Hi everyone! I've decided to give you a surprise gift so here we have a new chapter a week earlier. I hope you're happy:)

Chapter 9

For a long moment, Higgins lay there disoriented, not knowing where she was or what happened to her. She felt dizzy, there was constant pounding in her head and all her muscles ached as if she had just been run down by a car. Slowly, she opened her heavy eyelids and looked up. How did it happen? She was up there just a minute ago and now she was on the floor.

Wait, no, it's not the floor, she thought and then realization hit her hard. I must have landed on Magnum.

"Oh my God, Magnum!" She shrieked in pure horror and moved off him at once. "Thomas, are you all right?" She asked feeling so worried about him.

"Mhmm…" He murmured, breathing heavily. "I've been better." He stated with a wink. "I tried to catch you but it turns out you weigh more than I expected."

She sent him a condescending look but then smiled with relief. "I hope my fall didn't make you break anything." She said.

He stretched his limbs and shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Come on, let's move you to the mattress. It's better to lay there than on this hard floor. Can you stand up?" She said and took his hand.

"I'll try." He replied and lifted himself up with Juliet's help.

When they were halfway there, in the middle of the room, Magnum stopped abruptly. "Higgy, can you tell me what happened up there? Why did you try to get down so fast?" He looked at her with expectation.

However, Juliet didn't get the chance to explain anything as they heard footsteps coming closer outside the door. The woman visibly paled as she was well aware of who could that be. Magnum felt her whole body go stiff so he squeezed her hand, this small gesture giving her his strength and support. She glanced at him for a second before the door was unlocked and opened by Burt who was adjusting the mask on his face. He stormed inside, going straight for Higgins. It was evident he was full of rage, his eyes were shining with menace and he was visibly shaking.

"You!" He shouted and approached Juliet, shoving Magnum roughly to the ground.

She wanted to protest but the attacker grabbed her by the arms and pushed her hard against the wall.

"What were you doing by that window?" He growled at her.

She knew she had to keep a cool head in order for them to survive so she answered him in a calm way.

"Nothing. I just needed to get some fresh air."

"Cut the crap." He snapped at her angrily. "I know you were planning to escape."

"I can assure you that you're highly mistaken." Juliet replied politely but this only infuriated him even more.

He took hold of her neck and tightened his fingers around it, thus squeezing her throat and making her choke. She tried to do everything not to let the panic take over her but if someone cut off your air and you could barely breathe, you would find it extremely difficult to remain calm. Higgins struggled against Burt but she felt she was running out of time – with that iron grip on her throat, she started to feel lightheaded and her vision was slowly blacking out. Just as she thought she couldn't take it anymore and her legs finally gave in, making her drop to her knees, a sudden blow landed on Burt's back. He instantly loosened his grip on Juliet, leaving her barely breathing on the floor. She looked up and noticed that Burt spun around and then her partner delivered another blow to the man's jaw, making him stumble backwards.

"Magnum." She murmured.

The moment the PI was ready to attack Burt one more time, he heard the sound of a click coming from the open door. He froze with his hand in the air and turned his head to look that way, spotting Nick with a gun ready to be fired.

"Ah, ah, ah." Nick spoke and shook his head. "You'd better stop right now or I'll have to shoot you although I really wouldn't like to do that."

Magnum sighed and put his hand down reluctantly. Burt was furious. Once again he was feeling like a fool – first, that woman managed to beat him twice and now just as he was finally getting even with her, that partner of her had the nerve to attack him from behind. So without long thinking he took the opportunity and gave Thomas a powerful punch to the jaw, instantly knocking him to the ground.

"No!" Juliet tried to shout but her voice was still weak after being almost choked to death just a moment before.

Burt planned on continuing his attack, however he was suddenly stopped by Nick.

"Burt, leave him for now. It's not the time for that." Nick said and at the same time he noticed that the man acted like he was going to go against his order. He knew he could be extremely stubborn at times and once he got his head set on something, there was nothing to make him change his mind. Nick was afraid that it could be a time like this.

"Burt, I want you to step away." He stated in a voice that invited no argument and then he added, "That's an order."

Juliet froze witnessing this whole situation. She saw Burt's clenched fist and shaking hand which he was ready to use on Magnum any moment now. The man's next words made all her blood run cold.

"Let me kill him. You know that we don't really need him."

To the horror of Higgins, when Nick heard those words, he seemed to be actually considering that option. One small word and she could lose her partner forever. Looking back to the numerous cases they both worked on and that involved a real life threat, this situation was one of the most serious ones. And the worst thing was that she wasn't able to do anything in that matter, she felt so helpless lying on the floor, still trying to catch her breath. Somehow, she managed to raise herself a little and sit with her back leaning heavily against the wall.

"Please," she begged with a shaky voice, "don't do this."

Hearing Juliet, Nick gazed at her and sent her a wry smile.

"See, I told you that you really care for him. I'm a good observant." He stated self-satisfied. "Don't worry, he's safe. At least for now. Though the situation may change when the boss arrives. He may not like the presence of Mr. Magnum here."

What he had said there, calmed her down but only a bit as she became aware of the fact that the man was right. No one really knew what could happen to Magnum the moment that mysterious boss appeared and what would his plans involve.

"Burt, you'd better get out of here." Nick informed the man. He sounded cold and his voice lacked any emotions.

Burt realized it would be no use to go against him so he let it go but promised himself that he would get Magnum at the first opportunity. He turned his furious glare to Juliet and then stormed out of the room, muttering something incomprehensible under his breath.

"All right, I'll leave you two alone now. See you later." Nick spoke and vanished as fast as he had appeared.

The moment the metal door closed, Juliet gathered all her strength and moved on her hands and knees to check on Thomas.

"Magnum, are you all right?" She still sounded quite hoarse. She knelt beside him and let out a breath of relief when she saw that he managed to push himself up and was now sitting up.

"Yeah, everything's fine. It's not the first time I got a blow in the face." He replied, finally meeting her worried gaze.

She sent him a tiny smile however it didn't quite reach her eyes. Suddenly, she noticed something and her face became serious. She grabbed her t-shirt and tore the bottom of it, then she gently wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Now, that's better." She murmured, slowly caressing his cheek and giving him a loving smile. This time the smile seemed real.

He put his hand on hers. "What about you, Higgy? I'm sorry it took me so long to get him off you." He stated with regret.

That surprised her greatly. "Magnum, how can you be sorry for something that wasn't your fault? You stepped in just in time to save me. And I'm feeling much better now. Thank you." She told him and took his other hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze.

For a long moment, they just sat there, gazing into each other's eyes, their silent communication going on once again.

"I wish we had some ice pack for that cut of yours." She finally said, putting the cloth to newly appeared blood drops. "You're going to have some swelling here." She stated.

Thomas smirked. "Well, that's even better for me." He replied, taking her completely by surprise. After this stressful situation, the PI wanted to make her loosen up a bit.

"What? Why?"

"It's because I'm going to look like a badass and I heard that women like badass men." Magnum said with a wide smile on his face.

Her eyebrows rose and she immediately joined him in this teasing. "Oh, I didn't know that. What kind of women? Perhaps I know someone like this." She played along.

"Huh. Those that argue with their partners all the time and who seem to be tough on the outside for the whole world to see but on the inside they are not only intelligent and kind but also passionate about their work and helping people in need. Do you happen to know such a person?" He asked his partner and very slowly started to move his head towards her.

Juliet noticed his action and flashed him a charming smile. "I must say, I do. But I'll let you in on her innermost secret." She lowered her voice conspiratorially and drew nearer to whisper in his ear. "To tell you the truth, she doesn't really like those badass men. She's got a thing for PIs, especially those who are…" She trailed off.

"Ravishingly handsome?" Magnum finished for her.

She shook her head. "No, rather… completely broke." She said, making him laugh which now involved not only pain in his ribs but also in his jaw and lip.

"Okay, I got what I deserved. I can't believe I've started that myself." He stated, nursing his cut lip.

For a short moment Higgins smiled triumphantly but then she told him, "I'm sorry, Magnum, I couldn't stop myself from doing that. I really shouldn't have."

"No, I'm to blame here. Sorry."

"Okay, you know what? We have to stop apologizing to each other. I've just realized we've done that so many times and it's just one day." She said.

"Fine. If you want, I won't apologize to you ever again." He told her and winked.

She chuckled at that and gave him an eye roll. "Oh, you can apologize to me once in a while, you know?"

"Really? Like when?" He asked, moving closer again.

She seemed to ponder for a few seconds before replying. "For example when you try to steal one of Robin's bottles from the wine cellar." She stated and noted with satisfaction that Magnum's face was just mere inches from hers.

She was so close to him, he just sat there deeply lost in her warm eyes, overwhelmed by emotions. All of this still seemed so surreal to him, here they were held by those men with a possible danger of losing their lives hanging over them and yet this situation helped them finally reveal their feelings. Surely, it was just the beginning and they didn't discuss much, such as what their future may look like but they made their first step and that was all that mattered at this time.

Eventually, he closed the gap between them and gently captured her lips in a tender kiss. Juliet responded at once as if she had been anticipating his reaction. She deepened the kiss and pulled him closer to her. He slipped his hands around her back tenderly caressing it while her fingers roamed freely through his hair.

"I'll try to stop taking those bottles but I can't promise you anything." He murmured against her lips, making her smile.

After a few moments the lack of oxygen made them break the kiss and take deep breaths. Juliet eyed her partner with concern. "Are you okay?" She asked pointing to his red and slightly swollen lip.

He nodded his head. "Better than ever."

At first she thought it was sarcasm but then she realized that he had really meant it and a shy grin appeared on her face.

"Now, how about we take a break for some time. There's nothing here beside the window which we have already explored so I think it would be a good idea to retreat and rest for a while." She stated. "Of course, while doing that we can discuss our options of getting out of here." She added and stood up.

"Come on, let's get more comfortable." She told him and offered him her hand.

Thomas took it gladly and with her help, he rose from the floor and they moved towards the mattress.

"I guess we're not getting lunch today." He stated and she giggled.

"I hope they won't forget about us when it comes to dinner." She said between laughs.

As it turned out, Magnum was right – probably as a punishment for the situation with climbing the wall and seeing Burt's face, no one came with the food for many hours and when they almost lost their hope that they would get anything to eat that day, when it got dark, suddenly the light went on and the door opened revealing Nick with a gun and his younger companion, Tony holding a tray.

"Oh, good. I thought you forgot about us." Thomas spoke. "And where's your friend? I hope he's not holding a grudge against me."

"Don't worry, Mr. Magnum, I can assure you you're someone who can't be easily forgotten. And as far as Burt is concerned, he needed to cool off for a while. You can't blame him, though." Nick said and glanced at Juliet.

"What happened today…," his voice trailed off and then he continued, "I want you both to treat it as a warning in case something equally stupid ever comes to your mind again. There's really no way you can escape from this place so I'll give you a good piece of advice and I hope you'll follow it. Don't even think about escaping from here because you saw Burt's reaction and next time he notices any of you do anything suspicious, I may not be there to hold him back." He stated gravely and then turned his eyes to Higgins. "In that case, even you, Juliet, may not be safe."

The woman swallowed hard and felt as if all the blood had been drained from her face. For a moment there, growing fear settled in her mind as she started analyzing that day's events. However, that fear wasn't for herself but for Magnum. She couldn't help but think about what would have happened to her partner if Burt hadn't been stopped by Nick. But then her instinct kicked in and she knew that they just couldn't give up, although now they had to plan their escape very carefully so as not to raise any suspicion and risk their lives.

At the same time, when Thomas heard Nick's words, he froze. He had a bad feeling that this whole situation was getting more and more serious. To him it was eerily similar to the time he and his friends had spent in the Taliban's prison in Afghanistan. At that time all he cared about were his brothers' lives and now it was Juliet's. He couldn't risk losing her so he decided to do everything he could to protect her and if that meant that he had to endanger his life in the process, so be it. With that decision made, Magnum gazed at Higgins and took her hand, giving it a little reassuring squeeze.

"Now that I see you've finally got the seriousness of the situation, let's pass on to something more down-to-earth. Here, we brought you some dinner. You must be hungry, I guess." Nick told them and then Tony put down the tray with as it turned out the same kind of sandwiches they got in the morning and again one small bottle of water.

"Enjoy your meal and think about what I had told you. It's really for your own good." Nick stated and then he and the younger man stepped out of the room and closed the door.

This time though, Thomas and Juliet weren't given any extra time and the light was turned off immediately.

For a short time, there was silence between them as they were both still thinking about the other one's well-being.

Thomas was the first to speak. "Wow, that was quite intense, don't you think?" He said, looking at her but not really seeing her in the vast darkness of the room.

"Yeah, he wanted to scare us, that's one of the techniques used by kidnappers." She replied.

"Has it worked on you?" He surprised her with that question.

"What? No, of course not. It doesn't mean that we won't be able to get out of here, we just have to be very careful, that's all." Juliet said, concealing the fact that she had some secret worries about Thomas' safety.

"You're right." He agreed with her, deciding against sharing his concern for her.

"How about we eat this delicious dinner and then have some rest?" She suggested and although she couldn't see anything due to the complete darkness that surrounded them, she could swear he was grinning at that.

They ate the food in silence and then some time later, they lied down together, holding each other, Juliet's head in the crook of his arm and his hand gently caressing her back.

"Higgy?" Thomas spoke up but he didn't get any answer from her. She hasn't said anything for quite a long time. "Are you asleep?" He asked her quietly.

"Huh? No, I'm awake." She finally replied. "What is it, Magnum?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask how you were feeling. Any headache or coldness?"

"Actually, a bit of both but I think it slowly starts to wear off or perhaps I'm getting used to that." She said and then she asked softly, "Thomas, do you think they're looking for us?"

He didn't see her face but her voice evidently betrayed how insecure she felt. It took him a few seconds before he answered. "No one saw us for a whole day, we didn't show up for breakfast or lunch in La Mariana and we didn't call anybody…" He stated and was instantly interrupted by Juliet.

"You mean you didn't call anybody to ask for a favor."

He chuckled. "Yeah, anyway I'm sure they've noticed our disappearance and are already looking for us." He said and then shared with her what was the biggest concern for him. "The question is whether they uncover any clues. I don't think our kidnappers are so careless as to leave much trail behind them but who knows, maybe Rick and TC together with Gordie will find something that will help them trace us back here. I really believe in them."

"Don't forget about Kumu. We can count on her too." Juliet added.

"Yeah." Magnum nodded his head.

Juliet sighed deeply. "I hope it's true, otherwise we'll be on our own. Not that we're not capable of taking care of ourselves." She murmured, not moving from her position by his side.

Her eyelids were becoming heavy with every passing second as the day's events started taking their toll on her. She thought that despite all the bad things that had happened that day, there was also something that was really uplifting, namely the fact that she unexpectedly found the courage to tell him how much he meant to her. And never in her wildest dreams did she expect him to have the same feelings for her. Time was passing and she felt that her mind was slowly shutting off and any thinking had to wait until after she got some rest. So completely exhausted she focused her whole attention on the warmth feeling of Magnum's arms around her and the surprisingly calming effect of his gentle touch on her back. The last thing she registered was her partner's soothing voice saying, "Goodnight" and a loving kiss placed on her hair.

Thanks for reading. As usual reviews are welcomed. Happy Easter to those who celebrate it and to those who don't - have a wonderful day! Next chapter in two weeks.