This is my first Hawaii Five -O fic that I've published and I'm really excited about what you guys think. I love the relationship between Danny and Steve and really just wanted to write a story about the friendship between the two. Please enjoy :)

Steve looked at the man over the barrel of his gun. They had been chasing the man for days now and had finally tracked him down to this old shipping container yard. Danny was by his side, gun out and pointing at the same man Steve's gun was pointed at. The man smirked at Steve and sarcastically put his hands up.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. You have succeeded in cornering me." His evil smirk made Steve uneasy and he was glad that he had called for backup already, after an argument with Danny.

"You're under arrest. Book him, Danno." Steve still had his gun trained on the man as an uneasy feeling grew in the pit of his stomach.

"Ah, but you see, McGarrett? How will he get me when he's injured?"

That's when the sniper rifle rang out and Danny collapsed, clutching his left side rib cage area with his right hand, his gun skittering away.

"Danny?!" Steve was about to go to him when he remembered the man in front of him. He froze and looked at the man, gun still pointed and expecting another shot to ring out and signal that he too had been shot.

The man must have read his mind. "No, you will not be injured. I don't need to waste the ammunition. Your loyalty lies with your friend." Another evil smirk spread across his face. "The choice is yours. Catch me and let your partner die, or save him and let me escape. Your decision."

A noise next to him made Steve look down. "Don't worry about me, Steve. Go get him." When Steve looked back up, it was too late. The man was gone and the puddle next to Danny was growing. Steve's mind was decided in an instant.

Steve holstered his gun and noticed the wheezing and gurgling coming from his brother. "Danny? Danny, can you hear me?" Steve pulled Danny into his arms, placing one hand over Danny's on his wound to try and increase the pressure and stop the bleeding. Blood trickled down the corner of Danny's jaw and Steve knew that the fear he held was true. The bullet had passed through the ribcage and damaged a lung. How badly, Steve had no idea until they could get him to a hospital, something he really needed to do.

Danny looked like he was in between agony and annoyance. "Steven, I thought I told you to go get that guy."

"Daniel, when have I ever been good at following orders?" Steve smiled at the normal banter that Danny was still able to carry even as he choked on his own blood.

Sirens sounded in the distance as Danny smiled and gave his usual chuckle which turned to a harsh, gurgling cough.

Steve felt his eyes water as he took his free hand and placed it on Danny's chest, pushing back his own tears and trying to give his brother any comfort he could. "Shh, Danno. Calm down." Steve let his head droop and fall against Danny's. "Easy. You're doing good. I need you to try and match your breathing to mine, ok?" Steve began to breath in short, shallow breaths, his hopes rising when he heard and felt Danny match it. "Good job, Danno."

Danny smiled and winced, his voice becoming weaker with every word he spoke. "Steve, there's something I need you to promise me."

Steve looked at the sky for a moment, trying to hide the single tear that rolled down his face. "Don't even go there, Danno. You're going to be fine, ok?"

"Please, Steve?" Danny asked, turning pleading, pain filled eyes on his partner, waiting for him to nod. "Tell Grace that Danno loves her."

Steve smiled with the thought that even with all that was happening, the one thing that Danny still cared most about was his daughter. "Danno . . ." He looked down and his voice disappeared. Danny's eyes were closed and Steve couldn't feel him breathing. "Danny!"

"Please, sir. Take a step back."

It took Steve a moment to realize that the paramedics had arrived and that's who was speaking to him. It took him another moment to understand and lay Danny gently on the ground.

The paramedics went to work, forcing oxygen into his lungs, as he had stopped breathing on his own, and inserting an IV. Not wanting to take too long to get Danny to the hospital, Danny was quickly loaded up and transported.

Steve couldn't do anything as he stood, staring at the spot where Steve had last seen the ambulance. He stood that way for about a minute until he felt two people near him.

Chin watched as Steve slowly came back to the present and looked at him and Kono. His voice cracked as he looked down at his hands, which were stained with blood. Danny's blood. Glancing at his two friends before looking back at his hands, he was able to only get out one word. "Hey." Suddenly, his legs didn't want to seem to want to hold him and he sank to the concrete, Chin and Kono instantly panicking as they searched for any unseen injury.

"Steve! Steve, are you okay? Are you hit?" Kono's eyes were frantic as they searched Steve's face.

Realizing what had just happened, Steve came back to the present and began to stand again. "Yeah. I'm fine. Let's get going, I want to be there when Danny gets out of surgery."

The cousins looked at each other and then at their boss before following.

To Steve, time was passing way too slow. The ticking of the clock seemed to mock him on how long it took to get his partner through surgery. He hadn't sat still since he arrived at the hospital, going between pacing and sitting, his knee bouncing at 3 times the pace that the clock was ticking. Nightmare worthy images of Danny lying in his arms, choking on his own blood flashed through his head along with one thought.

Danny had died in his arms.

That one thought nearly brought Steve to tears. The simple idea that his brother had died in his arms like some dramatic scene in a TV show. And then there was Rachel. She and Grace were in Las Vegas with Stan for the weekend. Steve had called Rachel when he arrived at the hospital and had listened to the tears and pleas of the a child in the background asking "Where's Danno?"

Danny had only been shot and the call had been heart wrenching. What if the doctor came back and had only bad news and Steve had to call back and tell them that Danny hadn't made it.

Those four words in Steve's thoughts completely broke down the wall Steve had been trying desperately to build since he had realized that Danny had died in his arms.

A tear rolled down Steve's cheek and he had to act quickly to intercept it and brush it away. Danny would be fine. There was no question about it. No matter how long it took or how painful it was, Steve would get Danny back, for Grace . . . for his team . . . and for himself.

I've been hit. I'm bleeding out. I'm going to die. But Steve. Steve's alone. No one's watching his back.

Help Steve.

Sniper. Steve's going to get taken out by a sniper. But I've already been hit.

I'm going to die.

Help Steve.

I'm bleeding out.

Help Steve.

Grace. I'll never see Grace again.

Help Steve.

Help Steve.

"Wake up, Danno!"

Help Steve.

"Wake up!

Help!

Danny bolted awake, drenched in sweat with a worried looking SEAL sitting on the edge of the bed. "Danny? Are you okay?"

Danny looked around Steve's guest bedroom as events came flooding back. The shooting, his recovery, and the fact that tomorrow was his first day back to work in a month. He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."

Steve gave a sad smile and nodded. "Obviously." Taking a deep breath, he tried to block out the images of Danny being shot down right next to him from his mind, the nightmares that had been plaguing him for the past month. Apparently, he wasn't the only one. "Danny, if you need more time, that's fine. You don't have to go to work tomorrow. Sometimes, nightmares mean that you aren't ready and that you just need more time." He looked up to see Danny glaring at him.

"Sorry, Steve, but you're going to have to try a lot harder to keep me from going into work. This is one of those things that gets better after I go back into work. The same thing happened when I got poisoned. I had nightmares, went back to work, and got better. No problem. I just need to be able to . . ." Danny seemed to lose his train of thought as his eyes got distant.

Steve knew immediately that Danny was thinking about the dream. "You need to be able to do what, Daniel?"

Danny came back and ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath before looking at Steve. "I need to be able to watch your back. That's been the worst part of this month. The idea that there would be no one to watch your back and control you."

Steve smiled and shook his head, amused at the usage of the work 'control'. Draping an arm across Danny's shoulders, he pulled his friend closer to him, trying desperately to get his point across. "Listen to me, Danno. We're partners, and that goes two ways, not just one. So, I have to be able to have your back too. You know what was the worst part of this month for m? The idea that you were shot right next to me and I couldn't have YOUR back. That I had failed in my mission as a partner . . . a friend . . . a brother." Danny smiled and so did Steve, happy that his message was coming through. "So just remember that, Danno. That you're my partner too and I need to be able to have your back, alright?"

Danny nodded, smiling. The heavy weight of his guilt lifted off his shoulders and he felt fatigue pull at him. Looking over at the clock on the nightstand, he saw that it was only 11:30 at night. "Sorry for waking you, babe."

Steve smiled and shook his head, a small chuckle escaping. "Don't sweat it, I wasn't sleeping."

Danny looked confused as he asked the only logical question that came to mind. "What were you doing?"

"Reading," was the sum of Steve's reply, and he smiled as Danny came in with his usual short monologue, prepared especially for times such as these.

"Read? You can read? Since when have you known how to read, you Neanderthal?"

Steve rolled his eyes and pretended to be offended. "You don't really doubt my intelligence to that degree, do you Danno?"

"Hey, I have no way of knowing what they taught you in that crazy Army school." Weariness was quickly overtaking him and Danny didn't know how much longer he would be able to stay awake.

Steve sighed, though the smile never left his face. "Navy, Danny. It was the Navy."

Danny yawned as he threw out his last word. "Whatever."

Steve smiled and slowly stood up and gently nudged Danny to lie back down. "Go to sleep, Danno. You've got a busy day tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Steven," Danny said, quickly falling asleep as he sank into the pillow.

Steve pulled the blanket closer up to Danny's chin and turned off the light. Walking towards the door, he grabbed the handle and began to pull the door closed, pausing only to turn and look at his sleeping partner and friend. "Goodnight, Daniel." Closing the door, he went back downstairs, happy in the idea that he had Danny back.

Did you like it? Let me know by reviewing! If you did and you would like me to publish more, just let me know in the review and I will be sure to publish some. Later!