A/N: I know I mentioned in the summary that this is a sequel; at the risk of being redundant, you really do need to read "The Game" before diving into this story. Otherwise you're not going to fully appreciate the storyline.

xXxXx

Emily Seamus was eleven years old and lonlier than she'd ever been in her life. She exited the school, dreading having to go home. She and her mother had moved in with relatives after Poppy had been sent to prison, and life had become more unbearable than ever.

Maybe it was because they weren't technically her relatives. They were Poppy's sister-in-law and two nephews. Since Poppy wasn't her real dad, Aunt Terry, Sam, and Frank weren't her real family. All she had in that house was Mom.

And Mom's hardly ever home; she's always working.

Emily let her mind wander to before Poppy was arrested, when things were still okay. Yeah, he'd beaten her occasionally, but it wasn't like it happened everyday.

Until he'd lost his job and couldn't find another one. Angry at the world and often drunk, he would take it out on Emily, leaving her with bruises on her limbs and red marks on her cheeks from being slapped.

And things had slowly gotten worse as he'd started robbing liquor shops and jewelry stores. He might have gone on doing so if he hadn't tried to rob a bank and gotten caught in the process.

Emily slightly smiled at the memory of that bank robbery. How well she remembered it. She'd gone with her stepfather and met Danny that day.

Danny...now there was a man she liked and respected. He was a cop and had protected her - kept her safe - as they sat side by side in the bank during the robbery.

She hadn't seen him since, but she believed with her whole heart that if she ever needed him, he'd be there to help her. And she knew right where to find him.

Emily glanced up at the Iolani Palace as she walked by, wishing for what seemed like the thousandth time that there was a way she could pay Danny pay for taking care of her during the bank hold up.

She crossed the street and slowed her gait as she came to a crowd of people blocking the sidewalk. Glancing at the curb, she saw an ambulance and wondered what had happened.

Getting the attention of one of the onlookers, Emily asked, "Hey mister, what's going on?"

The old man shrugged his shoulders. "Some fella's been beat up, and he ain't got no ID. Probably some bum that ended up on the wrong end of a deal."

Emily sighed as she started to weave through the crowd. Boy, did she know about being on the wrong end of things. She stopped for the EMTs to cross in front of her, and as they passed by, she looked at the victim, shocked at what she saw. Underneath the bruises and the blood, Emily was sure she recognized the face.

"Danny!" she cried, a sob catching in her throat.

Her exclamation caused the EMTs to pause. "Kid, you know him?"

The child nodded as tears flooded her cheeks. "He's my friend. His name is Danny Williams, and he works with Hawaii Five-O."

xXxXx

Steve McGarrett banged through the double doors of the ER, not caring at the moment who he disturbed. Doc Bergman exited a room on the left, wearing a solemn expression on his face. Steve's heart rate spiked, and he tried willing it to slow down.

"Give it to me straight, Doc. How bad is he?"

"It doesn't look good, Steve. Both eyes were blackened; his nose was bloodied and broken; and based on the ultrasound scans, it looks like he's also got a cracked rib or two. He was brought in unconscious, and so far he hasn't come out of it. Danny was beaten to a pulp, and I won't lie to you, Steve: I'll be surprised if he makes it through the night."

Steve was unable to hide the involuntary gasp of breath he drew in. He bit his lip and looked away in an effort to calm himself. After a few moments, he looked back the doctor. "I want to see him."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Doc cautioned.

Steve started to raise his voice and slap his hand against the wall, but checked his tempter before doing so. "Don't tell me that Danny might die tonight, then turn around and say it's not a good idea for me to see him. If I'm gonna lose my second in command, I want one more look at him before - "

His voice faltered and he was unable to finish the sentence. All he could do was offer one whispered word of begging. "Please."

The older man hesitated before nodding slowly. "Come on in, Steve; there is one thing I'd like you to see."

Morbidly curious, Steve walked through the door, his heart wrenching at the sight of his friend. Danny's eyes were so bruised and swollen that had he been conscious, he wouldn't have been able to open them. His nose was also extremely swollen, showing just how badly it was broken.

"Oh Danno," Steve muttered under his breath.

"If I hadn't been here to see him come in, if somebody else had told me about his injuries, I wouldn't have believed them," Doc said. "But there's more, Steve. Look here."

Doc gently eased up Danny's shirt, revealing deep bruises on his abdomen where he'd been kicked and pummeled. "Whoever did this was merciless in their beating, and they left him to die."

Steve was unable to tear his eyes from the bruises on Danny's belly. As Doc lowered the shirt, Steve looked away, his heart breaking and his anger flaring all at the same time. With as long as he'd been in law enforcement, Steve had yet to understand the kind of creep that would do such a thing.

"Danny was left for dead. If they wanted to kill him, why didn't they just take a gun to his head and shoot him? Why torture him? Why make him suffer?"

Steve asked the questions, knowing Doc had no answers. The part of him that was simply Danny's friend wasn't sure he ever wanted to know what the answers were, but the cop in him needed to try and find them.

He took Danny's hand and gently squeezed it. "Don't worry, Danno; I'll find out what happened."