A/Ns: How great was the episode this week? We got whump, a snarky Danny "I heart you", and "marticulating", lol. Not to mention some really great acting and finding out who took the $200k and where it went... (evidently, if you're a tourist in china, you need to sleep with one eye open. otherwise, you really will wind up in a hotel bathtub missing a kidney). ;)

But, I have to admit, this exchange made my day:

Danny - "That still doesn't explain why someone is sending that case evidence back to you."

Steve- "Maybe someone's trying to lead me to Wo Fat."

Danny- "Maybe Wo Fat's trying to lure you."

I almost stood up and yelled "that's what I had them say at the end of chapter 4!"

Ok, maybe not the *exact* same words, but the same idea, and that's close enough for me. :D

And now, back to the story...

Chapter 10

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Steve woke up slowly.

At first, all he could hear was indistinct sounds, far away, as if he was in a well. Slowly, the sounds gained focus- beeps, clicks and clacks, voices. Then he was able to discern the source of the sounds. The beeps of a heart monitor. The clicks and clacks of hard soled shoes on a linoleum floor. Chin's calm baritone, Kono's happy alto, Danny's animated tenor, all combined into a beautiful chorus of sound.

Steve strained to hear as their words came into focus.

"I still can't believe he listened to me. Twice. In one day. And in one conversation, for that matter. That's got to be some sort of record," Danny said.

"Didn't happen," Steve said hoarsely, blinking as he opened his eyes.

"Hey, you're awake." Kono smiled as she got off the end of Steve's hospital bed. She walked to the bedside tray and picked up a large plastic cup of water, holding the straw to Steve's mouth for him to take a drink.

"What didn't happen?" Danny asked as he smiled, walking over from the wall where he and Chin had been leaning.

Steve took a sip of water and then said, "me. Listening to you."

"Oh, no you don't," Danny said, shaking his head. "You can't deny it now. It most certainly did happen. You listened to me about backup and you listened to me about being worse than killed."

Steve smiled and gestured with his right hand to the bandage on the side of Danny's head. "That thug must have hit you harder than I thought. You must have one heck of a concussion to be dreaming up all of that."

Danny inclined his head. "I only have a minor concussion, thank you very much. So you're not getting out of it that easy."

"That's true," Chin chimed in. "Kono and I were there. We heard you say that you listened to Danny about needing backup. Lots and lots of backup, if I remember correctly."

Steve grimaced. "Darn. I forgot you were there."

Danny smiled smugly, hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"Well, just don't get used to it. It's not going to become a habit or anything," Steve said, grinning.

"Ok," Danny said, laughing. "But I am glad that, for once, you listened to me about backup."

"Did it work?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Kono said. "The helicopter picked up on Wo Fat about 5 minutes after you called the Governor. The police apprehended him and he's currently in jail, being watched very closely. We told you when you woke up for a few seconds in the recovery room, but I guess you don't remember. You were pretty woozy," she grinned.

Steve nodded solemnly and said, "good. I'm glad we got him. When will he be in court?"

"They're arraigning him first thing in the morning," Danny said. "His lawyer is already at the jail going on and on about how his client is not guilty and that he would push for a preliminary hearing by the end of the week." Danny shrugged. "I guess justice works quickly when you're incredibly rich."

"I want to be at that hearing," Steve said.

"We'll have to see about that. I'm not sure how well you'll be able to get around, or if you'll even be out of the hospital by then. The doctor said it might take a while to recover," Danny said.

"That bad, huh?" Steve asked, yawning and looking at the large mound of bandages on his left shoulder.

"No," Danny said. "It's actually good. Miraculously good, in fact. The surgeon was amazed. He said you must have been hit at exactly the right angle to not have extensive internal damage. But still, you were shot, and you lost a decent amount of blood. So, you need to take it easy for a few days."

"Like that's really going to happen," Chin said, under his breath, earning him a grin from Steve and a scowl from Danny.

"Here's what I don't get," Kono said, changing the subject, "why did Wo Fat wait until Chin and I got there to leave? He could have left earlier and made a clean getaway."

"I think he wanted to see who showed up," Steve said. "He was trying to find out who is interested in him. What better way than to see for himself?"

"Evidently he missed the proverb on what happens to curious cats," Danny smirked.

Steve grinned. "And he also slipped up on something else, too. He gave us some information he probably didn't want us to know."

"What's that?" Kono asked.

"He said he knew of five of us looking for him, which would be the four of us and Jenna," Steve said. "That makes me think he is not focusing on the Governor or Mary. So, they are probably safe, at least for now. "

"Let's hope it stays that way," Chin said.

Steve nodded and yawned again.

"I think that's our cue to get out of here and let you sleep," Kono said.

"What time is it, anyway?" Steve asked.

"It's almost 2:00 a.m.," Chin answered.

"Oh," Steve said, frowning, "that must be why I'm so tired."

"Yeah, that must be it," Danny chuckled. "You can't be tired because you got shot, and lost a lot of blood, and just came out of surgery, and have about a bazillion drugs running through your body," Danny continued, gesturing to Steve's IV.

"No, that can't be it," Steve grinned.

Chin pulled the phone out of his pocket and put it on Steve's bedside tray. "Call me at my place if you need anything, ok?"

"Sure," Steve said, "but I'll bet the owner of that phone wants it back by now."

"Nah, he's good," Chin replied. "I showed him my badge and told him I'd give him $500 for it. I'll get a check in the mail to him later today."

"$500?" Steve asked.

Chin shrugged, grinning. "What can I say? I was a bit desperate. I didn't want to take the time to negotiate."

Steve smiled. "Thanks, Chin. Make sure you send me the bill."

Chin shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Boss. It was money well spent."

"Ok, we really do need to get out of here," Kono said, walking to the door. Chin and Danny followed.

"You'll let me know the minute you hear about the hearing, right?" Steve asked. "I want to be there."

Danny paused at the door and smiled affectionately. "We'll have to see about that, remember? Besides, you know we'll be there even if you can't. We've got you covered."

Steve nodded and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I know," he said, smiling, and drifted off to sleep.

Chin and Kono paused at the door for a few seconds and then walked down the hall.

Danny waited for one more minute to make sure Steve was asleep. Then he smiled, turned off the lights, and quietly closed the door.

To be continued…

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A/Ns: We are almost there, guys! Just the epilogue to go! :)

And, FYI, the epilogue will go up on Monday. I have two new one-shots I'm going to post this week, and I only have so much time. I hope that is ok. :)