Still waiting on that email from my friend so I can continue Nalowale Kane, so before I go Christmas shopping, enjoy this little…whatever this turns out to be!

"I spy something gray, and powdery-"

"Is it dust?" Danny asked as he cut Steve off, his voice sounding bored.

"How did you know?" Steve asked sarcastically.

"You know, this game is getting old really fast."

"Well, if you've got a better way to pass the time and stay awake, I'm all ears Danno." Danny was quiet as he thought that one over. He heaved a sigh.

"I spy something powdery, and gray, and floaty…"

"Let me guess…dust?" Steve replied.

"Looks like my detective skills are rubbing of on you after all."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it partner." Steve said with a small laugh. In reality, the game was absolutely pointless in that all that could be seen was the thick, grey dust around them. So thick, they couldn't even see one another, even if they were only laying mere feet apart. As the silence stretched on, Steve grew concerned.

"You still with me, pal?" After a moment, Danny's reply, hoarse from the dust in his throat, sounded, slightly weaker than before.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm here."

"Alright, c'mon, talk to me man. Let's see…I'm thinking of a number one to one hundred." Danny smiled and said fifty, though he phrased it as "five oh".

"That's right Danno. You're turn."

"I…spy…"

"We're back to I spy now? Thought you said it was getting old."

"I sp-spy a light." Steve instantly went rigid. The breathy quality of Danny's voice was scaring him.

"I bet." He said, trying to play it off as nothing. "So, how did Grace do in her play?" he asked, thinking quickly.

"Beautiful…" came Danny's short answer and Steve didn't know if he was referring to Grace or the 'light'.

"Hey, come on Danny. I need more than that. How do you feel, huh? And you gotta tell me everything since I can't come over there and see if you're lying."

"Hurts…tired."

"No no, hey. Stay awake. What hurts Danny? Your head still?"

"Y-yeah…'nd my chest. Hard to breathe."

"I know, buddy. Short, even breaths. What about your legs? They still hurting?"

"C-can't feel 'em…" Danny trailed off. It scared Steve how quickly his friend was deteriorating.

"Alright, well you need to stay with me. Talk to me. Tell me something good, man."

"Li' what?"

"I don't know…how was your trip to Jersey? Was it all that you remembered?"

"Was nice. Family. Skyscrap-pers. Pizza." Steve laughed.

"I'll bet you missed that pizza. No pineapple."

"Hate pi'apple."

"I know, buddy. I know."

"'teve?"

"Yeah, Danny?"

"Where are we? Why can' I feel my legs?" Steve' heart flip-flopped in his chest.

"We're at that legal office, remember? We were going to pick up to pick up that lawyer, Thomas Benton, to question him about the case."

"Office? Don't 'member…wha' 'appened?"

"Benton blew himself up with all of the evidence. We got caught in the blast. We're both trapped under some debris until help comes, which should be soon, so you just hold on, okay?"

"'kay, tryin'. Light's getting' brighter."

"You stay away from that light, Danno. You hear? Stay with me."

"Can't…juss too tired." With that, Danny fell silent and Steve's pleas for him to wake up went unanswered. Try as he might, Steve still could not free himself and, even if he could, he feared he would shift more weight onto Danny if he did. For another agonizing twenty minutes, he lay there in absolute silence. Then, a loud crumbling sound from across what used to be a hallway caught his attention.

"Hello?" He cried as loud as he could with seventy pounds of concrete on his chest. "Please, we need help!"

"Steve? That you?" Kono's voice yelled.

"Yeah! Kono, we're over here!"

"Alright, just hold on, we're coming. You guys okay?" Chin asked.

"I'm good, but Danny's not. We're both stuck under a bunch of debris so I haven't been able to check him over, but he wasn't doing well. He passed out twenty minutes ago."

"Oaky, we're through. Keep talking so we know where you are."

"Over by the corner. Closer to the window. Danny's like three feet away, but I'm can't be sure 'cause this damn dust is too thick." Soon, they had found him. Chin, Kono, and four firemen carefully lifted the heavy pieces of the building off of him. When the piece on his chest was removed, he took a deep, shuddering breath, then immediately began to cough as he inhaled the thick dust. Kono ripped off a section of her shirt and secured it over his mouth and nose. When he could breathe properly, they made their way over to Danny. Up close now, Steve could see that only his friend's head was visible, and blood ran from a deep cut just above his eyebrow. His face was white from all the dust on it. With extreme care, they set about removing the debris. It bothered him that Danny didn't stir throughout the process. Eventually he was loaded onto a stretcher and both he and Steve were taken to the hospital. Steve was released with only some heavy bruising and a cough from the dust. Danny was admitted and quickly whisked away by the doctors. One nurse took pity on Steve's dusty and disheveled state and took him to the staff locker room where he could shower. She also scrounged up a suitable change of clothes for him. When he emerged, he felt slightly more human and much more concerned about Danny. After about ten minutes, a doctor found them.

"How is he?" Steve asked impatiently, not waiting for introductions.

"He's pretty banged up, but he'll be alright." The old doctor replied. "Pretty nasty concussion, but not swelling of the brain of skull fracture. He also had a few broken ribs, but they should heal."

"What about his legs? He said he couldn't feel them before." Steve mentioned.

"His legs are fine. Painful, but fine. Something must have landed on his pelvis. It didn't break, but blood flow was cut off for a while, numbing them. Now that the blood is returning, it's going to hurt, but he'll be okay." They all breathed a sigh of relief. The kindly doctor then led them to Danny's room, where he was resting. A nasal cannula had been placed beneath his nose and there were a few IVs in his arm, but other than that, Steve was happy to see him relatively machine free. The rest of the team passed the night by watching the small TV in the corner. When Danny stirred, they were all instantly on high alert.

"Danny? You with us?"

"Mmmppphhh…I spy an aneurism face." Danny croaked. While Chin and Kono looked incredibly confused, Steve laughed heartily.

"I thought it was getting old."

"More to see here. No more friggin' dust."

"Well, I spy a Danno looking much better than the last time I saw him."

"That bad, huh babe?"

"Yeah, I'll say. How ya feelin'?"

"Awesome…I love morphine." Danny chuckled drowsily.

"Get some sleep man." Steve laughed, his smile growing. When Danny finally drifted off, Steve couldn't contain his laughter anymore. Chin and Kono looked at him like he was insane, but he didn't care. It was something he had learned in his early days as a soldier. You have to learn to laugh at the little things, to find the light in the darkness. Every day he spent with Danny, the better he got at it.

Short, but I gotta go! Christmas shopping you know…and maybe a little somethin' somethin' for me. Hope you all liked it! Will update Nalowale Kane soon!