Only Human

Disclaimer:
Unfortunately I don't own anything of Hawaii Five-0, it all belongs to CBS. But I keep dreaming…

Thanks:
JazzieG, a huge, huge, huuuuuuge thank-you to my wonderful beta reader! Thank you for betaing my story so fast despite all the other stories you have to read! :-)
I made a few minor changes afterwards; all remaining faults are my own! English is not my native language, so please forgive me my mistakes.
rewob17, you're the best :-) I love our conversations and discussions!

Notes:
This was supposed to be a little one shot to overcome my writer's block but it got a little out of control. So, instead of one chapter, you will get five chapters over the next few days. I hope you don't mind ;-)
Enjoy the story and please let me know what you think about it…

Chapter 1:

At the end of the day, Steve asked himself for the umpteenth time how the hell he could have been so damn stupid. But as much as he thought about the question he just wasn't able to come up with a satisfying answer.

Bending forward in the uncomfortable plastic chair in the hospital's waiting room, Steve placed his elbows on his knees and viciously scrubbed his hands over his hair before he closed his eyes to hide his face behind his hands. Hands that were still slightly trembling but at least no longer covered in his partner's blood. Snorting humorlessly he tried to find comfort in that stupid little fact but his heart constricted painfully when he remembered the sheer amount of blood that had covered the ground beneath his injured friend. And Danny's ghostly pale complexion. The pain and fear in his eyes. And then the moment when Danny's erratic breathing had faltered and his eyes had closed and no amount of shouting and begging and shaking had helped to wake the unconscious man.

Shuddering visibly, Steve shook his head as he tried to chase away that disturbing image from his inner eye, not caring at all about all the other people in the waiting room. He just ignored all the curious or concerned or sympathetic or sometimes even frightened glances and stayed hidden behind his hands, thinking back to the events that had led to the current situation.

Right now Steve was more than glad that he didn't have to deal with Grace or his team; he just couldn't stand the thought of facing his teammates or having to look into Grace's big brown eyes. He knew he should be out there, helping Chin and Kono cleaning up the mess and closing the investigation. He should be there for Grace; he should be the one explaining to her that her father had been injured. Injured because his boss and partner had made a stupid mistake.

What he had done was a damn rookie mistake. No, if he was honest to himself, it was much more than that, it was just… dumb. Sighing loudly, Steve once more shook his head in utter frustration and concern when his mind refused to come up with a better word. Dumb, thoughtless, unexplainable. How on earth could he have missed something as basic as that? He had risked not only his own safety with his stupid little mistake but also the life of his best friend and partner. The fact that he would probably have to face a disciplinary punishment for his stupidity was something he would think about later. Much later and certainly not before he was sure that Danny would pull through.

Sighing again, Steve rolled his shoulders, wincing when the movement pulled the stitches at the crook of his neck. He was damn lucky that the bullet had missed everything vital, just damaging the fleshy part of his right shoulder, right above the collarbone. A few inches to right and it probably would have done severe damage to his shoulder joint. A few inches to the left and he wouldn't have had to worry about rookie mistakes ever again, when the bullet had ripped his neck and his carotid.

Suppressing another shiver Steve pinched the bridge of his nose to fight the looming headache before he finally opened his eyes and dropped his hands in his lap, slowly leaning back as he scanned his surroundings.

It had all been too close today, much too close for his liking. And it still wasn't alright. The stitches and the white patch on the crook of his neck and the fact that he was still sitting in the crowded waiting room for any word on his partner told clearly that everything was far from alright.

Noticing Danny's doctor, a middle-aged bald-headed man, entering the waiting room, Steve's heart literally stopped for a beat before it started to hammer rapidly in his chest. He had briefly met the man when Danny was brought in but as much as he tried, Steve just couldn't remember his name. He nervously watched how the doctor glanced around until his gaze finally landed on Steve and after a sharp nod of his head the man approached him with almost military looking strides.

Jumping to his feet when he saw the serious look on the doctor's face, Steve swallowed dryly and unconsciously wiped his hands on his pants before he shoved them deeply in his pockets. Suddenly recognizing this untypical gesture that he had definitely learned by watching his partner, Steve hastily removed the hands from his pockets and defiantly crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Tightly gritting his teeth he anxiously waited for the doctor to finally update him on his partner's condition while he tried with all his might to fight off the gruesome and unbidden memories of the previous hours.

(tbc)

Sorry for that really short teaser… more tomorrow or the day after :-)