So pesky FF didn't show this story as updated yesterday for some reason. It WAS though...don't miss CH3 if you didn't see it!

Anyhoo, thank you as ever to the people who reviewed. Keeps me plodding on. And sorry, Danny and Steve. I hurt you because I love you and I'm WEIRD.

EUPHORIA

CHAPTER 4

Heaven and hell. Ecstasy and agony. Danny really, really was so, so done with this day.

The sharp prick of the needle, the disorienting, nauseating, all-consuming impact of his first taste of heroin, those things had been real.

At least he thought they had. But now…reality was shifting.

Voices, muffled and distorted, spoke over him, around him, inside him. Steve- Steve was screaming, 'NO, NO, NO, STOP!' The words echoed round and round the blank space in Danny's mind. But it wasn't real, none of it was real, nothing was real anymore.

He had been so, so scared but now, as the warm sunshine slid on through his veins… everything else simply disappeared. The mirage of the cold basement, the specter of his bound and bloodied partner, frantic and desperate, the fear and revulsion of what they were doing to him…in the blink of an eye it all just went away. Nothing mattered.

He could fly.

Complete and utter tranquillity and peace, unadulterated happiness. No pain, no fear. He was warm and he was safe and he was free. Nothing could touch him. He could do anything.

He had never felt this good in his life.

…..

Steve shivered. He was drained, weak, horribly thirsty and he felt so, so low. The men had finally left them alone, but he felt no relief. He tortured himself now, with hindsight and regrets. His arms were so numb he could barely feel them at all. The pain from his beating had seeped deep into his bones and he felt cold and utterly miserable. His face screwed up as the images of Danny's ordeal playing over and over in his head without reprieve, chipping away at his long-standing emotional barriers.

Steve had watched, powerless to intervene, hanging helplessly a few feet from his partner's prone, pinned form, as Blake pressed that needle home.

He'd watched Danny's face, his expression. His clear blue eyes, wide with fear, had held Steve's gaze like a lifeline, as though that alone could stop the drug doing what it would inevitably do to his body and his mind.

He'd watched as the drug had hit, as the men who had pinned Danny down got up and stood back, laughing and pointing. As Danny's breathing became ragged, as he retched and shook, eyes blinking and confused, fingers digging into the dirt.

He'd watched as Danny's eyes had lost their focus, as his head sagged to the ground, as the tension dissipated from his body and he lay, deathly still.

He'd watched as Blake had rolled his partner onto his back, as he swore under his breath and slapped his face.

The hit they had given Danny- it was damn clear that it had been big and it had been strong. He had crashed so hard and so fast, Steve had been terrified. Terrified that Blake had misjudged, had overdosed him. Blake had blatantly thought it too, for a long, heart-stopping moment, and Steve could do nothing but watch, shaking his head in sickened denial, heart in his mouth, as the man shook his partner roughly until finally, finally, Danny moaned and drew a deep, rasping breath.

When he had seen the steady rise and fall of his friend's chest he could have cried in relief. Instead he had cracked. He had screamed at them, threatened them, told them he would kill them for every single thing they had done to Danny. But right then his threats were impotent. He simply hung there, vulnerable and distraught, unable to do a thing.

They had laughed in his face.

Now, he looked down at Danny for the hundredth time, his desolate gaze fixing on his partner's blank expression, his unfocused eyes.

Danny was lying on his back on the dirt floor, unrestrained, hands out to his sides, palms up. He appeared to be conscious, but he reacted to nothing. He was present but entirely absent, wiped out by the drug. His face was white, his eyes shadowed.

Steve had seen Danny in just about every frame of mind imaginable before. He'd seen him sober and drunk, asleep and awake, high on life and crippled with devastation. He'd never seen him like this. It looked so, so wrong. Maybe he had made the wrong call. Maybe Blake wouldn't have killed them straight off if he had talked. He would keep them around until he had a chance to confirm they had given him the right code, wouldn't he? Steve should have tried that, played for time. He should have prevented this from happening at all costs. It was his fault.

But maybe it would be still be okay. Danny had only had a single hit for all it was a big one…there was a good chance he would be alright. The stuff was highly addictive, sure, but just one single dose…they could get lucky.

Where the hell was the team?

"Danny!" Steve called softly. He persisted in talking to him, knowing at some point he had to start to reconnect to reality. He hoped Danny could hear him on some level, hoped he knew he wasn't alone.

"Danny! Just hold on. You're doing real good, partner. Not much longer, okay buddy? It'll be over soon. The team will be here soon. I'm sure they will…"

There was no response, no acknowledgement, no sign whatsoever Danny had heard. Steve looked at his expressionless face and felt a sharp punch of grief. "Danny, I'm so sorry," he whispered, "I'm sorry I've not got us out of this yet."

….

Steve had no concept of how much time had passed when Danny finally started to come back to him. It felt like days had gone by before, finally, his partner made a sudden abortive attempt to raise a shaking hand to his head before it flopped back down to the dirt floor accompanied by a pitiful groan.

"Danny?" Steve hissed, heart in his mouth.

"S-Steve?" Danny croaked, voice weak and totally confused.

"Yeah. You okay, buddy? You had me worried for a while there." Steve tried to keep his tone light, a hollow laugh following on from his words.

Danny didn't reply. He moaned softly, eyes drifting shut.

"Danny? Come on, stay with…."

His words were cut off as the bolt on the outside of the metal door unlocked with a loud 'clang'.

Blake.

The man himself strolled in, followed close behind by his goons, one of whom bore another fucking needle. Steve blinked in confusion.

Blake stopped in front of him. "You think he's ready for another hit, Steve?"

"What?!" said Steve in utter disbelief. "No, no, no, you leave him alone!"

Blake laughed dryly. "You didn't seriously think we were just going to give him one hit, did you McGarrett? No, no. We're gonna string him out, mess him up until he has no idea which way is up and he tells me what I need to know. He won't even realize he's done it. You've got a choice though….. you don't want any of that to happen, you tell me the keycode. Maybe he won't be hung up on the smack yet. Maybe he'll get lucky. But, a few more hits though and we both know what it's gonna do to him. So come on, tell me. Stop me from doing this to your buddy, McGarrett."

"You bastard, I'm going to kill you, you know that, right?!" Steve spat, positively vibrating with rage.

"Yeah, so you keep saying, but why?!" Blake oozed mock dismay and confusion. "I think we're being pretty good to him, really. Davis here had really knocked him about and I was kind enough to give him a little something for the pain. And not just any old shit. It's the good stuff. Nothing but the best for our Danno, eh?"

Steve glared at him with pure, unadulterated hate, trying to think, trying to come up with a way out. "Look, Blake, it's only gonna be a matter of time until my team find us. Don't make this any worse than it already is. Don't do this to him. Please don't do this to him."

"No problem," said Blake, "I don't have to give him this. Tell me the keycode."

Frustration and desperation boiled to the surface, breaking down his walls, and Steve's face screwed up as emotion almost overwhelmed him for a fleeting moment. "I-I can't. You know I can't…... Look, I'll speak to the governor, see if I can get your sentence reduced. What about that? Leave him alone, let us go and I'll do what I can."

Blake stared at Steve incredulously for a long moment. "Er, no. What are you so afraid of, McGarrett? Oh wait, I know. You think I'm gonna kill you once I've got what I need, don't you?"

Steve set his jaw and stared at the man, refusing to state the obvious.

Blake shrugged. "You're probably right. But not until I know the code is right and that might just take a while…my men have to wait for the right moment to access your offices after all. Maybe, just maybe, that will buy you enough time for your team to find you. You never know! What do you say? 6 digits. That's all I need."

Steve stared at him, stared at the bastard's smug face. He loathed him with every fiber of his being….but what he was saying was only in line with the conclusion Steve had reached all on his own.

Steve looked down at Danny. His partner's fingers were twitching as he fought to return to something resembling awareness. Steve had to do something. He had to give Danny a chance. Sweat ran from his brow as he fought to make the decision. He had to do it. Maybe not the real code….giving Blake the real code would start the final, unstoppable, countdown on their lives….but if he gave them something, just to buy time…

"Okay," he spat, "Okay. I'll tell you if you give me your word you'll leave him be."

Blake smiled. "Good man! Good man, Commander, good choice. Go ahead, I'm all ears."

Steve took a few deep breaths. "The code you need is four-five-zero-four-five-two."

The crime boss cocked his head as if considering Steve, considering the information. "Really?"

Steve nodded, mute.

"Okay, well, we'll soon see if it's right."

Blake turned to the man holding the syringe. He extended a long finger, pointing at Danny. "Give it to him."

"What!" Steve yelled in complete horror, "NO! You said you wouldn't do that! NO!"

Blake sighed deeply. "Yeah, well I'm pretty sure you're lying. So I lied too. I'm not stopping until I know you told the truth and that, McGarrett, as you know, could take hours. Your team are in the office right now, I understand, so we have to wait. Time for Danny here to enjoy a good few hits. It doesn't really matter though. I am going to kill you both anyway- Detective Williams might as well enjoy himself in the interim."

"You bastard." Steve hissed, voice wavering. "You utter bastard! I am going to end you."

Hope you enjoyed it... I am but a needy FF writer so please drop me a review and let me know.