The dull throb of his chest woke Daniel Williams up from his fitful sleep, unfortunately. For a long time he just laid there in the hospital bed, eyes closed, trying to breathe easier. Sarin, he had decided, sucked. And if he ever wanted someone to die, this was the cruelest fate he could give them. Worse than a gunshot.

His eyes opened to stare at the ceiling dully, taking in its white bubble texture. The only thing he hated more than pineapple would probably be hospitals. Too many times his father or his friends had been lying in the hospital beds themselves when Danny was a kid. Then there were the cops he had befriended, losing their lives to the scum of New Jersey like his former partner Grace had.

And then, of course, he had met Steven J. McGarrett.

A year, he thought bitterly. A year into this job. No, scratch that- it had been six months, not even that. And in that time, his knee had completely re busted, he'd been shot numerous times, and just now, he'd been poisoned. If that was six months, he hated to see what the one year anniversary would bring.

And that wasn't enough. No, not only was he getting more and more acquainted with the staff here at Honolulu Medical Center as they were taking care of him, but they also called upon him when his stubborn-ass of a partner refused medical treatment. Which, if he was to be honest, was pretty much every other time the former SEAL got hurt. He'd get a call in the middle of the night or minutes after the ambulance left the scene. Then they'd ask for his assistance.

Danny remembered the first time it had happened. It was probably one or two AM, and when he answered he almost dropped the phone. Steve had apparently tried taking down a robber in a gas station a few miles from his house, and in the process had gotten shot. It was only a graze, he claimed, but all the doctors knew it needed stitches. Not only that, but he might have a concussion after his head hit the ground when he went down.

So at two in the morning, in a t-shirt and sweatpants, Danny Williams had stormed into the hospital room where Steve was laying on a bed attempting to tie his combat boots. And then he yelled and ranted until the SEAL finally agreed to the CT Scan and the stitches in his arm.

It was only a month or so later when it happened again that Danny realized that Steve had listed him as his only ICE contact. The same day before Steve left for the night, Danny had went straight into his partner's office and ranted about how he barely knew the Jersey native, and yet he was the only person on his list. Steve had watched him until he had yelled, "Now what do you have to say for yourself, Steven?"

The object of his rant had given him an unreadable look as he grabbed his keys and shut off his computer. "You're the only one that cares." He was out the door before Danny could say another word. And he never brought it up again, instead going to the hospital when Steve was hurt and had to yell at him. Like usual.

For the first time, Danny felt a presence to his left. His eyes groggily danced in that direction, widening considerably as he took in the sight. Steven McGarrett was too big for the plastic chair he was sleeping in, and he was obviously in discomfort. There were dark circles under his eyes, and though he was sleeping now, it was obvious he had just fallen into the tendrils of unconsciousness less than an hour before.

The current patient's mouth opened and closed as Steve snored softly, shifting in his sleep. Finally, he got out, "Steven!"

The man opposite of him jumped, eyes shifting around the room until they landed on Danny. "Danny, how are you feeling? Do you need some drugs? I can call the nurses-"

"I'm fine. But what are you doing here?"

His features clouded. "If you don't want me here, I can go. I understand if you wish I was gone."

"That's not what I said." Danny glared. "I wanted to know why. You should go home. Get some sleep in your own bed."

Steve shrugged, not meeting Danny's unimpressed eyes. "I'm fine."

"Why?" he pressed.

Finally, Steve sighed. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I was okay when you visited before with Grace. I was still okay when you left. So why would I not be okay now?"

Another shrug. "You never know Danno."

Danny eyed his friend. "That sounds like a story." When Steve was silent, he continued. "I'll take that as a yes. And I'd like to hear it."

"You need rest, not nightmarish realities at," he checked his watch, "two in the morning."

"I'm awake and curious now, Steven. So spit it out."

Steve's eyes darkened considerably, and he fidgeted in his seat. "I'll be back tomorrow, Danno. G'night."

"No. Don't," Danny heaved slightly and coughed, "go."

Almost immediately Steve plopped back down in the chair, eyeing his friend with worry. "Whoa, calm down buddy. I'm not leaving, see? I'm staying right here."

Danny closed his eyes and focused on his breathing for a few seconds before giving Steve his best kicked puppy look. "Tell. Me."

He sighed, then closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair. "It was my first deployment with SEAL Team 6." Steve started, Danny listening intently. "And it was a nighttime mission. In and out, my commander had said. Easy as one, two, three. But there was a mole in our ranks, and the enemy decided they wanted to cut our numbers in half.

Steve took a shaky breath, eyes squeezed shut, as Danny whispered, "What happened?"

"We were ambushed. There were mines everywhere, Danny, but we came in by a helicopter that was shot down seconds after we jumped. Every step I took, I was sure that it'd be my last. A good fourth or half of our men went down that night, right there. Their bodies were never recovered because there was nothing left of them."

"You escaped unscathed?"

"Yeah. Barely. My closest friend at the time, a guy named David, he dragged my ass out of the line of fire a few times. He probably saved me three or four gunshot wounds. I didn't know he was hurt until we got back to base and he collapsed right in front of me. Long story short, he took a shot to the abdomen."

The SEAL's body was completely taut now, and for the first time Danny wished he'd kept his big mouth shut. But now he was on a roll, and he wasn't stopping until this story was finished.

"I saw him right after he got out of surgery, and he was fine. Perfect, really. Was poking fun at me, as I was the only one waiting for him when he woke up. He told me to go back to my cabin and sleep, and that he'd talk to me in the morning. He got an infection that night. I never spoke to him again."

"Steve…"

He stood abruptly, eyes tinged slightly with red. "So that's why I didn't want to leave. I 'spilled', just like you wanted. So now I will leave because I don't want to deal with this. You said yourself I needed sleep."

"Steve…" Danny tried, but once again words failed him.

"Don't mention this again. Don't."

Steve couldn't exit the room fast enough as Danny Williams watched his retreating figure. The lone person in the room stared at the ceiling once again, like he had been doing only… it couldn't be more than an hour before. A sigh escaped his body, making him cough for a few seconds. Then he grabbed his phone from the nightstand and typed out a lengthy email (his rant would be too long for a simple text message) to his partner.

The former SEAL was staring blankly at the ceiling in his bed, still fully clothed when his phone rang. He unlocked his phone and opened the email. He couldn't believe what he read.

Steve,

You left too early for me to arrange my thoughts, you animal. But listen; if you haven't noticed, we've been through a lot already. And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon; whether I like it or not, this rock has become my home. You, Kono, Chin . . . you're all my family. I can't imagine my life without any of you. So I'm going to fight for all of you, whether that be for my life or some other crazy occurrence.

This is gonna be hard for me to say, so read closely. I'm never repeating this. Steve, in these past six months you've got me shot at, screamed at, and now poisoned. I'm expecting a kidnapping next month. You also annoy me to no end, and let's not forget make me want to shoot you. On a daily, no, hourly, basis.

But you're my best friend, and there's not one day I wish I'd never met you.

Now, you ever tell anyone this, and I will kill you. With my bare hands. So let's not speak of this again, and pretend you're story didn't happen, okay? I'm not going to die tonight. I'm not going to die tomorrow. You, my friend, are stuck with me for a while now. Unfortunately, that means I have to deal with you too. But I'll live. Literally.

Remember, this email (which was torture to type up) never happened.

Danny

Steve's mouth opened and shut in shock before a sharp laugh escaped. He replied quickly, a small smile gracing his usually tough features. If only he could see Danno's reaction to this one. He couldn't decide if the detective would be extremely angry or would laugh his head off.

It was only a few sentences, nothing like the novel Danny had wrote for him.

Danno,

I'm sorry you found out about the kidnapping plot Grace and I were planning; we were really looking forward to that trip to New Jersey next month. Guess I'll return the tickets I booked for the three of us.

Steve

He grinned when Danny called literally minutes after he hit send, first asking him if he was joking, then ranting for a whole hour when he told him it was the truth. Steve couldn't stop smiling as he listened to his friend talk, eyes drifting shut every so often. When he found himself nodding off, he interrupted Danny mid sentence, yawning, "You're welcome, Danno."

There was a small silence for a second before he replied. "Thanks for being a good citizen for once, Super SEAL. Now about those tickets."

"I already booked 'em, Danno."

Steve grinned as an audible huff was heard over the line, Danny's exasperation clear in his tone. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Steven. Er, later today."

Steve glanced at his alarm clock, seeing that it was indeed in the early hours of morning. "Sleep well, Danno. I'll come by with Grace as soon as she gets out of school."

"You too. And Steven?

"Hm?" he asked, half asleep.

"Just for the record, I hate you and this island. Just as much as pineapples and cargo pants. And sarin."

Steve only grinned, his heavily lidded eyes opening one more time to wink at the empty room. "Don't I know it." he replied, sarcasm thick in his tone. After hanging up before his Jersey friend could speak, he smiled at no one. "Night, Danno."