Synopsis: When an argument between Danny and Steve spirals out of control and they both say things they don't mean, can one of them survive a deadly accident to apologize? DANNY!WHUMP and STEVE!ANGST. NO SLASH. Friendship only.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0 and am not getting any monetary gain for this story, just playing in CBS's sandbox for a while. These characters and storylines remain the property of CBS. No disrespect intended, just great characters that inspire their own stories.

Rated: T for violence and injuries. Not a Death-Fic.

Notes: Angst and Hurt/Comfort are kinda my thing and I haven't ventured into the Hawaii Five-0 space yet…so here goes.

Please take a second and let me know if you're excited about the next chapter?!

Chapter Three:

Blood Brothers

The antiseptic smell of hospitals has always made Steve a little nauseous. Something about the sterile environment combined with that specific aroma always manages to pull painful memories to the surface. Memories that he'd rather stay buried. Since he'd taken over the task force every single member of his team has spent time in the hospital for one reason or another. But it was a toss up between himself and Danny as to which one wound up here more often.

Standing under the bright florescent lighting of the emergency entrance, his arm cradled against his side, Steve watched, as the double doors swing shut after the gurney bearing Danny rushes through them, five medical professionals performing life saving measures on Danny.

He tried to argue his way past those doors, but the nurses had threatened to have him removed all together if he didn't let them do their job. His gaze drops down to his hand and the blood that has long since dried. His partner's blood still cakes his skin and is a stark reminder of what they're fighting for. He'd managed to touch Danny's hand when the crews had brought him to the top of the mountain and the smaller man's blood had smeared and mixed with his own.

Steve still can't believe he was so angry with Danny earlier. The argument seems so insignificant now. Except that Steve had hurt his friend and he'd done it on purpose. Steve had known that Danny's words were strictly emotional, while his had been calculated to get a response. One thing Steve knows how to do is push the detective's buttons. Blood brothers.

And the truth of the matter is, he and Danny are blood brothers. In every way that counts, Steve and his wordsmith of a partner had blown past the point of simply being friends or even Ohana a long time ago. The painful feeling starts as a small isolated slice in his gut and works it's way up through his body until it clenches around his heart. Fear. Steve McGarrett is afraid. Give him a gunfight and he can handle it. A bomb and he will figure out how to diffuse it, but this? He has no idea how to help here; all he can do is wait.

The hesitant hand that touches his elbow startles him from his frozen position and he blinks several times before recognizing his teammate.

"Boss?" It's Kono. He looks down at her and the concern that has settled in her soft brown eyes almost undoes the dam Steve's built to hold back his emotions, almost. "They need to look at that arm." She won't take 'no' for answer and guides him over to one of the chairs, pushing until he sinks bonelessly into it. Chin takes up immediate residence in the chair next to him, but he remains quiet.

"I'm gonna get a nurse to take you back, okay?" Kono slips away.

Steve manages to lift his eyes and look at her receding form. "It's fine." He doesn't want to be anywhere else but here. What if he might miss the update on Danny?

"No, Steve. You're not fine." Chin says softly. He understands the pain his friend is going through, because he feels it too. "There's a bullet in your shoulder and you won't be any good to Danny if you come down with sepsis."

It's like he's talking to a wall and Chin bites at his lower lip in realization. If they lose Danny? They'll lose Steve. There are two lives at stake inside this hospital tonight and the thought scares the hell outta Chin. He's seen first hand the condition the detective was in and he's fully aware that there may not be much the doctors can do for Danny. He's silently praying to God that he's wrong. His gaze meets Kono's as she returns with a nurse and a cup of coffee, which Steve refuses.

"I need to call Rachel." Steve says quietly, almost like he hasn't heard a thing Chin or Kono are saying. He really doesn't want to make this call, but he knows that Danny still loves his ex-wife and she has a right to know what's going on with him. Even if she has pulled his friend's heart out over and over, crushing it beneath false hopes and broken promises. And then there's Grace. Oh God…Grace. Steve knows that he needs to be the one to tell the little girl about her beloved Danno.

"I'll call." Kono offers. She pulls out her cell phone and Steve places a gentle hand on her arm to stop her.

"No. I need to be the one to do it." The words are strained as he struggles to control the emotions roiling around inside him. There's nowhere to hide from the devastation this time. When his father had died, Steve hid in the case and then behind his new task force. But with Danny? He has nowhere to hide and it's terrifying.

H50 H50

The air inside the hospital feels oppressive and Steve flexes his newly bandaged arm as he steps out into the early morning air. The Hawaiian sun hasn't even cleared the ocean yet and it's still raining softly. The smell of flowers drifts on the gentle breeze and for once Steve can't find anything good about Hawaii. The ferocity of the storm from the previous night has drained away into typical Hawaiian mild weather. It's almost as though it was a tangible representation of his fight with Danny. The anger that had seemed so important before has dissolved into nothingness. Steve swipes his hand over his face and blinks the exhaustion out of his eyes.

The call to Rachel was every bit as awful as he'd known it would be. This isn't the first time Steve has had to call the woman with an injury update about his partner. It never gets easier. No matter how many times Steve is forced to inform Danny's small family of his condition or watch as the detective disappointed them when he had to respond to a case, it never gets easier.

Rachel was silent for a few moments before asking if Danny was going to make it? Steve gave her all the information he had at the moment. Danny is alive and in surgery. Beyond that? Steve doesn't know anything, but he'll call as soon as he hears something. Danny's ex had then decided to wait to tell Grace until they had an update. It wasn't like they could go visit Danny at the moment and she didn't want to wake the little girl up in the middle of the night and scare her with unknowns.

There was a small part of Steve that would never forgive WoFat for coming out of the shadows and killing the Governor that night. Because on that night, Danny had had to make a choice and he'd chosen Steve and Five-0. And in the process he'd lost the chance to reunite his small family.

That thought sends Steve into guilt overdrive, so he turns his thoughts back to Rachel. Steve disagreed with her decision not to let the little girl know what was going on, but he wasn't Grace's parent so he respected Rachel's choice. He reached up, pinching at the bridge of his nose and leaned against the building allowing his mind to wander.

H50 H50

"That isn't the worst mistake I've made, Danny. Not by a long shot." Steve bit out through clenched teeth. His arm was throbbing and they were looking at a cache of weapons that had been disassembled. Which meant that they had no clue where the lower receiver units of the automatic guns were. And that is a very bad thing because that's where the serial numbers are located. Without those, they have no way to track the supplier.

"Well isn't that just fantastic. Steve McGarrett admitting that he made a mistake." Danny looks around. "And of course, I'm the only one here to witness this momentous occasion."

Steve narrows his eyes irritation. "I never said I don't make mistakes, Danny. But every decision I make is based on intel and we have to move fast or that intel changes and the bad guy gets away."

"I understand that, Steven. But eventually our luck is gonna run out and one of us is going to end up dead. Do you want it to be you? Because I don't. And I sure as hell don't want it to be me, or any of the rest of the team. We have to start working with HPD on these bigger raids." Danny's hands cut through the air as he emphasizes his opinion. His blue eyes flash with suppressed emotion when Steve finally spins around and stares at him in frustration.

It's sound thinking and somewhere inside, Steve knows that. 'What is it with Danny and questioning every single decision that I make?' He thinks silently. Steve's tired of explaining why he makes the calls he does. If his partner had the same training as he did, then Danny wouldn't be questioning, he'd be following orders. Which would make Steve's life so much easier.

The next words out of his mouth are tailor made to hurt and they find their mark easily. Later Steve will blame his lapse in judgment on the blood loss and the heat.

"No, I definitely make mistakes." He's angry with Danny for not letting this go. They've already argued about almost everything involved with this particular mission, as Steve would call it, or case, as Danny would call it.

Danny's still hurt from Steve's comments earlier and he's not sure how many more kicks in the gut he can take. His partner has already insulted his police skills and his parenting skills. And he's a very good father, thank you very much.

But the part of Danny that has to have the last word pipes up. The same part that got him into trouble as a kid, the smartass part that had a permanent seat outside the principles office.

Steve bites out the next words, ensuring that they are crisp and clear. "You wanna know what the biggest mistake I ever made was?"

The detective's blue eyes narrow and a tremor runs through him as he reacts. "What? Joining the Army? Or when your father was killed?" Danny regrets the words the moment they leave his mouth, but he can't recall them and he has to look away from the flash of devastation in his partner's eyes. But now that the words are out, he's stuck with the aftermath. He's only ever brought up Steve's dad once and that was after he'd been shot on their first case. And just like now, he'd immediately known it was a mistake. He starts to open his mouth, intent on apologizing, but Steve interrupts him.

"It's the Navy. How many times to I have to say that? And no. My biggest mistake was choosing you as my backup." Steve's voice is cold and even. It wasn't like he'd given the blonde HPD detective a choice in the matter. But that doesn't matter right now.

Steve's livid that Danny had the audacity to mention his father. Danny is well aware of how guilty Steve feels about John McGarrett's death. And a part of the SEAL wants to hurt the detective the same way he's hurting. Steve knows Danny. He knows that the man ties his confidence and self-worth in with his job and that by calling his partner's skills into question, he's going to get what he wants. An argument.

Danny straightens up and his eyes widen in hurt and surprise. He'd immediately regretted bringing up Steve's dad. But as he looks at the angry visage of his partner he wonders if they can come back from this one.

Then Steve kept talking, telling Danny that he regretted picking him all those years ago and that digs into the Jersey native's emotions in a way that nothing else can. He'd opened up to Steve over a beer in the man's backyard, telling him that 'being a cop is all he has and that he needs it and if that makes him selfish, then he was okay with that'.

It was that last part of that conversation that leaves him open to Steve's biting words. 'I wanna do what I'm good at and I wanna be reminded that I'm good at what I do'. It's probably the most honest thing Danny's ever said. And now it was being used against him.

In the last twenty minutes Steve has insulted everything that Danny values and he's soooo done at this point. He shoves the hurt and the anger down and lashes back at the Navy man.

"Well thankfully, being your partner? That's something I can fix." Danny bites out after a moment of shock. He can't say anything else for a moment, his throats tight with emotions and he glances at the ground, before finally managing. "I'm gonna go get my arm checked out. Catch a ride back with Chin." He doesn't even wait for an answer before he's stalking back to the Camaro and the rain starts to fall.

H50 H50

Steve can't wait anymore. Danny's been in surgery for three hours and the doctors have refused to give him an update. He watches as the nurse steps away from her desk and then he slips past the double-doors into the emergency area. Steve's done enough sneaking around in his life to blend in as he walks through the walls of curtains and bustling personnel. His eyes flicker around as he looks for the surgical wing.

One wrong turn later, he manages to find the operating room. There's a small observation window and he presses up against it to see what's happening. Steve's stomach flips when he sees Danny lying on the sterile table. There's a ventilator breathing for the blonde man and so many wires and tubes that Steve can't tell where one ends and the next one begins. A monitor reflecting the surgery shows him that the doctors are currently removing an organ from Danny's abdomen. A large bloody piece of 'something' is placed in a silver bowl and rushed from the room. It's like a horror movie, only worse because it's Danny. Steve bites down on his fear and stands silently watching as the doctor's work feverishly to save his partner's life.

When he looks up again he realizes that there's a flurry of activity happening inside that room. The medical personnel are now running around and Steve watches in horror as they pull out the small internal defibrillators and shove the paddles inside Danny's body. Steve glances over at the heart rate monitor and he has to remind himself to breathe when he sees the long flat line. Danny's crashed at least twice since we pulled him up.

"Excuse me, sir. But you can't be back here." A strong voice cuts through his fear and he turns to look down at the small woman talking to him. She has kind eyes, but there's an air of authority about her too.

Steve can see her mouth moving, but he can't seem to understand what she's saying. He turns back and watches as the sea of medical green work in unison to restart Danny's stubborn Jersey heart. They pull the monitor away and Steve gets a really good look at the detective. His lower abdomen is open from the surgery and there's a bandage around his head. The blood has been cleared from his face, but it's still thrashed. Gashes and bruising make recognizing that this is Danny almost impossible.

"Sir? Did you hear me? You can't be back here." The voice is a little irritated now.

Steve swallows. "I just needed to know."

She can see that this man is afraid and injured, so maybe he wandered away from a room or something? Her voice shifts again, back to soft and kind. "What do you need to know?"

Steve blinks in relief when he sees the small peaks and valleys of the monitor again. "I...I just needed to know if my partner's going to make it."

The woman leans past him and looks into the O.R., then back at Steve. "Are you a cop?"

Now that's a loaded question. Because normally Steve would argue vehemently that they were more than just cops. But then Danny would pipe up and ask 'what's wrong with being just a cop?' And they'd go off on some tangent arguing about the merits of a police force versus a task force.

"Uh, yeah. I'm a cop."

The woman gently takes his good arm and starts leading him back to the waiting room. "I'll find something out and get back with you. But in the mean time you need to stay in the waiting area and out of the doctor's way."

Steve nods and allows himself to be drawn away from the window…and Danny.

H50 H50

True to her word, the woman returns fifteen minutes later with Doctor Iokua Kekoa. The young emergency room physician manages a smile when he sees the Five-0 team. Steve jumps up and rushes forward.

"Commander McGarrett." The doctor shakes Steve's good hand. "I really wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

"So do I." Steve responds quickly. "How's Detective Williams?"

The smile disappears from the Dr. Kekoa's face and he gestures to the chairs. "Let's sit down, shall we?"

The air freezes in Steve's lungs and he blinks slowly before sinking down into one of the uncomfortable chairs. "He's okay? Isn't he? Danny's okay?"

Chin and Kono take up residence on either side of Steve, their faces a reflection of their bosses. They want to know what the doctor knows, but they're afraid of the answers.

"Detective Williams is alive, yes."

The three members of Five-0 release a collective breath before Dr. Kekoa continues. "Thank god." Chin voices what they're all thinking.

It's Kono that pushes out the next words. "So what's happening with our friend?"

The doctor looks over at Commander McGarrett and he can feel the dread pouring off the officer. "I'm afraid Detective Williams respiratory functions have been affected due to his inversion inside the vehicle. This caused his heart to slip into fibrillation and he crashed on the operating table—"

Steve starts to interrupt the doctor, but he holds his hand up. "Please let me finish, Commander." Dr. Kekoa nods when Steve sinks back into his seat. "Thank you. As I was saying, Detective Williams suffered respiratory distress, but that's been dealt with. His other injuries are more concerning. His head broke the driver's side window causing significant trauma to his brain. We've drilled several small burr holes to relieve the pressure, but we won't know the extent of the damage until he wakes up."

The air inside the hospital feels like it's getting thinner and Steve reaches up and scrubs his hand down his face as the list of Danny's injuries kept coming.

Dr. Kekoa can see that his words are having a devastating affect on the team, but he needs to let them know exactly how serious the detective's injuries are, because as much as the doctor hates it, there's a chance that the detective may not make it. "His right arm was broken in the crash and because he was inside the car for so long after the accident, we have to wait for the swelling to go down before we can set it. He ruptured his spleen and we weren't able to stop the bleeding so that was removed in surgery along with inflating his lung, which collapsed enroute to the hospital. So he's been fitted with a chest tube for now to help with drainage. His left arm sustained a serious cut, we've stitched that closed and there appears to be no infection at this time."

"Is that it?" Chin finally asks. His eyes flicker over to his friend and boss and he bites at his lower lip in frustration when the doctor shakes his head 'no'.

"We know that extreme pressure was exerted against Detective Williams spine, what we don't know is whether or not the pressure resulted in simple spinal compression or…" He takes a deep breath and finishes with the injury report. "…if the spinal cord has been compromised."

"Jesus…" Steve breathes out, his head falling into his hands as the weight of the world seems to settle on his shoulders. His father's words have never seemed as important as they do at this moment. Don't stay angry with someone you care about. You may not get the chance to apologize. The words land like lead in his belly as he swallows the lump in his throat.

TBC…

Author's Note: It's me again. Thanks so very very very much for the amazing response to this little story. The idea wouldn't leave me alone, which caused me to venture into the unchartered territory of a new fandom. I'm so humbled by the amazing response, so thank you to every one of the guest reviewers that I can't thank personally and of course all the others that I sent PM's to.

PLEASE REVIEW: Once again a promise, if you review? I'll post the next chapter super fast.