, standing right next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just this headache." She said and then looked at him. "What about you?"

"It's better temporarily, just the coldness."

"What about your ribs?"

"I don't think they got much better since yesterday." He replied and he added. "I knew you would probably need some time to check the room so I did everything I could to stall but it turned out Burt isn't a very patient guy."

"What did you ask him about that unnerved him so much?"

"I wanted to know what we would have for lunch today but evidently he wasn't very talkative." Magnum stated and noticed with much pleasure that she laughed at his words. He was glad that she seemed relaxed, even though only for a very short time. He joined her, fighting the sudden pain in his ribs.

After some time, Juliet became serious again. "Thomas, have you got anything that could help us get out of here? Did you manage to see anything there?"

Her partner shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately, no. I couldn't see any other rooms beside the bathroom which I'm pretty sure is the same you were brought to. There was nothing that we could use as a weapon. I don't know where the exit is but I don't think there are more than those three men out there… at least for now."

"Yeah," Higgins agreed, "obviously they had everything planned…"

"And now they're waiting for their boss." Magnum finished for her.

"Exactly." She stated and then her facial expression turned grim and he just knew what she was about to say.

"Thomas…"

"Don't."

She looked at him, confusion showing all over her face. He grasped her hands, looking deeply into her eyes. "Don't even think about saying that."

"But that's true. Because of me, you're here - injured and suffering from side effects after you were given some drugs."

"Listen, you did nothing wrong. You aren't responsible for any of this. And we'll make it through, together." Magnum told her and smiled lovingly.

She nodded and stepped into his embrace. She instantly closed her eyes as he held her tight.

"You know, actually I'm glad I'm here." He murmured, surprising her once again.

"What? You can't be serious." Juliet replied, not moving an inch from her comfortable position in his arms.

"Don't get me wrong. It's not that I like being attacked, drugged and held captive by some armed guys." He said and she chuckled, hearing his statement. "I think it's good that I'm with you and you're not alone in this situation." He told her and then quickly added. "Not that you wouldn't be capable of taking care of yourself, of course."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I would die of boredom if you weren't here." She said, finally moving away a little just to look at him and smiling sweetly.

Oh, how he loved their constant banter. If for some reason he and Juliet were apart during the day, he missed her as well as their specific kind of interaction and communication so much. At once, he reprimanded himself – here they were in captivity, not knowing what would happen to them and he was having thoughts about Higgins and they were definitely not professional ones. He decided to try to put them aside and focus on their present situation.

"See? I was right. So how about we eat the food we were given and then we'll take a look at that window over there which I'm sure you're dying to examine, okay?"

Her first reply was a wide grin. She still couldn't believe how well he knew her. Sometimes she wondered how it was possible that someone could know the other person so well. She couldn't deny that they had some kind of connection, a special bond she could feel whenever she was close to him and she had to admit it was getting even stronger these days.

"Do you believe them that the food hasn't been spiked?" She finally asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Why would it be now? They already have us here, right?"

"You're right." She agreed.

They sat down and thoroughly examined their meal which consisted of nothing more than two cheese sandwiches.

"Here, take the water." Magnum said.

"Only if you drink no less than a half of it and I won't take 'no' for an answer." She said sternly.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied grinning like a fool.

She smiled at that and they started eating, enjoying and savoring every mouthful as they didn't know when their next meal would be.

Hope you liked it. Remember to leave a review - don't worry if perhaps you've never written one before. Don't be shy. Even if it's just a very short one - I appreciate your any thought or opinion. Trust me, that wonderful feeling I get when I read your comments can't be compared to anything else:)

Anyway, back to the things I wanted to share with you. I try to upload the chapters every two weeks because that's enough time for me to write it by hand, then type it into my computer and proofread it. But I've got a surprise for you - since in a week's time we're going to have our favorite TV show come back with a new season, I thought that by celebrating this occassion I'll send you a new chapter a week earlier. Thanks, Aveburygirl - you inspired me to do it or maybe it was those cherries on top;)? So don't forget we're meeting here next week. Bye.