I'm really glad you enjoyed the last chapter and thanks a lot for all your amazing reviews. It was one of the most fun to write, along with this one. I hope you'll like it too.

Danny's heart shattered into thousand pieces a suddenly, the world stopped spinning. He didn't notice his friends and HPD officers swarming around him when he breathed air into Steve's lungs again, watched his chest rise and fall, and started pumping his heart in a desperate attempt to bring his best friend back to life.

It was impossible to miss the bloodied bandage on Steve's upper arm that certainly hadn't been there when Danny had last seen him. But there was no time to dwell on that.

"Come on, buddy," he pleaded.

A voice penetrated his skull, but he didn't register the words nor the presence of another person by his side until a hand touched his shoulder lightly.

Chin. His silent look saying the words that didn't have to be voiced.

Let me help.

So he did. He counted thirty and then shuffled over higher up, tilted Steve's head back, pinched his nose, and blew two more rescue breaths into his mouth. He let Chin take over the chest compressions while he cradled Steve's head in his hands, the panic rising every second.

"EMS is on the way," he heard Quinn say.

Then another important question popped up on his mind. "How's Maddie?" he asked while Chin worked on Steve's heart. "Did you get her?"

"She's fine," Lou confirmed. "The poor thing is scared and shaken, but she is okay. Tani is with her right now and her grandmother is on the way."

Good. That was good. Knowing the kid was safe would allow him to focus on his best friend.

Another two breaths. Still no sign of life.

Danny could feel the burn in his eyes. He brushed his fingers gently across Steve's cold cheek. "You can do this, Steve. Please come back to me," he whispered.

Soon after, he spotted Junior back on board, shouting instructions at their bystanding friends. All of them began to search the boat.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"We're on a boat," Junior stated the obvious. "There must be an oxygen kit somewhere in here."

Right. His terrified brain didn't even think of that.

Two breaths again. Then back to watching Chin, who seemed out of breath but worked on his former leader with determination. But it didn't work.

"Where's that damn bus?!" Danny blurted out.

"ETA ten minutes," Quinn said.

Danny's heart seized. Steve didn't have ten minutes.

"Make some space," Junior demanded as he rushed in and dropped on the floor, holding a large, dark-green suitcase.

The younger man opened it up and revealed the green tank with O2 written on the label. Danny watched Junior assemble the kit with skilled practice. This was obviously not the first time the ex-SEAL did this.

Within seconds, Junior had the mask attached to some a valve with a red button on it, and by the time Chin counted thirty, the kit was ready to be used.

He placed it over Steve's face. "Keep his airways open and hold the mask in place," he told to Danny. "Make sure there are no leaks."

Danny did as told.

This time, instead of futile rescue breaths, Junior pushed the button on a valve for about a second, delivering pure oxygen into Steve's lungs. Did it again. And Chin started working on his part again.

But Steve remained stubbornly still and Danny could no longer hold the tears that started running freely down his cheeks.

"Come on, don't you dare to give up." He could hear his voice crack. "You hear me? Don't you dare."

He could see his hands tremble as he held the mask over Steve's face while Junior and Chin tried again.

Nothing.

"You don't get to do this, Steven. You don't get to die!" he said, raising his voice.

Still no reaction.

"You're a SEAL, damn it! You can't drown!"

Yet, he knew even though a part of the government's elite, Steve was still human. And it was incomprehensible to entertain a thought that this time he might really be gone.

Two doses of oxygen. Chin starting over, refusing to give up.

Danny barely noticed Lou's silent tears through his own. Barely noticed the scared looks on his friends' faces. Barely noticed the compassionate glances of the HPD officers, who obviously believed there was nothing more there could be done.

"P-please."

It's been too long.

Complete desperation gripped Danny as he glanced back down on his best friend's body. "Breathe, you stubborn son of a bitch!" he yelled, starting to believe what everybody else seemed to think. That Steve was beyond saving. And as the belief crept into his mind, a deep ache settled in his chest.

But then, he felt the slightest twitch under his hands and Chin must've felt it too, because he stopped moving straight away. Junior's fingers were on Steve's carotid artery in an instant.

"He's got the pulse," he confirmed with a relieved breath. "We got him."

Danny's heart was suddenly singing with joy. It wasn't over, not by far, but now Steve at least had a fighting chance.

Sure enough, Steve coughed up a splutter of water and bile and Danny barely managed to get the mask off his face on time.

"Let's move him to the side," the young man said. "On three."

Ever so gently, Danny followed the movement with his friend's head. Watched Steve throw up and grimace in pain. Yet, it was the most beautiful thing he'd seen.

"That's it, buddy," he said, rubbing gentle circles on the back of Steve's neck.

Another fit of cough and a weak groan afterward was the only answer.

"I know," Danny said. "It's okay, you're gonna be alright."

Steve's eyes opened up to two thin slits. He groaned again, this time a little more desperate.

"Put the mask back," Junior instructed. "No need to push the button anymore. It's a demand valve so when he breathes, he'll breathe the oxygen."

Danny did, despite his partner's feeble objections. Steve tried to squirm away, but it was way too easy for Danny to shut his weak attempts. "No, no. Stop, buddy," he said in an assuring voice. "It'll help you, okay?"

After a few more moments of struggle and more assuring whispers, Steve gave in. Closed his eyes again.

For a moment, Danny thought he'd slipped away again, but the movement of Steve's chest, albeit irregular, calmed him down a little. But with water in his lungs, Steve still needed immediate medical attention.

Danny tried to calm his frantic heartbeat, not letting his eyes off Steve to make sure he was still breathing. Steve was still for a few moments, but he didn't give up that easily, and just seconds later, he fluttered his eyes open again and began to sit up with a groan.

"What are you doing?" Danny said, gently pushing Steve back down together with Chin and Junior.

"Stay down, brah," Chin backed Danny up.

Steve's unfocused eyes shut close again and Danny could feel his body stop resisting once again.

He wiped off his tears with the back of his hand and turned to see the ambulance approaching finally. "You're gonna be alright," he whispered again, this time more for his own reassurance rather than Steve's. "I got you. You'll be okay."

It was hard to count how many times he'd seen Steve like this. Still, wrapped up in a hospital bed with a tube stuffed down his throat, his skin a canvas of fresh and old cuts and bruises, the heart rate monitor beeping away at a steady pace. But it hadn't gotten any easier to watch.

If anything, each time Steve ended up in a hospital, Danny feared that maybe this was the time the crazy ninja SEAL's luck run out and it could be the last time.

And this time it got damn near.

Just a little over half a year ago Danny had finally gotten Steve back after ten excruciating months of thinking his friend was dead. Half a year… and tonight he had died again. For about five minutes. But it could as well be an eternity for Danny, who knew that he couldn't go through losing his best friend again.

He scooted the chair closed to Steve's bed and placed his hand over Steve's to ground himself.

It was warm. Steve's chest was moving. His heart was beating again. But Danny had to make sure every once in a while to remain sane while waiting for him to wake up.

A gentle knock on the door echoed through the ICU room, and Danny lifted his gaze to see Kono coming in. She was wearing a sad smile on her face, and worry was written all over it as her eyes landed on Steve.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

Danny straightened himself up in the chair with a sigh. He wanted to reply 'he's fine'so badly it hurt, but with numerous injuries on top of the near-drowning experience, Steve was far from fine. "Hanging in there," he said instead. "He's not great. The doc said we have to wait to see if there's been any neurological damage. But he's fighting."

Kono nodded in acknowledgment and strolled to Steve's bedside to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. "You better get well soon, boss," she whispered. "I didn't fly all this way to see you like this."

Hoping Steve would take Kono's advice to heart, Danny remained silent.

"What about you?" Kono turned to him.

"What what about me? I'm not the one who nearly died."

She gave him a 'you know what I'm talking about'look. "You okay?"

He huffed out a shaky breath. No, he wasn't. His best friend had been a target of some world-class scumbags once again and it nearly cost him his life. It took him a few moments to reply. "I hesitated, you know?"

Kono squinted her eyes in confusion.

"I saw he was struggling. In the water," Danny explained. "But I didn't think it was that bad. You know, I thought he'd be fine and I saw Hoffman running away and… hesitated. Just for a few seconds, but I did. And then Steve was gone."

She placed a hand on his back in a soothing manner. "Don't do this, Danny. You know none of this is your fault, right?"

His brain did know. But he couldn't help but feel at least partially responsible.

"He'll be alright," Kono assured him. She definitely sounded more confident about it than he felt.

"Yeah."

She smiled at him and Danny realized how he'd missed that smile. How he'd missed her. Her and Chin, both.

"I just checked on Maddie," she said. "They want to keep her here for observation but so far everything seems okay and she's full of energy already. She'll be released tomorrow if there are no symptoms."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah, she's a cute young lady for sure. Very brave."

Like her parents, Danny thought.

"Alright, I'll leave you two alone. Let me know if you need anything," she said and headed to the door.

"Kono?"

She stopped and turned around.

"Thank you for coming. It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too," she said. "I missed you guys. It's nice to be back home."

"Maybe you could stay."

"Maybe."

And with that she walked away, leaving Danny alone with his sleeping friend.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Hey." Steve propelled himself up a little higher up in the bed. "Not so good."

Danny appreciated Steve's honesty. It's been over twenty hours since his friend had first woken up, but this time there was clarity in his eyes that hadn't been there before. He was thankful for that. Even more thankful for the words the doctor had said just hours ago.

'I believe that Commander McGarrett will make a full recovery.'

Steve got lucky. Again. Sure, with a concussion, fractured ribs, a gunshot wound, and several other injuries, the SEAL didn't consider himself very lucky, but knowing how much worse it could get, Danny couldn't be happier.

"How's your head?" he asked.

"Hurts," Steve said. "But better than before, I think."

Danny offered him a smile.

Steve's eyes landed on the paper cups in Danny's hands. "What's that? Please tell me it's coffee."

"Sorry, no coffee for you just yet." Danny walked over and put one of the cups on the bedside table. "Hot chocolate will have to do."

Steve frowned at that. "I can't wait to get out of here," he said.

"That's not happening for the next couple of days."

"Can't you talk to the doc or something? Get me out of here?"

Danny shook his head in disbelief. "Steve, you were clinically dead, you do realize that, right?"

Steve's eyes stabbed into Danny's. His mouth opened as he was about to say something, but then he changed his mind and remained quiet.

Lowering into the chair by Steve's side, Danny scanned through his friend's grim expression. "So, no, I'm not getting you out of here until the doc says it's safe to do so," he said.

"I'm sorry," Steve said, lowering his eyes.

"What? For being a pain in the ass when it comes to a hospital stay? I kinda got used to that over the years, you know?"

"Not that."

Danny's smile faltered when seeing Steve's serious face.

"I know it must've been difficult for you," Steve said. "With Billy…"

"Don't." Danny stopped him. "Don't make this about Billy."

The truth was, that even though Danny had lost his best friend to drowning as a kid, not once that crossed his mind when fighting to bring Steve back to the world of the living. All he'd been thinking was that he was about to lose Steve.

"Yeah, it was difficult, but not because of him, okay? I thought I lost you again and for good this time," he admitted.

"Sorry," Steve repeated.

"You wanna apologize, do that by not doing this to me ever again, okay?"

"I'll try."

Danny scoffed at that. "He'll try. That's just great."

Steve's lips curled into a weak smile.

"I've talked to the Governor this morning," Danny said, decided Steve was now able to handle more information than the basics he'd given him earlier.

"I guess it went well, as I'm still not cuffed to the bed."

"Yeah, kind of."

"What does that mean?"

"The charges against you have been dropped," Danny started with the good news. "Jerry was able to retrieve the data from the phone. So we got the whole recording and together with the witness testimonies we've got enough to prove you've been set up. Odell wants me to tell you he'd never been happier to lose a chance to defend a client."

"I owe him," Steve said.

"We all do. He was the only one who managed to get to see you." Danny paused, hoping Steve would pick up where he was going with this, but when his friend remained silent, he continued. "That brings me to one more thing. I want the names."

Steve scrunched his brows in confusion. "What names?"

"The guards."

That got Steve's attention again.

"I'm not letting them get away with what they've done to you. And neither is anyone on this team."

"Danny…"

"No, stop right here. I have a list of all of them and you're gonna tell me which ones had their fingers in this. Period. Nothing to discuss here."

Steve nodded reluctantly. "Okay. What about Hoffman and Roederer?"

"We've got enough on Roederer to put him into a max security prison for the rest of his life," Danny said. "And Hoffman's career is over. Some of his colleagues questioned his recent actions and started to poke around. He's under investigation but it doesn't look good for him. He's looking for some prison time as well."

He let Steve process the information for a few moments. Shuffling his position, he couldn't decide whether or not to tell him the rest. Maybe he should wait a few days. No need to worry him while in a hospital. The man had been through enough.

"What else?" Steve asked out of the blue.

"Hm?" Danny lifted his head.

"The appointment with the Governor. What else?"

"We got her apology. But she's still pissed, obviously," Danny said. "She doesn't approve the way the things had been handled by Five-0, even though it turned out to be justified."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Steve confirmed. "So the team's good?"

Danny hesitated. "If you're asking whether Five-0 still exists, the answer is yes. But I've been told that the team will be under observation for quite some time and the slightest sign of crossing a line wouldn't go unpunished."

"Fair enough."

Right. Considering the circumstances, they were all lucky not to be in prison themselves.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"Nothing," Danny lied. "Why would anything be wrong?"

"I know you, buddy. I can see something's bothering you. So what are you not telling me?"

"It's nothing, okay? Why don't you rest now? I'll be back later."

"Danny…"

"Really, Steve, it doesn't matter now. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Tell me!"

Steve's raised voice carried over the room and Danny thought about it again. Sooner or later, he'd have to tell him. And knowing his friend, Steve would make his life miserable until he spilled.

"Fine," he said eventually. "There was a condition so the team could go back to operating."

"What condition?"

"My resignation."

*to be continued*

Feel free to share your thoughts with me. They are greatly appreciated.

One more chapter to go. Maybe one plus a short epilogue (we'll see).