Thanks so much for all the kind reviews and support! This story has been so much fun for me. I'm sad to see it end and will have to write another soon! -abby

Steve was adrift.

He couldn't quite put his finger on the feeling. Something familiar yet wrong, and very...disconnected. It didn't hurt at least, and one thing Steve did clearly recall is that he'd suffered a lot of pain in the very recent past. Since nothing was hurting, for the time being he didn't care what was happening or where he was.

So he relaxed, freely falling back into darkness.

Keeping watch at his partner's bedside, Danny was far from relaxed. Steve had been out since they arrived at the hospital several hours earlier and Danny had hoped he was finally coming to - McGarrett's fingers had twitched, and his breathing sped up fractionally. But just as quickly he settled, and Danny was again left to wait.

The Jersey detective sighed, running a weary hand through his disheveled hair. He sat back in the uncomfortable chair, massaging his temples and listening to the steady, slow beat of his friend's heart monitor. Pale blue eyes traveled up the deathly still form, skimming over the IV lines and oxygen mask, narrowing in sympathy at pale skin that was mottled with darkening bruises. Come on, man.

The door opened, and Danny looked up to see Chin slip into the room. "How's he doing?"

Danny's hearing was still off so Chin had to speak loudly and as much as the detective wanted Steve awake, it seemed wrong to yell by a injured man's bedside. He stiffly got to his feet and joined his teammate near the door. "Ah, they fixed his lung and he's breathing well enough. Several busted ribs and a hairline skull fracture, but they got his hip back in place without surgery." He squeezed the bridge of his nose, trying to quell the persistent headache. "The doc says she's 'cautiously optimistic' that he'll make a full recovery," Danny said as if by rote.

The older man nodded, relieved by the report but worried about Danny's flat tone. "Good, good. How are you doing, brah?" Chin looked appraisingly at the blond detective. "You're looking a little rough yourself."

Danny dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand. "Minor concussion, little gash in the forehead and a few bruises. The ringing in my ears should clear up in a few days - no permanent damage. It's already better. I'm fine."

Chin tilted his head, regarding his friend thoughtfully. "Are you? You've had a challenging day, Danny. It's okay if you aren't."

Danny snorted derisively and gestured at Steve. "Just worried about this idiot. The way he was talking before you got to us...it's like he was ready to die. I don't know. It really freaked me out, I guess."

"I'm just glad we got there when we did." Chin, ever calm in a storm, put a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. "He's going to be fine. And don't be too hard on him when he wakes up," the Hawaii native continued with a smile. "I better go help Kono and Lou finish processing the scene. We'll be back in a few hours. Hang in there, brah."

"Yeah," Danny managed a weak smile in response before returning to his vigil.

When Steve next drifted near the surface - several hours later, unbeknownst to him - he could hear someone calling his name. The voice sounded stressed and though he couldn't quite place it, he figured it might be important. Knowing that and actually being able to respond, however, turned out to be two entirely different things.

"Steve. Steven." Danny gently placed a reassuring hand on his friend's arm, careful to avoid applying pressure to the array of spectacular bruises. "I'm here, babe. Whenever you're ready to rejoin the party, that would be great."

"Mmm," was all Steve could seem to muster as he dragged open uncooperative eyelids. Not eloquent, but he may as well have just said the most inspired words in history for the way Danny's eyes lit up.

"Hey. Hey, buddy. How ya doing?" Danny could feel a goofy smile spreading across his face but seemed powerless to stop it, and didn't know that he cared anyway.

Steve didn't immediately remember what had landed him in the hospital, but assumed it must have been pretty bad for Danny to look so concerned. He's not even yelling at me, Steve realized slowly. He tried to take a mental inventory but his head felt heavy, as though it was packed full of mud. It was blissfully free of pain, though, as was the rest of his mostly numb body. Steve had been injured enough times to know that meant they had him on serious painkillers, and the nasal cannula feeding him oxygen wasn't a good sign either. Super. He licked parched lips, thankful when Danny wordlessly offered a spoonful of ice. After a few moments he found his voice and croaked out, "...happened?"

"Nutshell version? You acted as a human shield and got blown up, you moron. You almost killed yourself!" At the somewhat baffled look on his partner's battered face, Danny - for once - took a figurative step back. He sighed heavily. "You had me worried. I don't need you getting killed for my sake."

"You okay?" Steve didn't remember much, but given the bandage on his partner's forehead he thought that was a reasonable question.

Apparently he was wrong.

Danny rolled his eyes. "I am fine. You, on the other hand, would likely have died of asphyxiation if the others hadn't gotten to us exactly when they did. I mean, thanks to your stupid selfless stunt, not only did you screw up your hip, you have a skull fracture and also six broken ribs. And more bruises than the doctors can count. But the biggest problem is that one of your lungs collapsed. It COLLAPSED, Steven. You could not BREATHE. Which, I may add, I could do absolutely nothing about since we were trapped in a blown-up warehouse. Did I mention that part?" He gestured wildly for emphasis. "All I could do was sit there and hold you in my arms while you TURNED BLUE and hope to hell that you didn't DIE before we could be rescued!"

Danny inhaled deeply, and even through the haze of meds Steve recognized the momentum of a good Danny Williams rant when he saw one. Who am I to interrupt when he's clearly on a roll?

Sure enough, Danny continued almost without missing a beat. "And furthermore, the next time we're in a life-or-death situation - and notice I said when, Steven, not if, because with you I know it's only a matter of time - I would appreciate it if you didn't make plans to check out on me."

At that, Steve's expression turned from tired bemusement into a frown. "What?"

"All that about what I had to tell Mary. And then..." Danny trailed off, pinning his partner to the bed with a glare. "You never talk about your feelings, Steve. And you always say you don't give up. But you seemed to be almost...welcoming death. Walking right toward it - figuratively speaking, of course." His ice blue eyes flashed with anger, and...was that a touch of fear? "You scared the hell out of me."

So, yes. Fear.

Steve closed his eyes and searched his fragmented thoughts, trying to remember. Suddenly it all came back. Everything. In a rush, blurry at first and then in staggeringly sharp relief. Pain, both physical and emotional. He recalled the crushing agony in his chest, the merciless pounding of his head. The feeling of drowning that accompanies oxygen deprivation. And then he remembered his partner's hand, wrapped tight around his own, and could again hear the terror in Danny's voice - his Jersey accent was always more pronounced when he was upset, and in that instant Steve realized that he was the cause. I was dying.

He looked his partner square in the face and took a deep breath, wincing at the resulting protest from busted ribs. "I remember. No...air. Thought...it was over."

Danny studied his friend, taking in the dark purple bruising at his temple, the fine lines of pain around his mouth and the sincerity in his expression. "Yeah? Over, huh? And just where was that badass Navy SEAL who never quits fighting?"

"I was fighting." Steve lifted one corner of his mouth in a tired half-smile. "Or...am I dead?"

Danny snorted and threw his hands in the air. "God. You are such a piece of work. No, you're not dead. Although if you scare me like that again, I may kill you myself."

The drugs were catching up with Steve, and his eyelids began to droop. "We made it, Danno," he forced out, managing a small grin. "By the way...you're welcome."

As he caught the glint of mischief in his partner's half-closed eyes, Danny couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You're impossible, Steven McGarrett. And a monumental pain in my ass, but I suppose I do owe you a thanks for saving my life. Idiot."

Steve's grin widened even as his eyes closed. Danny just shook his head and watched his partner - his best friend, his ohana - drift back into sleep.

And then he finally, gratefully, allowed himself to relax.