Author's note: This story was written several years ago when I was challenged to write a story explaining why a certain shirt had disappeared from Danny's wardrobe. I have reworked parts of it and decided to repost it here. Thanks to Honu for her help in cleaning it up!

The Worth of a Shirt

The sound of gunshots echoed in the ears of Five-O detective Dan Williams as he hid crouched behind a car. The source of his predicament was a couple of armed crooks who were holed up at the other end of the parking lot. However, it was a predicament that the detective didn't have to handle on his own.

Huddled next to Danny was Kono Kalakaua and behind another car were a calm Chin Ho Kelly and an irritated but determined Steve McGarrett. Looking carefully through the recently broken windows of the car, Steve studied the situation in front of him before coming up with a plan. "Chin, Kono, go around the far side of that building. In exactly two minutes, we'll provide a diversion so you can take them from behind."

"Right, boss," Kono answered.

"On it," Chin added before the two detectives took off in a crouched run until they were out of the danger and Danny's line of sight.

The two remaining detectives waited in silence as the time passed, occasionally exposing themselves to exchange fire with their opponents. When the allotted time arrived, Danny shot a look at his boss. "Cover me," Steve ordered as he moved out from behind the safety of the parked car.

Danny gritted his teeth as he positioned himself against the car so that only his arms and head were exposed. He quickly began a steady barrage of gunfire in order to give Steve the cover he needed to move, creating the needed diversion. This wouldn't have been Danny's first choice, but Steve often came up with plans that had no consideration for his own safety. However, there was no point in protesting; Steve was the boss.

A sudden crash to Danny's left caused the detective to whip his head toward the sound. On seeing no additional threat, he cursed the wasted critical seconds and quickly refocused his attention where it belonged. What he saw made his heart stop: Steve McGarrett lay crumpled on the ground, unmoving.

While his mind cried out for concern for Steve's life, Danny knew that moving from his position would only result in two downed officers instead of one. He couldn't let his emotions get in the way; he couldn't afford to dwell on his costly moment of distraction.

Seconds seemed like hours while Danny continued to exchange fire with the crooks, silently willing Kono and Chin to hurry up and take out their opponents. He needed to get to Steve; he had to find out if his mistake had cost Steve his health or his life.

Finally, gunshots rang out from behind the two crimminals and Kono called out to announce that all was clear. Danny wasted no time and ran towards the body of his downed friend. Kneeling beside Steve, Danny held back a shout of alarm as he noticed the large amount of blood oozing from the wound in his friend's abdomen. He quickly tried to staunch the flow of blood with his handkerchief, but the white cloth quickly became saturated. Wasting no time, he removed his suit jacket and began to unbutton his dress shirt; the yellow dress shirt was dirty and sweaty, but it was the only option the detective had left.

As Danny wadded up the shirt and carefully pressed it against Steve's abdomen, Chin arrived. "Danny, what happened?" the Chinese detective cried out, his voice full of worry and concern.

"Steve was hit. We need an ambulance immediately!"

Chin sped towards the police radio, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts as he fought to save his friend's life. Steve couldn't die. Danny wouldn't let him.

The sound of approaching sirens brought a small measure of hope to the detective, but one glance at Steve's pale face only intensified Danny's worries as the medics arrived and pushed him away from his boss and friend.

Taking a few steps back to give the medics the space they needed, Danny watched in silence as they worked, hoping for the best while fearing the worst.

As the ambulance sped off, Danny walked over to where he had heard the crash. His heart sank when he found a downed trash can next to a dog quaking in fear; the dog must have knocked over the can in his search for a place to hide during the noisy shootout.

A scared dog. He had let his attention lapse at a critical moment over a dog!

Danny was a grown man, a successful detective and the second-in-command of Hawaii Five-O, but none of those things eased his worry as he stood outside the door to Steve's hospital room. It was his first visit to the hospital since his boss's emergency surgery. Now that Steve was awake and able to speak, the young detective was worried about the coming conversation. He had no idea as to how Steve would react to his failure to provide adequate cover, but if his boss decided that a lecture was necessary, he would listen without complaint.

Knowing that he didn't have an excuse to stall, Danny opened the door and walked into the room. However, his fears were unfounded; Steve was sitting up and smiling as he looked upon his detective. "Danno, glad you could stop by. Doc tells me you've been busy minding the store while I catch up on the sleep the Governor's been telling me I don't get enough of."

Danny grinned; Steve's words and improved health had insistently put him at ease. "Well, Steve, maybe if you hadn't fallen asleep halfway through his last dinner with a few of his donor friends he wouldn't be on your case."

Steve leaned back against his pillows, completely ignoring his second-in-command's quip. The older man gave his detective an odd look. Danny was confused as it appeared that Steve was staring at his new dress shirt. "What is it?" Danny asked, his voice full of concern, afraid that there was something wrong.

"You ruined your yellow shirt."

Relieved, Danny replied, "That old thing? It wasn't worth enough to miss."

"Doc told me that your quick thinking and that shirt saved my life, which makes that shirt priceless in my book," Steve said with a soft chuckle, still weakened by his ordeal.

Danny laughed with Steve, pleased to see that he was keeping up his good spirits. The two continued their visit and Danny couldn't help but realize that his boss was right. Life was priceless. And while his yellow dress shirt had served him faithfully over the years, it had shown its true worth by saving a life.

Suddenly, Danny's worries over his mistake didn't seem as important. Steve was going to be okay and that was all that mattered.

PAU