Hey, everyone! So sorry about the long wait. I've been fine tuning this chapter for a couple of weeks now, and I finally decided to build up the courage and post it. I hope everyone can forgive me for the long span of time that it took to write this chapter. I hope it's good enough to make up for the long wait.

What is with this new season? The Halloween episode interaction between Steve and Danny was cute, and I loved Kono's comment of "Ooohh, they in love again!" But all in all, there needs to be more bromance and more whump. But I guess that's why I'm here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-O or it's characters.

This chapter is very heavy on the bromance, so just a fair warning. :)

ENJOY!

The remaining members of the Five-O Task Force waited outside those doors for thirty minutes before Chin got a call on his phone, pulling him away. Kono looked over at his boss and frowned at the dark bags under his eyes and the congealed blood covering almost every visible part of him. "Steve?"

Steve didn't respond, continuing to stare at the floor between his shoes. Kono reached out a hand and gently touched his arm, pulling back suddenly when he violently flinched. He looked confused for a moment before understanding and recognition dawned in his eyes and he took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Kono. I was thinking about something."

Kono nodded, looking down at the floor. "I understand, Steve. But I really think that you should consider cleaning yourself up."

Steve shook his head, but Chin chose that moment to intervene. "Kono's right, Steve. You're scaring people. You don't wanna worry Danny, do you?" Steve searched for a moment for a rebuttal, but Chin didn't give him a chance. "Duke just called. They're ready to head up there and he asked if we wanted to join. Kono and I will be going up there, Steve. You're staying here." Steve nodded, not wishing to leave Danny's side. "However, you're going to get cleaned up. There's a bathroom right there," Chin gestured to the bathroom across the hallway only a few more feet away from the door than Steve was, "and I'm sure one of these lovely nurses would be willing to lend you a pair of scrubs. Just until we get back with a pair of clothes after going up to get whoever did this."

Steve didn't say anything, simply nodding. He knew he had lost the fight and he was too tired to even try and begin a new one.

Nodding, Chin looked at Kono and gestured over his shoulder. She reluctantly stood, putting a calming hand on his shoulder before following Chin towards the door. Chin stopped at the nurse's station before they got there, though. "Make sure he gets cleaned up. And try and get him to eat something." The nurse nodded and looked at the man who had been occupying the hallway for a little over an hour now.

Casting one last sad look towards their team leader, Chin and Kono left the hospital in search of the place that had caused such distress.

Reaching under the desk, the nurse pulled out a pair of dark blue scrubs and placed a toothbrush, toothpaste, a small bar of soap, and a washcloth on top of them before heading over to the man sitting dejectedly on the floor. She squatted down in front of him and waited until his eyes caught sight of the scrubs and he looked up at her. The emotion she saw in his green eyes made her heart hurt and she had to look away for fear of tearing up. "I brought you a change of clothes. There's also a washcloth. This is a single serve bathroom and there is only a sink, but there won't be anyone else in there. You won't have to leave this section of the hospital and I'll even knock on the door to get you if the doctor comes while you're in there." She gave him a tentative smile and held out the pile, waiting patiently for him to take it.

Steve was about to argue, but saw the genuine look in her eyes. Realizing the logic of Chin and Kono's words, he carefully smiled back at her and accepted the clothes before pushing himself up the wall. She stood with him and stepped out of the way so that he could get to the bathroom.

Once inside, Steve bolted the door and stood in front of the mirror for a moment, staring at the stranger on the other side. The stranger who looked kind of like him was bruised and covered in blood. His once light blue shirt was now smeared and torn and his cargo pants were dirt covered in addition to being caked in the red liquid. Dark bugs hung under normally bright green eyes and the stubble on his chin was several days thick. There wasn't a part of him that was clean and Steve could only imagine what he smelled like.

Turning the faucet on, Steve put his hands under the running water and watched as it immediately turned red on its journey towards the drain. Flashes of memory pierced his mind and Steve instantly turned away to the toilet as images of Danny invaded his mind. He didn't so much kneel down as collapse by the toilet and he lost whatever little food had resided in his stomach, which was practically nothing. When his muscles stopped contracting and all that remained was the tremors running through his body, Steve collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily and trying to banish the emotion in his chest. The banishment worked, but the emotion escaped through is eyes as he crumbled. Putting his face in his still wet hands, Steve wept.

His shoulder's heaved and shook, but barely any sound escaped him except for quiet gasping. The tears fell silently in the way that they do when they simply won't stop. His hands clutched uselessly at the soiled fabric of his shirt and his knees snapped up to his chest. Steve hugged them in replacement for what he really wanted to hold. His tears stained the knees of his pants as he fought violently for control that he couldn't attain. Steve sobbed in pain and sorrow and longing for his best friend.

For three days, they were stuck in that camp. For three days, Danny fought for him. And for three days, Danny was bruised, beaten, and nearly killed. The part that caused Steve's agony, though, was the fact that he was helpless to do anything. It had all been Danny. After all the arguments, the name calling, the shouting, the fighting, and the generally crappy way that Steve sometimes treated his "best friend", Danny had still taken the beating that bought them their freedom. But at what price, Danno? I don't know if it was worth it? Your life for my freedom? That's not a good trade in my book, babe.

Crying himself to an even more exhausted state than he was already at, Steve finally dragged himself up and flushed the toilet before heading back to the sink. He stripped out of his blood soiled clothes and used the soap that the nurse had given him, scrubbing his arms and hands until they were dry and washing his face of the dried dirt and blood. The soap and water reawakened the cut on his cheek, but it didn't look infected, so Steve dismissed the injury. He put his head under the faucet and ran his fingers through is hair, knowing that something was better than nothing and dried off with the paper towels in bathroom. Pulling the fresh clothes on, he had to admit that he felt better. Dark bruises had appeared where the blood and dirt hid them before and his hair was fluffy and sticking up in all different directions, but he didn't really care. The last thing he did was make use of the toothbrush and toothpaste. I got to remember to thank that nurse.

Tucking the toothbrush and toothpaste in one of the scrub's pockets, he threw his soiled clothes in the trash can by the door before exiting.

The nurse was standing outside and simply grabbed the sleeve of his scrubs before dragging him over to the nurse's station. She gestured towards the swivel chair beside her own and handed him a turkey and cheese on wheat, a bottle of water, and a cup of green jell-O. The look on her face said that she was now in nurse mode and would not accept his denial of the food. Steve smiled and accepted the seat without argument and started in on the green jell-O. He hated the stuff, but he was hoping that the food would help to settle his stomach. Sitting next to him, the nurse turned to her work as he slowly ate the food. After a couple of spoonfuls, he quietly spoke, shocked at the scratchy quality to his voice. "Thank you. I must look pretty ridiculous."

The nurse took a deep breath and her fingers froze over the keyboard that she had been typing on. "I've seen others that look just like you."

Steve nodded and returned to the jell-O, finishing it quietly and slowly picking up the sandwich. It was cold and the turkey had made the bread soggy, but he didn't care. He was simply glad that she hadn't gotten soup for him. He didn't think that he could even look at a bowl of soup right now.

He took a bite of the sandwich and cracked open his water bottle, taking a generous swig. When he put the bottle down, he saw that the nurse was looking at him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Uh oh, Steve thought. "Sure."

"Are you and Detective Williams partners or are you . . . partners?" She said the last word slowly and carefully, doing everything possible to make it come out gently and to be as polite as possible.

Steve smirked down at his folded hands in his lap, trying not to see the blood that they had been stained with. "You wouldn't believe how many people ask us that."

"It's just," the nurse began, shrugging her shoulders, "you react to each other like a married couple does. That's what I meant when I said that I've seen others just like you."

Steve smiled and looked up at her. "Answer to your question is no, we're not married. But Danny is my . . ." He trailed off, searching for the right words to tell her what Danny was to him. He needed a word that meant best friend, brother, confidant, companion, and adviser. How did he put his fondness for Danny into words? Throughout his entire life, Steve had met people that meant a whole lot to him, but no one meant as much to him as Danny. He had lost people, good people, who were friends, but their deaths didn't impact him as much as a threat on Danny's life. For Christ's sake, he had just eaten hated green jell-o and he didn't really mind because, at the moment, it didn't matter. All that mattered to him was Danny.

Thankfully, the nurse saw his internal struggle and nodded, reaching out to rest a hand on his forearm. "I understand."

Steve smiled his thanks and returned to his sandwich, managing to eat the rest of it, and drank more of his water. He appreciated what the nurse was trying to do in diverting his mind to other conversations, but the result was always the same. His thoughts always wandered back to Danny, to the past three days of suffering, and to what Danny had done for him.

When he was finished eating, he threw his trash away and headed back to his original spot against the wall, outside the ER doors. Despite his best efforts, he soon fell asleep with his forehead cushioned on his scrub clad knees.

How was it? I really hope that it was OK. Please tell me with a review! They really do mean a lot to me and they encourage me to write the next chapter!

Everyone have a great weekend!