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 Eight:

Blood in the Water

Chin stared down at the slowly lightening skyline as the sun threatened to crest over the vast blue-grey expanse of ocean. It had been nearly two days since Danny had gone missing and fifteen hours since McGarrett had joined him on the missing persons list. The storm had finally petered out and now they were flying back with additional search parties to help find the two missing members of the task force.

There were a lot of things that Lt. Kelly could handle, but losing two team members to the same sick son of a bitch wasn't one of them. The way both these men had been there for him when…he choked slightly on the thought of Malia. His brown gaze drifted back to the horizon. They knew next to nothing about the man that had taken Danny. The only sure thing was that this man was ready to kill the detective and now he had Steve too.

One question was still making him uneasy. Why out here? What was it about this particular spot that had drawn the man here? Chin knew they were missing an important detail, he just didn't know what it was. He almost smiled when he thought of how Danny would've reacted to the puzzle pieces of his own abduction. The snarky blonde hated unfinished business, puzzles…oh, even crosswords. Chin couldn't count the number of times he'd left his copy of the New York Times crossword puzzle in the breakroom when he'd been called away to a case. Only to return and find it completed in the detective's neat blocky handwriting.

If anyone ever thought to question why the New Jersey native had such a big vocabulary? Consider the fact that he was completing one of most difficult crosswords on the planet earth…in pen…without mistakes. The guy was a hell of a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.

Chin shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. He and Kono had done some serious research while stuck inside the stuffy search and rescue building. They'd found several large lava formations that could be used to hide a person…or God forbid, a body. He ground his teeth together at that thought and turned to look out at the lush green foliage that was now speeding past below him.

He wished that his cousin were with him. It had taken some fancy talking to get Kono to man the command center. Her leg wasn't going to let her keep pace with Chin and the rest of the search team. But good lord, try telling her that. He understood her frustration, so he'd told his cousin that he needed someone to be his 'eyes' on the ground. She'd frowned at that and raised an eyebrow.

"Is this because I'm a woman?" She knew it wasn't. Chin wasn't one of those guys. But being left behind sucked, no matter the reason. Danny and Steve, they were her family too.

Chin lifted an eyebrow. "No. It's because you're hurt and I can't be worried about you while I'm trying to find them." It was a little more blunt than he'd intended, but Kono had simply nodded. Taking a deep breath to settle the unease in her gut.

"Keep my up to date on everything?" She asked. Her big brown eyes were brimming with unshed tears and Chin pulled her into a hug.

"We're going to find them." He answered softly. Chin didn't know if he was trying to convince her or himself. Either way, they were both seeking confirmation that this would work. Against all odds, they would find their friends...their family. Alive.

Kono's breathing hitched and he felt her nod against his shoulder. "Just make sure they're alive when you do."

Chin swallowed his own fears and pulled away so he could look at her. "That's the plan. I'm more of a rescue than a recovery kind of guy."

That drew a small smile from his cousin. And then he'd been gone.

Now as he looked out at the expanse of coastline they had to search, he wondered, if only for a moment…had he promised something he couldn't deliver? No, I refuse to believe that the two most stubborn men I've ever met in my life are gone. He inhaled deeply as the helicopter started to descend toward the flat plateau.

H50 H50

Danny watched as his friend prepared to dive below the water line. His stomach was twisting and turning in barely suppressed concern and fear. Breathing was getting to be a chore and his calves were cramping up something fierce. He was keeping his right arm immobilized against his stomach, but the quick jarring throbs of pain were a constant reminder that his heart was beating too fast. A shiver rattled through his body and he struggled to ignore the itchy, achy wheeze inside his chest.

Steve looked over at him and frowned. His partner's face was discolored with bruising and the puffed and bloated gash on his cheekbone made him look like some disproportioned alien on Star Trek. He knew from the video that there were a lot other injuries, which he couldn't see, lurking beneath the dark surface of the water. But once the storm had passed, he could hear the tight and painful wheeze to Danny's breathing and Steve knew he was rapidly running out of time.

"You sure you'll be okay?" A small part of him was scared shitless to leave the slowly fading detective behind. Danny looked worse than he had when Steve had first climbed back to consciousness. Now as he looked at his friend the unease only built at Danny's short fast breaths and his constantly drooping eyelids attested to the enormous strain being placed on his body. In the slowly lightening dawn, Steve could finally make out the blown pupil of Danny's left eye. Great, so at least a grade 3. He knew this because he'd seen the bastard knock his partner out on that god-forsaken video.

Danny managed a snort. "Kinda have to be, don't I?"

"You have a better idea? Cuz, I'm all ears." Steve shot back in irritation. Not at Danny, but the helplessness he was feeling in this situation.

The detective managed to throw a scowl at his overly confident partner. "No. I don't got a better idea." He pulled in a broken breath, the elephants playing soccer in his head really needed to take a break. His vision blurred and he blinked slowly before continuing. "But Steve? People die in these things. I saw it on the discovery channel." There was so much more that he wanted to say, but how does a person sum up one of the most important relationships in their life in a couple of words? It would sound too much like he was saying goodbye and that wouldn't help Steve at all.

"I swear to God, I'm cutting off your cable privileges when we get back."

Danny blinked innocently. "I usually watch it at your place."

"Fine. I'll just cancel the cable. I never watch it." Steve shot back.

"That's not nice, Steven. What am I supposed to do while you're off swimming fifty miles a day?" Steve ignored that and shook his head. So Danny continued. "Steve…if you go? You can't drowned."

"I'm not planning on drowning down there, Danny. But if I don't go, you and I are both gonna die." Steve was going to start blaming his own 'head injury' in a minute. He hadn't meant to say that to his terrified friend. He watched as Danny's eyes drifted closed in emotional pain. Steve had caught the flash of fear that had zinged across the blue depths before he hid them and got snarky.

"Maybe not. You can tread water for days. I mean you're a SEAL. They can't drown." The emphasis on 'you' was not lost on the commander as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde cop. He couldn't fathom the thought of losing Danny, not at this point. They'd managed to find him, while he was still alive and the military man had every intention of keeping it that way. But Danny had to fight. Steve couldn't fight for him, or God knows he would.

The SEAL finally huffed. "I can. You can't. And yes, a SEAL can drowned. But that's not going to happen, okay?"

"Okay...wait, are you saying you're better than me?" Danny was trying desperately to ignore the numbness climbing up his body and making its way toward his pounding brain. He'd managed to pull out of some truly harrowing situations based on his stubborn attitude in the past. This time it felt…different. He was holding out hope that Steve made it back alive, but he was pretty sure he was fucked.

"At treading water?" Steve glared. "Yes. But you're going to be fine, Danno. It should only take me four minutes at the most—"

"—Yeah, because after four minutes, you'll be dead." The words were far more honest than he'd intended and he saw the way that they landed on McGarrett.

"Can you not focus on the negative? Just this once, Danny?" He ground out. "Can you do that for me? Please?" Fight, Danny. Just fight. He thought silently.

Danny licked his lips and finally made an attempt at a nod that didn't send his head beneath the surface. The sun was starting come up and he was getting his first clear look at his partner. Steve had a nasty gash in his hairline, but that was about it. Other than being slightly pale, he looked pretty good.

"I can't promise anything…but I'll try." He finally forced out past chapped, bleeding lips, and a tongue that felt swollen with dehydration. Steve started preparing his lungs. "Hey Steve?" Danny's low stressed words pulled his attention back to his friend.

His gaze connected with the frightened one of the detective. "Yeah, Danny?"

"Don't die."

The SEAL thought about that before nodding. "I won't, if you won't."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Why does everything have to be a competition with you?"

Steve groaned. "Dying's a competition now?"

"No. Not dying is the competition." Danny retorted.

The dark haired man raised an eyebrow. "Okay, winner picks the bar."

"Thought the loser—"

Steve didn't let him finish. Because there couldn't be a loser in this one. "—There is no loser in this one, Danno. We both get out of here. Deal?"

A quick flash of Grace's face and her smile that could light up a room, and Danny knew he had to at least try. The worst thing that could happen? Grace has super-ninja-SEAL Steven McGarrett looking out for her for the rest of her life. There were worse things than that. Danny knew that as badly as it would affect his little monkey if he died…she would be okay as long as Steve was around.

Something flickered in the smaller man's blue eyes and Steve wasn't sure what that meant.

"Deal." Danny finally murmured.

H50 H50

Shoving the worry back so he could concentrate, Steve took several deep breaths before diving beneath the chilly waters. He was only going to get one shot at this and he wasn't going to waste it. He knew that this was it. This was their way out of the lava tube death trap they'd been dropped into.

The waters were far rougher the further down he swam and he found that he had to feel his way along the ragged sides of the submerged rock formation. An underwater tide smashed into him and he felt his elbow bash into the wall. A stinging sensation informed him that he'd been cut on the sharp rocks. Ignoring the injury he pushed forward. He didn't know how far he'd swum before his lungs started to burn uncomfortably and he was forced to consider going back. But the tube was narrow and Steve found that he couldn't turn around; his only option was to keep going.

Maybe he'd been wrong? Shit, what if I was wrong? He thought. What if this wasn't the way out? Just as he was about to risk turning around in the tight space, the tube opened up into an underwater cavern and Steve's head burst out of the water and into the darkness. He heaved in and out a few times. There wasn't a lot of room, but there was air and he greedily pulled in several large gasps of the sweet oxygen. The air was stale, so he knew that it had been there for a while. Which meant he wasn't done swimming yet. But that didn't matter. It was a break and there was air.

As Steve looked around, it occurred to him that he could make out the general shape of the cavern and he wondered at that. Right up until he saw the incandescent sea urchins clinging to the walls, their soft blue/green glow allowing him to see in the otherwise pitch-black cave.

H50 H50

Danny started counting in his head the moment Steve's head disappeared. His calf muscles chose that moment to seize up and he dipped below the water, flailing out both his arms to bring his head above water. Pain shot up his right arm and crashed into his already anguished head. But it was the fire that raced through his back that had him gulping and then he was panicking as the water washed down his throat. The burn of the salty water was nothing compared to the realization that he could drown before he knew if Steve had made it.

He shoved his terror down and forced his shaking legs to hold him just above the water. Every soft swimming motion he made below the water was like knives slicing through his spine. His head broke the surface and he coughed and hacked the water out of his system. Heat was scorching his throat and his lungs were on fire, the tightness closing like a vice around his already abused lungs was evidence that he wasn't doing well.

But even during this ordeal, Danny never lost count. Two minutes, fifty-seven seconds… He pushed over to the wall and tried to use his good arm to help stabilize himself as he desperately treaded water. It hurt…oh god, did it hurt.

"Three minutes, Steven." He croaked out.

H50 H50

Steven looked around the small cavern and bit at his lower lip. He raised his arm to see what kind of damage he'd done in the tube. There was a pretty deep laceration just below his elbow. It reached almost to his wrist and the blood was flowing freely. Great, I'm bleeding and I'm swimming around in unknown waters. Steve might have once told Danny, that the 'ocean is fine, the ocean is safe, as long you know what you're doing.' But that didn't mean that he was unaware of the many dangerous things that lived in the water.

And they all loved the smell of blood. Something brushed by his legs and he kicked out, hitting something solid and big. It immediately swam away. As much as the thought of not being able to see what it was freaked him out, Steve knew that if something that big was swimming in here? Then there was a way out. He licked his lips and pulled off his shirt, wrapping it around the wound on his arm. "Hang on, Danny." He muttered.

Steve carefully looked around the cavern and finally saw several ripples of water on the opposite side. They were steady and indicated that there was a tide or something feeding the waves over there. He swam over and dipped below the surface, using his hands to feel for the hidden tube.

When his questing fingers finally felt the solid wall give way to a tunnel. He swam back to the surface and took several very deep breaths before diving down and heading into another tube. He hoped like hell that this one connected to the ocean and didn't drop down into the bowls of the earth.

H50 H50

Five minutes, thirty-three seconds…Danny could feel the panic working its way along his gut and rolling up into his heart. Steve had been gone too long. While he knew that the SEAL could hold his breath longer than anyone the cop had ever met, he'd never heard of someone that could their breath for more than six minutes. Hell, even brain death starts before then. So when his count reached seven minutes his heart sank and the loss of his friend cracked his hope into tiny specks of dust.

He'd lost him. Danny had lost his best friend. The guilt was palpable. Steve wouldn't have been if not for Danny. The guy that had gotten him through some of the worst moments of his life in the last four years was gone and it was his fault. Whatever his physical injuries were, they were nothing to the torment he was feeling now.

The detective was reminded of something his mother used to say about his father. He's the person I'd call if I needed to dispose of a body.

Well, Steve was that for Danny. Fuck, Steve had been there when Danny had gone off the rails with Rick and when he'd gone after that piece of shit cop that had killed Meka. He'd been in prison when Rachel left him…again. But Steve had done his best to comfort Danny and then again when he got out. He offered his home as a refuge from the constantly rising shit that seemed to be Danny Williams's life.

And then something gave. Snapped. Inside, Danny could feel it the moment his body gave up the fight. No amount of screaming inside his head was going to get his legs pumping again. Not even the thoughts of Gracie growing up without her father…and the stubborn SEAL would restart his body's fight to survive. As he slipped beneath the surface one last time, Chin's face popped up and he wondered if the older cop would take an interest and protect Grace now? Please watch out for Grace...

H50 H50

Chin ran along the top of the plateau. The search and rescue teams had explained that there was three lave tubes that extended straight up into the top of this area. And only two of those were big enough or deep enough to throw a full-grown man down. Even a small one, the size of Danny.

"Kono, we think we have a lead. Some of that green sand is specifically located along the plateau and there are some deep lava tubes that could be used to hide a…Danny." Chin barked the information into his radio as he nearly slipped in the mud. He groaned and threw his hand out, catching himself before he went all the way down.

"Copy that." Kono answered. She could tell that he was onto something and she wanted him to concentrate on that. So she bit back the questions that she desperately wanted to ask.

Chin hauled himself back to his feet and took off again. He could see the formation that marked the top of the tube just ahead of him. Two men were frantically trying to keep pace with the native as he jumped over a rock and then slowed, before approaching the top of the tube.

He leaned over and nearly swore when he saw the accumulation of water at the base. "Come on?!" He screamed out at the universe in general. This couldn't be happening. Even if Danny had been down there, the shape he'd been in? He wouldn't have survived two days of treading water. Chin sank back onto his heels and wiped his hand down his face, exhaustion suddenly wrapping around him.

Something…and he'll never know what…made him look over the edge one last time before he move on to the other tube. A second team had gone there, while he and his team and come to this one. It was the bigger of the two and he suspected that it would be the perfect dumping ground for a kidnap victim.

A flash of blonde hair caught his attention and he leaned forward trying to get a better look at the bottom. He squinted into the darkness and…there it was again. Danny…and then it disappeared beneath the inky surface.

"Danny?!" Chin cried when he saw his friend sink without so much as a whispered breath.

TBC…

Author's Note: Sorry the site was weird this week. Couldn't post anything, because I couldn't log in. Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed.

Just a quick response to a readers question as to why Danny thought Steve would be back in four minutes? Danny's not all that lucid at this point, the fever and his bodies response to the trauma has taken a tole on him, not mention the nasty concussion and lack of sleep. He can only focus on the fact that a person has generally be considered a drowning victim if they're under water more than roughly four minutes. It never occurred to him that Steve would need longer if he actually made his escape in the tunnel.

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