Prologue

Traffic on Honolulu's better days was atrocious, today was exceptional. They'd been stuck in traffic for the better part of an hour, they being Steve, Danny and Grace. Normally Grace would be in school at this time of day, but the school had a gas leak in the kitchen resulting in an early day. They'd were in the middle of tracing leads, the plan was to drop Grace at her friend's house and then track down their next suspect. That was the plan, but as the they say, "the best laid plans of mice and men."

"Steve, why don't you take the next exit and we'll cut overland to Sherry's? It's gotta be faster than sitting here twiddling our thumbs and inhaling exhaust," Danny suggested waving towards the off ramp in front of them.

"Ah, the scenic route. Anything's better than sitting here, right Gracie?" Steve responded.

Grace looked up at Steve and shrugged an affirmative then went back to the game she was playing on her phone.

Ten minutes later traffic eased a little and they reached the off ramp only to find themselves stopped again. Seems like they weren't the only ones with the escape idea. Before Steve could give Danny a hard time, the squeal of tires and blaring horns caught their attention.

Chapter One

Steve stood outside the car watching as they loaded Grace into the back of the ambulance. Danny was holding her hand, talking to her softly. The EMT's said it wasn't serious, lots of bruises and some small cuts but nothing serious. The hospital was mostly a precautionary measure. Danny and Steve didn't argue, it was Grace after all.

"I'll deal with the scene and then meet you at the hospital, Danno. Take care of Grace."

Danny nodded his thanks as he climbed into the back with his daughter. The doors closed and Steve slapped the back letting the driver know it it was clear.

Steve surveyed the scene before him. What a mess! The delivery van in the front of the pile up suffered rear end damage only. The dump truck at the back end had a Honda as a new hood ornament. The driver of the car right behind the van hadn't survived. She hadn't been wearing a seatbelt and she'd went through the windshield. The driver of the Honda had extensive injuries, his passenger didn't make it. His side of the car crushed by the retaining wall. The older minivan in front of the Honda looked like a giant accordion. It's occupants, a man and his two children, had extensive injuries. The EMT's said it would be touch and go. As for the car in the middle, Steve thanked God for the numerous safety features. Danny, Steve and Grace were the lucky ones. Other than Grace's contusions, Steve had a black eye and Danny a bloody nose, both the results of the airbags.

Pulling out his phone, he was pleasantly surprised to find it intact. "Hey, Chin."

"What's up, Steve? The lead a bust?"

"Don't know, haven't gotten there yet. We had to pick up Grace unexpectedly and then we were in a car accident."

"Everyone okay, brah?" Chin couldn't keep the worry out of his voice.

"There were casualties, but we're fine. Danny's at the hospital with Grace. They just wanted to be certain she didn't have any hidden injuries. Don't suppose you'd be willing to pick me up at Exit 3 off the H1."

Chin sighed with relief. "Glad everyone is okay. I'll be there in twenty."

Steve helped with the clean up while he waited for his ride. Spotting a familiar Traverse pull up just at the edge of the area, he jogged over and jumped in the passenger seat. "Thanks, man."

Chin blew out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Jeez, brah. That's some wreck. You guys were really lucky."

"Yeah. The guy in the dump truck suffered a heart attack while driving and hit the gas instead of the brake. I guess it's a miracle he was headed for the off ramp instead of straight down the highway. The death count could've been worse," Steve responded then added, "At least Danny can't blame this one on me," with a nervous chuckle.

Chin shot him a bemused look. "I'm sure he'll find a way to though. Where am I headed."

"Queen's."

Chapter 2

The emergency room at Queen's was controlled chaos on it's best days. Today, it looked like someone had added a helping of pandemonium just to mix thing up. The two men waited with as much patience they could muster to find someone who could take a minute to give them an update on Danny and Grace. Their wait wasn't made easy as they could hear the snippets of information. The driver from the Honda, the dad and one of the kids from the minivan died in route. Steve thanked God again for the sturdiness of his truck. He was sure it was totaled, but it had saved them.

It seemed like hours before he and Chin were directed to a room. Steve stopped cold at the sight from the doorway. Grace was in the closest bed with the sheets pulled up to her neck. Danny was in the other bed curled on his side facing Grace, sheets also pulled up to his neck.

"Relax, Super SEAL, she's just sleeping," a groggy voice informed him.

Steve felt his knees give way, would've fallen if Chin hadn't shoved him into the chair, pushed his head between his knees and instructed him to breath through his nose.

"Steve said you weren't injured. What's with the beds, brah?" Chin gave voice to the questions swirling in Steve's mind.

Danny raised up and stretched, a guilty look briefly flashing on his face. "The docs want to keep Grace for a few hours as a precaution. She has whiplash and took a good knock on the head."

Steve finally looked up at Danny. "What about you?"

"Me?" Danny blustered.

"Yeah, you," Steve snapped.

"Well, I kinda got tired of waiting for your Army ass to show up and the bed looked more comfortable than that chair," Danny replied gesturing to where Steve was sitting.

Steve would have ripped Danny a new one for scaring him (and for the Army comment) but relief was coursing through him and Danny did have the good sense to look a little bit embarrassed.

By the time they'd got Grace's discharge papers and made their way back through the trauma area, they'd learned the casualty count had went up. Out of eleven people involved, only three survived the H1 pile up. Danny gathered Grace up in his arms. Steve wrapped his arm around Danny's left side and watched as Chin did the same on the right, clasping Steve's forearm at the same time. The small ohana walked out into the bright Hawaiian sun, soaking it in. Never again would they take it for granted.

Chapter 3

Steve often thinks back on that day. Grateful for every moment he's had since then. Danny once talked about living on borrowed time. That because of one day, September 11th, every moment he had with Grace was borrowed time. Steve thought he'd understood his partner's feelings at the time, but it took the accident to really bring Danny's meaning home. Steve made sure every second since then had meant something.

He and Cath hadn't worked out romantically. They were still friends, just friends, both moving on. The day he met Ashley, he just knew it was forever. They married six months after they met. Grace babysat Lila and Jack when they needed a sitter.

Grace. Wow, Grace. She's a beautiful, seventeen year old, wonderful young woman. She was a great kid. Not that she hadn't given them a few memorable times. He still got a sick feeling in his stomach when he thought about the drunken phone call to "Uncle Steve" to pick her up because she couldn't reach either set of parents. It was all he could do not to beat the crap out of the kid who'd spiked her punch. Danny had been the level headed one of the adults, making sure the punk had been charged as an adult for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and illegal possession of alcohol.

Danny married Gabby in a beach wedding of all things. They'd decided not to have any kids of their own. Instead, they had Grace and their two god children. Lila and Jack loved their Uncle Danny and Aunt Gabby. Lila started calling him her giant teddy after seeing Danny shirtless on the beach. Danny had growled and said, "I'll show you giant teddy bear." He picked the little girl up, wrapped his arms around her middle, while her arms encircled Danny's neck in a strangle hold, creating what now is called "The Teddy Hug." Steve isn't sure how either of them breathe during the hug, but whatever, his little girl is happy. Jack shakes his head at his sister's antics and curls into Aunt Gabby's lap to hear tells of the past.

Five-0 is still going strong, keeping Hawaii safe. They had reluctantly filled Kono's position. Hannah held her own among the testosterone driven men and became fast friends with all their wives. (Chin and Leilani married shortly after Lila was born) Different dynamics than the beginning, but it worked. It worked really well.

They were all living life to the fullest.

Chapter 4

The two women stood at the foot of the institutional bed, silently watching the tall dark haired figure lying in it. If one looked hard, you'd see the signs of a man who'd taken care of himself, but his muscles had atrophied from disuse and his once golden skin was now hospital pale. Curiously, though, a small smile played at his lips.

The woman in the scrubs turned to the blonde next to her. "Are you his sister?" she asked.

Mary sigh, "Yeah. I'm all he has left."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm new here. What happened?"

Mary raised her gaze from her brother to look the nurse in the eye and sighed again, "It's okay. Everyone asks. It was a six car accident. His work partner and Danny's daughter were in the car with him. Steve and two others, a little boy and a delivery van driver were the only survivors. If you can call this surviving."

"How long has he been like this?"

"Three years," Mary stated flatly.

"Does the doctors think he'll ever come out of the coma?"

Mary turned back to her brother. "They once said he should, but not now. They say it's almost like he doesn't want to."

Both woman watched as another smile twitched Steve's lips. They accredited it to muscle spasms.