A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers for your kind words. I really wasn't sure at all about the previous chapter. Here is the last one. I hope you like it.

Chapter 9

Steves POV

Steve stood again on the edge of that mountain. Was this a déjà vu? A gun was pointed at him, he heard the sound of a gunshot, and moments later he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. The impact of the bullet made him turn around. He heard a voice shouting at him. STEVE! NOOO! Then he fell over the edge. At the very last moment, he grabbed hold of a branch on the edge of the cliff. Someone reached out to him and called his name. But unlike as last time he was able to grab this hand. And this hand pulled him back to safety….

5050505050500505

The first thing he recognized was a bright light. He was numb and strangely felt nothing. Was he dead? But now he heard sounds; annoying beeping sounds and something mechanical. A smell of disinfectant was in the air.

Suddenly he felt like he was suffocating. Something was stuck in his throat and he couldn't breathe!

Danny continued to hold Steve's hand and it felt like Steve was responding with a tighter grip.

"Steve, calm down, don't fight the respirator, breathe evenly when you feel the air coming in... and breathe out with the flow... Don't worry, the doctors are on their way and will help you." Danny tried to keep Steve from hyperventilating with a soothing voice and clear commands, even as he struggled with his own rising panic.

"That's it buddy, you're doing great - take slow deep breaths - in and out."

It took less than three minutes, though it seemed endless to Danny, for Steve's room to be filled with a nurse, an older woman who appeared to be the senior doctor, and a younger resident. Danny was just glad that someone was there, he didn't care who, but he realized that the team had changed.

"Commander, try to relax, we're going to remove the tube and give you a nasal cannula instead," the older doctor said as she started to remove the tube from her patient.

As the tube was removed, Steve began to cough violently. Trying to support Steve as best he could, Danny put his arm around his friend's back.

"Commander, take slow breaths in and out..." the doctor instructed again, her voice calm but firm. The whole team waited a few minutes for Steve to recover from the cough, and then the doc continued: "Are you feeling better now, Commander?"

"'Wter...?" Steve tried to get the word out.

"Commander, I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a little while before you're allowed to drink. And don't try to talk just yet… I'm going to ask you a few questions though and you just nod or shake your head, okay?"...Steve nodded.

Meanwhile, the nurse brought in a swab to moisten Steve's mouth.

"Does it still hurt when you breathe?" Steve was about to say no, but he shook his head instead.

"You want something for your pain?" Steve shook his head again, but there was hesitation in his eyes... "Nurse, give him another dose of acetaminophen and draw some blood." Danny mumbled a thank you to the doc, who obviously saw with her professional eye that Steve might need another dose of painkillers.

"Okay, good, Commander; we'll let you rest now and the next time you wake up we'll run more tests." The medical team left the room and Danny followed. "Doc, what's the status? Is he all right?" Danny wanted to know more without Steve hearing what the doctor had to say.

"Um, Mr. Williams, right?" Danny gave the doctor a nod, but a questioning look. "Don't worry, Detective. Dr. Kahale has briefed me on everything. I'm Dr. Brown," she introduced herself.

"So… although the Commander took a little longer to wake up than we thought, his initial response was better than to be expected. It is a good sign that he did not appear to be disoriented, which is common after a coma. However, due to the significant blood loss and oxygen deprivation during cardiac arrest, it is not yet possible to determine if there was any brain damage. We'll have to run more tests tomorrow when he's had a chance to rest. She paused, looking apologetic to Danny. "I'm sorry, Mr. Williams, I understand you'd like to hear that everything's going to be fine, but we need to give our patient some more time until we can run those tests."

"Okay, thanks Dr. Brown, you know I've been trying to be patient over the last eight days."

The doc gave Danny an understanding look. "Yes, we know, Mr. Williams, but please give us another day or two, and we'll surely be able to tell you more. Promise." Dr. Brown said, and then she went quickly to the next alarm, which was going off.

Brain damage!? Danny had so many other things on his plate these past few days that this wasn't even on his radar as a possible - and absolutely terrific - outcome. He probably should have been aware of it, but now he wished Dr. Brown hadn't told him. Now he had to get that thought out of his mind—again! No… Steve woke up and thankfully, he responded really well, he is okay – he has to be. Danny tried to reassure himself.

Danny went back to Steve's room, trying not to show what he'd just heard. Given how long he'd been waiting for this moment he still couldn't hardly believe that his best friend was finally awake. He touched his arm and looked closely into Steve's barely open eyes.

"It's about time you woke up, buddy." Danny really wanted to tell Steve how much he missed him and how grateful he was that he was alive. But when he looked into his eyes, the words just stuck in his throat. His eyes watered, and he saw Steve's eyes glistening as well until his friend's eyelids grew heavier and exhaustion took its toll.

As there was no one else around, Danny let himself go. While his emotions were on a rollercoaster, he let his tears run free. But the relief at Steve's awakening prevailed. He wasn't going to let the doctor's words put a damper on this progress. Steve was fine. He just had to be. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from him, even if he wasn't aware that he was carrying it. Once he'd gathered his thoughts, he went home and, for the first time in days, he didn't feel bad about leaving Steve's side.

The next morning, Danny made sure to leave soon enough so that the Hawaiian traffic wouldn't stop him from getting to the doctor's visit on time. There was no way he was going to miss when the doctors would carry out the tests that would show whether Steve's brain was okay or not.

But when he arrived at the ICU and entered Steve's room, there was nothing there but an empty bed with clean sheets... Danny's heart sank and panic set in again. Where is Steve? What has happened to him? Is he...? Danny rushed to the nurses' station and almost ran over one of them. It was Nurse Kalea's shift and she immediately recognized Danny's panic. "Mr. Williams - Danny - your friend has been transferred to the general ward. I'm sorry, I tried to warn you before you entered the room, but you were faster."

"Huh? ... Ohh... Thank God! How do I get there?" Danny let out a huge sigh of relief as Kalea showed him the way...

"Commander, can you tell me your full name and rank?" This time Doctor Kahale was in charge again, and Danny entered the room just in time to wait for Steve's reaction, which could be so crucial to both of their fates.

A few seconds passed, and just as the doctor was about to repeat his question, Steve began to speak, but barely audibly.

"Lieut…enant… Commandr…Steven Jack…. McGarrett." - "That's correct, Commander! And do you know where you are?" the doc continued.

"Hosp.. Hospital? Trpler?"

"Very good! Can you tell me what year it is?"

It took Steve a few moments to comprehend...

"T...two...th...thousand...six...teen?"

"Good work, Commander! We'll run a few more tests, then we'll let you rest again." Steve was still feeling quite weak, and even a couple of sentences would cost him what little energy he had left. After this 'interrogation' Steve was taken to an MRI.

Eight hours later:

"D'anno...?" Steve's voice was still fragile and hoarse.

"Hey buddy, it's about time you stopped sleeping."

"Dny, how long...?"

"...have you been here?" Danny finished Steve's question.

"It's been an excruciatingly long nine days since the rescue, man." Danny could see that Steve was much clearer this time compared to the last time he was awake.

"Oh...sorry...I didn't mean to..."

"No need to apologize...do you remember, Steve?"

"The flight...the shooting...you crashing the plain...and then playing surgeon... Is that what you mean?"

Danny had to grin, but at the same time he felt uncomfortable being reminded of those dramatic events.

"Well, Steve, what else would I mean - besides I didn't crash the plane, it was a well-executed emergency landing."

"'Kay...if you say so, Danno..."

Steve was aware that he owed his friend his life, and more than once.

Steve's expression became serious and he looked at Danny with a determined, intense look that Danny couldn't interpret.

"Steve, what's wrong?" Should I call the doctor?"

"No, Danny...just... stay here."

Despite Steve's weakness, he held Danny's hand even tighter.

"You know: You shouldn't have landed that plane on the beach... You put your life in danger for mine..."

"Steve, hey! Stop it... okay... I don't wanna hear this; it was the right decision at the time."

"I didn't say I'm not glad you did it..." Steve paused and looked deeply into Danny's eyes, then continued: "Thanks, man," he said simply.

Danny was surprised; he hadn't expected a thank you from his partner at that moment, especially after what Steve had just said…and Steve continued…

"You saved my life out there more than once. I know you've done it many times before, but this time...it was different. I know it wasn't easy for you either."

Danny swallowed hard.

"Yeah, man, you're right. I mean, of course I'm glad I was able to save your life, but I'd be lying if I said I'd do it again anytime soon. Let's just say, at least not the way I had to."

They both looked at each other, knowing exactly what the other meant.

"Yeah, I figured as much. Believe it or not, I'm not eager to go through that ever again either," Steve said.

They both grinned at Steve's slightly sarcastic comment, but then Danny's expression turned serious again. The memory of the ordeal Steve had gone through when he removed the bullet sent again a cold shiver down Danny's spine.

Danny's thoughts went back to the Presence when he felt that Steve was getting uncomfortable.

"Buddy, tell me how you feel. Do you need more painkillers, should I call the nurse?"

"No, um... I'm fine." - "Yeah, I can see that," Danny just mumbled.

"You sure? You know, Steve, there's no need to play Super-Seal anymore..."

"Danny, it's really okay. It was worse out there. Just shut up and stay."

Okay, now Danny was kind of relieved. This was definitely his partner. His Steve was back the way he knew him.

"Danny..." Steve reached out for Danny again to show him that he wanted to tell him more. Danny nodded and touched Steve's arm, signaling that he was there to listen...

"I had nightmares...really weird...like I've never had before...it felt very real..."

"I'm sorry man... do you wanna talk about it?

"No...but there is one thing...when you held my hand...you pulled me back...I mean, you didn't just save my life by landing the plane safely and taking out the bullet; you saved my life by staying with me. I could feel it. I could feel your hand pulling me back to life."

Danny was stunned. He didn't know what to say. He just gave Steve a deep, meaningful look that didn't need words to express what he felt, and his eyes began to water again.

They just remained there in silence for a few minutes...

Then Steve took a breath and spoke: "I heard what you said."

"What? What do you mean, Steven? When? - You mean when I read Charlie's book to you?"

Steve smiled, "Yeah, Danno, that too, it was a really nice idea of Charlie's, I have to thank him."

Danny was speechless, a little ashamed too, even if everything he had said was true, he didn't think Steve would actually hear him or even remember it.

"But I - um, I just wanted to tell you: I feel the same way... and I love you too, buddy..." Steve got the words out that were pressing on him.

"And... I'm kinda relieved that the roles weren't reversed. I mean, I certainly couldn't have played the surgeon."

"Well, Steve, and I certainly wouldn't have wanted you to put your dirty hands on my insides either."

Steve chuckled, "Yeah buddy, and I'm glad I didn't have to."

After a pause of a few minutes Steve continued: "So… I'm looking forward to driving your car without your annoyance."

"What? Oh, wait a minute... come on, I mean, given the circumstances, I think this is something to negotiate..." Danny waved his hands around.

"Negotiate? There is nothing to negotiate. You promised that you would be happy if I drove your car again, so there is nothing to negotiate..."

The argument continued as usual, and you could see in their faces that they were both enjoying it. Things were about to return to normal.

In the evening, Steve's room was filled with his friends, his ohana. Each in their own way showed how grateful they were that Steve had woken up and was already feeling much better. Considering that Steve had only woken up the day before, it was a bit much to have visitors all at once, but Steve was so happy to see them all again. In the end the nurse had to kick them out. It wasn't long before Steve was too tired to keep his eyes open.

The next day:

"Doc, when can I get out of here?"

"I'm sorry, Commander, but that's out of the question right now," Dr. Kahale knew where his patient was coming from and how impatient he was to stay in the hospital.

"You really should be extremely grateful that things are going so well already. In fact, we'd say it's a miracle that you've recovered in such a short time. But you need to be aware that you don't want to jeopardize that by doing too much now and being too impatient."

Danny was just glad that the doctor had made this clear to Steve so he didn't have to argue with him about it. To everyone's relief, the doctor finally confirmed that there was no evidence of neurological damage. The kidney values were still not great, but that was normal and could take a few more weeks. Steve would have to continue dialysis and be patient.

We believe you will make a full recovery. That was the most cheerful sentence in weeks that Danny heard the docs say this morning.

"Hey boss, we got some good news for you." Kono said with a broad smile as she and Chin arrived for their next visit.

"Yeah?" Steve was eager to hear...

"Dae Won had a burner with him. One of his contacts was one of the men who hired him to make those transpo flights. HPD and DEA caught up with them while they were counting a huge amount of drug packages, probably for the next shipment."

"All in all, we got over 1.3 million worth of drugs off the street and were able to arrest some of the people behind it." Chin summed it up.

"Wow, at least it wasn't all for nothing... Good job guys, really well done!" Steve said with a triumphant smile, showing that he was proud of his team.

"I would suggest you consider a less dangerous plan next time, though." Chin said with a chuckle and Danny appreciated Chin's point. Of course, they all knew that 'less dangerous' wasn't part of Steve's vocabulary.

"It wasn't a dangerous plan, it was a solid plan, who would have known that..."

"Steve...would you possibly admit just once - only once - that there might have been other ways to get the job done?" Danny interrupted Steve.

"Well Danny, would you have had a better idea?" Steve challenged Danny for the answer.

"Well, not really, but I knew you wouldn't have listened to me anyway…"

Kono and Chin had a grin on their faces over the ongoing bickering and were just thankful that things would be back to normal.

On the way home, Danny was thinking about all the challenges they had faced together and how they had managed to overcome them. He wondered how lucky they could be. Or wasn't it just luck? He sent up a silent, grateful prayer to the heavens. He couldn't put into words how thankful he was that Steve was getting better, even though he knew the road to recovery wasn't over and that he would have to help Steve along, maybe even more than before.

He was also sure that their strong mutual trust had fortunately helped them through this situation as well.

Moreover, this latest challenge had strengthened their trust into each other even more. Danny knew that Steve had blindly trusted him with his life, and that Danny would have done the same if the roles had been reversed. He was so relieved that the worst was now behind them. They both realized once again that they had a partner, friend, and brother they could trust one hundred percent, and that was all that mattered.

Fin

A/N: So... that's it. I didn't want to write about a long road to recovery, so I'll leave that to your imagination. ...

Just in case you were wondering why I didn't include Lou in my story, since he was part of that original episode... I like Lou a lot, but I didn't want to play with too many characters in my first story, so I had to prioritize...

Thanks again for all kind of support, your thoughts are still welcome!

I have one more question: I might have an idea for another short story (same characters, same genre). The idea is based on the real story of the movie "127 Hours". It would be helpful for me if you could tell me if you would be interested in reading it, since our boys would have to deal with a totally other territory.