A/N I don't own rights to any of the characters.

A/N Thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites and follows. It's humbling. With limited time today I decided to finalize this extra long chapter and post it rather than reply individually to each review.

A/N Sorry if the medical parts are wrong. Don't learn emergency medicine from me.

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Danny just started to turn when he felt a white-hot searing pain tear through his back just to the left of his right shoulder blade. If he hadn't started to turn, the knife now embedded in the back of his shoulder would have been right through his spine below his neck. He'd be dead.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, or did it speed up? Danny wasn't really sure. He had no clue what sound escaped his lips – a gasp, a grunt, a cry, a scream, - no clue at all. He had no chance to stay upright. The force of the attack, the sheer brutality of it, the utter shock of it, made his legs fail instantly. His vision grayed and he fell.

Danny collapsed to the floor, landing on his left side. Blinding pain. Graying vision. He forced himself to focus on the now retreating form of his attacker. Apparently, their investigation and conclusions had been accurate because this was the same young man who they thought had killed the previous professor. Fortunately, the man must have thought Danny was dead because he fled the room, as quickly as he had come, escaping into the nearly empty hall.

The knife still embedded in his back, Danny tried to move. He could literally feel the knife cut deeper and he let out a startled anguished cry. He couldn't move. Just lying still and breathing was excruciating. His cell phone was on his desk behind him but it might as well have been on Maui for all the chance he had of getting to it. He knew he was bleeding badly, he could feel it soaking the back of his dress shirt and dripping across his back to the floor beneath him. Oh man, it hurt!

He focused on his breathing, trying to keep it slow and easy. In. Out. In. Out. Oh man it still hurt! He lay on the floor alone, bleeding and in pain, focusing on breathing. Focusing on staying conscious. Focusing on whatever would keep him alive until help came to get the knife out and sew him back up so he'd stop leaking so much blood all over the floor.

Five minutes later, Eric Russo whistled as he walked down the hall towards the classroom. He was early but that was planned. He could spend a few minutes with his uncle this way. Danny, Uncle D to Eric, had always been his favorite. He was tough and smart and caring and honest to a fault. His sarcastic wit had no match. He was everything Eric hoped to be. If he ended up half the man his uncle was, he would be a good man. He was proud that his uncle, and all of Five-O had brought him into the inner circle on this case rather than asking him to drop the class. Sure, he had given his uncle a bit of a hard time in class, but nothing that might break his uncle's cover.

He opened the classroom door and was surprised not to see his uncle standing at the board or sitting at his desk. He wasn't sure if he saw him or heard him first and it really didn't matter. "Uncle D!" Eric felt nauseous but he dropped his bag and moved quickly to his fallen uncle. "Uncle D?"

Danny tried to speak when he heard the door open, but he could get nothing to come out. He then heard his nephew's voice and he managed a groan. When Eric knelt next to him he was able to get his voice to work. "Eric?" he said softly.

"Oh shit, Uncle D, there's so much blood," Eric immediately began to panic. He stood up and paced, mumbled curses flowing freely.

"Eric? Calm down Eric," Danny said from the floor.

Eric kept pacing. He couldn't deal with this. He'd never seen anything like this in his life and he hoped he never did again. The crime lab was cool, exciting, fun and safe. He could never, ever be a cop and see things like this. No way. No how.

"Eric?" Danny tried again, but his nephew was too shocked to listen. "Damn it Eric Calm do…." Danny shouted before he gasped in pain. He had to battle yet again to get his breathing under control, to not give in to the darkness.

But it did the job, it got Eric's attention. "Okay, okay. I got this Uncle D." Eric promised. He took a deep breath, held it and let it out slowly, just like Danny had taught him to do when anxiety threatened to overwhelm him. A few more times and he was back in control of himself. Eric reached down and removed the fake glasses and then gently loosened Danny's tie and unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt in an effort to help him breathe better and be more comfortable. Sweat was already glistening off his uncle's face, neck and chest.

He wanted to apply pressure to the wound to help it stop bleeding but that was not possible with the knife in there. It looked so unbelievably painful, but he knew it was too dangerous to remove it. Suddenly, he had an idea. He slipped Danny's tie off and wrapped it carefully around the knife where it met Danny's back, then applied pressure to the tie in hope that it could help slow the bleeding. He was very careful not to touch the knife for two reasons. For one because it would cause more pain, but also because he wanted to maintain any fingerprints there might be on the handle of the knife. Danny groaned loudly and writhed painfully. "Damn it Eric, what are you doing?" he ground out.

"Trying to stop the bleeding." It wasn't doing much. He then remembered that he was wearing two shirts so he pulled the top one off and wrapped it carefully above the tie and pressed again, eliciting another pained groan. He hated hurting his uncle but he had to slow the bleeding.

Danny had been injured before, even stabbed before, but this was bringing pain to new heights. A knife in your back would do that, he thought wryly. Breathing was so incredibly painful that he found himself holding his breath, but then when forced to breathe again, the pain was unbearable. He nearly passed out, his eyes closing.

"Uncle D, stay with me," Eric pleaded, keeping himself calm and grasping Danny's left hand. Danny opened his eyes. "That's it, Uncle D. That's it. Stay with me."

Danny focused on restoring a calm, easy rhythm to his breathing.

Letting go of Danny's hand but continuing to apply pressure around the knife with his other hand Eric pulled his cell phone from his pocket to call for help. "Damn. No service."

"Service stinks in this building," Danny told him.

Eric looked at the door. He knew to get service he'd have to leave the room, go down the hall to the stairs, down the two flights and out the door before he could call. He considered pulling the fire alarm but that wouldn't really help. Damn! He looked down at Danny again. His eyes were closed. "Uncle D, you gotta stay with me. Come on. I know it hurts dude but you gotta stay with me. Grace and Charlie need you. That's it," he then said as Danny opened his eyes again. He was torn. He needed to get help for his uncle but he was afraid to leave him alone.

Just then the door opened and Eric's dilemma was solved. "Wait," he shouted to the young man and woman entering the room. He released Danny's hand and removed his other hand from Danny's back, and stood up, holding one bloody hand out in front of him, he reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet with the cleaner of his two hands. Opening it, he exposed his HPD identity card. "I work with HPD Crime Scene Unit and I need you to stay right there. This is a crime scene."

At his feet, Danny groaned in pain.

"Is that Professor Jeffries?" the woman asked, looking like she was about to be sick. She averted her eyes. She couldn't look.

"Yes," Eric confirmed, still showing them his ID. "But, he's actually an undercover detective. Danny Williams."

Both young people looked stunned at the undercover revelation. "Is he gunna die?" She now asked.

"Not if I have anything to do about it," Eric said with an edge to his voice. He didn't like the question. He didn't want to even think about losing his uncle.

He addressed the woman again. "I need you to go outside and call 911. Use the words 'officer down'. Tell them that Detective Williams has been seriously wounded and needs help right away. Ask them to contact Steve McGarrett at Five-O, also." He spoke calmly, adopting the professional demeanor he so admired in his uncle. "Then wait for them and bring them directly to this room when they arrive. Can you do that?" Eric put the wallet back in his pocket.

The young woman nodded, repeating the highlights. "Officer down. Detective Williams. Five-O."

"Thank you," he said as she turned and hurried out of the room. She appeared thankful to be away from the gruesome sight.

The man with her started to move towards them now. "A cop, huh? That's wild. We should get that knife out of his back, man. I'll hold him down while you pull."

"No!" Eric said forcefully. "It will make the bleeding even worse. Look, I know you want to help, but this is a crime scene. You think you can find me a sweater, a jacket, a towel, anything I can put under his head and make him a bit more comfortable until EMT's arrive? Then I need you to stand outside the door and not let anybody in until the police get here and can take over the scene. Can you do that?"

Danny groaned again at his feet and he bent down and grasped his hand again. "Helps coming. Just hang in there." He looked up at the man again. He hadn't moved. "Can you get me something for his head and then watch the door for me? Keep the crime scene pure. It'll help us find out who did this."

"Yeah, yeah sure."

"Thank you."

It didn't take long for him to come back in with a sweatshirt that somebody had offered. "We really like Professor Jeffries or whoever he really is," he said. "Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help out."

Eric was tempted to ask for someone to come in and sit with him and Danny but he knew the importance of keeping people out of a crime scene if at all possible. There was nothing anybody could do for his uncle until the ambulance got there except be with him. "Thanks. If I think of anything, I'll let you know. Just send the EMT's in as soon as they come."

Eric nearly collapsed next to Danny when the young man exited the room. Through the window in the door he could see him standing right outside. Good. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry but he had to hold it together for his uncle. Had to hold it together because he was a professional. He had his uncle to thank for that. The man had always been there for him, especially after his father died. Even 5000 miles away, Uncle D was always there for him.

"I got something to put under your head," Eric told his uncle. "Can't be too comfortable lying on that hard floor." Especially with a knife in your back, he added in his head. "You think if I pick your head up and slide this under that it'll be okay? I don't want to make things worse for you."

"It's good, yeah," Danny agreed, keeping his speaking to a minimum.

"Just let me do all the work," Eric said as he gently began to lift Danny's head with one hand and slide the sweatshirt under with the other. Danny moaned slightly but that was it.

Eric thought he definitely looked more comfortable with his head at a better angle and with his head lying on something soft.

The pain was pulling Danny under. He fought hard, trying not to give in to it, but his vision was graying and he felt light headed. He needed to tell Eric what he knew in case he couldn't do it later. He didn't know how long he could remain conscious. "Eric?" he whispered, then groaned at the pain it caused.

"It's okay, Uncle D. Don't try to talk. Just hold on."

"Have to." Danny squeezed Eric's hand, trying to get him to move closer so he didn't have to speak so loud. It hurt too much with a knife in his back. "Tell Steve we were right. Saw him." That's all Danny could manage. A tear slipped from his eye as he groaned again.

"You saw the guy who did this?" Eric asked. He had to get the message straight.

Danny whispered very softly. "Yeah. It was him."

Eric remembered the bleeding now and reached his hand around the knife again and pressed. Danny lurched in pain, which caused an indescribable agony and he cried out. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Eric said, panic arising anew. He didn't know what to do. This was all so new to him. He didn't know how much longer his uncle could hold on. "Helps coming Uncle D. Please just hold on," he begged.

Eric could see that Danny was trying to speak again so he leaned closer.

Danny gripped Eric's hand hard. "Tell Grace and Charlie, Danno loves them."

Eric didn't like the sound of that. "No way Uncle D. Just no way! Don't you dare give up on me." He had tears in his eyes now. "Don't you dare."

"Not giving up," Danny whispered painfully. "Steve will kill me if I die." He chuckled softly at the thought and Eric followed suit.

"Yeah, he would, wouldn't he?" Eric agreed.

The door opened then and a police officer walked in. Before the door closed, Eric could see the growing crowd outside the door held at bay now by a police officer. "Eric Russo, CSU," Eric quickly identified himself. He nodded his head at his uncle. "Detective Danny Williams."

"Yeah, I know him. Good man," the officer said. "How's he doing?"

"I don't know. He needs a doctor, not me."

"Eric?" Danny said softly.

"I'm right here, Uncle D." He squeezed Danny's hand tighter.

"You're his nephew?" the officer asked. At Eric's nod he went on. "He told us about you. Sorry I didn't connect the name."

Eric waved it off. Danny had told the others about him. Danny was proud of him. The thought made his heart soar. He looked up at the police officer now. "You have an evidence bag? We should cover the handle of this knife. Might have fingerprints."

"Good thinking," the officer said as he pulled one out.

The officer bent down next to Danny now and began to cover the knife handle with the evidence bag. Just a slight touch of the knife had Danny writhing and gasping in pain.

"I'm sorry Detective," the officer said as he left the bag where it was, unsecured, over the handle and lifted his hands away. "I won't go near it again. I'm sorry."

"S'okay," Danny managed.

Eric spoke again to the officer. "Do you think this building has security footage that we could review? Might help us find the s.o.b. who did this. My uncle recognized the man but it would be good to have more evidence against him too and find out where he went."

Eric had no authority to order the officer to do anything, but the idea was a valid and intelligent one and had been presented professionally. "If you're okay in here I could go find out," he offered.

"Thanks."

He had not ben gone long when the door opened again and Steve and Lou walked in. They had already been on their way to the campus to do some more interviews when they got the call. Steve's heart was in his throat when he saw his best friend on the floor with a knife in his back. "Oh my God," he prayed.

"Amen," added Lou, equally appalled at the sight.

"Commander!" Eric nearly jumped for joy, somehow feeling that everything would be all right now that Steve was here.

Steve faltered after they stepped through the doorway. He had pushed Danny into this undercover operation. Harassed and cajoled until he agreed. He'd even mocked Danny's discussion of danger. "This is my fault," he said to Lou.

Lou put a reassuring hand on Steve's shoulder and whispered to him. "Danny's a big boy. He knew full well what he was getting himself into. Don't demean his courage by making it about you."

The softly spoken but blunt words battled Steve's inner guilt trip inside his head.

Danny heard Eric say Commander. Thought he heard Steve's voice, yet he wasn't there. Where was he? He needed his best friend. Why wouldn't he come to him? "Steve?" Danny's voice was a pained, husky whisper. He lifted his head to find Steve and a blinding agony swirled through him.

"He needs you, man," Lou told Steve a bit harshly as he pushed him towards their fallen teammate. Steve finally let go of the guilt. Lou was right. He should honor Danny's courage.

"Danno!" Steve said, finally finding his voice. "Don't try to move," he admonished as he knelt down next to Eric. He didn't try to displace Eric's hold of Danny's hand. Instead he gently stroked Danny's sweat soaked hair back from his eyes. "I'm here Danno. You're gunna be all right. Just hang in there. Medics are right behind us."

Steve did a quick visual assessment of his best friend. There was a copious amount of blood. The knife wound was serious. Fortunately, it had missed his spinal cord but it was deeply embedded and most certainly did some real damage. He could see that his normally very active partner was doing his very best to stay perfectly still. Made sense since each movement would cause the knife to cut a bit more into his flesh.

Danny's breathing was labored, hindered by the pain. Sweat poured off of his face, neck and chest. The front of his shirt was as soaked with sweat as the back was with blood. With closer observation, Steve noticed a small pooling of blood where his left arm was wedged under his chest as he lay on his side.

Gently unbuttoning Danny's shirt further, he pulled back the left side as gently as possible and took a look. There was no wound but there was a small trickle of blood making it's way down across Danny's chest. Now lifting the right side of the shirt with equal care Steve made a horrifying discovery.

tbc