For those that watch Criminal Minds, you might recognise this bit. Love that show and just had to borrow this amazing ingenious plan! Bx

H-5-0

Pacing her cell, Alison ground her teeth and muttered under her breath, reaching one wall and immediately turning to pace back.

"Stupid, fucking cop," she grunted. "Spoiled it all... spoiled everything, didn't he, Marie?"

She banged on the wall and turned again.

"No, no... I did it for us. I chose him well, Marie. Williams was... he was glorious to tear apart. You were there, you heard how he begged me to tell him why. Why did you do it?" she mimicked and laughed. She sat on the thin mattress and looked at the silvery scars on her wrist. "Oh Marie, I will get you your head, baby... I promise. These walls can't keep me caged up like an animal. I'm as free as a bird." She laughed. "Yeah, like a vulture, circling around for my next victim."

Looking at the grey door to her cell, she smiled slyly, an idea forming in her deranged mind.

"I'll get you, Detective Danny Williams, see if I don't," she hissed, lips twisting into an evil sneer. "You're time is up, my dear boy. There's a jar waiting for you..."

And with that, she looked down at her wrist and pressed her thumb nail into the soft flesh until the blood welled. She sliced deeper, just enough without severing her artery, until the bright red fluid flowed, and then lifted her wrist to her mouth and started sucking it down her throat.

It tasted warm and coppery, and she moaned, sucking harder. She stopped and sliced her nail in deeper, making herself bleed more...

...Until she was ready, and finally filled her mouth full of blood and simply let it flow over her chin and down the front of her prison issue jumpsuit. With a blood curdling scream, she collapsed on the floor and waited.

Within seconds her door was flung open and frantic shouting filled the small cell, including orders for an emergency transport to Queens Medical.

Alison inwardly smirked.

H-5-0

The conversation was hushed around Danny's bed whilst the man dozed, snoring softly. He been awake for a good hour, and had even managed to eat half a small bowl of lime jello, before exhaustion and the pull of his strong pain meds finally dragged him back to the healing land of nod. Despite his smiles and teasing Kono, Danny was still withdrawn and looked painfully ill. The months of stress were strikingly apparent, from how thin his wrists were to the way his skin stretched tight across his ribs.

Steve knew he'd lost some weight, but he had no idea it was this bad. He resolved to make it his mission to get his friend and partner back to his one hundred percent form again as soon as he was released. It was the least he could so since he'd left him to deal with everything alone.

Some friend he was, huh.

First on the list was Grace. Steve needed to talk to Rachel. He needed her to see what taking his daughter away was really doing to Danny, because he doubted she even had the faintest idea.

Danny was being transferred to another room out of the ICU soon, and Steve had decided to see his partner settled before he left. Chin and Kono had agreed, making themselves comfortable while they chatted with Max. Until then, Steve sat back in his chair and silently watched Danny sleep.

His cell buzzing suddenly made him jump, and he stood up, answering it with a quiet, "McGarrett."

Chin looked up when Steve sucked in a breath and barked out a brusque, "When?"

"What's going on?" whispered Kono. Chin shook his head.

"Alison Du Pont's being rushed to the ER here at Queens," Steve informed them tersely as he ended the call.

"Suicide?" Kono asked.

"Not sure. She's throwing up blood. They don't know what it is. They're en route, ETA three minutes," Steve frowned. "Chin, full detail when they get here. I want eyes on her at all times."

"You got it," Chin nodded and pulled out his phone before standing up and leaving to make the call in the corridor.

Seconds later Steve's cell went again. "McGarrett," he said and his eyes widened, his face paling alarmingly. "What?!" He listened for a moment more before pocketing his phone and instantly grabbing his gun. Kono shot to her feet and pulled hers out too.

"What is it, boss?"

"Alison's escaped," he said through gritted teeth, "And she's armed."

They looked at Danny, oblivious to what was happening, just as Chin came rushing back in with his gun already in his grip, "It's Du Pont, she's loose and she's already here."

"...He's my masterpiece. He'll be a glorious prize for The Game." The words slammed into Steve's mind so hard he nearly reeled back. Those were Alison's last words to him in the interrogation. Words that threatened Danny's life. She was here to finish her sick game. He reached into his ankle holster and pulled out his back up weapon, handing over to Max. The ME took it with shaking fingers.

"You know how to use this?"

"Yes, but-"

"Max," Steve interrupted quickly. The ME looked at the gun with wide anxious eyes, curling his fingers around the grip until his knuckles went white. Steve gently loosened his hold. "Not so tight, Max. Safety's on here-" he indicated where, "it'll be okay. Just stay here and watch Danny. We'll be back soon, alright?"

Nodding jerkily, Max lowered the gun and moved to stand between the doorway and Danny. Steve patted his shoulder before leaving the room, closing the curtains fully behind him, his senses alert, his stride determined.

Kono quickly informed the ICU staff with what was happening. "Lock down the floor."

"That's not possible, miss," a critical care nurse said. "These patients need to have access to the OR in case of an emergency."

"There's a crazy woman on the loose in the hospital, armed and will shoot anyone who gets in her way. Do you understand that?" Kono stated harshly. The nurse blanched and nodded, quickly issuing orders to help secure the ward.

Satisfied the nurse had understood, Kono quickly followed Steve and Chin to find Alison Du Pont.

~o~

Feeling the rush of adrenalin from killing the two EMT's and the prison guard with her IV tubing and, her new favourite weapon, a very big empty syringe, Alison grinned maniacally as she stripped off her prison issue, not-very-flattering, jumpsuit and pulled on a set of OR scrubs, complete with cute hat and face mask. They weren't that different from the attire she wore in the veterinary surgery, and she pulled on a white doctor's coat, pocketed the sharp bloody scalpel she'd pilfered from the ambulance and the gun she'd taken from the prison guard she'd killed, and slipped out of the locker room.

Queens Medical Centre. The place was heaving with medical staff, all frantically running about. Alison thought it was amusing and stood back for a moment to savour, breathing deeply, watching the chaos around her, soaking up the fear that she could literally smell.

The instant she realised that Queens was the place she was being taken, it was like karma... like the planets had suddenly aligned in her favour... like The Game was meant to be.

Danny Williams was at Queens.

She'd heard that precious fact from the news reporters on Wyllie Street and clung to it, keeping it safe in her head until it was time.

And it was time now.

Alison stepped into the pandemonium, wiping the smugness off her face and painting on a wide eyed look of confusion. "What's going on?" she innocently asked a passerby.

"You not heard? There's a murderer in the hospital!"

"Oh my God..." she breathed shocked, hiding a smirk behind her hand.

"Yeah, better hide, doc!" And the panicked orderly ran off. She walked to the elevators and hit the button to the ICU, stepping calmly into the car when the doors opened.

"Soon, my dear Detective, I'll be with you soon..."

The doors closed just as the neighbouring elevator opened and Five-O hurried out.

Looking up, Steve noticed the security cameras. "Kono, see if you can spot her," he told her pointing up. She nodded and headed straight for security. He and Chin headed for the ambulance bay.

Pushing the security personnel out of the way, Kono's deft fingers and keen eyes quickly found their suspect. She swore and grabbed her cell.

"We just missed her," she told Steve. "She was in the next elevator just as we got out. Headed up to... Fuck... ICU!"

"Shit! Kono, call them, warn them," Steve shouted running hell-for-leather towards the stairs. His long legs took three at a time, Chin half a stride behind him. Once at the floor, they stopped and Steve carefully opened the stairwell door and peered through. The corridor was busy with nurses and doctors rushing around.

"Thought they were supposed to lock the floor down," Chin frowned when he and Steve slipped through the door. Steve ignored him and motioned for Chin to go one way while he went the other, and with guns poised, they both vigilantly searched the ICU.

Alison blended in with the nervous chaos around her, and used the frantic distraction to her advantage. Her slight build and new disguise seemed to fool everyone. Apparently, no one suspected a five foot seven, middle aged, ordinary looking woman to be a dangerous serial killer. She grinned smugly to herself and calmly made her way to the nurse's station where she'd find out which room Danny Williams was currently occupying.

Seconds later she was on the way to finally claim her prize.

~o~

The commotion outside his room woke Danny up and he moaned softly, forcing his eyes open. He frowned trying to focus when he saw Max, practically shaking in his sneakers, standing rigidly blocking his view of the doorway.

"Ma..." He cleared his throat, "Max."

Max snapped his head around and Danny blinked at the frightened look. "Detective Williams, you should stay quiet."

"Stay quiet? Why?" Danny asked confused, licking his dry lips and clearing his throat again. He saw a gun in the ME's hands and blinked. What the hell? "Max..." he grated out roughly and tried to sit up, hissing when blinding pain stabbed through his chest.

"Please, Detective, shhhh," Max pleaded. "Stay still, you could injure yourself further." He turned his attention to the doorway again and gripped the weapon tighter, immediately loosening his hold when the Commander's words drifted into his head again. He knew how to use it, but Max did not like guns. At all. But he was prepared to overlook that in order to protect his friend and co-worker right then.

Danny removed his nasal cannula and raised the head of the bed until he was nearly upright, grinding his teeth against the breath stealing stabs of agony shooting through his body. "Max. Where's Steve?" he whispered loudly, a fleeting moment of panic flaring as he began to wonder if he'd imagined his team around his bed earlier, and that they all really were still dead.

"Trust me, Danno," Steve had said though. "Trust me, I'm alive, Chin's alive, we're right here, babe." And Danny hadn't questioned how or why... he was too afraid to, but...

He swallowed hard and repeated when Max didn't answer, "Hey! Where is everyone? You gonna tell me what the hell's going on, huh?!"

"Alison Du Pont escaped custody and is here, at the hospital." Max turned to Danny, "She's got a gun, Detective. The Commander, Detective Kelly and Officer Kalakaua are looking for her. Commander McGarrett gave me his weapon and left me here to protect you."

Alison Du Pont escaped custody... Alison Du Pont escaped... Danny stared at Max, not wanting to believe what he'd just heard, but the chaos around them and the fact that Max was stood shakily holding Steve's gun at arm's length and pointed at the wheels of Danny's bed, told him that it was true. The panic he'd felt quickly abated at the mention of his team and he held out his hand.

"Max, give me the gun."

"No, the Commander said-"

"I don't care what Steve said, give me the gun, alright?" Danny hissed frantically waving his hand. Max lifted it and Danny immediately raised both hands and ducked. "Whoa, Max, for fuck's sake!"

"Oh, sorry. It's okay. The safety is still on," Max grimaced lowering it quickly to the floor again.

Jesus Christ! The safety was even still on?! "That's it," Danny snapped, gasping and grabbing at his chest, his back molars grating together. "Give me the gun now, Max. Right now!"

"Detective-"

"Who here is the trained police officer, huh? Now, give. Me. The. Damned. Gun. Now!"

Max jumped at the harsh demand and quickly handed Danny the weapon, wiping his sweating hands on his jeans.

"Thank you! Now, go take a peek what's happening out there, alright?" Danny ordered quietly as he flicked off the safety on the gun. He wished he could go and assess the situation himself, but the many tubes sticking in his body acted like a tether and he was stuck, literally tied to the bed. Max took a careful look through the curtains and shook his head.

"Lots of nurses rushing about, but I don't see the killer or the Commander," he reported in a whisper.

"Alright. Get back here and duck down out of sight, Max," Danny nodded already raising the gun and pointing it at the doorway. Max quickly hid down the side of the bed, watching anxiously from floor level.

Danny's head pounded and his chest burned and ached, but he schooled his focus and tried like hell to stop the hand holding the gun from trembling too badly. It frustrated him that he was stuck, waiting for the danger to come to him, when he'd much rather be hunting it down first, but he knew that even if he could disconnect himself and get out of bed, he'd probably collapse before he took that first step.

He still hated waiting for the unknown to happen, and the heart monitor behind him started bleeping faster.

"Detective Williams, are you alright?" Max whispered when he looked up and saw the blood pressure levels rise.

"No, I'm not, Max. Shut up," Danny murmured roughly, breathing laboured, "Stay quiet."

Max frowned with worry but hunkered down again and stayed as quiet as he could. He stopped breathing altogether when feet stopped at the curtain and turned towards them.

Alison smiled and approached Danny's room, pulling out her gun. She stopped just outside and breathed deeply. Her endgame was happening. Not like she'd planned, but this time The Game had been magnificent, all due to Detective Danny Williams, and now she was about to finish her masterpiece.

Her name, suddenly harshly shouted above the noise of the ICU, made her look back, and that was her mistake.

Steve hurried down the corridor, checking the medical personnel by sight, looking for Alison, but so far he couldn't find the killer. And then he saw her. From the back she looked just like any another Queens Medical hospital personnel, unassuming, and blended in dressed as a doctor, but it was her prison issue sneakers that gave her away. Steve's eyes caught sight of the dirty white footwear, standing right outside Danny's room, and he immediately shouted her name.

"Alison Du Pont!"

The corridor frantically cleared, and as soon as she turned with her stolen weapon raised, Steve fired off two shots, each one centre mass, and she instantly dropped.

The shots echoed around the floor and inside Danny's room, Max clamped his hands over his ears. Danny stared at the curtain, breathing shallow and fast, his gun still shaking in his hand. She was there. Right there outside his doorway! Jesus, McGarrett had nick-of-time timing!

That was too fucking close!

Outside the room, Steve rushed over and kicked Alison's weapon away from her hand and looked down at her. Chin hurried to his side, and they both watched as within seconds she choked to death on her own blood.

Neither man even flinched.

"Secure this area," Steve told Chin before heading into Danny's room. His hands flew in the air when he flung the curtains open and entered to see his own back up firearm pointed right at him. "Don't shoot!"

"Fuck, Steven," Danny gasped out with a whoosh. His hand slumped to the bed and Steve quickly retrieved the gun, flicked the safety back on and stuck it back in his ankle holster. He reached for Danny's shoulders and laid him back on the pillow, lowering the bed slightly.

"You okay, Danno? You're shaking," Steve murmured worriedly as he checked for any extra injuries and carefully replaced the nasal cannula under his nose and around his ears.

"Yeah, man, stop already with the mother-henning, okay?" Danny bitched back, voice a little tremulous and still shaken with what had just happened. His eyes widened and he grabbed onto Steve's wrist, "She's dead, right? Tell me she's dead, Steven..."

Steve framed Danny's face with his hands and looked at him, nodded, and told him, "Yes, Danny, she's dead. It's finished. She's dead." He waited until the words sunk in and then smiled when Danny sighed with relief. "Hey, where's Max?"

Danny pointed over the side of the bed, and Steve looked to see the ME crouched in a tight ball with his hands over his ears.

"Yo, Max!"

Max snapped his head up and blinked. "It's over?"

"Yeah, it's over," Steve said pressing the call button for Danny's nurse. "You doing okay there, huh?"

"Yes, thank you, Commander." Max stood up and straightened his shirt and glasses.

Steve eyed him curiously, "What was Danny doing with my gun?"

"Are you kidding, McGarrett?" Danny answered for the ME. His hands chopped through the air, "You gave a loaded weapon to a scientist, you moron! What is the matter with you? He was gripping the thing so tight I thought he was gonna become one with it! Of course I took the fucking gun off him. I am a cop, okay? I am trained in the use of firearms, okay?!"

Mouthing a sincere 'thank you' to Max, to which Max nodded and wisely stayed quiet, Steve then held his hands up in surrender and just shrugged at Danny. "Hey, I was just asking, that's all," he said, secretly pleased that he'd provoked a rant. God, he'd so missed that... He reached into his pocket and pulled out Danny's shield. "Better have this back then, huh."

Danny took it and ran his fingers over the gold surface, a smile creeping onto his face. "Yeah, thanks, babe."

Smiling back, Steve closed Danny's fingers around the badge, relieved and pleased to be able to finally give it back to his partner, before nodding with a murmured "You're welcome, Danno."

Nurse Pauli rushed in then, concern written all over her face at the machine readouts. "Danny, are you alright? How bad is the pain – one to ten?"

Steve backed away and let Danny's nurse do her thing, nodding to both Chin and Kono when they suddenly hurried into the room.

"Shit, is Danny okay?" Kono asked seeing Pauli fuss over his dressing and perform a thorough check of his vitals.

"Yeah, he's a little shaken up, but he'll be okay," Steve murmured. He turned to Chin. "Du Pont?"

"Coroner already took the body. It was a clean take down," Chin said. "Case closed."

Those two words sounded wonderful, and Steve leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Months of working to catch the Island Slasher, and they'd done it. The islands of Hawaii were safe from the serial killer that had taunted them for the last twenty-four years.

The Governor was going to be a happy and relieved man.

Now all that remained was to pick up the pieces of their lives and put them all back together, starting with Danny.

Steve still had to talk to Rachel about Grace, but that could wait until he knew that his partner was over this recent incident and settled in his own private room, one that was finally out of the ICU.

A while later, Danny was resting peacefully, thanks to a much needed and welcomed light sedative, in room two-twelve, three floors down, and the team had finally left for the evening knowing he was well on that road to recovery.

H-5-0