Ninjas.

Danny opened his eyes to a dark room. They were slow to adjust and when they did, all the shapes he could make out were blurry, but there was definitely at least one ninja in the room. Sometimes there were two black shadows, moving in perfect unison with each other, mere inches apart. The ninjas were silent, but the room echoed with the grunts and screams of their victims, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh, the thud of falling bodies, and gunshots ringing in the air, hurting his head.

He'd never seen a ninja in real life. At least, he didn't think so. But ninjas were kind of sneaky little shits normally, weren't they? Maybe he'd seen one and they used some kind of ninja brain power to make him forget. Maybe he'd forget about this ninja.

It was also possible the drugs he'd been given were fucking with his brain.

The second time he woke, the ninja fight seemed to be over. They sat on the floor just in front of him, talking on a phone in one voice that sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place. Who knew ninjas used cell phones? Or sat on the floor? He caught only snippets of the conversation.

"Yeah Chin, it's me... fine... roughed up... drugged... be alright."

"N'ja..." Danny mumbled and he heard the ninjas chuckle before he was unconscious again.

After that, Danny drifted in and out, never in one state for very long. The first few times, it was dark and the ninjas were talking to him, though at that point, Danny was pretty certain they weren't actually ninjas. He was also pretty sure that there was only one of them and that he was seeing double.

The next few times, it was bright and there were too many different sounds to pick apart. It all hurt his head. He couldn't see the man who may or may not have been a ninja, but he thought he was close by anyway. He felt motion, like he was on a boat or in a car or something.

The third time he really woke up, he was lying in a bed. The room was silent except for a rhythmic beeping. The harsh lights and white walls hurt his eyes and he grunted.

"Danny? Hey buddy."

Frowning, Danny turned towards the voice and, sitting in a chair next to him, was the not-a-ninja. Except, it kinda was a ninja. One with a huge, goofy grin.

"Steve."

"Yeah, Danno. How you feeling?"

He licked his lips. "Thirsty."

"Yeah, of course. Just a sec." He turned to the table behind him and Danny didn't miss the wince of pain as he turned, and then he noticed the crutches leaning against the chair. He struggled to sit up.

"Steve, are you okay?"

His friend turned back with a scowl and put a gentle hand on his shoulder to keep him down.

"Settle down, Danny. Who's the one in the hospital bed, huh? I just aggravated the injuries you already knew about. Chill out so I can get you some water, all right?"

Danny did as ordered – he was tired, after all – but eyed the SEAL suspiciously as he poured some water and helped Danny drink. He thanked him and settled back onto the bed.

"Did the team call you?" Which didn't make any sense because Steve had never given any of them his contact info and they'd all respected his obvious wishes to remain hidden and not searched him out. Still, he probably wouldn't have been that hard to track down if they'd tired, if they were desperate for help. The way Steve was shifting in his seat though, chewing on his lip and not meeting his eyes, Danny didn't think so.

"No. Uh... Grace called me."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Grace." Steve looked away and nodded and Danny decided not to ask how that had happened. At least, not right now.

"I talked to Rachel not long ago actually. She's bringing Grace. They should here soon."

"Thanks."

"Of course."

"So, uh, what happened?"

"Chin and Kono will be able to give you more of the details. They're at the Palace now, dealing with the suspects. One of which is a cop. He was a mole who managed to not only report on Five-0's movements using HPD resources, but was running surveillance on the Team as well. Kept them all a few steps ahead while they were looking for you. Basically it was payback for charging the lawyer in that double-homicide you guys solved last month."

"Great." Danny took stock of his body. Achy all over, but he didn't think there was anything too bad. "So, when can I get outta here, huh?"

Steve grinned at the expected question. "In the morning, probably. They need to rehydrate you, flush the drugs out of your system, and you got a nasty concussion there. Otherwise, you've got some bruised ribs and some cuts and scrapes. Nothing too bad. You'll be fine in no time. Oh, and thanks for not getting rid of the weapons stash at the house. That came in really handy."

Danny smirked. "Since when do crazy ninjas need assault rifles?"

Steve laughed. "Since they sometimes, once in a while, listen to their partners and call in back-up."

Though he narrowed his eyes, Danny was still smiling. "I don't think that counts."

They were interrupted before the ninja in question could throw a retort.

"Danno!"

"Hey, Monkey!"

Rachel stayed just inside the room by the door, letting go of Grace's hand so she could run to her father's bedside. Steve helped her up, making sure she didn't disturb Danny's IV and other wires and machines and then sat back in his chair with a grin almost as wide as Danny's. Father and daughter wrapped their arms around each other.

"Danno, are you really okay?"

"You bet, Monkey. And I'm even better now that you're here."

She settled into the bed next to him, neither letting go, and turned to Steve.

"Thank you, Uncle Steve."

"Hey, no problem, kiddo. Told you I got Danno's back."

Danny listened to his daughter chatter about whatever she needed or wanted to tell him for a few minutes until the sound of heavy boots drew everyone's attention to the door. Danny looked up to find two scowling men with MP patches on the shoulders of their combats entering his now very crowded hospital room. Rachel's eyes were wide with shock. The men's' eyes searched the small room, quickly landing on Steve. The scowls deepened.

"Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett?"

Steve sighed and reached down to the floor. The men's hands flew to their weapons, causing Rachel to gasp. Steve put his hands up to show them they were empty.

"Chill out, guys. I'm coming. Just getting my stuff." They kept their hands on their weapons, but didn't draw them, and one nodded at him to continue. Steve reached down to pick up a messenger bag from the floor and slung it over his shoulder before reaching for his crutches. Danny turned to him and narrowed his eyes.

"Steven, why are these nice police officers in my hospital room?"

Steve stood and did that lip-chewing-shifty-eye thing again. He scratched the back of his neck. "I... uh... may be a little... um... AWOL?... right now."

"What!"

"You are also being charged with insubordination, theft of government property, and misuse of government resources."

Steve winced as he looked down at Danny. "Uh, yeah. That too."

"Steven, what the actual f—"

"Did I get you in trouble, Uncle Steve?" Grace asked, looking up at the SEAL with large, frightened eyes. He ruffed her hair.

"No way, okay, kiddo? You did great, you hear me?" She nodded and sniffed. "I'm super proud of you, Grace. I gotta go, though, okay? Take care of Danno. Love you."

"I will. Love you, too, Uncle Steve." He kissed the top of her head and winked at Danny.

"See ya later, buddy." Steve nodded to Rachel as he made his way towards the MPs and handed them the laptop. "Rachel."

"Commander." She nodded and moved closer to Danny and Grace as the MPs escorted Steve from the room.