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 Nine:

Close Call

It wasn't the horrible images that Danny thought waited for him in death, that drove the cop to do something he didn't believe his body was capable of at this point. He was afraid and he was feeling the loss of Steve so keenly that he couldn't breath. As the water closed over his head, he remembered the promise he'd made to his friend. But had Steve died? Danny didn't know. So was he giving up on his friend by assuming that he was gone? Thoughts were floating through his head in fractured fragments that only made partial sense. That if Steve lived...then Danny would too.

There were other images that begged him to fight. His mother's apple pie and her broad happy grin every single holiday that he'd been able to go home after he'd moved to Hawaii. The sight of his father the day he'd graduated from the academy. He'd thought that his father would be angry that he'd chosen to join the department rather than follow in his father's footsteps as a fire fighter. And he had been...at first. Then something miraculous happened. His younger brother Matthew had stood up for Danny's choice.

It hadn't really been an argument between Matt and their father. More of a calm explanation of 'Danny'. Who he was as a person. Danny had been pretty sure he wasn't supposed to overhear, but he couldn't walk away as he listened to his younger brother lay out all his accomplishments to their father.

Danny hadn't seen or talked to Matt in over three years, not since he'd boarded that plane and told Danny to either let him go, or shoot him. 'What the fuck, Matty?!' He'd thought furiously. There was no way that Danny could shoot his baby brother. But he hadn't honestly thought that he'd 'never' talk to Matt again. So as the water found it's way into his nose and throat, a fire sparked inside as Danny flashed through all the things he still had to do.

One of them was find Matt. 'And kick his ginormous ass.' But Danny had to find him first. The next was to keep his promise to Steve. And then there was Grace. So he fought through the crippling pain and the hazy images. He fought for the surface...

H50 H50

Chin grabbed onto the closest search and rescue guy. "Give me a harness! Now!" He barked, his eyes frantically searching the water for Danny. Something was thrust into his outstretched hand and he hurriedly yanked the harness into place. Someone behind must have suspected something, because the man was already securing an anchor, so Chin could repel into the tube. The early morning air was thick with mist as the sun drove higher in the sky and the residual rain misted down on the rescue team.

Only in Hawaii could it be sunny and still managed to mist on them. The smell of the wet foliage and mixed with the dirt and sand was coming together to create a scent that Chin would never forget. He'd lived on the Islands his entire life and he knew that this smell would remain with him in ways nothing else ever had.

A man's voice wafted over the air. "One of them down there?"

Chin simply nodded as he slipped the figure eight onto his karabiner, locked it out, and then ran the rope through metal device. Before anyone could ask another stupid question, the cop was dropping over the edge of the lava tube. His gaze never leaving the water as he expertly repelled down the black rock sidewall. Chin dropped carefully into the chilly water, letting the rest of the rope slide through his fingers as he started reaching frantically beneath the surface. He had a vague idea where Danny had gone under, he just hoped it wasn't too late.

"Danny?!" Chin's heart was racing. His legs felt rubbery when they settled into the floor and he was shocked to find the water just below his ears. He had to actually tread water to keep his head above the surface after splashing the collected H20 into his mouth during his search. "Danny?!" He called out again as he spun as quickly as the cold water would allow…come on, Danny. I know you're here. Fight…fight, buddy.

And then he saw the New Jersey detective's head burst out of the water only to immediately sink beneath the surface again as he gasped uselessly. "DANNY!" Chin swam to where he'd last seen his friend and he nearly choked on the relief that flooded his system when his fingers closed around something solid. A shoulder.

He pulled with all his strength and Danny's blonde head popped up and the cop coughed several times before going limp against Chin's chest. "Danny, you're okay, brah. You're going to be okay. I got you."

Chin's dark eyebrows cut down in worry when Danny didn't answer. In fact, the smaller man didn't even move as he was manhandled by the Lt. The only consolation was that Chin could feel the shuddering breaths that were rattling through the detective. And if he was breathing? Then Danny's heart was also beating. Jersey was the toughest cop that Chin had ever met, since he didn't consider McGarrett a cop. The man was a navy trained SEAL through and through, but Danny? He bled blue…officer blue.

"Danny? Can you hear me? Gimme a sign here, brah." He asked worriedly as a shadow fell over him and two of the rescue personnel dropped into the water with a wire basket stretched between them.

"Lt., let us take it from here." The taller man said. His face washed in and out of Chin's vision as he scanned the area looking for any sign of their leader. He was extremely concerned about the fact that while they'd found Danny. Steve was nowhere to be seen. So his work wasn't done yet.

The two men gently took Danny's unconscious form and laid it in the basket, before hooking it up to the dual rope lines and having the team at the top carefully raise their precious human cargo to safety. Chin watched as the racking coughs and violent tremors rocked Danny's body.

Before he worried about ascending the wall, he pulled out the radio and called Kono. He knew if it had been him left behind, he'd be pacing a hole in the floor waiting for news. And Kono was no different. Probably ran in their stubborn native blood or something.

He clicked the radio on and asked. "Kono?"

The immediate crackle of the radio let him know she'd been waiting for his call. "Yeah, cuz. I'm here. You got anything?" Her voice was hopeful.

"We got Danny." He hesitated before telling her the rest. "He's alive—"

Kono had never been known for her patience. "—and Steve?"

"He wasn't here. I'm going to keep searching. Can you meet the rescue team? They're coming back with Danny and I don't want him to be alone. He's been alone for two days already."

"I'm on it. How is he?"

Another long pause before he answered his cousin. "He's alive, but it's going to be a tough recovery."

He heard her breathing hitch in support before she responded. "He won't be alone, Chin." She had no intention of leaving the detective to fight this battle on his own. He'd already beat the odds just by being alive and they sure as hell weren't going to lose him now.

H50 H50

The water pushed relentlessly at Steve as he swam. He was reminded of a story that Danny had told him about getting caught in a riptide that had nearly drowned him as a kid. Steve had always known to swim parallel to the shoreline when the riptides were strong, but as the immense power of the ocean threatened to overtake him and he could see how a person could just give up. Not that he was the type of person that would ever give up, but he got it. So much power. Power that he had zero control over. The walls of the tunnel he was swimming through seemed to be closing in on him and it was making him more than a little nervous.

When this was all said and done…if he survived…there was a good chance that he might have a bit of the fear that seemed to paralyze Danny. Claustrophobia.

Just as Steve was deciding that this had probably been the second biggest mistake of his life, he saw the deep blue of the ocean spanning out before him. His lungs were burning and he was seeing deep black spots at the edges of his vision. His arm had gone blissfully numb from the cold water and his muscles were starting cramp from the exertion. But it was all for Danny, so he had to make it.

He popped out of the narrow opening of a tiny little sea tunnel and immediately kicked for the bright surface above him. Steve had no idea how long he swam, but it felt like years. He was beginning to doubt as to whether or not he'd actually make it to the surface. His vision was starting to collapse in and he was only seeing a tiny speck of light when his head burst above the rough waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The SEAL heaved in great gasping breaths as he floundered to keep his head above the water as the tide pulled him further out to sea. After a moment of just sucking in the amazing air, Steve tried to focus his thoughts enough to figure out where the shoreline was. He ignored the strained complaints of his overused muscles and forced himself to turn in a circle until he spotted the rocky coves maybe a quarter of a mile behind him.

Normally, that swim would be a simple warm up for him. But Steve was tired. His arms felt leaden and his legs were cramping up painfully. Danny's face popped in front of him and he ground his teeth together and started paddling for the shore. He couldn't let his friend down.

H50 H50

Kono was standing on the tarmac when the helicopter landed at the search and rescue base to transfer Danny to a medevac unit. The search was still in full swing and they needed to refuel and get back to Chin's location.

The youngest member of the Five-0 team limped forward, her eyes searching for her friend and co-worker. When the men pushed back the door and jumped out, frantically grabbing a stretcher and hurrying to the waiting medical transport…Kono got her first good look.

Her hand made it to her lips to stop the bile from turning into a full-blown vomit fest. She was terrified at what she saw there. Danny looked dead. His pale face was grey, his normally blonde hair sat limp and lank, plastered to his face in sticky strands of dirty brown. A gash on his face was obviously badly infected and it was making him look slightly distorted. She rushed to meet to the meet the paramedics as they carried him.

"Office Kalakua. I assume you're riding with us?" The woman asked as she helped pull Danny into the waiting helicopter and secure him for another transport.

Kono couldn't quite find her voice as she stared wide-eyed at her teammate…she managed a nod. She could hear Danny's breathing and it wasn't good. He had IV's sticking out of his left elbow. Which mean they couldn't find the veins in his hand to insert the needle. Dehydration. Her mind supplied. Danny's right arm was bound to his chest and there was a strap securing it there. It was swollen looked extremely painful, the way the skin was stretched over the broken bones. The rest of Danny was buried under a white blanket. At least it had been white when the paramedic had covered the detective with it. Now it was more of a dingy color, from lying against his dirty skin.

"You can sit over there. It's about a twenty minute flight to Hilo."

Kono nodded and sank into the seat before she started reaching out to take Danny's left hand and then suddenly pulled back. She was afraid she'd hurt him. She raised worried brown eyes to the paramedic. "Can I touch him?" It was soft. Like a plea instead of a request.

The woman smiled gently. "Of course. Just be mindful of his injuries."

Kono nodded before gingerly taking Danny's cold hand between her warmer palms. She gulped back the fear when he didn't respond, but held on as though his life depended on it. Because she had a feeling, it just might. "We got you, Danny. Hang on just a little longer."

There was a shudder and the whine of an engine as the transport lifted up and started the longest twenty-minute flight Kono had ever experienced.

H50 H50

Steve had pushed past his limit. Limits that he'd never reached before, but ones that he now knew existed as surely as he knew that it would rain this week in Hawaii. The shore had seemed so far away when he'd started stroking his way toward it. His concern for the sharks, that he knew infested these waters, receded to a distant memory as he simply tried to stay afloat. His mind kept coming back to Danny. Always to Danny and whether or not his best friend had managed to defy the odds and stay conscious.

Steve knew that he was only able to hold his breath for about four and half minutes and that meant that where ever he was now? It had to be close to where Danny was.

The sun was now fully shining on the horizon and the reflection off the water, or the dehydration and blood loss, were making Steve see things. Like right now, he would swear on his life that Chin was waving his arms frantically on the rocky shores of the Big Island. But that couldn't be right, because the older man had no idea where Steve had been taken.

Did he?

Steve felt his reserves start to wain and he struggled to keep kicking. Maybe it was seeing the mirage of Chin. Maybe it was the rapidly approaching rocks of the shore. Did it matter? Because without his strength to guide his body past the razor sharp edges of the lava rocks? Steve was going to be bashed to death between the surf and the land.

He felt his head dip beneath the surface as the currents grabbed onto his legs and tried to haul to the depths of the sea.

H50 H50

Chin watched as his relief at seeing McGarrett swimming in from the ocean turned into horror. Steve was pulled beneath the waves, caught in the strong currents. This was a known section of the big Island for accidental drowning, due to unpredictable changes in the water. And Steve was smack in the middle of that area.

Plus there were no 'white sandy beaches' along here. It was all tide pools and lava formations.

The native hawaiian didn't even consider his own safety as he dove into the pulsating water. He breached the surface and swam as hard as he ever had. McGarrett's head popped above the water, but now there was fresh blood running in a watery line from his hairline down the side of his face.

"Steve!" He managed to call out when his eyes finally caught, and held, the other man's gaze. Strong, quick strokes were quickly closing the distance between the cop and the SEAL.

The closer Chin got, the more his concern was turning into worry. Steve was blinking sluggishly and his swimming technique was a far cry from the practiced ease he generally cut through the water.

Chin finally managed to get his arms around McGarrett's upper body and help to keep him above the choppy surface of the ocean. He stared rescue-swimming back toward the shore before either of them could utter a word.

"Danny?" Steve choked finally out. He was kicking ineffectually along with Chin as he allowed his exhausted body to be hauled by his friend.

"I got him, Steve. He's on his way to the hospital in Hilo." Chin hadn't realized that the search and rescue guys had swum out after him. One of them was pulling the ripcord on an inflatable raft. There was a hiss and a 'pop' and then the two men were helping to lift Steve into the small life raft.

"Alone?" Steve uttered softly. His eyes rolling over to connect with Chin's concerned gaze.

The native inhaled deeply for the first time in two days as he settled next to Steve. They'd found both of them and they were alive. "No. Kono's with him."

He watched as Steve's eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped into the darkness of unconsciousness. Chin's eyes flashed over to the rescue team, the question evident without him asking it.

"Don't worry. He's breathing deeply. Pretty sure this is just exhaustion finally catching up with him." The younger man gently picked up the arm wrapped in a stained pink shirt. He frowned when he saw the edges of the wound were still seeping blood and from the looks of it, that had been happening for a while. "Maybe some blood loss too." He added.

The 'whump', 'whump', 'whump' of the approaching helicopter could not have been more welcome as the misty rain finally stopped all together. The sun was shining brightly overhead and it looked to be a beautiful day on the Islands.

They'd found both Danny and Steve…alive. Now, they just had to keep them that way.

TBC…

Author's Note: Yay! Chin and Kono get to be the heroes in this one. Well sorta…Steve was trying like hell and Danny didn't give up. But now there's the harrowing hospital scenes to come and then…dun dun dun…the guy that abducted them is still out there. And we're back to Danny and Steve POV's after this, with snippets from the cousins.

Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed the last chapter. Much appreciation for your time and encouragement.

PLEASE REVIEW: And there may be another chapter this weekend. Yes…I'm bribing you.