I'm really sorry if my timeline was a little bit confusing, I jumped a bit back and forth in the last two chapters. But as you can see right now the loud bang was indeed Steve opening the door to get to Danny and Grace...

Chapter 9:

"Danny? Grace?" Steve shouted worriedly as he raced through the basement and pushed open the door to the corridor where he had left his partner and his daughter. He gritted his teeth when every single step sent a wave of pain through his whole body, his back and his shoulder where the crowbar had hit him burning like they were on fire. His left arm was still pretty much useless but Steve forgot all his pain in the blink of an eye when he took in Danny's still form and the little girl kneeling by his side. He had absolutely no idea how he could have missed Danny's condition earlier and a huge wave of guilt surged through his mind.

Grace's head jolted up when she heard the door crashing open, shrinking back a little bit but the expression of grief and fear soon turned into hesitant relief when she recognized her adopted uncle.

"Grace, are you alright?" Steve asked, quickly eyeballing her from head to toe as he crouched down next to her.

"Uncle Steve…" she sobbed silently, tears leaking from her eyes when she looked up and met Steve's gaze. "You have to help Danno…" Her voice trailed off and she stared pleadingly at the dark-haired man, her small hands still desperately pressing the towel against Danny's lower back.

"Ssssh, it's alright Gracie," Steve tried to soothe her while he quickly bent forward and checked Danny's pulse. He breathed out a deep sigh of relief when he found it beating strongly and steadily under his fingertips. "Danny? Can you hear me?" he asked, gently squeezing his partner's shoulder but he quickly abandoned his attempt to wake the other man when he heard Grace's worried moan.

"It's okay, Gracie, you've done good," McGarrett said, turning his attention back to Danny's daughter. His worry for his partner and his own bodily pain made it difficult to deal with the distraught girl but Danny would never forgive him if he didn't try to comfort her so he gave her a reassuring smile and awkwardly stroked her hair.

Looking down on her trembling hands and the bloody towel, Steve steeled himself for the imminent pain and slowly raised his left arm a little bit to put it around Grace's shoulders. "It's okay, you can let go," he said quietly, placing his right hand onto the towel and onto her smaller hands while he gently pressed her small body against his chest. "Grace, let me have a look. I'll take care of Danno, you can let go now."

For a short moment nothing happened but then Grace tentatively let go of the towel and with a stifling sob she turned around and buried her face into Steve's dark blue jeans shirt, starting to weep uncontrollably when the burden was suddenly lifted from her shoulders.

"Ssssh, it's okay," Steve murmured over and over again into Grace's ear, holding her tightly to provide as much comfort as possible. He slowly removed the towel to look at the gunshot wound, the breath caught in his throat at the sight of the amount of blood that had soaked Danny's shirt. But after a second, closer look Steve hissed out the air in a long weary sigh when he saw that the wound was only bleeding sluggishly.

Putting away the blood-soaked towel he took a fresh one from the small stack next to Danny's head and pressed it against the wound, noticing for the first time that Danny's hands where still cuffed behind his back.

"Gracie," Steve said gently to Danny's daughter who was still tightly clinging to his body, silently sobbing against his shirt. "Gracie, where are the keys I gave you earlier?"

Feeling Grace shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head while she mumbled some unintelligible words against his chest Steve looked around and finally found the set of keys half buried underneath Danny's body. Awkwardly leaning forward he grabbed the keys and started to fumble with the handcuffs, not an easy task with the sobbing child in his arms and only one good arm. Every time Grace moved or shifted her weight, a jolt of pain darted through his arm and shoulder and it took all of Steve's willpower not to cry out in pain.

The first few times the key stubbornly refused to slip into the lock or just wouldn't turn around but then after a great amount of silent cursing the handcuffs finally flipped open and clattered to the cold stone floor. Bending forward Steve tried to shift Danny's weight to move him into a more comfortable position, finally eliciting a reaction from the unconscious man. Groaning softly, Danny started to move weakly, his fingers twitching and his brow furrowing in pain and stress.

"Danny?" Steve asked nervously, placing his right hand on Danny's shoulder. "Danny? Can you hear me? Come on, wake up, buddy."

Danny's eyelids fluttered slightly and he groaned again, his breathing rate increased when he ran his tongue across his dry lips and swallowed laboriously.

"Danny, can you hear me?" Steve repeated, gently squeezing Danny's shoulder to help his friend regain consciousness. "Danny? Open your eyes, okay? You have to wake up, you're scaring Gracie…"

Hearing his daughter's name seemed to be the crucial trigger that brought Danny back to full awareness and with another pained groan he slowly blinked his eyes open. Squinting against the dim cold light of the corridor he sluggishly looked around until his gaze fell on the worried face of his partner. "Steve?" Danny croaked out, once again wetting his dry lips. "What happened?" he asked hoarsely while he blinked rapidly, obviously having trouble focusing his sight.

But before Steve was able to give an answer, Danny's memories came back with a vengeance and with a startled gasp he struggled to sit up. "Grace? Where is Grace?" he exhaled agitatedly, contorting his face in pain when the sudden movement sent a wave of pain through his back and his pounding skull.

"Hey, easy, calm down Danny," Steve replied, intensifying the pressure against Danny's shoulder as he tried to keep him down. "Everything's alright, Grace is here, she's alright. Grace is alright, okay?"

Raising a trembling hand towards his head, Danny exhaustedly rubbed his face, squinting at his daughter in Steve's arms. The girl still had her face buried against Steve's chest, seemingly oblivious to the recent events around her. "Grace?" he asked weakly, clearing his throat before he tried it again a little more forcefully. "Grace? Monkey, are you alright?"

Finally turning her head when she heard her nickname, Grace snuffled noisily, wiping the tears from her eyes before she wiggled out of Steve's embrace and hesitantly approached her father. "Danno?" she whispered anxiously, her gaze darting from Danny's face to his blood-soaked shirt and back to his face. She was nervously wringing her hands, obviously unsure of where she was allowed to touch him.

Noticing her predicament, Danny stretched out a trembling hand, curled his fingers around her smaller ones and squeezed gently but before he could say another word the elevator door next to his feet opened with a soft hiss and Steve, Danny and Grace winced simultaneously. Steve instinctively reached for his weapon but he realized quickly that he had lost it earlier during the short but heavy fight up on the street.

"Chin," he heard Danny breathe out in relief, relaxing visibly when he finally recognized his teammate who was just stepping out of the elevator, closely followed by a small crowd of paramedics.

"Hey brah, you alright?" Chin asked, worriedly looking down at Danny while he helped Steve to get up, making room for two of the paramedics who knelt down by Danny's side and immediately started to assess his condition.

Nodding weakly, Danny held Chin's gaze for a moment before he turned his attention toward his daughter. "Go with Uncle Steve," he whispered, reluctantly letting go of Grace's hands after a last gentle squeeze. Danny weakly pushed his daughter toward the other two members of Five-0, briefly communicating with Steve in utter silence before he lowered his head to the cold floor and tiredly surrendered to the medical treatment. He knew that Steve would understand his silent pleading, trusting his partner to take good care of his little girl.

"I figured it would be better to come this way," Chin explained quietly, responding to the confused expression of Steve's face as he briefly pointed over his shoulder toward the other two paramedics who were just about to push a gurney out of the elevator. He raised his eyebrows at Steve's pained moan when the taller man bent down to lift up Grace and carry her in his arms. The girl threw a last brief glance at her father before she silently started to sob again and buried her face in the crook of Steve's neck.

"Whoa, are you alright?" Chin asked cautiously while he grabbed Steve's arm and helped him keep his balance when he watched him stagger slightly. He had already noticed earlier the barely hidden signs of pain and now he was positive that Steve had actually suffered some kind of injury himself. Sighing inwardly when he saw Steve gritting his teeth and the hint of defiance on his face, Chin congratulated himself on the fabulous idea not to call just one but two additional ambulances; now all he needed was a good plan to convince Steve to take a ride in said second ambulance, a task that was probably easier said than done.

"How is she doing?" the Asian man whispered quietly, locking eyes with Steve as he nodded toward the blood on Grace's hands and neck. "Is she hurt?" Chin had quickly decided that it would be best to ignore Steve's injuries for the moment, knowing that the other man would refuse stubbornly to look after himself until he had made sure that Danny and Grace were taken care of.

"I think most of it is Danny's blood," Steve answered, keeping his voice as low as possible to not frighten Grace any further. "But she has a cut on her neck that probably needs some treatment." His gaze flickered toward Danny who was just transferred onto the gurney and propped to his left side to keep pressure from the wound in his back; an oxygen mask was covering his face and an IV line snaked its way into the back of his right hand. Danny blinked tiredly, he obviously had trouble keeping his eyes open, and after a last glance at Chin, Steve and Grace, he smiled slightly under the mask. He weakly waved his hand before he finally allowed himself to relax and his eyelids slipped closed.

"Okay Steve, there is a second ambulance waiting outside," Chin said softly while they followed the paramedics into the large goods elevator that easily accommodated the crowd of people as well as the gurney Danny was lying on. He watched Steve slightly shaking his head, quickly continuing his explanations before Steve could utter his objections. "Why don't you get Grace looked at, ride with her to the hospital while I stay with Danny." Chin looked down at Steve's left hand that slightly rested on Danny's upper arm; he knew that Steve wanted nothing more than to stay at Danny's side but right now his top priority had to be his partner's daughter.

Steve kept silent until they had reached the first floor, slowly limping after the gurney, Chin's hand around his elbow to provide some much needed support. By the time they had reached the waiting ambulances Grace was fast asleep, her head bobbing against Steve's shoulder with every step he took. She was lying limply and heavily in his arms, his muscles trembling from the exertion but whenever Steve tried to shift her weight she whimpered silently, clinging tighter to his body.

"Alright," McGarrett finally huffed out hoarsely, belatedly responding to Chin's suggestion. He laboriously climbed into the second ambulance after a long, worried gaze at his partner, trying to fight back a long pained moan when he heavily dropped down onto the gurney.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Chin said loudly but when he looked up at Steve he noticed that the Ex-SEAL had closed his eyes as he cradled Grace on his lap, his cheek resting on top of the girl's brown hair. Steve's complexion was pale, beads of sweat were covering his forehead and he looked ready to collapse at any moment, probably only keeping upright by sheer willpower and obstinacy.

Briefly holding back one of the paramedics, Chin nodded toward his boss. "Look after him, I think he's injured too," he whispered before he quickly jumped into the other ambulance, staying at Danny's side until they had reached the hospital barely five minutes later. He had absolutely no idea what had actually happened but he had called CSI just as Steve had instructed earlier and now he was eager to hear the whole story – after making sure that his teammates and Grace were alright of course. Sighing silently he slightly shook his head as he smiled ruefully; this was definitely not how he had pictured his birthday but with Steve and Danny, it was at least never boring.

(tbc)