In his dream, Danny was back on his high school baseball field. He was playing first base, and his coach thought the other team was going to bunt. Danny thought there was no way the other team was bunting with two outs and the bases loaded. Even down by two runs, to try a suicide squeeze with two outs in the ninth inning was indeed suicide, he thought. But Danny's coach insisted so he found himself rushing towards home as the pitch was delivered. Danny was right, and the batter swung away, breaking his bat on contact. In his dream, Danny screamed as the splintered end of the bat flew at him and embedded itself in his right shoulder.

In reality, Danny awoke suddenly with the scream dying on his lips. It almost escaped again though as he realized his shoulder was in agony and worst of all he was in darkness and felt enclosed. He felt himself start to hyperventilate when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. He managed to whisper hoarsely, "Steve?"

"No, it's Robertson."

"Gup Gup?"

Robertson smiled at the nickname Danny had saddled him with, "Yeah."

"Where's Steve? What's going on?" Danny had to concentrate on pushing down the panic and claustrophobia. He struggled to see what was going on beyond whatever it was obstructing his vision. He felt hands holding him in place which, combined with the dark, close feeling, didn't make his panicked feeling any better.

Robertson struggled to keep Danny still and glanced at Jones, eyes warning her to have the others back off, "Danny, it's okay. Stop struggling or you'll make your shoulder worse. They're trying to get you out of here, but you have to stop moving."

Danny nodded, panic creeping in around the edges again when he felt his head brush something over and around him, "What happened? Why can't I see what's going on? Did we get buried more?"

"Easy, Danny," Robertson urged him, wishing Steve was here to calm the man. "You're covered with a tarp so they can work. The firemen thought it best to keep you from getting injured any further and they didn't think you'd want to see what was going on."

"Well, they're wrong," Danny sounded calmer though Steve would be able to hear the slight tremor in his voice were he here. "Take the tarp off. I'd rather see what's going on than not."

Robertson quickly convinced the others to remove the tarp and helped Jones stuff it off to the side out of the way. He leaned as far over the seat as he could so Danny could see him, "Better?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded, sighing in relief once the tarp was clear. "Thanks, Al."

"Detective Williams, I'm Firefighter/EMT Jones. Can you tell me what hurts?"

Danny blinked at her for a moment and somewhat owlishly said, "Let me think about that for a moment... everything."

She smiled, "Okay, then how about what hurts the most."

"Ummm, that would be the fishing spear sticking out of my shoulder which you people seem to be twisting around for your own enjoyment," he glared at the firemen, none of whom were currently touching the spear.

"Sorry, Detective," Jones apologized. "I'm sure it hurts, but we're trying to stabilize it so we can get you out of here. I might be able to give you a little something for the pain, but I don't really want to do that right now since we're not sure the extent of all your injuries."

"Can we just get a move on the whole getting out of here bit?" Danny ground out as the pain spiked in his shoulder as soon as one of the fireman touched the spear again.

"Of course,"Jones smiled. She glanced over at Robertson and whispered, "Is he always this grumpy?"

"He can still hear you even when you whisper," Danny noted, eyes closed. "You're like six inches away and there's nothing wrong with my hearing."

Robertson grinned at her while Jones had the good graces to look a little sheepish, "Sorry."

"Seriously," Danny opened his eyes, blinking several times to steady his vision. "How long until you can get me out of here? I'm usually not that keen on going to the hospital, but right now it's sounding like a really good idea."

"Sir," Captain Hailama peered at him through the broken windshield. "It won't take too much longer now. We need to cut the spear handle down here," he pointed to a spot a few inches from Danny's shoulder, "and pack the wound for transport. What we aren't sure of is how much of it is in your shoulder and how much is in the seat."

Danny looked at him tiredly, "Okay, and how are we going to figure that out, or are you going to take me seat and all because I'm not really sure that's going to work."

"I'm afraid we aren't going to know until we get you out of here. I'm the one responsible for your rude awakening. I had my men checking the seat to see if they could find the tip of the spear, but without cutting into the back of your seat and possibly injuring you further, we won't know until we try to move you."

Danny nodded, "So no easy way out. Got it. Let's get on with it, Captain. Did you get my crazy partner out of here and to the hospital? Is he okay?"

Hailama smiled, "As I understand it, your crazy partner refused to be transported once extricated, and he's driving the EMT's out there nuts until we get you out."

"Neanderthal," Danny smiled. "Then let's get moving here before my partner blows something up."

Robertson was tasked with holding Danny's shoulders still while the firemen cut the handle of the fishing spear. Danny refused to look away while they worked so he could brace himself. There was no way the firemen could make it a totally painless experience so they concentrated on working quickly and efficiently. Before he knew it, Hailama was instructing his men to have a backboard ready and they were gently easing him forward and checking on the exit point of the spear. Thankfully, it was only buried a few inches into the seat so they were able to move him easier than they had feared.

Danny blinked away graying vision and the spots that danced before his eyes as he was eased onto the backboard. He winced as the straps were tightened to keep him in place on his side. With the neck brace on it wasn't very comfortable to be on his side, but he knew it beat lying on his back with part of the fishing spear still in his shoulder. One of the firemen removed his jacket and tucked it under his head to help ease the awkwardness. Danny smiled at him tiredly in thanks. As they eased him out of the truck and started to carry him over the piles of debris, he decided he didn't need to see what was going on now as it was making him dizzy. He closed his eyes and concentrated on staying conscious just a little while longer.

H

5

0

Sergeant Duke Lukela had a restraining hand on EMT Hernandez's arm as they watched from a short distance away as Steve fidgeted on the gurney. He'd finally allowed the EMTs to put in an IV as even Duke was threatening to send him to the hospital as time stretched on waiting for Danny to appear. Hernandez tried not to jerk his arm away as he turned to Duke, "He really does need more medical treatment."

"I know," Duke agreed. "But so long as he's conscious, he's going to fight you on it. Let's give them five more minutes, and then I'll convince him it's time to go."

Steve sat rigid on the gurney, grateful that they had it propped up and weren't forcing him to lie down. He was restless and wanted to pace, but since allowing them to put in the IV, he was forced to sit and wait. He was seconds away from pulling out the IV when he saw a fireman appear from the far side of the accident scene. He was soon followed by more firemen carrying equipment.

Duke's first hint that something was happening was when he saw Steve stiffen and lean slightly forward as if trying to get closer. As he got to Steve's side, he saw the firemen appear from the pile of rubble blocking their view of Steve's vehicle. It took a moment, but he finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the backboard being carried their way; he could just make out the familiar dusty blonde head.

Steve leaned forward and was about to jump off the gurney when he felt Duke's hand on his arm. Without a word, he knew Duke was telling him to stay there and wait, but it seemed to take forever for the small knot of firemen to make their way over. Finally, Captain Hailama was in front of him grinning, "Commander, I heard you might blow something up if we didn't get your partner out here so we tried to hurry."

Steve quirked a half smile as the HFD captain clapped him gently on the back, "Thanks, Captain." He strained to see around the other firemen and was finally rewarded as they brought the backboard next to him. "Danny?"

Danny managed to pry his eyes open and looked up to find his partner worriedly checking him over. He flopped his left hand out and grasped Steve's outstretched hand in his own. He licked dry lips and managed to whisper, "Hey, buddy, you shouldn't have waited."

Steve squeezed his hand, "I had to make sure they got you out okay. You had me worried; it was taking so long."

"Not too long," Danny squeezed his hand back and smiled. "Nah, not too long in the grand scheme of things. After all, life happens in a blink, partner."

Steve grinned, "That it does, buddy. That it does."

Robertson watched as the two Five-0 leaders and friends were finally loaded onto ambulances and were on their way to the hospital. He sighed in relief that they were going to be okay. His smile faded as he turned around and regarded the accident scene. He realized he was no closer to being done with it than he was two hours ago. He sighed and went back to work. He really hated working traffic scenes and smiled ruefully to himself. He would never again wish a traffic scene on Five-0 if this is how they handled them.

Finis

A/N: Thank you to all who read, reviewed and alerted. I'm glad this little story was so well received. I know I'm going to get complaints about no hospital/recovery scenes, but it felt better to end it here and not drag it on after all this tension that all you readers have told me you have a love/hate relationship with! ;-)

Thanks again to Fifilla for all the suggestions, conversations, and nagging regarding this story. And, yes, I promise I'm off to work on my next story now.