A HUGE thank you for all of your comments, follows and favorites. I never expected this kind of reaction and I'm overwhelmed.

To the reader who asked if I would go into details during the actual procedure, I chose not to since I wasn't actually there and didn't want to lose myself into intricate descriptions.

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While the transplant was underway, Chin and Clara sat in the waiting room sipping coffee while Eddie Williams stood at the nurses' station desk signing forms to foot the bill for the private HEPA-filtered room for Steve and Danny during the crucial stage of the transplant.

Clara walked up to him as he put his John Hancock on the last page. He handed the documents over to the head nurse and turned to his wife that he enlaced in his arms.

"It's done. The boy won't have a care in the world about the medical bills that may not be footed by the Navy. I'll use the retirement funds I had set aside for emergencies. They say we'll need to follow a strict set of guidelines if we want to stay in the room with them, like washing hands and wearing those medical gowns. And until the threat of infections is over we'll have to wear a mask and gloves whenever we come near them."

"A small price to pay to ensure their health and our peace of mind. It's nice what you're doing for Steven."

"It's amazing Clara but I've only known that boy a short spell and I can sense he's become a part of Danny. I've never seen such devotion, respect and kinship, even between Dan and Matt."

"Daniel trusts him with his life."

"I can understand. And looking at Dan now – it's frightening how rock-solid their bond is. Steve's illness is dragging him down; he's falling apart."

She smiled and enlaced him once more, resting her head on his chest. "You're a great man Edward Williams. You may be bullheaded, obnoxious and a real pain in the neck sometimes but your priorities are in the right place."

"You wouldn't be so crazy about me if I didn't ruffle your feathers once in a while."

"Maybe," she chuckled and stole a quick kiss.

He glanced down at his watch. "What's taking them so long?"

"The doctor said it could take all day. They could have harvested Daniel's stem cells earlier but that would have meant freezing them in a solution that ultimately Steven could have been allergic to. He wanted to minimize the risks to his friend." She nudged him toward the waiting room. "Come on, let's go sit down."

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Outside in the parking lot, Kono was on her iPhone with Rachel in Hawaii.

"I wish I could there for him."

"Danny knows that, Rachel. But with Grace at school and your pregnancy..."

"My doctor cleared me for travelling. And as for Grace it wouldn't hurt her grades if she missed a couple of days."

"Danny wouldn't like that. Besides there's nothing you can do here but wait. I'll keep you updated on both their conditions."

"You do that. Ask Danny to call later if he feels up to it. I'm sure Grace would love to talk to him."

"I'll tell him. You take care of yourself and that baby."

"I will. You kiss Daniel and Steve for me. Tell Steve we're all pulling for him."

"I certainly will. Bye now." Kono pressed 'end call' on her phone and released some of her grief in a heavy sigh. She sat on a bench and buried her head in her hands. She hadn't realized just how deeply Steve's illness had upset her until now. Tears brimmed over in her eyes, her chest tightened under the overwhelming pain and sorrow she felt thinking of how close she is of losing the one man, aside from her cousin, who believed in her ability to make it all the way. Steve gave her a chance to boost her confidence and prove herself worthy to wear a badge.

She couldn't lose him. None of them could. He was their fearless leader, the invincible Superman as Danny would often dub him. Steve had to fight for those who loved him dearly, most especially his soul brother Danny. She feared Danny's reaction if he were to lose Steve.

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Later that evening, both men were settled in their private filtered room. They slept soundly in beds next to each other. Danny's parents, Kono and Chin were gathered in the sitting area, sipping coffee and watching television, careful to keep the sound low so not to awake the slumbering friends behind them.

Clara kept a watchful eye on both Steve and Danny, hoping to catch a glimpse of either one showing signs of waking up, though the doctor said that they would probably be out for most of the night following the transplant that, incidentally, went without a hitch.

In the wee hours of the morning, Kono and Chin had gone back to their hotel whereas Danny's parents remained. Clara had nodded off on the sofa while Edward kept a vigil on this his fifth cup of coffee. He swigged down the last gulp and stood to get another fill up.

As he crossed to the door to head out, he heard a muffled sound coming from one of the beds. He stopped, turned around and padded up to Danny's side. He discarded his cup in the trash basket, slipped on a pair of gloves, adjusted his mask over his mouth and leaned over his son.

"Dan?" he coaxed in a whisper. "Dan, can you hear me? It's dad."

"D- dad?" Danny slurred out.

Ed lowered the bed rail and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Yeah, I'm here. How you feeling?"

"My head hurts. And my lower back is on fire," Danny hissed.

"That was to be expected. I'll get the nurse to give you something to ease the pain."

"Dad, how's Steve?"

Ed nodded toward the next bed and a groggy Danny painfully followed his gaze. "Doctor Granger said he came through the procedure with flying colors. So far no hiccups. He's resting now."

"He's okay?" Danny's voice was a mixed of fear and hope.

"For now. The doctor says we need to wait for the cells to take and start seeing a gradual return to normal blood counts. He may not be able to come home for a few weeks but as for you, you should be up and around in a few days."

"Doesn't matter. I'm not leaving here until he can come home." Danny cringed at the sudden shooting pain in his head.

"You stay put now. I'll get the nurse."

"Ed?" came the faint voice from the sitting area.

"Look who's awake?"

Without stretching her sore muscles she sprung off the couch and quickened the pace toward Danny's bed while Ed left to fetch the nurse. She put on gloves and adjusted her mask over her nose before drawing closer to her bed-ridden son.

"Daniel, how are you? Any pain?"

"Just my head and lower back. They're killing me. Dad went to get the nurse." With a hiss, he weakly craned out his neck to glimpse at Steve sleeping in the bed next to his. "I hope to God this works. He's been through enough."

"We all pray that it does."

Danny started to elbow himself up but the shooting pain in both his skull and lower back made him pause.

"What are you doing?" His mother scolded.

"I wanna – I wanna to go to him."

"He's right next to you. He's sleeping and so should you." She held his head while she fluffed up his pillow. "There you go." She eased his head down and lovingly brushed his hair back. "Want some water?"

"Uh uh – please."

She reached for the water pitcher. As she poured a glass full she realized that the water had turned a bit lukewarm. "I'll get some fresh water down the hall. I'll be right back."

He nodded. His head might have been killing him but his pain dwarfed in comparison to his concerns for Steve. Again he turned toward his partner, watching his chest rise and fall in a normal rhythm. "Danno has given you some good stuff here. Don't you dare reject it, you hear?"

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The next forty-eight hours were fairly uneventful. Steve would briefly wake during the day only to nod off shortly after making sure Danny was all right and vice-versa for Danny. Both were in and out of consciousness and barely talkative. Danny's parents, Chin and Kono would take turns keeping a vigil, relieved that their conditions were deemed satisfactory, save perhaps for Steve whose rising core temperature gave the doctors reason for concerns.

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The dawn had barely broken the next morning that Danny's eyes fluttered open to a blurred world. Once the focus was done, he flung the blankets aside and dragged his stiff legs over the edge of the mattress. The move wasn't without its pain with a groan finding its way up his throat.

He paused and breathed deeply to dispel the dizziness and rubbed his lower back hoping to appease some of the stinging sensation before he gingerly lowered himself down. He slid his feet into his slippers, donned his bathrobe, grabbed his IV pole and headed toward Steve's bed. As he sluggishly slouched over to his partner he glanced at his mother sleeping on the couch and his father hunched over in an armchair snoring lightly.

He lowered the bed rail and hovered over the drawn face hoping to see the eyelids flutter, a sign that Steve was rousing. He looked up at the heart monitor beeping a steady rhythm but flinched at the body temperature registering 99.5. He placed a hand on Steve's forehead just as the doctor entered for his first round of the day.

"Detective? What are you doing up so early?" he asked through his mask.

"I could ask you the same thing, doctor."

"I didn't leave last night. We had a patient who came down with GvHD."

"What's that?" Danny asked, his heart already hammering out of his chest in dread.

"Graft-versus-host disease. That's when a patient who underwent a stem-cell graft rejects the - " Doctor Granger held his tongue upon noticing Danny's hunted look, "- let's just say he'll be okay."

"No BS now, doc. I want to know if Steve can come down with this GH disease as well."

"In every transplant we deal with risks of rejection, especially when the donor is not a kin. However in your case, Detective you have a ninety-eight point five tissue compatibility, thus considerably decreasing the threat of a graft failure."

"He can still fall into that one point five margin." Danny may have been optimistic about Steve's chances but he was nonetheless pragmatic.

"We are giving Commander McGarrett anti-rejection and growth-factor drugs to lessen the risk of a reject and to speed up the development of his new immune system. We are also monitoring his vitals around the clock."

"What about his temperature?" Danny pointed at the heart monitor. "It's a ninety-nine point five."

"There's nothing to be concerned about," Granger assured with a light twitch.

"Are you sure?" Danny wasn't convinced.

The oncologist strained a reassuring smile and placed a gloved-hand on Danny's shoulder. "I'm sure. How's your head?"

"It's better."

"And your back?"

"Still sore."

"I'll get you something for that. Now let's get you back into that bed over there. You also need plenty of rest to get your strength back." He assisted Danny into his bed and checked his vitals. "Next time you want to check on your partner I strongly recommend you wear a mask. He's highly vulnerable to germs right now as you are. Although the air is filtered, visitors approaching this close should have protection. We need to put all the odds in his favor."

"Okay. I will."

Every so often he would risk a glance at Steve's heart monitor. His core temperature was now reading 99.6, which may not have been alarming but was nevertheless a reason for concern in his present condition. Before long Danny was out like a light.

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Later that morning, Clara was keeping a vigil by both beds, sipping coffee when surgical-clad Kono and Chin entered with bags of muffins and fruit salad cups.

"Good morning, Mrs. Williams." Chin was first to speak upon spotting the careworn mother.

"Now what did I say about that?" she chided good-naturedly.

"Sorry. Clara. How are they this morning?"

"Daniel woke up about an hour ago and went right back asleep once he knew his friend was okay. Steven hasn't stirred. The doctors are a bit concerned by his rising temperature."

"What does that mean?" Kono asked with some dread. She glanced at Chin who returned her worried frown. "He's rejecting the bone marrow?"

"He'd better not," threatened the mumbling voice from behind.

All turned to Danny who was elbowing himself into a sitting position, hissing at the pervasive tenderness in his lower back.

In one single long stride Chin was at his side. "Danny, you'd better lie back."

"Chin, I'm fine. Now what's this I hear about Steve's fever being a concern? Early this morning Doctor Granger assured me it wasn't." With Chin's help Danny slid down his bed and slouched over to Steve's, heedful to grab a mask on the table and fitted it over his nose before stepping up to his friend. He was glad that they had removed his IV line so he was able to move more freely.

"Maybe not then but it is now. It's a hundred and one and rising," Clara informed grimly.

"Ah shit!" Danny couldn't help the curse that spewed out of his mouth. He went to stand over Steve's bed and held back touching his forehead. "What did the doctor say?"

"They were here barely thirty minutes ago. They are consulting on the proper treatment to administer."

"Where's Doctor Granger now?"

"Your father is with him, discussing Steve's condition."

"I should hear this,"

At that moment Doctor Granger and Edward stepped into the room.

"Detective, you're up!"

"Yes I'm up," Danny replied icily, removing his mask to speak clearly. "Now why didn't anyone wake me when Steve's temperature started rising and don't tell me there's nothing to be concerned about." Danny's tone bordered on insolence and he did not appreciate people pussy-footing around him when his partner's system was showing signs of rejection.

Then a grating sound caught Danny's attention. It was barely audible but nevertheless it was there: rattling. He turned to Steve and glued his ear to his chest. "Why is there rattling in his lungs?"

Granger inhaled deeply and glanced at Edward standing at his side.

"Tell my son what you told me." His tone was commanding, almost threatening.

"He has a lung infection."

"What?" Danny bellowed, sending a shooting pain down his lower back. His eyes darted maniacally between his father and the doctor, searching for an explanation.

"After engraftment, patients remain at risk for potentially fatal infections due to immunosuppression, Until their bone marrow starts to recover, recipients are at risk for fever, infection, bleeding, anemia, damage to the vital organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys."

"Yes I remember the potential risks associated with the transplant, but you also assured me that you were giving him every conceivable meds to prevent just that?"

"We did but the patient himself is a germ carrier and as a result of the depletion of his auto-immune system, an infection can set in usually within two to three weeks following engraftment but in rare cases it can occur within days."

"Or is it possible I gave it to him?" There was an ominous silence. "I did come near him without wearing a mask."

"That was barely hours ago. No it's not that."

"Then - could my bone marrow have given him this infection? Could I have been a carrier?"

"You were thoroughly evaluated with a complete medical history, physical examination, and serologic testing. As I mentioned before you were a perfect match."

"Save for the one point five percent margin didn't you say? And you didn't answer my question."

"Yes, it's possible." Doctor Granger could not lie, though he could not be a hundred per cent positive without further tests.

"Oh God." Danny's frame shattered and he burst into tears. He turned to Steve once last time before running out of the room.

Clara started after him but Ed stopped her. "I'll get him."

"Daniel!" Ed shouted down the hall as he trotted after his aghast son, eventually catching up with him. He grabbed Danny's arm and turned him to face him. The sight of his son in a complete meltdown sliced through him. He took a firm hold of his shoulders and tried to shake him back to his senses.

"Dan, listen to me. LISTEN TO ME! The doctor assured me there was no sign of a rejection but during the time it takes for the stem cells to engraft, his immune system is defenseless even to viruses he might have been carrying. Don't you DARE beat yourself up over this! You gave your friend the gift of life for Pete's sake! Right now he's weak and needs time to get back in harness. There's still a good chance he'll fight this but you've GOT TO PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER! You cannot fall apart now. That man in there - he needs you. You have to be strong for him. If you give up then he will too." Ed could not help his own tears from spurting out as he attempted to sink the words into his frantic son's skull. "You keep saying that Steve's a born fighter. He'll get through this."

"He's so weak. I don't think he has any strength left in him to fight," Danny wept.

"Then you'll give it to him. We all will."

He pulled Danny into a tight hug, whispering emboldening words in his ears and held him until the tears subsided. He could feel his son's weak frame sagging against him as he cried his heart out. All the tension and worry of the last weeks were finally taking their toll.

Some heavy bromance is coming up in the next chapters.