It had been a great morning. Steve had forced Danny and Grace to meet him at his favourite surfing cove on the North Shore around 6.30am so that they could enjoy some uninterrupted wave time before the weekend tourist crowd arrived. They had spent about 2 hours in the water, taking turns to surf some of the smaller breakers and taking Grace on their boards for a ride into shore. By 8.30 the beach was filling with families and the waves were getting crowded with mainlanders eagerly clamouring over each other. Pretending they knew what they were doing with their awkward soft rental boards. Steve wasn't going to risk Grace's safety if any of these bankers or dentists lost control of their boards and smacked into them. He had seen some pretty nasty accidents happen that way. Steve swooped grace up onto his nice long Malibu and surfed a final long wave in to the shore. Grace giggled and showed off, performing a hang 10 on the big sturdy board, her arms outstretch for balance. She turned to look at Steve, pure happiness across her face. Danny followed them in, albeit not quite as gracefully, but grinning all the same. It was so good to see his little Monkey so happy.

The three strode across the warm sand, passing families in their sun tents and groups of girls all lying around tanning. Danny instinctively ran his hands through his hair, smoothing it back into its normal style. Steve looked over at his preening and just laughed. "Don't worry Danno you look super hot". Danny pretend he wasn't listening, the girls looked up from their magazines smiling at the two shirtless men, and whispering between each other.

They headed for a little picnic table between the car park and the start of the beach. It was quiet, and shaded. The perfect spot to enjoy some breakfast after an active morning in the water. Steve stowed the boards in his truck and Danny grabbed some towels out of the boot of his car, wrapping Grace in her Pink Roxy towel.

"Looks like you are going to need more than one towel to dry off that man pelt of yours Danny" Steve joked.

"Oh, real funny babe, its called manliness, we don't all feel the need to shave our pretty chests" Danny retorted, rubbing his chest hair dry with his beach towel.

"For your information I don't shave" Steve spread his arms wide, flexing his upper body, "it is not my fault I was just born streamline". Grace giggled at her father and his best friend teasing each other.

"Anyway" Steve stated, slipping on his sunglasses, "I am going to get us, some breakfast. Let me see" he paused "three loco mocos, two coffees and a berry smoothie?".

" Sounds good to me" Danny replied. Grace nodded excitedly.

Steve grabbed his walled from the front seat of his truck and headed for the little beach side cafe across the road.

Steve had stepped off the curb and was almost half way across the road to the cafe, when he heard the sound of an engine roaring. An old Toyota Corolla came flying around the entrance to the beach cove. Steve instinctually turned towards it. He was about to leap away, his leg muscles crouching for the spring, when the car made impact. All Steve felt was an incredible force lifting him up and over the car, then the impact of his head and back onto the road. There was a crack and he felt his body bounce against the hard road. Everything went black as he lost consciousness.

It had happened in the blink of an eye. The car drove off and Steve was left, lying motionless, face down, crumpled on the small beach road.

Danny had turned back to look at Grace who was tying a turban with her towel. He heard the car too. Turning swiftly he watched as the white car made impact with Steve's long legs. He was tossed up onto the bonnet and then over the back of the vehicle, his body colliding hard road with a crunch that could only mean broken bones. Grace screamed. Danny instantly jumped up, his legs carrying him at incredible speeds to his partners body. He looked up, searching for the Corolla, but it was gone. Other people came rushing over, crowding around Steve's body.

"Someone call an Ambulance!" Danny yelled, "tell them a 5-0 officer has been injured". He could almost not bare to check, but delicately he placed two finger on his friend's neck. Thank-god there was a pulse, it was weak, but Steve was alive. He bent down, placing his cheek next to Steve's his face, most of it was down against the ground, only a quarter visible. Danny placed his cheek next to the sliver of Steve's mouth, feeling for breath. He could feel none.

Danny looked up, eyes wide with panic, there was an elderly woman peering over him.

"Please, can you help me, take my daughter into the cafe. She is the one at the table there, I can't have her seeing this". The lady nodded, she calmly walked over the table the get Grace who was staring at what had just happened, shocked.

"No one move him! No one touch him!" Danny screamed at the crowd. "Where is the ambulance!"

Almost as he spoke, two ambulances came screaming up to the scene. The crowd moved away letting the EMTs through.

"He is not breathing! He was hit by a car at high speed, he landed on his head and back" Danny was on the verge of tears.

One EMT gently slipped in front of Danny, also feeling for a breath. "He needs air!" she screamed. The second paramedic ran in with a oxygen bag and breathing tube, placing it into the SEAL's open mouth and down his throat. She then began manually squeezing the bag, forcing air into Steve's lungs. The final two with a red plastic back board and long neck brace. Together they managed to quickly clip on the brace and then roll him carefully and slowly onto one side, slipping the back brace underneath and positioning him onto it, locking him into place with straps over his legs, chest, arms, chin and forehead.

Grace must have seen what was going on outside. Breaking free of the older woman she came running out of the cafe and into her father's arms, tears streaming down her face, and hiccuping, as her body tried to breath through the sobs. Danny picked her up, pulling her into a tight embrace, then ran towards the ambulance.

Danny climbed into the ambulance with Grace still in his arms. Sitting over Steve's body while the female EMT continued to feed him oxygen.

Only as the ambulance restarted, and ran its sirens did Danny really take stock of where he was or what was happening. His heart was pounding out of his chest and he could smell a mix of his own adrenaline and the coppery smell of Steve's blood. He looked down at his best friend, locked in a neck collar and back board, being fed oxygen, his vital sign low and erratic. All he could so was hold his sobbing daughter closer and pray as the ambulance hurtled towards the hospital.