A/N There you go, chapter nine! Alright, just so you know, a song sort of inspired me to write this chapter. I was listening to it the other day and there's a part of one of the verses that got to me and made me think of this story for some reason. The song is 'Stupid Love' by Lady Gaga. Here are the verses:

Is it too late?

Or could this love protect me from the pain

I would battle for you, even if I break in two

I just imagined that this chapter can relate to these verses, Steve protects Danny which makes him feel safe and therefore eases the pain, and Steve would "battle for Danny" even if he has to break in two (and we saw that in the chapter where he confronts Stan). That's what these lines made me think, it just fit the story for me for some reason.

A/N The part in italic is Steve's thoughts.

A/N Anyways, thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews and the likes/follows/favorites, means a lot!

CHAPTER NINE

Steve's eyes met Danny's eyes. Steve noticed that Danny was still in pain, he could see it in his eyes, not only his face. Steve could swear that he was the happiest man on the planet right this second, he's been waiting for Danny to wake up ever since that accident happened, and he finally did. But, he looked extremely tired and he wasn't up for a whole conversation, and Steve knew it. But he'd have to talk to him and see how he's really doing.

"St've?" mumbled Danny. His voice was hoarse and low, he was exhausted and in pain.

Steve looked at him with a smile on his face. He was happy that Danny immediately recognized him. "Yeah buddy, it's me. I'm right here, Danny. I'm not going anywhere" he replied, while holding Danny's left hand. He then continued.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, with concern. He knew it was a sort of dumb question, but he wanted to talk to Danny and find out how he's really feeling.

" 't hurts…a…lot" said Danny, with exhaustion.

Steve closed his eyes and sighed. He knew that Danny was in pain, but hearing him saying it himself broke him. Steve promised that he would take care of him regardless of the circumstances, and he wasn't going to break that promise. "Listen to me, Danny, you're gonna fight this thing, you hear me? And you won't be alone. I'll be with you the whole way, and so will Chin and Kono, alright? We're all here for you, Danny."

"Yeah" managed to answer Danny. Fact of the matter is that he was in so much pain he could barely speak and even open his eyes, but he didn't want to say more because he knew that Steve would become very worried, and he doesn't want to add insult to injury, he's worried enough. He then closed his eyes for a bit. Suddenly, a person crossed his mind and he opened them instantly and looked at Steve and said frantically, "Steve? How's Grace, she's okay?" The beeping of the heart monitor became a bit faster. He's been knocked out for almost five days and he knew that his daughter would get suspicious and worried after not hearing from him, and the last thing he wants to do is let her know that he's in a hospital bed because of a terrible accident he got in.

Steve immediately looked at him and placed his hand on his left shoulder, reassuringly. "Don't worry, Danny, Grace is fine. She doesn't know what really happened to you, I didn't want to scare her. We just told her that you were feeling sick and needed some rest."

"We?" asked Danny.

"Rachel and I" answered Steve.

Danny then slightly nodded his head. He then looked at Steve, but this time his expression was different. It looked like he needed some answers and was very serious. He knew that he had sustained injuries, but he didn't know to what extent and how bad they were.

"Steve?" murmured Danny.

"I'm here buddy, what's wrong?" replied Steve. He realized the tone of his voice. It's like he was concerned and confused and he needed some answers.

"What really…happened to…me" said Danny in between breaths. He wanted to sleep, but not before he knows how bad his injuries were. It was bugging him.

"Danny.. I don't think it's the best time to talk about this. You need to rest." Voiced Steve. It broke his heart to say that to Danny, but he was too fragile to really find out what happened to him, it's still too early.

"St've… please… I… want to.. know" said Danny. He was getting really worried. If Steve doesn't want to tell him, it means that it's bad. That's what Danny thought.

Steve looked at Danny with affection and sighed. He knows that Danny would be broken if he finds out about his injuries. What concerned him the most was the neck disc. He figured that the other injuries would soon heal, and they wouldn't affect Danny as much as the disc he sustained. Steve thought about it for a second, and thought that it would be best to leave it to the doctor. "Danny, listen to me, the doctor said that now you shouldn't be talking a lot, you need to rest, alright? Don't worry about your injuries, the doctor will fill you in, it's all good" answered Steve. He hated lying to Danny, but now is not the right time to talk about his injuries.

Just as Danny was about to shoot back at Steve, the door of his room opened and the nurse came in with some painkillers.

"Hello, Detective Williams, it looks like you're still awake and talking, you should rest" said the nurse. Her voice was soothing and soft.

"He can't stop talking, he's like a radio, never shuts up" shot back Steve, trying to lighten up the mood.

Danny looked at him and glared, while the nurse chuckled.

The nurse went on, "Detective, you look exhausted, don't push yourself, go to sleep. Your friend will stay here, don't worry. You're still in the ICU anyways so that we can keep a close eye on you, you're still pretty shaken up and in a lot of pain, I suppose. I brought these painkillers to ease that pain of yours."

The nurse then gave Danny the painkillers and in a matter of seconds he fell asleep. The nurse then checked him up quickly and took a look at his vitals and on the machines surrounding him, making sure nothing is going wrong.

As she made her way out, Steve called her out, "Um, I'm sorry.. but, how is he?"

The nurse turned back and looked at him, smiling softly, "Well, I suppose the doctor paged you in on his condition, but for now we don't have to worry. He's not showing any signs of infection for now so the wound on his thigh must be healing. The doctor is also going to take him for a PET scan to take a look on his brain concussion. As for the disc, I can't really tell, it's the doctor's job. But his vitals are fine for now, his blood pressure is stable and he's resting. Hopefully the painkillers will make him feel better. He's still tired and in the very early stages of recovery, so don't expect him to get back on his feet in the next few days, it's going to take some time, Commander. But don't get worked up about it, it'll pass."

Steve nodded and thanked her. He just had to make sure, one last time that his partner was okay, for now of course.

The nurse then left the room and Steve sat back down and took his phone out to inform Chin, Kono and Rachel that Danny had woken up.

H50 H50 H50

It was around four in the afternoon when Danny woke up. He slept for over eight hours. But something wasn't right. He took some painkillers but woke up with excruciating pain in his neck. Steve was sitting right next to him. The pain was unbearable and he didn't know what caused it but he had to tell Steve, or do something about it.

"St've… Steve… 't hurts… my… neck… hurts… St've" said Danny. He could barely speak.

Steve then jumped to his feet and approached Danny and held his hand. He looked at him with worry and concern. "Danny, hang on, I'll call the doctor" replied Steve nervously. He then pressed the call button by the bed. He turned his face back to Danny. He noticed how sweaty he was. Danny looked like he was in a lot of pain and his eyes were teary. "Damn it, Danny. Hold on, alright, the nurse is almost here, she'll call the doctor, you're gonna be alright, hang on"

Steve's supportive and affectionate words made Danny feel safe and eased his condition in a way. Steve was like a brother to him and knowing that he's by his side, he felt like he would be fine.

The nurse then rushed to the room. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?" asked the nurse.

"No, no it's not. He woke up and he says that his neck is hurting him, a lot." Steve answered still looking at Danny to comfort him.

''Okay, let me call the doctor, he's right next to the room." With that, the nurse ran to the doctor's office and filled him in. In less than a minute, they both entered Danny's room.

"What's wrong, Commander?" questioned the doctor.

"I don't know, doc. He just woke up with a lot of pain in his neck" responded Steve. He was extremely worried. Danny, on the other hand, was very agitated and the beeping of the heart monitor became faster and faster. Steve tried to calm him down.

The doctor seemed concerned. "Detective, is the pain radiating through your legs and your back, or is it only your neck?" he asked.

Danny tried to say something despite the pain he was in, "neck… back… shoulders… and my legs.. a little.. bit"

The doctor nodded and went on. "Alright, you're just having some side effects, Detective. You're gonna be fine, don't worry, just try to stay still and don't move, it's important." He waited until Danny relaxed and then he turned to Denise, the nurse who came in with him. "Listen, I want you to prepare a TENS unit. He seems to be in a lot of pain and I don't think that painkillers will make it easier for him."

Steve then turned to the doctor, extremely concerned, "Doc, what's wrong?"

"I'm thinking he's having side effects from the disc. Now, based on his agitation and his condition, he seems to be in a lot of pain, so I'm preparing a TENS unit. It's a small device that'll send electric pulses through the body and they'll interfere with and minimize the pain signals. It should ease the pain. I'm sorry, Commander, but I'm gonna have to ask you to step out." The doctor had no time to talk and made it as quick as possible because they could lose Danny at any moment, he was very unstable.

Steve couldn't accept that. Danny was in agonizing pain and he was practically screaming because of it, there's no way he's leaving him. "I'm sorry, doc, but I can't leave him and I won't. Trust me, if he knows I'm with him, he'll become less tense, it'll help. Please, doc, I don't want to leave him."

The doctor contemplated on that for a moment. He realized how close these two men were, and he believed Steve on this one. "Okay, but in case anything goes wrong, you're gonna have to step out."

Steve nodded and made his way back to Danny, staying close to him and holding his hand. Just then, the nurse arrived with the small machine in her hands. The doctor then spoke to Danny. "Alright, Detective, listen to me carefully. The nurse is now going to remove the neck brace so that we can place the pads on your neck. We're gonna have to turn you to do so. The other pods will be placed on your shoulders. As soon as the pain starts to ease in those areas, it'll soon ease in your back and in your legs. Now, I'm gonna need you to stay still for me so that Denise can remove that neck brace."

Steve kept holding Danny's hand for support, while the nurse removed that neck brace. During that process, Danny let out a couple of groans because of the pain. After that, with the help of Steve, they managed to turn Danny so that the TENS unit could be properly used.

Steve's heart broke for Danny watching this whole process. He'd gladly take his place. This was so messed up. With the process done, the doctor guided Steve to the outside of the room, while Danny was being treated, and Denise not leaving his side.

"Commander, I'm afraid this won't be the last time Detective Williams experiences something like that" announced the doctor.

Steve looked down on the floor and let out a sigh. Danny was perfectly fine before he went to sleep and now, all of a sudden, his condition deteriorated. The doctor went on. "This degenerative neck disc has many side effects, and this pain Detective Williams went through is very common. Sometimes, ice packs could be enough to ease the tension of the muscle spasm, but in his case, the pain was very strong, that's why we needed to use a TENS unit. Now, his condition is still fragile, his heart rate too. I mean, you saw for yourself, with this pain crisis his heart rate spiked to the roof, we could've lost him at a rate like that. If it wasn't for you, I think we'd be having a totally different conversation right now."

Steve was in shock. Was Danny really that close to death? "Oh god, doc, I…" That's all he managed to say. He was speechless.

"I know it's a lot to take in right now, but he's fine now" responded the doctor.

"How long will this treatment take?" questioned Steve.

"I'd say around forty minutes. Denise is going to stay with him inside until the treatment is done. Don't worry, he won't be left alone" answered the doctor.

"Alright doc, thank you" replied Steve. He then shook hands with him and sat outside the room, finding the closest chair possible. Oh god, Danny what's going on? Please don't die, please… I promise you I'll be with you all the way, I'm never leaving your side, I don't care if I'll have to go through hell, I'll always be by your side. You can fight this, brother.

A/N So? How was it? I don't know if you guys understood how I was able to relate the words of the song with this chapter. That's how I perceived it, but I think it could also relate to the next few chapters, they'll be full of Danny whump and Steve angst! Also, next chapter you'll get the Rachel-Stan confrontation. If you liked the chapter, leave a review! (if you want:) ) it helps me write and it means a lot! Thanks for reading!