I know, I've got like two other stories going on right now, but I'm too tired to produce anything quality from them and too awake to go to sleep. First world problems, huh? Well, enjoy!

They crouched behind what was left of the concrete wall after it had been blown out. The world erupted around them like an angry volcano. Danny had to shout to be heard over the din.

"'We don't need backup' he says. 'We'll be fine' he says. This is why you should listen to me, Steven!" Danny aimed his gun and fired. His shots were slow, yet precise and he dropped another gun wielding asshole.

"Like this is my fault! How was I supposed to know these guys would be here?" Steve let out a burst of automatic fire while Danny reloaded.

"That's the point! We don't know. That's why you bring backup so this doesn't happen!" Danny shouted, taking his anger out on two of the nearest hostiles. Steve felt a flash of guilt. He knew that while Danny was partially angry at him, he was mostly scared. He wasn't scared of dying. No, Danny was too brave for that. He was scared of leaving Grace without her father.

"I'm sorry. Next time you call the shots. I mean it." Steve let out another burst from his weapon. Danny shot him look to tell him that he had been appeased…for now. Steve was peeking above the wall, carefully aiming a shot to take out the man he presumed to be the leader. He did not see the red dot of a laser sight creeping up his chest towards his head, but Danny did.

"Steve, get down!" He yelled, but there wasn't time. He ran to his partner and tackled him backwards. He felt two incredibly powerful impacts. He and Steve rolled in the air Danny ended up beneath him. Danny's last thought before his head impacted the floor with a sickening crack and he passed out from either the pain or the concussion was how strange it was that this all happened in slow motion. Just like in the movies, he mused. Then it all cut to black.

Steve was still unsure of what happened, but it didn't take him long to realize what Danny had done. "Danny? Danny!" He began to search for blood. Other than the slowly growing pool around his partner's head, he found no obvious wounds. Feeling along the bullet proof vest, he found two bullets lodged in in the hard Kevlar. One was to the middle of his right side of his torso and the other was further up, a little left of the center of his chest. Steve frowned as he worried about a possible bruise to the heart. He heard gunfire, but not from the direction of the men he and Danny had been fighting. Steve smiled at the thought that Chin and Kono would be here soon. Gently, he freed Danny's limp body from his vest and began to feel his way along his friend's ribcage. He winced when he felt the grating of at least three broken ribs, the creaking of two cracked ones, and what he guessed were several others that were badly bruised. His lung didn't appear to have been punctured at least. He felt along the huge bruises already forming, but found no signs of internal bleeding. Then he placed the vest beneath Danny's head, trying to cushion it. He was just peeling Danny's eyes open when the familiar shapes of Chin and Kono came running up to them and fell to their knees around Danny.

"What happened?" They asked at the same time.

"He shoved me out of the way of a laser sight and took two in the vest. Also smacked his head pretty hard. Definitely a concussion. His pupil response is sluggish and uneven. Chin, call for an ambulance." Chin did so quickly, relaying all that Steve had just said. Kono wordlessly removes her blouse and used it to stem the blood flow from Danny's head. She was now clad in only a tank top. It was a warm day, but she shivered in fear nonetheless. Once she had placed the wadded up shirt beneath his head, Danny groaned. All eyes snapped to the injured man.

Danny became aware first of the deep voice that spoke authoritatively and then large hands gently tapping his cheeks.

"Come on, Danno. Open your eyes." The voice spoke softly and encouragingly. Steve, Danny thought. He groaned again as the pain washed over him. "Come on partner, let me see those baby blues." He struggled with his eyelids for a moment before he was able to open them. Everything was blurry. As his world came back into focus, he saw Steve's face complete with his trademark goofy smile looming over him.

"Morning sunshine." Danny struggled to speak.

"'teve?" Danny slurred.

"Yeah buddy. I'm here.

"This wasn't in the movies." He mumbled. Steve's smile fell away instantly.

"What?" Steve asked, not understanding. He was beginning to fear that Danny's head injury was worse than he'd thought.

"Never mind. You okay?" Steve stared at him in disbelief.

"Am I okay? I'm not the one who just got shot twice and got his head bounced of the concrete. I am fine thanks to you. You're who we're all worried about. How do you feel?"

"In the vest." Danny responded, not answering Steve's question. "I got hit in the vest, right?" Steve let out an exasperated sigh. He obviously wasn't going to get much out of a severely concussed Danny.

"Yes. It was in the vest. But you need to lie still until the paramedics check you out. You're still hurt pretty bad." He said, pushing Danny back down gently as he tried to sit up. Danny coughed and immediately pain coursed through him.

"This is never in the movies either." He muttered to himself. Now Steve was really worried.

"Danny, what are you talking about? What movies?" Kono asked, also picking up on Danny's odd ramblings.

"In the movies, they never show what happens after the slow motion roll thing. They hero just brushes everything off. I don't think that happens in real life." He said dazedly. Steve chuckled in relief. At least now he knew what Danny was talking about. He knew the feeling of time slowing down in those situations.

"They sure don't buddy. They sure don't."

"Would be nice…guess those kinds of heroes don't exist."

"Nah man. They do. They're just a little more…realistic."

"I don't think so, Steve."

"Yeah they do, Danny. One of them just saved my life."

Well, now I'm tired. So I bid thee good night. Sleep tight. Review!