"As many of you probably already know, Danny Williams from Five 0 was shot at point blank range in the head today in the alleyway next to the Rosie's Apartment building in Hotel Street, while trying to apprehend a suspect, Henderson, on suspicion of murder." Holding up his hand to stop the sudden barrage of shouted questions asking about the Five 0 detective's condition, the sergeant waited until silence fell back in the squad room. "From what I have been told, Williams underwent emergency surgery this afternoon and his condition is currently listed as critical but stable and the doctors are optimistic that if there are no complications, he will recover but just how well that recovery will be…" he shrugged, aware that every man in the room knew the type of damage a bullet to the head could do.

Picking up the leaflets of the BOLO notification and photo of the wanted shooter, the sergeant handed the pile to the officer sitting in front of him, to take one and pass the rest along. Watching until each man studied the BOLO, he glanced down at the notes he had made before he looked back up at his men and continued, "Forensics have confirmed that Williams was shot with a Beretta, but the bullet is too damaged to link it to any gun.

Henderson managed to escape after the shooting, but Commander McGarrett believes that there could be two small witnesses who saw the shooting of Detective Williams go down. A witness has reported seeing two boys run out of the alley moments after the shooting, before they were followed out by a man matching Henderson description. She described the boys as being around the ages of seven or eight, one with blond hair, the other dark hair, both were dressed in jeans and tee shirts."

"Damn, that could be any seven or eight-year-old boy in the city," Randy yelled out in frustration before he tilted head towards his partner, "Hell, John's own kid, Sammy, fits that description."

John froze, unable to breath or speak, Randy was right, the description did fit Sammy to a tee and the shooting had happened only three blocks away from his home.

"I know, I know, Kelegain, but McGarrett believes these two boys at best are potential witnesses and at worst, if Henderson knows they witnessed the shooting, they could become his next victims. He wants us to keep our eyes out for any young boys fitting that description in that area. We need to try and find these two boys before Henderson does and find out just what they saw." Returning his attention back to the rest of the officers in the squad room, he ordered, "Henderson should be considered armed and dangerous, he has already cold-bloodedly shot one good officer who was trying to arrest him today and I doubt he would not hesitate shooting another if he is cornered. So, let's try and get him off the streets before he decides to kill anyone else.

Okay, moving on. There has been a spate of complaints about cars being broken into and personal items being taken from them in the …"

John sat froze, unable to breath or speak, as the sarge's voice faded away and his thoughts drifted back to his gun and Sammy. Randy was right, the description did fit Sammy to a tee and the shooting had happened only three blocks away from his home. A knot of fear formed in the pit of his gut as he wondered if Sammy and Tommy had spent the afternoon in the street riding their bikes as Sammy had told his mother or had the two boys slipped away to play with his gun. He needed to talk to Janey and fast. He needed to know where the boys had spent the afternoon.

He jumped when he felt Randy nudge him and was surprised to find that the briefing had finished. Rising from his seat, he grabbed the BOLO sheet and followed his partner out of the door, pausing as they stepped out into the corridor. "I just want to ring home and tell Janey about Danny before she sees it on the news. I'll be out to the car in a couple of minutes."

Randy nodded, aware both John and Jane were friends with Williams, probably closer friends than they were with him. John had been assigned for three months to assist Homicide on a murder case and had worked closely with Williams before Williams had been transferred to Five 0, and the two of them had quickly become close friends, bonding over being fathers, a hate of pineapple on pizza and being haoles from the mainland. Even after Williams joined the elite task force, he still always found some time to hang out with John and Jane. Randy sighed, unable to deny to himself that he was just a little jealous of the friendship between Williams and his partner, after all he was John's partner now. "Just hurry up, will ya, Sarge is already on our case for leaving the station late yesterday."

"I will." John promised as Randy sighed again and nodded before he turned and walked towards the door leading out into the police garage.

Turning towards the wall to give himself a small sense of privacy, John reached into his pocket and began to pull out his cellphone when he heard Sarge call his name. Swallowing hard, he quickly dropped the phone back into his pocket and spun around, expecting to see Sarge's angry glare and receive a tongue lashing about how he should be out on patrol already but instead Sarge hurried across to where he was standing.

"Sarge, I can explain…" John began only to have his explanation silenced in a wave of the sergeant's hand.

"I'm glad I caught you before you went out on patrol, John," his duty sergeant began, placing a hand on John's shoulder as the Sarge steered him back towards the squad room, and away from anyone who could overhear their conversation. "Your partner's objections about the description of the boys in there reminded me that you live about three blocks away from where Williams was shot this afternoon and that your son is about the same age as the boys we are looking for."

John felt his heart stop in fear as he nodded woodenly.

"So, you probably know a few boys in that area who fit the general description, including your own son."

"But, Sarge, as Randy said that description fits a lot of kids…" John began to weakly object.

"I know," the sergeant sighed as he turned and looked at his young officer, "But it's a start, so that's why I want you and your partner going to directly the homes of any boys in that area who you know might fit that description and interviewing them, maybe one of them will admit to being in the alley this afternoon. I know it's a long shot but sometimes long shots like this pay off."

Biting his bottom lip, John nodded, "Okay, Sarge."

Watching his sergeant walk away, John fingered his phone in his pocket before he let his hand fall back down to his side and turned, heading towards the door of the parking garage where his partner was waiting. He swallowed hard as parts of the Sarge's report of Danny's shooting replayed over and over in his mind, "Danny Williams from Five 0 was shot at point blank range in the head today in the alleyway next to Rosie's Apartment building in Hotel Street, his condition is currently listed as critical. A witness has reported seeing two boys run out of the alley moments after the shooting. She described the boys as being around the ages of seven of eight, one with blond hair, the other dark hair, both were dressed in jeans and tee shirts."

He swallowed hard as Randy's voice echoed in his mind. "Damn, that could be any seven or eight-year-old boy in the city, Hell, John's own kid, Sammy, fits that description."

He felt his stomach churn as he stepped through the doors and paused in the shadows of the garage, Randy did not know how right he was, Sammy and Tommy did fit the descriptions, in fact both fitted the descriptions to a tee, and both were wearing tee shirts and jeans. He bit his lip, as he remembered how he had found his gun in the drawer and the knowledge that Sammy had lied straight to his face when asked if he had touched it. John found himself wondering just where Sammy and Tommy had actually played that afternoon.

Janey had told him the Sammy and Tommy had spent the afternoon riding their bikes in the street when he had asked but he knew that Janey often escaped the reality of what had happened to their family in the last few months by watching her soap operas and ignoring the world around her, something he didn't doubt for a second that Sammy would take advantage of.

His stomach churned harder as he found himself wondering just why Danny would have let an armed suspect to get close enough to him to shoot him at point blank range in the head. Danny was one hell of a good cop, there was no way… unless he wasn't shot by the suspect…

'Williams was shot with a Beretta.' Sarge's words screamed in his head, and he tasted the sour taste of hot bile as it rose in the back of his throat.

Hating himself for the horrifying suspicions that were running through his mind, he quickly looked around to make sure he was alone before he unclipped his weapon and took it out of its holster. He shook his head, unable to believe he was really doing this, and admonished himself about how stupid and guilty he was about to feel for even entertaining the horrible suspicions that were running through his mind. Just what sort of a father was he?

He shook his head, praying that he was wrong as he opened the barrel with a shaking hand to check the bullets. He swallowed hard, uncertain if he was going to vomit when he saw one of the bullets was missing. His gun had been recently fired and not by him.

The world around him faded to grey and he lent back against the cold cement wall as he tried to slow his racing heart and control his breathing as he willed himself not to pass out. Closing the barrel, it took him two goes to replace his weapon into his holster, his hand shaking too badly for him to fasten the safety clip. He swallowed hard and ran his hand over his face, his mind racing. What the Hell was he going to do?

Taking a deep breath to help himself to calm down. The Sarge wanted him and Randy to talk to the neighborhood kids, including Sammy, to try and find out if any of them would admit to being in that alley when Danny was shot, something he knew Sammy would never admit to. It gave him the perfect excuse to go home and talk to Janey, he needed to find a way to talk to her alone, they needed to work out what they were going to do, how they were going to protect their son.

Pushing himself away from the solid support of the wall, he took another deep breath and ran his hand over his face before he held his hand and watched it tremble. Taking another deep breath, he walked out of the shadows and headed towards the patrol car.

Impatiently drumming the steering wheel with his fingers, Randy looked into the rear vision mirror for any sign of his partner before he glanced down at his watch. Where the Hell was John? He had promised he would only be a few minutes! Randy sighed loudly, aware that Sarge would have both their heads if they were late out on patrol again. His sigh of impatience changed to one of relief as he saw his partner hurrying towards their patrol car.

"I thought you were only going to be a couple of minutes," he snapped a little more harshly than he had meant to when John opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. Softening his tone, he glanced across at his partner's pale face as John slowly closed the door, "Everything okay, Buddy?" he frowned watching his partner, pausing with his hand on the ignition key as he stared at his partner's pale face, "Or did Janey take the news of Danny's shooting harder than you thought she would? I know that the three of you are friends."

"Yeah, we are, Danny's almost part of the family, but I didn't get the chance to call her." John answered, avoiding any eye contact with his partner, "The Sarge cornered me before I could, he wants us to talk to some of the boys in my neighborhood, try and find out if any of them were in that alley this afternoon when Danny was shot."

"That's a hell of a long shot." Randy frowned as he started the engine and eased the car out of their parking space and drove out of the garage towards the street exit.

"That's what I told him," John answered, turning to stare out of the side window for a minute as they pulled into traffic before he turned back to look at his partner and asked, hesitatingly, "Umm, listen Randy, would you mind if I talk to Janey and tell her what happened and then question Sammy, and his friend Tommy who is staying with us for the week, on my own. I mean, it's just after everything that has happened… I don't want…" he shrugged uncomfortably, looking away.

Randy nodded as he reached over with one hand and lightly squeezed his partner's shoulder, "I understand, Partner, why don't you give me the addresses of some of the other boys and I will go and talk to them while you talk to Janey and Sammy."

"Thanks," John murmured, relieved, as they turned into his street.

H50 H50 H50 H50

"Let's leave him intubated overnight and keep a close eye on his BP and neuro obs," the surgeon ordered as the nurse jotted down his orders onto her pad.

"Are you worried about intracranial pressure?" she asked looking up at her taller medical colleague.

"There's always a risk of increased pressure or an intracranial bleed with giving epinephrine to a patient who has just undergone brain surgery," the surgeon sighed as he continued to write down his new medical orders into the patient's chart, "and with the dosage we had to give him to counteract the anaphylactic shock."

The nurse nodded as she glanced over the surgeon's shoulder as the doors to the ICU opened and the patient's partner entered the unit. Looking back at the surgeon, she tilted her head towards the worried man hurrying towards them, "Commander McGarrett's here."

Quickly scribbling his signature at the end of the new orders, the surgeon closed the chart and handed it to the nurse in a silent dismissal before he turned to face McGarrett who was hurrying towards him.

"Doc, I got here as fast as I could. How is he?" Steve rushed out as he reached the surgeon, his fear and worry evident in his face.

Grabbing the anxious man gently by the elbow, the surgeon nodded towards the small doctor's office as he suggested, "How about we talk in there."

Steve nodded woodenly as the surgeon steered him into the office and closed the door behind them before asking him to take a seat.

Sitting down, Steve swallowed nervously, his heart thumping in his chest, as he tried to read the surgeon's inscrutable face, looking for some clue to Danny's condition as the doctor began to walk around the desk. "Doc?" he forced himself to croak out through his tightening throat, unable to wait any longer. "Danny?"

Clearing his throat noisily as he sat down, the doctor sighed, "Detective Williams has had a major set-back in his recovery, I'm afraid."

"Set back? What sort of set back?" Steve asked anxiously.

"After surgery, we commenced Detective Williams on a course of antibiotics as a preventative measure against any infections," the surgeon paused a heartbeat before he continued, "unfortunately he suffered a severe allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics, so severe that he went into anaphylactic shock."

"Anaphylactic shock?" Steve's face grew white, only too aware that anaphylactic shock is a life-threatening condition caused by a severe allergic reaction.

The doctor nodded, "Unfortunately Detective Williams had a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotic which not only caused hives, but also caused his blood pressure to drop and his throat to swell closed, impeding his breathing. We were able to get a breathing tube down his throat to enable him to breathe before the swelling closed his throat completely." Watching the pale Five 0 leader closely, the surgeon continued quietly, "We are currently reversing the effects of the anaphylactic shock with medication and are monitoring him closely. We have also commenced him a different regime of antibiotics, which he appears to be tolerating well…"

"But?" Steve whispered, sensing the surgeon had not quite finished telling him all the unwelcome news.

"One of the medications we needed to administer to help counteract the anaphylactic shock, Epinephrine – you probably know it better as Adrenaline," Steve nodded as the surgeon continued, "helps to elevate the low blood pressure, sometimes a little too much in patients who have just undergone bran surgery as your partner has."

"And if the adrenaline does cause his blood pressure to rise too much?" Steve asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"It can cause intracranial bleeding," the surgeon answered honestly before quickly reassure the upset man sitting opposite, "but we are monitoring his condition closely and are prepared to deal with any possible complications such as intracranial bleeding that may occur. I also plan to keep him intubated and on oxygen overnight until the danger of the symptoms of the anaphylactic shock has passed to protect his airway."

Steve nodded numbly as he tried to process everything the doctor had just told him about the bad reaction Danny had had to the antibiotic, swallowing hard to dislodge the lump that had formed in his throat as he managed to whisper, "Can I see him?"

The surgeon nodded as he rose out of his seat, "Of course, but only for a couple of minutes. He is still unconscious, and the nurses are monitoring him closely."

"Thanks, Doc," Steve murmured as he rose from his seat and followed the surgeon from the small office.

H50 H50 H50 H50

Stepping up to the side of the bed in the small ICU room, Steve felt the breath rush from his lungs, leaving him breathless, as he found himself staring at his partner in the bed. Danny's head was swathed in heavy white bandages, which only accentuated the dark bruises that marred the left side of his swollen face, an oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose, and beneath the mask he could just see part of the black tube the surgeon had explained had been placed in Danny's throat to protect his airway. Three IV bags hung above the bed, two IV lines connected to two of the bags' snaked down and disappear beneath the white dressing at the junction of Danny's neck and shoulder, while the tubing of bag, which contained blood, disappeared beneath the small dressing on the back of Danny's right hand.

More disturbing were the raised, red blotches, Steve instantly recognized as hives, which covered Danny's face, neck, chest, and arms. Steve was certain that more of the same angry looking blotches probably covered the rest of Danny's body that was covered by the crisp white sheet that covered him. The only sounds in the room were the soft, fast beeps of the heart monitor that sat on the table next to the bed and the strange wheezing sound that accompanied each breath Danny took.

"He is responding to the medication that we gave him to treat the allergic re-action and his condition is stabilizing," the surgeon reiterated quietly from the foot of the bed, seeing the shocked expression on Steve's face as stared down at his partner.

Steve nodded, swallowing hard as he continued to stare down at Danny, not quite trusting his voice yet to speak as he blinked back a tear.

Glancing down at his patient before he looked back up at his patient's upset partner, the surgeon's tone softened as he added, "But the hives after such a severe reaction often take a few hours or even a day or two to settle down and disappear."

Steve nodded again as he hesitatingly reached across to place his hand lightly on Danny's bare arm. Even though he knew that Danny was unconscious, he hoped that somehow Danny would know that he was here and that he was not alone as he gave the warm skin beneath his hand a gentle squeeze and whispered. "I'm here, Buddy, you're in the hospital. Doc said you've had a little set back with some of your medication but you're going to be okay, Danny, you're going to be okay... You hear me, babe, you're going to be okay…"

"Steve."

Steve turned back towards the door as Chin hurried into the room.

"The nurse told me you were in here with Danny," Chin began softly, releasing a small, shocked gasp as he reached the side of the bed before he asked worriedly, "How's he doing?"

"He had a bad reaction to some of the medication, but his condition is stabilizing," Steve answered, watching Danny for a heartbeat more, before he turned to face Chin. "What have you got?"

Chin stared at Danny's bruised and swollen face for a moment before he returned his attention back to Steve, "The name of the young woman in the photo you gave me and an address. I thought that you would like to join me when I pay her a visit tonight."

"You bet I would," Steve answered immediately as he turned and hurried towards the door. Reaching the door, he paused and turned back to the surgeon, "If there's any change in his condition…"

"I will contact you immediately," the surgeon replied.

"Thanks, Doc," Steve nodded as he turned and followed Chin from the room and out of the unit.

Waiting until they were alone in the elevator and the elevator doors slid shut, Chin began his quick version of a report as the elevator jerked and began its descent to the lobby. "Her name is Jennifer Rankin, Steve, she has an apartment on Nuuanu Avenue and works as a clerk down at City Hall. She was one of Henderson's girlfriend. And from the little I have been able to find out, they were together for just a few months, but their relationship was quite rocky one, and after several stints in the hospital for Jennifer after their arguments turned violent, the two of them split up just over a year ago." Chin fell quiet as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped into the hospital lobby and headed towards the main doors before he added softly, "Hotel's not that far from Nuuanu, Steve."

Steve nodded as he pushed the door opened and they walked across to the car park, "Well, let's pay her a visit and find out if she has had any visitors earlier this afternoon or tonight, or find out if she has heard from him at all today."