Notes:
A Happy New Year to all of you :-)
Thank you so much for all the reviews and alerts.

"How long until the explosive devices are deactivated?" Steve asked testily.

Intermitting his nervous pacing, he came to a halt next to some bomb squad members. Without looking up, one of them answered in a patient tone that didn't help at all to calm Steve's nerves, "Five more minutes, Commander."

Putting his hands on his hips, McGarrett breathed out a frustrated sigh. His gaze was glued to the school building as if he could tear down the walls and rescue the hostages by sheer willpower. Danny's voice over the earpiece giving descriptions of possible escape routes only distracted him momentarily from his impatient waiting. Steve had already been over the map of the school grounds. He had already figured that Hank had planned to escape through the gym and even though Steve knew the take down plan by heart he took another look to make sure he had everything thought through perfectly.

His thoughts traveled to Danny; he wasn't exactly sure what was happening inside the building and that really worried him. McGarrett never thought he would think something like this, but right now it really unnerved him that Danny was not able to speak freely. Steve was so used to hearing Danny talk and rant day in and day out that he almost freaked out earlier hearing Hank Philips first yell at Danny, then a sickening thud and almost three minutes of silence – yes he knew exactly how long because he had counted every single second while he had been shouting Danny's name over and over again – before finally hearing the soft moans of his partner. His stomach tightened from worry and anger but he tried to stow these feelings away. He needed a clear head once they stormed the building.

Someone cleared their throat behind him and Steve turned around. "Commander? It's done – we can start whenever you're ready." Steve nodded a short thank before he clapped his hands and raised his voice, "OK, everyone knows their position?" Looking around at the waiting police officers and bomb squad members, he was pleased to see only calm acceptance on their faces. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw paramedics waiting and prayed that their service wouldn't be needed. Locking out any disturbing thoughts with a deep breath, he said loud and clear so everyone could hear him, "Let's move!"

McGarrett, together with a group of eight more men and women, jogged around the building until they reached the backside of the gym while Chin and Kono lead similar group of officers into other areas of the school. Once the bomb squad gave its final okay they would go in, rescuing the parents. Steve knew that they were perfectly capable of handling the situation so he could focus solely on finding Danny.

Giving the police officers a sign, they fanned out to secure the building while Steve snuck into one of the locker rooms through an emergency exit. He had insisted on going in alone; he didn't want to take the risk of alarming Hank Philips, not with Danny or other possible hostages still in his hands.

His weapon at the ready McGarrett carefully crossed the room, peering around the corner into the next corridor. There were three more doors and while Steve was still trying to figure out which option he should choose he heard the distant sound of footsteps through the first door on the left. He quickly recalled the ground plans of the building; if he remembered correctly it was another locker room which had an emergency exit leading to a small courtyard where police officers would be waiting. He nodded once to himself as he silently opened the door with grim determination.

Years of training allowed him to take in everything inside the room in the blink of an eye. He indeed found himself in another elongated locker room with a row of wardrobes and seats on one wall and some small windows on the opposite wall. As expected the only other possible exit was the emergency door at the other end of the room, about ten steps away from where Steve was standing. It was there, not far from the door, he finally found Danny, his heart sinking as he fully grasped the situation.

Steve had intended to sneak up on Hank Philips, perhaps knocking him out in a surprise attack, but although he had been as silent as possible entering the room he must have made enough noise to alarm Philips. So much for these highly acclaimed SEAL skills, Steve thought embarrassed, but he had no time for this so he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind, assessing the situation. He already knew from Danny's comments earlier that Hank was wearing a suicide vest but the sheer amount of explosives concerned him. Steve had some experience with explosive devices and what he saw, from where he was standing, Philips had enough C4 on him to blow up the whole building. The other thing that worried him deeply was the big butterfly knife that was tightly pressed against Danny's throat.

Knowing that it was probably useless Steve, nevertheless, said loudly, "Five-0! Hank Philips, you are under arrest. Drop your weapon!"

As he had already expected his words did not have the desired effect – somehow that sentence never seemed to work and he could see in Danny's face that the exact same thought crossed his mind. But what Steve never had bargained for was Hank Philips' reaction, namely that he started to laugh, seemingly amused.

"Oh, Five-0," he said in a tone of mock admiration before the laughter abated and his voice became cold. "You obviously have the advantage of knowing my name; would you be so kind to tell me yours?"

Steve narrowed his eyes, deciding to play along for the moment. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett…" but before he could say more he was momentarily distracted by Chin's voice over his earpiece. "Steve? We found two dead bodies, all other hostages are safe and unharmed! Bomb squad just confirmed that all motion sensors are deactivated."

Steve allowed himself a tiny moment of triumph; now he could direct all his concentration on the two men in front of him, as he tried once again to persuade Philips to give up. "Drop the knife!" he said fiercely, raising his weapon a little bit higher. "Drop the knife and let him go! Now!" McGarrett calculated his chances; he knew that he would be able to eliminate Hank Philips with a well-aimed shot to the head if it came to that, although Danny would probably argue to the contrary, Steve really would prefer a less violent solution.

"I don't think so, Commander!" Steve grimaced seeing the obnoxious smile spreading across Hank's face. The older man pressing his knife even tighter against Danny's throat as he slowly raised his right hand, revealing a small black device. His next words confirmed Steve's worst fears, "I guess you're familiar with C4 explosive? Well, you see, I have enough of this stuff on me to not only blow up the people in this room but the whole building as well. All I have to do is let go of this little button and… boom! Is it that what you want?" Steve swallowed disgustedly when that stupid smile on Hank's face grew even bigger. "That's what I thought. So I think that you will be the one who will drop the weapon and step back."

Steve stared at Philips for a moment, he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do next but that was definitely not among the possibilities. Letting his gaze travel over his partner, McGarrett could feel anger bubbling up in him when he took in Danny's appearance. The left side of Danny's face was heavily bruised and his left eye was almost completely swollen shut. Blood was slowly trickling from a split lip and there was a crimson smudge on his right sleeve. His whole posture was rigid and guarded and Steve knew Danny well enough to tell that he was in pain.

McGarrett narrowed his eyes, shifting his gaze to the device in Philips's hand. His mind had been racing ever since Chin reported on finding the two dead bodies. Hank was obviously dangerous and Steve had no doubt that the man was capable of killing Danny without hesitation. But Steve wouldn't allow that, there must be a possible way to end all this right here and now.

"Drop your weapon and let me go!" Hank's voice was cutting through Steve's thoughts. Philips took a few steps back toward the emergency exit forcing Danny to follow by still pressing the knife against his throat.

Steve stood stock-still, not moving but not lowering his weapon either. An idea crossed his mind, a small flicker of hope, the one possibility he had been looking for. He couldn't see any other way out of this, he couldn't shoot Philips because of the stupid C4 he had on him and he had no hope of acting fast enough once Philips decided to finally cut Danny's throat. There was only one option left.

Steve blinked once, hoping Danny would understand that there was no other possibility. McGarrett looked up when he heard Danny speak, flinching at the tone in his partner's raspy voice, "Nononono, Steve! Hell, no! Steven, don't you dare to do this!"

Steve saw Danny take a deep breath, so deep that the blade finally scratched his skin, blood slowly trickling down his neck. Trying to fight back the remorse, the guilt, and the fear he was feeling, Steve blocked out everything around him, focusing solely on the task before him. Danny took a second deep breath as Hank retreated further. They had almost reached the door when Danny took a third and final breath before he looked up, locking eyes with McGarrett. For the length of a heartbeat nothing happened and time seemed to stand still until Danny finally blinked slowly.

Steve didn't wait any longer; lowering his weapon a few inches in one swift move, he pulled the trigger exactly at the same moment Hank Philips shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The room reverberated with the sound of the shot and Steve watched horrified as his bullet lodged itself in the middle of Danny's thigh. He had aimed for a clear through and through laterally to Danny's leg where no major blood vessels or nerves were situated, but unfortunately Hank's tiny movement had been enough to shatter that plan in the fraction of a second.

Danny's right leg bent, not supporting his weight any longer as he stumbled sideways against the wall, before dropping abruptly to the floor with a choked cry. Totally taken aback by Steve's unorthodox action Hank Philips didn't even try to prevent Danny from going down and the butterfly knife that had threatened Danny's life only moments ago was now dangling uselessly from his left hand.

Steve carefully made a step in Hank's direction, throwing a hasty and worried glance at Danny who was sitting on the floor, back against the wall. Clasping his injured leg with both hands Danny returned Steve's look from pain-filled eyes. "What the hell…" he forced out as his voice trailed off in an agonized moan.

Hank Philips growled deep in his throat; that had been a measure he had never had foreseen, McGarrett had taken away his last hostage, his last threat that he could have used against the police. Seeing only one other course of action, Philips pulled himself together quickly and without wasting another thought on his former hostage, Hank coldly stared at Steve. "That was probably your very last error, Commander."

With these words he raised his right hand and like in slow-motion Steve watched as Philips' fingers uncurled and the small black device started to slip from his grip.

Steve had no time to think, he just acted on pure instinct, diving headlong into the older man with all the strength he possessed. Both bodies crashed against the emergency door which opened from the force of the impact and they tumbled to the concrete floor. A sudden, intense pain ran through Steve's right elbow when he hit the ground but he shoved the feeling away, struggling to his feet as quickly as possible. Looking around frantically, he found the small black device miraculously still secured tightly in Hank's grip; Philips must have instinctively renewed his hold on the device when Steve tackled him.

Before Hank could even blink, Steve jumped at him, trying to wrap both of his hands around Hank's fingers to prevent him from letting go of the button. Steve exhaled a pained hiss as he moved his right arm; his fingers were suddenly numb and he was no longer able to flex them.

Luckily the police officers who had been positioned just outside the door had summed up the situation in the blink of an eye and before Steve could even call for help a second pair of hands closed around his own. "It's okay, Commander McGarrett, you can let go – I have him."

Removing his hands slowly and carefully from underneath the police officer's fingers, Steve sat back on his heels. Panting heavily he nodded a thank-you to the young Hawaiian officer in front of him and instructed, "Be extra careful and make sure that bomb squad has a look at this."

He maintained his position for another second catching his breath before he stood up in a hurry. It seemed to him as if it had been hours since he had pulled the trigger of his weapon but he knew in reality not more than two minutes could have passed. Whirling around, McGarrett accidentally bumped into another police officer, immediately a sharp pain spread from his elbow through his entire right arm. Not able to completely suppress a moan he pressed the arm tightly to his body, covering his elbow protectively with his left hand.

Throwing him a worried look, the woman in front of him asked, "Are you okay, Commander? You are…"

"I'm fine," Steve cut her short mid-sentence. "But I have an officer down – send in the paramedics, NOW!" he yelled over his shoulder while running back into the locker room. Ignoring the pain in his arm he knelt down next to his fallen partner, grabbing Danny's shoulder. "Hey Danny? You alright?"

"Am I… am I alright? Do I look alright to you?" If looks could kill, Steve was sure he would drop dead in a jiffy. "Three hours, Steven. It took you less than half a day to get me shot. That's gross, even for your standards. Oh no, wait, you didn't get me shot, you shot me yourself." Danny took a shuddering breath. "You shot me, you freak! Deliberately! You are mentally disturbed! Did the army drill a hole in your brain?" He weakly raised his left hand, drawing a small circle in the air as any other movement was far beyond his strength.

Blinking tiredly, his hand dropping back to his lap as he leaned his head against the wall to ease the pounding headache and the growing dizziness. His next words were nothing more than a whisper and it was only then that Steve noticed the sweat on Danny's too pale face and his labored breathing. "No Steven, I'm obviously not alright."

Coughing weakly, Danny closed his eyes, his face contorting in pain as he grabbed his right thigh where Steve's bullet had hit him. The entry wound was bleeding moderately; Danny knew that the blood loss was not life-threatening yet but nevertheless he was shivering slightly, feeling his heart beating frantically in his chest. The simple task of breathing seemed to get more and more difficult with every second. His leg was shaking badly as his grip tightened in a vain attempt to stop the trembling and the pain that flowed through his thigh with every tiny movement. His eyes snapped open as he felt Steve gently squeezing his shoulder and Danny gritted his teeth at the agony that shot through various parts of his body. He wasn't able to prevent the stifled moan that left his throat.

"Hey, it's okay… just lie down. Take it easy, man." Danny could decipher neither the tone in Steve's voice nor the expression on his face. Any other time it would have been fun to name that new face but at the moment he couldn't even muster the energy to think about it. He was too busy trying to decide which was worse – the pounding in his head, the pain in his leg, or the cold he was feeling that made his whole body shiver. Danny noticed he was lying on the floor, but couldn't remember how he had gotten there. He could feel the cold stone beneath him, the shivering increasing with every breath he drew. The pressure building up in his chest made it even more difficult to draw in enough air, he coughed again as he tried to fill his lungs.

"Danny? Hey, stay awake! Can you hear me?" Danny blinked, fighting to open his eyes; he was not sure when he had closed them. His gaze was unsteady as he tried to catch Steve's eye, a grey veil shadowing his view. He blinked again, asking himself if it was really worth the struggle to keep his eyes open. "Hey, stay with me! EMS will be here shortly, okay? Danny? Everything will be alright, do you understand? Danny? Hey, talk to me!" Danny was still unsure about the tone, was that really worry in Steve's voice?

The corners of Danny's mouth twitched slightly and the ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he whispered hoarsely between two gasps, "I wonder how you will explain that it was you who killed me." With another slow blink and another slight twitch of his mouth he added, "Reading your report would have been fun…" His voice trailing off, no longer having the energy to keep his eyes open as they slipped closed. The last thing he heard over his own ragged breathing, as he drifted into blissful darkness, were Steve's desperate pleas to stay awake but he was just too damn tired to care about.

(tbc)