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

Notes: wow, the muse failed this week in producing something here! Sorry for the delay! Thanks to Jlopie for her honest opinion of what needed massive massaging. I will always appreciate your comments and feedback - thank you! :-) Of course that feedback meant that this was NOT the last chapter ... sigh.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

Bad idea. This whole thing was turning into a very bad idea. Steve could feel literally feel it as the tension reverberated around them. Unable to help himself, he glanced over to where Danny was scrunched down in the passenger seat of his pickup truck. Eyes closed, arms wrapped protectively around his middle, Danny was in complete denial despite having agreed to following Steve's lead. And maybe right there, that was the catalyst behind all of Steve's newly growing doubts and what he could only describe as a feeling of guilt for maybe pushing too hard. He wished that Danny would verbally blast him from one end of Oahu to the other rather than maintain this silence and rigid posture. Out of desperation, he resorted to using the background hum of the police radio as white noise. Without at least that bland chatter from HPD, Steve was sure he'd be able to hear a pin drop inside the cabin of his truck.

"Are you going to say anything?" Steve asked as he half-listened to an HPD dispatcher announce a 10-33 for an alarm being triggered at a busy downtown public laundromat. "At all? Like ... ever?" He was unable to stop himself from at least trying to goad the bear.

"Are you going to stop staring at me? Like ... ever?" Danny retorted in a voice that was gruff from stress and Steve managed a slightly relieved grin for the accompanying tinge of sarcasm. It was a start.

"How do you know I'm looking at you if your eyes are closed?" Steve argued back over a surge of activity humming over the radio. "What is that? Some new kind of skill you haven't told me about?"

He paused though suddenly distracted, barely breathing, sensing that Danny was doing the same as dispatch repeated a 10-57 at that very same laundromat. They were attuned to their jobs no matter what and their mutual reaction was comforting. Steve listened quietly for a moment. Things were escalating and getting out of hand at the laundromat. Additional units would be needed to manage mounting concerns if weapons had truly been discharged.

Almost automatically, Steve mentally checked his location to that of the report, tallying up the minutes in his head. At first he scowled but then he sensed Danny's irritated fidget next to him and that scowl quickly turned into a grin because that squirrelly fidget meant that Danny didn't like what he was hearing. He was anxious to get back into the fray; get back to work where he belonged. The job was far too ingrained inside of him - more so than Grinnell's drug could ever be - and no matter what, Danny could never not be a cop. The problem at the gas station on Farrington had rattled Danny hard, but it would fade. Steve simply knew it would if Danny could just find some modicum of trust in himself.

"So," Steve prompted lightly as the chatter briefly ceased. HPD would handle the dispute and they were off-duty, he smiled as he brought their conversation back to topic. "So ... this new skill with your eyes closed? I like it ... this new mind reading thing ... you should've told me."

There was an incredulous snort in response, even if Danny still had his eyes virtually welded shut. "Just … knock if off already, huh?" Danny muttered, though a tiny smile did break through his armor. "You wanted to try this stupid experiment? So fine, we're trying it ... but I never said I had to like it. And whatever happens? Just know now that it's entirely your fault."

"Oh, for God's sake! Danny, open your eyes and relax," Steve said with a kindly, patient chuckle. "It's just the mall and I know ... I know things are going to be okay."

But truth be told, Steve was trying to convince himself of that now, too. No matter his light attempts at conversation, Danny was tense and on edge. What he saw as a simple, harmless experiment was different for his partner. Danny's physical reaction no longer made Steve's idea feel all that simple and Steve found himself schooling his expression against worry as he quickly studied his friend's profile. Danny's complexion was wan and he was literally drenched in sweat - and they hadn't even parked yet. In fact, they hadn't even gotten off the highway yet. An uncomfortable feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach and Steve hunched and rolled his shoulders in a vain attempt to relieve some of his own muscular kinks. Next to him, Danny fidgeted, too, apparently just as uncomfortable the closer they got to their destination.

"Hey. You hear that?" Danny suddenly asked. His tone was different enough, serious enough, for Steve to practically turn to face him in confusion. "This is messed up. They're making a run for it with a hostage." He gestured unexpectedly towards the radio, his interest piqued enough to wipe some of the stress from his eyes.

"What? Who?" At first Steve was sure that his partner was only changing the subject but he heard it then. The code 20's and a flurry of what would have once been a confusing cross talk of other codes and demands for caution. He realized the chatter still referred to the altercation or incident at the laundromat and he frowned for a moment until his brain caught up with things. What it all boiled down to was more officers on the scene and more than an implied loss of control. Danny had been listening more closely than he.

"Hostage? They're on the move?" Steve asked. On impulse, he looked directly into the rear view mirror while he thumbed up the volume and really listened. His eyes widened in surprise . "How the hell?" He'd been caught up in his own thoughts about his partner and he'd missed most of the latest exchanges over the radio. He heard them now though, easily concluding what Danny had. But what he saw in the mirror was shocking. Steve's mouth gaped open as he blinked in surprise to be sure he was really seeing the speeding vehicle gaining on their six from a distant on-ramp to the highway.

"Brace yourself, Danno," Steve said. He multi-tasked on the fly, changing lanes and making plans to line themselves up. His shoddy plan was founded more on reaction and gut instinct; it was no doubt dangerous for them, but safer for an innocent public as two cars collided behind them. The sedan's driver was hell-bent on escaping ... and a hostage was involved. With victims mounting, Steve didn't hesitate.

"Brace myself?" Danny scowled at the command. "No. What?" He asked suspiciously, likely already guessing though. "Why?"

"Sabbatical's over, partner," Steve said as he braked sharply before accelerating to merge into the center lane of the highway. The move was hard enough to rock them both and Danny cursed as he grabbed for the dashboard.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Danny yelped as his head rapped the glass of the window. "You're going to kill someone ... namely me!"

"They're right behind us and coming up fast," Steve remarked as he craned his head to eye the rear view mirror and then clocked the immediate skyline for the HPD helicopter reported as being in the air. He glanced over towards his partner again only to motion wildly with his hand towards the glove compartment. A second later, Steve was reaching under his seat for his own spare weapon, easily flipping the gun out of its holster with a practiced thumb.

"Brace yourself and get the spare!" Steve practically shouted at him. "Do it!"

"Are you kidding me right now!" Danny choked out as he quickly half-turned to look back down the highway. Cars were weaving out of the way behind them to avoid being side-swiped by a speeding dark blue sedan. The two which had collided early on, were smoking where they'd rolled off the road, partially on the shoulder. Beyond that mounting chaos, no less than three HPD vehicles were trailing even farther behind. Still too far back to do any good whatsoever in stopping the vehicle rocketing their way.

"Son of a bitch!" Danny hissed through gritted his teeth as he popped the glove compartment open where another spare sidearm was safely housed in its holster. Next to that, he recognized the familiar glint of his own badge and he took a brief second to glare in annoyance at the side of Steve's head, brandishing the official object between them, forcing Steve to acknowledge why it was there in the first place. Their eyes met and Steve shrugged helplessly.

"Just ... just get the damned gun and get ready, Danny," Steve said. His own expression challenged Danny's in kind until a cocky grin broke through. Danny cursed under his breath when Steve readied his hand on the gear shift, the other firm on the wheel. He could only shrug again as he judged the amount of room he had left around them. He had to stop the getaway car first and then safely rescue the hostage. With the heavy reinforced rear bumper of his truck, this idea would be their best bet ... in theory. He would insert themselves as a moving blockade to slow the sedan down as gently and as carefully as possible. Rescue the hostage in one, whole safe piece. Then ... the perps would be next and how that panned out with HPD bringing up their six would be up to them.

"Brace yourself, buddy," Steve said again. "We gotta stop them."

"Animal," Danny snorted at him. The sound was weak and Steve couldn't decide if it was a sarcastic sound or if Danny was just resigning himself - might even be afraid - about having to cope with the unexpected. For a flitting moment, Steve felt a flare of concern for him. They had no time though to reason things out and Steve mentally apologized to his partner.

"Ready?" Steve prompted as he tallied up the ever-decreasing distance between himself and the blue sedan. "In three, Danno ...yeah?" He couldn't help the devilish look he aimed at his partner, both worried and then oddly pleased when he got a more typical eye-roll in response. Sarcastic then Steve decided and he grinned widely as Danny white-knuckled the dashboard with his free hand, his seatbelt straining as he tightened it over his shoulder.

"You did this on purpose didn't you?" Danny mumbled and Steve laughed out right as his partner squeezed his eyes shut for an entirely different reason.

~ to be continued ~