A/N I am absolutely, in no way, a doctor. All of the medical conditions and terminology etc. are purely based on Google or my own imagination. Any and all mistakes are mine. As for the timeline of the story, it doesn't really matter, but for those who might wonder it's set in the beginning of season 5, while Catherine was still in Afghanistan and Danny did not know about Charlie. Also, this story is really just a whump-fest for me. The story seems to have taken ahold of me, so if anything seems a little unbelievable to you or whatever, just hang in there. Maybe the plot bunnies will get back on track eventually. Once again, italics signal a flashback. Please review and happy reading!

Chapter Four

It was dark. Detective Danny Williams knew that much. And cold. A breeze was coming through the broken window to his left. The dirty scrap of cloth that passed for a curtain was billowing through the rough iron bars that crisscrossed the window frame, preventing his escape.

If he even had the strength to escape. At the moment, Danny was pretty sure that he didn't. His brain felt fuzzy, his thoughts were scrambled. His entire body felt disoriented; every moment causing a new wave of dizziness. He must have been drugged, because for the life of him, Danny couldn't remember where he was, what had happened that brought him to damp room. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to think, to remember anything about his current situation.

Nope, that wasn't working. The detective dug his hands into the dirt floor, pushing himself upright with all of his strength. A wave of pain rolled over his body, but it was his neck that exploded in a burst of pain as he braced his head against the concrete wall. He raised a hand to explore the back of his neck, to find out what was causing such horrendous pain.

"Ouch, damn it." His hand came back covered in blood. A dark sticky blood that seemed to be mixed with a fair amount of dirt. That couldn't be good. He shifted again, trying to hold himself up against that wall so he could take in his surroundings and make a plan to escape.

A plan to escape. The blonde detective let out a hoarse chuckle; he was sounding more and more like his crazy Navy SEAL partner everyday. If Steve was here, he would've had all of the exit routes checked out already, the wound stabilized with some kind of muddy paste, and he would've already figured a way to turn that scrap of a curtain into some kind of deadly weapon. That's just the way his partner was. Danny laughed again, thinking of Steve's goofy grin, but the chuckle soon turned to a coarse, painful cough that racked his entire body.

He could feel his eyes closing against the pain, his mind slipping into unconsciousness as the effect of the drugs still pulled on him. "No, no, no." Danny struggled to pull himself out of the deep black hole looming in his mind. "Can't sleep. Gotta stay conscious." His thoughts once returned to his partner. Gotta stay strong like Super SEAL.

From the other side of the wall, foot steps could be heard clomping along the hallway. "Steve?" Danny's voice croaked, and he repeated louder. "Steve, I'm in here." The feet stopped outside of his door, and he heard the sound of the deadbolt turning.

"Took you long enough." Danny spoke just as the door swung open, and two men strode into the room. Crap. They were not Steve.

The taller of the two forced Danny onto his feet, his grip tightened painfully around the detective's biceps. Before he even saw it coming, the second man's fist was smashing painfully into his jaw. Nope, most definitely were not Steve.

He didn't even have time to spit the blood out of his mouth before the fist was colliding into his face again. And again. It was only after the fourth punch that either of them spoke, and when they did it was bigger one, the one gripping him from behind, that rasped into his ear, "Who was your informant?"

"What? No introductions first? That's not very polite you know." The comment earned him two blows to the abdomen. Danny hunched over, his head nearly touching the floor, before he was yanked back up.

"Don't play dumb with us." The man was hissing in his ear again. "We know someone tipped you cops off. And now we're out twenty guys, our biggest client, and a whole lot of dough. So you better start talking."

It was all rushing back now, the anonymous tip, the weapons deal, being so far outnumbered. "I don't know."

"You're lying, Detective." Another volley of punches from the shorter guy, this time with a few kicks thrown in.

"It was an anonymous phone call." Danny winced at the pleading in his own voice.

The ensuing blow knocked him to the ground. "You expect us to believe that?"

"Yes?"

"Well, we don't." The taller one sneered into his face.

"I wouldn't." He paused to gasp for a breath, "I wouldn't tell you even if I did know." Danny met the man's gaze.

"Then perhaps you need some encouragement." One man disappeared from view outside of the room as the other hauled Danny to his feet once again.

"Can't...wait."

"You need to lose that attitude Detective." His captor returned, carrying something which Danny belatedly identified as a baseball bat before the man was swinging it into his side, the resounding crack coming just as Danny's world turned black.

"Aaaaah!" The scream jerked Steve awake from where he had once again taken residence by Danny's bed. He was on his feet in seconds, hand hovering near his gun holster, as he prepared to defend his partner from any threat before he realized that the gut-wrenching sound was coming from Danny himself.

"Hey buddy, take it easy." He crouched by the edge of Danny's bed, keeping his voice low and steady as he tried to calm the frantic blonde haired man. "I'm here bud."

The reassuring hand he laid on his partner's arm was met with another desperate cry, as Danny jerked away from the unexpected touch. He was thrashing in the bed, his wires and tubes tangling together as the IV line became disconnected. The frantic beeping of the machines served to startle the man further.
"Steve!"

"I'm here, Danno. I'm here." The SEAL lunged for the panic button before returning to Danny's side. "You need to calm down babe. I got you." He curled an arm around Danny's waist to keep him from tumbling off the side of the bed, but his effort was futile, as the detective's thrashing legs crashed into his own, and in a tangled mess of wires and legs, the two crashed to the floor.

"Danny, are you alright?" The smaller man had landed on top of the SEAL, saved from the brunt of the fall by Steve's larger torso. "Answer me!"

"It's so dark." Was the whimpered reply. Danny pressed against Steve's chest. "I can't see you!"

Dammit, he didn't remember. They'd gone through this same painful ordeal the first time Danny had woken up, and now was no different. Telling him was no easier the second time around.

He wrapped his arms around his partner, as if to send strength through his own body. "I know buddy." He gulped back his own sob as he steadied the man in his arms. "You're blind."