Hm, I gave you all a bit of a scare at the end of that last chapter, didn't I? Sorry about that - and sorry in advance for what happens at the end of this one :o)

Lessons Learned – Chapter Three

When Heroes Rise

It had happened so fast. So completely out of the blue that neither of them had seen it coming. If not for reflexes that lifted Danny Williams into superhero status, they'd have been caught in it too – flattened by the rig that had ploughed into a tour bus, at such speed that it had flipped it onto its side, and spun it clear across the street.

Instead he'd hit the brakes, so hard that he was sure his feet had gone straight through the floorboards onto the asphalt beyond. Visions of Fred Flintstone peddling his car through Bedrock flashed through his mind.

For several seconds, it was hard to tell what was shaking the most – the Camaro or its horrified driver. Then adrenalin and instincts kicked back in, and Danny reached instinctively under the dashboard. Grabbing a first aid kit with one hand, he slapped two switches on the dash-panel with the other – out of the car, and running towards the carnage in front of them, before the lights hit full sequence and the sirens hit full volume.

Steve was already at his heels, his longer strides compensating for the few seconds head-start that Danny had over him – needing no prompts this time to call for the backup that, so often, fell solely to his partner.

As screams for help rose from the wreckage, Steve knew they'd need all the backup they could get.

"This is McGarrett, 5-0. Code three, North King and Smith. Code three, all units, to this location!"

Horrified witnesses had called for help too, since he could already hear the distant wail of sirens. He knew that vital backup was just minutes away, but… well, some people couldn't wait that long. Even without the threat of fire, there'd still be casualties, especially after an impact like that.

Just as he'd known he would, Danny had already taken charge of the mission to rescue them. Despite the chaos around them, that stand-out Jersey accent was unmistakeable. It had demanded help. Judging by the flurry of movement around him, he'd already found two vital volunteers.

"You're both doctors? Okay, doc one, can you handle triage here? Great, thank you… okay, doc number two, let's get into that bus."

Not for the first time, and surely not the last, Steve thanked the world's gods for Danny Williams. If anyone could take charge of such a traumatic situation, it was going to be him – leading that second doctor, and a small army of rescuers, towards that bus as if he'd been born to it.

He was the first one to check studiously for safety before crawling through its shattered window – and Steve already knew he'd check every last millimetre of that bus, several times over, before he crawled out again.

'First one into the fray, the last one out. Yeah, that's my Danno.'

Running instinctively to join him, Steve then hesitated, and reluctantly thought better of it. The rest of Danny's team had followed him now, and with all the traumatic mess of wreckage they'd be facing in there – hell, the last thing they needed was a six foot two inch SEAL taking up what little room they had left.

Besides, he had his own mission to see to. One that filled him with a rush of conflicting emotions. Although he hadn't seen what had caused the accident, there were plenty of others who had – their fury focussing now, with dangerously rising intensity, on the rig that had caused such carnage.

"…damn idiot ran a red light!"

"…he was swerving too, all over the road. He's gotta be drunk."

"…he'll be dead when I get hold of him. Damn courts, they never lock 'em up long enough."

Running hard to head them off, Steve eyed the approaching crowd with mounting dismay. Damn, this was getting ugly. As if things weren't bad enough, now he had a lynch mob on his hands.

Back in the SEALS, he'd just fire a few warning shots over their heads, but… no, that option was out. The kids that he could now see being led to safety were traumatized enough, without him adding to it. And if he did anything so stupid as firing his gun in front of them… well, then he'd have Danny to deal with. That alone was deterrent enough.

Besides, the HPD units and fire crews were arriving now, a fleet of ambulances close behind – just in time too, Steve noted, gratefully watching several officers and firefighters run towards him.

Another rescue team swarmed towards the bus, joining the human chain of rescuers and first aiders that had clustered around it. He could see the doctors from Danny's team too now, including the one who'd followed him into it.

Still no Danny, though. Still no sign of that unmistakeable mop of sun-streaked hair.

Not that he was worried. The rescue operation was in full swing now, running like clockwork. But then two voices, one in warning, the other in frantic panic, turned that operation on its head, and turned Steve McGarrett's blood to ice.

"We've got fire!"

"Megan! Oh God, my daughter! Where's my daughter? God, no, she's still in there!"

Now Steve felt a surge of panic as he stared towards the bus, and the hive of fresh movement around it. He could smell the smoke now. See it rising into an ominous cloud. His heart clenched in horror.

The bus was on fire. Two people were still trapped inside it. And one of them was Danny.