Author's note and HUGE apology: This is an indication of how my life has been lately - I managed to skip an entire chapter while posting this story. Sigh. I'm so sorry for the confusion. So this is the correct chapter 3 and what you've (maybe) already read as chapter 3 is now chapter 4.

Thanks for sticking with me through this, and I'll try to be more careful from here on out.


Two hours later, Danny woke from a nap to discover that his headache was much more manageable. He still felt the overall ache which he attributed mostly to grief. He rolled over as gently as he could but couldn't help the groan that escaped as he pulled on various healing injuries.

"You okay?" Kono was at his side in an instant.

"Yeah," Danny took a tentative breath and exhaled slowly. He reached over and took her hand in his own. He noticed the dark circles under her reddened eyes. She'd either been crying recently or was holding back tears. He gave her hand a squeeze until she offered a small smile, "What about you? How're you doing?"

Kono gently sat on the bed and rubbed her hand over his back. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and shrugged, "It all seems so unreal."

"Tell me about it." Danny snorted. "I don't even remember much of the last few days... wait, how many days has it been? I don't even know what today is."

"It's Saturday."

"Saturday? But that means it's only been two days since we went to the marina. Two days and we're doing a funeral? Are we even sure he's actually... dead. I know my head is still fuzzy from the concussion, but was... was his body ever recovered? How do we know he's really dead?" Danny started to get up, but Kono pulled him back down and wrapped an arm around him. She curled into his back. Danny relished the gentle hug from his friend and her closeness as he tried to process everything, "I mean, really, Kono, how do we know?"

"We know, Danny... we just know," Kono whispered into his shoulder. He felt fresh, hot tears wet the back of his shirt.

Danny squeezed Kono's hand as best he could, totally spent from his rant and the whole, lousy day. He could tell by her tone that there was something more she wasn't telling him. He thought he'd wait until he felt better before trying to find out what his friends were keeping from him. Within minutes, he and Kono had both fallen into an exhausted sleep.

H

5

0

"I think I'll just hold onto the keys until we're done here."

In his dream, Danny twitched as he realized what was about to happen. He could hear Steve's voice in his head and the last words he'd ever hear from his partner. He opened his mouth to shout a warning to Steve when the boat exploded. Again, he felt himself picked up by the blast and unceremoniously deposited him on the concrete. Again, he tried running to his partner as the houseboat burned. Again, a second blast, equally as powerful as the first, threw him into the water between two houseboats. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Steve's head sinking below the water.

But Steve's head didn't just sink below the water. Danny realized that his partner had been pulled forcibly under the water. One moment, Steve was reaching for him, concern etched all over his face, and the next moment, he was yanked farther away and under the water, arm still outstretched towards his soon to be unconscious partner.

Danny jolted awake. Kono stirred next to him and then stilled. He evened out his breathing and was grateful he was no longer hooked to a heart monitor, or he was sure a nurse would have come rushing in to check on him. He sighed heavily to help dispel the feeling of his dream.

"Danny, you okay?" a quiet voice asked from the dark.

Danny jumped at the sound of the voice. "What? Who's there?"

A dim light came on behind Danny. He heard soft footsteps approach from behind. Between his injuries and Kono's proximity behind him, he couldn't move to adjust his view of the room to find out who his mystery visitor was. His heartbeat picked up again as he suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"You okay?" the shadowy form emerged from around the end of the bed and finally found its way into Danny's line of sight.

"Adam?" Danny squinted as the figure came closer.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Adam grabbed a nearby folding chair so he could sit by Danny. Two more chairs remained stacked in the corner.

"It's okay," Danny smiled as he felt his heart begin to return to normal again. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Kono told me she was going to stay for a few hours, but when I didn't hear from her I started to get a little worried so I came to check on her... and you."

"Thanks," Danny offered a wan smile. "I guess we kind of fell asleep. What time is it, anyway?"

"Almost midnight."

"No wonder you came looking for her." Danny realized they'd been asleep for hours. "You should take her home so she can get some proper sleep."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Danny grimaced as he tried to wave his hand and felt a twinge from his healing shoulder. "I don't need a babysitter."

"You're sure?"

"I'm just gonna get some more sleep," Danny lied. "I'll be fine."

"If you're sure..." Adam frowned.

Danny carefully shifted his weight and half rolled over so he could gently nudge Kono, "Wake up, Kono. Your boyfriend just caught us in bed together. You have to wake up and explain that this isn't what it looks like."

"Not to worry," Adam snorted. "I'm pretty sure it's exactly what it looks like, and that's fine."

Danny nodded at Adam and nudged Kono again, "C'mon, Kono, you need to go home and get some sleep."

Finally, Kono stirred and half sat up. By the time she'd brushed her mussed hair out of her face, she was fully awake. "Did you say something, Danny? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Danny smiled. "Adam's going to take you home to get some sleep."

"But..."

"No buts," Danny interrupted. "I'll be fine, and you'll feel better if you go home and get some sleep in your own bed."

"You sure?"

"I'll be fine. If you must know, I need to use the little room over there, and I wouldn't mind some privacy for that."

Kono glanced at the restroom in the corner and back to Danny, "We could go get some coffee and come back in a while if you want."

"No, it's fine," Danny shook his head. "Really, just go home and get some decent sleep.

"You'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine, really." Danny insisted.

"Okay, but let me help you up first and help you with this," Kono jumped out of the bed and grabbed the sling, helping him slip his right arm into it again.

"Thanks," Danny had to admit his shoulder did feel better with the sling on.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Kono asked again. "We don't mind staying. Right, Adam?"

"Of course not," Adam agreed, placing a hand around Kono's shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

"I appreciate it, I do, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just gonna get some more sleep," Danny waved them towards the door.

"Alright," Kono leaned down to give him a quick, gentle hug. "Get some sleep, brah. I'll be back in the morning."

"Take care of yourself," Adam told him as he took hold of Kono's hand and led her towards the door as she hesitated.

Danny nodded and sighed in relief as the door closed behind them. He sat on the edge of the bed for a full two minutes after they left. To an outside observer, it might look like he'd fallen asleep sitting with his chin down on his chest, but he was recalling the details of his dream. He replayed the sequence over and over in his head, becoming more and more convinced that what he had seen in his dream was his concussed brain's way of reminding him of what he'd seen. He looked up, jaw set. He glanced around and smiled to himself as he found what he was looking for. He stood and grabbed the hospital issued plastic bag hanging on a hook under the dry erase board which proclaimed "Claudia" to be his nurse. He tossed the rumpled suit he'd worn to the funeral onto the bed and grimaced as he removed the sling once again and discarded it onto the bed. As he remembered Kono curled up behind him, he was grateful to realize that the hospital had not insisted on only the barely-there hospital gown but had allowed him to keep his boxers and tee shirt on as well. As fast as he could, he put on his suit pants and shirt. He briefly considered the tie and then decided it would help his escape. He had a greater chance of being seen as a late night visitor if spotted rather than the escaping patient he really was. He took a deep breath as he finished and allowed himself a hopeful smile. It was time to go find his partner.