A/N: A happy and blessed new year to all my dear readers! Thank you so much for every review, favs and followers. I didn't want to keep you waiting long, so here's the next chapter... and thanks to my lovely daughter who did some beta-reading this time.

Chapter Two:

"Oh SHIT!" - Where did this huge thing come from?! Steve's instincts took over immediately. Thanks to his automatic quick reaction, he was able to dodge just in time so that the boulder didn't crush his head.

But more small debris tore his backpack downward. The satellite phone they had taken with them as a precaution to contact civilization in an emergency fell out and was smashed into a thousand pieces by the rocks.

Oh, crab! Steve thought, while at the same time he felt a tremendous pain in his left hand, so strong that for a moment the world around him went black.

But at some point a familiar voice reached him, sounding somehow desperate: "STEVE! STEVE!"

Danny? ... Oh no, had something happened to his friend?

"Hey Steve, buddy - please say something if you can!"

"Danno!?...Are you okay?"

"PHEWWW" Danny let out a sigh of relief when he finally heard his friend's voice...

"AM I OKAY? The question is, how are YOU, buddy?... It feels like half the mountain just came down here!"

It was then that Steve remembered what had just happened.

"I'm good, Danny, I'm good," Steve called up. "The rock just missed my skull."

Oh, THANK GOD! That was close - too close! Danny thought.

"Okay, Steve...I'll come down to you."

"Sure buddy, I'll wait here...can't move right now anyway," Steve said half-ironically.

"Why? What's wrong?" Danny's panic had just subsided when he realized from Steve's reaction that obviously not everything was okay. ..

"Um... this thing's got my hand trapped... can't get out of here... I... um... think I could use some help here..."

Oh man. So much for 'I'm good'. Danny's worries rose again... "Okay, partner, I'll be right there," he called down.

"Be careful, Danny. There seem to be some loose rocks here, even if it doesn't look like it," Steve warned in a worried voice.

"Kay..."

Danny cautiously climbed down to Steve.

When he was directly above him, he saw a medium-sized boulder, certainly over 20 inches in diameter. It was stuck between the canyon walls right next to Steve. Steve's left forearm had disappeared behind the stone. The realization of how close he had come to seeing his best friend buried under it sent a chill down his spine.

"Steve, I'm here, buddy… we'll get this done in a minute." Danny tried to sound calm even though he was still shaking inside. He immediately went to work trying to free Steve.

But both of them quickly realized that it wasn't as easy as they had imagined...

"Harder, Danny, you have to push harder." Steve encouraged Danny while he also pressed against the rock with his right arm and one thigh as best he could. But the boulder didn't move an inch. They both kept trying with all their might - for what seemed like an eternity...

"Steve, this thing is too heavy," Danny had to admit at some point, after many failed attempts, when he realized that neither of them would be able to do it with muscle power alone.

Steve, whose body was still pumped full of adrenaline, became restless and wanted to look at his watch, but realized that it was on his left wrist - and thus also trapped. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and tried to estimate how much time they had left to reach their goal for the day if they could get out of here. Being the control freak that he was, he needed to know how long they would be stuck here, so he pressed the start button on his phone's clock.

Meanwhile, Danny grabbed a climbing rope, wrapped it around the rock, and tied it to a branch higher up. He made a makeshift pulley out of it. "I didn't know you had such McGyver skills," Steve said, trying to lighten the mood. "Wait, buddy, don't get excited until I get you out of here. "But no matter what Danny tried, it didn't help. Steve couldn't get his hand out. It was just a climbing rope, too flexible to move a boulder of that weight... Steve had suspected as much, but he appreciated Danny's efforts. After a while, Danny paused, only now noticing Steve's pained, stiff, and pale face. Now he realized that he had been concentrating on the task all the time and had not thought about what had actually happened.

"Hey Steve, you don't look good, how you feeling buddy?" Steve, whose adrenaline levels had dropped, remained stoic and tried to avoid Danny's gaze, not wanting to show any pain as usual. Steve thought Danny must have seen all the blood on the rock wall by now, and he didn't want to add anything to make his partner more anxious or interrupt him in his task.

Now Danny's eyes also wandered to the blood on the canyon side and the puddle that had formed on the ground... Automatically a hand covered his mouth as he tried to suppress the shock of what he saw...

"Steve...? - Your hand... Do you think... I mean... Is it…?"

"...shattered by the rock." Steve finished the sentence dryly, what Danny couldn't do. Danny swallowed hard at the clarity of Steve's words. He welcomed the fact that his partner wasn't downplaying the situation as he usually did.. But he had to process the information first. Until now, he had assumed that Steve's hand was "just" caught between the rock and the wall. Only now did he realize how much pain Steve must have been in all the time and how serious the situation really was.

"OH... SHIT," Danny said, biting his lower lip. "Shattered? - Are you sure, Steve?"

"Danny - this thing weighs about half a ton - so what do you think, huh?" Steve's raised voice clearly conveyed his anger, pain and helplessness all at once.

"Sorry... I just didn't... I didn't realize..." stammered Danny, who didn't know what else to say and put his arm around Steve's shoulders to comfort him.

"Not your fault, man... I'm sorry," said Steve, now affected, deep-voiced and looking apologetically at his best friend... "...because it looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while..."

Danny immediately sensed his partner's guilt and returned Steve's serious look.

"Buddy, as much as I'd like to blame you for this…. This time it isn't your fault, or did you know that this thing here would come down now, huh?"

Steve left the question unanswered. Again he looked away and stared at the boulder in front of him... He knew it was his job to assess the risks and that Danny trusted him blindly. What if Danny had been caught and trapped or even something worse had happened? The thought made him cringe... He was just glad that this wasn't the case. He would never have been able to forgive himself.

"Danny, let's get some sleep and try again in the morning." Steve knew they were both exhausted and beaten. It was almost dark and there was no point in trying again today. Maybe they would get another idea tomorrow when they were rested. Danny gave Steve two of the few painkillers they had brought, something to drink and a piece of burrito. Then he helped Steve hang on to the rock with his harness and rope so that his weight would not hang on his trapped arm if he fell asleep. Then he unpacked the two sleeping bags, helped Steve into them as best he could, and lay down on his mat at the bottom of the crevice.

He was so exhausted that he fell asleep quickly despite the circumstances. With Steve was different though; his thoughts kept spinning in his mind what else option they might have to move this boulder. Sleeping in a standing position wasn't actually the first time. In SEAL training they were prepared for all sorts of things, including this. And Danny had tried to make him as comfortable as possible so that he wasn't leaning against the hard rock face with his sleeping bag. Eventually he even managed to get some sleep despite the throbbing pain in his hand.

When they woke up the next morning, both of them had to realize that it wasn't a nightmare they were in. How nice it would have been to find out that it was all just a dream! But the realization came quickly.

"Good morning, buddy, how are you?" Danny asked Steve with a worried look but new strength and confidence in his voice.

"Um…you know, I have to admit, I've had better nights," Steve answered wearily, trying to downplay again. "Steve, honestly, how are you?...Still pain in your hand?"

"Not really anymore," said Steve emotionlessly. He was actually hurting allover after that night, but he didn't want to let it show. Danny didn't really believe him, but decided not to push for answers.

"So, do you just want to stand around here or do you mind to give me a hand and try again?" Steve asked Danny in a "friendly" way, asking him to try their luck again. Danny couldn't be mad at Steve. He immediately helped Steve and pushed against the rock with all his strength.

But they quickly realized that the rock was simply too heavy and that it had nothing to do with the tiredness from the day before. The rock had become wedged in the rock face due to the enormous force of the fall.

"No chance, Steve - there is no way we can lift this without any devices... I'm really sorry, buddy." Danny said in a tone that clearly showed both his sympathy and sense of defeat.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Maybe you can try to fix the satellite phone," Danny suggested.

"Hmm, if I had enough spare parts and a soldering iron, I might even be able to do that," Steve replied to Danny with a wry half-smile. "Forget it, Danny, we already looked at the remaining parts last night."

Danny had no other idea, he just remained silent thoughts spinning in his mind.

"How far do you think it is until we get reception on our cell phones?" Danny spoke up again after a while.

"Hmm... I guess about sixty miles from here, if your battery lasts that long," Steve estimated.

"SIXTY MILES! - SERIOUSLY?" - Steve nodded. After hearing this information, Danny threw his hands in the air in frustration until he put them down onto his hips and shook his head... Sixty miles...

On a normal hike, that might be a distance easy to make, but here in this canyon it was a very long distance, even Danny, a relatively unexperienced climber, knew that. He paced restlessly up and down the bottom of the canyon and was just thinking...

Steve had no other choice but watching his partner and eventually interrupted him: "Danny, you pack up our supplies now and then you go and get help..."

"Steve, WHAT? Are you crazy? You want me to climb around here ALONE, rappel down and climb up - who knows how many times - and then hike through the desert?... Forget it... And if so, where am I supposed to get help, huh? You just said that it's sixty miles to the next service station, which feels like six hundred miles on these trails! There is no way I'll manage that alone, Steven!"

"Danny, you're not going to the next service station. Head west to the next paved road, about thirty miles away. Eventually a car will come by that you can stop. And with a bit of luck, you'll meet other hikers along the way."

"Steve... No, I'm not leaving you! Before we came here, you gave me a lecture about the rules and all the dangers that threaten here. Didn't you say that you should never go alone? And now I'm supposed to do exactly that? - Moreover, I'm supposed to leave you here alone, stuck to the rock? What would you do if a puma, a bear, a snake or something else comes by... or..."

"Danny - -STOP! - Okay, yes, all that COULD all happen and the rules still apply. But now it's different, the circumstances have changed. Look... our water supplies might last for another 2 days and that's only if we're sparing. We can't wait until someone may show up here by chance... Danny, you have no choice."

After that "speech" from his partner Danny had no idea what else to say. He hated it when he ran out of arguments, and more than that, he knew deep down that Steve was right. Without a word and hesitantly, he started packing.

"Danny, you need more water. Once you get out of the canyon it's going to be very hot."

"No, Steve, I don't know when I'll be back and you'll need some too."

"I've got more than enough here, and I'm in the shade. I'll be fine, Danny, really," Steve tried to convince him.

With a bad feeling, Danny finally packed up the bottle. He hated what Steve had talked him into. "Okay, I guess... I'll go now..." Danny said hesitantly, in a tone that revealed that he hoped his partner would stop him after all.

"Be careful, Danny, it's steep. Do it as I've taught you," Steve gave Danny last advices, and with that, Danny's last hope that Steve would stop him was gone.

"Hey, I know how steep it is down here."

"Take care, buddy... and... um... I'll be here when you get back - I promise," Steve knew that Danny was still angry and hesitated to leave. He tried to lighten the situation and gave Danny a fake smile to cover his worries. Deep down, Danny knew how worried Steve must be about having to send him off alone. And Steve certainly wasn't thrilled about having to stay here alone either, but he would never admit it.

"Good luck, partner - I love you," Steve called after Danny. Danny turned and looked into Steve's eyes again. "Yeah, I hate you too, babe," Danny said, although Steve knew he meant the opposite. Then Steve saw Danny disappear around the next corner...

TBC

A/N: … Is Danny able to get help? I would love if you take a moment to share your thoughts…