Danny drifted. As the waves buffeted his body, his mind pieced together disjointed imagery. Daydreams mixed with reality to produce an immeasurable passage of time. At least he was more comfortable now. The shivering had stopped. The panic had settled. Thoughts of what swam beneath him had vanished. At this particular moment, he really didn't mind the sea. That fact alone should have been enough to alert him. It went unrecognized. He closed his eyes to sleep.
The faint sound of rhythmic thumping intruded upon his serenity. It grew louder. Then it faded. His mind had all but dismissed it when it returned, louder than before. The water around him grew choppier. Lethargically, he forced back his eyelids. The orange belly of a flying beast was above him. He couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare in utter disbelief. Lost at sea with no hope of rescue and now… A monster was here to eat him. He decided now would be a good time to close his eyes again. Maybe it would just go away.
It didn't.
"DANNY!"
Great. It knew his name too.
Something encircled his chest from behind. He panicked and instinctively tried to pull away. All he could muster in his hypothermic state was a weak attempt.
The hold around his chest tightened. Danny looked down at it for the first time. It was an arm. With a watch. Attached to a wetsuit.
The beast above was a USCG short range recovery helicopter.
"DANNO!"
It took a long moment for the nickname to register. When it did, a different kind of wave assaulted him. A flood of relief hit him with force and his body sagged. He reached up, crossed his own arm over Steve's, and held on for dear life.
His partner did the rest.