Hello my dear readers! I'm so happy to be here again. I missed you all so much. Another chapter has been written. It took me a lot to finish it because I wanted it to be as good as it could be. Maybe it's not perfect but I hope you'll appreciate it. Have a nice reading!

Chapter 36

No, it can't be true. Magnum thought. Both he and Juliet instantly turned the way that voice was coming from and they recognized the person standing there.

"Well, what do we have here? My favorite couple. Oh, aren't you two so cute?" Said Burt. "I'm sorry but I have to interrupt your little melodramatic moment." He added ironically.

"I hoped they got to you." Thomas stated.

"Who? Your friends? I managed to escape and they didn't even notice that. They're not that good after all." The man replied boastfully.

Magnum really doubted that, he knew Rick and TC wouldn't let him go away just like that. There must have been more to that. He believed that they were on their way here and would burst in any moment now. Until then he decided to stall.

"It's over, Burt. Your boss is dead and you no longer have to follow his orders." Thomas said, hoping that this piece of information would make the man think things through and change his mind.

Unfortunately, the news about the death of his boss didn't impress him. He just glanced at Peter's body, without any emotion on his face and then met Magnum's eyes.

"What can I say? I never liked the guy." He commented, sending the PI a wry smile.

"You're a sick man." Juliet spoke.

Burt sent her a wicked grin and nodded his head with appreciation. "Thank you, I'm glad you noticed that." He told her and then turned to Magnum.

"Now, step away from her." The man barked.

"What if I don't do that?" The PI asked but instead of getting the answer, Burt raced at him and hit him hard with his gun.

Thomas dropped to the ground with a thud, hitting his head and losing consciousness instantly.

"Magnum!" Juliet shouted in terror and wanted to help her partner but suddenly Burt came at her and pushed her so hard that she stumbled backwards and stopped at the cold metal of the chopper. In a split second he was right in front of her, breathing hard, his eyes full of hatred. He grabbed her arms, immobilizing her, moved his face close to her and hissed in her ear.

"I told you I'd kill you and that day has finally arrived."

He looked like a madman to her. He grabbed her by the neck. The woman's eyes opened wide when she realized that the man would want to choke her and she was so weak that she wouldn't be able to fight him.

"No one shall humiliate me, not even you!" Burt shouted and squeezed her neck so hard she could feel the life slipping out of her.

Higgins gathered her strength and did everything to fight but her efforts were doomed to fail. Unfortunately, she wasn't the same Juliet she was a few days ago, now she was weak from having hardly anything to eat or drink, her fresh injuries didn't help either. She was frantically trying to use her knee to kick Burt in his private area but he was definitely stronger and his fingers kept tightening around her neck. She was desperate now, she glanced at her partner but he was still lying on the ground and nothing indicated that he would suddenly get up and come to her rescue.

Burt noticed that. "I wouldn't count on that partner of yours. He won't help you. You're on your own now." He shouted, satisfaction evident in his voice.

Once again, he squeezed her neck, this time it was so hard that he cut off her air supply. Juliet's face became red, she couldn't use her arms or legs to stop Burt, her vision became blurred and she was fighting just to keep her eyes open but she soon found out that it was a lost battle. Her last thought was that she hoped Magnum would survive this hell and he'd get home safely. Then her eyes closed.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot and after being hit by a bullet, Burt instantly dropped to the ground.

"She's not on her own, she's got friends here." Katsumoto stated, although the man who he addressed couldn't hear that.

Since Burt stopped holding Higgins against the chopper, she slid to the ground with no signs of life.

"Juliet!" The detective cried out and went to her as fast as he could.

Just then Rick and TC ran out from the forest and were by the woman's side in a split second. Gordon was already checking her vitals.

"How's Higgy? Is she okay?" Rick asked with worry. They've just found their friends, they had to be okay now. They couldn't lose them. He hated feeling so helpless like at this moment.

TC must have been reading his mind cause he patted him on the arm.

"Her heart is beating and she breathes, although it's quite shallow but I think she should be fine." Gordon replied and looked at his friends standing there. He knew how it felt when you were worried sick about one of your own and couldn't do anything to help that person.

"Rick, check on Magnum." He added.

Rick nodded his head and moved to their friend. He crouched down.

Please, let him be okay. He thought before he took his hand and checked his pulse. Luckily, it turned out that Thomas was breathing steadily but his heart rate was quite low. He noticed his arm.

"He's alive but he was shot and it doesn't look good, that's quite a lot of blood." Rick told his friends and took his shirt off to use it to stop the bleeding.

Gordon instantly phoned the paramedics who were waiting outside the villa to come here and take care of the PI.

In the meantime, Juliet started to come round. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. She moved her head, looking around, it was evident that she couldn't focus on anything.

"Hey, Juliet. Look at me." Katsumoto said and breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that she listened to him. "Do you know where you are?" He asked her but she seemed oblivious to this place and shook her head.

"We're near Peter Burns' villa. Do you remember that you were kidnapped and held, first in the WWII bunker and then in his house?"

There was a moment of hesitation in her eyes but then it looked like everything came back to her and she finally remembered.

"Guys, you're here. You found us." She said and then her face was struck with terror.
"Magnum." She whispered and instantly moved up to go to her partner.

TC rushed to her side and both with Gordon tried to persuade her to take it easy.

"Whoa, Higgy, slow down. You can't just act like that. You've been almost chocked to death a few minutes ago." TC told her and glanced at her neck with vivid red marks left by Burt's hands.

"Yeah, you shouldn't push yourself so hard." The detective added.

"How can I do that when I know Thomas is hurt? He was shot and then hit his head. I have to check on him." The woman stated with a very stern look on her face.

The men knew her well and were aware of the fact that arguing with her in this matter would be futile so they nodded their heads and carefully helped her up.

"He's okay but he's unconscious." Rick said.

Juliet knelt down right next to her partner and touched his face softly.

"Thomas? Thomas, wake up, please."

He didn't move a bit.

"Magnum, don't be so stubborn. Open your eyes."

"Juliet." Katsumoto spoke because he wanted to calm her down but she kept on trying.

"Magnum, don't do this to me again. We've already been through this, remember? You died and you came back. Now, open your eyes."

When they heard those words about dying, the three men exchanged glances. They knew that the past few days must have been hard for those two but they didn't think that it was so serious. They would definitely have to talk to their friends to learn more about it.

Juliet continued. "Magnum, if you don't open your eyes, I swear I'll make Zeus and Apollo chase you around Robin's Nest." She threatened.

Rick chuckled. That was so typical of Higgy. Suddenly, the men's eyes widened in astonishment when Thomas started to slightly move his hand, his fist was opening and closing. They looked at each other, stunned at what they were experiencing.

"Wow, I can't believe it actually worked." Rick murmured and TC chuckled at that and added. "Remind me not to make Higgy angry, I wouldn't like to run around being chased by the lads."

This time they all laughed, even Gordon who couldn't help it when he imagined TC – a well-built man in such a situation.

"Don't worry, this is something intended only for Magnum." They heard Juliet's voice. "Although, I would come up with something equally interesting for you, TC."

The men froze, their laughter dying instantly. TC's eyes widened in shock and he swallowed hard. For a long moment, it became eerily quiet.

Juliet turned and looked at her friend with a serious look on her face. And then, after a few seconds, she started laughing.

"I'm joking." She said. "You know I'm not like that."

TC's reaction was a nervous laughter.

"Of course." Rick added and exchanged glances with his friends.

It's a good sign she's joking and smiling after what she and Magnum have been through. Katsumoto thought. However, he knew from his police experience that being kidnapped and held against your will, caused a lot of damage to your psyche and some people needed a lot of time to overcome all those feelings evoked by such a traumatic situation. Luckily, Higgy was tough and so was Thomas, plus he was in a similar situation once so maybe those two would help each other somehow and cope with everything that happened to them.

At that moment everybody focused on the PI who was very slowly regaining consciousness. At first, Magnum saw darkness and felt he was surrounded by coldness and emptiness. He tried to find someone he knew but unfortunately there was no one. He almost lost his hope for coming back safely when suddenly, he heard something familiar. He listened carefully and there it was again. This time he heard it quite clearly. This voice was so well-known, he would recognize it everywhere. He almost chuckled at the mention of the lads and what they were going to do to him unless he woke up. Yes, this was the Higgy he loved.

Although it seemed to be almost impossible to do, he focused all his strength on leaving this strange state he was in and coming back to his friends. Little by little, he started moving his fingers and then his hands. It wasn't as hard as opening his eyelids which felt like they weighed a ton. He thought he heard some voices, laughter even, but he wasn't sure if it wasn't his imagination.

"Hey, what kind of friends you are? I'm lying here injured and you're laughing and having a good time."

Juliet, Rick, TC and Gordon froze when they heard him.

Thomas grinned and opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the four of his friends completely stunned and watching him very closely. For a moment, nobody spoke a word or moved a bit. What happened next shouldn't really surprise the PI but it did.

"Ouch!" He shouted after being smacked on his chest by his partner. "What was that for?"

"Stop doing that again." Juliet replied with a stern look on her face.

"Doing what?" He asked, looking so innocent, like he really had no idea what she was talking about.

"Scaring me to death." Came her quiet reply.

"I'm sorry, Higgy. I thought it would be funny."

The woman shook her head. "No, it wasn't, you know?"

"Oh, come on. Of course, it was. Besides, if I heard it right, you were all laughing just before I came round."

This surprised Juliet a bit but she decided to continue their teasing, it seemed to her like they hadn't done that in a long time.

"Like you've just said, you were still unconscious then and you couldn't hear anything." She stated with self-confidence in her voice.

Magnum's reply came instantly.

"Oh, would you like me to remind you what I heard last time when we were in a similar situation?" He asked and smiled triumphantly. He knew he won this round when he reminded his partner of the time she had told him she loved him.

Higgins didn't say anything. It was all still fresh and since actually they didn't talk about their status now and they didn't decide about telling their friends or not so she thought that the safest option would be to remain silent about that for the time being. Her only response was her cheeks getting crimson red.

This whole time, Rick, TC and Katsumoto stood there, being witnesses to their friends usual teasing. Yeah, they missed those two so much. However, there was something unusual in their interaction and Rick as well as TC felt it right away. They were discussing the way they used to but there was something distinctive in their voices, some underlying meaning. Plus, TM's last words, so mysterious, only added to that. However, they didn't have to analyze what was happening between their friends because suddenly, Thomas tried to move up.

"Hey, what are you doing, man? You should stay down until the paramedics see you." TC said.

"Don't take me wrong but to tell the truth, you're in a pretty bad shape." Rick spoke.

"What are you talking about? I feel a bit rough but it's nothing serious. You know that I've been worse." Magnum tried to explain.

"Thomas, they're right. You'd better listen to them. You should rest and move as little as possible." Juliet reasoned with them.

"Higgy, I'm fine. If you want me to be examined – fine but I can walk to the ambulance on my own feet." He stated and with a strong determination, he sat up.

"You know that it's the adrenaline rush that makes you feel this way, right?" Katsumoto added in a matter-of-fact way.

"Yeah, I know something about that." Magnum muttered. "So guys, since you're all here, I suppose there aren't any bad guys left, huh?" He asked and quite struggled to get to his feet.

"Don't worry, TM, we took care of them and I can tell you that no one else will get hurt here today." Rick assured him and as soon as he finished saying that, he noticed that suddenly Thomas stumbled and his face became as white as a sheet.

He dropped Rick's shirt that he was pressing to his gunshot wound and blood started flowing heavily from it. His head was spinning and he felt so weak that he couldn't stand on his own anymore. If it wasn't for TC's quick reaction, he would surely drop to the ground and get himself another injury. Luckily, TC caught him in time and very carefully placed him on the grass.

"Magnum!" Juliet, Rick and Gordon cried out in terror, seeing what was happening to their friend.

A few minutes ago he was talking and joking with them and now his condition deteriorated dramatically. Was it the wound? Did he injured his head falling to the ground? Or maybe he had some internal bleeding that was causing all of this? All those questions flashed through Higgins' head but there was no time to answer them as they had to act fast in this situation.

"We have to stop the bleeding." TC stated and started looking for the right thing to use.

"Here, take this." Katsumoto spoke and quickly threw his belt.

TC caught it easily and as fast as he could, he used it to make a tourniquet.

This whole time Juliet was on her knees by Thomas' side, not really caring about her own injuries and talking to her partner, doing everything in her might that would prevent him from passing out again.

"Magnum, look at me. It's going to be okay. Help's on its way."

"Higgy…I…can't…" He managed to murmur but his eyelids felt dangerously heavy, becoming a very tough opponent to tackle.

"Oh, no. Don't even think about it. Stay with me. Don't close your eyes." Juliet kept saying again and again but she noticed that it might be too much for him.

Thomas really tried to stay with Juliet but with each passing second, he was becoming weaker and nothing he did would make him feel better. Very slowly he started falling into unconsciousness, his partner's voice merged into a muffled noise, making it impossible to identify the words. Then, his eyes finally closed and all the noise around him faded away.

First of all, I want you to know that I really tried not to end this chapter with another cliffhanger, but it just kinda happened;) Sorry for that. Unfortunately, I can't promise you that there won't be any other cliffhangers in the remaining chapters as I haven't written any of them. Well, maybe some parts but not the whole texts.

That's it for now. I want to thank all of you for reading my story, following it and reviewing (especially Dsnygal and MickeyMouse427). You're the best!