A/N: I guess I wasn't as finished with my little coda to 8x10 as I thought I was. The more I watched the episode, the more this part came about. Thank you to Wenwalke for her quick beta - all mistakes are, as always, my own.
Steve threw his vest into his truck and slammed the door. Lou and Tani had taken the picture to the lab to see if they could lift any fingerprints. Steve huffed out a breath, thankful that Eric wasn't in the lab. The kid didn't need to see the picture declaring Danny deserved to die. Steve's inhale turned into a half sob, half groan. Who was out to get his partner? Had their mystery shooter worked alone, or was there someone else out there?
Steve looked up at the hospital and tried to school his features before heading inside. He didn't want to worry Danny; he just wanted him to recuperate. Despite the laughter and joking in the hospital room a couple of hours ago, Steve still felt weak at the knees and a little dazed at the thought of how close they'd come to losing his best friend. He waited another minute and then felt steady enough to head inside.
As he neared Danny's room, Steve heard hushed voices. His hand twitched towards his holster but relaxed as he recognized Danny's voice, Eric's voice, and a woman's tinny voice from a phone's speaker. He quietly entered but almost stumbled as he took in his partner's fatigued look.
"Yeah, Ma, he's fine. Really." Eric rolled his eyes at the phone he held in his hand.
"He's right, sis, I'm fine." Danny also rolled his eyes as he leaned closer to the phone between him and his nephew. Only Steve saw the wince of pain as Danny moved.
"Take care of yourself. I'll call you tomorrow. Love you. Bye."
"Okay, Ma. Love you, too."
"Hey, Steve." Danny stirred, wincing in pain. "How'd it go?"
Steve shrugged, "Still no clue who he was."
"Hey, Doc. Come to spring me?" Danny smiled as Doctor Keller entered.
Doctor Keller smiled and shook his head, "I think you'll have to wait another day or two for that, Detective. But I am here to see how you're doing."
"I'm good."
"Maybe I should rephrase that. Maybe I should say I'm here to see how your wound is doing."
"Yeah," Danny nodded. "Hey, Eric, you should go home and get some sleep. Do me a favor though, huh?"
"Sure, Uncle D, what?"
"Give your Grandma Williams a call and let her know I'm alright. She and Pops do not have to come out, okay? She'll have already talked to your Ma so you need to call her and tell her yourself that I'm okay. Tell her I'll call in a couple days."
"Sure thing, Uncle D." Eric headed for the door but stopped in the doorway. "I love you."
Danny smiled wanly as his nephew disappeared before he could respond, "I musta scared him. I don't remember the last time he told me that."
"He's also a Williams," Steve pointed out. "Sharing his feelings at the drop off a hat."
"Bite me, Steven."
"Hate to break this up," Doctor Keller interrupted. "How about I give you a once over so you can get some rest?"
"You don't have to stay, Steve. Go home and get some sleep."
Steve raised his eyebrow at his partner, "I think I'll stay."
"Whatever... Have at it, Doc."
Steve paced at the side of Danny's bed while Doctor Keller leaned down to check the drain tube. He watched the doc nod, seemingly satisfied, and then gently move Danny's hospital gown to check the dressing. Steve stopped pacing and leaned forward to get a better look at his partner's chest. "Damn, Doc, did I do that?"
"Steve, don't..." Danny held up a hand.
"No, Danny, I have to know... those bruises, Doc. Did I do that?"
Doctor Keller looked at Danny who nodded, "Go ahead, Doc. He won't let it alone until you tell him."
"No, Commander, you are not responsible. Some bruising is due to the bullet's impact, of course, but the majority is actually from me."
"You?"
"Remember when I told you surgery was touch and go?"
Steve nodded, swallowing hard. He suddenly realized what that meant. Something he'd been trying hard not to think about.
"I had to perform chest compressions in the OR."
Steve looked at Danny, "You knew?"
"I told Detective Williams earlier." Doctor Keller adjusted Danny's hospital gown again and patted his arm lightly before he straightened. "The bruising will fade. Thankfully, while it seemed like a long time to get his heart beating again, it really wasn't long."
Steve let out a long breath and nodded. "Thanks, Doc."
"Of course. Now, you both need some sleep," He held up a hand to stop a protest from Steve. "Despite a week in isolation, I believe those last few hours wiped out any benefit from inactivity."
Steve sat heavily in the chair by Danny's bed. He snorted, "Yeah, I guess it did."
"Detective Williams, you should utilize that pain pump and get more rest. I'll see you tomorrow to discuss a possible discharge date if you continue to show improvement. Overall, you've shown remarkable progress, let's keep that up."
"Thanks, Doc." Danny smiled. "For everything."
Doctor Keller nodded briskly. "Of course. Good night, gentlemen."
Steve watched Danny for a moment before speaking softly, "You should listen to Doc and use that pain pump."
"Why? Cause I'm a baby?"
"I didn't mean that." Steve sighed. "I'm sorry. I was just joking earlier."
"I know." Danny smiled. "I know. And I'll use the pump, but..."
Steve saw the problem and stood. He reached across Danny's bed and pulled the cord over and put it next to Danny's hand. "Better?"
"Yeah, thanks." Danny pushed the button to release the medicine and closed his eyes. "You can tell me later what you found at the shooter's place."
"What do you mean?"
"You have aneurism face which tells me you found something you don't want to tell me about... Tell me later. I'm gonna take a nap."
"Danny, we didn't find... I mean, I don't..."
"Steve," Danny mumbled. "Do me a favor."
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Blow it out your ass."
Steve chuckled and stared at his sleeping friend, compete with stupid smile on his face. Where had that come from, he wondered. Oh, well, he'd tell him what they'd found later. They were stronger together so it was only right he knew so they could start to figure it out together.
A/N again: That's all... I think. :-) Hope you enjoyed.