March, 2029

"Daniel..." Soon after Michael's voice called out to him, Daniel heard the sound of something scraping against something metal. It crashed loudly and was followed by what sounded like powder hitting the side of steel. It crescendoed until everything went still again, until; "I'm here." Michael croaked.

It was to his left. He jumped down from the pile and jumped over a broken couch until he came across an arm draped over the top of a large portion of what he assumed was once a balcony. He scaled the side of the billet and grabbed at the arm. "Mike- hey, buddy, I got you."

Michael responded to his touch and his head appeared from behind a splintered railing attached to the balcony. "Get me out of here."

"That's what I'm doing, just, hold on- hold on..." He tried to assess if he could move it by pushing his shoulder against the side and shoving his weight into it. When it didn't move he felt a pang of dread deep in his stomach. "Shit." He sighed heavily, "Can you move at all?"

Michael nodded adamantly. "Yeah, I am just stuck."

"Alright, hang on."

He handed Michael the canteen and placed the lantern on the ground where it would still light the area enough to see what he was doing. Michael didn't hesitate to finish what was left of the water as he watched Daniel maneuver around behind him.

"What are you doing?"

"Lean forward." Daniel ordered.

Michael did as he was told and leaned forward over the banister as much as he could. Daniel wrapped his arms around Michaels chest, under his arms.

They counted to three and Daniel pulled while Michael wiggled his legs and arched his back in order to get free. When he finally freed himself from under the balcony they both fell in a heap.

"Where is Ella?" Michael said suddenly and got to his feet with Daniel.

Daniel grabbed at the lantern and stood up straight, his shoulders back. "She's on the surface."

He cleared his throat, "Is she okay?"

The hesitation Daniel felt was more frustrating than Michael's response; "What the hell happened, you just left her?!"

"Oh, shut up."

"Don't tell me what to do. Is she safe? How do you know Carver is not out there?" When Daniel didn't respond Michael put it together. "You left her with Carver?!"

Daniel laughed bitterly through barely parted lips. "You know, this is a mighty hypocrit-" he cut his sentence short when he stumbled over some debris on his way back to the exit. "-hypocritical of you to be yelling at me about 'leaving Ella'."

"Oh? How do you figure, pendejo? And since when is it 'Ella' to you?" Michael fumbled over his words with each heavy step across their uneven terrain. His tone was clipped and his accent strong.

"Hey, no name calling- and you're not a very good friend for someone in the Friend Zone."

"The- what? I am not friend zoned, where the hell is that coming from?"

"Nowhere."

"And who says I am not a good friend?!"

When Daniel refused to respond, Michael jogged to catch up and grabbed Daniel's shoulder.

"Get off of me." Daniel shook the grip but faced Michael nonetheless- pausing their trek.

"What makes you think you know anything about me? Or Ella. Or our relationship?" He reiterated.

"What happened? Huh? Why is she the way she is? I just saw the real her-" he pointed behind himself in the direction of the gap, "-for the first time and I can't believe how repressed she is. She's carrying something- the world- on her shoulders and I can't believe you're not there for her!"

"I- I am 'there' for her! She does not want help. But, I am here, am I not?" Michael defended, his hands on his hips and brow deeply furrowed so that it pushed the dust away from his forehead. "Why the hell do you care?"

"You're here because you don't trust her to handle herself and because you're too chicken shit to run back to Ari."

"Who- where... I am here because I don't trust you!"

"Answer the damn question."

Michael laughed harshly followed by a cough. "There was a question?! I thought you were just lecturing me on my relationship with a woman I have known for over ten years- the same woman you have known less than a week."

"Still haven't answered it." Daniel crossed his arms against his puffed chest.

"What was it!?"

"Why does she carry around this guilt? What did Carver call her, the... Kalli- something-or-rather?"

Michael took a deep intake of air and then released it quickly, "Ask her."

"Does she know?

"Aye, Danny!" Carver's voice echoed in the cavern of what used to be a mansion. "Get up here!"

Before Michael could protest to Carver's presence, again, Daniel dismissed him and ran in the direction of the sunlight. The lantern rattled with each movement, the flame flickering wildly. He could hear Michael's panting breaths behind him but his rapid beating heart was louder in his ears.

Why was Carver rushing him? Had the Huijari returned?

When he got to the gap, he stood in the center beside the rope. "Where's Ella?"

"Just... get up here." He replied but he wasn't near the hole to be seen.

He indicated, without looking, to Michael. "Grab the rope."

Surprisingly, Michael did as he was told. Daniel wrapped the rope around both of them and held on with his good hand. He tugged on it jerkily and they began to lift off the ground- unlike Ella their climb was slow.

Daniel glanced down and watched the light of the lantern become engulfed by darkness.

The sun was bright and he narrowed his eyes to fight off the glare off the snow.

When they emerged from the pit, they scrambled to the ground like children trying to top a playground. Clawing at shattered wood and snow covered grass until they were lying on the ground, Daniel on his back and Michael on his stomach.

Daniel lifted his head and looked around for Ella. When he saw her he felt a burning in his chest, his blood rushed to his head until he felt his pulse in his brain. He clenched his teeth and his hand shook as he shot to his feet like a jack-in-the-box and flung himself at Carver. He ran the taller man back so hard and far that his back rammed into the trunk of a tree. He placed his right bicep against Carver's throat and applied as much pressure as he could without snapping his neck.

"Wha'd you do to her?!" His voice boomed louder and stronger than he thought he could manage in his current physical state. He checked over his shoulder to see Michael already at Ella's side, holding her head in his hands.

She was leaning up against what remained of the front porch; a corner with some of the railling still attached. A gun rested in her limp hand, her chin touched her chest until it was lifted by Michael's gentle touch.

"I didn't do anything." Carver managed, his voice strained past his constricted throat.

Daniel ignored him and spoke to Michael, "Is she breathing?" His voice changed from forceful to small and croaked- desperate.

"Yeah," Michael replied distractedly and attempted to get Ella to wake by shaking her slightly.

"No, don't do that!" Daniel shouted across the yard. 

Debris littered the once manicured courtyard; splintered posts, house siding, and shingles. The house itself was nothing but a skeletal remain of what was once a beautiful piece of architecture.

"She has a concussion." He elaborated. "Is she hurt?"

"Yeah, she's hurt!" Michael yelled incredulously, looking at Daniel with narrowed eyes and a curled lip. "her head is bleeding!"

"No, anything new... something that Carver did!"

"How the hell would I know?!"

"Just look at her!"

"Hey, why don't you come over and play doctor and I'll wave the gun around!" Michael shouted angrily.

Daniel became self-aware for the first time since coming to the surface. Though his right arm pinned Carver to a tree, in his left hand was the revolver he'd forgotten he had. He was indeed waving it around between Carver and Michael.

"I didn't touch her, Dan." Carver rasped, his face turning a dark shade of red.

He wanted to squeeze the life out of Carver but sudden flashes of Ella's face filled his vision. A pleading look on her face. The one she gave when she didn't want to intervene but wanted him to know he was out of control.

His upper lip curled, lips slightly parted, and he panted with his intense anger- he released his former friend from the choking hold but not before giving one final shove directly into his throat. He couldn't mask his fury. His eyes narrowed to mere slits but no longer to shield from the sun. Daniel's control was fleeting, his right fist clenching repeatedly.

"If I did, do you think I'd call you up here?" Carver continued, rubbing his neck with his hand.

"Why don't you walk me through it." Daniel growled.

"She got up here and waved down to you. I turned around and she was holding a gun on me like a drunk Al Pacino. I blew her off and started to walk away and then I heard a thud. I turn around and she was in a heap by the porch. She passed out, man!" He stopped rubbing his neck to reveal the bruise already coloring at his throat.

"Daniel," Michael called.

Daniel grabbed the front of Carver's jacket and tugged him to walk with him, never letting go- pulling him like a dog on a very short leash.

They arrived at Ella's feet and Daniel was relieved to see her eyes opened.

"We need to get her to a doctor." Michael stated simply.

"I'm fine." Ella shook her head and attempted to stand. "I just got dizzy... the light is so bright."

Daniel nodded and remembered the sunglasses that she gave him. He fished through his pant pockets but didn't find them. Gingerly, he knelt down in front of her and reached into the shallow pockets of his jacket, that she was still wearing. His fingers wrapped around a slender object and he smiled. He pulled them out and the left lens fell out immediately. Daniel rolled his lower lip against his teeth when the lens, that fell to the ground, broke off at the corner- preventing them from being able to force it back into place.

He handed them to her and she accepted gratefully, winking the exposed eye closed. "Thank you, Dan-y." She corrected herself.

Michael helped her to her feet. "Nearest town is ten miles away."

"Which direction?"

"East."

"Towards Beckett?" Carver interjected, ignoring the hard glare that Daniel gave him.

"Yeah, about fifteen miles shy, honestly." Michael confirmed reluctantly. He wrapped his arm around Ella's waist as the woman draped her arm over his shoulders.

"There's nothing there for you." Ella managed to participate. "Rebecca's not in Beckett anymore. The Huijari have her."

"Where?"

Ella opened her mouth to speak but it was Daniel's voice that filled the air, "East of here."

Carver and Daniel stared one another down. Carver knew what he was doing, specific enough that it implied they knew exactly where Rebecca was but vague enough that Carver couldn't figure it out for himself- he needed them, just as Daniel had said before.

"Guys..." Ella blinked wearily.

Daniel nodded jerkily. "Where are the other horses?"

"Well, the ones that were tied up..." Carver shook his head to finish what he couldn't seem to finish saying. Ella made a small sound in the back of her throat- mourning the loss of her friend. "The other two bolted when the explosion happened- I managed to grab this one... 'cus he's old."

"We need a cart." Daniel placed his hands on his hips and looked around.

"Only one I know of is where we left the two escorts." Carver replied.

Daniel sighed heavily, his breath billowing harsher than the others. "Can one horse pull the cart?" He directed his question to Michael who was still holding up a disoriented Ella.

"Possibly." Michael shrugged his free shoulder. "It depends more on the cart and if I can hook him up to it..." He trailed off and Daniel fought the urge to groan.

"But?" He urged.

"But, like Carver said, that horse is old. We would be lucky if he manages to carry twice his body weight."

"It's only ten miles." Carver stated, gesturing east.

"What day is it?" Daniel asked Carver as he ran his hands down his scruffy face.

Carver chucked, "What?"

"What day is it? How long were we down there?" Daniel questioned Carver but his gaze was fixed on Ella who was trying her best to mask her pain.

"It's Friday."

Daniel looked back at Michael. "Anyone travel through here on Fridays?"

Michael shrugged his shoulder, "I'm not sure."

He ran his hands down the front of his face. He felt sick. Out of control, it gave him an annoying tickling on the back of his neck and his head felt three times too big and heavy. If he was honest, he felt he could spontaneously combust.

"Okay, alright." Daniel dropped his hands from his face and instantly clapped them together- regretting it immediately. The massive bruise, that covered his arm from his fingertips to his elbow, shot an intense pain through his body until he felt it in his chest. Biting down the pain, he continued with his plan. "Carver and I will walk there. You," he pointed at Michael. "take the old man and Ella and get her there ASAP. Try to be as fast but as careful as possible- don't let her fall asleep."

"I know how to take care of a concussion."

"Uh-huh. You tried to shake her awake."

"I did not know she had a concussion."

"She's bleeding and has a massive egg on her face." Daniel indicated forcefully. Michael made a sound but Daniel cut him off by continuing, "-Just... take care of her."

"Danny," Ella reached her hand out, her eyes open though he could only see the one through the lens-less frame. "Be careful."

He smirked and took her outstretched hand, "I'll see you in a couple of hours. Stay awake."

Carver held the horse steady as Ella mounted The Old Man first. Once Michael mounted behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist to take hold of the reins, Daniel stepped forward and placed his hand on the horses neck to keep them still.

"Just take it easy, you don't want to jostle her around too much." Daniel instructed, holding Michael's gaze with his icy one.

"It'll keep me awake." Ella responded for Michael, a weary smile on her face.

The left corner of his mouth lifted slightly and he patted the horses neck just as Carver stepped away from the horse. Now free to go, Michael spurred the horse on and trotted them down the road- headed east.