Steve rubbed Danny's back as Doctor James checked him over, but it was difficult while sprawled in front of a toilet.

Danny heaved again, though there was nothing in his stomach to empty out and he could do very little more than spit.

Finally, he leaned back against Steve.

"It's all part of it, I'm afraid," she frowned.

"Can't you give him something? Anything? Anti-nausea stuff?"

"I already went over this with you, Commander. He needs to ride it out. Other drugs can be addictive, including pain medication. Although you have to rate on the empathic scale for Shackle to be of any use to you, people can use it as a recreational drug. I can't just swap one addictive drug for another."

"Heroin users get methadone," Steve pointed out, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, and that always works out well for them, doesn't it."

"I'm fine," Danny said, leaning his head on the cool tile beside him. "Not much longer, then I'll be fighting fit again."

"You're not doing any fighting if I have anything to say about it."

"Sure thing, Ma," Danny patted Steve's shoulder, "whatever you say."

Danny had been going through this for a while. It was definitely wearing off, the pains weren't as bad as they had been but sometimes they took him by surprise and he was so exhausted from his ordeal and this aftermath that he was about ready to ask them to let him die.

He grabbed his stomach while the Doctor held his hand. "Just kill me. Please."

"Stop being such a baby, Danny. If you think this is a bad cramp, you should try being a woman for a month or two," she smiled at him, with a slightly evil, joyful glint. He had to hand it to her, if she wanted to distract him, it was going to work.

"Hey, I've got two sisters and I've been married. I watched my beautiful wife giving birth to my perfect daughter so trust me, I have a lot of respect for women. I am man enough to admit that I cannot take this kind of pain like they do." Danny slowly released her hand and smiled back at her. He really did like her, she'd already worked him out. He put it down to her empathic Guide nature. That and a natural bedside manner.

Steve was staring at him as he relaxed his muscles. "What are you thinking about?" Danny asked.

"I'm just imagining you going through labor-hey!" Steve ducked back, shielding his chest as Danny hit out at him. Danny then grabbed a pillow and flung it at Steve's head. He regretted it after, but only because it took far too much energy to do so, and he was sadly lacking in that department.

"How much longer, Doc?"

"We're running your latest samples, we should have them back in an hour. You seem to have ridden out the worst of it, it's calming down. But you need to know that along with any issues that arose from being kidnapped, there may still be side effects that will continue to be present for quite some time, even once you're back on your feet."

"What kind of effects?" Steve asked.

"Well, psychological ones for the most part. What you've been through will probably only be amplified by having been on the drugs. You may remember things that confused you while you were dosed, probably in nightmares but even when awake something might just come back at you and surprise you."

"Like PTSD?"

"Something like that, yes," she nodded.

There was a knock on the door and they all turned to see a man standing there, who was a stranger to Danny.

"Doctor Forrest," Steve greeted, sounding surprised to see the man. Danny's eyes darted between them. The new doctor greeted Doctor James and then turned to Steve.

"Commander McGarrett, it's good to see you again. Finally got yourself a Guide, I see." They shook hands.

"So you uh, clearly," Danny mock saluted, "know each other."

"We did a few missions together in what, 2005 or so? It's been a while, my friend."

"That it has," the new Doctor replied. "The Institute was briefed on what happened. Unfortunate business."

"Unfortunate?" Danny asked, eyes widening at the guy's word choice. "Unfortunate business, that's how you're going to describe it. That's good."

"Danny-" Steve warned, a hand shooting out to land on Danny's chest.

"What?"

"Be nice."

"I'm always nice."

Doctor Forrest smiled behind his hand as he watched them. "I'm sorry, Detective, I don't mean to sound dismissive, it's not my intent. It's just a difficult situation to encapsulate easily."

"How about clusterfuck. That's a pretty good one," Danny offered.

Steve rolled his eyes as Forrest continued to find light in his tone. "I agree. I just don't think I can use that in my reports."

"So you're the Sentinel Doc they sent to make sure my head was okay?" Steve asked, changing the subject.

"That's right. I heard you went feral for a bit there. I thought maybe we could go grab some food, maybe have a chat?"

"I can't. Danny's still not back to full speed and I need to stay with him."

"I'll be fine while you go eat. You need to eat. Unlike me, you can actually keep it down," Danny put in.

"No, I'm not leaving your side." Steve made his point crystal clear. He sounded very final.

Danny softened at the look in Steve's eyes. There was residual worry and tension. This was the reason the Doctor had been brought in in the first place. "Steve, I'm not going anywhere."

There was a silence in the room, slightly awkward. Forrest cleared his throat and spoke up to break it. "Okay, how about a compromise. We'll just go outside the door. That way Williams is still close to you. He just won't be in your direct line of sight. It won't be as private, but we can make do for now."

Danny gave a small nod, trying to indicate to Steve that it was a good deal. There was a battle waged in Steve's head until he relented and with a squeeze of Danny's hand, he made his way out the door with Forrest.

Doctor James took Steve's seat. With her hands still in the pockets of her white coat, she took a good look at Danny. "You know, while Steve's not here, this might be a good time for you and I to have more of a discussion."

"You a shrink as well now, Doc?"

"I specialize in Guide medicine. That's physical and mental. And the two aren't always mutually exclusive. The brain is very much where a Guide's power comes from. A Sentinel uses physical senses, a Guide is more about emotional sense, that's where your balance is. You have reason and logic, and you also have compassion in a more heightened aspect from normal people. It stands to reason that after going through this trauma, the empathy you have took just as much of a beating as your body. You should talk about it, let people support you."

"I get it Doc, I do. But I'm not going to do it now."

"I'm sorry, if it's too soon for you."

"No, it's not that." He reached a hand out to her but it pretty much flailed in thin air, as she was still sitting quite rigidly beside him. "Steve is out of my earshot. But I'm not out of his."

"You want to keep this from him?"

"No, I mean, kind of. It's just… He can still hear me if he wants to, I can't hear him. It's more that it's just not fair." He frowned, trying to say it right. "I'll talk to him about it, of course I will. I already have a little. But some things I need to work out on my own, knowing that I'm actually on my own, separate from him, before I can talk to him about it."

"I understand." She stood and patted his wrist. "I'm here for you. The Center wants me here to get you back to your old self again. I do too, but not just because you're a strong Guide bonded to a five-senser. I kinda like you, I don't want to see you bogged down by all of this."

Danny smiled. "I kinda like you too, Doc."

"Eh," She waved the compliment off. "Call me Maddy. I've seen you naked, remember?"

Steve sat, consciously keeping an ear on the room he'd just left. He knew his tension had increased with Danny out of his line of sight, but he was doing his best to compensate by using his other senses to know Danny was perfectly safe in the room. He just had to tell himself no one could go in without him knowing.

"So," Forrest began. "You want to tell me what happened?"

"There are reports, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what you already know."

"I know the bare bones of it. I know that you were out of the country when Williams, Malia Kelly and Kono Kalakaua were taken. And I know that you searched for Williams for five days relentlessly. What I don't know is what triggered you, after those five days, to lose your control."

"It had been building." Steve rested his elbows forward on his knees and rubbed his hands together. "I felt like everything was slowly slipping away. I knew we were running out of time. I had to get to him."

"And you did, you got to him, you got your Guide back."

"No, not yet. I won't have Danny back until he's healed and we've reinstated the bond. Then I'll have him back."

"So, what was your trigger?" Forrest asked, mirroring Steve's hunched form, keeping their voices low so as not to draw attention.

"I don't know for sure, I don't remember everything."

"Walk me through it," Forrest started. "You were at the old building, you threatened two members of the HPD, then you took off after a scent."

"Yeah, I uh… I saw where they kept Danny, I found blood, I could tell he'd been there. I think he was trying to help me out." Steve leaned back again and rubbed a hand over his face. "Cath and I, we followed it. I wanted to get to Danny as soon as I could. I knew where they were heading but I didn't want them getting there. Delano could defend himself better if they made it to the ship."

"You caught up to them…" Forrest prompted.

"I heard him. I heard Danny. He was in pain, I heard it and just…" Steve mimed snapping something in half and shook his head. "I don't remember much after then. I just remember focussing on Danny. On the fact that someone had taken something that belonged to me and I wanted it back. I got locked into that base mindset."

"Your bond with Detective Williams. How does that feel right now?"

"Uhm," Steve began, frowning, trying to work it out for himself. "It's weakened. Danny already told me, Delano took the physical one away from him. That affects me more than him, but by the time they drugged him, I guess it meant something. Almost ceremonial. Plus, it caused him a lot of pain being scrubbed down like that." Steve clenched his fists, tight. Wishing those assholes were still alive so he could skin them for what they'd done.

"What about in your head?"

"It wasn't good. Like I said, Danny was slipping, I felt it."

"And now? How does everything feel now?"

"We're imprinting again, bit by bit. I can feel it improving as the drug frees Danny's mind. And we've been able to touch each other a little, I've done my best to regulate us but with him still in this state, I keep losing it."

"How do you feel about that? About having him back with you, but without the full bond you're used to?"

Steve was silent for a few moments. He didn't know what to say. He knew how he felt, he just didn't know how to express it. He was worried how it might sound. As much as he hated that the Institute had sent a Doctor to speak to him, he trusted Forrest. He had back in the 'Stan, so he felt like he could here too. "I hate it." He took a shuddered breath, turned to look at the door to the room as Doctor James opened it and walked out, sparing him a tight smile as she went by. "I hate what happened to him, I hate that there are threats out there I didn't calculate for. I hate that I worry, and I hate that he sees me worry. I hate everything about this situation."

"Has he told you much about how he feels?"

"No. No, he's been quiet. What he has said is all… even. You know?" He turned to Forrest with a questioning look and was met with the blank, nonjudgmental face he knew. "He just told me things, like he was writing a report in his head. He's not even mentioned the bond as it stands now."

Forrest nodded. "Steve, be honest with me, as your friend as well as your doctor. How deep does your original bond with Danny really go?"

"It's on file." Steve wiped at eyes that stung with unshed tears. "The Institute knows we're fully bonded with the sexual component."

"I know, but I want to hear it from you, and not in clinical terms just… how deep is it?"

"I love him. He loves me. We're like a perfect fit. Just like I was told it would be when… if… I found my true Guide."

Forrest gave him a measured look but didn't press for more. Steve didn't know what he wanted to hear from him. It was very difficult to describe how he felt for Danny in the first place. He just knew it was bone deep. It was everything. He didn't think anyone would understand unless they'd felt something similar themselves.

"Steve-" he heard the muted sound from the room. Danny had whispered his name. No, it was quieter than that, it was almost nonexistent but Steve had picked up on it.

He turned to Forrest. "I need to-" he gestured to the door. Without waiting on a response he stood and eased it open. He looked in, not wanting to rush in in case there was something wrong. "Danny?"

Danny was sitting on the side of his bed. He was hunched over, his hands braced on either side of him and his head down. The braces on his knees bent as far as they would go. His head raised slightly with the hint of a smile. "Thought I'd test you a little."

"You okay?" Steve asked, pushing the door further open and taking slow steps closer.

"Yeah, I think so. Just…"

"Just what?" Steve reached Danny and carefully took Danny's hands in his own, placed them on his own hips and moved in between Danny's legs to stand closer.

"Wasn't too keen on the empty room." Danny looked nervous, a little embarrassed to admit he didn't like to be on his own. It was understandable. He hadn't been left on his own since the rescue and he'd been kept in a dingy room for so long, he probably had craved the company of his family when he'd been there.

"I'm right here," Steve laid a kiss on Danny's forehead, ghosted his lips over Danny's nose and kissed his mouth lightly.

Danny pulled back enough to rest his head on Steve's shoulder and they held each other, Steve letting the moment wash over them, turning it into a quiet bond moment, letting them sync themselves to each other. He'd keep doing it when he could until it fully took again. He felt their heart rates measure up and their breathing. He was also aware that the moment wasn't as private as it could be. The door was still open and he knew Forrest was still standing in the entry.

Danny wiped his nose on the shoulder of Steve's t-shirt. Neither man seemed to care, and Danny pulled back, his eyes concentrating on the figure standing nearby. Steve still stood in Danny's space, and Danny kept his hands on Steve, but they included the other man into their bubble now.

"So Doc? You worked with Steve on some of his super secret missions?" Danny asked and Forrest nodded. "What did Smooth Dog here and the others call you, then?"

"Ha, well, my nickname, to this day, has always been Superman."

"Superman?" Danny looked between the two of them. "You have a habit of leaping tall buildings in a single bound?"

"His first name is Kent." Steve answered with a sheepish grin.

"You're," Danny began and choked off a laugh. "You're kidding me. His name is Kent so… wow. You guys really lacked in imagination, huh?"

"Smooth dog is imaginative," Forrest laughed.

"If by inventive you mean terrible, sure. For one, he is not smooth, no matter how much he thinks he is. The dog part is apt, I'll give you that, but it's also very obvious so no, there's no imagination in the SEALs." Danny smiled up at Steve. "At least not in your unit, babe."

"Smooth dog, Bullfrog, Superman, Hellhound, Donkey Kong, Gonzo…"

"Wait, you called one of the guys Gonzo? What, he had a big nose?"

Steve shrugged and Danny laughed again. Steve upped the act a bit, but only to keep that smile on Danny's face. Forrest played along, reminding them of a few more names and they had some laughs over how they'd all earned them. The entire time, Steve and Danny had been very much in each others' space and had barely moved.

As they settled again, one of Danny's hands found itself against Steve's chest, Danny yawned like he might actually be tired enough to get some sleep. His body had been through enough to exhaust him, finally.

"Steve, maybe you and I should go get some food now, leave Danny to get his rest."

"No," they both argued at once but Danny was the one to continue as he clutched the hand into Steve's shirt. "I'm fine. I'd rather hold out until later when it's dark. You know, keep to a regular sleep pattern."

"Hmmm," Forrest put in as he looked between them and that was when Steve knew that although they'd been enjoying conversation, Kent was still here to do a job and had been doing it the entire time.

Steve turned back to Danny. "I'll be right here if you want to try and get a little rest. We'll still get enough tonight too, you've got a lot of sleep to catch up on."

"Maybe," Danny hedged, looking happier knowing Steve wasn't going anywhere.

"Come on," Steve said and then began to move them around so he could get on the bed again too. "We'll get comfortable and if you fall asleep, great, if not, then we'll just enjoy each others' company for a while."

"I'll let you both rest then. I need to consult with Doctor James and makes some reports on your progress."

"The whole feral thing, it's fine," Steve told him. "It's not like it happens regularly. I'm not a danger. I'm sure you can finish up and go to the beach or something."

"Not quite yet," Forrest agreed. "Considering you had lost your Guide for five days, it's, frankly, understandable. But I've got other things the Institute wants me to follow up on."

"Such as?" Danny asked from where he was curled, Steve's grip on him tight.

"The Institute is worried that you aren't trained well enough to take care of a five sense Sentinel like Steve. They had doubts before and now after this, and the psychological impact of your bond suffering… they're worried about the implications. That you might be a danger to yourselves."

"A what?" Steve asked, incredulous.

"They wanted me to assess how intertwined you've become, how your bond would heal, in case they wanted to find another suitable pairing for the both of you. Or if they wanted the Center to take Danny away for a while for better training."

Steve sat up, suddenly angry at his old friend, but before he could say anything, Forrest held his hand up to stop him. "Steve, stop, look. I'm just here to do a job. I know it's difficult to hear this and you want to defend and protect this relationship. And you can do so. Tomorrow. For now, you both need rest. You're tired, you've been through a hell of an ordeal. I'll see you tomorrow."

Forrest closed the door behind him, washing the room in quiet breathing and bathed in sunlight from the window. Danny's voice quietly perked up. "Did that just happen?"

Steve waved his free hand in the air, unsure how to respond to it. "He's seen us together for no more than half an hour. He can't judge us in that time. We'll fix it later. If it needs fixed."

"But would they really do that? After everything I went through to hold onto our bond, everything you went through to find me? They're pretty much saying they support Delano's actions."

"No," Steve huffed. "No, it's just… the Institute are a pain in the ass, they truly can be. They want what's best for us and we'll just have to show them that WE are what's best for us."

Danny tugged Steve's arm tighter around himself as he considered what had happened. Steve, for his part, was unsure how convincing he'd sounded. He did understand the logic, though he refused to think it had any real merit in this situation. He and Danny would heal just fine.

He curled into Danny and held tight.