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Chapter 2:

Steve was annoyed for several reasons.

First of all he had to drive his own car. Well, he liked his Silverado, it was a good car that had served him well on many different occasions but he had to admit that the ride was nothing compared to Danny's sleek Camaro.

But the silver roadster was at the garage for its annual inspection… and maybe for a little repair that might be Steve's fault. McGarrett shifted in his seat and grimaced slightly, trying to forget the little incident the day before when he had followed a suspect maybe a little too enthusiastically. He really had tried to brake in time, but it hadn't been enough and the Camaro had ended up against a small wall, leaving its whole left side and the front bumper in need of some repair work.

Steve shoved the unpleasant memories of the accident and Danny's subsequent rant to the back of his mind, sighing quietly when he threw a glance at his watch. The second reason for his lingering annoyance was the fact that it was already 8:32 and he had been supposed to pick up his partner at exactly half past eight. Steve hated being late and usually he was punctual to the minute but this morning his driveway had been blocked by a large van that had delivered his neighbor's new furniture; he had needed almost fifteen minutes to convince the driver to move away. Needless to say that Steve's mood was not the best ever since.

Driving around the last corner, he approached the apartment complex where Danny was living and frowned angrily when his partner was nowhere to be seen. Despite his passion for sleeping late and despite the amount of time he spent in the bathroom, Danny was usually as punctual as Steve, a trait for which the Ex-SEAL was immensely grateful.

But today of all times Danny seemed to be late, on a day the Governor wanted to speak to the whole Five-0 team; he hadn't told them any details but the seriousness in his voice had made it perfectly clear that it wouldn't be mere small talk and being late for that kind of conversation was just not acceptable.

Pulling the Silverado into an empty parking spot, Steve waited about half a minute before he impatiently killed the engine and left the car. Heading for Danny's apartment with large, fast strides, he almost bumped into a middle-aged man in a blue jumpsuit, probably a plumber or an electrician by the looks of the large toolbox he was carrying in his right hand. Mumbling a quick apology Steve barely threw a second look at the man before he rushed on.

"Danny?" Steve asked loudly, repeatedly banging his left fist against the entrance door, at the same time ringing the doorbell to make clear that they were really short of time.

McGarrett pursed his lips and cocked his head a little bit to the right as he listened for an answer that never came. Frowning slightly he already pictured a thousand different scenarios but then he shook his head and scolded himself for his vivid imagination. Danny had probably just overslept or he was still in the bathroom, unable to hear Steve's knocking and shouting and ringing.

Trying the bell one last time, Steve pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Danny's number when he still got no answer from Danny's apartment. There was a short moment of silence and then the familiar sound of Danny's ring tone reached his ears, coming faintly through the closed door but other than that there was still no sound or movement.

The frown on Steve's forehead increased and after a moment of contemplation he took his set of keys and searched for the key to Danny's apartment. Danny had given him one of the spare keys directly after moving in, just in case anything ever happened to him and Steve needed to get access to his personal belongings.

Slowly opening the door, Steve stepped into the apartment, his right hand hovering over the butt of his weapon. He let his gaze travel over the living room, calling Danny's name once more as he threw a brief look into the deserted kitchen. The coffee machine was switched on and a strong, appetizing scent of coffee filled the air; a half-full cup and an opened newspaper indicated that Danny had been here this morning.

Steve felt an uneasy prickle at the back of his neck when he headed for the bedroom and briefly hesitated in front of the slightly opened door.

"Danny? Are you decent?" he asked loudly so that his words would also be heard in the bathroom, as he slowly pushed open the door. "I'm coming in."

The feeling of uneasiness immediately reached a new level when he saw Danny lying on the floor in front of the bed, unconscious or maybe even worse. Danny's face was deathly pale and even from his place a few feet away Steve was able to see the tinge of blue on the other man's lips. Steve needed only a split second to take in Danny's appearance but he found no blood or any other sign of an injury. Danny was fully clothed; the only thing that seemed a bit odd was the fact that he only wore one shoe while the other one was lying next to his prone body.

Steve was pretty sure that nobody else except himself and his partner was inside the apartment; however he quickly drew his weapon and silently moved toward the bathroom to make sure that no one was hiding there before he tended to his friend.

Crouching down Steve carefully turned Danny's body around, taking a deep breath when he pressed his finger's against Danny's neck in search for a pulse. Steve was sure that the following seconds were the longest in his life but after repositioning his fingers twice he was finally rewarded with a weak unsteady rhythm beneath his fingertips. Not losing any more precious time Steve swiftly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called an ambulance while he once more eyeballed his unconscious partner. He could now see the slight up and down of Danny's chest but just as his heartbeat, his breathing was also much too fast and shallow.

"Danny?" Steve tried to rouse the other man, firmly shaking Danny's shoulder while a thousand different thoughts ran through his mind. There was no visible injury, no sign of any outside influence, so what was wrong with Danny? Heart attack? Stroke? Steve shook his head in denial, Danny was in good shape and much too young to suffer that kind of disease, right? "Danny? Can you hear me? Come on, Danny, open your eyes."

But whatever Steve tried, Danny stubbornly remained unconscious and if possible his condition even worsened over the next few minutes. Danny's face was deathly pale, cold sweat was covering his skin and now and then a weak seizure rattled his body.

There had been a few moments in Steve's life when he had felt completely and utterly helpless. Like when he had learned about his mother's death at the age of 16; and it didn't matter that she had suddenly shown up 20 years later pretty much alive because she had only faked her death. Or the terrible moment when he had been forced to witness his father's murder over a telephone line after speaking to him only seconds before. Or the time when his sister had been kidnapped by the Yakuza, calling him and frantically begging him to help her when she was lying in the trunk of a car, shackled and beaten.

All these times Steve had been feeling so vulnerable because his closest family had been affected and now – staring down at Danny's unconscious form – he felt exactly the same way. Danny was his best friend, he was part of his Ohana, of his family, and not being able to help him was one of the worst things Steve had ever experienced.

All he could do was sit by his partner's side and wait for help to arrive, ready to give CPR if it would come to the worst and make sure that Danny was as comfortable as possible.

Steve didn't know how much time had passed or how often he had checked Danny's pulse when he finally heard help arriving. He allowed himself a tiny sigh of relief, quickly stepping back to give the paramedics space to work.

The next few minutes were a blur of hectic activity, vital parameters were shouted and medical devices were attached to Danny's body and Steve took another step back, hesitantly leaning his back against the wall when he felt the slight tremor of his legs. He answered all of the paramedics' questions to the best of his knowledge but he wasn't really able to tell them what had happened.

Running a shaky hand over his hair and face, Steve watched almost detachedly how Danny was strapped onto a gurney and whisked outside only a short moment later. Blinking in surprise about the sudden quietness of the room he shook off his lethargy and pushed himself off the wall, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to call in the rest of his team while he followed the paramedics to the waiting ambulance.

"I'm sorry, Sir, you can't come along," one of the paramedics said brusquely, vehemently hindering Steve from entering the vehicle, but his tone softened a little bit when he noticed the expression of deep concern on Steve's face. "I'm sure you understand that we need space to work," he added gently, holding Steve's gaze for a few seconds before he nodded once and started to shut the doors.

"Wait," Steve exclaimed hoarsely, grabbing one wing of the door at the last second before it was totally closed. "Where are you taking him?"

"Queens," the paramedic answered and Steve reluctantly removed his grip around the door and watched how the ambulance took off with screeching tires, siren wailing and blue light flashing.

And if the stern look on the paramedics' faces hadn't already told Steve how dire his partner's condition was, that hasty departure would surely have.

(tbc)