A/N: Thank you to all who have taken the time to leave a review. Here is the final chapter so people will forgive me for that evil cliffie yesterday. One of my original characters, Doctor Lee, makes an appearance, but you won't have to have read any of my other stories before this one unless you really want to...

The twin explosions hit almost exactly where Steve had just been taking cover and still perilously close behind him. Danny watched as the force of the explosions picked his partner up and propelled him closer. Unfortunately, the blast also lifted two of the cars off of the blocks they were resting on, broke them into large pieces and flung them at Steve. He felt intense pain and then nothing, unconscious by the time he landed across his trapped partner.

Danny was shielded by most of the blast and had flung an arm over his face as debris started raining down. The breath was knocked out of him again as something solid landed on his torso. He moved his arm and after a moment realized that that something solid was, in fact, his partner.

Danny wouldn't remember much past this point as everything seemed to speed up, and he had trouble focusing on the action. As he tried to rouse his partner, he heard more yelling and shots as if from a distance but no more explosions. He was startled to find an EMT kneeling next to him suddenly. He saw the man's mouth move, but could barely hear a thing.

"It's okay, sir," the EMT assured him when he noticed Danny straining to hear him. "Your hearing has been affected by proximity to the blast. It'll probably come back soon."

Danny waved him off, "Just take care of Steve. I'm fine"

The EMT raised an eyebrow at the use of "fine" to describe his condition, but it was obvious to him that the other man did indeed need the attention first and set to work.

Danny flinched as someone touched his shoulder. He hadn't heard anyone approach and was surprised to find Chin and Kono kneeling next to him looking concerned. "You okay, Brah? What happened?"

Danny was relieved to find the buzzing in his ears was diminishing to a mere annoyance, and he could already hear better than just a few minutes ago. "I hope your side of the takedown worked better than this side."

Chin smiled at the attempt at a joke, "We've got them all taken care of. It seems the suspects over here on your side were a little friskier than the others."

"SWAT's thinking those two up on the catwalk were the reason for the tip they received," Kono informed him.

"But don't worry about it, Brah," Chin reassured him. "They've been taken care of."

Danny glanced over at the two EMT's still working on Steve. They'd rolled him off Danny and onto a backboard and were hastily taking vitals and preparing him for transport. Danny heard phrases like "head injury" and "possible internal injury" as they relayed information to each other and by radio to the waiting hospital. He tore his gaze from them to look up at Chin, "So what's the damage? Other than us, that is."

Officer Lee took one in the arm and leg, but paramedics say he'll be fine. The only casualties are on the other side."

"Good," Danny nodded. "Good."

"Firefighters are on the way to get this car off of you safely," Chin informed him.

Danny nodded, and glanced again at Steve. It looked like the paramedics were ready to transport, "Kono, go with Steve, will you? I want to know what's going on."

"Of course," Kono smiled and patted his shoulder before following the gurney to the waiting ambulance.

The following moments were a jumble of pain and noise for Danny as the firefighters arrived and worked on freeing him from the twisted remains of the classic car. At some point the paramedics treating him gave him morphine which made the scene even more surreal to him as he started to zone and go numb with the medicine coursing through his veins. He remembered nothing after losing consciousness in the ambulance.

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5

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Danny awoke to a light touch on his arm and opened his eyes to find a concerned nurse bending over him, "Sir, are you okay?"

"Hmm... what?" Danny sat up straighter in the chair, needing a moment to remember where he was. One look at his partner reminded him all too clearly that his dream wasn't just a dream, but an all too disturbing reality.

"Are you okay?" The young nurse asked again. "I thought I heard moaning. I came to check to see if everything was alright." She gestured to his casted leg. "Do you need some pain medicine?"

"No," Danny stood and stretched as best he could while maintaining his balance with the crutches. "I just need my idiot partner there to wake up."

"Yes, sir," the young nurse smiled gently at him. "Just let us know if you need anything else."

As the nurse quietly left, Danny once again started pacing the small confines of the hospital room. He paused momentarily to peer out the window, noticing the first small smudge of color in the dark pre-dawn sky. He resumed his pacing, trying not to let his thoughts get too far out of control.

"Would you stop that?" a raspy voice interrupted Danny's pacing. "You're making me dizzy."

Danny's crutches teetered as he did an abrupt about face and almost fell as a crutch slipped from the sudden movement. He quickly righted himself and hopped over to the bed, "Hey, you're awake."

"Sort of," Steve grimaced and blinked slowly. "What happened?"

Definitely the wrong question for Danny who had been on pins and needles for the last week, "What happened?! What happened is that you didn't listen to me and made a stupid boneheaded move that almost cost you your life. You got yourself blown six ways to Sunday, and we've all been worried sick for the past week. How could I explain it to Grace if you got yourself killed, huh?"

"Sorry, Danno," Steve's expression was truly contrite even as he tried to make sense of Danny's heated rant.

Danny took a deep breath. That was not how he meant to react when his partner finally regained consciousness. He quickly hit the nurse call button and deftly balanced the crutches even as he lifted a hand to run it through his hair, "Sorry, that's not what I meant to say... it's just that... just sorry."

Danny was saved from more of an explanation by the same young nurse coming back into the room. She quickly saw her patient was awake and smiled, "Oh, good, you're awake! I'll page the doctor. I just need to get some quick readings here."

Danny hopped away again and leaned next to the window sill as the nurse did her job. He was relieved that Steve was awake and already felt bad for blowing up at him so quickly. Danny continued to mentally beat himself up over his recent browbeating while the doctor came in and expertly examined Steve. Danny was relieved to see that the doctor was Doctor Lee at last. He'd requested Doctor Lee when he had first arrived but had been told he was on vacation. Doctor Lee had treated Danny before and knew the team. The doctors who had rotated through filling in on Doctor Lee's shifts had been less than understanding about Danny's need to stay by his partner's side. They'd kicked him out a few times though Danny had always snuck back in quickly enough that they'd quit kicking him out and settled for dirty looks when the detective was ever-present.

After a few minutes, the doctor gently patted Steve on the shoulder and smiled, "Get some rest, Son, you're doing fine." He turned to Danny and gestured for him to follow him out the door.

Danny hesitantly followed only after assuring himself that Steve was really sleeping again. He thought his friend already looked better and more relaxed in sleep than he had before. "How is he, Doc?"

"Improving," Doctor Lee smiled. "I don't want to jump the gun here since I reviewed his case when I got back, but it would seem that he is out of the woods. He was able to answer basic questions like name..."

"Name, rank and serial number probably," Danny muttered.

"He still needs plenty of time to rest so his body can recover from the trauma, but at this point, things are looking promising."

Danny's brow furrowed, "He didn't remember what happened to put him here. That's normal, right?"

"Yes," the doctor nodded. "Short term memory loss is common after this sort of trauma. He'll probably remember more as he recovers. And now, Detective, I think you should go home and get some rest."

"I'm fine," Danny waved him off.

"You are injured as well," Doctor Lee pointed out. "From what I hear, you've been here more than you've not, and though I'm sure you'll tell me that you're eating and sleeping, vending machine food and cat naps in that lousy chair don't count."

Danny looked about to argue and then simply nodded, "Sure. I'll go soon. Thanks, Doc."

"You're welcome, Detective," the doctor squinted, suspicious at the easy acceptance of his suggestion. "I'll be back this afternoon to check on him and can give you a better idea then about his recovery." He watched as Danny turned and went back into Steve's room and settled back into the chair at his friend's side. Doctor Lee watched him a moment before he shook his head and walked away.

Danny studied Steve's prone form and sighed. A little of the worry that had been his constant companion for the last week had lifted but had not left entirely. He had every intention of following doctor's orders and going home, but the more he sat, the more he found he couldn't bring himself to leave. He kept thinking of all the what-ifs and repercussions of Steve not recovering fully from his injuries. After almost an hour, his thoughts were interrupted by a noise at the door. He looked over to find two nurses carrying a cot into the room.

"Doctor Lee thought you might like this," one nurse explained.

"He said if you wouldn't follow his suggestion to go home and get some rest, he'd make sure you'd at least get some rest here," the other chimed in with a smile.

They quickly set up the cot and found him blankets and a pillow. One of them even came back several minutes later with more blankets which she positioned at the foot of the bed so he could prop up his injured ankle. As Danny settled onto the cot, he made a mental note to thank Doctor Lee and all the nurses that had helped over the last week. He popped a pain pill for his throbbing ankle and settled onto the cot. He glanced over at Steve one last time and his final thought before letting sleep claim him was to wonder again what his partner had been thinking trying to come save him when there was no chance of getting him out of there and every chance that he could have been killed in the process.

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5

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Danny woke several hours later with the midday Hawaiian sun streaming in. He was relieved to note that his ankle was not throbbing any more, but he hadn't tried to move it yet either. He stretched, tentatively moving his left leg, pleased to find that it felt better than it had in the last week.

"You look like a cat stretching," a voice teased.

Danny quickly swung his feet off the cot and immediately regretted the sudden movement as he swayed from momentary dizziness and his left ankle started throbbing again, "Good to see your Ninja skills didn't suffer injury," Danny retorted.

"Sorry," Steve truly did look apologetic.

Danny maneuvered the short distance to the chair and plopped down to regard his friend, "Listen, about before..."

Steve tiredly waved a hand to interrupt, "Don't apologize. I remember what happened now, and I can understand why you're upset... And, uh, a nurse was in while you were still sleeping and told me you've been sitting here for the last week. Sorry to worry you."

Danny was uncharacteristically quiet as he looked at his friend and gathered his thoughts. The silence stretched for a full minute before he thought he could ask his question without either yelling at his stubborn friend or breaking down in tears at the thought that they had come very close to never having this conversation, or any other conversation, ever again.

Steve watched as Danny thought of his response and waited for the epic rant he was sure was headed his way.

"I just want to know why," Danny quietly wondered. "What were you thinking? There was no way you could have gotten that car off of me by yourself so what purpose did it serve for you to run out into the middle of nowhere to get yourself blown up? Why would you do that? We could have both been killed."

"You needed help," Steve shrugged and then shifted so he was leaning on his side more and could look at his partner better. You were taking fire and were trapped. I couldn't just stay back and do nothing."

"It wasn't worth it," Danny told him. "It wasn't worth you almost dying! You shouldn't have risked your life just to save me."

"That's where you're wrong," Steve insisted. "Like it or not, Danno, you are someone worth dying for. I would do it all over again even if I knew I was going to be killed because I refuse to just stand by and watch someone try to kill you."

Danny sat for a moment and regarded his partner, best friend, and brother all wrapped into one frequently annoying and often frustrating SEAL. He finally shook his head and smiled, "You're a goof, you know that?"

Steve smirked and nodded, "You should be used to it by now, Pal."

Danny's grin widened as he propped his injured foot onto the side of Steve's bed, "It's good to have you back."

"Trust me," Steve groaned. "It's good to be back."

Danny didn't leave the hospital for the next three days as Steve continued to recover at a "miraculous rate" according to Doctor Lee. Chin and Kono supplied him with fresh clothes and the occasional malasada, but Danny happily refused to leave the hospital grounds until Steve was released citing the man's tendency to get into trouble without Danny around for backup. "Besides," Danny pointed out, "Doctor Lee told me to get some rest and gave me this cot, and I intend to use his thoughtful gift for as long as possible."

When Steve was finally released, Doctor Lee watched him walk out of the hospital, Danny at his side, and hoped that they could both stay out of trouble long enough to heal from their wounds.

The End :-) Thank you for reading.