Title: Shrapnel

Summary: The recurrence of an old injury forces Steve to remember a SEAL mission gone bad.

Disclaimer: Hawaii Five-0 is not mine. I'm just borrowing the concepts and characters for a little while.

Spoilers: Minor one for 1.08 Mana'o.

A/N: I'm not a medical professional, but I hope everything I said below at least sounds plausible.

ooooooo

It should've been an easy take down, a quick end to the fight even if the guy had twenty to thirty pounds and a couple of inches on him. The guy was all muscle, no real brains, and had no training beyond intimidation through size and the basics of how to punch and kick someone when they're already down. He had no style, no finesse whatsoever – and definitely no SEAL training.

It should've been easy to take this guy down and have the fight be over before it had barely even begun. But then, for one disastrous moment, his opponent got the upper hand and he'd taken a couple of well-placed hits to the torso. In his attempt to break free and regain a more defensible position, he'd accidentally left part of himself vulnerable to attack which the unskilled behemoth managed to take advantage of by driving his large, meaty arm's elbow into the SEAL's back.

Pain burst within him like a dozen molten hot pokers had just been jabbed into his body. His vision grayed and he couldn't catch his breath. He felt a kick to his already abused abdomen and realized he'd somehow ended up on the ground. He had to get up off the ground. He couldn't let this bastard get away with terrorizing high school girls anymore, but the pain in his back….

O God.

The pain.

It was radiating all throughout his body and stealing not only his ability to breathe, but to think and move as well.

Another kick. This time it was close to where the elbow had originally caught him and it was all over in that instant.

He fought to stay conscious, fought to talk his body into doing something – anything – but all it could do was silently scream and wish for some kind of release. All it could think was pain, pain, pain.

And just before his grayed-out existence became an all-encompassing black, he heard a voice. A voice that meant friend, that meant he could finally let go even though his first instinct was to provide back-up. A voice that said:

"You move that leg again and you'll lose a vital piece of a man's anatomy!"

Danno, he thought as awareness fled him completely.

ooooooo

When Steve had taken off after the humongous perp who'd run away instead of surrendering like any sane person should, he been left to call for back-up and to follow along behind thinking 'better him than me.' He was not at all worried about his partner's ability to take the guy down.

It should've been an easy take down for Steve. Sure, the future convict had some size and weight over his partner, but Steve had all the training and enough tenacity to overcome it.

The fact that it was a full minute or more before he could catch up to his partner in order to back him up didn't really leave him concerned at the outcome. The SEAL would bring their suspect down and the evil man would rot in jail forever for what he'd done to those girls.

But he became extremely concerned of the outcome when he'd burst into that room and seen Steve curled up on the floor writhing in silent agony. The giant bastard was standing over him with his meaty leg pulled back ready to give the already wounded man on the ground a permanent (and likely fatal) dent in the back of his head.

Only God knew at this point what had happened to change the previously foregone conclusion that Steve would be the victor. And because his friend's back was towards him, only God knew in this moment what injuries his friend had sustained. But Danny did know one thing: if that S.O.B. made one more move towards Steve, he would have another hole in his head.

But what he said instead was, "You move that leg again and you'll lose a vital piece of a man's anatomy!" and made it obvious as to how low his gun was pointing.

Wisely the guy gave up. He ordered the low-life to get down on his knees and cross his ankles, and to put his hands behind his head and lace his fingers together.

Back-up hadn't yet arrived, but in order to help his now unconscious partner, he would have to get closer to their perp, who thought high school girls were his play things. Cursing to himself, he knew he couldn't risk the guy trying to take advantage of the situation and bring him down too no matter how badly he wanted to go to and help his friend. He couldn't let the behemoth get away with hurting his partner any more than he could let him get away with hurting those innocent girls.

Why did Chin and Kono have to be off the island following up on another case? Why did they have to be so 'lucky' as to actually find their serial rapist when they'd gone to interview the monster's cousin?

What the hell had happened that this bastard could take Super SEAL Steve down?

And why did he let his overconfidence in his partner's abilities prevent him from providing proper back-up and prevent Steve from getting hurt?

He was aching to be by his partner's side, to assess his injuries, to reassure himself that his friend was going to be okay. He couldn't see any visible injuries, no blood or bruising, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything going on internally.

His prisoner had been prudent in keeping his mouth shut and had not moved before now. When they could both hear the sirens, that's when the bastard started to get antsy. That's also when Danny felt his prisoner needed a little bit of encouragement to remain a model prisoner.

"How far do you think you're going to get with my gun pointed right at the middle of your forehead?" he said quietly and with controlled malice. The bad guy stopped all movement and even looked almost too nervous to breathe.

Danny risked taking a look at his partner and saw that Steve was still breathing by the way his partner's back moved even though it was sort of hitched and uneven. Something was really wrong with his friend and if he hadn't…

HPD coming into the room interrupted his train of thought and he could finally, finally, go to Steve's side. He was breathing (sort of) and his heart was beating erratically, but his partner was definitely still alive.

Danny tried not to feel guilty that it had seemed to take an eternity to get to the SEAL even though it had only been just over a few minutes. And even though he knew that his friend would've been extremely upset (to put it mildly) with Danny if he had let the guy get away simply because Steve was injured. He knew the Navy man wanted this guy in a deep, dark prison cell for life almost more than Danny did – and he's the one who has a daughter.

The Jersey native didn't dare move Steve for fear of further injuring his partner. All he could do was keep an eye on his vitals and murmur reassurances that his friend would be up and around again in no time terrorizing the criminal element.

It seemed his partner was unconscious but not deeply so from the pained sounds coming out of his mouth. It was as if pain had become the center of Steve's world and Danny was helpless to do anything about it except to just be there for his friend and partner.

After what seemed to be another eternity later, the EMTs arrived and began treating the SEAL-turned-cop. The medics asked what had happened and all he could tell them was he'd found his partner about to be kicked in the head. He still had no idea how an inexperienced guy, no matter how big he was, could take down a heavily trained Navy SEAL. It just should not have happened under normal circumstances, but then again when has Steve ever gone about doing anything the normal way?

The EMTs wouldn't let him ride along, but with his Camaro and lights and sirens, he easily caught up to them and followed them all the way to the hospital. Once he'd been forced to the chairs in the ER's waiting room, he'd finally remembered to call the cousins.

And the bad luck was apparently remaining with Five-0 on this day. Chin informed him that a large storm front had moved in and that it was doubtful that he and Kono could make it back to Oahu before sunrise tomorrow. It all depended on how fast the storm moved through. With a promise to keep them up-to-date, Danny prepared himself for a potentially long and definitely frustrating wait by himself.

Some indeterminate time later – an hour? less? more? – he was broken out of his silent reverie about how much simpler being a cop was in New Jersey when he heard someone calling his name. Standing up, he saw a doctor in scrubs heading his way. He shook Dr. Keola's hand and they made their way towards the treatment area.

As they entered, Dr. Keola said, "Commander McGarrett has regained consciousness. In fact, he woke up fighting and almost hit a nurse."

Danny reached a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, sorry about that. The last thing he probably remembers was that he was fighting a suspect."

"Figured it was something like that. We've got him calmed somewhat, but he's demanding to see you. Other than the severe pain he's experiencing in his back, he's only suffered some heavy bruising to his torso from the hits he says he received. In an effort to try and determine what's causing his pain, we've done some further testing including an MRI after finding what looked to be metallic fragments on his X-ray. We should have…"

"Wait. Metallic fragments? How the hell—?" He brings his hand up to rub his eyes then uses it to gesture that the doctor should continue describing what they've done to treat his partner. "Never mind. It's probably classified."

"Classified?" the physician repeats with confusion. "What..."

"Danno! Thank God you're OK!" Steve exclaimed with obvious pain in his voice.

"Why wouldn't I be OK?" he asked as he came alongside the gurney Steve was on.

"The last thing I remember hearing was you confronting Reigert and…"

While his friend was speaking, Danny took a good look at his partner. Steve was propped up on his left side presumably to prevent any pressure on his wounded side. It was the look on his partner's face which caused Danny to explode interrupting Steve.

"Why the hell haven't you given him anything for the pain?" he yelled towards the doctor.

Shocked by the sudden outburst, Dr. Keola replied, "Until we rule out certain conditions, we have to wait on giving him the good stuff."

The ex-Jersey detective can't let it go, can't stand by and watch his friend suffer, "He's in a lot of pain! You couldn't even give him the equivalent of a Tylenol? What kind of witch doctor are you?"

"Danny. Danny! It's OK, it's S.O.P." Steve raggedly said trying to calm his partner down while reaching his hand out to place it on Danny's forearm.

But his friend refused to be placated.

"Steven, I don't care if it's S.O-freakin'-P. or not, your face…" he trails off, his face full of worry for his friend.

A nurse chooses that moment to walk in with the results of the MRI along with a large envelope. "Dr. Keola," was the only thing the unidentified woman in pale green scrubs said as she handed them to the doctor.

The doctor reaches into the envelope, pulls out the films and puts them up one at a time to a light box before skimming the report. It's immediately obvious when looking at the films that something was wrong with Steve's back.

Danny saw Steve's eyes briefly widen in recognition before his face shuts down and becomes a mask of pained indifference.

Just as Danny was about to call his friend on this latest face, Dr. Keola turns to him and asks, "Commander, were you aware that you have shrapnel in your back?"

A barely there shake of his head and a meek, "I wasn't sure," was Steve's reply. He shoots Danny a dismayed look. "The details are classified, Doctor, but I can tell you that at the time of the injury, there was no time to check for, let alone remove, all potential fragments. By the time the mission was over, my back felt fine and I didn't think there were any fragments or anything else to worry about."

Danny throws his hands up in the air in frustration, "Did you even bother to report your injury?"

Steve's eyes shift away from his partner and the look on his face was all the answer anyone needed.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Danny yelled flailing his arms about. "You should've reported…"

"Gentlemen," Dr. Keola interrupts and two heads snap towards the doctor. "Can you do this later?"

The two friends turn to glare at each other a moment more before Danny breaks first (but only because of the lines of pain on Steve's face) and lifts his eyes heavenward along with one of his hands.

"Good," the doctor says smirking at the interesting by-play of his patient and the detective standing next to him. "Commander McGarrett, in looking at the results of the MRI, it seems that over time, those left over fragments were encapsulated in scar tissue thereby preventing them from causing you any further problems until today.

"The guy who hit you apparently landed a couple lucky shots hard enough to burst several of those scar tissue capsules which likely also shifted the fragments causing the overload on your pain receptors. Which, in turn, caused you to black out."

"So what happens now?" Steve asks and winces a little when he tries to shift his body. Danny grips his friend's forearm to distract him and remind him he's not alone.

"Now, we get that shrapnel out." the doctor replies and gets a very slight, relieved smile in return. "I'll be back in a few minutes with more details."

As the doctor walks away Danny asks, "How about some drugs too?"

"Danny, stop antagonizing the medical professionals. I'd like to make it out of here with all my important parts still attached."

Sighing heavily, Danny replies, "Fine. I just don't get why you have to suffer while they take 'Island Time' to help you."

"If I had a concussion or if I were going immediately into surgery it could be dangerous for me to have too much pain meds." Steve lifts a hand to rub his eyes and Danny thought he looked a little frayed around the edges. "Relax Partner, I'm fine."

"'I'm fine' he says." Gripping the bedrail, Danny leans forward so he's practically in Steve's face. "You, my friend, have a demented and slightly disturbing definition of the word 'fine'."

Trying to head a rant off at the pass, Steve asks, "What happened? The last thing I heard was your voice and my unconscious imagination thought the worst."

The Jersey native proceeds to tell Steve about the capture of Reigert, but as he comes to the part about practically tailgating the ambulance, he trails off in his story and looks away from his friend.

Steve lifts an arm intending on getting his partner's attention by smacking a hand on one of Danny's shoulders, but the movement aggravates his wounds and causes him to hiss in pain thereby unintentionally serving his original purpose.

"Wha—?" Danny's eyes snap back towards the bed. "What's wrong? You OK?"

Taking a steadying breath, the SEAL replies, "I was about to ask you the same thing, bud."

"If I hadn't gotten so complacent, so overconfident, you wouldn't have been hurt."

"You don't know that, Danno. I've been hit in that area of my back many times since that original incident. Anyone one of those could've probably done the same thing as today given the right conditions. It seems that today was just the day this was meant to happen."

The ex-Jersey detective leans both arms on the bed rail and blows out a breath. "OK. Whatever. It's just when I saw you down like that, I thought the worst. I kind of forget sometimes that even though you're a bad ass Super SEAL, that you're still human too."

Steve starts chuckling a little before abruptly stopping. Danny ignores his partner's obvious pain in favor of distracting him from it. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"I think that's one of the nicest things you've ever said to me," Steve replies with a big grin on his face.

Danny is about to say something not-so-nice when Dr. Keola returns with a couple of orderlies.

"Commander McGarrett, I've consulted with a couple of other doctors and they agree that it's best to get those fragments out before they start leaching lead into your body now that they're free of the scar tissue. We're going to sedate you and perform a fluoroscopy to be sure we get all the fragments in one go. Depending on how things go, you should be out of here in a day, no more than two days. Any questions?"

"No," Steve replies as he shakes his head while at the same time Danny says, "Yes." Steve glares at Danny, but the detective ignores it.

"You have a question, Detective?" the doctor says fighting a grin.

"Yeah. Fluoro—what? "

"Fluoroscopy. It's a real-time imaging technique that will be used to help the surgeon locate and remove all the shrapnel from the Commander's back."

"Do you foresee any complications?"

"Only one fragment appears deeper than the rest, but none of them are located anywhere life threatening and should not cause any permanent damage, so I don't expect any problems."

Steve finally asks a question, "When?"

"We can do it now actually if you give us permission to operate," he answers indicating the orderlies who are waiting for orders to move him to the surgical floor.

"Let's do it."

"OK, then. We'll need to get you prepped for surgery." The two orderlies step forward and release the breaks of the gurney.

As they start to wheel Steve away, Danny follows along behind and says, "I'll check in with Chin and Kono and give them the latest." Trying to control his worry for Steve, he reaches out, grasps his friend's shoulder, and squeezes it. "I'll be there when you wake up, OK?"

"Thanks, Brother," is the reply along with a barely there smile as the orderlies push the bed through doors Danny's not permitted to pass through.

Frustrated that there is not much else he can do for Steve right now, he shoves his hands in his pockets and heads towards the surgical floor's waiting room. Once there, he bypasses the chairs and goes to stand by the window. It's very windy and there's some rain, but there's no way to know how bad the storm is on the other islands.

He tries calling the cousins, but after both their numbers go straight to voicemail, he leaves them both messages updating them on their friend's condition. He paces the small space for a while before deciding to call Grace.

At this point, he thinks her voice is the only thing that will tramp down the worry for his best friend. Fifteen minutes later and fortified by his daughter's voice and her obvious love for her Danno, Danny finally sits down.

Just over two hours later, Dr. Keola and another doctor Danny doesn't recognize come out and greet him.

"Detective Williams, Commander McGarrett is out of surgery and will be out of recovery shortly. He will then be placed in a room." He indicates the female doctor next to him.

For a few seconds Danny is convinced he is about to hear some bad news, but she smiles and introduces herself. "I'm Dr. Zen. Dr. Keola and I teamed up to perform the procedure of which there were no complications."

Relief floods into Danny as the doctor continues her debrief. "He'll need to stay through tomorrow so we can be sure no problems develop overnight. We're going to recommend he be on leave for at least a week in order to give him a chance to heal properly and get in some physical therapy to make sure he regains full use of the damaged muscles in his back."

Danny snorts in disbelief at the news. "Unless you get the governor to order him to take leave, he'll try to go into the office before he's healed enough."

"We'll take care of it, Detective," Zen says while trying not to laugh. "A nurse will be by soon to let you know where your partner's room is located."

"Thanks for fixing Steve up, Doctors."

"No problem," Dr. Zen replies before they leave.

In no time, Danny is on his way to Steve's room. His friend's face is now mostly relaxed and peaceful as compared to the face lined with so much pain of only a few hours ago. The ex-Jersey detective was just finishing a text to the cousins when out of the corner of his eye he sees Steve move his head.

"You finally going to return to the land of the living?" he questions out loud to Steve but basically really only to himself.

He stands to check on Steve, and instantly realizes that his partner is moving around not because he's returning to consciousness but because of what looks to be a dream. He debates on whether or not to wake his friend for a minute or so before recognizing that it's not just a dream but a nightmare that's interrupting his friend's attempt at healing sleep. Steve's heart rate is increasing, his movements are becoming increasingly violent, and the random words he's now mumbling cause his worry to increase ten-fold.

As a couple of nurses come rushing into the room, Danny holds up a hand to halt their movement towards Steve's bed. "He's having a pretty intense nightmare. He's military, a Navy SEAL, so it'd be best if you let me try to wake him."

Danny risks grabbing a shoulder and shaking it, yelling "Steven!"

The SEAL startles awake and being not quite aware of his surroundings attempts to throw a punch. Danny catches it easily as his friend cringes in pain. He motions to the nurses who then step forward to administer some meds into the IV. He hopes they're giving his friend pain medication given the faces his partner has displayed in the last couple of minutes.

Steve still seems restless after a few minutes so he attempts to calm and reassure his partner. "Steve? Steven! You're OK. It's Danny. You're in the hospital. You're—"

"Danno?" Steve's voice rasps as he succeeds in the seemingly herculean task of opening his eyes.

"Yeah buddy, I'm here." He grips Steve's shoulder. "You remember why you're here?" His partner nods. "I'll let the doctors give you the details but the upshot is that there were no complications, OK?"

Steve gives him a lopsided half-smile and the drugs coursing through his system finally lull his friend back to sleep.

ooooooo

It's o-dark-something before Steve wakes again. Taking in his surroundings, he sees his friend is asleep in one of those God-awful hospital chairs with his feet up on the edge of his bed.

A mischievous smile breaks out on Steve's face as he uses his leg to push Danny's off the bed. It was worth the painful twinge in his back to see his partner's reaction.

The effect of the sudden movement is instantaneous and hilarious as Danny sputters a "what the hell?" before gathering his wits and his balance enough to say, "You think you're so friggin' funny don't you?"

Steve nods and then finally gives up and starts laughing unrepentantly before immediately regretting the pain in his back the laugh has caused. He abruptly stops, squeezes his eyes shut and reminds himself to breathe through the pain.

"See what happens when you try to be funny," Danny mutters as he stands and places a hand on Steve's shoulder. "You OK?"

"I'm fi—" he begins but stops when Danny glares and holds up an accusing finger. He tries again, "I'm good?" Another glare accompanied by a mostly gentle punch to his shoulder. Steve rolls his eyes. "I'll live. In pain right now, but I'll live." He glares at the man standing beside him. "You happy now?"

Hands in his pockets and smug grin on his face, Danny replies, "Happy that you're in pain? No." Danny's hands manage to break free of their confines and he flails one as he continues, "Happy you admitted it to me out loud? Oh yeah."

Leaning both arms against the handrail, the detective makes sure he has Steve's attention before saying, "You don't have to be Super SEAL stoic with me all the time, babe. You know that right?"

His friend looks away after a moment as if considering the concept. After a couple of minutes, the Jersey transplant sighs in defeat and straightens up, intending on retaking his seat. His friend's quiet voice stops him mid-movement.

"I hear what you're saying, Danno, and I'll try. OK?" Steve turns his head and meets his friend's eyes. "It's the best I can do for now."

Somewhat shocked by what his partner's just said, it takes Danny a few seconds to acknowledge it. He grabs Steve's forearm and gives it a reassuring squeeze.

"Works for me."

A nurse comes in to do her checks on her patient not too long after. Danny stands and indicates the door.

"I'm going to head out for a bit. Shower. Change clothes. Get something to eat. Probably check in with Chin and Kono too. I'll be back in an hour, hour and a half. Will you be okay on your own until then?"

Smiling slightly at his partner's obvious concern, Steve nods and admits, "I'll probably be back asleep here any moment." The smile turns into a smirk. "Most likely won't even notice you're gone. Don't worry about me, Danno."

When Danny reaches the door, he turns and says, "It's my job to worry about you as your partner, but I can't help it as your friend. Back soon."

And his friend is out the door before Steve can even come up with any sort of response.

ooooooo

When Danny does return to Steve's room – coffee in one hand and paper bag in the other – he's been gone much longer than he'd promised, but knows his best friend will forgive him. Stepping into the room though, he wants to kick himself when he sees Steve is obviously in the throes of another intense dream. No, not a dream, but a nightmare.

He transfers the bag to the hand holding the coffee as he quickly moves over to the bed and slaps Steve's foot hard hoping to wake him. It works though he feels guilty for the pain he causes when his partner startles and aggravates his injuries.

The Navy man is blinking his eyes and taking calming breaths before focusing his gaze on Danny who asks, "You back with me now?"

Another calming breath is taken before Steve nods and replies with a slightly shaky, "Yeah, thanks."

"Any time," is the matter-of-fact yet sincere reply.

The detective sits, sets down the paper bag on the ground, and casually sips at his coffee. "Two nightmares in less than a day, Steven. Does it have to do with how that shrapnel got in your back?"

A look of misery comes over Steve's face as he nods an affirmative.

"I know you said I didn't have to be Super SEAL stoic all the time with you, but I can't tell you what happened exactly. That mission is still classified."

Danny sets his coffee down on the side table and says, "I understand that." He lifts his hands in surrender. "I do. But I also understand that having that shrapnel removed has brought back some bad memories. Am I wrong?"

A shake of Steve's head in the negative is the only reply.

"OK then. I think that you're going to continue to have these dreams until you talk about them to someone."

"It's classi—"

"Classified. I know, babe, but something is eating at you, causing you to lose sleep and probably stalling the healing process a bit. I can't let that pass. Got it?"

The man in the bed nods, "I got it."

"So, how about we talk about it as vaguely as possible. Maybe that will help. Or you can talk to a professional who has the proper clearance. What do you think?"

Steve brings up the hand without an IV attached and rubs at his eyes.

"We can try. I'd rather it was you and not some stranger."

"Good," Danny replies feeling immense satisfaction that his best friend is willing to risk his career to confide in him. "Uh, from what you said before, it sounds like you got injured during the middle of a mission."

"Yeah. We uh,… We encountered resistance and there was an explosion. I can't really remember everything that happened around then."

"Back up a little. How come you didn't have a flak jacket on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Was that the only major explosion to occur and endanger your squad during that mission?"

"Except for another more, let's just say, controlled occasion… Yes."

"Did anyone aside from the bad guys receive any injuries on that occasion?"

"Not that I recall," he pauses staring out at nothing for a moment. "No. I'm positive now. Definitely no one on the team was injured."

"So, the explosion mentioned that you don't really remember much about is probably how you got the shrapnel in your back, right?"

"Probably."

"So how did you come to not have a vest on?" Steve looks confused so Danny presses on. "From what I saw and your surgeon explained, those fragments should not have been in your back if you would've had your flak vest on. Ergo, it must have been off, right?"

"You really like that word, don't you?"

"What?"

"Never mind. … Um, I guess."

"Think Steve. What happened to your vest?"

Blowing out a frustrated sigh, the SEAL closes his eyes and thinks back to that time. Everything went like clockwork until they were preparing to retreat. Images suddenly assault him and his eyes pop wide open.

"A kid," he blurts out. "There was a kid that somehow was there. I gave him my vest hoping he wouldn't become collateral damage, but…"

By the look that overcomes his friend's face, it suddenly seems as if the weight of the world crashes down on Steve. 'Kicked Puppy Face' is nothing compared to what Danny's seeing now.

"It's not your fault, Steven," Danny quietly says.

"How do you know that?" the wounded SEAL growls out.

"I know you," the man who is his back-up more than just on the job replies, echoing what his partner said to him at Meka's wake.

A look of recognition at the remark along with a slight smile appears on Steve's face. "Thanks, Brother."

Danny grins before his face becomes serious once more. "What happened next?"

"The explosion. My bell got rung, a minor concussion, and my back. But the kid. I was on the ground trying to get my bearings, get my feet back under me. Then I turned my head and…and saw… him. His head…" Steve closes his eyes and it obvious all he can see is the kid's bloodied, mangled remains.

Danny uses his voice to pull his friend back to the present. "I'm so sorry, Steve. That should not have happened. No kid should have to die like that, but it wasn't your fault. You gave up your own protection to try to keep the kid safe. And, I know it didn't work and the kid died anyway, but it's not…your…fault. You got me?"

Steve looks away from his partner. Intellectually, he knows his friend is right, but emotionally it's something he knows will be with him for a long time to come. And while he's dealing with the physical reminders via the healing injuries to his back, he knows Danny will be there with him every step of the way to help him. He feels a light tap to his forearm and realizes he must have zoned again.

"Hey. You back with me?"

All Danny gets in reply is a distracted nod, but he can tell some of the weight has lifted off Steve's shoulders.

"Steve?" he says focusing all his attention on his partner.

"Yeah," is the still distracted reply accompanied by a distant gaze at the far wall.

"Was the mission a success overall?"

He nods.

"Were lives saved because of it?"

He nods again, then whispers a "yes."

"Were you not also hurt at the same time as that kid was killed?"

There's a long pause before Steve finally replies with a quiet, "Yes."

"I don't think there was anything you could've done differently in this situation. In fact, you went above and beyond by giving up your flak vest. Did you get in trouble for that?"

A pause before Steve finally meets Danny's eyes. "Actually… No, I didn't."

"Then, there you go. Even your superiors couldn't find fault in what happened. So, for the last time for the Navy-impaired – not…your…fault." Steve gives his partner a slightly annoyed look for the implied insult against him as Danny continues, "Now, repeat after me: 'It's not my fault.'"

Instead Steve's slightly annoyed look transforms into an annoyed glare. His partner smirks while reaching for his coffee and taking a sip before reaching down for a bag at his feet that Steve hadn't really noticed before now.

"I brought breakfast. Malasadas. And I know you believe that they're heart attacks waiting to happen, but…"

The SEAL lets his friend's words wash over him. He feels calmer, less weighed down by what happened on that mission. Danny can be a pain in the ass – way too stubborn and loud – but he's also a great friend, probably the best he's ever had.

At times he feels he doesn't deserve to have Chin, Kono, and especially Danny in his life, but…

His train of thought is interrupted by his friend's concerned, "Hey. You OK? You kind of seemed to be somewhere else there for a minute."

Steve smiles warmly, locks eyes with the man who seems to be so determined to stand by his side through everything, and replies, "I will be. Mahalo nui loa, Hoapili."

He hopes his partner hears in his voice just how much Danny's friendship means to him.

The tone, along with the genuine, almost shy smile and surprising words of Danny's reply – 'A'ole pilikia, Kaikua'ana – tells him all he needs to know.

ooooooo

The end.

ooooooo

A/N: Thanks much to my beta, Jaz22, for finding errors and helping me with timing issues. All remaining mistakes are mine.

Translations: Mahalo nui loa, Hoapili = Thank you very much, [close] Friend. 'A'ole pilikia, Kaikua'ana = You're welcome, Brother. (If I got these wrong, please let me know.)

Thanks for reading!