Last chapter, but still plenty of angst.

Chapter 8 – Now

Delirious from fever and disoriented by drugs, Danny woke screaming Steve's name in the hospital. Sobbing at the memory of the body on the floor, Danny cried his friend's name in grief and guilt. But when Steve tried to comfort him, Danny flinched away in fear of the impostor. He struggled to escape.

With his leg was in traction, he felt as if he was tied up again, which added to his confused terror.

He flailed wildly and his friends and his doctors were afraid he would harm himself further.

The young doctor ordered him restrained, but Danny really panicked when they grabbed his arms to strap him down. He fought back, giving one orderly a bloody nose.

"We have to restrain him," the doctor said urgently. "He's going to hurt himself."

"You can't do this," Steve protested. "You'll just scare him more. For God's sake, he was kidnapped and tied up while men beat him. You can't tie him up again!"

"Can't you sedate him?" Kono asked.

"We still don't have the blood work back," the doctor said. "We don't know what drugs are in his system. Anything we give him could kill him."

"Steve!" Danny sobbed.

Steve went to him. "Danny, you've got to calm down," Steve said urgently. "You're going to hurt yourself. You're safe now. Stop fighting."

Danny's face changed horribly when he saw his partner. "No!" he raved in grief and fear. "Get away from me!"

Steve retreated, hovering indecisively near the door. It was unlike him. Steve was always decisive. He might make the wrong decision. He might make a half-assed, life-threatening, lunatic decision, according to Danny, but he was never indecisive.

"Let me try," Kono said. Without waiting for permission, she went to Danny's side, avoided the weak punch he threw at her and hugged him tightly, pulling his face against her hair, as if he was a frightened child.

"It's OK, Danny," she crooned. "It's OK. You're safe now."

Danny struggled against her firm grip, but his resistance began to fade. He sniffed her neck and his movement stilled. "Ugh, coconut."

Kono's heart leaped. She remembered one time she and Danny were following a suspect through a marketplace. The man changed direction and came in their direction. Kono grabbed Danny and kissed him, so the suspect wouldn't see their faces. Danny was startled, but grasped the situation quickly and then grasped her. After the suspect passed them and went into a shop, Kono pushed away. She felt suddenly shy, because this was Danny, a pal but not a boyfriend.

Danny just said, "Ugh, coconut," and wiped his arm across his forehead, which had touched her sunblock-covered forehead. "Kalakaua, if you want to continue making out with me, you'll have to change your line of personal care products," Danny said sternly, causing Kono to laugh and slug him good-naturedly. He wrinkled his nose at her and any discomfort on her part dissolved.

Right now, Kono was glad she still liked coconut-scented body lotion. The familiar though disliked scent seemed to help settle the agitated man.

"Danny, it's me, Kono. Can you open your eyes for me?" she coaxed.

A pair of sad blue eyes opened and tears immediately began to trickle from them.

"Steve's dead," Danny said forlornly, clinging to his teammate. "I killed Steve."

Steve stiffened, suddenly hopeful at hearing sensible sentences, even if the subject matter was confused.

"No, Danny, Steve's alive," Kono corrected calmly. "He's right there by the door. See?"

Danny's eyes shifted and sadness gave way to an animosity that made Steve flinch.

"Fake Steve!" Danny snarled.

"Hallucinating?" the doctor suggested too quiet for Danny to hear, as he made a note on his computer tablet.

"No," Chin answered in a normal speaking voice. "There was an impostor, we all saw his body. We think that's what the drugs were for, to confuse Danny so he wouldn't realize it wasn't really Steve."

"But he did realize," Steve said proudly. "Because he's a great detective."

The detective didn't seem to register the conversation. His angry gaze was still piercing Steve.

"Danny." Chin's sharp voice demanded attention. Danny's eyes shifted to him. "Danny, you know me."

"Chin," Danny agreed.

"Did Fake Steve have Kono or Chin with him?"

Danny's brow furrowed in sudden doubt. "Nooooo," he said hesitantly.

Chin put his hands on Steve's shoulders. "Danny, this is Real Steve. You killed the Fake Steve, not the real one."

Doubt and hope warred on the sick man's face.

"Danno, what can I say to prove I'm really me?" Steve asked.

Awareness was seeping back into Danny's expression. He released his death grip on Kono and lay back on his pillow, but she kept one hand on his shoulder to keep him grounded. The detective regarded the commander.

"Say, 'I like tykes on trikes so I'll take a cake to the lake,'" Danny said finally.

Steve's look of confusion was almost enough by itself to relieve Danny's mind. The doctor looked equally startled, but a wide smile split Chin's face. He'd seen the fingerprint results from the corpse.

"You heard the man," Chin told Steve.

Steve repeated the nonsense phrase, getting the vowels right, then added to Chin, "What the…?"

"We got a hit on the fingerprints," Chin showed a picture of a man who looked a lot like Steve. "Max said he had plastic surgery to increase the likeness then added a few bruises to cover up any imperfections in the new face. He's an expert interrogator, a mercenary for hire, originally from Australia," Chin said. "I'll bet his accent slipped a little. Huh, Danny?"

"A little. Enough," Danny said, hoarsely. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He was almost sure now, but he needed confirmation. "I need a hug," he said, beckoning Steve.

Chin elbowed Steve forward. The SEAL went stiffly, but he went. He gave Danny an awkward hug. Danny pulled him close and sniffed.

Steve stiffened. Had Danny really smelled his hair. That went beyond awkward, firmly into the dead center of embarrassing.

But now Danny was certain. Steve smelled like Steve, sour from worry and neglected hygiene, perfumed with too much antiseptic and stale coffee from being in the hospital too long, but recognizably Steve.

Danny leaned his head against his partner's chest. Steve recognized that he'd passed some sort of test and regained his friend's trust. He gave Danny a quick but genuine hug, then pushed away to look his friend in the eye.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?"

Danny gave a quick headshake. "Sorry, it's classified."

The look Steve gave him was the icing on the cake. Steve's familiar aneurism face brought tears to Danny's eyes, turning aneurism face into worried face.

"I was sure at first, but then I got so confused," Danny tried to explain. His fists clenched around Steve's shirt. "I thought I'd killed the wrong one. What if I was wrong?"

"You weren't wrong," Steve said fondly.

Danny lay back, feeling relaxed despite aching ribs, shaky hands, weepy eyes and a leg in traction. "I wasn't wrong," he sighed in relief. "I wasn't wrong."

The End