Thank you all for your patience! Life's been pretty hectic recently, with moving to another country and a change of lifestyle from a scratch, so it's very difficult to find the time and energy necessary to write. But here it is, the final chapter!

At first, Steve wasn't sure what had woken him up. He opened his eyes and let them adjust to the darkness eloping him. It didn't take long to recognize the familiar shapes of his bedroom. It was quiet apart from the sound of his breath and the waves gently washing on the beach outside.

But when he burrowed his head deeper into the pillow and closed his eyes again so he could return to his dreamless sleep, the muffled voice he'd recognize anywhere and anytime startled him back to full alertness.

Danny.

He sat up way faster than his healing body considered normal and regretted it immediately. The rush of nausea took him by surprise and the stabbing pain spread through his chest like fire, and every muscle and bone in his body screamed in protest. But Danny's voice came again, and it sounded distressed enough for Steve to push his aches aside and get out of the bed.

As fast as possible, he shuffled to the guest room where his partner lay. Soft whimpers coming from behind the door were his excuse for barging in the room without the courtesy of knocking.

The blonde detective's eyes were closed, but he writhed in the bed, mumbling incoherently. It was obvious that he was trapped in a nightmare, but he seemed okay. He was all right, Steve reassured himself, and he could already feel his heart rate slowing down with relief.

The past two weeks had been hard on them both. The crash that had nearly cost him his life had been just the beginning, as it turned out. His best friend's abduction and then finding Danny motionless in a pool of blood scared the hell out of him, and he hadn't left his side ever since. Not for longer than a few moments at least.

It's been four days since Steve was finally released from the hospital, yet he spent them with Danny in the very same room he'd been itching to get out of. Tonight was Danny's first night back, and to his partner's great frustration, Steve forced him to stay in his house at least for a couple of days. And watching his best friend struggling in his sleep, he was glad that Danny had relented and agreed eventually.

"Danny?" Steve whispered.

"Nnn..." Danny mumbled as his chest rose and fell in intervals too short for Steve's liking.

He inched closer and didn't miss the sheen of sweat on Danny's pale skin as his friend shook his head again. He leaned over, his hand lightly brushing Danny's arm.

"Wake up, buddy," he said. "You're all right."

It took a few long moments for Danny to come around, gasping for air. The panic reflected in those wide blue eyes broke Steve's heart. "S-Steve?"

"Yeah, you all right?"

Danny sat up carefully and glanced around the room, quickly assessing the situation before meeting Steve's eyes again. "Yeah," he said. "Just a bad dream, that's all."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Danny hesitated, but shook his head, still trying hard to regain composure. "I'm good. Sorry to wake you up. You can go now."

Steve could only guess what was going on in Danny's head, but if the nightmares plaguing his sleep were anything like his own, he could understand. He himself had a hard time sleeping these past few nights, as terrible dreams of being too late and losing his best friend always kept coming to the surface.

"What about you?"

"Huh?" Steve snapped from his thoughts. "What about me?"

"I can see the wheels spinning in your head," Danny said, eyeing him up and down. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." It wasn't even a lie. He might be a little shaken by being close to losing his partner, and his own life as well, but they were both here, together and alive and he couldn't have asked for more. "Everything's fine now."

Danny nodded. "Then go back to sleep, I'm good."

Steve didn't think he would be able to fall asleep again, though. "Yeah," he said anyway. "You try to get some more sleep too. I've got a surprise for you when you wake up so better rest."

"A surprise?" Danny didn't hide his interest. "Well, I'm awake now, ain't I?"

Steve grinned at Danny's impatience. "It's not ready yet."

"Not ready? What is it?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you." Steve went for the door.

"Then why did you even start if you don't want to tell me?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "You'll see in a couple of hours."

"Wait. Is it–?

"Sleep, Danno."

He closed the door and left with a grin, not paying attention to Danny's protests. It was almost four in the morning. No point in going back to bed. He had things to take care of, after all.

"Ready?"

Danny wished he shared Steve's excitement. But as he stood there in the living room, his body aching and exhausted from the effort of moving around too much, he could only think about settling on the couch and enjoying his coffee in peace for the first time in two weeks.

But it wasn't happening, if the spark in Steve's eyes was something to go by. Apparently, the goof had better ideas, and Danny wasn't sure what to expect. Steve stood by the doorway, his hand on a handle, staring at Danny and expecting an answer.

"I don't feel like going out today, Steve," he said. "I just got back from the hospital and I'm not even allowed to go back to my own home because my best friend is a complete control freak. So if you don't mind, at least I want to get my rest and you should do the same."

Steve's smile didn't falter, though. "We don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to. But I have to show you something."

"Fine." Danny walked up to the door.

"Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes," Steve repeated.

"Steve, pl–"

"Come on, buddy, just do it." Steve held his gaze for a couple of long seconds, waiting.

With a heavy sigh, Danny closed his eyes. He could hear the door opening, and then he felt Steve's hands on his shoulders, guiding him outside.

"No peeking."

He couldn't help a smile that formed on his lips. "You're an overgrown child, you know that?"

They stopped walking, and Steve let go of his shoulders. "Go ahead," he said.

Danny opened his eyes and it took a second to adjust them to the bright Hawaiian sun. But when his confused brain finally realized what he was looking at, his jaw dropped.

Impossible.

That was the first thought that popped into his mind when his sight landed on the shiny black color of the sports car on the driveway. Not just any sports car. The fifth generation of Chevrolet Camaro. His car. But his car was beyond repair, he knew that much for sure. The images of destroyed metal keeping his dying friend trapped inside were still vivid in his mind. No, it couldn't be his car, even though it looked the same. He stared at the sun bouncing off the car speechlessly for a few long seconds, not sure what this was about.

"Danno?"

He half-turned to Steve's voice and barely managed to catch something he had thrown at him. Still confused, he looked down at the key fob in his palm. "What is this?"

"A car, as far as I can tell," Steve said with a satisfied smirk. "Your car."

Danny shook his head. "No. My car's totaled."

"That's why I got you a new one."

"You… what?" Danny glared at him in disbelief. "You got me a new car?"

Steve's goofy smile only widened. "I did, yes."

Danny, however, didn't share his friend's excitement. "Why would you do it?"

Steve pulled his brows together in a confused grimace. "What do you mean why? I crashed it and you needed a new one. Or would you prefer chasing criminals on a bicycle?"

A pang of guilt gnawed at Danny once again with the thought of the crash that nearly cost him his best friend's life. The crash was entirely his fault and his friend definitely didn't owe him anything. "Steve–"

But his friend didn't listen. "Come on, let's take it for a ride," Steve said and started to make his way to the passenger's side. "We can get breakfast on the way. You drive this time, but don't get used to it."

"No."

Steve stopped in his tracks, staring at Danny over the roof of the car. "You don't like it?"

"You kidding? I love it," Danny said.

"Then what's the problem?"

"What's the problem? Are you serious now?" Danny's voice raised, frustration coming up to the surface. "The problem is that you nearly got killed because of me, all right?"

"That's not—"

"Yes, it is! You never should have been in that car in the first place. It was supposed to be me. Kingsley wanted me out of his way, not you. I nearly got you killed and you get me a car for it?"

"Danny, we talked about this already. It's none of your fault." Steve walked around the car to approach him, his expression now serious.

Sure, they talked about what had happened in the past couple of days. But never once did Danny agree that he wasn't the one to be blamed.

"You hear me? It wasn't your fault," Steve repeated, now standing right in front of him.

Danny shook his head. He knew better than that.

"Hey." Steve grabbed his shoulder and waited for Danny to meet his gaze. "I mean it. You couldn't have known it would happen."

"But what if you died?" Danny heard his voice breaking. "What if–?"

"I didn't," Steve said. "And neither did you. We're good. Let's be grateful for that and move on, okay?"

Danny sucked in a deep calming breath. How could he move on if Steve's still and bloodied body plagued his mind day and night? Why couldn't Steve understand that he was at least partially responsible for what had happened?

"Danny? You okay?"

"I never make it on time," Danny blurted out faster than intended. "In my dreams, I mean. I'm always too late and… and you–"

Steve pulled him into a tight embrace, resting his head on top of Danny's. He didn't resist. "I know," Steve said. "I know. I almost lost you too, remember?"

Did Steve just confess to having the same nightmares as well? After all, according to Kono and Chin, Steve had found him half-dead and chained up like an animal in the psycho's hideaway house. That was something he didn't have a chance to discuss with his crazy partner just yet. The discussion was due, though, as there was no way he'd ignore Steve's grand escape from a hospital and endangering himself and the team for him.

"About that," he said as he pulled away from the hug, "I think you still owe me an explanation of what had happened."

Rolling his eyes, Steve let out a sigh. "They told you."

"Of course they did. What were you even thinking?"

Steve didn't reply. Instead, he turned and walked back towards the car.

"Hey, don't walk away just like that. I'm not letting you off-hook that easy," Danny called out.

Steve opened the passenger's door. "Get in," he said. "We can talk about this on the way. I'm hungry."

Danny nearly forgot about the keys in his hand. He looked at the car once again, then his gaze shifted back to Steve.

"What are you waiting for?" Steve asked. "Don't you want to take it for a ride?"

Still in denial, Danny shook his head. "I can't accept this, Steve. I don't deserve this."

"You deserve this and so much more, buddy. It's the least I could do for you," Steve said. "Now, come on."

"I shouldn't be driving yet," Danny protested. "The doctor said th–"

"You want me to drive?" Steve didn't let him finish.

Danny scanned his partner. The way he carried himself, trying to mask the pain he must've still been in. The cast on his broken arm. Knowing all well that there were more healing injuries beneath his clothing, he shook his head. "No," he said. "You shouldn't do that either."

It wouldn't be Steve if he gave a damn about any doctor's orders. "Then get in," he said.

But Danny stood still. "How could you even afford it? It's not exactly a cheap car."

Steve's lips curled into a grin. "Maybe I had a little help."

"Help? From who?"

Steve ignored the question. "Let's go. You drive, I choose the place."

"Not until you tell me how you paid for it," Danny stood his ground.

"The governor helped with that, okay? I talked to her about all this and we agreed that Five-0 needs a fast car for work. Happy?"

"So it's the taskforce's car," Danny said.

"Technically, yes," Steve confirmed. "But it's yours. Now, get in," he said and carefully climbed inside the car.

For a few more seconds, Danny stared at the car. He couldn't believe Steve did this for him.

"You coming or what?" Steve's voice came from the inside.

He couldn't say no. And if he was completely honest with himself, he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to drive this shiny new beauty. So he relented, got behind the wheel, and started the engine.

Once more he met Steve's gaze. It was a look saying hundreds of words, but mostly expressing how glad he was to still have him by his side. Steve smiled at him, the look in his eyes revealing that he felt the same.

Steve was right. They were both alive and together. And even despite the crazy events of the past two weeks, that was the only thing that mattered. With that in mind, he put the car into gear and drove off.

*the end*

I hope the ending is at least satisfactory. It seems a little rushed to me, but this needed to be finished and right now I really don't have time to spend days writing even though I'd love to do that.

Thank you all for being patient and for staying with me on this journey. Every single one of your comments and messages is very appreciated and your support helped me move the story forward.

Special thanks to SteveFan81 for going the extra mile and not only answering my medical questions but also helping me explore the ideas for the story and editing the mistakes I've made (English isn't my first language so there's always something to correct.)

See you in the next one ;)