A/N: So this is the final chapter. Thanks again to all who've reviewed.

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

Chapter Three

Steve waved his arm at the chopper and was happy to see Chin looking down at him from the co-pilots seat. It didn't take long for two men to jump from the chopper into the water and swim to the raft. They secured a line to stop it from being blown away by the wind from the rotors.

A basket was lowered and Danny was carefully moved from the raft to the basket. They had to make sure not to move the spear during the process. Steve was glad Danny was unconscious as the transfer would have caused him a good deal of pain.

One of the men went up with Danny, keeping the spear steady. The other waited with Steve, and once Danny was secured, they were pulled up together using the rope that had been attached to the raft.

The flight to the hospital seemed to take forever. Steve was worried because Danny didn't regain consciousness. Once they arrived, the ER staff whisked Danny away, Steve, and Chin were left to wait. Kono had gone with the Coast Guard to stop the smuggler's boat and didn't arrive for another hour. By then, Steve was pacing back and forth in front of the doors to the ER.

"How long has he been pacing like that cuz?"

"Since we got here, I suggested he go home and clean up then come back. He had lots of time. But no way was he going to leave before he got word on Danny."

"What happened? Danny wasn't hurt when you talked to Steve on the boat."

"It happened when they were leaving the boat. A man threw a spear at Steve and Danny pushed him out of the way."

"Oh, god, and now Steve's blaming himself." It was a statement, not a question. She'd known Steve long enough to realise that he would always blame himself if anything happen to Danny, or any of the team.

"It was my fault, Kono. If Danny hadn't pushed me aside, he wouldn't be hurt." Steve stopped pacing and sat beside Kono.

"I'm sure that Danny doesn't blame you, Steve," Kono said. "Did he say anything?"

"Yeah. He told me he's hurt because of his own actions not mine. But I led him onto that boat in the first place. If I hadn't done that, none of this would have happened."

Chin moved next to Steve and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Steve, Danny would follow you almost anywhere. But he's not stupid. He trusts you. If he thought it wasn't safe to go on that boat, he'd have told you."

"But he did tell me Chin. His exact words were, 'Maybe you should just shoot me yourself. Save them the trouble, because I have a feeling that I'm going to get shot as punishment for following you onto this god forsaken boat.' I didn't listen."

"Steve you know that was just Danny ranting to release the tension. He does it all the time. He didn't mean anything by it and he'll tell you that when he's better," Chin reached out and turned Steve to look at him. "This is not your fault Steve."

Before Steve could say anything more, a doctor walked through the doors from the ER.

"Who's here for Detective Danny Williams?"

The three teammates rose as one and approached the doctor.

"How is he doctor?" Chin was the first to find his voice.

"He's on his way to surgery right now. It could be a while before we know too much more. Please sit down." The doctor walked over to the chairs and sat. The teammates sat opposite him. "I'm Doctor Fraser," he said.

"Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly, Officer Kono Kalakaua, Commander Steve McGarrett." Chin made the introductions.

"Commander McGarrett you were with Detective Williams I believe."

"Yes I was," Steve replied.

"Then I believe you saved his life. The spear is embedded in the liver, and any movement would have caused a massive amount of blood loss."

"I suspected it was in his liver from the position of the spear, so when I pulled him into the raft, I held it steady. Danny was holding it himself whenever he was able. When he wasn't, I took over."

"Well you both did a good job then. He'll live because of you, and I'm sure he will thank you himself." The doctor stood to leave. "If you want to move to the surgical waiting room on the 3rd floor, I'll make sure his surgeon comes to see you as soon as she's done."

"Thanks doc," Chin said as the doctor went back into the ER.

"Come on Steve. We'll go get something to eat then go up and wait," Kono took Steve's arm and started to lead him towards the cafeteria.

Steve just picked at his food, but listened intently as Kono told them what had happened when the Coast Guard boarded the fishing boat.

"Their leader was dead, and one of the others had a pretty severe concussion. The two that were left just wanted to get away. They didn't put up much resistance, and it was all over in a few minutes."

"Good," Steve said distractedly.

Two hours later, they were still waiting for the surgeon to make an appearance, and Steve had paced the whole time they'd been in the waiting room. Finally after another half an hour the door opened and a woman in green scrubs walked out.

"I'm Doctor Kabua, you're all here for Detective Williams?"

"Yes," Steve said rather abruptly.

The doctor didn't seem to notice.

"The surgery went very well. I removed the spear with little difficulty and then repaired the liver. It was lucky that the spear glanced of a rib and was slowed down. There should be no lasting effects, as long as Detective Williams follows orders and rests for at least a month. While the liver is a marvellous organ with regenerative powers, it does need time to heal."

Steve sank down into a chair and seemed unable to speak.

"Don't worry, doctor. We'll make sure Danny takes it easy." Chin spoke for them all. "We came too close to losing him to let him hinder his recovery."

"Good. He's in recovery right now, but will be moved to a private room shortly. I'll have a nurse take you there and you can wait for him." Doctor Kabua turned to leave.

Steve had feared the worst and now that being told Danny would be alright had sunk in, he found his voice. He stood up and spoke to the doctor.

"Thanks Doctor Kabua. Thanks for saving Danny."

"You're welcome. But I heard it was you who saved him, first by keeping him afloat, then steadying the spear so it wouldn't do any more damage than it did."

"Except, I'm the reason he was hurt in the first place," Steve sighed.

"No. That's not the way I heard it from Detective Williams in the ER. He told us that you saved him."

"Danny was awake?"

"Yes, he regained consciousness for a while before we took him to surgery. Oh I forgot. He said to tell you, and I quote, 'I got hurt because of my own actions Steven, not yours. Stop blaming yourself'."

Steve sank back down into the chair. Those had been the same words Danny had said to him on the raft, so he must have told the doctor he'd saved him, but Steve still didn't believe it.

Chin and Kono helped Steve to his feet and guided him along after a nurse, who took them to Danny's room. Danny wasn't there yet, but they got comfortable and waited for him to be brought in. They had to leave for a few minutes while Danny was settled in his bed but then they were allowed to return.

Steve was happy to see that Danny was awake. He had an IV in his left hand, a heart monitor on and a nasal cannula for oxygen, but no other machines.

Chin and Kono approached the bed, but Steve hung back by the door. Kono carefully hugged Danny and kissed him on the cheek. Chin patted him on the arm and held on for a few moments as if he was afraid Danny would disappear.

They talked for a few minutes and Steve heard Kono start to tell Danny about capturing the smugglers, then he stopped listening. He was leaning back against the wall by the door trying not to hyperventilate. Seeing Danny alive and awake had impacted him more than he'd believed possible. Suddenly he realised that Chin and Kono were leaving. They passed him without saying a word, closing the door quietly behind them.

"Steve, come here," Danny motioned to his bed. "Sit down I want to talk to you." He spoke as if he were talking to a child.

Seeing no way to avoid it, Steve walked over and sat next to Danny's bed. Danny held out his right hand and waited for Steve to take hold of it. Then with surprising strength he pulled Steve a little closer.

"I'm going to say this one more time, and this time I want you to listen. Are you listening to me Steven?"

When Danny didn't go on, Steve realised he'd have to answer.

"Yes I'm listening, Danny."

"That'll be a first. Now I've told you this already, but you don't seem to get it. None of this is your fault. I pushed you and then didn't move in time. You kept me afloat and held the spear when I couldn't. YOU SAVED MY LIFE! Have you got that yet?"

Steve smiled.

"Despite what you think, I always listen to you Danny." Seeing the look in Danny's eyes, Steve carried on. "It's just. . . I told you everything would be alright if you trusted me and look what happened."

"I do trust you Steve, and you kept me alive, so everything is alright. Now I get to take it easy for a month, and you get to do all the hard work. I think everything worked out fine."

"Okay, Danny. I'm glad you're alright, but if I have to do all the hard work, that means you have to do all the paperwork," Steve had a big smile on his face.

"What? What? Why do I have to do all the paperwork? You can do your own paperwork," Danny gave a big yawn.

"Nope, it's only fair," Steve pulling his chair a little closer to the bed. "Tell you what, you get some sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up, and we can continue our paperwork discussion then. Okay?"

"Okay, Steve, but I'm not giving in on this." With that, Danny's eyes closed and his breathing evened out as he fell asleep.

"We'll see," Steve said quietly. He then placed Danny's hand, which he was still holding, back on the bed. Put his hand over Danny's, settled back in his chair and promptly fell asleep. That was how Chin and Kono found them when they returned a few minutes later.

"Awe cuz, look at that. The children have made up and are taking a nap," Kono laughed.

"Yeah it looks that way, but with Danny still living at Steve's place, the next few weeks should be very interesting."

"Well, I'm just glad we'll have the chance to see and hear them, because it was too close for me."

"Me too, Kono, Me too," Chin said as they both turned and left the two partners asleep.

The End