My laziness kicked in and I decided I didn't want to write a hospital seen, so I've skipped ahead five days. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Anyway, this story was published before Mary was taken, so it takes place before she was taken. I know, should have mentioned it sooner, but it didn't come up until this chapter. A quote, spoken by Steve, will explain what I mean later. Oh and Dawn Marie, thanks for pointing out some of my errors, I missed them the first time but have fixed them.

Anyhoo, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and just plain reading. I hope you like this chapter, please let me know if I screwed up any characteristics, and I'll catch ya in the next chapter.

Bye...

5-0 5-0 5-0

5 Days Later...

"Danno! Danno!" the voice was so familiar, Danny knew it almost as well as he knew his own, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Grace," he called, hoping to see her silhouette amongst the shadowed hallway.

"I'm right here, Danno," Grace called, her voice coming from behind him. Danny turned, spotting her brown ponytail bobbing out of sight.

"Wait," he exclaimed chasing after her. She laughed, running faster. Danny sped up, but just couldn't get any closer.

"Catch me, Daddy," she said giggling.

"I'm trying, monkey," Danny replied around a laugh. His laughter died when the ground opened up beneath his feet.

A scream left his lips as he fell, cutting off when he landed onto something soft. Before he piece together what he had landed on, a smiling O'Riley appeared above him. Waving, he said, "Good bye, Danny."

He morphed into a laughing McGarrett, the SEAL grabbing the lid of the coffin and slamming it closed...

"NO!" Danny screamed falling out of bed.

Heart thudding a zillion miles an hour against his chest, it took Danny a second to realize he was safe, at home, on his bedroom floor. He ran a shaky hand down his face, wincing when he jostled his broken fingers.

He hadn't had a good night sleep since he was attacked. His doctor had prescribed some mild sleeping pills to help him sleep, but he refused to take them. They were just a reminder of what had happened...

(Pitch blackness, no air. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe...) He shook his head. Staunching the memories before they could take over completely.

He scrambled to his feet, stumbling out of his room and into his small bathroom. The light had already been on, like most of his lights. He just couldn't be in total darkness anymore.

Without looking in the mirror, he couldn't take seeing all his healing cuts and bruises, he turned the faucet on and splashed cool water on his face. Turning the water off, he grabbed a raggedy, off-white (once snow white) towel off the rack and dried himself with it.

He wandered out of his bathroom, into his kitchen/living room/dining room. He walked toward the window, glancing out to see his 'baby-sitter' sitting against the curb, cell phone out, checking his email or texting or twitting...tweeting... Danny didn't know what it was kids did these days. Whatever he was doing, he wasn't doing a good job 'guarding' Williams.

Jameson had ordered police guards on all of Five-0, just until O'Riley was caught. Not only did Danny not need a 'baby-sitter,' he didn't want one either. He did not want to be reminded of what had happened, but it would continue to be brought up. Because regardless of if and when O'Riley was arrested, Danny would continue to wake up from stupid nightmares. He would continue to be plagued with unwanted memories. And he would continuously be asked variations of 'are you okay' by everyone he knew. Except one person...

McGarrett had been avoiding him since the SEAL was released from the hospital two days before hand. He had gotten lucky, according to the two doctors that would treat him (Steve had a way with people, just scaring them until the pissed themselves). He ended up with a more severe case of the flu, nothing more. He was becoming more and more like Superman as time went on. His fever, however, hit an alarming 104.9 before the doctors could get it down.

According to Kono, who shuttled from Steve's room to Danny's, the doctors had told Steve to take it easy until he was one-hundred percent better. Fat Chance...

Danny crossed the room to his fridge, opening the door to get a beer. He closed it with his hip, popping the top off his bottle of Ramstein. He moved toward his couch, sitting down. He flipped on the television, searching through the channels.

After finding nothing mildly entertaining on, he settled for a CSI marathon. It took him all of ten seconds to switch it off. Mick, Brick, Nick (whatever his name is) had been...

He stood up, his beer landing on the floor and spilling all over the carpet. He ran his left hand through his hair, cupping the back of his neck. He had to get out, do something. So, he dug his only pair of sneakers from his closet, pulled them on, and slipped out of his apartment.

He hadn't been outside since he had returned home from the hospital. Grace had been over once with her mother, Rachel's distaste for his apartment not missed. She never liked the place; Danny didn't care. What he did care about was the fact that Gracie cried when she saw his face. She calmed down when he hugged her and reassured her he was going to heal in no time.

After the visit, while Grace was getting in the car, Rachel suggested they limit her visits until Danny was completely healed. 'I just think Grace shouldn't see you like this. She's only nine, Daniel.'

A part of Danny agreed, he did not want to scare his daughter. But another part, a much stronger part, thought it was complete bullshit. He had every right to see his kid no matter what he looked like. He was Grace's father, Rachel had to see that. And just because his and Rachel's relationship had become marginally less strained did not mean she couldn't still be a bitch.

Danny found himself running, feet pounding against the sidewalk, trying to escape all his thoughts. He wanted more than anything to leave everything behind him. If only he had one of those freaky time-turner things (Grace had recently gotten into Harry Potter and had Danny read her the books every time they were together). Then he could go back, stop what happened to him, maybe kick some ass. Instead, he was stuck reliving memories he did not want.

He hadn't been paying much attention, his mind going a thousand different directions at once, that he was surprised to find his feet had led him to McGarrett's neighborhood. He stopped, hands resting on his knees, taking great, gulping breaths. His best bet was to go home, find something to do. There was no use visiting Steve. He hadn't answered any of Danny's call nor did he answer the door yesterday when Williams stopped by. What made today any different? Plus, it was four-thirty in the morning. Knowing McGarrett, he was either running or coming up with new ways to (torture) interrogate suspects.

Danny straightened, ready to go home, but froze when he heard an engine rev. He slowly turned his head, eyes widening at the Dodge van a few feet from him. He couldn't see the driver, the headlights too bright, but he knew who it was. O'Riley had found him.

The van moved, Williams started to run toward Steve's house. Tires squealed behind him, the smell of burning rubber stinging his nose. He was not going back. O'Riley was not taking him back.

He ran up the walkway to McGarrett's house, pounding on the front door when he within touching distance. "Let me in," he screamed glancing over his shoulder, pounding harder when he spotted the van getting closer. "LET ME IN!"

He could feel the heat from the grill on his back, the headlights closing in on him. He kept hearing the crunch of bones echoing through his head, so sure the van was going to mow him down. Then the door flew open and he fell inside, onto the floor.

"Danny! What wrong?" Steve's voice said above him. Danny ignored the SEAL, scrambling to his feet. He grabbed McGarrett's arm, trying to pull him away from the wall before O'Riley's van burst through, but the horrid sound of broken and splintered wood never came. The van was gone.

"Hey, Danny, look at me," Steve said grabbing the shorter man by the shoulders to look him in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

"T...the van...?"

"What van?"

"You didn't... didn't see...?"

"See what? A van? No. There was no van."

Danny stalked toward the door, gesturing outside. "It was right..." no tire tracks in the dirt, no lingering smell of rubber, no sign the van had been there at all.

"Danno, come inside. Come on."

Danny nodded, slowly trekking back into the McGarrett abode. He had been so sure the van was chasing him, could still remember the smell of burning rubber, could still hear the echoing screech of tires on asphalt. It had been there, yet hadn't... Maybe I'm going crazy.

5-0 5-0 5-0

"Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" McGarrett hissed into his phone, pacing across his kitchen floor.

"Because I didn't know," Kono replied sounding irritated. "You know him, he's worse than you at sharing his feelings. Unless you count stubbornness and anger because both of you are pretty damn good at that.

"How is he anyway?"

Steve peeked into his living room, Danny still asleep on his couch. "Asleep. I slipped a shot of whiskey into his coffee."

"Steve, really? After what happened?" Kono exclaimed exasperated.

"He was half-hysterical, Kono. Kept talking about some van that was chasing him."

"A van? What van?"

"I don't know. Maybe his mind's playing tricks on him. Maybe O'Riley and Sloan used a van to transport him from the warehouse to..." Steve trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to actually say the words 'burial site.' It would stir up all the guilt he had been trying to keep away since Danny had gone missing.

"You don't think he's got post-traumatic stress, do you?" Kono asked sounding worried. Steve could almost see her lip tucked between her teeth.

"No. Most likely it's Acute Stress." McGarrett glanced at the couch again, Danny turning onto his left side. "Too bad this is all my fault."

"Boss, you didn't know," Kono said sympathetically. "How could you know?" Steve sniffed, holding in a cough. "So, you're still sick?"

"It's just a cold. And this time I'm serious." Kalakaua laughed once, probably shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Do you want me to come over?"

"No. You probably want to get back to bed. It's only six. You should be enjoying the rest of your week off."

"Are you kidding? Two of my friends are on the mend and you expect me to enjoy some time off. I'm worried about both of you. You won't answer the door when anyone comes over, and Danny won't say more than two words to me. I mean, you I kinda expected that kind of behavior from you ,but Danny... He's never quiet, not as long as I've known him, and I kinda miss his constant badgering.

"I just hope we find O'Riley soon. Because when we do, I want first crack at him. I'll break his teeth."

"Remind me never to piss you off," Steve said half smiling.

"Just watch out for Danny. And stop blaming yourself. It's not good for you." she said good-bye, hanging up. Steve broke the connection, tossing his phone onto his counter. He turned, jumping when he noticed Danny watching him from the kitchen entryway.

"Didn't see you," McGarrett said chuckling, running a hand through his hair.

"Who was that?" Danny nodded toward Steve's phone.

"Kono. She was just checking up on me. Been doing it a lot."

"So, you answer her calls but not mine?"

"Look, Danny..."

"No. No, no, no, no. I get attacked in your place. Almost died in your place. And you can't pick up the damn phone when I call? How does that make sense?"

It was obvious to Steve that Danny hadn't talked about what had happened since he had given his statement (and even that had been very vague). The Jersey native's hands were shaking, his breath quickening.

"Danny..."

"Look Steve, you may like the thrill of almost dying. But I don't. I really, really, really don't."

"Danny, first off I don't like almost dying, but it is my job. Yours, too." Danny opened his mouth, but Steve held up his hand to shut him up. "Second, I hate what happened to you and wish more than anything that I could go back and change it. And third, before Hesse I had no trouble keeping my work life from mixing with my personal life. But recently, that's all I've been doing.

"People I care about keep getting hurt because of me, put through hell because of me, killed..." Steve took a deep breath, meeting Danny's eyes. "I'm sorry for what O'Riley did to you. It should have been me. With you, with Chin, with my dad..." McGarrett leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. "I'm tired, Danny. Tired of people getting hurt, killed because of me. I'm just tired."

An awkward silence filled the room, an uncomfortable look crossing Danny's face. Steve, too, felt uncomfortable. He hadn't shared that much emotion since his mother died. Then Danny took a deep breath and said, "You wanna hug?"

"What?" Steve asked taken aback, fighting a smile.

"A hug?" Williams spread his arms, a ghost of a grin on his face. He walked toward McGarrett, who dodged him. "Come on, Stevie. Give me a hug."

"Get away from me," Steve said lightly shoving Danny away.

"I still don't believe there are pictures of you being held."

"Shut up," Steve said sniffing. "We good now?"

Danny lowered his right arm, using his left to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, we're good."

They were quiet for a few seconds, neither one looking at each other. Danny cleared his throat and said, "That was the most emotion I've seen from you since we've met."

"What are you talking about? I've shown emotion."

"If you count calm, anger, scary calm, scary anger, and insanity. Then yeah, you have." Danny replied ticking each emotion off on his fingers.

Steve opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again and said, "You counted calm and anger twice. Plus you forgot cocky, smartass... Wait, that's you."

"I am not cocky, just confident."

"Whatever you say, Danno."

Steve leaned against the wall, watching his partner. Despite the usual Danny snark, he was still dealing with some issues (or the correct term 'not' dealing with some issues). He had a haunted look in his eyes, one Steve saw primarily in assault victims and soldiers.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously. If Danny had ASD, he was prone to shut down completely. Steve would really like to avoid that, he'd hate to see the Danny Kono talked about.

"I'm fine." of course, he was also prone to lie and avoid the subject. "How about you?"

"Just a cold, now."

"Really? Because Kono told me it was the flu. She also said you were too stubborn to admit it and take the doctor's advice. Said you could have died."

"I'm fine, now. Don't worry about it." Kono was right, they both had a knack for being too stubborn to confront their problems. Of course, that's what half the male population did. It must be the Y-chromosome.

"104.9, Steve. 104.9. You do realize 106 can lead to brain death and 113 means you are dead. I bet you planned to reach 114 and live, just to prove you are superior."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Danny."

"Uh, huh."

Steve pushed away from the wall, walking toward his fridge. He opened the door, taking out two beers. He tossed on to Danny, opening his own. He watched as the Jersey native took one look at the beer before sitting it down. It was done almost unconsciously, but still told Steve that Danny had developed some trust issues.

"One more thing," Steve started letting the beer thing go. "You'd better start talking to Kono. She's not happy with your one or two word answers, and I'm pretty sure she can break your teeth."

"Duly noted," Danny mumbled crossing his arms.

And..." Steve took a long pull on his beer. The next few words would be easier if he had a little more alcohol in him. "If you ever need to talk you do know Kono, Chin and I will listen... But mostly Kono and Chin."

"How kind of you." They fell silent, Steve drinking his beer while Danny stared at the floor. The offer was out there, McGarrett had put it on the table, it was just up to Williams what happened next.

Despite Steve's reassurance that Danny didn't have to leave, the Jersey native headed out an hour later. He hitched a ride with his guard, not looking too happy sitting next to the rookie. Steve spotted his own guard (one he knew he did not need) reading a Louis L'Amour book behind the wheel of his squad car. It was the third one since he was assigned to the SEAL.

Steve crossed the room, grabbing his beer bottle off the counter. He threw it away, grabbing Danny's to put in the fridge. Seconds later, he was on his way to get dressed when his phone rang. He headed back into the kitchen, snatching his phone off the counter. He was confused at the name flashing back at him.

"Governor, what's wrong?" why would Jameson call during the time off she insisted we take off.

"Commander McGarrett, we need to talk."

"About?"

"Your partner..."