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

Notes: my thanks to JazzieG - and always to CinderH for the huge amount of help, crazy beta support and the way too many thoughts batted around about this chapter. The muse is officially off the grid!

Chapter 11

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Steve at least remembered to use his left hand to grope for his cell phone as it went off on his bedside table. His eyes were still closed and his head was muzzy from sleep, but he managed to find the device and by sheer luck, hit the right button. But his roughly mumbled voice barely sounded like a true hello.

"Steve? Kono and I just landed. Will be over within the hour." They were already walking towards the parking lot and Chin made a funny face at Kono as he mouthed the word 'sleeping'. "You okay? Do you need anything?"

There was a grumbled cough as Steve noisily cleared his throat and then came more awake. "Good .. yeah, everything's fine. What time is it?"

"Seven. We're right on time .. and by the sounds of it, we should bring something to eat." Kono was smiling as she listened and then nodded appreciatively. If the two had been sleeping and hampered by mutual injuries, food would definitely be on the top of the priority list. And since neither she nor her cousin had eaten since lunch, an impromptu dinner would be perfect for everyone.

Danny woke to loud voices and it took him a few minutes to realize where he was. It was pitch black outside, but some light was making its way into the bedroom from the hallway. And that one fact made him roll over carefully even though he knew it would spark the healing aches and pains. Rather than trying to sit, he rolled onto his side to use his right shoulder and arm to leverage himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. Though the colorful bruising around his temple and cheek looked terrible, he was over the worst of the concussion and was now finding that his injured rib was his biggest problem. No matter how he sat, rolled or stood it always seemed to tweak painfully somewhere in his chest.

The cane was left within reach, just up against the bedside table. A glass of water sat next to three pills that were in a small dish also on that same table and he took the not so subtle hint that – whenever he did wake – he'd be due for his medications. Danny quietly appreciated the very thoughtful gesture because his side did ache and his arm held a dull throb. And it was twice as kind since he doubted Steve felt very well himself.

Abiding by the silent demand, Danny swallowed the pills and then made a face as Kono's voice echoed from the kitchen. His frown deepened because it sounded like an argument was well in progress. A few minutes later, he made his way slowly into the brightly lit room where Chin, Kono and Steve were wrapping up left-overs from an elaborate take-out smorgasbord. While the table was cluttered with bags, cartons and containers; the sink was full of dishes and a delicious aroma of Chinese food was still lingering in the room. Unwilling to stand up straight, he leaned on the cane to take his weight off the pinched feeling from his injured rib to use it mostly for balance. But his stomach growled hungrily as he eyed the spread and what looked like a full plate set aside just for him.

"Hey!" Kono called out happily as he rounded the corner. Danny looked at each team member suspiciously and took note that the conversation had completely ceased as soon as he entered the room. "How do you feel?"

For the moment, he answered the question truthfully and added a genuinely pleased smile. "Not too bad actually. Starving." Her quick hug was careful and also served to pilot him to a chair where Chin unwrapped the still warm plate heaped high with Chinese take-out.

Steve was lounging against the counter with his good arm unconsciously tucking his bandaged wrist to his chest. "Eat then. You've been sleeping for a good five hours and barely had lunch. I left your meds upstairs … did you take them?"

After a brief nod of thanks, Danny studied him closely to take in the moody expression, protective stance and much too glassy looking eyes. So instead of addressing his partner, he lobbed his fork at each cousin.

"Chin, Kono … which one of you is taking him back to the hospital?"

"Daniel."

The one word was a snipped warning from his partner however, Danny merely raised his eyebrows and then leveled a not so tolerant gaze at the stubborn man.

"Steven."

He had to bite back a smile at the stand-off, but Chin managed to throw his hands up in the air sarcastically to rejoin the fray.

"And there we have it. Kono?" With a flourish, Chin pointed from Steve to the front door and Kono jingled her car keys in her hand.

"I'm ready." She said lightly with a shrug as she put one hand on Steve's shoulder. But Steve had just about anchored himself to the counter top as his entire team revolted against him.

Danny's eyes began to laugh as he took a huge bite of Chinese noodles. Yes, the two of them were quite the pair but even Danny knew when it was time to intervene or even when to give in and give it up. And he knew that Steve likely realized it now too; it was the public acknowledgement that would be the issue.

The argument and Kono's raised voice were directly related to Steve's complete disagreement that in fact, his temperature had taken a turn for the worse. The oral antibiotics might not be enough and he needed to see Byrnes as soon as possible. After the cousins had called, Steve had made his way downstairs in a bleary haze. He was shivering and knew without looking at a thermometer, that his ploy had back-fired and he'd need to return to the hospital. But he had forced himself to have a cup of coffee and a slice of toast in order to take his antibiotics in a vain hope that they'd do some good before the rest of the team arrived. It hadn't worked though and Kono had found him dozing on the kitchen table with his forehead resting on his arm. After unpacking the food and beginning to eat, his lack of appetite had provoked the discussion and finally the raised voices after Chin had insisted on taking his temperature.

Steve settled himself more firmly against the counter as Kono failed to rock his body forward. "I just took antibiotics before you all arrived. Give them a chance to work." But she shook her head in disgust as she pinched Steve's clammy t-shirt and then eyed Danny for help.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Danny got to his feet and then into Steve's limited space. His position against the counter actually now trapped him in a corner and he had nowhere to go with Kono on one side and Danny standing directly in front of him. As he realized his mistake, Danny had already gently taken his injured hand.

"Let me see it." His angry hiss over the heat emanating from Steve's fingers didn't brook an argument. "It's hotter than before and your thumb is swollen. What did we talk about?"

"It's fine." Steve grumbled weakly as he snatched his hand back.

"No, it's worse. And you know it." The soft tone combined both a plea and a demand. It made Steve sigh because he knew that the argument was lost. Danny was right, as were both Chin and Kono. A visit back to see Doctor Byrnes that very night was inevitable.

And Chin was already shaking his head and holding up the thermometer as proof. "We've already called and Byrnes is working late tonight." Chin explained as the three effectively cornered their boss. "Temps back up to 101 degrees. The doctor's waiting .. like we were just discussing, Kono will take you and I'll stay here with Danny. I can catch him up on what's going on with the case."

Before Steve could complain about him working too much, Danny was pushing the injured man out the door flanked by Kono. "Talking is not the same as actually working ... and I might look worse than you on the outside but my friend, you can't argue this one."

A few minutes later, Steve found himself unhappily seated in Kono's car with a small overnight bag. "Be a good boy Steven." Danny remarked dryly, but his eyes were full of concern and that at least made Steve give pause to any further snide comments.

"No office." Steve warned him with a side-long look towards Chin. "He's on sick leave ... " But with a firm slam, the car door was closed, his words were lost behind a now muffled voice, and Kono was soon backing out the driveway.

"So." Danny glared warningly at Steve's perturbed expression through the windshield of the car before turning towards Chin and slowly making his way back into the house.

"Tell me. What was your day like?"

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He was saved. Sandt didn't know exactly how he would use the information yet, but he was most definitely saved. He was sitting in his office going through the images he'd taken in Maui. He sent three along earlier with his article to his editor. Two focused on the fire-fighters and the scope of the blaze which were both startling against the night-time blackness. The third was of the aftermath and included the back of Five-0's Kelly as he surveyed damage with the inspector. But now that he was home and could page through the multitude of other images, Sandt smiled and relaxed.

In the background of no less than five images, Jack Miles' silhouette could be seen on the fringes of the grand event. One picture in particular clearly showed his face illuminated by the distant flames as he stood near other gawkers. And he was grinning.

Sandt didn't think that Jack yet suspected he knew about his involvement but if he were to find out, he had proof that would put the foreman at the scene of one of the largest fires to date. Something he had denied knowledge of.

And if worse ever came to worse, Sandt would tip the scales and offer his source up as additional validation. He would publish the photos and even provide them willingly to Five-0. But he began to wonder now about the man already being held in custody and exactly what their relationship was ... how many fires did Jack start personally and why? In fact, rumor had it that the man in custody was denying past involvement.

Chin Ho Kelly had linked their suspect directly to all the fires in fact, except for the first one in Maui. Five-0 had proof but Sandt wondered if Kelly had begn to have similar doubts or new questions based on this latest fire. Sandt paged through the photos that included Jack Miles and he paused again on the one capturing the smiling leer. Pulling a stunt like this second fire was very bold indeed especially with the supposed primary arsonist already jailed. But what if Jack was the mastermind to a larger scheme?

Sandt pushed back from his desk as he studied the images on the screen; he was completely at a loss as to why or how Jack Miles would be involved. The foreman was well liked and good at his job. He'd been a decent, reliable source of information for weeks on end. It was a strange and unnerving turn of events but Sandt was already dreaming about exclusives as he considered ways to find out what really was going on.

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"I find it interesting that our boy in custody is denying his association to the other fires." Danny said as he and Chin reviewed the deposition at Steve's dining room table. They had logged into their work network using Chin's laptop to access even more filed records.

"We caught him red-handed, but he's insisting that he was set up for the others. And yet .. he has no alibi and refuses to name an accomplice or explain how he might have been set up."

"It's confusing. He's going to be charged in the first degree in at least two of the cases based on the intent to harm human life. He seems ... honestly .. absolutely petrified .. out of his element." Chin admitted. "And we never had him on the first fire on Maui. This second fire is odd too .. he was obviously jailed .. it certainly proves something more is going on here."

Danny nodded sullenly as he distractedly checked his watch for the tenth time. "His attitude is nothing short of contradictory."

"He used ordinary gasoline for the fire ..you and Steve caught him at .." Chin hesitated because once more Danny was checking his watch. It had been nearly two hours since Kono had left with Steve and they hadn't heard word one from the hospital. He made a face about that himself as he added a key point.

"All of the other fires were set with more sophisticated accelerants - even the two on Maui. It's a significant change from the M.O. of all the others. The inspectors agree that four of the five fire profiles match."

The soft noise Danny made indicated that he agreed. Of the now five total instances of arson, the M.O. on four matched perfectly and he was obviously incarcerated for the most recent blaze on Maui. And other than catching him in the act, the one man they now had jailed and in custody didn't match the profile. If not for the timing, it could be a totally standalone and unrelated event.

"Let's start over. Something doesn't feel right." Danny stated as he considered the facts. "There's definitely another one out there .. it's not a copy-cat. If anything, the guy Steve and I arrested is the copy-cat or something else entirely. And maybe it all is too clean .. much too easy ... the trail of evidence to him ... I mean, if he doesn't match the profile? We need to take a breath and step back for a minute."

The case had become full of factual discrepancies. Though the evidence was almost ironclad against the man they'd caught in the act, the fire inspectors themselves were placing doubts through their own findings and expert profiling. Leaning back in the dining room chair, Danny massaged the fingers of his left hand. He was also becoming tired again and worried about the lack of communication from Kono or the hospital.

Chin caught his eye and pulled out his cell phone to call Kono as Danny finished his thoughts. He was talking almost to himself as he closed the file folders and disconnected Chin's laptop from the network connection. They needed to stop for the night, but he had one ear cocked in Chin's direction. "We can review everything tomorrow starting with the very first fire. We'll walk through each one ..."

He stopped his mumbling as Chin held up his finger since Kono had answered her phone. "So cuz, what's up there?"

Danny watched worriedly as Chin's face sobered and he had very little to say. "Alright. Keep us posted."

"What?" It was the only word that Danny could force out after the call ended.

"Kono says the doctor thinks it will be okay." The caveat was weakly stated and was meant to offer some comfort but Chin was clearly upset. "The wound has abscessed and they've had to pull the stitches. A drain's been inserted at the base of Steve's thumb."

Danny's eyes widened at the news and he felt the shock into the pit of his stomach. A higher temperature he expected; even a stubborn infection he had fully expected. But this? Danny didn't even know that something like an abscess could happen and it sounded disastrous. "Tendons? Are the tendons involved?"

But Chin didn't know as he rubbed his face wearily with both hands. It was bad enough when the team dealt with Danny's injuries from the stairwell collapse. Fearful waiting for him to awaken and to finally hear from the doctor's that he would be fine.

And Chin looked at him now - arm casted, slightly hunched over from his injured rib, and then his badly bruised face partially hidden by bandaged stitches of his own. A face which was now pale and lined with stress yet again. But he was sure that he just about looked the same way as Danny.

"I don't know. I don't think they even know yet .. at least Kono didn't say." He shook his head in confusion as he sighed out the words. It was almost odd to be worrying about Steve because a few stitches in his hand had seemed so very innocuous.

~ to be continued ~