Hi! Don't you think time's passing so fast? It seems like yesterday when we met last time and here we are two weeks later with another chapter:) And there are only three episodes left until the hiatus. I hope you'll have a nice time reading.

Chapter 8

"So what about that window over there?" Juliet heard Magnum say while still staying in his arms.

"I wondered how you knew I wanted to check the window?"

"Because I know you well, my dear." He said and as soon as those words had left his mouth, he froze wondering if he had just overdone it. She definitely heard it and he feared that she would shut herself away from him but surprisingly she didn't comment on it, just gave him a sheepish grin.

"I can try to climb but it won't be easy. The wall is made of concrete, if it was brick it would be a piece of cake." She said, already leaving his embrace and moving to the wall. She stood there with her hands on her hips and looked up weighing the possible ways of getting to that window.

Magnum stood near her and observed how she was feeling the surface with her hand and predicting the movements that she would need to make in order to reach that tiny opening that may give them a clue as to where they were. She was so focused on the task that she seemed not to notice him staring at her in awe. Or at least he thought so.

"Magnum, you're staring." She surprised him when she spoke.

"Yes, sorry for that." He said and gave her a sheepish grin.

"Do you want something?" Juliet asked with an innocent look on her face.

"No," he shook his head, "I was just admiring you."

This time she got surprised and he noticed a deep blush coming to her cheeks. That was something new, it was such a rare sight to see his partner turn red like a teenager because of something he had said. Oh, he would definitely get used to that.

Seeing that she remained silent, he spoke, "So what's the plan?"

She instantly went into her 'work mode'. "That's easy – I'll go up there and see where we are."

"Yeah, that's really easy. I bet it's not your first climbing." He said.

"You're right. At school we did some wall climbing during our PE classes." She replied.

"Wait, were you a captain of the wall climbing team like the swimming one you told me about when we were stuck in the ocean that day those pirates attacked us on TR Belle?" He asked her with sarcasm.

She didn't say anything, just gave him a sharp look and then she braced herself for the climb. Although the surface of the wall wasn't smooth, it didn't necessarily mean that it was perfect for climbing. She put her right foot on a small bulge but she had a problem finding a good support for her hand to get a grip and pull herself up. When she finally did that, she realized the next step would be quite far which seemed to be closer when she was analyzing it on the ground and when she was sure that she would make it, her leg slipped and she lost her hold. She fell down at once. Luckily, she wasn't high above the ground but sliding down that uneven wall resulted in a rather painful scratch of her hands and knees. She hissed at the sudden pain and in a split second Thomas was at her side.

"Higgy, are you all right?" He asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied looking at her hands. They were quite dirty and there was blood smeared all over them.

"Let me take a look at them." He offered.

"No, it's okay. Really." She stated and hastily wiped her hands on her black jeans. "I'll try again." She sounded really determined.

"Higgy, I can help you."

"No, I can do it, Magnum." That was her reply as she threw him a stern look and then prepared herself for another attempt.

Thomas sighed. Although he knew that climbing that wall without any help was almost impossible, he got the idea why she was so focused to do it – she wanted to prove herself that she was able to get them out of there plus she tried to protect him. He understood her because he was exactly the same.

Juliet took another chance, gritted her teeth and started climbing all over again. For a moment there, she reached even higher but then because of her scratched hand all of a sudden she lost her grip and just as before slid down. This time the pain was even stronger, she shut her eyes trying to block the sharp ache mainly in her hands.

"Higgy, please. Let me help you." Magnum pleaded, hoping this time she would listen to him.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and met his glance.

"It's okay. You don't have to be so tough all the time." He said and she let out a deep breath.

She was silent for a moment before she spoke. "You know, I constantly feel that we need to do something… I need to do something otherwise we won't get out of here." She murmured and dropped her gaze.

He moved closer and lifted her chin so that their eyes could meet. They were shining with unshed tears. "Hey," he said calmly, "I want you to remember that you're not alone. I will also do everything I can for us to flee from here and we will. I promise you that." He stated and gave her a reassuring smile.

It must have finally settled in her as he spotted a feeble smile on her face. "Now, let's see those hands of yours."

She chuckled quietly and stuck them in front of her. He noticed that this time they were in much worse condition and they must have hurt a lot more. Without hesitation he tore off a part of his shirt and very gently touched her palms to wipe off the fresh blood.

A grimace of pain appeared on her face but she didn't make a sound.

"Are you okay?" He asked and looked at her.

She nodded her head although he guessed she was trying to put on a brave face.

"I wish we had some water left." He said under his breath.

"Don't worry, I'll live. That's nothing compared to some injuries I happened to have in the past." She stated and for a second there, he could see a glimpse of sadness in her eyes.

"Do you want to give it a break?" Magnum asked but deep down he was a hundred per cent sure what her answer would be.

Her reply came at once. "Of course, not." She shook her head and turned to the wall for the third time.

Just as she was about to start the climbing, he suddenly spoke. "Wait. It would be easier if you used me as a ladder."

Juliet instantly froze at his words. "What?! Thomas, you can't be serious. Have you forgotten you've been badly injured? Are you sure they haven't hit you on the head?"

"Higgy, I'm not joking." Magnum stated, his voice calm and sincere. "Look up there," he pointed to a gouge, "if you reach that point, you may get a hold of that hook sticking off the wall. That way you'll have easy access to the window." He explained.

"No way! I won't do that." She was shaking her head frantically.

"Juliet…"

"I told you 'no'."

Magnum was afraid that she was going to react that way so he had to resort to something else which could probably work with his partner. "It may be our only chance." As soon as he had said that, he noticed something changed in her face and she actually started considering his offer which at first seemed so crazy to her.

For a moment, they both stood there in complete silence. Magnum didn't want to add anything else so as not to discourage her while Juliet was struggling to come up with any other idea, especially the one that wouldn't involve her injured partner. However, try as she might, nothing came to her mind and finally she had to accept the fact that if they were to see through that window over there, there wouldn't be any other way of doing it.

She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, a thing she often used during her yoga sessions in order to calm herself down and gather her thoughts. Then she opened her eyes and finally looked at Thomas who stood there waiting anxiously.

"Fine, I agree but I want you to know that I'm doing this unwillingly." She murmured. "And only because there's no other way." She clarified her reason.

Magnum smiled, relief washing over him. "I'm glad you thought it through."

"I can assure you that in a moment you won't be so glad when you'll feel my weight on you." She replied, making him chuckle which at once led him to another wave of pain in his ribs.

She instantly sent him a surprised and apologetic look. She opened her mouth to say something but he stopped her. "No, don't even think about apologizing again."

For a few seconds, a little smile played around the corners of her lips and then she became serious once more.

"Okay, are you ready for this?" Juliet asked, still obviously having some reservations.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me, think about getting out of here." He murmured and positioned himself close to the wall so that his back was leaning against it. He bent down a little to make it easier for Higgins to go on with their plan. "Come on."

She sighed, locking her eyes with her partner. She instantly became focused and determined on finding something that could help them go back home. She nodded her head and began her climb. Using his thighs, she moved up to stand on his arms. All this time she did everything she could to be gentle and not to hurt Magnum more than he already was.

From the beginning Thomas knew that his idea meant more pain for him but he was used to that. After being held in captivity for more than 18 months and all the punishment he got every time he tried to get out, this soreness seemed just a trivial thing in their way out of here. So when the pain became more intense, he simply gritted his teeth trying to ensure Higgins was all right.

Although she wanted to do it fast, not everything was going as planned. The first part was quite easy – she climbed on her partner's arms without any problems, however a major difficulty arose with the next step when she was supposed to get to the gouge but she couldn't quite reach it as it turned out to be much higher than they both had thought. She had to look for something that would help her access it but nothing was there.

"How are you down there?" She asked suddenly while feeling the wall with her hand.

"Fine." The tone of his voice suggested something completely different. "How's it going?" He asked as he noticed that it took her more time than anticipated.

"Okay so far but there's a problem here."

"What is it?"

"I can't reach that gouge. It's too far and I can't lift my leg high enough to get there." She replied.

"Higgy, I thought you were quite flexible since you do yoga all the time." He told her, knowing a touch of humor may help in their situation.

She chuckled. "Not all the time but every day and yes, I am flexible but it's too far anyway." She replied.

"Okay. Here, use my hand." She heard him say.

"What?" Juliet looked down at him, totally surprised at another crazy idea of his. Where was he taking them from? She noticed his hand stretched out in her direction.

"It's easy. If you step on my palm you'll be much higher. Isn't that something you need right now?" He explained.

"Magnum, I can't do that to you. I have already caused you additional pain." She vigorously protested against his offer.

"I told you not to think about me. Come on, you can do it." He said, encouraging his partner to try out his seemingly mad idea.

"Easy for you to say that." He hears her mutter under her breath.

"I heard that, you know? Does it mean you're thinking about me all the time?" He asked her deeply amused, starting the familiar teasing.

"Oh, you wish…" Juliet said quietly but loud enough for Thomas to hear. She knew exactly what he was doing – trying to lighten the atmosphere.

He laughed at her words but at the same moment she went on with their plan and used his palm to bounce off it. Suddenly, Magnum felt a sharp excruciating pain, like something inside his chest was being torn apart. A simple thing like breathing became almost impossible to do and he started seeing dark spots. Every fiber in his body screamed at him to stop what he was doing at once but he got himself together and did everything to stay strong and not move an inch. He knew Higgins' life may have depended on it.

Juliet had to admit that just like he had said, being a bit higher let her prop up her right foot and finally reach that hook. The last part was much easier – she pulled herself up and quickly grabbed the metal bars in the window.

"I did it." She whispered. "Magnum, I'm at the window!"

When she didn't get any reaction from him, she looked down quickly, trying to check on him. "Magnum, are you all right?" Her growing concern was evident in her voice.

He was still standing in the same place, leaning against the wall. What she didn't know was that her partner was quietly fighting for every breath while the pain still wasn't letting go.

"Magnum?" She tried once more.

"Yeah, I'm… fine… I knew you would make it."

When she heard him murmur this, she could finally let out a breath of relief.

Thomas could barely speak but he summoned up all his strength to finally tell her this because he was sure that if he hadn't done that, his partner would leave everything up there and come down in a split second. That way they would never get anything that could help them find their way home.

"Tell me what you can see there." He said. He leaned heavily against the wall, fearing that his legs would give their way but he felt that he had to keep standing just in case Higgins needed help.

Juliet had a nagging feeling something wasn't right with Thomas and she fought against her inner instinct not to climb down and check on her partner. Very reluctantly, she shifted her eyes from him and focused on that small window which, who knew, might have been a window to their freedom.

"I guess we were right – we're in the jungle. It's quite dense." She told him and then she cocked her head and looked left. "There's some kind of a clearing there and I can see a military masking net."

"What's under it?"

She looked carefully again in that direction. "I think it's a car." She squinted her eyes. "Yeah, I'm positive. It's probably the same car they used to bring us here."

"Can you see anything else there?" Thomas asked with hope.

"Unfortunately, no. I'm sorry, Magnum. We have nothing more." She stated, glancing down at him.

"That's okay. Don't blame yourself. Now try to get down safely." He said.

She gave him a tiny smile and when she looked back through the window, she noticed with pure terror that someone was standing there as she saw someone's legs wearing military boots. At first, she hoped that perhaps he wouldn't detect her but soon it turned out she wouldn't be that lucky.

"Hey! Who's there?" She heard and a second later she saw the man crouch down and look at her. What was important, he wasn't wearing a mask. His face was round, he had dark curly hair and a beard. His brown eyes were glaring at her angrily.

"It's you!" He growled with deep hatred, stood up immediately and stormed away, probably to come inside.

Juliet gasped in surprise. Thomas felt something was wrong straight away. "Higgy, what's happening?" He asked but didn't get the answer.

He noticed that she started coming down in quite an erratic manner and way too fast.

"Juliet, what's wrong?" She kept climbing down without any thinking. "Slow down, you're going to…"

He didn't finish the sentence as at the same moment the woman's foot slipped and she wasn't able to keep a hold on the rough surface of the wall any more. In a split second she went down. Thomas raised his arms in order to catch her but his weak body didn't manage to stop her at the full impact so they both hit the floor with a heavy thud.

We're stopping here for now. What do you think will happen next? Thanks for reading and don't forget to review:)