Title: The Next Time
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Steve McGarrett
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/Hawaii Five-0
Rating: PG-13
Table: Crimes, mission_insane
Prompt: 4, Abduction
Author's Note: Continuation of Counting the Hours.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Steve McGarrett, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Steve stood by the door of the warehouse, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dim light inside. It was little brighter than it had been outside, so it didn't take him long; within a few moments, his gaze was darting around the place, looking for any sign of Greg.

For a few minutes, he couldn't discern anything; he was sure that Wo Fat had lied to him and that Greg wasn't here, that he might have walked into a trap. There was an ominous quiet in the place; it was too quiet for his comfort. But he couldn't sense anyone else there.

Steve let his gaze roam slowly around the warehouse -- and then he saw what he was looking for. A slight figure lying on the ground, obviously struggling, though not making a sound. Greg. It had to be Greg, he thought, his breath coming faster. But was he being used as bait?

He waited a few moments longer, until he knew that he couldn't stand here and simply do nothing. He had to go to Greg -- and if he was being led into a trap, he would deal with that as best he could. But he couldn't leave Greg lying there alone any longer.

Steve moved out from the cover of the shadows, his gun raised. He made his way as quickly as he could across the concrete floor to where Greg was lying on his side, a gag in his mouth, his wrists and ankles bound. Steve dropped to his knees beside his boyfriend, feeling relieved.

"Greg, are you okay?" he managed to croak out, feeling as though his throat was lined with sandpaper. He gently removed the cloth gag from Greg's mouth, gently skimming his fingertips over the other man's slightly swollen lips. "Did they hurt you?"

Greg shook his head, gasping for breath when his gag was removed. "No, they didn't," he managed to say, taking a deep breath. "I'm okay. I think they just took me as a warning to you. To show you that they could do it. At least, that's what Wo Fat told me."

"Wo Fat? He was here? He talked to you?" Steve asked, his voice sharper than he'd meant for it to be. He regretted using that tone of voice even as he spoke; he didn't need to question Greg right now, and he didn't need to get upset. His boyfriend had been through enough.

Greg nodded, struggling to sit up. Steve pulled out the Swiss Army knife he always carried, flicked out the blade, and sliced through the ropes that bound Greg's ankles, then his wrists. He helped his boyfriend to stand up, keeping one arm around Greg's waist, not wanting to let him go.

Together, they made their way slowly back to the door of the warehouse, Steve still looking about cautiously. "You don't have to keep looking for them," Greg said softly, shaking his head. "They just left me here for you to find me. Wo Fat said it was a warning to you."

"A warning?" Steve asked, only half concentrating on Greg's words. He didn't trust Wo Fat to have told Greg the truth; a part of him was convinced that there would be some brawny goons around here waiting to jump them. He wanted to be prepared if that happened.

"Yeah," Greg murmured, chafing his wrists as the two of them emerged out of the warehouse and headed for Steve's car. "He said he wanted you to know that it would be way too easy for him to take away anything you loved. And that next time, he wouldn't hesitate to do it."

"I believe that," Steve muttered as he opened the car door and helped Greg get inside. From what he could tell, his boyfriend was bruised and battered from his ordeal, but other than that, he seemed to be all right. He wouldn't know until he got Greg to the hospital.

When he got into the car and started the engine, Greg leaned back, closing his eyes and exhaling a breath. "Let's go home," he whispered, reaching out to place a hand on Steve's leg. "I just want to forget this ever happened. It's over, and I want to put it behind me."

Steve wished they could do that, but he knew that it wasn't possible. "You know we can't do that, Greg," he said softly, wishing that it were otherwise. He wanted to forget about this, too, but with Wo Fat's threat hanging in the air, he couldn't. "I've got to take you to the hospital."

"But they didn't do anything to me other than tie me up and slap me around a little," Greg protested, shaking his head. "They didn't even hit me hard. It was like they were .... cats playing with a mouse. They didn't have any intention of messing me up that badly. Like Wo Fat said, it's a warning."

"I don't care if it's a warning, or an all-out declaration of war," Steve told him, glancing over at his boyfriend as he pulled the car out into the road. "I'm not going to rest until you've been thoroughly checked out and I know you're okay. I'm not taking any chances."

Greg nodded slowly, exhaling again. "Okay, I'll go to the hospital and let them check me out," he said with a sigh. "And I know we can't just forget about this permanently -- but at least for the rest of the night, I'd like to just go home and let you hold me. I want to feel safe again."

Steve couldn't help but wonder if Greg would ever feel safe again after this -- or if he himself would, either. Greg's abduction had shaken him up even more than he'd expected it to; the thought that it could have been worse than this, that he could have lost Greg forever, made him feel numb.

He didn't want to think like that, but it was the inevitable direction for his mind to take. Wo Fat might have abducted Greg as a warning this time -- but if it happened again, Steve knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be a much more serious issue next time.

At least Greg didn't seem the worse for wear; he hadn't fallen apart, and he wasn't trembling with reaction. He was handling this well, but Steve wasn't so sure that it would last. Sooner or later, Greg would react to what had happened -- and he intended to be there for his boyfriend when he did.

All he could do was hold Greg and comfort him; he couldn't tell his lover that this would never happen to him again. As much as Steve wanted to protect Greg from Wo Fat, he knew that he couldn't promise Greg that he'd always be safe. He might not be able to keep that promise.

This abduction shouldn't have happened, but he couldn't guarantee that the same thing wouldn't take place again. Wo Fat had already caught him off guard once; it might be just as easy for him to do it a second time, if Steve were to let down his guard for one moment.

He'd known that Wo Fat would try to use Greg against him in some way, but he hadn't expected this. He had expected something that was a strike at his professional life, not something that came so far into the realm of the personal. This next time he met Wo Fat, they'd have a score to settle.

He wasn't going to let that bastard get away with this, that was for certain. He had lived with the fear that Greg would be taken away from him; he couldn't let that go unpunished. And he had to make sure that Greg was protected, more so than he already had.

"You can't blame yourself, Steve," Greg said softly. Steve glanced over at Greg to see that his boyfriend was watching him, a slight frown on his handsome features. "It wasn't your fault. Wo Fat knew how to attack you, and he'll probably try to do it again. Only next time --"

"Next time it might turn deadly," Steve finished for him with a soft sigh. Greg knew the score; this wasn't something that he'd have to be careful to hide from his boyfriend. Greg wasn't a civilian who had to be kept out of the loop on what was happening. He was as much as part of this as Steve was.

They were going to have to be very cautious in the future, more so than they had been. Steve didn't want to deal with another abduction -- because if it happened again, he had the feeling that neither he nor Greg would come out of the situation as unscathed as they had this time.

***

Next story in series - All Anyone Can Do.