"I'd say things are progressing nicely! Yes, nicely indeed!
Phase 3...a personal favorite of mine!
Let's see if I can get them to see red...shall we?


It had taken Danny longer to regain his strength than he had expected. The internal attacks had been much harder to recover from than the external one. Since the mugging and the food poisoning, he had been feeling like a liability to the team. As a result, he was especially determined to hang in there on whatever excursion Steve's twisted mind had come up...even if he still wasn't feeling his best.

Danny started out strong but it wasn't long before he started to fall behind. He assured the others that he was okay and to go ahead and that he would catch up. Knowing that he still wasn't 100% they agreed, but slowed down their pace as well.

Danny had just reached the top of a small tree lined hill when he felt the bullet slice through his flesh. Stunned he fell to the ground and rolled down the other side of the hill.

"What the hell!" he muttered, clutching his injured shoulder. Blood was freely seeping through his hand, but at least it had gone straight through.

He was frantically looking around for the shooter when he heard a voice behind him yell out, "You okay, brah? Oh my God...I'm so sorry!" Still lying on the ground, he turned his head to see a panicked looking man come running down the hill. "I was hunting duck...I saw something run by me and just assumed...how bad you hurt?"

"Do I look like a duck?" Danny hissed, but he could see that the concern was genuine and that there was no additional threat of danger. Although he wanted to ring the man's neck, he didn't want to waste the time and energy he didn't have. "I'll be alright. Help me up, would ya?"

But he was also a cop and had to do his job. After checking that the rifle was registered and that the owner had a permit he waved off the offer of assistance to a hospital. He was going to finish the course and meet up with the others ...even if he had to do so a few pints short of the red stuff. After all, it was what Steve would have done…nothing seemed to stop Mighty-McGarrett…especially a flesh wound.

"You sure, detective?" the shooter asked looking very relieved that he wasn't in trouble.

"Listen, it was just an accident," he smiled reassuringly. "I have some friends I'm meeting up with…I'll be fine." Danny paused and added with a serious glare, "but next time just watch what you're shooting, okay?"

"You got it." The hunter smiled and took off.

Danny knew the team was probably getting too far ahead and that he needed to move. He quickly ripped the sleeve off of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

'Another shirt bites the dust,' he thought, as he took off running. 'Better than one of my ties...I'm running low.'

He was counting on adrenaline to get him through…that and the thought of having to explain to the guys how he managed to get shot in the middle of nowhere. It would look much better if he did it from the finish line.

Luckily the rest of the trail was pretty flat. Near the end he stopped a moment, leaned against a tree and closed his eyes. "I did it," he sighed wearily.

He tried to look as cool as possible as he approached the trio that were sprawled out on the ground resting. He must have failed as Kono came jogging over looking alarmed. "Hey Danny, do you know that you're bleeding?"

"Um...yeah...I noticed. With skills like that one day you'll make detective."

"What happened?"

"I was shot," he replied nonchalantly, trying to downplay as if it was a common occurrence. Unfortunately, since he paired up with Steve, it really wasn't that out of the ordinary.

"You were shot?!" Kono exclaimed. She yelled out to the others, "Hurry up, you two…Danny's been shot!"

'Here we go,' thought Danny. 'This oughtta go over real well.'

"I must have heard you wrong, cuz," Chin said as he made his way over. "I could have sworn you said that Danny had been shot." He then glanced down and noticed the blood stain on Danny's bandaged arm and exclaimed, "Hey man, you're bleeding!"

"Um, so I've been told…you're keen observation skills must run in the family," he said dryly. "Anyway…it's just a scratch."

"How in the world did you manage to get shot out here?" Steve asked, hands on his hips.

"Some guy thought I was a duck," Danny said lowering his eyes at how ridiculous it sounded. When nobody said anything in return, he lifted his gaze to see three individuals trying very hard not to lapse into hysterics…they failed miserable.

"Um…hello…man bleeding here!" Danny tried not to let them get to him; if he wasn't the injured party, he would probably find it amusing as well. But then Steve went too far when he did a ridiculously good duck call.

"I'd be careful if I were you, boss," Kono teased, "we don't want Danny to be used as target practice again."

"Yeah man," Chin added, "We've been taking care of him and carrying his load enough as it is lately." It was meant in jest, but Danny didn't hear it that way.

"Now wait just one minute!" Danny protested.

"Well…you have to admit it Danno, you've had quite a," Steve hesitated, trying to figure out the right word to use, "messy month."

"Well, I'm sorry that you all find me to be such a burden!" Danny stood up quickly intending to storm off, but instead stumbled forward as spots danced in front of his eyes. Chin reached out and grabbed his good arm to steady him, but as soon as his vision cleared, Danny shook him off. "I'll meet you back at the truck," he mumbled as he started walking away.

Steve looked over at Chin and Kono and shrugged his shoulders. He cocked his head in Danny's direction indicating that they should start following him. They made the trek back in silence not wanting to say anything to upset their friend anymore than they already had. They knew that none of this was his fault; it was a stretch of bad luck. But they also knew how sensitive Danny could be under all his bravado and how easy it was for him to place the blame on himself.

"Let me take a look at your arm, man," Steve said when they found him leaning heavily against the truck. Danny didn't object and stayed quiet while Steve unwrapped his makeshift bandage. "It's a bit more than a scratch, but I don't think you'll need stitches. It needs to be cleaned out and bandaged though."

Again Danny didn't object; he just nodded his head. Steve went to the back of the truck to get the med kit. Danny wasn't talking, and that had Steve worried. 'Damn, we should have known better than to tease him after all he's been through lately,' he thought.

"This is gonna hurt, bro. You sure you don't want me to give you something for the pain?"

Danny shook his head 'no'. The last thing he needed was some drugs to make him nauseous inside of Steve's truck. He laid down on the ground before he fell down and turned his head away as Steve poured some antiseptic onto a cloth and began cleaning. He bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out. Danny didn't make a sound through the entire procedure, but he started shaking so badly that Steve had to stop.

"You doing okay, buddy?"

Once more, Danny used his head to do his talking and just nodded. It took every ounce of strength he had left to stay still while Steve finished the job. He was sweating and out of breath as Steve packed the med kit away and helped him into the truck.

They made small talk most of the way back, except for Danny who said nothing. The only word he uttered was a clear and defiant no when Steve said he wanted Danny to stay with him. The tone and set of his jaw let the others know not to argue. It wasn't until they pulled up to his apartment, that Danny took his eyes away from the window.

"You've all looked after me enough lately. I think I can walk the few feet to my door." Danny tried to keep the tone lighthearted, but the hurt in his voice came through loud and clear.

"You sure you don't want me to help you in, man?" Chin asked, seriously regretting the statement he made earlier.

Danny struggled to open the van door with his uninjured left arm. "No. I've been walking for over thirty years...I can manage." 'That is, if I can get this damn door open,' he thought.

Finally, he was able to slide the door open and slowly stepped out of the van. His legs felt shaky and he just hoped that they would carry him to his destination. That destination being any soft horizontal surface where he could lay still and hopefully sleep through the pain.

"Cheer up, Danny. Remember, all bad things come in threes. You've been mugged, poisoned by your food, and shot. I'd say your safe now," Steve teased.

Danny returned the grin, but it was forced. He wasn't sure he had ever really felt safe since coming to Hawaii...and something told him he was far from it now.

TBC…

Note: I warned you it was going to be far-fetched and somewhat out of character for the guys...and it's gonna get a bit worse...but I still hope it's somewhat fun to read! Thanks for the reviews...I enjoy them all...good and bad! :)