Synopsis: The road to recovery isn't as easy as Danny Williams thought it would be. Steve McGarrett is hiding inside his mile-high emotional wall and, without meaning to; he has started blocking Danny out. But when gun smugglers come searching for payback, will Steve be there for Danny? Or will his Jersey partner be forever silenced. 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 opened a can of worms in the first story, 'Words can Kill'. Here's the sequel.

Chapter Three:

Ghosts of the Future

The ride to the Big Island was sheer and unadulterated hell. Steve kept staring at his watch, like he could will the damn helicopter to go faster. The vast expanse of ocean blazing past under the whirling rotors of the helicopter did nothing to dispel the fear that was threatening to crack the navy SEAL open. Every time he blinked he was seeing that last image of Danny, hunched over with agony pouring out of his blue eyes. But it wasn't just the pain that was sending tendrils of fear running through Steve, but the acceptance that he'd seen in his friend's pained gaze. A part of the military man hoped that it was just a front on Danny's part. That the sarcastic, snarky detective was just playing up the injury level to gain some sort of an advantage.

Steve hadn't been able to clear the image from his mind since the video link had blacked out. He knew that he was pushing the cousins away as he pulled further and further into himself. But he didn't honestly know how to stop it. After his father had been murdered, only the chance meeting with Danny had kept him from sinking into this same bottomless pit. Something about the angry, snarky man that had threatened to send Steve to the hospital in an ambulance had resonated with the SEAL and he'd instantly liked Danny…even if the feeling hadn't been mutual. Which it most definitely had not. In fact, the damn Jersey detective had clocked Steve in the jaw, leaving a hell of bruise, within four hours of meeting him. Of course, he'd gotten Danny shot within the first hour, but who was keeping track of that? Steve had never liked anyone as much as he liked Danny Williams.

The military man had never had anyone but Mary and he'd often wondered that if he'd had a brother, if he would've been like the Jersey native. An enormous part of him hoped so. Danny was loyal, smart, tough, and one of the best investigators that Steve had ever worked with. He was jarred from his thoughts as the pilot informed them they were close to the Island and would be landing soon. Steve nodded and locked eyes with both Chin and Kono without saying anything. He didn't need to. Neither did they. They weren't coming back without Danny. Failure wasn't an option.

The landing on the flat grassy area above the cliff and rock enclosed beach was rough because of the wind sheer blasting over the plateau in nasty gusts. Steve bolted from the chopper before it had settled all the way on the ground and raced down the ravine toward the trail that would lead him to the beach two hundred feet below. The water was crashing over the rocks in blasting caps of white and blue. The sound and power of the ocean boomed around him. Steve's eyes lifted and he bit at his lower lip in frustration when he saw the storm that was now sitting on the horizon. The temperature was steadily dropping and the winds were whipping around as they gained strength. This wasn't just an afternoon storm, it was something worse.

"That what I think it is?" Chin asked as he too stared at the gathering storm.

Steve's eyes narrowed in frustration. "Yeah, it is."

"Crap."

Steve shifted focus. "Kono, can you meet the Island PD and have them start searching all the nearby areas? Chin and I will head down and start at the bottom, working our way back up. Meet up with us when the officers get here and you get them situated?" Steve was barely paying attention to her answer as he slid to a stop and stared down at the beach.

"I've got this, boss. I'll start searching along here why I wait." She turned and moved away at a sprint for the approaching police cruiser.

The steep decline slowed Steve down as he struggled to maintain his balance and avoid the potentially deadly fall on the lava rocks below. Chin was on his heels and the first drops of rain splashed on the dirt in front of him.

"We've gotta hurry. If that storm gets here and we're still in that ravine, it'll be tomorrow before we can climb out." Chin's words were barely audible above the rising winds. And that was if they could climb back out. That area was primed to fill with ocean swells and could bash a person against the rocks cracking their skull open like an egg.

Steve didn't even bother answering. He knew that he wasn't leaving until they'd searched every inch of green sands beach for Danny. There was a crack and the bullet that ripped through the air surprised the SEAL and he dropped to the sandy ground. He was simultaneously pulling his pistol from his belt and rolling onto his back, searching for the threat. His blue-green gaze flashed over and he pulled in a shaky breath when he saw that Chin had done the same. It didn't look like his friend had been hit.

"You see where that came from?" Steve called out angrily. Someone was trying to keep them from getting to Danny.

The other man shook his head. "No. But—" Chin was cut off when another bullet zinged over their heads. He immediately pointed with his gun. "That way."

Steve's eyes followed the direction and he nodded before slowly pulling himself to his knees, using the rocks as cover. "I'm gonna move, cover me." Tiny cuts and scrapes appeared on his palms as he moved and there was now a hole in his cargo pants.

Chin nodded and popped off several rounds. Steve ran to the opposite side of the trail and worked his way up. He rounded a corner and sprinted further up the hill. He saw the muzzle flash of another burst of bullets and he flattened himself against the face of the cliff. The SEAL glanced over his shoulder and then up at the approaching storm. If he was going to find Danny, he needed to find out who the hell was shooting at them and he needed to do it now.

He started to turn around the last bend and never saw the piece of driftwood that knocked him out cold. Pain exploded in his head and Steve collapsed in a heap of tangled limbs and torn cargo pants. A man stepped out of the shadows and stared down at the felled military man. He was carefully searched for all his weapons and then bound.

"That's for killing my brother." The accented man reached down and grabbed at Steve's lashed wrists and slowly dragged him away, headless of the damage it was doing to the SEAL's body. The lava rocks tore into the soft skin on Steve's back as his shirt rode up and one of his boots was pulled from his foot when his leg caught in a natural hole and the man tugged hard enough that there was a 'snap' and Steve's leg rolled free.

More shots rang out as the shooter kept Chin pinned down. In the distance the muted calls for Steve were drowned out by the incoming tide and the thunder clapping loudly in the distance.

H50 H50

The floating sensation had never been something that Danny had enjoyed. Even when he'd been in the hospital, being treated for pain, he'd tried to handle as much as he could without the drugs that affected his mind. For as much as he liked to tease Steve about being a control freak, he was every bit as bad as his partner, and Danny knew it. A sudden crack of thunder jolted him awake and he immediately bit at his lower lip when the pain raced through his body, reminding him of his current condition.

Danny groaned when he moved against some sort of solid wall and it scraped along his back causing him to arch away involuntarily. He cradled his broken arm against his chest and tried desperately to ignore the way his back was screaming in protest when the first drops of rain hit him. It was only then that he realized that he was inside a hole. A very deep hole with one-way out. His blue eyes shifted up and he squinted against the darkening sky and the black clouds that had blotted out the bright yellow sun. Some sixty-five feet above him was the surface and he'd been left at the bottom of a natural lava tube. He had no clue how the son of a bitch had gotten him down here, but he'd managed it and now Danny was well and truly fucked...

To his right was a solid wall of black rock and to his left was water. Maybe there was an underwater tunnel or maybe the water had just collected at the base because of the heavy rains this season. Either way, Danny was fucking trapped. He couldn't climb out and he couldn't swim through a tunnel that may or may not lead to the open ocean. And riptides. And sharks. And all sorts of other things to make him dead.

A groan that had nothing to do with pain slipped past his lips and he leaned forward, swallowing his mounting fear. He was in a very confined space, never mind that he could see the sky, way the hell above him, and he had no way of getting out. It took a moment but a buzzing, several feet away, got Danny's attention and he blinked in surprise when he saw a cell phone sealed inside a plastic bag and sitting on a natural ledge above the pool of water.

The detective bit at his lip and slowly dragged his battered body toward the phone. Tiny shards of pain sliced through him and he found that by the time he reach the device he was sweating heavily and his hair was plastered to his head. Danny gulped and grabbed the phone with his left hand, carefully he managed to get the tiny silver device out of the bad and flicked it open. What he saw made him cringe. It was a video feed. The keys had all been removed with the exception of the 'talk' and 'end' buttons on the phone. He couldn't dial anyone. All Danny could do was accept a call and hang one up. The video feed showed Steve and Chin searching desperately in an area that Danny didn't recognize.

But what was so much worse was that he could tell from the angle of the video that whoever was shooting it had the high ground. Steve was below him, which meant that something was about to go down and there was nothing that Danny could do to stop it. "Get the hell outta there, Steve. What're you doing?" He managed to grind out past the fear and pain. He watched as Steve and Chin talked about something and then the Hawaiian native jogged out of view.

Steve was standing on the steep path, alone. The wind was pulling violently at his cargo pants and the over-shirt that he insisted on wearing over his Omni-present t-shirt rippled in the strong Island storm. Water was pouring down around the SEAL and Danny's concern skyrocketed. A flash of something behind Steve caused the man to spin around and then he dropped like he'd been shot.

"No!" Danny couldn't stop the cry of disbelief and denial when Steve went down. But then the phone clicked off and no amount of trying to power it back on was going to change that. The phone slipped from his numb fingers and Danny leaned against the wall as his body started to fail. The adrenaline that had been sustaining him since he'd regained consciousness was finally abandoning him. And he was pretty sure he'd just witnessed the assassination of Steve McGarrett.

The rain started to fall in earnest and in the back of his head; Danny understood that he could very well drown inside this tube of hell. But the tears that mixed with the rainwater had nothing to do with his demise…and everything to do with Steve's...and then there was Grace.

H50 H50

The air was cool for Hawaii and the bright yellow sun was hidden behind a swath of fluffy grey clouds. Banyan trees sprang up at odd intervals around the pristine area. The rain was falling in a soft pelting way that only Hawaii has. It was soothing. A young woman stood on the lush green grass, her black backpack slung over her shoulder and her glossy brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She was thin, but with an athletic build that spoke of more than malls and sleepovers. She carried herself with a confidence that is only borne of training and defiance. Her deep brown eyes scanned the distance until she saw what she was searching for and only then did she move. A bright gold badge was pinned next to a silver one on her backpack and a cloth patch of 'New Jersey' had been sewn on the outside of the front pocket.

Grace Williams stopped and moved to a specific area. It was like she'd been there a hundred times, retracing steps that she could follow in her sleep. The unnaturally green grass was well cared for and the spot looked very nice. She was dressed all in black, right down to her socks and the bag she was carrying. She was older too, maybe seventeen or eighteen.

Danny stood back staring at the stunning beauty his daughter had grown into. He wasn't sure when that had happened. The last time he'd seen his little monkey, his Grace, she'd been thirteen and still calling him 'Danno'. He watched as she sank down onto the grass and pulled open the black bag. The rain continued to fall and it was like she didn't even notice. Danny's heart pulled painfully as sadness ghosted over her face when her eyes landed on something. After a moment of rummaging in her pack, Grace pulled out several applications. She slid closer to the tree that was currently protecting her from the afternoon rainstorm.

She carefully spread the applications out on the grass, each of them encased in a clear plastic sleeve. Danny couldn't help the swell of pride at how organized and responsible his daughter had become. 'Because God knows she didn't get that from me.' He thought silently. Danny found himself leaning closer when she finally started to speak. "Okay, dad. I talked to all the schools before I made this decision. So you can't be mad at me, okay?"

"Why would I be mad, Grace?" He asked. But she didn't move. In fact she never even glanced in his direction and Danny got a sick feeling in his gut. He forced his gaze to shift across the space and all the sudden he found that he was frozen in this spot with the sickening realization. 'This is a cemetery.'

Grace's cell phone rang and her determined brown eyes shifted and microscopic debate happened for the space of a single moment before she quickly 'silenced' it. "Mom doesn't know about any of this. I talked to Charlie, but he doesn't really understand…beside this is our secret. Yours and mine." Grace looked around conspiratorially and then pulled out yet another application. Danny leaned forward so he could see what it was and his heart nearly exploded in panic.

'Newark Police Academy' and below the application was an acceptance number. "Grace, no." He breathed of the whisper as his chest seized tightly around his heart. Danny had never wanted this life for Grace. A cop's life. She had options. The kid was smart, he had no idea how that'd happened, and with Stan's money? She could go to any school she wanted anywhere in the world. She could be a doctor or an engineer…anything but a cop. Danny had always known that he was a good detective, but he'd never considered himself particularly 'smart'. It had been a pleasant surprise when Grace had shown a real aptitude in math and science and for the first time he'd hoped that his 'kid' had a very bright future.

Her eyes shifted to the left and then back to the ground. Grace seemed to deflate somewhat and she took a long slow breath before continuing. "I already told Uncle Steve. He thinks you'll be happy. I know you're gonna be pissed at me. But this is what I want, Danno. I wanna help people…just like you."

Danny's eyes followed hers and he felt the strength drain from him as his legs gave out and he sank down onto his knees. He hadn't realized where they were, not until he looked down and saw the grave.

"Detective Daniel 'Danno' Williams, beloved father, friend, and son." And there on the head stone next to him was, "Lt. Commander Steven J. McGarrett, loving son and brother, patriot, and devoted friend."

"Oh my god…no." Danny breathed out as he looked between the two pieces of granite.

A sad smiled pulled at the edges of Grace's lips. It was almost like she could feel his presence, because Grace went on like they were having a conversation. "I told you he'd be pissed, Uncle Steve." She said with a tiny pained laugh. It was the sound of a child that had been forced to grow up too fast.

Danny still had both his parents; he'd never known the despair that comes with losing one of them to an act of violence. But Steve? His heart clenched at the thought that Grace had that in common with his best friend. Both of them losing a parent at such a young age…it wasn't fair. "Uncle Chin helped me with the application. He said that you wouldn't want me to do this, dad. That you'd want me to go be a doctor or maybe an architect, anything that would keep me out of the police departments." Tears welled in he big brown eyes and she pulled her lip between her teeth.

"But I can't do that. This is the only way I know how to be close to you. I need this and I know that you understand that." She finished with a sniff.

Danny could feel his own eyes burning as he watched his daughter suffer. This was his fault. He'd gone gotten himself killed…and Grace didn't hate him for it. How could she not 'hate' him? At the moment he hated the hell out of himself.

H50 H50

Danny didn't know when he passed out or fell asleep, whichever had happened. But he came back to awareness with a jolt. Pain cascaded through his entire body and he knew that he was now running a fever, so infection…awesome. He forced his gaze up and was rewarded with a face full of rainwater. The storm was still raging above him. Bright flashes of lightening lit up the darkness and he found that he could barely breathe. The water was rising inside his 'cell' and now he couldn't get the image of Grace's future out of his head. He was going to be swimming soon and he wasn't entirely sure he could do that.

And then Danny was assaulted with the last image he'd seen of Steve. His friend had gone down like he'd been shot.

Suddenly the air was too thin and Danny couldn't stop what felt like a massive panic attack. Did I watch Steve die on that phone? He pushed himself up against the wall of the lava tube in an effort to orient himself. His entire body was a cacophony of shifting pain and numbness. He wished that his back would let up or that his arm didn't feel like it was trying split the skin and swell to an unnatural size.

A scraping sound caught his attention and Danny's gaze shifted up. His vision was blurry enough and the top of the tube was far enough above him that he couldn't make out much of anything. But then something dark and gangly was falling and he scrambled to get out of the way. A large object fell past him and splashed into the water with a sickening thud. Water split the air and went everywhere and Danny couldn't help but swallow some of the salty stuff as he struggled to get out of the way. He coughed. And shit does that hurt. It was like an electric shock went through his entire body and it lit up in a fiery agony. His arm was throbbing, his head was fuzzy, and that didn't even touch how his back was feeling. And then there was the claustrophobia thing and the pain of the dream he'd had.

And now there was something in this god forsaken hole with him.

TBC…

Author's Note: Dun dun dun…It's not looking too good for our Five-0 boys. Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed the last chapter. Your guys are awesome.

PLEASE REVIEW: Just let me know what you think of the newest chapter.

play out this one shall.