Hi Everyone.
With this upload comes the replacement off all other chapter, with all new editing! Some points have been changed in chapter four, so it hopefully reads a little more smoothly and also has a better timeline leading into chapter four. Reading through my work I was mortified by all the mistakes a fresh set of eyes picked up and have since rectified this (I hope). Additionally, I have changed the word bathers (a word I often forget is a uniquely Melbourne word for swimwear), hopefully this clears up any confusion. This one is slightly shorter than the rest, but I wanted to get something out before the final chapter. Tomorrow will be a huge updating day; the final chapter will come with the upload of my first oneshot and the launching chapter of a new story, Broken Blue. Both these new uploads will have a healthy dose of whump. Anyway, enjoy the latest chapter of Low, all reviews are gratefully received, so thank you to everyone who has already taken the time to do so. See you on the flip,
Rose xx
Would own if I could, don't so I cry

One. Two. Three. Four. The seconds take an eternity as Steve's muscles contract, a low, croaking grunt echoing hollowly through the cave in tie with his jerks. All Danny can do it watch, a meter back as he holds his daughter close. Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two. Time is passing all too slowly and much too fast. The seizure is showing no sign of stopping, and Danny is powerless to halt the war it rages in his friend. A particularly violent jolt sends Steve's head off the sweatshirt and it begins beating rhythmically against the floor. Danny is quick to jump down, the cold of the floor seeping through the knees of his jeans not registering through the worry that floods his mind. He gently slides his leg under his friend's head, wishing there was more he could do to help. Steve's movement shows no sign of abating, and he begins to choke, a gurgling, watery moan that Danny wishes he'd lived his life ever hearing. His face is sheet white, Hawaiian tan Danny had always admired showing no trace of returning. Steve's arm flings out to the side, smacking a rock with a brutal crack and Danny prays it isn't broken, though the angle it's on tells him otherwise. He looks at Grace's tear stained face. "It'll be okay Grace. It will be." He doesn't know if he's reassuring his daughter or himself.

A shout at the cave entrance has his head darting up, and for a second, hope floods his heart. Pinned by a burden he would never give up, he looks to Grace for help. Wise beyond her years, she is already racing towards the people crowding the entrance, talking loudly. A man is swiftly kneeling next to Danny, older than he but younger than his father, oaky brown eyes and steady hands reassuring him.
"Hi, Danny is it? I understand your friend Steve is diabetic. I'm going to help him out but I need you to tell me exactly what's going on here." While he talks, a younger woman is rapidly taking a glucose reading from Steve, swiftly injecting a shot into his thigh and clipping a portable pulse meter to his finger. Almost instantly, the seizure begins to abate, and Danny lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He begins to describe what has happened in the hours since the storm hit (and judging by the rain-soaked arrivals in the cave, it has yet to let up), from the strange, drunk behaviour Steve had been displaying before his collapse and subsequent seizure. While he talks, the young medic is busily strapping an oxygen mask to Steve's face, over lips which had been steadily turning blue throughout the duration of the last few terrifying minutes. Fear is slowly draining and he is embarrassed to feel moisture welling in his eyes. It's then he remembers Grace, his brave little girls and he instantly begins to seek her. His gaze lands over by the lazily burning fire, where a sopping wet Chin holds an equally wet, woman's raincoat, and next to him, wrapped in the arms of Kono, is Grace. Danny's need to be with his daughter overrides the fear of leaving Steve, and he rises. He pulls her tight towards him, breathing her in.
"Danno is Uncle Steve going to die?" It's a knife to his chest because for a moment Danny can't say 'of course not' and know he's being entirely truthful.
"The doctors are helping him right now sweetheart." It's the best he can manage while he's watching the paramedics actions become more frantic.
Kono and Chin are by his side, both watching on with worry creased on their brows. Kono is the first to break the silence. "Danny how did this happen? Did you know he was diabetic?"
Danny shakes his head, words escaping him as Kono quietly curses in a language Danny can only guess. Steve is being rolled now, a basket stretcher slid underneath him. An IV line has been established in the moments Danny has been distracted, and the bag is tucked in beside him as he's secured with bright orange straps. For a moment, Danny wants to shout out, knowing Steve's hate (fear, he knows it's fear) of the restraints. But before he can speak out, the basket is largely covered by a tarpaulin (again strapped down) and it's picked up between to muscled men Danny hadn't noticed until now, and Steve's gone, disappearing into the rain.
"Danny, are you listening?" He turns to see Chin, who is pulling his raincoat back on, Kono and Grace already in theirs, the latter crunching on a granola bar, the remnants of second one coating the collar of her shirt.
"Sorry," he says, now paying attention, "go on."
"We're moving out now, there's a break in the storm. It's going to be our best opportunity for a few hours. I'll be up the front, Kono's going to be in the middle with Grace, she's the only one small enough to walk side by side with her. You bring up the rear. Ready to go?"
Danny nods an affirmative and smiles at Grace. "You're being so brave monkey. We'll be home soon, okay?"
"No." Her tone is stubborn and he swears she didn't get it from him.
"No?"
"We can't go home, we have to go and see Uncle Steve, I have to make sure he's okay."
"Alright. Well go see him when we get back, okay?" He doesn't bother telling her of the interlude he plans making her take for food and clean cloths, possibly some sleep, in between times.
"Danny, we really need to get going." He nods in response at Chin, and they set off.

The rain has abated slightly, but it doesn't make the trip much easier. Every time Grace stumbles in the slightest, Danny's heart misses a beat, even as Kono is keeping her on her feet. The wind is still holing, Chin's directions are lost and they have to rely on a series of wild arm waves and thumbs up. An hour into the walk, and the toll of the trip is beginning to sink in for Danny. He knows they're not too far now, another hour at most, but each step feels like lifting a lead weight and his hair is plastered to his face, irritating his eyes. Hunger naws in his stomach and he regrets not asking if there was another granola bar before they'd left. Worse still than any physical pain is the constant ache of worry he can't shake. He's never seen Steve like he was in the cave. Completely disoriented, the confusion of his partner had been alien and terrifying. Scarier still was the seizure, watching his body shake and fingernails turn blue and knowing he couldn't do anything to help his friend. Friend. He contemplates the word. Steve has been more than a friend since he met him. The man is intense, he takes up a room when he's there, and is more fiercely protective than anyone Danny has ever met. He'd taken to Grace so quickly, and anyone that made his daughter squeal with happy laughter earns a tick in his books. He felt safer with Steve than anyone had ever made him feel. The thought of losing him makes Danny feel physically ill. There is a burning in his chest that takes him a moment to identify. Love. He hasn't felt love this intense since Grace was born, and never with Rachel. He'd never considered himself gay, or even bi, but trudging through the rain, terror in his heart at the thought of losing the man he realises he loves, it's starting to look like a possibility.

Thanks for reading. Please leave a review letting me know what you think.
Rose xx