Chapter seven

A/N: So after two long chapters you guys are not going to mind a shorter one, right? It needed to be cut to keep the story flowing. I promise to update quicker to make up for that.

I still don't own anything, and I'm still grateful for all your feedbacks and to everyone who volunteered to be my beta reader.

Now take a deep breath and start reading…

"You look ridiculous in that hat."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Steve couldn't help but laugh at the sight of his partner wearing a firefighter's helmet. He immediately regretted it when he hissed in pain and tried hard not to cough again.

"It's good to see you too, partner."

True to his word, Danny had shown up minutes after their phone conversation. The man wasn't comfortable with heights and absolutely terrified of confined spaces, but had climbed on the ladder that the firefighters had pushed through the window nonetheless. He'd squatted down next to him and to Steve's surprise, had taken his hand and clasped it between his own.

Steve wasn't a touchy-feely kind of guy but right now, Danny didn't care. He needed the physical contact as much as he knew the other man did.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, looking straight in his eyes.

The lie that the former SEAL had carefully prepared died on his lips. "Hurts to breathe," he admitted. "And I can't feel my left leg anymore."

Danny nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. Hearing his friend say that he was not okay was something he'd rarely experienced, and it scared the hell out of him. Steve was in pain, and there was nothing he could do to fix that. Except maybe yell at the rescue workers. "Where are the damn paramedics?"

"Waiting for my signal," one of the firefighters replied.

"Then give it to them!"

"It's okay, Danny. Let them do their job." Steve freed his hand from his partner's grasp and patted the man's knee in a 'I'm fine' gesture. "Why don't you help Sara? She needs to get checked out. Call her brother, have him meet her at the hospital."

Danny nodded again and rose to his feet, holding out his hand in her direction. Sara looked at him, then at Steve. "I, uh… I can wait. We can leave together."

"Hey, it's alright. My partner's going to come right up. Go see your brother."

The desire to be reunited with her brother was too strong, and Sara finally caved in. She accepted Danny's hand and stood up. "I'll see you later?"

Steve's lips curled upwards. "See you later."

Sara didn't return his smile as she let Danny escort her out the window and down the ladder. She turned around a couple of times, as if trying to convince herself she was making the right decision. "He saved my life," she whispered, her voice so small it was almost inaudible.

"He'll be alright," Danny replied, more to reassure himself than her.

When he came back a short while later, still wearing the helmet, the paramedics had placed an oxygen mask on his partner's mouth and nose and were monitoring his vitals through a blood pressure cuff around his arm and EKG pads on his chest. Danny let them work, attentively watching every move, and when it looked like they had everything under control he called one of them aside. His face was familiar, though his name escaped him at the moment. He had probably treated them before.

"How is he?" he asked as he read the tag on the man's uniform. S. Kaimee. Sam. Sam had patched him up after the building collapse five years before, and had been outside the Ko'olau ballrooms during Grace's infamous winter-formal-turned-hostage-situation. Sam was good people.

"I gave him 10mg of morphine and started an IV to keep him hydrated, he should be feeling more comfortable soon."

"He said he can't feel his leg."

"That's common in injuries like this," the paramedic explained. "Lack of perfusion to a limb can interrupt nerve transmissions and present like paralysis after a spinal cord injury."

Danny shifted from one foot to another as he listened, chewing on his lower lip. The frown on his face matched the panicked turmoil raging inside of him. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"We won't know that until he's rescued. He may have internal injuries, and we don't know what condition his leg's in. Crush injuries are tricky, symptoms can present hours after being freed so we'll have to keep a close eye on him."

"Thanks," he replied as his frown deepened. It wasn't the answer he'd hoped for but then again, nothing was ever easy with his partner.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he crouched next to Steve again. His eyes were closed and the careful breaths he was taking told Danny that he was still in pain so he did the only thing he could. He offered comfort.

"Still here," Steve said as he felt his partner's hand on his shoulder.

"You better be," Danny replied. "The restaurant won't open itself. There's too much we need to do so don't even think about leaving me to deal with all of it alone."

Steve chewed at his lips, tasting blood on his tongue. "Funny how… you were worried about me getting cancer when… something like this could kill me a lot faster."

The Jersey native shook his head. He didn't want to hear the word 'kill' and 'death' associated with his partner's name. Ever. He'd been through the gut-wrenching feeling of powerlessness before during Steve's too many brushes with mortality and those were enough to last him two lifetimes.

He could hear the short, shallow breaths beneath the mask and knew that despite the aid his friend wasn't getting enough oxygen. The slight tremors coursing through his body weren't missed either. Danny reached out to touch his cheek like he did to test Grace and Charlie's temperature when they were sick and felt the cold skin under his touch. He glanced over at Sam, who was already ahead of him and unfolding a thermal blanket. Together, they placed it over Steve's body, making sure they covered every exposed inch of it.

"You know, I do this with my kids. Never thought I'd tuck in a grown adult," Danny teased.

The Five-0 leader smiled briefly before turning suddenly very serious. "You should go, Danny. The whole building is unstable. This floor could collapse at any moment."

"Forget about it."

"Danny…"

"That's what you said when that bomb was threatening to wipe us both off the face of the earth, remember? It goes both ways, buddy. I'm not gonna leave you."

Steve shook his head. "You should. For Charlie and Grace." He reached up and tugged the oxygen mask off his face, lowering it around his neck as he searched his best friend's eyes. "They need their dad. It's my job to…make sure you come home to them every night."

Danny's expression softened. "I know. And you did it, buddy. You kept me safe for eight years. Now keep the mask on," he said, slipping it back over his face. "It's gonna help you breathe."

Behind them, the firefighters were busy setting up their gear to begin the extraction. Danny silently willed them to hurry up. Steve was being quieter than usual, and eerily honest. Sure, it may have to do with his injuries but it was freaking him out nonetheless. His thumb started to rub small circles into his partner's shoulder. "They're almost ready," he whispered. "They're gonna get you out soon."

"Okay," Steve said faintly as he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. The morphine was starting to work and he could feel the pain slowly fade to the background. The oppressive sensation of being trapped like an animal was still there though, making him aware of each and every one of the two hundred and fifty-one minutes he'd spent under the heavy piece of cement. A little over four hours, according to his watch.

"Tell me about the case," he asked to try and get his mind off the dark thoughts lingering just below the surface.

The request surprised Danny for a moment but he quickly realized Steve needed the distraction and he needed to talk. It would do both of them good. "The case… yeah, well, Junior checked Officer Wilson's records and found out he went to school with Gaynes. That scumbag lawyer also represented him in court when he was accused of bribery and got him acquitted. Go figure, huh?"

The ex-SEAL smiled at his partner's colorful report of the facts.

"He also found out they're both tied to the Yakuza so I'm guessing Sara found out something she shouldn't have, right?"

"Yeah she, uh… told me she realized her boss was dealing d-drugs and making money on the side so she started… putting evidence together to expose him. She's quite the detective, you know… also knows how to p-pick locks and shoot guns."

"Ah, a woman after your own heart," Danny smiled.

"Shut up," Steve replied, feigning annoyance. "You know I don't mean it that way."

Before it could veer into uncharted territory, their conversation was interrupted by two firefighters approaching.

"Commander McGarrett, what do you say we get you out of there?" one of them asked.

"I'd… say it sounds great."

"Alright, let's get ready. Detective Williams, you need to go back down. This part of the building is too unstable and we need to evacuate all non-essential personnel. That goes for the paramedics as well."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm keeping this stupid hat on like you asked and that's as far as I'm willing to go."

"Danny, please just listen to them. I'll be fine." Steve pushed himself up in an attempt to get his partner's attention, shifting his upper body in the process and letting out a gasp when his chest exploded with pain.

"Hey, hey, don't move," Danny said urgently, putting a hand on his shoulder and helping him ease back to the debris behind him.

"Go…" Steve whispered beneath the mask, wheezing as if he was having difficulties drawing in a proper breath. "We'll be right down."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Danny addressed Sam in alarm. "Why is he struggling to breathe?"

The young Hawaiian gave him a sympathetic look. "The impact may have cracked some ribs, and the continued pressure isn't helping. Plus, the morphine I gave him slowed down his brain's activities, affecting his respiration rate. Go," he added, "I'll stay with him and get him ready for the extraction."

Danny knew they didn't have much time, and that the stubborn Neanderthal wouldn't budge. He didn't want to go but the sooner he left, the sooner they could start extricating him from the rubble. So he caved in, gave him a slight nod and reluctantly stood up, letting one of the firefighters guide him down the ladder.

Steve's gaze followed him until he disappeared. Only then, finally reassured that his best friend was out of harm's way, he steeled himself for what was about to come and addressed the rescue workers. "Let's do this."

Danny felt like he was betraying his partner all over again, leaving him behind when he needed him the most. As he descended towards safety, squinting at a sunlight that was almost too bright to bear, he said a silent prayer that the rescue would go smoothly. After being through so much over the last eight years, a little bit of luck would be a welcome change of pace.

His wish seemed to come true about fifteen minutes later when he saw the firefighters securing a basket with Steve safely strapped into it and slowly lowering it down the ladder. Releasing the breath he'd been holding he quickly jogged towards the engine truck, only to be stopped by Duke to answer a few case-related questions.

Doing his best to pay attention to what was being said to him, Danny followed from the corner of his eye as the firefighters carried the basket towards the ambulance where Sam and the other EMT helped load his partner inside and started working on him.

He saw Steve fight the cervical collar and try to sit up, probably trying to convince them that he was fine and didn't need attention. He also noticed that both his legs were moving and breathed another sigh of relief as he scratched permanent, life-altering injuries like paralysis from his 'worst-case scenario' list.

Which is why the paramedics' simultaneous shouts of "He's in V-fib!" and "No pulse!" a moment later took him completely by surprise.

TBC