A/N: Thank you for your lovely reviews! You made my day :)

The content of the next chapter is the reason why I wrote this story. I just couldn't find anything similar, so I had to write it myself ;) As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a doctor, nor do I work in an OR. It's just my imagination.

Warning: There is a lot of blood in this chapter. And of course a lot of Steve Whump!

Chapter 3

"Okay Steve, I'm gonna count to three... One, two…"…then… nothing….

Danny hesitated. His heart was hammering in his chest. Is he doing the right thing? Should he really cut open his partner and best friend's gut while he was fully conscious in order to get a bullet out? It was somehow unthinkable! What if he would make a mistake? What if...?

"Danny?...What are you waiting for? Come on, just do it!"

"You really sure, Steve, that you want me to do this?" Danny tried to address his doubts once more.

"Danny, I have complete confidence in you! Don't worry about me. I'll be fine..." Steve tried to assure his partner while trying to hide his own fear.

With one last apologetic look at Steve, Danny went to work with the scalpel and made the first cut. Steve clenched his teeth but made no sound.

Steve's body jerked in reflex. "Sorry, partner...you okay?" Danny took a quick glance at Steve's face again. It was a stupid question at the time as Danny knew Steve was far from okay, but Danny asked anyway he needed to hear the words. "Gg...go ahead Danny... I can take it, I just have to get used to the pain." Steve tried his best to sound as normal as possible so as not to worry his partner more.

How could anyone handle that level of pain? Danny wondered. He knew that Steve was trained to endure torture. Well, what he was doing was definitely a form of torture, but Steve certainly wasn't trained for this kind of thing.

Danny tried to concentrate on his task, trying to remember his prep class where he had learned how to dissect tissue, muscle and tendons and then sew them back together properly. Of course, those were not living people, but dead flesh that they were allowed to practice on. So this was something completely different! While concentrating on not making any mistakes, he kept checking Steve's face to see how he was holding up. Every look at Steve's pain-stricken face was horrible, but he forced himself to look. It was his only chance to see if Steve was breathing well enough. From time to time he also checked for a pulse to make sure it didn't go the roof. After all, Danny had no other measuring devices to tell him that, only his ability of observation. The fact that he knew his partner very well made this challenge only a little easier, if at all.

As Danny had to cut deeper into the tissue and spread out the wound on top in order to get a better view, Steve couldn't stay still any longer. He started moving and writhing, which made it even harder for Danny to fulfil his task.

"Steve, I know it hurts like hell, but you can't move right now! Take slow, deep breaths, okay? And hold on tight to the armrests!" Danny instructed, breathing with him... "That's it babe, you're doing great...you're doing great."

Steve had to fight the urge to move, which he just about managed. But he couldn't hold back his moans any longer. Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

But nonetheless Danny had to get downwards nearer to the bullet, no matter how merciless it felt to do what he was doing.

"Dd...Danny, how...much longer? Can you see it?" Steve's voice wavered in desperation.

"Not yet, hang in there, partner. Just a little longer...I should have it in a minute..."

In reality, Danny had no idea how much time he would need, but what else could he tell his best friend who was on the verge of his limits? "

Danny sensed that Steve probably knew it, too.

"Shit…There's too much blood. I can't see anything." Danny didn't intend to say that out loud, to avoid worrying Steve even more…..

"You've got to suck it out, Danny." Steve pointed out. His voice was a little stronger.

Danny knew that, in theory, having a steady hand and a good view were one of the most important things in surgery. However, in the rush, he hadn't thought to prepare anything suitable. With the small syringes from the medical kit it would just take too long, he figured, so he quickly searched for something he could use to suck out all the blood at once.

He found the tube from an IV line, cut off the ends, and used the syringe just to suck in the blood into the tube in order to make a suction device ... "It's working, Steve!" - It is working! I can see the bullet," Danny said, sounding almost enthusiastic. But the mere fact that Danny had found out where the bullet was located didn't mean that the ordeal was over for Steve. Not by far...

The relief at the progress Danny had just made didn't last long. Blood was practically everywhere. As the bleeding continued, Danny became afraid of losing control of the situation...as did Steve - no longer knowing how to deal with the pain.

The scene was somehow unreal for Danny. This morning they had sat together in the office waiting for the call that Dae Won had taken the bait, and now Steve was lying in a pool of blood in unimaginable pain. And he, Danny, had made it even worse!

Get a grip, Williams! You have to - for Steve's sake! Danny tried to pull himself together.

Steve…

Danny was torn from his thoughts by a heavy moan of Steve's suffering.

"Steve… just hold on a little longer… I'll have the bullet in no time. Promise!" Danny tried to keep Steve going.

The bullet was lodged deep down in the right side of Steve's abdomen. It hadn't hit any vital organs, but it had damaged a major vessel, fortunately not an artery. That explained the bleeding...Danny knew this was going to be the tricky part. Steve was pushing himself to his limits even more, and Danny was beginning to wonder how much pain was humanly tolerable. Even though Steve was a SEAL, he was still human, right? But he had to focus on removing the bullet without causing further damage and somehow clamp the vessel to stop the bleeding.

He was concentrating on figuring out the best way to get the bullet out when he heard Steve say: "Y…You know what, Danny?" Danny was somewhat surprised; Steve's question came out of the blue...

He paused, holding the scalpel in his hand, and looked at Steve's face in anticipation of what his partner had to say…"What is it, Steve?"

"I guess," Steve said through clenched teeth. "I... I can say for the first time that I... I've never been through this before, and it's probably never been worse." Danny was speechless at first, but also a little amused by Steve's unexpected comment at that moment.

"Oh really Steve? Honestly, as much as I wanted to hear those words come out of your mouth, I would have been happier if you hadn't gotten the chance to say them."

"Yeah…me too, Danno, me too"

Both gave each other a knowing look and a tired smile.

"Okay Steve. I'm going to remove the bullet now. Please try to stay still. Remember to concentrate on your breathing - in and out, okay? I know you can do it."

"Kay. Danny, give me a second. I th…think I need a minute."

Danny nodded. A minute more or less wouldn't really matter, right?

He wiped the sweat and tears from Steve's face with clean cloths, then his own.

"Okay, ready?" Steve just nodded silently, too weak by now to say anything else.

Danny sucked up the blood again, then grabbed a pair of tweezers and picked up the bullet. He carefully began to remove it from the tissue it was lodged in. When he was done, he quickly clamped the blood vessel to stop the bleeding. Steve had to muster all his willpower to stay as still as he possibly could. He gripped the armpits even tighter but couldn't stop himself from screaming. He was at the point where he didn't care anymore.

Steve's cries caused Danny physical pain, making him sick to his stomach.

Oh Steve …

"Buddy….. I'm almost there, I'm almost there! You're doing great, babe, you're doing great." Danny tried to encourage Steve once more.

"Got it?" Steve asked breathlessly and shivering from exhaustion.

"Yes! I've got it! I've got it, Steve. It's outside." Danny took a quick, disgusted look at the bullet and dropped it to the ground. "Don't worry; everything's going to be fine... You're gonna be fine."

Steve and Danny looked deep into each other's eyes for a moment. It was a look of deep relief and appreciation for what they had just managed together.

The fact that the bullet was out and the bleeding had stopped eased the tension a bit for both of them. Danny could see that Steve's body relaxed a little, although his pain probably wasn't any less.

Danny knew the staple was a MacGyver-level improvisation and Steve needed professional surgery as soon as possible, but he hoped the improvised staple would hold until then. After all, he wasn't a vascular surgeon, and even if he had been, he wouldn't have had the proper equipment to sew up a blood vessel. Fortunately, it wasn't an artery. If it had been, Steve would probably have bled to death not long after he was shot, and there wouldn't have been anything he could have done about it.

"All right, Steve. I just need to patch you up and you'll be as good as new." Both knew that wasn't exactly the truth, and that they still had a long way to go. But they appreciated the lie.

Steve could consider himself blessed to have a best friend and partner who, despite his slightly sarcastic and sometimes negative nature, was always there to encourage him when he needed it the most -even if it was only an attempt to give him strength when his own was threatening to fail, as it was the case now.

Danny was getting ready to make the first stitch as Steve reached out for Danny's arm…

"Danny… Wait…"

tbc

A/N: Okay, guys, it looks like Steve's ordeal isn't over yet. How much longer can he endure? I would really like to hear what you think.