Here's another story from my vault. It's been lingering in my unfinished file for too long. I left out the phone call about the bomb being meant for them. The show seems to have dropped it, so I figured...why not? Plus it wouldn't fit into my story. I warn you - there be McDanno ahead, and it's a teeny bit sexy at the end. Just doing my part to help ease the Hiatus Blues. I hope you enjoy.

Lou dabbed his mouth and surveyed his plate. "Hey Danny - you got anymore meatballs?"

"As many as you ate, bruddah, you need more?" Sang Min picked up the bread basket and held it away from Lou.

"At least I don't look like I have a rat on my head."

"Hey, that's uncalled for-" Sang Min pushed his chair back from the table. "I'm surprised McGarrett doesn't have some sorta - you know - physical fitness test."

Lou glared at their informant. "Why are you here?"

"Hey. Please, guys." Steve shook his fork at his guests. Then he looked around the room. "Where is Danny anyway?"

Everyone shrugged and went back to eating.

"Yo Danno." Steve got up from the table and headed for the kitchen. "Danny we need seconds - and thirds - in here, man. If you're not careful, they might eat the -"

Something squished under his foot, and it took a second for his brain to catch up. He stopped, unsure of what he was seeing. Meatballs and sauce all over the floor. And his best friend in the middle of it.

"Shit, Danny." He rushed into the room. "You okay?"

He slid beside his partner, crouching down. Danny lay on his side, eyes closed. Steve felt for a pulse, finding a strong one quickly.

"Steve, what's taking-" Lou appeared in the doorway. "Shit what happened?"

"I don't know. He's out cold. Make sure Charlie doesn't come in here. Call for a bus."

"Gotcha." Lou backed away.

Chin appeared, phone to his ear.

Danny moaned.

Steve squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, buddy, you with us?"

"What happened?" He rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up.

"No you don't." Steve kept him on the floor, hand on his chest. "Stay down."

"I'm fine." Danny grouched, not pleased with being held down. "Get off me."

"This does not look fine." Steve waved his hand. "This looks like an Italian restaurant barfed all over the floor."

Chin crouched beside them. "EMTs are about 5 minutes out."

"Good, thanks Chin."

"No hospital. I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." Danny pushed at Steve. "Come on, don't wanna scare Charlie."

"We've got Charlie covered." Steve released Danny a little when he felt him stop struggling. "Get checked out. It's been a long day. Please."

"Both of you." Chin's voice was stern and unyielding.

Steve didn't hesitate. "I will, alright?"

"Really?" Danny shut his eyes and blew out a long breath. "You're agreeing to get checked? Am I dying?"

/././

"Detective Williams is fine. I'd like to keep him overnight. As a precaution."

"What happened, doc? He seemed alright. We were cleared."

"Yes, I was briefed on your earlier adventures, Commander. Frankly I'm surprised you're both still on your feet." He laughed. "But Five-0 is legendary. Unfortunately, you are not indestructible."

Steve knew the man wasn't joking like his team often did, so he moved the conversation along to the most important thing. "Can I see him? And please, call me Steve."

"Yes, but only after a quick exam."

Steve nodded. After all, he'd promised his partner. "Sure, I'll get checked out. No problem."

"Have you taken your meds today? He wanted me to remind you."

He knew exactly which meds the doctor meant. "Yea I took them this morning like always. Captain Worrywart watched me."

"Well, his brain may be a little scrambled. A concussion may cause memory loss, as you well know."

"Concussion? He seemed fine. Even cooked me dinner."

The physician smiled at the last part before explaining. "Well, sometimes, it takes the body a bit to react. He may have felt perfectly fine. Fact is, he's got a pretty good knot on the back of his head. Might be from this evening or from earlier. He mentioned you crashed a truck right before the explosion?"

"Yea. I did it to keep us safe. I never meant for-"

"Commander - Steve - you survived. And Danny is tough. You both are. You saved a lotta lives out there today. Remember that."

Steve nodded, unable to reply. If he closed his eyes, he could still see the bomb and feel the adrenaline rush. He hadn't been certain of anything in that moment, despite all the bravado in the world. But now - now they were both safe. And he could endure an examination, if only to make Danny happy.

"Okay, doc. What ever you need to do."

"Alright, let me look at you. Shouldn't take long. I've ordered some tests, but they can wait til morning." The doctor led him to an exam room. "And maybe you can keep your partner company tonight?"

/././

Steve stood in the doorway, watching Danny sleep. He could never explain how much he loved the man. Their friendship had grown beyond normal boundaries years ago. He couldn't imagine doing the job without him.

The mention of retirement had blindsided him. He'd felt betrayed, sad - a whole jumble of emotions he wasn't comfortable feeling.

"Hey." Danny's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Hey man. How do you feel?"

Danny squeezed his eyes shut and took a slow breath in through his nose and out his mouth. "Headache."

"Me too."

"Come take a load off. S'been a long day."

Steve didn't move.

"What?" Danny positioned the bed so he was sitting up. "You still mad at me?"

Steve frowned and Danny kept babbling, all the while massaging his temples.

"Because I'm sorry but - I'm not naming my restaurant - "

"That's not it. And you will -"

"No, I will not. Come on, what else? Doc said I was fine. You okay?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We're still on this?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Of course we're still on this. You didn't think I'd care? I have feelings, you know."

Danny closed his eyes and chuckled. "That's rich coming from you. You know that? You make decisions all the time without consulting me."

Steve ignored him and continued his own rant. "Why wouldn't you include me? We're partners."

"We've been over this already. I'm not retiring any time soon."

"Yea and I still just - I don't get it. Something this big. It hurts."

"I can't believe you." Danny shook his head, hissing at the motion. He flattened his palm against his forehead before continuing, his tone a little softer. "Every time you do something stupid - which is a lot - and put yourself in harm's way, it hurts my feelings. At least with my plan, I'll still be alive."

"So you figured you'd get me back by not telling me you were retiring?"

"Well if you put it that way, it sounds pretty bad."

"It is bad, Danny. We're partners."

Another pained laugh from Danny. "You keep saying that. Partners. Like it only applies to my behavior."

"Alright, okay. I get it." Steve sat in the chair next to the bed. "I'm sorry. I don't consider your feelings. Most of the time, I'm trying to-"

"Kill me?"

"No." Steve's voice cracked a little, anger and pain flashed across his face. "Why would you say that? I'm trying to save your ass."

"By getting yourself killed? How do you expect me to live with myself if you do that?"

Steve sighed, clearly uncomfortable. He rubbed the back of his neck and barely looked at Danny. "I guess I -"

"I'm so tired of this argument. You think you can sacrifice yourself? Like you're worth less?"

"Yea because you have Grace and Charlie."

"Screw you. Don't use them as an excuse. Lou has kids. Chin has Sarah. Kono has Adam. Everyone has someone or something to lose. We've all made the choice to do this job."

Sweat beaded on Danny's forehead. He closed his eyes and settled back into the bank of pillows.

"I do it because I couldn't live without you." Steve stumbled over his words. "You. All of you. If something happened on my watch. Well, it should happen to me."

He leaned forward, dabbing his eyes. Danny watched and waited, not sure what to say. He let Steve get it all out.

"There. Alright. You happy? I'm crying." Steve smiled. "I think I got the emotional half of your liver. Because all this sharing is new...and exhausting. How do you stand it?"

They stared at one another for a few seconds until Steve looked away.

"Please, just go home. You should sleep in your own bed. Not -" Danny waved at him. "Not that sorry excuse for a chair."

"Get over yourself. I'm not leaving." Steve frowned. "You okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. My head hurts. My ears are still ringing. We almost died today."

"But we didn't. And I got you to jump out of a plane." Steve grinned.

Warmth spread over Danny and he couldn't help but smile back. Then he wrinkled his nose, playing his part in their well practiced game. "That'll be the last time I jump out of a perfectly good airplane."

"You loved it. Admit it." Steve attempted to swat Danny's arm.

Danny pulled away. "No, I most certainly did not love it. Quite the contrary."

"Don't lie. I know when you're lying."

"How?"

"Your eyes."

"My eyes?" Danny's face lit up.

"They don't fit what you're saying."

"So you look at my eyes?"

"All the time." Steve tilted his head just a little, blushing. "You have nice eyes."

"Nice?" Danny smiled, corners of his eyes getting all crinkly.

"Yea they're nice. So what?" Steve crossed his arms over his chest.

"Because I look at more than your eyes." Danny fired back, the words tossed like a dare for Steve to share even more.

And Steve played along. "Why do you think I make fun of you for wearing a tie? Do you know what they do to me?"

Danny laughed, holding his head. "Ow, please, stop."

"I'm serious. I can't stand it sometimes." Not breaking eye contact, Steve reveled in driving his partner just a little crazy.

"I think you need your head examined, babe." Danny just knew he was blushing.

Steve scooted the chair close to the bed, taking Danny's hand. This time, when he spoke, he kept his voice low. "What you said about retiring got me thinking. And then we almost blew up...again. There's never a good time for this..."

"What about Lynne?" Danny held tight to Steve's hand, thumb rubbing circles.

"What about Melissa?"

"As you know, the whole chicken salad thing didn't go over well."

"She didn't like our safe word?"

"Don't be a dope. If you weren't so cute I'd say it was ridiculous. A safe word...seriously, Steven?" Danny sighed, face pinched with pain despite the look of pure fondness he shot his partner's direction.

Steve turned his hand over and interlaced their fingers. "I love you."

"You forgot the bro."

"Yea, I don't know why that slipped out."

"Because I did not feel this way about my brother."

"Which way?"

"Come closer, and I'll show you." Danny tugged Steve's arm and he obeyed.

"Boys."

They both jumped.

"I told you to rest, Daniel. Not go on a date." His nurse stood in the doorway, frowning. "Time to go, Commander."

"I thought I was supposed to stay? For observation."

"Not if you get him all riled up like that."

Steve played dumb. "Riled up?"

"Don't make me spell it out. I've seen the way you two look at each other. You're bunking in separate rooms tonight."

"We promise to behave." Danny knew their nurse wouldn't buy it.

"Says you." Hands on her hips, she glared at them. "Visiting hours are over."

Neither of them moved.

"Just give him a quick peck on the cheek or something and be done with it. You aren't staying in this room tonight." She stood her ground. "Don't underestimate me, Commander."

"Alright...okay." Steve acquiesced, hands up in surrender. "I promise. Five minutes and I'm gone. For the night."

"That's right. I made up a very nice bed for you - and it better get used. The observation part of you staying here does not mean you observe your partner." She studied them for a few minutes and then left the room.

"Continue this conversation in the morning?" Danny smiled.

Steve kissed Danny's forehead as he smoothed his hair. "Good night, Danno."

"Good night, babe." He caught Steve's hand as he pulled away and held on. Almost desperate. "I love you."

"I know."

"I needed you to hear it. I'm sorry I don't always say it."

Steve put his free hand over their joined hands and leaned in for another kiss, this time on the lips. "Good night, Daniel."

"Good night, Steven."

/././

By the next evening, the pair sat in their favorite spot. Steve's couch. TV playing a recorded basketball game. Steve already knew the score and was taunting Danny with hints about the players' performances. Instead of sticking to their respective spots, they were pressed against one another. Steve's arm slung over Danny's shoulders. Danny tucked against Steve, hand on his thigh.

"This isn't much different than before." Danny mused. "You're still a couch hog."

"Except I can do this." Steve pushed Danny sideways and crawled on top of him, mouth on his neck, hands everywhere.

"That you can." Danny laughed as he pried an arm free. "And I can do this."

He grabbed Steve's ass and squeezed.

"Soooo, the restaurant." Steve managed to get the words out between kisses.

Danny pushed away slightly. "Would you give it a rest?"

"No."

"No?"

"I want to own a restaurant with you."

Danny raised an eyebrow. This was clearly about more than a restaurant.

"Uh huh. A restaurant."

"That's right." Steve purred before latching onto Danny's neck.

Danny whined put didn't pull away. "Hickies, Steven. They aren't professional."

"Who's being professional?" Steve laughed and sucked harder.

Danny dug his fingers into Steve's firm cheeks. The thin fabric of his shorts left nothing to the imagination.

"You think that's gonna stop me?"

"I know it won't." Danny slipped his hands under Steve's shorts, one hand cupping his ass. The other slid around his body, going for something a little more sensitive. "But this will."

"You play dirty."

"And this surprises you?" Danny began to stroke slowly, deliberately.

Steve arched his back and thrust into his partner's hand. "You're gonna kill me."

"Better me than -"

Steve didn't let Danny finish the thought.

Oh, I know I'm terrible. I know you can fill in the blanks... Thanks, as always, for reading. Until next time...