THANK YOU, thank you, thank you for all the reviews and follows and favs! Wow I'm glad this story hit the right note with everyone! And for those of you who post stories of your own, to get positive reviews from great artists like you is SO inspiring!

This one took longer to post because I was wittling it down enough so it could be one chapter. Lol. "Writing is easy; writing something worth reading... THAT S!&# IS HARD!" :P

Anyway, hope this edit was worth the wait. PS Argentine Dogo; it's a breed of dog I've recently been made aware of and they are absolutely beautiful! I dedicate this chapter to my Husky "Freya" and to the pets around the world. *smiles*

Thanks "The Dogo".

Enjoy!

Oz

Danny's heart was thrumming away in his ears. His vision had tunnelled a bit but he ignored any personal health issues in lieu of the increasing weight over his shoulders. They'd been moving for a good half hour, going under and over bush and zigzagging this way and that to make sure they weren't leaving to much of a trail to follow.

"I… ugh… I h, have to stop." Danny and Lafayette both slowed to a stop at Steve's pained plea for mercy. Danny knew it took a lot of pain to get his partner to actually admit he'd reached a limit he just couldn't push through.

"We're out in the open here," Lafayette said. "But the terrain is getting steeper, rockier... I'd bet money there's a cave around here somewhere."

"Sounds good," Danny nodded. He glanced at his partner who's skin was a pasty sickly hue. "Hang in there Steve, we'll rest in a second okay?" Steve sucked in a few deep breaths but nodded and tried to take a little more of his own weight.

"Okay," he nodded though it was clear by his body language the man wanted nothing more than to lie down right then and there and never move again. Glancing down Danny did his best to hold his stomach in check at the unnatural sight of the pointed bloody arrow sticking through his best friend. It was such an odd sight and the detective had been avoiding it as much as possible.

The trio pushed on and thankfully, mercifully, Lafayette's prediction was right, they found a well hidden cave and quickly huddled inside to get out of the rain and finally check on Steve's wound.

"Easy… easy…" Danny muttered as they gently lowered Steve onto the cave floor so he was lying on his good side.

"H, hell of a s, story, eh guys?" Steve joked despite the pain creasing his face.

"Only you would get impaled by an arrow," Danny sighed. "It's like you're magnet for anything sharp and deadly." The Navy SEAL laughed but then sucked in a deep breath and let out a rather pitiful moan. "Got it, no laughing," Danny winced.

"Steve I'm going to cut away your shirt, see what we're dealing with here, okay?" Lafayette asked. Steve nodded as he panted through his obvious discomfort. They didn't have their phones or their GPS which meant they were undoubtedly lost but Danny knew it could have been worse. At least they still had Lafayette's back pack, which meant some supplies and food and they'd found some shelter from the elements.

The detective was also grateful for the fact that if ever there were two perfect people to be lost in the jungle with it would be a Navy SEAL and a Game Warden. Sure Danny knew basic first aid but arrow's? He wouldn't even know where to begin.

"We… ugh… we gotta get it out," Steve wheezed as Lafayette used the scissors from his first aid kit to cut away Steve's shirt.

"What is with you and pulling sharp objects out of human flesh?" Danny sighed. His partner gave him a warm smile before looking to Lafayette.

"Is it the s, same kind you were hit with?" he asked. The Warden, who was inspecting the arrow in front and in back gave a nod.

"Pretty durable but not unbreakable," he replied. "That said… I think the detective might be right about this one. The arrow I was hit with was shallow, the weak point of the shaft was accessible."

"And where's the weak point?" Danny asked for Steve. Lafayette pointed to Steve's side close to the front but under the skin.

"Right about here," he replied. "Which means…"

"Y, you'd have to m, move the arrow before you c, can break it," Steve finished for him.

"Yeah," Lafayette nodded. "The shock of that alone could kill you."

"S'goina get infected," Steve huffed. "N, needs to come out… just do it."

"Steve…" Danny cautioned. The SEAL just shook his head.

"Danny we need to be able to move faster," he explained. "Can't do that if we're worried about…. Aaah… about moving the arrow. M'also pretty sure those guys didn't bother sterilizing their weapons between hunts." Danny understood the problem and knew Steve was right but still, the idea of what was about to happen made him sick.

Still, he'd trust Steve and the Warden's jungle survival instincts over his own any day of the week. So instead of continuing to worry he looked at Lafayette with a stern face.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Hold him down," the warden explained. The detective moved himself so he had most of his partner's upper body in his lap while still having his wound exposed to Lafayette. The warden opened the first aid kit and readied several gauze pads before pulling out the peroxide. When all was ready and set up he leaned in so he could look Steve right in the eye. "This'll suck," he assured.

"O, of that… I h, have no d, doubt," Steve breathed. Lafayette smiled as he pulled off his belt, folded it then held it to the Navy SEAL's mouth. Steve bit down hard on the object, all three of them knew they couldn't afford to be screaming and announcing their position to the world. Not when psycho's were hunting them through the woods.

"Ready?" the warden asked. Steve just nodded his pale head then Lafayette looked at Danny. "Are YOU ready?" Danny also nodded, increasing his grip on his partner just a little bit more.

"I got him, do it quick," he replied.

"As fast as I'm able," the man nodded. What happened next nearly made Danny throw up. He would have had he not been so focused on holding down his partner. Lafayette took hold of the arrow and pushed it back through Steve's torso causing the Navy SEAL to cry out muffled only by the belt in his mouth. The man's body had started to tremble badly and in the back of his mind, Danny begged all the powers that be that Steve would just pass out so they could get it over with.

"Hang in there, Steve, you got this babe," the detective encouraged. Some how Steve's free hand found Danny's and clenched down hard.

"Okay, I'll snap the arrow, pull it out all in one go and put the peroxide on," Lafayette explained. Again Danny winced knowing all to well how something like that could be extremely painful. Steve, with his chest still heaving with exertion and agony, only replied with a moan. Seeing the hesitation on the warden's face, Danny took the initiative knowing his friend wouldn't want to drag this out any.

"Do it," he ordered.

"Alright, on three," Lafayette nodded. "Ready? ... Three!" The warden was amazingly quick and efficient for that Danny was immensely grateful. Using both hands, Lafayette snapped off the back of the arrow and with the same movement pulled the object right out of Steve's stomach.

Needless to say, the Navy SEAL writhed and howled but Danny held him tight doing his best to ignore Steve's suffering for the greater good of causing the least amount of damage possible.

"Almost done, babe, almost," Danny encouraged. Steve spat out the belt, his pale face sweaty and his eyes fluttering.

"W, wait… j'sss... wait..." he said though it came out more as a plea.

"Sorry Commander no can do," Lafayette replied. Steve whimpered which turned into a bark of agony as the warden poured peroxide on the front and the back of the puncture sight. Thankfully, that was all the injured man had in him as a breath later he went boneless in Danny's arms.

"Thank god," the detective huffed as he eased his hold on his unconscious partner.

"I'm amazed he lasted as long as he did," Lafayette replied as he quickly went about bandaging Steve's gaping wound. "That'll do for now but he needs a hospital and he needs it yesterday. I have no idea what that arrow could have done to his insides."

"There's a pleasant thought," Danny grumbled. "Any idea where we are?"

"Me?" Lafayette asked. "Isn't this supposed to be your jungle?"

"I prefer jungles of the concrete nature," Danny shot right back. He nodded toward Steve who still remained unconscious and oblivious to the world around him. "That's super SEALs area of expertise, I'm the half of the partnership that reigns in the madness when he decides blowing something up is the best way to achieve results." Lafayette snorted back a laugh and shook his head.

"A match made in heaven, I see," he smirked.

"More like a match made in "my name is Steve McGarrett you are now my partner do as I say"," Danny replied. However he looked down at Steve and couldn't help but smile and shake his head. "This guy makes me mental almost everyday and yet for some reason I know I couldn't have gotten luckier with him as a partner… Repeat that to him and I may have to kill you." Again the Warden chuckled shaking his head.

"Your secrets safe with me," he smiled. Then as a crack of thunder echoed through their small sanctuary Lafayette turned to the entrance. "I'm pretty sure we were heading mostly south east," he explained. "Heading to the camp we were going north west so hopefully we're closer to civilization."

"Or another grow op?" Danny offered. The Warden snorted.

"Or that," he replied. Steve took that moment to moan but showed no signs of coming back to the waking world. Seeing the gravity of the situation Danny knew for a fact they weren't going anywhere anytime soon so he settled back a bit.

"The three stooges back at that bunker said there were two tags missing," he explained. Lafayette raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing they haven't been in to town and still think you're out there with your hunter. It also means there's another Warden running around the woods somewhere."

"God help us all," Lafayette mused. He held his fingers to Steve's wrist checking the SEAL's pulse before raising his eyes and looking at Danny. "I should probably take a look at that," he said. Danny furrowed his brow and cocked his head to one side.

"Look at what?" he asked. The Warden raised an eyebrow before looking down to Danny's side.

"Well I'm pretty sure that's a bullet wound… could be wrong though, could be a very, very large angry mosquito," Lafayette replied. Startled, Danny looked down at his soar right side and found indeed there was a considerably deep gash running along his rib cage.

"Damn it," he hissed. Lafayette just laughed before going about putting the rest of the gauze he had on the detective's wound. It took a few minutes of silence while the Warden worked and Danny simply shifting his gaze between his two travel partners. Patched up, Lafayette leaned back against the hard wall and shrugged.

"Well that's it for the medical supplies," he said. Danny rolled down his torn and bloody shirt over his newly bandaged would before smiling.

"What? You forgot the "I'm being chased by guys with crossbows" first aid kit?" he asked.

"Coarse not," Lafayette chuckled. "Just forgot to mention it's in your back pack... the one you left behind when you were too busy running for your life." The two men shared a tired slightly delirious chuckle before being cut short when Steve moaned again. The concern rolled over Danny in waves as he realized just how out of luck they were. Steve, possibly the most capable of men to get them out of there, was incapacitated. Lafayette, though a skilled survivalist, was way out of his element and Danny had even less of a clue.

And it was pouring rain which made manoeuvring over terrain just that much more dangerous.

Between them they had two bottles of water, a gun, three granola bars and one heat blanket which the Warden used to cover Steve.

"We've missed the check in with Chin," Danny said trying to reassure himself. "They'll send teams out here to find us."

"Problem is where is "here"," Lafayette sighed. He paused then pursed his lips. "Look, maybe I should keep going," he offered. Danny's eyebrows nearly hit the ceiling of the cave to which teh Warden rolled his eyes, "Steve needs help and there's no way he'll get out of here without a stretcher or a least another person capable of lifting him."

"We've got the two of us," Danny replied instantly.

"That wound hurts, you're getting paler by the minute," Lafayette said with certainty. "I've seen it before, the adrenaline got you this far but you're heading for a crash. We can't afford to be out in the open if and when that happens."

"So you just leave us here?" Danny scoffed.

"Yeah, and lead the hunters away from your position," the Warden replied. "Hopefully I can find help like I did before and get them back to this cave."

"Except you already admitted you don't know where we are," Danny shot back. "What's to say you'd even be able to find this cave again if you left? What if you get hurt and we get rescued and you're just lying alone in a ditch somewhere."

"Then I die knowing I made a strong effort to do the best I possibly could with my last act on this earth," Lafayette replied adamantly. Danny rolled his eyes before looking at Steve's still form.

"Jesus you two really were made for each other," he muttered. He knew full well if his partner had been part of the conversation he wouldn't just be agreeing with Lafayette, he'd be demanding to be the one to go.

Still, Danny was not willing to break up their small band even if it was for the greater good.

"We stick together," the detective ordered.

"Detective…"

"We stick together until we come up with a better plan," Danny said firmly. "One that doesn't involve one of us getting hopelessly lost in the w-" Danny and Lafayette both froze solid when the clear sound of a snapping twig echoed through their cave. Considering how loud the rain and thunder was, someone would have to be practically on top of them for that sound to carry.

Holding up a finger to make sure Lafayette stayed silent, Danny reached for the gun which the Warden handed off willingly. Then as Lafayette protectively moved between Steve and the entrance, Danny positioned himself ready to fire until his bullets were spent.

Another twig snapping this time followed by a curse before the distinct sound of two boots hit rock. Thankfully it only sounded like one person giving Danny the upper hand.

A face appeared and Danny cocked his weapon only to have a high powered rifle pointed right back in his face.

"Freeze! Five-0! Drop your weapon!" the detective bellowed.

"Now I ain't a bettin' man, Five-0," said the camouflaged man with the rifle. "But I'ma guess this hear rifle trumps your little pea shooter there."

"I'm guessing you aren't one of the missing Wardens," Danny said with a sigh.

"No he's not," Lafayette snarled. "Which means…"

"You're one of the hunters," Danny said looking the man in the eye.

"Bingo," the man with an accent smiled. "I paid good money for this hunt and now I'm just going to have to bag a few more for mah mantle. Drop yur gun and ah wont skin ya like I've been planning on doin' t'someone all day."

"You're really going to kill three State officers?" Danny tried hoping that might spook the hunter with a crazed look. In return, the hunter laughed and cocked his weapon pointing it at Danny's forehead.

The detective would have laughed if he wasn't once again in fear for his life; two guns to the head in less than a day… Steve was SO paying for drinks next time they were out.

"You wont get away with this!" Lafayette exclaimed.

"Ah don't exist, sir and soon… y'all wont either," the hunter replied. "In fact I-" Danny let our a cry of surprise as suddenly from the shadows another figure appeared as if he'd been part of the rock face. The figure raised a large tree branch and before the detective had stopped yelping, the hunter took a solid blow to the back of the head knocking him out cold.

"The hell…?" Lafayette exclaimed after a moment to collect himself. The figure gave the hunter a poke with the branch before tying the man's hands behind him and finally turning to face the other three men in the cave.

His face was well covered in what Danny assumed was mud and other natural cammo paint but the young features and the eyes were ones that had been burned into the detective's mind since he saw the first photo.

"Don McCabe," Danny breathed.

"Yeah," The Hawaiian Warden nodded. "I'm not really sure what the hell is going on but one things for sure… no one in any way shape or form is going to come into my jungle and make me look like a punk."

"Boy are we glad to see you," Lafayette breathed.

"Strength in numbers," Don replied. "I'm guessing by your unconscious friend there you're well aware you've got the three guys that captured us searching for you."

"That's why we found this cave until we could figure out what to do next," Danny replied. Don joined the others as they sat around Steve.

"It's not much but, here… you could probably use it," Lafayette said handing the man a bottle of water.

"Don't need it," Don said handing it back. "Pele gave me everything I needed from the forest. I'm fully hydrated, well fed and ready to make sure the two guys left pay for what they've done."

"Two?" Danny asked. Don nodded.

"One of'ems tied to a tree three clicks west of the Pakau'u river," he replied. "That's how I knew he must have been following someone. I picked up your track and knew you'd be heading toward the Keikiaka lava tubes." Danny blinked and blinked again.

"You know where we are?" he asked. Don smiled a confident smile.

"Exactly," he replied. "Brah, I grew up in this jungle. I knew how to navigate it and survive it before I learned how to ride a bike. I also stole that idiots GPS."

"I owe you a steak dinner," Lafayette breathed out with a laugh of relief. Don simply smiled.

"There's a hunting cabin about five hours from here," he explained. "Might take a little longer considering the weather and I don't think anyone's there this time of year but there should be a phone."

"And a solid place to hold our ground until help arrives," Danny nodded. "Okay… so now we just have to figure out how to get Steve there."

"N'cn walk." All three men looked down at Steve who's eyes were glassy but open and aware.

"Right, you've got a hole in your side and you'll just sprint your normal eight miles right?" Danny snorted. Steve tried to sit up only to be brought down again, practically falling into best friends lap.

"F'I have too," he slurred. "S'not so bad with the arrow out."

"Oh yeah, Commander pin cushion, it's just a stitch, you can walk it off no problem," Danny snarled. "May I remind you, you could have serious internal bleeding and be slowly dying as we speak!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Danno," Steve hissed. This time with Danny's help he pushed himself into a sitting position albeit hunched and holding his side. Clearly more aware of the situation, Steve looked up and looked from the man tied up on the cave floor to Don. "The Hawaiian Warden," he said.

"Yup," Don replied. "Those guys made a big mistake snatching me. I intend to return the favour."

"Good man," Steve nodded with a wince. "So… the cabin."

"We'd need to leave now," Don explained. "The rains tapered off a bit but I climbed a tree and saw the clouds, something nasty is coming and we'd be sitting ducks in this cave. Not to mention we need to cross a river that'll be suicide if it gets any stronger."

"Suddenly you're not helping so much," Lafayette grumbled. However the Warden stood holding out a hand to Steve. "If you're sure you can do this," he said.

"I have too," Steve replied. He took the Warden's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. A heavy groan of pain and several long seconds of collecting himself and at last the Navy SEAL nodded. "Kay," he said with only a bit of a slur. "M'kay."

"Of course you are," Danny said rolling his eyes. He went to stand only to suddenly be overwhelmed by a powerful wave of dizziness.

"Whoa!" Don exclaimed catching the detective just in time before he face planted.

"Danny… you okay?" Steve asked.

"He's been shot, it's an adrenaline dump," Lafayette explained helpfully.

"What?!" Steve exclaimed. "You hauled me all that way with a bullet in you!?" Apparently Danny wasn't the only one susceptible to the sudden power of an adrenal rush.

"Not in me," the detective replied gaining his breath and balance back. "It's a graze."

"So you can have "just a graze" but I have to go get stitches?" Steve argued back.

"Yes! Because unlike you I will say it's just a graze to make you feel better before finding the nearest ambulance and getting help," Danny replied. "When you say it's a graze you'll go home, rub some dirt in it and probably bleed out over night because you're actually convinced you're "fine"."

"Are you two normally this… "married"?" Don asked cheekily.

"Don't worry, it appears to be there "thing"," Lafayette explained. Don just raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Ah," he noted. "Well gentlemen… let's go establish a beach head." That seemed to perk Steve up even more.

"Military?"

"Three years with the Corps before I came back to Hawaii to be a Warden," Don replied.

"Well l, lead on jarhead… lead on," Steve motioned. Don narrowed his eyes but then shook his head and helped steer Danny toward the caves exit.

"Never did like SEALs," he muttered as they once again venture out into the unforgiving Hawaiian jungle.

Around the three hour mark Danny had been loath to admit that Lafayette had been right about his condition. His wound throbbed and stung and each step sent flairs of pain through his side. He kept his mouth shut though, knowing as bad as he was feeling, Steve was a thousand times worse.

Shortly after they'd started and after stopping for the forth time so the SEAL could catch his breath and try not to pass out, their two Warden companions made an executive decision. They managed to safely cross the river that could have been dangerous but it had lead to Steve needing almost a half hour of resting before he could go on.

So as fast as the other men dared, they'd amazingly managed to fashion a stretcher out of bamboo, vines and giant banana leaves. It looked anything but comfortable but it allowed the two men to lift Steve and carry him the remaining distance.

That's not to say, when he wasn't unconscious, Steve didn't complain about how it wasn't necessary. He quieted down however when the group covered three times as much ground with him being carried and the wrinkles of pain on his face eased ever so slightly.

Danny who'd been limping along with a tree branch for a crutch was just about ready to give up and die when Don slowed them to a stop. The Warden's lowered Steve to the ground before straightening themselves out.

"Why're we stopping?" Danny asked. Though he was quite happy to take the time to get some water in him.

"The cabin's just over this ridge," Don replied.

"And? So? Let's keep going then," Danny shrugged.

"Detective I get that you want to call your team but there's a fair chance the guys who did this to us might have found out about the cabin," Don replied. "For all we know they could be sitting there having a Long Board waiting for us." Had Danny not been in pain and more than tired his detective brain probably would have thought about that possibility.

"So what do we do?" Lafayette asked. Danny furrowed his brow trying to think of the best way to handle things when suddenly Steve jerked and tried to sit up.

"Wait for the storm," he said with amazing clarity.

"What?" Lafayette asked. "Wont that put us MORE at risk?"

"No… he's right," Don nodded. "If they're waiting for us it'll most likely be outside the cabin." Danny sighed as he finally clued into what Steve was getting at.

"Mother nature starts kicking their asses and they'll head for shelter just like we would," he replied. Lafayette looked like the idea wasn't a pleasant one but he too seemed to accept it.

"So we stay out here? Wait for that storm to come?" he asked.

"We get close enough to the cabin and stand watch," Don replied. "We can build a make shift shelter to keep the Commander out of the rain and as soon as we think it's safe, we'll head in."

"This better work," Lafayette sighed. "It's almost dark and judging by those cloud formations… I'm not going to be "singing in the rain" on this one."

"We'll stay out only as long as we need too," Danny said holding his tender side. "And I'll clear the cabin before the two of you bring Steve in."

"Danny…" Steve started in a warning tone. The detective cut him off with the wave of a hand that also silenced the looks of disapproval on the two Warden's faces.

"You're not doing any room clearing, Steve," Danny stated. "And you two…" he said looking at the Warden's, "I appreciate that you are trained individuals and you've pretty much saved me and Steve's lives but this right here? Clearing a dwelling of occupants? That's my area of expertise as a detective, I think we can all agree on that."

"Fine," Don replied. "In which case, take the rifle." He handed off the rifle they'd taken from their unconscious hunter in the cave and handed it to Danny. "Your shot will be for crap in your condition but maybe the sight of this thing will at least get them to think twice until I can back you up."

"WE, can back you up," Lafayette added. "The two of you came all the way out here to help us and look what's happened; I don't know about McCabe but I promise you guys I owe you my life."

"Shoots brah," Don smiled with a Hawaiian colloquialism. "It's all about the spirit of aloha on these islands." Danny rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Steve chuckled.

"D, Don't go to Hawaiian… Danno might hit you," he replied. It was clear the man's sanity was weakening by the second due to his injuries, never the less Danny smirked and gave his partner a look.

"Keep talking and the only one who's going to get it in the mouth is you, babe," he shot back.

"L, love you too, Danno," Steve said with a pained chuckle.

A half hour later, Danny was definitely regretting his decision to be one of the men watching the cabin. While Steve and Lafayette had bundled themselves together and were currently waiting out the storm under a makeshift shelter, the detective and Don were out in the elements lying flat on the muddy ground watching to see if anyone strayed toward their target.

All around them mother nature had indeed decided to kick off with a vengeance. The ran was pelting down in big gobs of skin pelting drops, the trees were swaying as if trying to outrun the storm and the thunder and lighting lit up the evening sky like it was trying to paint a picture of earth shattering beauty.

"This sucks," Danny huffed feeling the chill in his bones already. Next to him, Don laughed.

"I always liked storms like this," the Warden answered. "Makes you feel alive."

"Did you not here the part about me hitting you in the mouth?" Danny snarled thinking of Steve.

"Sorry brah, it's in my nature to love my jungle, no matter what," Don said.

"I'll pass out the tambourine and pot brownies later," Danny remarked. He was about to say more but then he saw something from the forest edge not far from their position. "There," he simply said readying his rifle.

Sure enough a figure of a man emerged from the woods headed in the direction of the nice warm cabin. A flash of lightening later and Danny saw the tell tale double black eyes of one of the man who'd capture he and Steve earlier.

"Not your month buddy," Danny murmured. Just as the man reached the front steps, Danny let off a shot kicking up a splash of mud and water within inches of the man's foot. As expecting the man jumped and shoved himself against the side of the house trying to find a direction of his shooter.

"Are you toying with him?" Don asked.

"I'm a cop, we can't just shoot him in the head," Danny replied never taking his eyes off his now nervous target. "Besides I'm waiting for… ah ha, hellooooo." With eerie calm despite the rain pelting down on his back and injury, Danny narrowed in a on a second figure that had now appeared and made his way over to Black-eyes. Judging by the height, it was the same shorter man who'd held a gun to Danny's head earlier that day.

"We need to disable them," Don whispered. "The storms getting even stronger… we can't let them get in that cabin."

"I agree, now will you shut up so I can make this shot?" Danny hissed. He wasn't a violent man and normally he would be cursing Steve out to know end for doing something so reckless and against the principles of a law enforcement officer but at the moment he knew survival came first.

With a breath and tapping into everything Steve had ever taught him about shooting, Danny let of two quick successive shots. Both bullets hit there target and the two men dropped to the ground clutching their new bullet wounds in their legs.

"Go get Steve and Josey," Danny ordered. "I'll tie these two up." The Warden wasted no time jumping to his feet and racing back towards the others. However when Danny went to stand the hot searing pain in his side suddenly came back tenfold. It took him a few moments of sucking in deep breaths before he was able to finally move forward gun raised.

Ignoring his own suffering, Danny had their two captors tied up tight with more vine that Don had left him with. He stayed on the lanai with a gun pointed at their head until he saw Lafayette and Don carrying Steve from the woods.

"How we doing?" Danny called over the storm. He noticed Steve's head lolled to one side; the man had apparently lost consciousness once again.

No sooner had they gotten Steve settled did Danny snatch up the landline phone and dial the help they desperately needed.

"Ch.. Kelly," came a the crackled barely audible reply.

"Chin!" Danny exclaimed in relief. "Chin it's Danny!"

"D… ny!? Where… you!?"

"Chin! We're at a cabin in the woods! Steve's hurt bad!"

"... Anny, we'll send… … your posit…?"

"H, hang on Chin, I'm handing you to a Warden who knows where we are!" Danny all but jammed the phone into Don McCabe's hand knowing they had precious few seconds before the storm took out the power and phone lines completely. While the Warden spoke as quickly and clearly as he could, Danny headed over to Steve who'd been placed on the cabin's couch with Lafayette standing guard over him.

"He's got an infection," the other Warden said without looking up. Not that he needed to say so, Danny could see his partner's rouged cheeks and sweat laden hair from over the other man's shoulder.

"How bad?" he asked. The Warden's face was anything but encouraging.

"Bad," was the only response.

"Hey! Hey you can't leave us out here!" The rage Danny had been feeling since this came began once again came to a forefront as he heard the holler from the front lanai. With Lafayette on his heels, Danny headed back out the front door to the two men, bleeding and tied to the front deck.

"And why the hell shouldn't I?" he snarled. The two men did look pretty bedraggled, not to mention their matching bullet wounds.

"You shot us!" black eyes cried indignantly. "And this storm is getting worse!"

"Yeah and I'll shoot you again," Danny snarled. "If my partner doesn't make it, there wont be a prison in the world that can save you."

"Look we were just doing what we were paid to do," the short man said. "Make a living ya know?"

"Abducting and being party to killing Wardens from all over the States? Is that really what you'll put on your resume?" Lafayette asked.

"You're police, you can't leave us here to die," Black-eyes whined.

"Try me," Danny snarled. "Come on, Josey, if the lightening strikes get to close we'll think about moving you against the door." Lafayette chuckled and started to turn to follow Danny.

Big mistake.

"Or we could just move ourselves!" the short man barked.

"Danny!" With an impressive tackle the detective felt himself being shoved to the ground only to hear Lafayette's cry of pain. He reacted on instinct, rolling onto his back and raising his gun just as the shorter man pulled a hunting knife from Lafayette's side and thrust it in again.

It was the last thing the man ever did.

With one neat shot straight to the head, the short man dropped to the ground dead. Black-eyes just sat where he was, still tied up and looking more than shocked at what had just transpired.

Not that Danny cared. He rushed to Lafayette's side who was moaning and holding his own wounds.

"S'bad," he slurred. "God… I'm goina die out here."

"Hey! None of that, you're going to be fine, okay? You're going to be just fine," Danny urged.

"I heard a shot what- oh damn!" Don's appearance was a blessing as he and Danny wasted no time dragging Lafayette back into the cottage. At which point Danny had to take a second, Don was struggling to control Lafayette's bleeding while Steve still lay, chest heaving with exertion and looking stones through from death.

They were in the middle of no where, all but one of them was badly injured and there was no way of knowing if the rest of Five-0 would find them in time.

A flash of lightening lit up the room followed almost immediately by a wicked crack of thunder. The lights flickered then died; Lafayette clutched Don begging for his life, Steve started coughing badly and Danny, his body finally had enough.

He never even saw the floor rush up to meet him as he took his turn to slip into unconsciousness.

Ten months later, Danny sat next to Steve and the rest of Five-0 and several others on a beautiful private beach at sunset. Before them, Don McCabe stood grinning like crazy as the minister finalized he and his new wife's vows.

It was still a bit of a blur to Danny what had happened after he passed out. What he didn't know was what had been explained to him once he'd finally come too in the hospital. Warden McCabe had managed to patch up Lafayette enough so that he survived to get proper help. Danny had apparently picked up a hell of an infection, one which had severely compromised his lungs that already had scar tissue from his bout with Sarin years ago.

He'd been on a respirator in the ICU for three days half of Steve's six days in the ICU after nine hours of surgery to repair the hole in his side and make sure there was no lasting damage. In fact, the Navy SEAL had only just recently come back to full duties with Five-0 having required a lot of physiotherapy to get back on his feet.

As for the Wardens, all of those still alive had been rescued and the trail of bad guys left though out the forest, dead or alive had been picked up. Basically a once untouched and beautiful jungle had been tainted and trodden through so badly at this point it would be a while before anyone would want to see that stretch of land ever again.

As horrific as those events had been new friendships had blossomed. When it came out how hard Five-0 had tried and how far they'd gone to rescue them, the Wardens, even after returning to their respective States had stayed in touch. Danny had loved getting e-mails, pictures, letters about how all of them weren't just surviving, they were living their lives like every moment was their lasts.

That's why a few weeks ago when Don had contacted Danny announcing he was getting married the detective was ecstatic. For the first time since the whole ordeal began, all the surviving Wardens plus Five-0 were gathered together again. After all it was the actions of Warden McCabe that had essentially saved all of their lives. The dead would never be forgotten and had been memorialized and their loss had only cemented just how much the others owed their lives to the Hawaiian Warden.

McCabe's response to being told their would be a ceremony for him to recognize his heroics? "I don't really like crowds." It had Danny and Steve in hysterics for hours.

"You may kiss the bride, Warden," the minister finally announced. The group started clapping and whistling their congratulations, the surviving Wardens the loudest of the bunch.

Later at the reception, Grover pulled the Five-0 team mates aside with a serious but happy look on his face.

"What's up Lou?" Steve asked.

"They got him," was all the big man said. Danny felt his spine stiffen and his eyes widen.

"Curtis Winchester?" he asked. Lou laughed and nodded.

"CIA picked him up in Shanghai trying to board a plane to Switzerland," he explained. Curtis Winchester was a name Danny had never heard before everything kicked off but for the last eight months it had been the only one he wanted to know until justice was had.

The man was a billionaire European who apparently had to much money and time on his hands. Those bad guys who'd survived the ordeal had coughed up his name the second they got one look at Danny's "I'm going to kill you, please make it fun for me" face.

Apparently Curtis and his rich friends had gotten tired of simply trafficking human beings for sex in a number of different countries, they'd decided to branch out into a new form of human torture. The hunt. As more details came out, a web of horrors emerged, at first they'd tried regular people but the hunters didn't have enough of a challenge so Curtis had moved to kidnapping the Wardens.

It was sick and Danny had spent every moment he could trying to track down Winchester. Finally, at last it seemed like all Five-0's searching and digging and turned something up. That and every agency in the United States was working with them to get the job done.

"He's being extradited to the mainland," Lou replied.

"I'll call the Governor," Steve nodded with a smile. "I'm sure he'd want us to be there, to look that scum in the eye when he steps off his plane."

"Already done boss," Kono smirked. "He told me it's a standing invitation for WHEN we track that bastard down."

Something in Danny's chest finally unclenched and he found himself barking out a laugh.

"Danny?" Steve questioned in amusement.

"It's finally over," he laughed.

"What's finally over?" Lafayette appeared around the corner of the reception hall and walked up to the them. Of all the Wardens Lafayette had actually left the Montana service once he'd healed up and surprised everyone by requesting a transfer to Hawaii's Fish and Games services. For the past two months he'd been a resident of the State.

"They got Curtis Winchester," Danny said putting a hand on the man's shoulder. Lafayette's eyes lit up with all kinds of emotion; there was pain, there was relief, there was shock and there was everything expected of someone who'd gone through such an ordeal.

Finally though, the man's eyes settled on happy, his grin, worthy of Steve's Cheshire cat face, nearly split the Wardens face wide open.

"Well sh**," he chuckled. "I say we all go get drunk." Danny burst out laughing as Steve gave him a sturdy pat on the back one which was definately returned in kind.

It was good to be alive.

It IS good to be alive! Lol, thanks for reading everyone! I'd love reviews and favs as usual! Sorry this was such a looooong chapter but I just couldn't cut it off anywhere to make this four parts!

Stay tuned... I'm almost finished another one-shot story that should be posted soon enough!

Love ya!

Oz