"Steve!"
The voice pulled him out of a dream. A bad one about his house burning down.
Except when he opened his eyes. It wasn't a dream. Grey smoke still lingered with the faint smell of burnt flesh.
Hamburgers. He and Danny were cooking hamburgers. On the stove. Faster than the grill, Danny had said. Too windy, he'd complained.
The stove. Something was burning.
"Steve!" A familiar voice called his name. He couldn't quite place the face. But holy shit was he happy to see the guy.
Steve tried to say something but dissolved into a fit of wheezing and coughing instead. He couldn't move, each spasm pushing him into the floor. The only air in his lungs was heavy and dirty.
Then cool hands, grabbing his arms. "I got you, Steve. We need to get outta here. Walk with me."
Squinting at the man through eyes half closed with grime and soot, he wanted to say he couldn't walk but suddenly found himself doing it. The man half dragging him.
Just as they paused to push open the outer door, Steve studied his rescuer's face. He'd recognize that calm demeanor anywhere.
Chin. It was Chin. Thank God.
Flashing lights met them and then there were more hands touching him. Voices came and went from a distance. Something was placed over his mouth. He fought it for a few seconds until…
…cool air. Fresh air. An oxygen mask. He coughed some more, spitting up in a basin that appeared like magic under his chin. He could breathe again. Better, but not completely.
His head cleared a little. Someone was wiping his face with a cool, damp cloth. His eyes burned but he could see. An ambulance. EMTs. And Chin. His friend.
"Danny!" His throat clenched around the name and his words broke up into a sob.
A strong hand squeezed his and tried to soothe.
"Chin?"
"We didn't find him, Steve."
"No, no no." Steve coughed again, trying to pull the mask away from his face. "Find. Dan-"
"Oh no, I don't think so. You're not going anywhere, my friend." Chin and a tech held Steve in place on the gurney. "Just give it a few minutes, Steve. HPD is on the scene with Kono."
Reluctantly, Steve nodded and settled down, taking deep slow breaths of the oxygen, letting the EMTs poke and prod him for a while longer. His eyes drifted closed.
Chin nudged him awake. "What happened, Steve?"
Dinner was burning.
"Dinner. Danny." All he could think to say.
"Yea, you really need to teach him how to cook. Almost burned your place down this time, brah." Chin held on to Steve again not breaking eye contact. "Do you remember anything?"
"No, nothing." Steve paused to take a few breaths. "Woke up on the floor."
/././
Danny came around slowly. The first thing he felt was the stabbing pain in his wrist. It didn't feel like he had the brace on anymore.
Where was he?
He could hear the ocean.
Was he still at Steve's?
He couldn't remember leaving. Hell, he didn't remember dinner.
His neck was stiff. He couldn't move it. He'd fallen asleep in bad positions before, but never anything like this. Must have been one wild night.
Wait. Him and Steve didn't have wild nights.
Memories came back in bursts.
Dinner. An argument about hamburgers and the grill. Jokes about his cooking abilities.
A flash and a bang. Steve yelling something. Lips moving but he couldn't hear him.
Something cool filling his veins. He remembered his knees hitting the floor hard.
Then nothing.
Until here. Where ever this was.
Opening his eyes all he saw were shadows dancing across a pale blue wall. The sound of the wind and the water not far away. His head hurt, mouth dry. He was sitting in a hard chair, hands tied behind his back. Couldn't move. Legs restrained somehow too.
He was alone in a large empty room. A house somewhere. The vacant house across the street from Steve's place. Could it be?
A floorboard creaked. He held his breath and listened. The door swung open like something out of a horror movie.
And Danny wasn't alone anymore.
"Why hello Danny. Remember me?"