Glad you guys liked the last chapter! This ones all Steve and Danny because I think we all need a little (or a lot) of bromance in our lives!
Thanks so much for the reviews! :*
Enjoy!
***************************H50********************
Steve felt like he'd just closed his eyes when frantic murmuring woke him up with a start.
"George..." Danny was saying in his sleep, thrashing around in the narrow hospital bed. "No... Don't!"
Steve immediately jumped out of his chair and took Danny's hand, squeezing it lightly. "Hey buddy," he said softly. "Wake up Danno, you're safe now."
It took a few seconds of reassuring murmuring from Steve before Danny finally started to calm. Steve smiled when he felt a firm pressure in his hand as his partner squeezed back.
"St-Steve?" Danny asked, licking his lips.
"Yeah it's me," he replied, quickly picking up the cup of water from Danny's bedside and helping him drink. "Can you open your eyes for me bud?"
It took a while, but Danny finally managed to blink his eyes open and look blearily up at Steve.
"Hey partner," Steve said with a huge smile on his face.
"Hey," Danny replied. "How long was I out?"
"Well it's one in the morning," Steve replied, looking at his watch. "So about ten hours or so."
"Is Grace okay?" He asked.
"She's fine," he replied. "I called her and Rachel. Her stomach virus is already on its way out. She's worried about you though. We all are. Kono is going to bring her over a bit later to see you. How are you feeling?"
"I feel okay actually..." Danny replied. "Much better than I should, considering. They must have me on the good stuff."
"Yeah they do... And a lot of it. But you need it. You're a mess pal," Steve told him.
"Very reassuring thank you," Danny replied sarcastically. "Oh god..."
"What? What is it Danny?" Steve asked, leaning forward in concern.
"My leg is itching and I don't even want to think about how hard it will be to scratch it under all that plaster..." He replied in annoyed tone.
Steve immediately relaxed and laughed, grateful that Danny was at least sounding like himself. "I can't help ya there," he said.
Danny gave a small smile before he suddenly became serious. It was like a shadow had passed over his face and he and started picking nervously at the blankets with his good hand.
Steve sighed and sat back down in the chair. He'd wanted to push off talking about what had happened with George until Danny was a little stronger, but he knew how stubborn his partner could be and he knew that Danny would want to discuss it now. He didn't have to wait long.
"George blew himself up Steve..." Danny said quietly. "I couldn't stop him."
"What happened in there Danny?" Steve asked. "I thought he was going to let you go and diffuse the bomb if we found out who killed his daughter."
"I thought he was too," he replied. "But it was never his intention. He always planned on blowing himself up. He said that he had nothing to live for without his daughter. He knew that he'd go to jail for what he did. So he told me to run and he killed himself."
"It would've been nice if he gave you some time to get far enough away," Steve muttered angrily.
"It wasn't his fault Steve," Danny said. "He was pretty messed up and he wasn't thinking straight. The most important and precious thing in his life was taken from him. Horribly. I don't know if I would've done anything any differently."
"How can you say that about yourself Danny?" Steve demanded. He could understand Danny being sympathetic, but not this. "Don't you dare compare yourself to him. Not only are you a thousand times the father he ever was, but you're a good man and you never would've done something like that, no matter what. I know you and I know that you would never threaten the lives of innocent children. Not for anything."
Danny just shrugged. "I couldn't stop him... I tried, I really did. But it wasn't enough."
"It wasn't your fault Danny..." Steve said seriously. "Don't put this on yourself. This is all on me."
"Wait, what?" He asked in confusion. "How can this possibly be your fault?"
"I never should've let you go in there in the first place!" Steve said.
"It wasn't up to you Steve," he replied. "You didn't let me do anything. I went in. I made the decision myself."
"I shouldn't have let you make that decision," Steve persisted. "I should've gone in there myself. I never should've let you go, no matter what you said."
"Yeah and then he would've just blown you both up!" Danny said.
"Better me than you," Steve replied.
Danny winced in pain as he moved to sit up too fast.
"Hey, woah!" Steve said, moving forward to help. "Easy Danny!"
"Don't Steve," Danny replied angrily. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Better you than me?"
"I don't know..." Steve said. "It's just you have so many people that love you and need you here Danny..."
"And you don't?" Danny demanded.
Steve shrugged.
Danny sighed. "Listen to me closely Steven, because I am only going to say this once. You my friend, are an idiot. Losing you would kill me Steve. Yes I have Grace, yes I have other friends and other people that I love and that love me, but don't ever think for a second that you're not just as important as I am. You have Mary, Joan, your Aunt Deb, your crazy ninja CIA mother, our entire dysfunctional ohana, Grace, and most importantly, me! So you don't get to just sacrifice yourself. Because you're one of the most important people in my life. Okay? Do you hear me you schmuck? I need you just as much as you need me, and so do a lot of other people. So no more of this 'my life is so expendable' crap because if anyone is going to kill you one day, it's going to be me. Understand?"
By the time he finished his rant, Danny was panting, pale and sweating. He immediately fell back against the pillows and started taking deep breaths.
Steve leaned forward in alarm and took Danny's good hand in his again. "I shouldn't have pushed you, you're in pain and you need to rest. Do you want me to call the doctor?"
"No," Danny said. "I want you to acknowledge the beautiful speech I just gave you."
Steve sighed. "Okay, alright. I'm sorry," he said. "I know that I'm not expendable Danny. But I don't want to go back to the life I had before I met you. I can't do this without you. So you're not allowed to sacrifice yourself either. Not without me there. Deal?"
"Deal," Danny replied.
Steve smiled. "Alright, you've had enough. You're panting and shaky and I can tell that you're in pain."
He reached across Danny's bed and picked up the pain pump. He pushed the button twice before putting it back down. "That should do it," he said. "Have a nice nap partner. I need to make some calls now that you've decided to grace the land of the living with your presence, but I'll be here when you wake up."
"Such a control freak animal," Danny murmured as his eyes closed and his breathing evened out in sleep.
"I love you too pal," Steve told his sleeping partner. He was worried about how worn out Danny was after their short conversation, but at least now he knew where they stood. That conversation had to happen sometime, and honestly Steve was feeling better about things now that they'd cleared the air and talked it out.
He had never seen himself as being just as important as Danny, but maybe that was because he had never been treated like he really mattered before. Not even when he was a kid. That was another thing he loved about his partner (not that he'd every say it out loud of course). He never truly felt like he was needed by anyone until Danny came around. Sure he'd had plenty of friends before, but for the the first time in his life, he felt like he really had a family and he would do whatever it took to keep them all safe. So Danny was going to be just fine. Steve would see to that personally.
The end?
******************************H50*******************
So here's my dilemma. When I began writing this chapter, I intended for it to be the last one. And I'm very happy with it don't get me wrong, but looking at it now I have this niggling feeling that just maybe it needs an epilogue with the rest of the team and Grace... I can't decide.
I hope you enjoyed the story! Let me know how you liked it and if you think it may need a little something more! I'm torn at the moment.
You may see another little chapter soon or not, but either way thanks so much for sticking with me! You're all the best! :D
