Title: Don't Let Me Fall

Author: Proclaim Thy Warrior Soul

Rating: K

Summary: Danny, up until this exact point in time, had been having a reasonably good day. Steve would just like to state, for the record, that this time it wasn't his fault. Well, not entirely...

Disclaimer: I'm working on it... For now, still not mine.

"They say what goes up must come down,

But don't let me fall."

B.o.B - Don't Let Me Fall

Danny Williams, up until this exact point in time, had been having a reasonably good day. Steve would just like to state, for the record, that this time it wasn't his fault.

Well, not entirely...

"Could you possibly hurry it up a little, please? If it's not too much trouble..."

Steve grit his teeth but remained silent, concentrating instead on keeping his breathing steady and his grip solid in spite of the growing urge to slap his partner upside the head. Danny wasn't impressed.

"Oh, you're ignoring me now? I am literally moments from a horrific death and you're sulking."

With a grunt of irritation, Steve readjusted his grip and willed his aching muscles to keep doing their job. "Danny... Shut. Up."

"Is this really how I'm going to spend the last few minutes of my life: with a sulking Navy SEAL?"

Steve knew his partner was rambling. He could sense the waver of terror in the Jersey native's voice. It was one of only a few reasons he hadn't cut his losses and let the blond man fall when the unexpected burst of gunfire had sent him over the edge of the incline. Quick thinking on Steve's part had saved Danny's life, but now they were both in trouble. Serious trouble.

If Steve let go, Danny would fall. From their current altitude, and maybe if Danny were the lucky type, he would break a few of his bones on the trip down. If, however, his luck failed, Danny would undoubtedly break his neck, after or before bashing his skull in on the several hundred jagged edges of the volcanic crater.

"Why is it everywhere we go you manage to stumble on some sort of illegal activity, huh? You're cursed, that's why. You need an exorcism or something..."

For once, Steve could admit that Danny's rant wasn't too far from the truth, not that he'd ever say it out loud. A simple hike to Koko Crater had quickly turned into a disaster when the bullets had started flying. With the pair of them off duty, not only were they both weaponless, no one was expecting them back any time soon.

Pointedly ignoring Danny's terrified rambling, Steve spared a glance at the bullet wound in his shoulder as he felt his grip falter. Blood ran freely, meandering a path through the dust and grime that coated his skin, pooling unceremoniously on the torn shoulder of Danny's shirt as he hung below him. Steve knew that if he didn't put pressure on the injury soon he'd be too weak to stop Danny from falling, no matter what he tried.

"Hey, Danno." Steve had to clear his throat before he could continue, ignoring the sweat dripping into his eyes as he willed his fingers to grip his partner's arm a little tighter. "You remember that conversation we had when I broke my arm in Ko'olau?"

Danny was silent as he remembered the events that lead to Steve taking a bad fall off the side of the mountain range when they'd accidentally stumbled across a dead body. "You had to climb down to untangle the rope so you could help me back up before the storm hit."

Danny's splutter of disbelief sounded loud in the tense silence. "Is now really the best time for this conversation, babe?"

Ignoring him, Steve continued. "I told you I wasn't going to catch you if you fell, and you said to me...what were the words you used?"

"I swear to God, if we make it out of here in one piece..."

"Oh, that's right. I remember now. You said, and I quote, 'I'd rather you not catch me if I fall, okay?'"

"Alright, alright, I was wrong. I'm incredibly grateful to you for deciding to catch me as I fell. However, my original point still stands, and that is that you, McGarrett, are a trouble magnet."

With his partner successfully distracted, Steve took a deep breath and forced his hand to loosen its death grip on the rocky ground beneath him. Almost straight away he felt his body slip further over the edge.

"Steve, what are you-?"

Willing Danny to trust him, Steve ground his teeth against the agony of his shoulder and dug the toes of his hiking boots into the ground in a bid to slow his momentum. With his other hand now free, the SEAL used it to grip Danny's elbow before using brute strength to haul the blond further towards him.

"Danny...grab onto something...hold tight..."

With every muscle in his body protesting, Steve put everything he had into holding his best friend in place while he found a steady grip on the rocky surface.

"Okay, okay, I've got it, Steve. Pull yourself back up, you hear me? Pull yourself back up!"

The relief at Danny's words and the sudden lack of pressure on his injured shoulder sent McGarrett's head spinning, his lungs momentarily forgetting how to work. Unable to draw in enough air, Steve felt his body go weak, slumping heavily against the ground as the blood rushed to his head.

"Hey, Steve! You with me there, babe? Steve!" Danny could only watch with trepidation as his partner sunk into some sort of a catatonic state, the blood and sweat dripping off him at a startling rate as gravity inched him further over the edge of the crater.

"Steve!"

Like a switch had been flipped, McGarrett was back, lungs heaving as he sucked in greedy mouthfuls of air and dug his toes back into the uneven ground to stall his slide over the edge.

"...Danny?"

"Hey, big guy. I thought you'd checked out on me."

"No. 'm good."

"You sure?"

Steve grunted in response, using his good arm to shakily push himself back onto solid ground. Stealing a moment to catch his breath, the SEAL offered a hand as Danny clawed his way back up next to him, the pair collapsing in a rumpled heap at the lucky escape.

"Well, on the plus side, we've figured out that hiking is a terrible idea," Danny gasped, chest heaving as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "Hey, you listening, Action Man?"

Steve snorted, running a hand over his sweaty face and through his hair before turning his attention to the bullet wound in his shoulder with a groan.

"Here," Danny offered. "Let me take a look at that." Dragging himself closer to his partner's side, the blond tore a strip from the bottom of his shirt and secured it tightly around the bleeding wound. Steve had lost a lot of blood, his skin pale and sweaty. "We need to get you to a hospital, babe. This doesn't look good."

"It's fine." Steve brushed off Danny's concern with his usual stubbornness. "I've had worse. We need to get out of here before-"

The SEAL's words were cut off at the sound of a cocking gun, footsteps signalling the inevitable arrival of their armed gunmen.

Danny cursed under his breath, casting a worried glance at an injured Steve. "We're not going to be able to hide for much longer and we can't outrun a gun. We're out of options here, babe, and I don't like it."

Steve climbed unsteadily to his feet and caught Danny's eye as he pulled him up alongside him. "We still have one option, but I think you're going to like it even less..."

"Not even you can outrun a bullet, Steve. And unless you've recently discovered the ability to fly without the aid of an aeroplane, I think we're screwed."

- "Hey, I can hear them. They're over this way!" -

Danny spun a full circle, taking in the lack of viable options and wondering whether Steve had lost more blood than he'd first thought. "Babe, our only option here that doesn't involve getting shot to pieces by some jackass looking for revenge is down, and there is no way..."

Realisation dawned. "Oh. Nonononono. No way."

"Danny-"

"No! As in hell to the no, McGarrett. Are you insane?"

"Keep your voice down!"

"What am I on about? Of course you're insane... You just risked your life to stop me falling off the damn cliff and now you want to jump back down there."

"-Danny!"

"What? I'm having a panic attack here, okay? Just give me a moment."

Spinning his partner around by the shoulders, McGarrett forced Danny to face him. "Danny, listen to me. You said it yourself: our only other choice is getting shot to pieces. I'm liking that as an option about as much as you are. I have a plan but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Danny screwed his eyes shut as he screamed internally, imagining all the ways the next few seconds could go disastrously wrong. "Damnit."

Steve felt his skin crawl as the rustle of footsteps grew closer with each passing heartbeat. "Danny..."

"I trust you, okay? Do you really need to ask? I. Trust. You."

While Danny was distracted, Steve had been slowly manoeuvring the blond closer to the edge of the crater without his knowledge. Now, unwilling to allow the Jersey detective time to change his mind or overthink the situation, Steve threw a silent prayer to anyone and anything listening and tackled his partner.

"Don't let go."

Wrapping his limbs around the shorter man like an overly-friendly teddy bear, Steve tucked Danny's head in close and used his momentum to swing them around so his own body made first contact with the uneven ground. The sound of automatic gunfire hitting the floor where they'd been standing only moments before sent the SEAL's adrenaline spiking enough that he didn't feel the first blow as they hit the slope, nor the second or third as they rolled and their momentum picked up.

It was the fourth roll, and the direct hit to the kidneys, that sent McGarrett's world into a frenzy of dizziness and nausea as he held onto Danny with everything he had left in him. Overcome by an immense pain, his saving grace came in the form of a sharp knock to the back of the skull.

It was the last thing he felt for a while.

"Steve?" Danny blinked, vision greying around the edges as he fought to suck in a breath that didn't make him want to vomit all over himself. "Babe, you hear me?" Everything was spinning and he couldn't quite tell down from up, but Danny needed to know Steve was okay. "Steve?"

With no response forthcoming, Danny refused to panic. His entire body felt like he'd been run over by a truck - repeatedly - and his skull was doing a pretty good impression of a jackhammer, yet he knew he had to move. Not only because he needed to check on Steve, but because there were two armed thugs out there looking to kill them and he wasn't certain that their little escapade down the side of Koko Crater was enough to deter them.

Testing his limbs were all still attached, Danny groaned as he forced his protesting body to shift, rolling fully onto his back despite the severe ache from his ribs. The small shift in position was enough to remind him why moving was a bad idea, the nausea rearing its ugly head and causing him to lose what little contents were in his stomach.

"Oh, great..." the detective muttered when he'd finished spluttering and choking on his own bile. "I'm rolling around in my own puke. Can this day get any better?"

Breathing heavily through his nose, Danny pushed a strand of hair off his face and wondered if he'd ever find the energy to get to his feet, let alone drag himself and Steve to safety. He didn't have time to ponder the answer for long, however, when movement nearby stole the decision from him.

"Whoa, Danny - don't move, brah." Chin Ho's familiar voice was like solid ground to a drowning man.

"Chin, where's Steve?"

"I've got him, Danny," Kono's voice joined in, her footsteps soft over the dusty ground.

"What about-"

"Hey," Chin interrupted, moving to kneel at Danny's side. "We've got it all under control. You just need to stay still until the EMT's get here. They were just behind us."

Danny sighed, fidgeting restlessly. "Steve, is he...?"

Chin spared a glance in Kono's direction before offering the downed detective a tight smile. "He'll be fine. This is Steve, remember?"

Danny nodded, suddenly frowning as he became acutely aware that he was covered in his own vomit. "Damn. I'm a hot mess, aren't I?"

Chin laughed, patting him gently on the arm before getting up to greet the approaching paramedics. "You sure are, brah."

Danny closed his eyes and groaned.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

McGarrett slowly opened one eye to spy his disgruntled partner perched uncomfortably on the plastic chair alongside his bed. Danny's left arm was in a sling and his skin held a sickly sheen, but apart from several minor cuts and bruises he appeared to be in one piece.

"Hey… You okay?"

The scowl on his partner's face said it all. "You rugby-tackle me off a cliff and now you're asking if I'm okay?"

Steve cracked a tired smile, mindful not to reopen his split lip. "I've heard it's the polite thing to do..."

"Actually, no. The polite thing would be to refrain from any activity that involves you or I ever being near the edge of a cliff-"

"It wasn't a cliff, Danny..." Steve corrected for what felt like the hundredth time, but Danny ignored him - like he always did.

"-And it certainly isn't polite to ask me if I'm okay after you've thrown me off the edge of said cliff, because-ow!"

The rest of Danny's rant cut off with a yelp as he waved his hands about with complete disregard for his broken ribs and the sling supporting his injured limb. "Ow! Damn it..."

"You should be careful there, buddy. You might hurt yourself," Steve offered helpfully with a yawn.

"I hate you."

"I know. I love you too, Danno."

Danny sighed, slumping back into his seat with a shake of his head as he stifled a smile behind his good hand. "I don't know why I bother. I can't win with you, babe."

"Navy SEAL, remember. We always win..." Steve's eyes drifted shut against his will as the painkillers set to work. Before giving in to the pull of the drugs, McGarrett forced his eyes open. "I'm really glad you're okay, Danny."

"Hey, I'm glad too, babe. Just do me one favour next time, okay?"

"Sure, Danny. What's that?"

"The next time your 'plan' involves throwing us off a cliff, I'd appreciate a little bit of time to prepare myself, okay? To physically prepare myself."

Steve raised a questioning eyebrow.

"And mentally," Danny added almost as an afterthought. "Oh...and emotionally."

Steve remained silent as he contemplated his friend's heartfelt words. "Wait. So you admit there will be a next time?"

"Oh, for the love of-"

Unseen and with matching grins, Chin and Kono ducked away from the doorway, leaving their friends to catch up.

Despite initial appearances, the doctors had reassured them that Steve and Danny were fine and would be fit for duty in no time. Danny's sling was merely a precaution for his pulled shoulder and the array of cuts, scrapes and bruises would disappear in a few weeks time. His broken ribs would take a little longer, but with rest and a little patience he'd be fit as a fiddle. Steve's concussion would be monitored for the next 48 hours, alongside his bruised kidney. The hairline fracture to his wrist was already in a cast and the bullet to his shoulder had been successfully removed with no lasting damage. Overall, the pair had had an extremely lucky escape.

The same couldn't be said for the two gunmen at Koko Crater. Whilst Chin and Kono had gone to the aid of their injured teammates, an armed response team had swooped in on the thugs sent to take out Steve and Danny in an effort to stop Five-O testifying against their boss. Despite being surrounded and outnumbered, the pair had refused to go quietly, resulting in their deaths as they'd tried to shoot their way to freedom.

With a wave at Doctor Kekoa as they passed her on her rounds, the remaining two members of Five-O headed toward the hospital's cafeteria.

"Aren't those two just adorable, Cuz?" Kono offered with a cheeky grin.

Chin rolled his eyes as he followed his cousin down the hall. "I can think of a few words to describe those two, Kono, and I'm pretty sure adorable would never be one of them."

Kono's laughter echoed gently through the hospital.

-The End-

Author's Notes: I am completely in love with season five of this show! So much so that it's encouraged me to get back into writing for it. Before jumping headlong back into Saving Grace I figured I'd find my legs again and give you this. What started as 1k of Steve/Danny bromance quickly spiralled out of control into what you see now. It's a little rough around the edges, but hey...I'm a little out of practice :)

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Now, I'm off to work on the next chapter of Saving Grace! Wish me luck...