A/N I do not own any of the characters.

A/N Huge congratulations to Scott Caan for earning his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Belt System for BJJ is much stricter than in most martial arts and it takes a long time and a lot of work to even be considered for a black belt. There are also fewer belts (white, blue, purple, brown, and then black) than in other martial arts. Job well done Scott! (FYI, Alex O'Loughlin is a purple belt in BJJ).

A/N Still 5th day

H50 H50 H50

Not long after Kono left, Danny began to stir as the after effect of being under general anesthesia for the second time in a week was about to make Danny even more miserable than he had been before. Danny was barely conscious, barely able to breathe and yet the retching came fast and hard. Steve jumped to his feet and was by his side in an instant relieved that at least Danny was already propped on his side.

Steve placed his left hand on Danny's hip as he wiped Danny's sweat soaked brow with his right. "Easy Danny. Easy." Eyes opening in pained slits, Danny grabbed onto Steve's hand with a firm grip, clinging to him for strength and support. Danny was aware of what was going on, of that Steve was sure, mixed blessing after days of delirium.

A nurse rushed in and immediately administered an anti-emetic into one of Danny's IV lines. There was nothing else she could do after that but wait for it to take effect.

Danny continued to heave, but having not eaten anything in the past 24 hours there was nothing to bring up. That didn't make anything any easier for Danny - cleaner maybe, but not easier. Danny continued to dry-heave and groan in pain and gasp for air and grip Steve's hand with a passion.

Using the best "dad" voice he could muster from his memory of Danny's dealings with his kids, Steve soothed Danny the best he could as the retching ruthlessly continued unabated for a good ten minutes before the medicine the nurse had given him finally, mercifully kicked in.

Finally, the retching and writhing stopped, but the frantic struggle took a toll on Danny in more ways than one. The still open wound in his back began to bleed heavily again and his blood pressure dropped quickly. Pressure was applied to the wound to try and slow the bleeding, causing a prolonged groan from the barely conscious patient. Another bag of blood was added to his IV due to the bleeding wound and drop in blood pressure and soon Danny fell back into an exhausted but restless slumber.

With that scare over, Steve collapsed back into the chair and again sat there keeping vigil over Danny. Except for the bout of retching, this brother of his was far too silent and still and it began to unnerve him until finally he could sit still no longer. Not willing to leave his partner's side and with not enough room to pace, Steve eyed the small cubicle and mentally measured the space. It would work. Going down on one knee, he placed both hands flat on the floor in front of him, shoulder width apart, moved his feet back and began doing push-ups.

After the 27th push-up, a slight shift in the bed and a gasp for air drew his attention to Danny.

"Hey partner. How ya doing?" Steve asked as he popped quickly to his feet and hovered over the bed, relieved that Danny wasn't heaving again.

Danny struggled for a lung filling breath. The pain that sliced through his back with each attempt was mind-boggling. Breathing shouldn't be this difficult. He lifted his eyes to Steve's not even attempting to speak as he already knew the futility of that endeavor.

Steve looked into Danny's eyes and the sheer unadulterated panic he saw terrified him. It was so reminiscent of Danny's near-death experience with the Sarin nerve gas years before. He touched Danny's chest, immediately registering that it was barely moving with each breath. "Danny, hold on buddy. I'm going to get the doctor. Okay? Just hold on."

Steve dashed from the recovery bay and, moments later, was back with a very young man in a short white coat next to him. He was the Resident assigned to post-op recovery. He spoke directly to Danny. "You're having trouble breathing Mr. Williams?"

Body trembling with futile exertion, Danny managed a small, panicked nod in reply as he strained to pull in a breath. Pained and panicked blue eyes held Steve's worried gaze.

"It's Danny. He likes to be called Danny." Steve interjected. Except me and Gracie, he lets us call him Danno, Steve thought in his head.

The doctor nodded once as his attention remained on his patient.

Steve stood by Danny's side as the doctor checked the screen that monitored Danny's vitals. "Yes, your oxygen levels are low. Your chart requests no oxygen mask but it really would be the best thing for you right now." He leaned over to look his patient in the eye. The young doctor's calm composure and compassionate nature at such a young age were impressive to Steve. "Would that be okay with you Danny? If we put an oxygen mask on you?"

Still struggling, Danny looked Steve in the eye. Danny looked so frightened and alarmed that it was painful to witness. Steve could barely take it but he didn't break the hold.

"We can take a look at your pain meds and other options after that," the doctor added as he awaited a reply. "You won't need the mask long-term, Danny. Just until we can get your pain levels under control so you can breathe effectively."

Danny kept eye contact with Steve. Please help me breathe he begged silently with his panicked blue eyes, his lips beginning to tinge the same color.

Steve didn't need Danny to speak to know what he needed, but he gave him the courtesy of making the decision for himself. An oxygen mask could be disconcerting to anybody; it would be terrifying for someone who was claustrophobic. "That what you want Danny? You want the mask on?" Pain or panic, it was a helluva choice.

Hell no, Danny thought, but he had no choice. He was getting so little air in his lungs that he was seeing spots. He was trying to battle through the pain and pull in deeper breaths but it was impossible. "Yeah," he barely managed to puff out. But Steve didn't need to hear him; he could read it in his eyes. The fear Danny was now experiencing, the fear of death by asphyxiation, was greater than the fear of claustrophobia. It was a horrible thought for Steve but he tried not to dwell on it.

"Get the mask on him," Steve demanded of the Resident, a bit more harshly than he had intended.

The young doctor was immediately in motion and soon he was gently lifting Danny's head to slip the strap of the mask in place, eliciting a pained groan at the movement.

Danny sought out Steve's eyes again, seeking support as he battled the panic that the mask induced on top of the pain he was in.

The doctor stepped away from the bed now, allowing Steve to move back next to Danny. As the doctor observed the monitor and the rising oxygen level, Steve observed his partner and the new battle he was forced to wage. Just when they thought one problem was resolved another one came and took its place. The Danny Williams theory of life – expect the worst because it was going to happen anyway - was certainly holding true this week.

Danny hated the oxygen mask, hated having something over his face. It was terrifying, but not quite as terrifying as not being able to breathe properly. He had been through that before and didn't want to repeat that performance. So, he pulled his mind off the Sarin gas poisoning and instead, he let his mind go back to that time in the elevator with Mindy. He had started to freak out when he realized they were stuck. She had helped him calm down and stay in control. What had she said? She told him to look at her. Look her in the eyes. She wasn't there so he looked at Steve instead. Not nearly as appealing to look at as Mindy but he was a rock solid friend so he would do. So he maintained the eye contact he had with Steve, thankful that he was there, thankful that he was beginning to feel like the painful breaths were actually pulling in a little bit of air.

But the mask still scared him. What else had Mindy said? That it was just a glitch. He wondered vaguely if she'd say that his fear of the ocean was just a glitch too or would she say it was PTSD after watching his best friend drown or would she say he was just crazy or stupid or a coward like most people did?

What else had she told him? Oh yeah, control your breathing. Ha! That was a joke; he couldn't even breathe much less control it. That's why he had this damned mask on in the first place.

Suddenly he felt like the mask was suffocating him. He had to get it off. He reached for it with his shaking left hand but stopped himself. It wasn't suffocating him. It was just a brain glitch that was making him think that. It was helping him. Yeah, it was helping him. He felt a hand take a hold of his left hand. It was Steve's hand. Then Steve was speaking. "Just try and relax Danny. Leave the mask alone. Let it help you. I know it's hard buddy, but you can do it. It's just a mask. I'm here. I know you're scared. It's okay. It's going to be okay"

Steve was trying his best to help but Danny found himself wishing Mindy were there. She'd know what to do. She'd help him calm down without embarrassment at being such a coward that he was afraid of a mask.

Eyes still locked on Steve's because it was the only thing keeping him remotely sane at the moment, he heard the doctor say that his oxygen level was rising. He noticed that the spots were gone, too. Thank God!

Steve was impressed by the way Danny was dealing with this oxygen mask. Eyes wide with fear, he was centering his focus on Steve's eyes and controlling the panic. Only once had his hand flickered as if ready to pull it off. Steve was even more impressed with the way Danny had battled through every obstacle thrown at him over the past few days, the way he fought his way through every crisis. The man was the biggest worrier he had ever met but he had a warrior's heart.

A while after the young Resident had fixed Danny up with the oxygen mask and left, the Surgeon himself came in to check on his patient. Steve was ready to jump right in with questions and demands but the doctor focused on the now cognizant but silent patient instead.

"Hi Danny. I understand that you're having some real trouble breathing," the Surgeon said. He checked the monitor and Danny's chart. "Your oxygen levels are definitely improving. Do you feel better with the mask on?"

That was a loaded question. It did give him much needed air but it was hard not to freak out with it on. Danny pulled at the mask so he could speak but he didn't really answer the question. "Back hurts like hell."

The doctor nodded. "I'm sure it does. That's due in large part to the strong reaction you had to the pain meds. We tried changing them but that didn't help so we were forced to reduce the amount of pain medicine you were receiving."

"Damn Neanderthal," Danny said after again tugging his mask away.

Steve chortled and the doctor looked perplexed but he went on. "I understand from your medical history that you have had previous significant injuries which required the same pain medicines. You tolerated those just fine from what I am reading."

Steve answered for him. "That's right. Never been a problem before."

The doctor paused for a moment, perusing Danny's extensive file, some of which he had requested from other hospitals. "I'd like to try increasing the level of pain medicine in small increments. See if we can't at least find a happy medium between the pain you are suffering and the effects of the medicine. With luck, your body will handle it fine now as it had before."

"Not exactly been his week for good luck," Steve responded for Danny.

The doctor slapped his file shut. "Well, hopefully that will change. So, if you are in agreement Danny, I will have a slight increase in pain meds put into your IV right away. What do you think?"

"Think… love ... , doc," was Danny's reply.

"That's a yes," Steve translated with a fond look at this brother of his.

With a smile, the doctor nodded his understanding and then spoke again. "Danny, do you have pain anywhere besides your back?"

He didn't speak with his words but Steve could hear what he was saying with his eyes. It was a yes. "Where else are you hurting, D?" Steve gently moved the mask aside momentarily so Danny could answer his query.

"Head. Neck."

"The headache could be from the anesthesia or from the pain meds or a lingering result of the exceedingly high blood pressure you had for the last few days. Probably a combination. As for the neck pain, let's take a look" the doctor said as he pressed his fingers as gently as possible along the side of Danny's neck and across the top of his shoulder, gauging Danny's reactions at various spots and feeling for muscle tension. When he was finished he spoke again. "You have some severe muscle spasms along the neck and shoulder line, quite possibly from the lack of mobility in the surrounding muscles and from the position we've had you lying in. Finding a new position for you and getting you mobile may help."

Mobile? Danny's eyes opened wide at that. He couldn't even breathe and he was talking about him getting up and walking?

"Uh, Doc, with all due respect," Steve spoke up using his military trained phrase. "Danny was stabbed in the back four days ago, just underwent a second surgery where he had tissue and muscle removed, is still fighting a severe infection, is having muscle spasms in his neck and shoulder and is on a very low dose of pain medicine and you expect him to walk?"

It was almost a Danny worthy rant and Danny smiled fondly at Steve. Role reversal at it's finest.

The doctor smiled. The man had a more than valid point. "Don't worry. I didn't mean to get him walking quite yet. We need to reduce his pain level and then get him back to some physical therapy that will get those muscles moving and not cramping. I'd like to try some alternative methods to easing the pain as well. Since we still can't risk a full dose of painkillers I suggest that we also try a muscle relaxant. It won't necessarily do you any good and there are side effects – sedation, headaches, dizziness – but I suggest we at least give it a try. We can also begin a regimen of applying hot compresses to your back, neck and shoulder and using some topical pain relievers."

Between the lack of oxygen and the after effects of the anesthesia Danny's head was still spinning and steadily throbbing and as the doctor continued speaking Danny struggled to understand the words. Suddenly Danny realized that the doctor had finished speaking and seemed to be waiting for an answer. Problem was, Danny wasn't sure what all he had said. He looked to Steve for help.

Steve sat down on the edge of the bed next to Danny so he could look him in the eye. Danny had the most expressive eyes he knew (except when the man was playing poker when they became totally unreadable) so looking at him while he talked was a distinct advantage. "He wants to try some other methods to help ease the pain. We don't want to see you hurting like this buddy. We can see how bad the pain is. Will you let them give it a try?"

Danny looked at Steve trying to remember what the doctor had said. Steve went on. "There could be some side effects like dizziness or a headache or you could get very sleepy."

Danny tugged once more at the mask. "Sleep's good. No pain." The rest of his message was conveyed with his eyes.

Steve gripped Danny's bicep in unspoken support. "That's another yes, Doc."