A/N: Hello! This is a Coda for 5x07, so it has plenty of spoilers for that episode.

A work in progress

Once they got Steve out of the building, they rushed him to the hospital. The fact that Steve didn't try to convince anyone that he was fine was most worrying to his team, which was one of the reasons why Danny refused to leave his side while the doctors made a bunch of tests, stuck a bunch of needles and took enough X rays and Scans to leave Steve glowing in the dark.

In the end the verdict was that Steve had been dosed with a cocktail of barbiturates that were already wearing off his system, a grade III concussion from the graze on his forehead, and a long list of bruises and cracked bones. Their biggest concern was Steve's lungs, which was why they were keeping him in the hospital for at least a 72 hours.

It took them a couple of hours, but they finally moved Steve to a private room. Steve had an oxygen mask, to help with his breathing, and an IV on his hand, which had taken quite a bit of convincing, both from the doctor and Danny's part.

Danny was still at his side, sitting quietly and watching as his partner finally lost the battle with exhaustion. After spending the whole day fighting the images of closed barrels and bloodied floors, and the terror that the sight of Steve's unmoving body lying on the floor brought him, Danny needed to make sure that his friend was still breathing, that he hadn't lost another brother so soon, so he sat on an uncomfortable chair and gently placed his hand over his partner's, trying to convince himself that he was alive and well, and with time he would heal.

Steve was sleeping peacefully, and Danny was glad for it, because soon enough the nurses would come to make another concussion check, or to take his BP or temperature. He would wake up confused and frightened and wouldn't admit any of it, and Danny hated every second of that badly performed act.

Danny lost track of time, his only focus was his partner, and making sure that he was as well as he could be under the circumstances.

The arrival of Chin, Kono and Lou distracted Danny from his musings. "Hey Danny, how's he doing?" Chin asked quietly, moving to Danny's side by Steve's bed.

Danny shrugged tiredly. "He's gonna be ok… He was drugged, beaten and… He had… He had water in his lungs…"He said shakily. "But he's going to be ok, they're keeping him on oxygen and giving him stuff to help clear the crap they gave him…" Danny said in what he hoped was a steady voice.

Chin didn't say anything, just placed his hand on Danny's shoulder, squeezing in comfort. Kono and Lou were looking at Steve in concern.

Danny was barely holding himself together by a thread, so Chin's kind gesture, while appreciated, was the last thing he needed right then. He stumbled to his feet, moving towards the foot of the bed and looked at the rest of his team. "So, are you done clearing the scene? Do we know who the woman was?" He asked, hoping to forestall any questions about his own wellbeing.

Chin and Kono exchanged a look, and Lou just raised his eyebrow. "Her name was Anna Ihejirika, AKA Eris. She's made a business out of getting people to spill their secrets, by any means necessary…" Kono said, pursing her lips in disgust. "Charlie and Max are on site, packing up everything for evidence." She finished, trying to reassure Danny that they had everything under control.

Danny nodded, only half of his attention on Kono and the other half on Steve and the clock hanging from the wall. He hadn't noticed what time it was, but it looked like it was about time for one of Steve's concussion checks, and while Steve hadn't even twitched during the last couple of hours and didn't look in any kind of discomfort, Danny really needed the reassurance that he was going to be ok.

Fortunately the doctor chose just that moment to come into the room, looking a bit surprised at the number of visitors. "Hello, I'm doctor Gamgee, and I'm in charge of Commander McGarrett's treatment." The doctor introduced herself to the newcomers with a gentle smile. "I'm not going to ask you to leave the room, but I need my patient to be calm, so I need you guys to help me do my job, ok?" She asked the other four people in the room in a no nonsense tone. At the four acquiescing nods, she finally moved towards Steve bed. "Commander McGarrett? Steve?" She said gently, not reaching out to touch him.

The only evidence of Steve hearing her was a small twitch of his eyebrow, but before the doctor tried again, Danny came closer and patted him on the leg. "Babe, it's ok… You're in the hospital…" He said softly, having noticed that Steve was actually awake, but trying to figure out his surroundings.

Steve opened his eyes, looking closely at the doctor and then turning his eyes to look at the other occupants of the room. "Yeah, I'm up…" He croaked, raising his hand to remove the oxygen mask and looking back at the doctor. "I remember the last time I was awake, and the questions you asked. I can answer them again if you'd like…" He said softly, trying not to cough.

Danny stuck a spoon with ice chips near Steve's mouth, so he grudgingly accepted them giving Danny a grateful look. The mere thought of drinking water right now was not really pleasant, and of course that Danny would catch it.

Doctor Gamgee seemed to notice as well, but thankfully didn't make any comments. "I'm glad that you seem to have no issues with your memory, Commander, but I still have to make a short neuro exam, just in case, and I'd like to take a look at your lungs as well…" She said, waiting for Steve to give his consent, not wanting to force him to endure anything he didn't want to.

Steve looked at the doctor closely, finally nodding in agreement.

The doctor did a quick examination, smiling encouragingly once she was done. "Alright, Steve. Your lungs are sounding a bit better and you passed the neuro exam with flying colors. You can go back to sleep now, and I'll instruct the nursing staff not to bother you for at least 4 hours." She said with a smile.

Steve nodded, not looking as cheerful as his doctor was. "When can I get out of here?" He asked, hoping that it wouldn't be too long before he could go home.

The doctor smiled in understanding. "Considering the concussion, the drugs you were exposed to and the water in your lungs, I should keep you in here for at least three days, but I understand that is the last thing you want." She said before Steve could start protesting. "So I'm willing to shorten that to 48 hours, if you keep improving as you have so far. But I need you to rest and behave like a good patient. Can I trust you to do that?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Steve nodded tiredly, not really feeling up to arguing right then. "Sure doc…"

The doctor didn't look too convinced, but let Steve be for now. "Alright, I'm instructing the nursing staff to change the mask for a nasal cannula and to keep the antibiotics and pain meds. Any dizziness or nausea?" She asked, writing down her instructions on the chart on her hands.

Steve shook his head, leaning back to close his eyes tiredly.

Doctor Gamgee nodded, finally moving towards the door. "Very well, get some rest, Commander. Ant the rest of you, he's doing fine. Try to get some rest yourselves…" She said with a smile before leaving the room.

Once the doctor was out of the room, Danny moved closer to the bed, resuming his previous seat. "How're you doing, babe?" He asked Steve, relieved at seeing his partner looking more alert.

Steve shrugged one shoulder. "I'm fine Danno…" He said automatically. He frowned a bit when he took a good look at his partner. "Are you ok?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Danny tensed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm ok, you're the one we should be worrying about…" He said, not really looking at his partner.

Steve chuckled, lifting his hand to brace his ribs. "Well, you look like shit…"

Danny turned to glare at Steve. "Right back at ya, partner…" He growled, standing up in somewhat steady feet and moving towards the foot of the bed.

Chin was about to intervene, but was stopped by the arrival of a nurse. "I'm sorry, but it's been a couple of hours since visiting hours have been over, so I ask you to let Commander McGarrett rest, you can come back tomorrow, visiting hours start at 9 AM." She said, directing them all towards the door.

Lou nodded in understanding, moving to shake Steve's hand and towards the door. Chin and Kono on the other hand, didn't look that convinced about leaving, while Danny had no intention of leaving Steve by himself. He took a step forward, glaring at the nurse. "Well, good thing we have no plans to disturb Commander McGarrett's rest… We're just going to sit here quietly and keep an eye on the man…" He said with a tight smile.

The nurse looked quite unimpressed. "I'm sorry, sir, but you'll need to leave." She said seriously.

Steve was about to say something, but Danny just steamrolled over him. "No, you? Shut up." He snapped, pointing a finger at Steve. He continued, turning to look at the nurse again. "I'm his medical proxy, if something happens I have to be here, and these two? They are his protective detail! He was kidnapped and hurt, so we're not leaving him alone!" He said loudly, pointing at Chin and Kono. "Hell, I'll even leave Grover watching the door!" He said, motioning to said door.

The nurse was giving Danny a strange look, but was not backing down. "The doctor instructed us to make sure that he rested undisturbed, so if you are not willing to leave, then I'll be forced to call security!" She said, before moving out of the room.

Danny stood there, looking at the door for a minute, just now noticing that his hands were shaking nd he was breathing heavily. He heard Chin coming closer. "Hey Danny. Maybe you should go home, get some rest? We'll look after Steve, won't take our eyes off him…" He said gently.

Danny whirled around, intent on screaming at Chin exactly what he thought of his idea, but when he looked at his and Kono's face he realized that they were as worried as he was about Steve, and now to make things worse, he was throwing a ridiculous tantrum. "No Chin, I'm fine… I… I'm sorry…" He said shakily, turning to look at Steve.

Steve was sitting up in bed, looking hurt, exhausted, and worst of all, scared. Danny lifted his hands in a placating gesture, shaking his head helplessly. "Hey… Steve… I'm sorry. Everything is alright, ok? Just lie down, don't worry, please?"

It was obvious that Danny wasn't convincing anyone in the room. He had tried to hold it in as much as he could, but as usual things didn't work as he hoped they would, and now he was making everything worse for Steve.

Suddenly an overwhelming need to escape hit him, so with a mumbled apology Danny rushed out of the room, ignoring his team's concerned calls and the confused look Lou gave him when he saw him hurrying down the hallway. He never noticed that he'd bumped against Steve's doctor on his way out either.

The elevator was not an option, and Danny wasn't sure he'd manage the stairs without taking a header down them, so he moved to a couple of chairs that were at the end of a quiet hallway.

He sat there with his head on his hands, trying to slow down his breathing and get himself together somehow. He choked on a sob, silently berating himself for being such a wuss while his partner and his team needed him.

He felt someone bumping into his side and looked up to see Lou sitting there, giving him an understanding look. Danny cleared his throat, scrubbing a hand roughly down his face. "I'm fine. You can go back to Steve's room; I just need a minute…" He said in a hoarse voice.

Lou shook his head, looking unimpressed. "Yeah… I can't really do that." He said, raising an eyebrow. "You see, a couple of months ago, when I was losing my shit after a bastard took my daughter, there was someone who had my back and helped me get my head back on track. I'm not about to let that person alone now…" He said, lifting a big hand and placing it on Danny's shoulder.

Danny leaned a bit against Lou's side, lifting his hand to cover his eyes. "This is ridiculous. Steve is safe, he's healing… There's no reason for me to be freaking out like this…" He said in a voice filled with tears.

Lou just chuckled at his side. "Yeah, you're right. It's not like something really bad happened just a couple of weeks ago, right?"He said with a sad sigh. "Give yourself a break, man… You're only human, and Steve gets that…" He finished, not moving his hand from Danny's shoulder.

Danny still tried to get himself together, knowing that Lou was probably right, but feeling like it was his responsibility to be strong for Steve. He had been somewhat successful when the sound of approaching footsteps made him look up. He frowned when he saw Doctor Gamgee coming their way. "What's going on? Is Steve ok?" He asked, scrubbing his hand down his face quickly and trying to fix his hair distractedly.

The doctor gave Danny a small smile, crouching in front of him. "He's doing alright, but he won't rest until he's sure I've examined another patient." She said, giving Danny a pointed look.

Before Danny could protest, Lou clapped him roughly in the back. "I think that's an excellent idea! Especially if it'll help to settle Steve, right?" He said, giving Danny a big smile.

Danny gave Lou an annoyed glare, turning to look at the doctor. "Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I'm perfectly fine. No need to waste your time…" He said, hoping to convince her.

Doctor Gamgee didn't look convinced at all. "Well, then there's no harm in getting a quick checkup! If you're fine then we'll just tell your partner that everything is ok and he can go back to sleep without having to worry about you…" She said with a smile. "Your partner said that you've had a rough couple of weeks. It doesn't hurt to make sure that you're doing alright, right?" She said, looking at him sympathetically.

Danny groaned and moved to stand from his chair. "Alright, but make it quick, because I don't want to leave him for too long…" He said, frowning at the appearance of an orderly with a wheelchair.

The doctor chuckled, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop Danny from standing. "Don't worry detective. I've set everything up to do the checkup in the Commander's room, and we've got this comfortable ride for you!" She said, motioning for the orderly to move closer.

Danny was too exhausted to fight at this point, so with Lou's help he stood up and moved to the wheelchair. "Ok, let's get this over with…" He muttered in annoyance.

Once they got back to Steve's room, he was still awake, waiting for them to come back. He frowned at the sight of Danny in the wheelchair. "You ok Danno?"

Danny rolled his eyes, hating that it took him some effort to get out of the chair and move to sit on the gurney placed in the space next to Steve's bed. "I'm perfectly fine…" He said in annoyance. "This is ridiculous…" He grumbled once he was sitting there.

The doctor seemed to realize that asking for Danny to put on a hospital gown wouldn't be well received, so she just settled for asking him to open his shirt and allow her to take his blood pressure and pulse. She didn't look too happy at the readings, and she looked even less happy when she took a look at his chest. "How did this happen, detective?" She asked, pointing to a painful looking bruise on Danny's side.

Once he was lying down, Danny seemed to melt into the gurney. He started having trouble to keep his eyes opened, so the doctor's question surprised him and made him jump a bit. He looked down at his chest seemingly surprised at the big bruise. "Oh… I think I caught one on the vest… I'd forgotten about it…" He said with a shrug.

The doctor just shook her head, ignoring the annoyed mutterings from the other occupants in the room. "Ok, this may hurt a bit." She said before gently pressing in the middle of the bruise, trying to evaluate if there were any breaks.

The sharp pain stole Danny's breath and made everything turn blurry all of a sudden. That was the last straw for Danny, who breathed a pained moan. A white sheen invaded his vision, quickly followed by painless darkness.

The next time Danny opened his eyes he was surprised to find himself in an actual bed, wearing a hospital gown, with an IV on his arm and what felt like bandages around his chest. He looked around and found Steve's bed, placed right next to his own, and Steve wide awake, looking at him with a worried expression on his face. "What's going on?" Danny asked confusedly, not really understanding anything.

Steve sighed tiredly. "According to the doc, apart from one broken and one cracked rib, you were a bit shocky, dehydrated and stupidly decided to replace food and sleep with coffee, so you're really close to a mild caffeine overdose, which would explain in part the 'scaredy cat' act you've been playing tonight…" He said, not sounding amused. "You were out for about half an hour. She said you'd be stuck in here until you got a full night of sleep and they could force some real food into you." He finished, shifting with a wince on his bed.

Danny looked surprised at the turn of events, but for some reason he was done freaking out about it. Maybe it had something to do with whatever they had put on his IV, not that he was complaining. He turned to look at his partner when he noticed his discomfort "You ok?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine…" Was Steve's immediate answer. "What about you?" He shot back.

Danny looked away, shrugging. "I'm ok…" He said softly.

Danny could hear Steve sighing, and then jumped a bit at the feel of his partner's hand squeezing his hand gently. He looked at him and was surprised to see the grief on Steve's face.

"I'm not sure what they gave me. They gassed me a couple of times, and then they shot me up with something else, and since I wouldn't say what they wanted to hear, the bitch used a huge needle to shot something else right between my shoulder blades…" Steve said quietly. "I'm not sure if it was a hallucination or a dream, but I saw my dad… He was alive, and right before Hesse killed him you had shown up and rescued him…" He said with a voice filled with awe. "You were different as well, still married to Rachel and happy about living in Hawaii… You even asked me to call you Danno, because all your friends did it…" He said, with a tearful chuckle. "When you guys got there, I was so sure that Dad would be right behind you…" He said, shaking his head with a sd sniff.

Danny lifted his other hand to squeeze Steve's hand and kept it there for a minute. "Me, still married and happy about living in Hawaii? That's an awful trip, my friend…" He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Danny looked at his friend, noticing how much it had cost him to admit what had happened in that damn room and knew it was is turn now. "When we figured that you'd been taken I was sure that we'd be too late. You were dead and it was too late and I hadn't done anything when I first saw that you were not answering your phone." He said in a choked up voice. "Then we found you in that room and you were so still that I was sure you were gone. I needed you to be alive so badly, but I froze for a second, and I was sure you were dead and I was too late again…" He said roughly, wiping his tears on the bed sheet.

Steve squeezed his arm again, moving his thumb up and down in a comforting gesture. He took a deep breath, figuring that it was best to get it all out there, so they could deal with it together. "After Wo Fat's mother was killed, Doris took him in as a surrogate mother. She raised him as her own, and once the CIA called her away she left him. A few years later she met my dad and you know the rest. In the end he taunted that I wouldn't kill my brother… But he was going to kill me, and… He- He's not my brother!" He said between hitching breaths.

Danny wanted to gather his friend in his arms, but both beds had the railings up, so he settled for giving Steve's arm a good squeeze. "He's not babe… He only wanted to hurt you and he deserved no mercy…" He said shaking his head sadly. He looked down at their joined hands, needing to get one last thing out of his chest. "Babe… When you stopped to look at his body… I- I suddenly blinked and saw Reyes' body with a bullet in his head, and I thought that you were… That you were Matt, and we'd found him and were bringing him home…" He said brokenly, closing his eyes. He heard Steve muttering a pained "Oh Danno…" and felt him holding tight to his hand again.

Danny needed a minute to grieve for his little brother, but he composed himself soon enough, using the sheet again to wipe his tears. Trying to lighten the mood a bit Danny opened his eyes and looked at his friend seriously. "For the record, I'm asking the doc to shove a GPS tracker in your ass. I'm really getting tired of having to track it down after you get kidnapped." He said drily.

Steve chuckled tiredly, but the sound of a throat clearing made Danny jump again. He ignored Steve's muttering about too much coffee and looked around the room to see Kono, Chin and Lou sitting in chairs that looked much more comfortable than the ones Danny had in the first place. "I thought the point of keeping them in the same room was so they would finally get some shut eye…" Lou muttered in annoyance.

Chin just chuckled, and Kono as always had their backs. "No brah… As usual they needed to argue about something, now that it's done they can get some sleep, right?" She said, daring them to question her reasoning.

Danny groaned, shifting to get to a more comfortable position on his bed. "Alright, alright, We're sleeping…" He muttered. "How come you got comfy chairs anyway? I thought visiting hours were over and all that…" He asked them with a raised eyebrow.

Chin smiled at him, getting more comfortable on his chair. "Well, it seems that your doctor likes us better than she likes you." He said with a pleased expression on his face.

Danny just rolled his eyes, turning to look at Steve seriously. "Listen babe, I still haven't managed to go more than an hour without waking from a nightmare, so maybe I should ask them to move me to a different room?" He said quietly, with a self conscious shrug.

Steve shook his head, a long suffering look on his face. "What makes you think that I'll sleep any better tonight? If you start twitching I can give you a good kick, as long as you don't mind to give me one if I'm the one that starts twitching…" He said with a smile.

Danny seemed to consider the idea for a few seconds. "Yeah, I have no problem kicking you…" He said with a tired smile. He grew sober suddenly, looking closely at his friend. "Are you really alright?" He asked seriously.

Steve sighed tiredly. "No… Not really…" He said honestly. "You?" He asked his friend.

Danny swallowed thickly, shaking his head as well. "Nope…" He said with a shrug.

Steve patted his hand in understanding. "Get some rest, buddy. Things will be better in the morning." He said, settling more comfortably in his bed and finally closing his eyes.

Danny shifted as well, burrowing deeper into his blankets. "You too, babe… I'm glad you're in one piece…" He mumbled right before he allowed himself to fall asleep.

It was clear that they were not alright, not anywhere near. They were still a 'work in progress' sort of speak, but with time and with the help of their Ohana, they would be alright soon.

The End

A/N: So I liked the episode, and it killed me to see Steve so vulnerable, but I kept thinking about Danny and Matt, and that it was too soon for Danny, and this came out. Let me know what you think of it!