Waves Above the Horizon Chapter 3

A/N: So, I'm gonna be honest, this story is actually terribly hard to write. I just really dislike it for some reason, so I'm finding it hard to write. So, sorry if I don't post as often as I said, but now you know why. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 3

"I think I can get it off, Spencer." Steve tugged at the trunk of the palm tree, feeling some give. "Are you ready to get going?"

Spencer gave Steve a little nod.

"You tired?" Steve commented on the boy's drooping eye lids.

"'Lil bit." He replied.

"Don't fall asleep just yet. I know that you're tired, but I need to have you awake. Okay? Keep your eyes open."Steve placed his hand on Spencer's shoulder and could feel him shaking. There was no doubt in his mind that the child was in the early stages of hypothermia. He had a slightly blue tint to him and he was shaking like a dog at the vet. He needed to stay awake if he wanted to survive.

"Mmmk. Can we go now?" Spencer started to sway a bit, sleep trying desperately to overcome him.

"Yes, we can go. If you stay awake, we can go right now, okay? You just have to stay awake." Steve started to tug at the tree which was now a little bit lighter. The tree was practically buoyant due to the water. He shoved it past his foot in one swift movement, but it wasn't pain free. In order to get the tree off of his leg, Steve had to push the tree over his foot. It jarred his whole entire leg, making him fall back to the pavement with a splash. He bit back a groan, face scrunching up in pure pain.

"'M tired." Spencer's voice penetrated Steve's cursing that was going on inside of his head.

"Don't go to sleep, let's get going. You need to stay awake." Steve said as he pushed himself up on one foot. Dizziness tried to knock him back on his ass, but he wouldn't allow it. He needed to get Spencer back to the house and he needed to do it quickly.

Steve slowly bent down and picked up the child. He was practically as light as a feather, probably only weighing 40 lbs. But then again, he was pretty much just skin and bones.

"Thanks, Steve." Spencer mumbled into Steve's shoulder. At least he was a gentleman.

"No problem, Spence. Just don't fall asleep, okay? That's how you can repay me."

"Mmmk."

Maybe Spencer was more hypothermic than Steve thought originally. It shouldn't have been as hard as it was for him to stay awake. He needed to get out of there and fast. The question was how he was going to do that. He couldn't hop along, jarring a hypothermic body could easily harm them. He needed to find a way to actually carry him and not just jump around. By this point, though, Steve just wanted to get home. The bone sticking out of his leg was surely close to infection and breaking any bone saps away energy. On top of that, Steve had at least a mild concussion and his head was still dripping blood. Therefore, Steve was exhausted and just wanted to lie down and take a nap, but Spencer was in his hands. He couldn't just give up, a life other than his was at risk. Sure, if it was just him, he wouldn't mind giving up, but if a child's life was at stake, he had to press on.

Steve scanned the street for any floating sticks that were about his height. Of course, he wasn't that lucky. Everything that was close to him was either too short or too weak. So, he was stuck with no crutch. He definitely couldn't put any weight at all on his leg, it would just crumble underneath him. So, it looked as though he would be stuck there for a while.


"Danno, we need to go find Uncle Steve. He's been gone for too long." Grace told her father with as much demand as she could muster. "He's probably lost or something. We need to go get him."

She was right. Steve was gone for almost six hours. It was getting to be a bit more than he could handle. Steve was out there somewhere, probably hurt, and he couldn't get back. Danny needed to go help him back. There was no doubt in his mind that Steve was still alive, but he had to be hurt if he didn't make it back yet. He wanted to just hope that Steve found some emergency hide out place that he decided would be good to stay at, but he knew that it wasn't true. Steve had to be hurt, he just felt it down in his gut. The evidence was practically screaming that, too. Steve needed him.

And the basement was flooding. It was up to mid-shin by now, they needed to get out of there. A steady stream of water was flowing in through some cracks in the walls, and it was not going to stop. Danny had already gathered up all the food and put it on the steps in hopes of keeping it dry, but he wasn't ready to venture to the first floor yet. He was afraid that the high winds outside would shatter the windows and shattered windows were dangerous. So, it was either drown in the basement or get a piece of glass to the throat. That, or the house could just blow over and kill both of them. At least the basement couldn't get blown over. So, there were two ways to die upstairs, only one downstairs. So, Danny prompted for the latter.

"I know, Monkey. I might head out and search for him." He started to rub her back. "I just don't want to leave you alone."

"I want to come with you, anyway, so it's okay." She replied strictly.

"I can't bring you with me, babe. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care. I want to help find Uncle Steve."

"I know you do, but I don't want you to get hurt either. Grace, I need you to sit on the steps, right in the middle. I'm going to run out for ten minutes and look for Uncle Steve. You need to stay here, though. Please, Grace, just trust me." Danny finished his speech with one last hug. He stood up and started to walk up the steps, Grace following closely behind. She dropped down onto the steps and glared at her father.

"I'm sorry, babe, I just don't want you to get hurt. I'll be back."

He planted a kiss on her head and walked up the stairs.

"Be careful." Grace called out to him.

He replied with one last glance at her. "I will."

He dashed through the house and through the front door, protecting his head the whole way. He trudged through the rain, feeling as if he was going to drown in it.

"Steve!" Danny yelled as loud as he possibly could. "Steve!"

No response. He continued walking through the dreary streets searching high and low for Steve. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. He thought that maybe he could see a few feet in front of his face, but apparently not. Or maybe he thought that he wouldn't get blown away in the wind, but of course he did. He knew it would be bad, but not that bad.

"Steve!" He continued on. "Steven!"

Still no response.

"Steve!"

"Danno!" A voice hollered, but Danny couldn't tell exactly where it came from.

"Where are you?" Danny screamed while spinning around in circles, trying to find Steve's voice.

"Kalapu, I need help!" The voice returned.

Kalapu was only two blocks away. Danny turned in the right direction then sprinted as fast as he could towards Kalapu road. He arrived, after slipping and falling several times, at Kalapu road to see Steve standing in the middle of the road and holding a child.

"What the hell, Steve? Why are you just standing here? We need to get back." Danny puffed out. He really was out of shape, running two blocks shouldn't have made him so tired.

"Danny, this is Spencer. He has hypothermia and he can't walk. You need to help me." He replied.

"Sure, let's get going then." Danny turned and started walking back to the house. Although he was relieved to see Steve up and well, he was still pissed at the same time. He came out into the storm for no reason, Steve could have just walked home easily. He knew the way.

"Danno…"

"What? Can we please go, I left Grace in your flooded basement. Let's please go quickly before I freeze." He snapped.

"Danno, my leg snapped in half. I can't walk." Steve admitted.

Danny swiveled around quickly. "What the hell, isn't that the first thing that you should've told me? What the hell happened?" He rushed to Steve's side, taking Spencer from his hands.

"Be careful, don't jostle him. It could seriously hurt him."

"Damn it, Steve, I'm not worried about this kid. You freaking snapped your leg in half!"

Steve started swaying, eyes loosing focus.

"Steve?" Danny's anger rushed out of him and concern filled its place. Why was Steve swaying.

Steve started to fall to the ground and Danny just had to watch. He couldn't. Steve was right, the kid in his arm couldn't be jerked, he could get hurt. So, he watched as Steve dropped at his feet, doing nothing to prevent it.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it." Danny whispered to himself over and over and over.

"Steve, come on. Wake up, please. I can't haul your ass back to the house." Danny coaxed him as he slowly bent down to slap Steve's cheek. "Come on, I need you to wake up."

And just like that, Steve's eyes fluttered open.

"That's it, you back with us?"

"Shit. Yeah, I'm good. Sorry."

"Steve, why did you just pass out? What else is wrong?"

"Dunno, I'm fine. Let's go."

"No, don't lie to me. I can't help you if you don't tell me. You're an idiot, just tell me."

"Fine. Head, bleeding. Let's go."

"Oh my God, fine. I'll help you up."

Danny pulled Steve up to a standing position and they started to hobble back towards the house. It wasn't easy considering the fact that the streets were flooded almost up to their shins and Danny had to carry two people. But, they eventually made it to Steve's house. Getting up the stairs was another mission altogether, though.

"Danny, just bring Spencer in. I'll wait out here." Steve told him as they approached the steps. Danny was about to protest, but then he realized that Steve was right. The kid needed to get inside and Danny couldn't help Steve up without both hands. So, he reluctantly nodded and carried 'Spencer' in the house. He brought him down to the basement to where Grace was.

"Danno, where's Uncle Steve? Is he okay?" Grace cried once she saw that her Danno was back.

Danny should've seen that coming. Of course she would assume that Danny didn't find him when he walked in without him. He should've warned her before hand before she could get hysteric, but he was too late. She started sobbing, tears flowing down her face, face and eyes red.

"Grace, he is outside. He is okay. I need you to listen to me, he is okay." He said in a firm yet calming voice.

"He's okay?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Yes. He broke his leg, so he can't walk. He is okay. Now, I need you to go get some blankets for this boy. His name is Spencer and Steve said that he has hypothermia. Don't move him, just dry him off and tuck blankets around him. Get him as warm as possible." He instructed her. "I need to go help Steve. Be careful when you go upstairs."

"Spencer? Did you say Spencer?"

"Yes, Spencer. Please, go, he needs your help."

"Spencer goes to my school, we're friends."

"I'm sorry, Gracie. I really am, but he needs your help, please go."

He turned and dashed outside to find Steve passed out on the ground.