This is my first venture into Hawaii Five-0 fanfic. I started watching this show after the sixth season had already concluded. Thanks to Netflix, boredom, and losing interest in my normal shows, I discovered how much I really love this show!

This is a prologue of sorts...I'm not entirely certain where this is heading. Please, let me know how you like it!

The persistent hum of a small aircraft's engine sputtered pitifully as Steve's awareness broke through the heavy fog listing around his sluggish brain. The steady thrum had lulled him into a heavy slumber that was very unusual for him—the SEALs had trained him well; not only was he able to fall asleep almost instantly and in just about any location (because God only knew when he'd get the next opportunity to do so), but he was a light sleeper as well. This was a necessary trait for this particular choice of military service.

Despite an angry slice of pain searing through his upper left arm and across the expanse of his abdomen and the responding throb that followed, he listened hard and could hear fragments of a familiar anxiety-ridden baritone, and then the much more contained, garbled responses over a radio. Danny…

"…lost both of our engines…"

Danny was apparently speaking on the other end, sounding remarkably confident. Steve would have felt a warm burst of pride that his partner was being so assertive and taking charge, but he was too weak to even open his mouth or flash him a congratulatory thumbs-up or friendly pat on the back. His limbs were weighty and cold, his head flopped around lifelessly. The flurry of words and noise sat at the precipice of his consciousness, which faded in and out, and each time he thought he was fighting his way back to wakefulness, he felt colder and even more exhausted.

The sputtering stopped, and Steve could hear metal clank against metal, and then the craft found a bit of buoyancy as it coasted through the air. Switch labeled 'up water,' flip it…put her down on the water… Steve understood the dispatcher's easy instructions—he wanted Danny to find a way to land on the surface of the Pacific so that he could evacuate the craft into the ocean. It would be an ugly landing for a man who had no logged air time behind the controls of a plane.

He was briefly jostled, causing his head to roll, and Danny made a couple of worried sounds.

Wake up, Steve tried to command himself, but an alarming numbness began to spread, starting with his feet and hands and creeping upward. He tried to be afraid, to fight the sensation, but it was fruitless. Danny, do what you have to save yourself. Think of Grace…

"I'm not gonna be able to get him out…he's gonna drown."

Don't worry about me, Danno. Do what they say.

Danny nervously defied the orders, insisting on landing the plane on a beach. Steve was mildly mortified, probably less than normal because of the circumstances. He was more impressed by his partner's insistence, vowing to save his life in spite of the risks involved. Steve could feel the plane's descent toward the earth, could hear the wind shrieking by the windows, informing him that they were getting closer to their landing site—wherever that may be—he almost shuddered as a fierce chill ran through him. His muscles seized around his right arm and flank, causing agonizing waves of pain and unsettling nausea—Steve almost begged for them to crash just so he wouldn't have to have such suffering anymore.

"Hey, Steve listen to me—" Danny muttered, strapping him into place. Steve strained to listen, fought against the ebb and flow of sleep, against the urge to slide into the final, eternal resting place. "—You've never been any good at listening to me, but right now you got no choice, you stubborn son of a bitch…do not die."

It's okay, partner. It'll be okay.

Bursts of pain erupted as Danny grabbed a fistful of his shirt and rattled him sharply, raising his voice to the level of frantic. "Hey! Listen to me! Do not die, okay? I'm not landing this thing for you to die on me!"

Just let me go. Danno…I love you, brother.

Just as near-hysteria erupted around him and the plane touched down roughly, Steve was pulled from the state of limbo into an oppressive blackness darker than any he had ever experienced. He didn't even have time to bid his partner—his best friend—a silent farewell as he was yanked into nothingness.

Thanks for reading!