Steve sat on the hard bench in the back of the ambulance, watching the medic tend to Danny. It was fairly simple. No gushing blood or monitors blaring. No life saving measures were needed at this point. Just bandages and fluids, maybe a little something for the pain. Tests would reveal the extent of his injuries. Though the real damage would never be fully quantified. X-rays and scans have no way of showing the true carnage of betrayal.

Danny had borne the brunt of this, and Steve didn't know if he could forgive himself. He'd brought Catherine into their lives. He'd been so happy to see her again that he'd acted like a child and ignored his best friend's suspicion.

Stop it, babe.

The two men knew each other better than they knew themselves. Which drove the control nut in Steve absolutely crazy at times. He'd do things just to annoy his partner, and he knew Danny did the same.

Now, Steve saw a mixture of concern and something else. An acute sadness that could break your heart if you stared too long. It tore him apart to think Danny was worried about him.

Then, the rig hit a bump, and the moment was gone. His best friend lay there, bloody and bruised, eyes blinking in that barely conscious sort of way.

Had Danny actually spoken?

Steve couldn't be sure of anything except he was losing his grip. Up was down, left right and Catherine had attacked his ohana. For what? He could think of no reasonable explanation. She could have asked for help. There was always a way.

Anger was getting him nowhere. It was bad enough she'd screwed with his mind. His body was showing signs of breaking down. His head ached, and he was having trouble clearing his vision. Anything less than 100% was not acceptable. Danny and his kids needed him to be fully present. Steve grit his teeth and changed the subject in his head. He'd deal with Catherine Rollins and his own physical needs later.

Putting his attention back on his partner did not help his mood though. All Steve could do was squeeze Danny's shoulder and rub his arm. His best friend was hanging on, but this was taking too long.

The ride was annoyingly stop-and-go, as the driver steered around an earlier accident. Every whoop of the siren made him jump a little and Steve wanted to hop out of the vehicle and scream at people to get out of the way.

He didn't care how many times he was assured that Danny was holding his own. That he was stable. How the fuck did they know? He'd seen men walk away from an IED blast and then drop dead hours later from an unknown bleed.

Danny grabbed his hand and held on.

Steve met his friend's weary gaze again and whispered. "I'm sorry."

Danny's face scrunched as if to ask why.

"I should have known, buddy. I should have -"

They stopped again, and Steve had to brace himself so he didn't topple over, hissing at the sudden change in position.

"We're here!" A voice called and the doors swung open. Light from the ER bay looked like the end of a tunnel, and suddenly Danny was whisked away with Steve doing his best to jog along beside the gurney. Hoping mental telepathy was a thing and his friend could hear how much he cared.

"Stop. Patients only beyond this point." A nurse tried in vain to corral the head of Five-0 until she realized who she was dealing with, and then the sea of staff parted before him. Not out of awe or wonder, but resignation. They knew he wouldn't listen. "Stay out of the way or I'll kick you out!"

Steve didn't bother with pleasantries or witty comebacks. He kept his eyes trained on his objective. Get to the trauma bay where they'd just wheeled his partner. He'd thank everyone and apologize if necessary once this was over.

/././

Lou glanced in the rearview mirror more than a dozen times. He had to keep both hands on the wheel to steady himself. Because right then, he was all kinds of pissed off at the prisoner in the back of his SUV.

Catherine stared back at him, defiant. He expected nothing less. To say he'd never quite accepted her was being nice. She was basically a stranger beyond a few stories and a brief stint where she'd pretended to be back in Steve's life.

And one night over too many shots of bourbon after a particularly tough loss of a favorite football team, Danny'd confessed that he'd given this woman "the talk" about not hurting his main dude. But she'd gone and done it anyway. Leaving right when Steve was going to propose.

A blessing in disguise if Lou'd ever seen one.

Besides Lynn and Ellie, Steve didn't seem to have much luck in the dating game. Which wasn't quite right. Catherine was an old relationship. Something dragged along with Steve from his past. Before creating Five-0 and changing his life. There was a weight to it. Something Lou couldn't quite put his finger on. Almost like she was an obligation. A tie to someone else. Steve had never really committed. Hell, Lou didn't think he'd ever heard the man refer to her as his girlfriend once. So how the hell did he think marrying her was a good idea?

Steve's best relationship was with his partner. Lou smiled at the thought of his two friends. But then he got even more angry. Because Catherine had come between that. She hurt Danny. And his kids. Two things that were unforgivable in Steve's book. Didn't matter her reasons. Steve would be done with her. She had the gall to destroy something so precious as friendship with Steven J. McGarrett. Lou knew he'd never do anything to jeopardize that. Only a fool would.

"If it was up to me," Lou adjusted the mirror so he could see her better. "I'd throw away the key. I don't care why you did this...you never hurt family."

Her nose twitched as she frowned, her glare deepening.

Lou shook his head. "God, you know Steve. He woulda walked through fire to help you. Danny, too. If you'd just come to us first. There had to be some way to let us know you needed help."

"Maybe I didn't need help."

"Well you sure as hell needed something since you came back here. What? Did you download something from our computers? You did, huh? We had something you needed. So you needed help. All you had to do was ask. But no, you stole the intel. Danny found out and stole it back. You got to him before he could tell Steve. Because you knew he wouldn't spill his guts right away. He wouldn't want to break his boy's heart. He had to make sure he was right first. Danny may be a lot of things, but he's a good friend. I had a feeling something was up when you had Steve running through hoops today." He exhaled loudly, jaw tense. "I should have followed my gut and kept closer tabs on you."

"I don't need a sermon from a SWAT has-been."

Lou chuckled. An insult meant he'd gotten to her. He had to admit this made him very happy.

"What, you don't like my rambling? Too bad. Because I have a lot to say. And you're a captive audience. See, I don't trust you. And that makes me a little fidgety. But know this." He turned in his seat as they sat at a notoriously long light. "Me not trusting you also makes me take no shit. I don't know you as well as everyone else. I'm not attached or burdened by feelings. I won't hesitate to kill you. Especially after what you did to Danny's kids. See, we all signed up for this bullshit. Our kids...they're supposed to be off limits. Only the lowest of the low go after them. I've seen dog shit that's better than you."

/././

"We're gonna get you checked out, okay buddy?"

Steve kept his voice low and steady, holding eye contact with his friend. Danny still wasn't quite focused, though he seemed to be rallying. But only for two very important reasons.

"She hurt my babies, Steve." Danny shook as he held on to Steve's shirt. "I'm gonna kill her."

"They're okay, buddy. Breathe. Please. We'll handle Catherine together, alright?"

Tears streamed down Danny's face and when he closed his eyes as he succumbed to the pain, a flood coursed over flushed and still bloody cheeks. Spreading the river of blood and dirt as he sobbed. "My kids."

Steve pulled his partner close trying to be careful but wanting to stop this torment. "They're my kids, too."

He whispered the words into Danny's hair as he looked over his head at the nurse in the doorway.

"Do I need to sedate him?" She asked. The staff was losing their patience, and it was showing.

"No. Not yet." Steve tried so hard not to be rude or pushy as his friend was poked and prodded. He knew they had to do their jobs, but right now, Danny needed to get this out.

"I promise, Danny, as soon as I can, I'll bring the kids to you. Okay?"

He made eye contact again and Danny was holding his breath.

"Hey, breathe, buddy. It's over. You're all okay. Catherine is in custody. Lou's sitting on her. And the flash drive is in good hands. Jerry's been working on it. But most important, your kids are safe. You know I would never lie to you, right?"

Danny nodded and fell against Steve. He seemed more calm, and Steve could feel his heart rate slowing down.

He could be in shock. A voice in his head warned.

Steve looked at the ceiling and steeled himself. He would not flip out. That wasn't something he did. But right about now, he wanted to go ballistic. His head was so screwed up. Anger and worry flooded every receptor in his body. Every time he looked at the damage Catherine had done, he wanted to simultaneously punch something and make everything alright for his best friend. He'd bear the pain, if he could.

The nurse raised her eyebrows. She was waiting. Steve got the hint.

"Danny, buddy, I have to let go, okay? Can you lie back now?"

"Yea, Steve, I'm fine."

Steve chuckled. "That's my line."

"Stealing it." Danny flashed a bloody smile.

"Okay, you do that." Steve squeezed his shoulder. "Now let these nice people take care of you, okay?"

"Yea, sure. I can do that." Danny mumbled.

Steve guided Danny back against the exam table as the staff moved in. "Please, go easy on him."

"We will. It's your turn to sit down. You look like shit, sir. I'd like to check your vitals just to be safe."

Those words flipped a switch. Steve hadn't considered his own state. But he suddenly felt every inch of his body. Catherine was a fighter. He'd taught her a lot of moves. And the shock of everything had barely begun to hit him. He couldn't deal with it. Not until Danny-

Backing away, Steve shook his head. Hoping to dislodge the cobwebs that were clouding his thoughts and blurring his vision. The room expanded and contracted, and he grabbed a cart to steady himself.

"Commander? Are you okay?"

He nodded, swallowing hard.

"Sir, look at me."

Steve turned toward the voice and everything went sideways.