Steve was mumbling under his breath as Danny set down the supplies and moved back to his side. He talked encouragingly to him, "Hey partner, you were excited about the mattress! Look at this!"

Steve smiled weakly but did not respond. Danny gently lifted his head and placed the pillow beneath it, "How's that feel buddy?"
"Gggoodd Daanno"
Danny grabbed a wash cloth and wetting it he wiped down his friends' head, face, neck and chest. He could feel Steve's body heat rise as infection seemed to be setting in. He knew what he had to do…and he dreaded it.

Once he had all the supplies set out he took hold of Steve's bloodied hand. Steve saw the concern in Danny's eyes as he spoke softly, "Tell meee ppartnner"
Danny squeezed his hand firmly as he spoke, "Buddy it looks like you've got an infection setting in. I found….."
"Ddanny…..wwhat?"
"I found a bottle of whiskey"
"Iss it ggoodd stuff?"
"What?"
"Is itt cheap or ggood?"
Picking up the bottle, Danny stated "Nah, it's cheap stuff"
Steve grinned slyly, "Ssave ssome anyway ookayy?"
Danny smiled nervously, "This is going to hurt like hell"
Steve's hand tightened in Danny's as he said, "Do it partner…jjust ddo iit…..'sokay buddy"

Danny bent his head and sighed deeply as he composed himself. Then with one final squeeze of Steve's hand he reached for the supplies. He folded up a washcloth and placed it into Steve's mouth. He then moved down to the wound. Sitting across Steve's legs he wiped the sweat from his own browe and then he unhooked the belt buckle. The bandaging was long ago soaked through with blood but he was encouraged to see that the flow had subsided slightly.
"Hey Steve…..good news babe, the bleeding's let up a bit…it's looking good" He looked up at Steve watching the SEAL swallow hard as beads of sweat covered his face. He had clenched his hands tightly into fists and his rate of breathing was increasing rapidily as he prepared himself for the pain to come.

As the whiskey hit the open wound, Steve's muffled screams ripped through Danny's heart. The SEAL pounded his fists down onto the mattress and his body shook as the intense pain shot through every nerve ending in his body. Keeping Steve's legs pinned, Danny placed a towel against the wound and pressing tightly he leaned over on top of his friend. With one hand on the towel he used his other arm to press down on Steve's chest. "HANG ON PARTNER, YOU'RE DOING GREAT….RELAX"

The cloth fell from Steve's mouth and he called out, "SHIT….OOOHHHH SSHITT…..DDAMN IITT HHURRTS"
"STEVE BREATHE SLOW BABE…breathe slow…..in, out….in, out babe….. nice and slow partner"
Steve again screamed out "OOOOOHHHHH SSHITT…"

"Relax partner, I'm here, I've got you….relax…that's it…..breathe slow" Danny eventually felt Steve's body begin to relax, "That's it Steven…you're doing great…"

"DDannyy…'m ggood….'m good" Steve closed his eyes as he continued his fight to control the pain.
Slowly Danny moved off of Steve as he still pressed tightly on the wound. He waited a few minutes in silence and then he removed the towel. The bleeding had increased a bit and Danny took the gauze from the first aid kit and packed the wound tightly. He then bandaged it, wrapping gauze around his mid-section.

Steve's eyes were still closed and Danny moved quickly. He ran below deck, washing his hands and wetting several towels.
When he returned he found Steve unconscious. He sat on the mattress and using a towel he cleaned Steve up, wiping the blood from his belly, sides and hands. Once done he threw that towel aside and moved up to Steve's head. Placing a hand on his forehead he was distraught at the obvious sign of fever. He wiped the SEAL's face and neck and then folding the damp cloth he placed it across his forehead. After covering him with a blanket Danny then moved a few feet away to the boat's helm.

50505050505050505050505050

Danny first checked the radio but the wires had been cut. A bullet had also been fired into it, totally disabling it. He then searched the helm area for the key to the boat. Unable to find it, he made sure that Steve was still out and then he moved back below deck to check for the key. He found it in the pants pocket of the dead man, the odor of his decaying flesh was quickly becoming overwhelming.

He performed another search of the cabin area hoping to find a cell phone…or anything that could help get them rescued, but he found nothing. He did find small bucket which he filled with tap water.
He returned above deck and silently prayed as he put the key in the ignition and turned…nothing….nothing at all. He checked the fuel tank and it had been punctured leaving no gas remaining, "DAMN it"
After performing a final search of the entire boat he found two gas tanks, both of which had been emptied.

The small clock in the boat's helm showed him that it was five thirty. Frustrated, he moved to the side of the boat and looking down he noted that the school of dolphins had encircled the boat, as if on guard, protecting them. He figured Chin should be arriving at the dock within the half hour. Hopefully he wouldn't wait too long before becoming concerned about them. He looked over at Steve noting his chest was moving rapidly under the blanket and he was now very pale...it was going to be a very long night.

He sat on the mattress next to Steve, removing the now virtually dry cloth from his forehead. Touching his head he noted his fever appeared to still be rising. He re-wet the cloth and wiped Steve's head, waking him.
"Hey Ddanno….don'tt feel ttoo ggood partner"
"Really? You coulda' fooled me, you look great babe"
Steve grinned weakly, "Yeah…..I bbet. I'm thhirsty Danno"
"Steve, you can't drink anything. Not with your belly wound partner"

"Yeah…..yeahhh…you'rre rright"
Danny smirked, "Excuse me? Can you say that again please? Danny is right!"
Steve chuckled but stopped quickly as his pain intensified, "Ohhhh shit…can'tt llaugh….hhurts….ooohhh shhit"
Danny grabbed his hand squeezing firmly, "I'm sorry buddy…sorry…relax"

Steve's eyes closed and he stayed quiet for several minutes before again speaking softly, "Danny…the rradio?"
"No…..the wires are cut and the bastard destroyed it. He dumped all the gas too. We're stuck here buddy, just me and you…and about forty dolphins"

Steve grinned, "You're going tto hhave….qquite a story for Grracie, huh"
"Me? We're going to both have to tell her about this"
"Dannyy…"
"What?"
"In ccase…."
Danny quickly interrupted him, "No, no…..you don't even go there partner. You're going to be fine. Chin's probably on his way already"

"Danny….llisten ppartnerr…iin case I ddon't mmake it you ttell that little girl hhow mmuch…I….I love hher"
Tears slid down both men's cheeks as Danny continued to hold his friends hand tightly. He responded softly, his voice choked with emotion, "You know I will"

"Mmy Mom…." Steve was clearly too overwhelmed to speak, his breathing was way too fast and he was struggling to pull air into his lungs.

Danny moved quickly and sitting on the mattress with his back up against the helm he pulled Steve onto his lap.
"OOOOHHHHH GGOD…"
"Steve…..calm down babe…..I got you, relax"
"MMy MMom….."
"Hey don't talk partner…..relax now….I'll talk to your Mom…..I got you now, sssshhhhhh…..relax"
"I llovve….hher Danny…ooh God….whhy?"
"Ssshhhhhh, I'll talk to her Steve, I'll talk to her…..ssshhhhhhhhh"
Danny cradled his head, running his fingers through his sweat drenched hair and in just moments Steve surrendered to the pain and passed out. Danny tucked the blanket around Steve and then taking a drink of water he too closed his eyes and slept.

50505050505050505050505050

Chin sat on the end of the dock dangling his feet in the water. Glancing at his watch and noting it was now after seven o'clock he felt his gut churn. Something was wrong. Steve and Danny's cell phones were both rolling straight to voice mail. They would have called him or at least shot him a text if they were going to be this late. As he was debating what to do, his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Chin, it's Catherine…is Steve with you?"
"No…I'm at the dock and there's no sign of them. I take it you haven't heard anything from him?"

"No, I don't like this Chin"
"Hey don't worry, at least not yet. Those two know how to take care of themselves. Why don't you meet me at the docks and we'll track the GPS on my Uncle's boat. I'll call Kono"
"Okay…I'll be there in a few minutes"

Hanging up he then called Kono who answered on the second ring, "Hey Cuz, did they catch our dinner?"
"I don't know…" his voice tailed off and she sensed his tension.
"They're not back yet?"
"No"
"Well Danny said that Steve wasn't going to let him come back without a big one right?"
"Yes but come on Kono….this isn't like them. They would have let me know…..unless they couldn't"
"Chin? Are you really worried?"
"It's a gut feeling Kono. Something's wrong.
"Are you at the docks?"
"Yeah…..bring your computer so we can track the boat's GPS"
"I'm on my way"

********* More to follow - I'm so happy for all who are following, thanks for reading! I haven't had many reviews the last couple of chapters though ? What are thinking ? *********