Note: A massive thanks to everyone still reading and seeing it through to the end. A special thanks to those still reviewing. As always I have to give a big yay to Wenwalke for all her help.

im afraid the writing machine is being forced to slow down as I have taken on extra shifts at work til end of November as we are really short staffed and cant call in just any nurse to work, you need to be specially trained to work in my area so I have stepped in to help cover some of the shifts. Extra pennies for Disney land trip too.

I do have a one shot ready to go though and will post it mon.

Chapter Fourteen

Danny carefully eased himself down into the chair by his bed and focused on his breathing, doing his best to ignore the pain in his back. He had just managed a trip to the bathroom, alone, which was a big improvement on his first attempt to get out of bed. Rachel had taken Grace home much to Grace's disgust. And that afternoon Dawn had helped Danny out of bed, with Steve's help. Danny was sure if Steve hadn't have supported him he would have ended up on the floor. However each time got a little easier, and as hoped, Danny had been moved out of the ICU the next morning. After X-Rays, the chest drain had also been removed. Danny's temperature had continued to grumble on with a, low grade, pyrexia, so Dr. Pearce had ordered all lines to be removed, which unfortunately included the epidural.

Danny now only had the one IV access in the back of his left hand, which he cursed every time he moved it. Still on IV antibiotics, intermittent muscle relaxants, and pain relief, Danny longed for it to be removed, but accepted it needed to stay, for now. Dr. Pearce was happy with his progress, and now the focus was on rebuilding his physical stamina, and strengthening his lung. The physiotherapist had put him through his paces with breathing exercises, and Steve had made sure he had stuck to his regime.

Rachel had brought Grace by after school the day before, and she came laden down with balloons and pictures to decorate Danny's new room. Steve, as expected, had refused to leave his partner's side, and had spent the previous night sleeping in the chair that Danny was now sat in.

"Are you ok Detective Williams?" June, Danny's nurse for the day asked as she entered the room.

"Just recovering from a trip to the bathroom," Danny answered, his eyes remaining shut as he shifted his weight in an attempt to ease the pain that had been building for the past hour. While having the epidural out had been a good step in his recovery, it now meant he was in pain again. Nowhere near as bad as before, but he was still dependant on heavy pain relieve to allow him to take the much needed deep breaths to strengthen his lung, and reduce the risk of developing pneumonia.

"I have your next round of IV antibiotics here." June explained, "And some more pain relief. It's oral this time though. Dr. Pearce wants to try and manage it with pills now, so we can get you home."

"That sound good," Steve said from the doorway. He had just returned from a quick trip home to shower and change. "Any idea when he could be released?"

"Released? You make it sound like I'm doing time." Danny teased.

"Discharged then," Steve corrected himself.

"Hopefully tomorrow," Dr. Pearce answered from behind him, and motioned for Steve to enter the room so she could talk to both of them. "Your last blood tests look good, your infection markers are down, and I expect the fever to be gone by tonight. If you manage ok today, on the oral painkillers, I can discharge you in oral antibiotics and pain meds. You will need to keep doing the breathing exercises and take things easy. But you can recover at home just as well as here from now on."

"That's great. Thanks Dr. Pearce, for everything. From what I've been told, you really did save my life, and I'm gonna have an impressive scar to prove it."

"You're welcome Danny." She blushed. "I'm guessing you will have plenty of support once home."

"Yeah, he will. He's coming to stay at mine, at first." Steve answered.

"I am?" Danny asked, but not at all surprised.

"Yeah, for a few days at least, until you're able to look after your self and Gracie. That's if you even want to go back to the house." Steve said, unsure if Danny would want to continue living in a house where he was viciously attacked.

"Of course I want to go back. It's our home. I like this house, I'm not gonna let this put me off." Danny said defiantly. "I just...I'm not looking forward to the clean up."

"Already done, Charlie had the CSU guys clean up after they were finished, so we didn't have to deal with it." Steve explained.

"Really? Make sure I thank him."

"Sounds like you're all set then, Danny. Take the meds June just brought you. They will take a little longer to get into your system, and I can see your uncomfortable now. One final IV antibiotic dose tonight, and then it's all oral." Dr. Pearce explained as Danny took the meds and June connected up the antibiotics. Then both women left.

Steve moved over to the bed and perched on the edge. "Thanks for letting me stay." Danny suddenly looked up and said.

"Of course, and if you feel up to it, maybe this weekend we could have a cookout. Invite everyone round. It will give you the opportunity to thank Charlie. Max and Kamekona have been asking about you too. We can invite Duke. He was great in helping us catch Ian."

Danny suddenly lost a bit of the colour he had regained back at the mention of Ian's name, "what's happening with him?" It was the first time the team had mentioned him since Danny had explained what had happened, and while Danny seemed to be dealing well with the attack, it was now obvious he had some issues to work through.

Steve moved closer to Danny and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder, the large splint now gone, but the fingers still taped together. "He had his injuries dealt with, and was moved to Halawa. His jaw will be wired shut for a month." Steve said an evil glint in his eye. "He's been charged with attempted murder, and his brief is advising him to plead guilty. He should be sentenced next month."

"That's good." Danny replied quietly, and Steve gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"So cook out, what do you say?" Steve asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Sure." Danny said raising his head. "Sounds like fun."

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny walked out to the lanai and watched his friends gather. Discharged from hospital a few days before, Danny had been taking it easy at Steve's. Still easily tired, and having to deal with painful muscle spasms as the muscle in his back that had been damaged slowly healed. Danny was frustrated at the amount of time he spent napping. He hadn't been able to make it through the day without at least two naps, so far.

Having just woken from one of those naps, he had made his way outside to find everyone setting out food. Spotting Rachel sat to one side he made his way over to her, waving to Steve who was setting up the grill and had noticed Danny was awake. "Hey, are you joining us?" He asked easing himself down into the chair next to her.

"Steve invited me to stay, is that ok?" She asked.

"Of course it's ok. Thanks for bringing Grace by."

"Well, I spoke with Steve last night, and we decided that I would head back home tomorrow. You're on the mend, and Grace seems ok now, so I really must get back to Charlie. I brought some of Graces things for her to stay. Steve says you can both stay here for as long as needed, and the team will make sure Grace gets to school. I'm booked on the morning flight."

"Oh, ok." Danny replied a little taken a back to be out of the loop. "Steve didn't say."

"He wanted it to be a surprise." Rachel smiled. "You know Danny? I'm well aware of what you gave up to move to Hawaii, how close to your family you were, and how hard it must have been to leave them. But I'm so glad you found yourself a new family here. I don't blame you for not wanting to leave them, to go through all that again. I'm sorry I tried to make you. As much as I miss Grace, she loves it here with you and the team, and they obviously love you both."

Danny smiled and swallowed a lump in his throat. He and Rachel hadn't spoken like this in years. "We're very lucky to have them. We both love them very much too, even if they are a bunch of goofs." Danny laughed as he watched Steve chase Grace and scoop her up, before hanging her upside down, where Kono proceeded to tickle her. Grace's shrill cry for help carried across the beach, and Danny pushed up from the chair and offered a hand to Rachel, "come on, I think it's time for an intervention before our daughter ends up buried in the sand up to her neck."

"They wouldn't really do that, would they?" Rachel cautiously asked.

"Er... no, in all fairness it's usually Steve that lets Grace bury him." Danny laughed as he stepped onto the sand to join his Ohana.

THE END