An Honor to Serve

Danny watched Steve running headlong into danger yet again and could only shake his head as he followed after his partner. Admittedly, Danny entered this partnership against his will, recruited by an obsessed, single-minded Navy Seal who took the case of his murdered father, pulling rank in a way that Danny felt was way out of line, away from him, then getting him shot for his trouble. Danny had never hated someone on first impression than he had with Steve McGarrett, but over time, working with him and with Chin and Kono, he had learned to respect him and began to understand more and more about how the man thought, but even more importantly he had learned how passionately Steve felt about saving people, that his mission has always been about people first even when it bordered on a crusade. Danny understood that. They might approach that belief differently, at times butting heads over how to accomplish the same thing, crazed superhero actions over procedure, but Danny respected Steve for that passion so instead of walking away, he worked by Steve's side, watching his back because that's what partners did.

So as he watched Steve take off after the perp, he was close behind, looking around, gun held in his hands at the ready, watching for anyone who might ambush the both of them, covering him, when, out of the corner of his eye, he had spotted someone aiming at Steve. Instinctively, Danny ran faster and called out.

"STEVE!"

The shooter turned his attention away from Steve and, instead, aimed towards Danny. He pulled the trigger, but Danny was able to get his own shot off to take the guy down. He then felt a searing ache rip into him and despite the adrenaline in his system, the pain slowly brought him down to his knees. He braced himself on the ground as he held his left side, grimacing and clenching his eyes closed against the continuing and rising pain. Danny hadn't felt anything that painful, priding himself on his record for receiving nothing more serious than a flesh wound in his career even after partnering with Steve. It was right up there with his vomit record. He had bonded with Steve over a flesh wound, but he knew, this time, it wasn't just a flesh wound. He tried breathing through the pain, but it wasn't helping. He felt the blood pooling in his hand. This was bad, really, really bad.

Steve heard Danny call out, but remained fixated on the perp he was chasing. He knew that Danny would have his back. Steve marveled at the certainty of trust he felt for his partner. Danny had earned it from day one. Steve had seen Danny's resolve for the job and the love he felt for his daughter and knew he was a good man, a good cop, more importantly, a good father. Steve understood how important being a good father was because he had been lucky enough to have one himself and he saw the devotion in Danny's eyes for Grace as well as the determination to keep her safe. In retrospect, he had regretted ambushing Danny into pursuing Hesse, dragging him into his vendetta, but he hadn't regretted entrusting him with his life and to having him in the 5-0 task force. Danny was the kind of principled man that any police force would be proud to have in their ranks. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that. He would go to bat for all of them as he had with his former partner, Mekka. Seeing how dogged Danny had been in the pursuit to clear his partner's name against all the evidence thrown at him had proven to Steve that, once earned in Danny's eyes, his faith and belief in you would never be swayed and would always be defended. And if he had needed any more assurances, Danny had stood by him when he had robbed the HPD evidence locker to save Chin. Danny had risked the career he loved, the life he had chosen to be with his daughter to stand by Steve, to take a fall with his team based on loyalty alone. He could never make that up to him.

Steve finally bridged the distance between him and the perp he was chasing. When he told him to stop and the perp turned around to shoot him, Steve shot him in the leg. At that same moment he heard another shot behind him. He turned for a quick second and saw Danny fall to his knees. He felt his body run cold as he watched Chin and Kono kneel down by Danny as his body seemed to wither further to the ground. Steve quickly cuffed the perp as a uniform came over. He handed him over to him then ran over to Danny who was clenched in pain. Steve caught a look on Kono's face that gave him a tightness to his chest. She looked pale and on the verge of tears. Steve bent down on his knee to get a closer look at Danny. When he saw the wound and all the blood, he had to swallow back bile, but he quickly masked his worry from Danny.

"Hey, hey, what happened?"

"D...did you not hear me yelling?" Danny ranted in his usual amusing way, as he turned away and arched in pain.

Steve grabbed Danny's hand, hoping to give him comfort and maybe a little leverage to hold on to through the pain. The squeeze also hid the tremble in his own body, a shiver of fear. The last time he had felt that was when he had last talked to his father just before Hesse killed him.

"I heard you, but I was busy taking down the scumbag I was chasing," Steve bantered back with a shaky smile. It was what they did. "Looks like you didn't need my help anyway."

"Your help? No, I was fine, but as usual I got shot for saving your ass."

Steve went silent for a second, his mask falling away, his face betraying his worry and concern as well as reliving a moment he remembered fondly.

"I'm sorry," Steve said almost too softly to hear, but Danny had.

Danny gave Steve a knowing look of both understanding and gratitude.

"It's okay," Danny said back almost as softly, fitting his words in between gasps of pain.

"Paramedics are on their way," Chin said barely containing his normally unshakeable calm.

"Lead them in, okay, Kono?" Steve said giving her an out to compose herself. "I'll stay with Danny."

She nodded and left, wiping the tears she couldn't hold back from her eyes.

"Hey, don't need a babysitter," Danny said as his body trembled with pain trying to keep smiling through it.

"If you keep getting yourself shot, yeh, you do."

"This from the man who keeps getting himself into situations where I...have to intervene."

Danny shook with more pain and felt a chill hit him. He threw his head back, straining, struggling to keep from crying out. Steve noticed, stiffened with worry, but held onto Danny's hand as tightly as he could as if he could take the pain for him. Steve wished he could.

"Hey, you hold on. The paramedics are on their way. "

"Trying..." Danny said, but his face, contorted in pain, betrayed how hard it was for him and Steve was afraid.

It was second only to the fear he had felt when he had heard Hesse pull the trigger on his father. He didn't think he could lose someone again, someone he had come to call a friend in a very short time. A good friend and a partner he had come to rely upon. That might be too much for even the tough Navy Seal to take.

Steve felt another squeeze only it was weaker and he heard Danny's breathing quicken. He squeezed back, more for his own comfort than for Danny's.

"Hey, in case...if I..." Danny struggled out.

"No, no, we're not going there. You stay with me, you hear me?" Steve commanded.

"Might have to disobey those orders," Danny joked as he groaned and twisted with pain.

"Danny..." Steve said, but was at a loss to say anything more. There were no words of comfort or assurances he could give and he was sure Danny knew what was happening to him. Lying to him wasn't going to help him.

"Tell Grace..."

"That Danno loves her," Steve finished, feeling Danny's grip loosen.

Danny nodded then used whatever strength he had left to breathe out, "was an...honor…to serve..."

Danny let out a long, shuddering exhale and went still. Kono, standing next to her cousin, wept into his chest as Chin found his own eyes tearing.

Steve watched incredulously at Danny. It all felt unreal. He let go of his hand and laid his body down gently to the ground. He found his own body shaking, quaking with impending grief and did everything he could not to surrender to it, but it was difficult. At his father's funeral he had remained stoic, but Danny's last words, they hit Steve to his core. Danny had bestowed the most powerful show of respect to him, knowing how much saying that he had been proud to serve with him would mean to a Navy man like Steve. Steve didn't have a chance to return that respect with words, but he hoped Danny knew it was there without them, that he had shown it by his actions for the brief time they had been partners.

Steve's thoughts then betrayed his soldier's composure and he stood up to reach out for the comfort of his other fellow comrades. They grasped at each other in a hug and unashamed tears flowed for their hero friend.

FIN. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.