I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: sorry for being so lax in getting back to the kind reviews. Work is VERY busy this week and it's hard to balance everything. As consolation, the chapter is posted and I hope you like it. But seriously, thank you all for the wonderful and very generous reviews!

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Chapter 5

"Don't leave." Danny kept whispering the words repeatedly. Even though he'd found the courage and strength to act, Danny was still afraid. He'd killed Morse and yet he was still afraid. His reasonable nature warred against his battle-weary and abused body; understanding that he was safe but still being completely reactive. A part of him was still afraid it was a dream or another trick used to test him and where he'd be punished for failing.

They were all seated together in one of the choppers and he was clinging to Steve to stay sitting upright as one medic did his best to calmly assess if Danny had any immediate injuries and take his vital signs. He was exhausted and desperately wanted to lie down but was unable to tamp down all of his fears. It was clear that he was still confused, afraid everything around him wasn't real and he'd be whisked back into "there". He was also overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new activity taking place around him. He'd been alone for days and suddenly three helicopters and what looked like the entire Army National Guard had swarmed the small sandy beach. A stray caustic thought entered his head as the well-armed military men secured the area, but he was either unwilling or unable to voice it.

"Nothing in halves, eh Rambo?" And then it was gone as the medic in front of him rummaged through his kit and he shifted away as medical equipment was brought out.

"Are you sure?" Danny whispered this time, as he watched every move the man made. His body was also betraying him as it shook uncontrollably from the extreme stress it had been through. Barely able to make his muscles move, he was buffered against Steve with Chin at his side. And Steve's words were short and clipped; testament to the angry concern he felt for his partner's condition. His only goal now was to get Danny home and the medical care he needed. And Chin also had the small box that Morse carried so that the vials of liquid could be tested for their contents.

"Positive. He's dead. You did it yourself. You saw his body."

In fact, Steve had insisted after Danny more than balked about getting in the chopper. He had unzipped the morgue bag and shown Danny the dead man, plus two of the three mercenaries. Four of Danny's own bullets had hit Morse, leaving bloody wounds from his left clavicle and then diagonally down through his ribcage. He'd bled out in minutes in the recesses of his faked medical office. But after being moved no less than three times, Danny's last ride to the private island had been by helicopter with his dedicated medical staff. With his own personal doctor; wracked by fever and pain. Heavily drugged as the mental and physical torture continued and the brainwashing worsened. He constantly needed proof as doubt threatened to overtake each small claim of victory to restore his confidence and Chin's eyes now warned Steve to soften his tone.

Chin was critical to keeping Danny's wavering trust and he leaned over now to put his hand gently on the trembling knee as the Army helicopter finally left the beach. The gesture was meant to be kind, but Danny reflexively pulled away at the touch. To Chin's benefit, he chose to ignore the response and settled his hand back on Danny's leg where this time it stayed.

"He was already down and bleeding out from where you got him." Chin smiled gently as he patted Danny's knee. "You didn't leave me much to take care of except to get him ready for Max."

The National Guard medic was moving slowly and deliberately across from where they sat. In fact, Corporal Evan Simpson, Army National Guard, had to refrain from running his fingers over the bruise blossoming on his cheekbone. His patient was skittish at best and a simple attempt at taking the man's blood pressure had resulted in quite the reaction. Evan sat back on his heels and studied the Detective, trying to determine what he might be able to do with the least amount of stress.

Steve solved the question by pointing to the blood pressure cuff and Evan held his breath as he pulled it back out to slowly wrap it around Danny's upper arm. As recently witnessed first hand, the restrictive black material could be problematic and Evan could definitely feel the all too new swelling on his own face. The colors would undoubtedly be spectacular by the following day.

"Detective, are you okay?" Evan quietly asked when Danny merely stared at him this time. "Because if you are, I just want to record your blood pressure and take your pulse. It's important."

But there was no reply and the medic patiently waited for some kind of signal from the Commander who frowned and then nodded. It was obvious to everyone that the Detective was barely able to cope with the sudden change of events. Weeks of lies, intense pain and abusive mistrust needed to be corrected and healed. The Commander and Chin Ho Kelly were currently the only two that the man might listen to. And it had just taken an excruciating amount of patience and understanding just to get him into the chopper for transport off the private island.

"In fact .." Evan dared to position his stethoscope at the base of the cuff, "I'll tell you step by step what I'm doing and you can tell me to stop at any time." The medic kept talking as he fastened the cuff and slowly pumped up the device. With a quick, practiced ease the readings were recorded but the cuff remained in place. "I'd like to do that every fifteen minutes."

Another nod from Steve had Chin squirming uncomfortably and Evan actually hesitating. But the Commander's expression clearly said that he was ready and would handle any fall-out should it happen. So the medic readied an I.V. of plain fluids while Steve physically pulled Danny closer, partly for support and half as restraint as they all sensed the rising panic.

"Evan's okay. It's just fluids and you're badly dehydrated. Will you let him do it?"

"I don't know." Danny breathed out suddenly after being silent for many minutes. He rallied his flagging strength for the blood pressure reading but needles and an I.V. were things he wasn't sure he could handle. "I'm not sure."

The medic backed off completely although the supplies remained at the ready. He clearly would do whatever Danny was comfortable with; his cheek tingled with a warm ache as his tongue found a small cut on the inside of his lip from a tooth.

"We can wait." Evan murmured quietly. But the situation was overwhelming and Danny simply couldn't make the decision. Steve shifted next to him as Chin carefully helped to unfurl his right arm. Without saying a word, Chin took the antiseptic wipes from the medic and wiped the grime away from Danny's arm until a section was completely clean. His easy smile was genuine as he encouraged Danny to allow the triage to continue.

"Let's try. We'll do it together." He looked to Evan once and the man moved methodically to show Danny the small needle with the bag and waited before moving ahead.

"It's just fluids." Steve promised as the medic searched for a difficult vein and then carefully inserted the line to begin the bagged drip. Danny was shaking badly and his hands were ice cold, but he hadn't moved or objected as Evan handed Chin two pieces of tape to secure the area to keep the port from moving.

"That's it." Chin repeated, pleased at the small victory and Evan smiled in approval.

"Thank you. We're just trying to help." Danny blinked in shock at the simple thanks and managed a small sound. Different. There had been no pain or threats. He knew he'd made the right choice in the warehouse but continually had to force himself to relax. McGarrett wouldn't lie. It was an innate truth that he needed to believe in. And Chin was proof. Grace was proof and Danny drew in a shuddering breath. On the exhale he breathed out one simple word.

"Sorry."

He was trying harder than anyone could possibly know to control the fearful panic as the elastic band circled his upper arm for the medic to find a vein. It took time to slide the needle under his skin and he'd begin to feel nauseous. But the medic had been gentle and Chin an anchor. He was fighting an internal war against himself as both Chin and McGarrett gently took over. But McGarrett only chuffed softly into his lank filthy hair after his apology. And Chin gently rubbed the same arm where the I.V. now successfully ran to begin replenishing desperately needed fluids. And Danny knew that McGarrett's angry grimace was meant for the bruises. For the obvious signs of much too recent poorly inserted intravenous lines that had been used to dispense more dangerous cocktails of drugs.

Steve sighed sadly at the apology. It had taken over an hour to get Danny into the chopper and then agree to the most basic of triage. Inside his soul, he felt like ripping the helicopter apart from nose to tail. But he remembered what Chin had just silently warned him about with his tone, so he could only say one thing now as he rubbed his hand over his face.

"You don't have a blessed thing to be sorry for Danny."

It was all different. Danny had made the right choice when he remembered McGarrett and the last strands of blind trust broke free to the surface. He had allowed himself the victory against Morse. Those words began to repeat in Danny's mind as the real truth while he closed his eyes and sagged wearily down. He knew he should be fine. He shouldn't be having so much trouble with Morse now dead. He had every right to feel relieved as they left the island and the pre-fabricated trailers behind but he couldn't find that place inside himself yet. They were forty-five minutes out from the base. From there, they would go directly to the hospital. And Steve quietly began to explain this to Danny in order to help him keep calm. But it back-fired and had the opposite effect as Steve felt the ragged breathing begin through the much too thin frame huddled up against him.

"No." Wheezing started on the heels of the plea and Evan immediately placed an oxygen mask on the wan face. And then he had to fight past the frightened hand that tried instantly to yank it off.

Chin leaned over worriedly as Steve gently cursed what he thought had been a good idea. The constant backpedaling was exhausting unto itself and Steve was upset as each task became a struggle. He fought to keep his voice down as he bit back his growing frustration. "Damn it, Danny. We need to get you checked out."

"No, he needs to calm down." Evan stated blatantly as Chin took his place to hold the mask. "His pulse is too rapid, and he's beginning to hyperventilate."

Danny's eyes were tightly screwed shut as the trembling increased and his breathing became harsh and erratic. And this time, he was unable to conquer the spontaneous reaction. Another hospital .. another medical facility .. more doctors.

"We will keep you safe."

"Only your best interests."

And Danny simply couldn't do it. Moving quickly while Danny was sandwiched between his two friends, Evan took the chance to listen to the pounding heart through his stethoscope.

"Detective. Slow breaths for me. Nice and deep." But he grimaced as things began to spiral out of control and he gave Steve a worried warning. "Commander."

"Fine" And Chin voiced his agreement as Steve urgently whispered through Danny's panic. "Fine. Okay. Change in plans. Forget it. I made a mistake. We'll go directly to my place; no hospital. We'll get you cleaned up and then you'll see Gracie right away. No hospital."

"Take it easy, Danny." Chin's words echoed the sentiment as he held the oxygen mask in place. "We're not going to force you to go anywhere."

It took a few minutes for the words to sink in and for Danny's breathing to steady. Steve continued speaking because Danny did need medical attention and he was determined to make some kind of headway. His condition was fairly serious and Steve needed him to compromise bit by agonizingly slow bit. Call it tough-love or just plain temper, but Steve was going to have a few concessions of his own.

"But I'm going to ask something of you." Steve waited a few minutes as another part of his plan materialized. Chin's eyes were questioning and Steve held up one finger asking him to wait as he explained.

"Evan's going to help because I know you trust him now." He was pushing the word 'trust' and definitely knew it .. but Steve needed a trained medical professional and Evan was going to have to be 'it' for the time being.

"Here's what I need." His eyes remained closed as he panted under the oxygen mask, but Steve knew that he was listening. He also knew that he was fighting for control as tremors racked his body. Steve silently welcomed the firm set to his jaw; Danny was at least fighting and he'd win. "I need you to let Evan come along too."

The medic's eyes widened in surprise but he huffed in agreement and Steve allowed himself a small grin. "Evan's going to come to my place. Just to settle you in, keep the I.V. going, and to help make sure you're okay. You need to let him do that."

And then Steve simply waited him out. Saying nothing as Danny won control and beat down a few of the demons; eventually giving a soft agreeable murmur.

"Good. Okay." Steve caught Chin's concerned expression and added a few words. They both knew it was going to be a long fight to get on solid ground. "You're going home to see Grace. Everything's going to be fine."

The three men heaved a collective sigh of relief as Danny settled significantly. He was warring with himself against what he'd been programmed for on a daily basis for weeks. He had a chance at having his life back. He wanted it back and McGarrett promised him that he would have it. And things were different. Plus he'd kill Morse and he'd seen the body himself. And that was the most shockingly different thing of all.

And then of course, there were Chin and Grace. He'd heard Grace's voice and had even briefly spoken to her. Of them all, that lie had damaged him the most. Danny had given up his will to live after seeing the photographs, reading the obituary and seeing the short televised clip of the funeral. And then he would have killed himself after destroying his target. This of course had been Morse's plan from the very beginning. Retribution and then the self-sacrifice of his creation.

But all of those plans had been built around an elaborate illusion; everything had been a lie since McGarrett hadn't abandoned him. And Chin was not dead either and Danny glanced over to where Chin was now sitting by his side. Chin offered him a reassuring smile as he held the oxygen mask in place against Danny's face.

"McGarrett .. he didn't kill you?" No Danny, this as an almost exasperated chuckle from Chin. But Chin saw Steve wince at both the question and then the use of his last name. So removed .. sounding so cold but now not actually meaning for it to be as the tone wasn't angry or full of hate. It was a mere statement of fact.

But he turned to Steve with a searching look to ask his next questions.

"You didn't leave." His voice was muffled and wispy under the mask, but clear. Nope, obviously not came the soft and very insulted reply from Steve.

"And Grace .. she's not .. dead. Those pictures …the video." Definitely not, the affirmation was happy and proudly stated by both men in unison. But once more, Steve shared a stunned look with Chin. Anger once again filling his eyes. Pictures? Video? They would return to the private island with a complete forensics team to understand what exactly had gone on. But Danny's own eyes had begun to close as the last of his adrenalin waned and Chin moved to drape a blanket around his upper body.

Not abandoned.

Not left to die.

No longer left alone – discarded in a box, that had yet been immersed inside another box.

Lie upon lie. Illusion upon illusion.

Danny was now leaning heavily into Steve as he began to doze and he vaguely felt him shift so that his head was pillowed on Steve's thigh. Evan moved his arm so the IV wouldn't snag uncomfortably. But he opened his eyes in alarm as his legs were lifted. Chin was positioning him so that he could lay flat along the bench seat and making a grand show of spreading the rest of the blanket down to cover his bare feet.

"You're cold." Was the simply stated explanation and Danny chanced a smile which was gladly returned. A second blanket followed the first and he sank down under their combined warmth as McGarrett's soothing hum reached his ears.

"Rest now. It's over."

"Cargo's." Danny muttered as his eyes jolted open suddenly and he saw the many pockets on the dark pants. "Always with the damned cargo's."

Steve huffed in surprise and his amazed eyes met Chin's own who began to laugh at the soft complaint. The familiar joke made them both grin and Steve almost laughed as he stammered out the first thing that came to mind.

"Wore them just for you Danno."

~ to be continued ~