"Vitor's dead. One of his men too." Chin's face had this odd mixture of relief and satisfaction.

Danny surveyed the bodies. One was missing. "The other guy?"

"Holding his own." Chin motioned toward the second ambulance.

Danny nodded, holding his arm against his chest. He knew it was definitely not a bee that stung him, or the glass for that matter. "Good. I want that asshole."

Chin decided to change the subject for now. "Your nephew's fine, by the way. He's in my vehicle."

"You brought him?" Danny's voice had just a touch of anger, but he knew what his colleague was about to say.

"Didn't have much choice, Danny." Chin shrugged. "Hey. He's alright. He stayed in the car. Kono's with him now."

"Thanks, Chin. Don't know what I'd do without you guys."

Chin smiled. "Ohana, brah. No worries. How's Steve?"

"Obstinate as ever. Bleeding all over himself. Refusing a free ride to the ER." Danny closed his eyes and sighed. He really wanted to get out of there. Steve's house was just steps away.

"I saw him flat on his back."

Danny did not want to replay the last hour, but he knew Chin wanted details. "Yea he got the wind knocked out of him. 2 rounds to the chest. Glass in his arm."

"How about you, Danny? Are you okay?" Chin reached out to steady his friend.

"I'm okay. Just cut up from all the glass." He lied.

Chin didn't press the issue further. He simply sighed and shook his head. "Thank god you were wearing vests."

"Yea tell me about it. Almost didn't." How close they'd come to not wearing their vests was enough to make Danny want to puke.

/././

"Stitches, Danny." Steve threw up his hands, exasperated. "That's all it is. No cracked ribs. Vests work. I'm alive and well, standing right here talking to you."

Danny was not impressed. At the moment, he wasn't sure what he was, if he told the truth. But no one was asking. His gung ho partner was too busy arguing with him.

Pulling up his shirt, Steve showed off his chest, welts already an angry blotch of purple and red. Then, he shoved his bandaged arm in his friend's face. "See? Just one hell of a bruise. And stitches. I'm fine."

Turning away, Danny decided he'd had enough of this show and tell, so he headed straight for the nearest restroom. He wanted to splash some water in his face, hell maybe puke for good measure. The bathroom was empty, thankfully, so he walked to the first sink and held on for dear life.

He focused on the coolness of the air, the soft hum of the lights. One more deep breath and then he washed his hands for the third or fourth time. He wasn't counting exactly. Just kept noticing more blood under his fingernails. He didn't know what he'd do about the wrist brace. Crimson smudges were now fading to a brick red, and he'd need to change the soiled wrap too.

But all of that would wait til later. Back at Steve's place. Away from here.

The door swung open and the owner of some of the dried blood, walked into the room. "I'm sorry, partner. I didn't mean it like that."

"We're both tired, babe. Too much adrenaline. Too many bullets." Danny dried his hands and turned to face Steve. "You scared me, okay?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine, Danny."

"Stop saying that." He rubbed his face, closing his eyes for a second. "Stop saying that because getting shot at is - first of all – not nothing. And actually getting hit by said bullets is definitely not nothing. Even for big Seals like you who eat bad guys for lunch."

"Are you done, Danno? Because I can really feel an I told you so coming."

Danny shook his head. "No. You're wrong."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from his partner. He let Danny continue.

"You're wrong because I don't have to say it. I wasn't even thinking it. Though right about now it does sound kinda good. I told you so. There ya go. How does it feel?"

"Danny-"

Danny held up his hand. "It's fine. I'm just thankful you had a vest on."

Steve noticed blood on Danny's shirt. Without asking, he grabbed his friend's arm, carefully lifting the sleeve. Danny wanted to shrug away, but he knew it would make it hurt worse. Instead, he made excuses for himself.

"Just a few scratches. From the glass. It's nothing, Steve. I'll take care of it back at your place."

"That doesn't look like it came from glass. Not all of it."

Danny shrugged away from him. "Well maybe I got clipped just a little."

"To go along with your original line of thinking, there is nothing little about getting clipped, Danno."

Danny's face softened a little. "Using my thinking against me, now, huh?"

"Someone has to, D."

They both laughed.

"I'm fine, Steve. I'll get it checked out, okay, if that's what you want."

There eyes met. Steve broke first.

"Sure, that's what I want, Danny."

/././

"It's just a flesh wound, and it's too jagged and shallow for stitches. I'll clean it up real good and dress it so it can heal properly." She smiled and squirted antiseptic into the wound, careful to catch the excess liquid. Seeing a few small pieces of glass lodged in the skin, she frowned, snagging them with tweezers. "What did you do, Detective Williams? Get shot jumping through a window? Oh yea, this might sting a little."

"Ouch." Danny yelped, resisting the urge to pull away from the nurse. "You're enjoying this too much."

She turned the fidgeting detective so she could get a better look at his wound. "Well maybe if someone knocked some sense into the two of you. Or taught you when to duck."

They both laughed. You had to make light of what ever you could in their line of work.

"I know." Danny shook his head. "Then maybe you wouldn't see us so often. I know."

She gently dabbed the laceration with a sponge. "I'm just glad you're okay. I have a soft spot for cops. Especially danger prone ones."

Danny could only imagine the stories she had to tell. Smiling, she went back to her work. "And besides, you're job security."

"See I knew it. You love this stuff."

/././

Steve watched from the doorway, arms folded over his aching ribs. He couldn't help but smile. It was good to hear his friend laugh. He'd been cleared to leave, even though he wouldn't dare tell anyone it hurt to breathe. Later, he'd ask Danny to wrap his chest.

Glancing down the hall, he caught sight of Chin, talking with a doctor. The older man noticed Steve and simply nodded. They'd catch up in a few minutes.

Steve turned his attention back to his partner. "You ready, Danno?"

"You in a hurry or something?"

"Nah, you have an important phone call to make."

Danny smiled. "That's right, I do."

"Girlfriend?" The nurse put the finishing touches on the dressing for his wound.

"Something much better." Danny surveyed the bandage, smoothing out an edge. "My daughter."

"A man after my own heart." She pretended to swoon. "Now you both better be careful out there, okay? Remember what's important."

Remember what's important. Steve glanced at Danny.

/././

Chin approached with a smile. "Glad to see you're both on your feet."

"Thanks man." Steve smiled. "Any word on the surviving suspect?"

Danny shot them both an annoyed look. "How did you know about the other guy, Steven?"

"A little birdie told me, Danny. How do you think?" Steve put his hands on his hips and glared. "While you were flirting with the nurse, some of us were doing our jobs."

"Flirting with the nurse? Alright, that's uncalled for. It was your ass who suggested I get checked out in the first place."

"Hey, guys." Chin startled both of them. "Let's worry about that later. Right now, we should try to talk with our guy. They're about to take him for surgery."

"Surgery?" Danny muttered. "He doesn't deserve surgery."

Throw him in a box. Was what he was really thinking.

"I guess Gracie will have to wait, Danny."

"Yea, this won't take long." Danny marched off down the hall toward the HPD guys standing outside the door of one of the triage rooms.

"Should we stop him?" Chin turned to Steve.

Steve shook his head. "Just give him some space."

/././

Danny nodded to the two cops guarding the Russian. He knew them both vaguely from his time with the force. They didn't flinch as he entered the room.

A nurse and a tech backed away from the bed without saying a word. They must have seen something in his eyes. The man in the bed saw it too. He immediately squirmed, tugging on his handcuffs.

"You're a cop. You can do nothing."

Danny grinned. "Sure you think I'm a cop. And I am. Most of the time."

He walked closer to the bed, taking his time.

"But right now. Right now, I'm just a guy you jacked."

"You can do nothing."

"Keep saying that and you just might make it come true."

"Help! Someone help me please." The injured man struggled against his restraints.

Danny laughed. "Go ahead. Call for help. See if I care."

He grabbed one of the IV bags and read it. "Gee maybe if I unhook a couple'a these. Or better yet, maybe if I give it a nice squeeze?"

"No!" The man thrashed as best as he could, raising his voice. "You can do nothing."

"Watch me." Danny pretended to pull out the IV line.

"Okay! Okay! Please stop. There was another guy. I don't know of his name." The Russian flinched as Danny loomed closer. "I saw him around a few times. Never got a good look."

"Seriously? You're gonna go with that one?"

"I am telling you the truth, Detective. I know nothing."

Steve stayed in the doorway; hands on his hips, letting Danny have the room. He waited, knowing he'd eventually have to join the conversation.

"You saw him around a few times." Danny twitched ever so slightly, working hard to keep his composure. "What did this guy look like?"

"American. Dark hair. Tall." The bleeding thug squirmed a little more. "I don't know any more than that. I follow orders. That's it."

The detective crossed his arms, gritting his teeth and then supporting his sore arm. He really needed to ask for a sling. "So you got a Hawaiian vacation for following orders."

The guy made the mistake of smiling and laughing at that thought. That was it. Steve was suddenly behind Danny, holding him in place.

"Do you have to spoil all of my fun?" He tugged himself away from his partner.

"Yes, I do, Danny. We're lucky they let us in here at all." Steve waved toward their suspect sprawled out in the hospital bed, handcuffed and heavily guarded.

The doctor barged in, barking orders. The room filled quickly with hospital staff. "We have to take him to surgery now. No more questions."

"Wait a minute." Steve held up his hand. "He may not be around for me to question after surgery." His voice clear and serious.

The doctor was not budging. "That may be so but it's more likely he doesn't survive if I don't take him now."

The man in the bed agreed. "Come on now, I don't want to die. What do I need to tell you?"

Steve stayed beside Danny, ready to grab him again, and he wanted to keep the doctor away for just a few seconds more. Growling at their suspect, he prayed he'd get something useful. "What else do you know about Vitor's boss? Who is he?"

"All I know. He left and he's not coming back. Said his mission was complete." The man shivered as sweat beaded on his forehead. He needed that surgery in a bad way. "I put him on a plane myself. Private jet. Yesterday."

"You better not be lying." Danny shook the bed ever so much. "If I have to come back here, I'll put you in a box."

Thanks as always for reading. I hope you're enjoying the ride...