I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: thank you all for reading the latest adventure! and always to CinderH and JazzieG for fielding endless questions, ideas and (sorry) chapter revisions. the muses got loose again and always seem to come with something else after I swear it's all done .. ;-)

Chapter Twenty

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Danny fell asleep on the way back to the house. He didn't wake when Steve got the wheelchair from the trunk. And then because of the persistent fatigue brought on by his accidental overdose and subsequent mini hospital stay, he barely acknowledged the help he received to move from the car.

He finally spoke as he lurched from the chair and into bed. "It was a mistake, Steve. I didn't know ... or didn't think."

"Okay." It was all Steve could say as he pushed a full glass of cold water into Danny's hands. Doctor Ramirez had been completely correct too; he had no knowledge of the dangers of breaking this particular medicine in half.

"I didn't know either." Steve admitted on a puff of exhaled air. But Steve thought he hadn't been that scared since the day Peterson had initiated the attack. When he heard the crash in the therapy room and Mel's shout, a myriad of frightening thoughts had gone through Steve's head. But then it had all become worse with Ponch's blunt diagnosis of "he's suffocating".

He had been completely wrong since it brought back memories of the sarin and now Steve only could only hand the glass to Danny with a few quiet orders of his own. "Drink all of that and get some rest. You're wiped."

Pausing, he lingered in the doorway. "You scared me .. really all three of us."

Steve sighed because it was a senseless comment and Danny hadn't meant to do anything of the sort to him, Mel or the doctor. By now, Danny too was also running through a gamut of emotions. First afraid of what he'd nearly done; and now on top of it all, he'd given himself quite a setback. He didn't know what he expected his few words to do, but he flinched as Danny's face took on a furious cast.

"It wasn't exactly intentional." Danny said as he angrily used one hand to slap the bed. Moody and now even becoming resentful, he'd had enough of discussing the unfortunate incident.

"I'm losing two entire days. Do you really think that I planned all of this?"

'Of course not." Steve muttered quietly. Sensing that Danny's patience had finally been stressed to its limits with everyone's personal opinion, he was treading now on a thin line as the rant began but then just as quickly, ended.

"Good. Because it wasn't .. and I didn't. It was a dumb mistake. But that's all it was." It was also obvious that Danny was tired and didn't feel well as he rubbed aimlessly at his chest. A mild cough made him scowl unhappily as he waved Steve away. "Just a mistake."

And so Steve left him to rest at that point because there was nothing more that needed to be shared or explained.

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His body remained lethargic for most of the day until sometime before dinner. Laying idly in bed, Danny eventually took stock of his various aches and pains. As usual, his healing back seemed to hurt the most from injured muscles which were finally getting more toned. But he had overdone it and sore was an understatement. He was annoyed with himself about the medication, and should have known better; but he was already moving past what had happened. The truth was that it was easier to move past what he'd accidentally done when compared to what Rick Peterson had nearly accomplished ... though either incident could have resulted in his death.

He was still tired too; completely exhausted from a bad nights sleep and then the impromptu medical intervention. The last thing he needed to do now was to drive himself crazy dwelling on Rick. Closing his eyes, Danny saw Peterson in his mind's eye and replayed every horrible moment with Grace. To that very day, he still couldn't grasp what had happened to his daughter and what he'd been forced to do in order to save her.

"And then you came back." His eyes flew open at the unbelievable shock as his heart hammered unmercifully in his chest. He had to remind himself that Steve and Kono had taken care of it; the man was gone now and he didn't have to worry. Grace had been safely hidden away in England. But the truth was that Rick could have .. and certainly would have .. done more if he'd been able. Danny didn't have a shadow of a doubt that part of the ex-cop's plan had somehow originally included getting to him through his daughter once again.

"You came back. But she wasn't here." Tears welled in his eyes at the thought and Danny forced himself to take deep, cleansing breaths until he realized that his hands were shaking. With a jolt, he swung himself quickly to seated position on the edge of the bed. He was still very tired, but certainly wasn't going to sleep anymore with the terrible memories and thoughts rattling around in his head. "Thank god she wasn't here."

The house was quiet and the natural light was dim as it came through the windows. It was almost soothing and Danny suddenly needed to move even if it meant going to the kitchen for a change of scenery. He needed to get Rick out of his head and his mind completely on anything else. Pulling himself to his feet, Danny slowly made his way out of the bedroom and to the kitchen where he leaned over the sink. He had to stop a few times on his way to maintain his balance or catch his breath, but the lingering thoughts of Peterson's vengeful hatred kept him moving.

With the odd rays of sunlight coming through the windows, his internal clock was thrown off by nearly a half day of bed-rest. With a weary sigh, he stared out the window and tried to figure out what time it was before fumbling around for a clean water glass. But his hands still held a subtle tremble and he wound up not filling the glass. Instead, he leaned his elbows on the counter and hung his head wearily between his hands.

Danny bit back a groan as a strong pain rippled through his back. He had to close his eyes as the pain roiled and then only slightly eased; the only benefit was that it distracted him completely from focusing on the dangerous man who had nearly taken his life. And when the deep numbing ache came a second time he realized his latest mistake. "Where's the damn wheelchair?"

"It's in the damn bedroom." His head flew up in surprise at the sound of Steve's voice because Danny didn't realize he was being watched from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Why aren't you in it?" Steve had seen his slowly moving shadow from the lanai; only glancing up from the case work he was reviewing. He recognized Danny's shape and was at first only pleased to see him finally awake. And then stunned, his eyes widened as he stumbled to his feet. In his haste to get inside, his coffee overturned across the file folder ruining all the paperwork but Steve's hand was already on the door knob back into the house. It took every ounce of self-control to slow down because he simply didn't need to scare his partner for the second time that day.

"You walked right past it, Danny." Steve chided softly with just a small hint of sarcasm. He said it very softly so that he wouldn't startle him completely, but Steve's eyes widened even more as his partner swayed and clutched the counter top for support.

"Chair?" The one word came out from between clenched teeth and Steve had one positioned for Danny to sink into just as his knees gave out. "These are .. most definitely .. muscle spasms." And then before Steve could even think to say a word, a warning finger slammed up into his face.

"I do not want to hear a single word out of your mouth." He grimaced as another spasm made him slightly hunch over. As promised, Steve stayed quiet only to leave the kitchen and return with two basic ibuprofen tablets which he shoved into Danny's hand.

"Hold on to these and I'll make something to eat. Then take them. It's late and you haven't had anything all day."

"I'm not hungry." Danny complained as he accepted the medication. But still wincing, he only hung his head lower as if still expecting another sermon. He was undoubtedly annoyed when he voiced what he assumed Steve was going to remind him of yet again.

"And before you say it. I know, Steven. No need for a lecture."

Steve leaned against the counter and folded his arms patiently. It was good but also startling to see Danny up and about because his most current activity had been saved primarily for his therapy sessions where he still needed aid and someone's supportive hands. So his reply was truthful but quietly stated. "I wasn't going to say anything. Except that it was a complete accident that could happen to anyone."

A helplessly foolish grin was now building across his face though. "But I do have to admit that I didn't expect to see you here .. in the kitchen. Standing ... alone .. over there .. by the sink."

Steve's sly tone was enough to make Danny hesitate entirely. "You were a bit off balance from what I could see. But you did just fine."

"They aren't to know. I don't need Ober or Ramirez chasing me down for another stupid over-sight." Pleased but achy, Danny made a small, happy sound as he realized the magnitude of his accomplishment. His grin grew exponentially until Steve pointed back towards the direction of the bedroom.

"How could you not see the wheelchair, Danny? It's right there in the corner by the bed." As the smile unexpectedly faltered, the odd non-committal shrug made Steve shake his head in confusion. Danny's eyes took on a sad light and they clearly said that something else was weighing heavily on his mind. It was obvious that he had been deep in thought .. and maybe even still was ... as Steve measured his expression.

"Is there something else wrong?" Steve asked the question at the same time Danny was already denying the fact.

"No, not any more." The words were spoken with a harsh finality which was a direct clue to their meaning. And though he wanted to push, for some reason Steve chose not to try. There was another aspect to Danny's face that asked for space .. time .. and maybe a great deal more patience. So Steve merely nodded at the almost cryptic reply.

"Okay. Fine. But .. two days off." Glancing at Danny's legs and scowling at the glimmer of pain he saw, Steve was adamant. "Two days off .. using the wheelchair. You're in pain now!"

The warning tilt to Danny's head proved too that he certainly didn't appreciate or feel that he needed to be reminded of the gaff. He was making his own private vows to purge Peterson from his mind and focusing specifically on getting better would be his first priority.

"And I said no more lectures." Danny's tone was almost huffy as his eyes narrowed and he repeated himself for Steve's benefit. "And what happened just now is our secret. They aren't to know."

"Two!" Determinedly, Steve kept his fingers held meaningfully up in the air. He glared at his friend when Danny couldn't hold back on yet another flicker of pain. "Two days .. complete and total rest .. no over-doing anything. The wheelchair is a must and I don't care how good you might feel."

To prove his point, Steve stalked from the kitchen to retrieve the wheelchair which Danny willingly transferred to from the hard kitchen chair. He sighed in relief as the elevated footrests took the burden of any added strain off his legs and tweaked back muscles.

"Two days." Danny agreed with a final wave of his hand. "But then I'm calling Mel."

With a pleased smile returning to his face, he settled into the wheelchair. He could wait two days and deal with using a wheelchair in the short-term. In fact, he could wait a month .. even two months .. especially since it meant the complete recovery that Ober now confirmed. Danny looked up from his latest pensive musings to find Steve glaring at him.

"No, you couldn't, Danno. You are not a patient man!"

He only stared back though as he chewed on another idea. Because it could easily work and it made total sense. If things continued as well as he anticipated, he could be back at work in just a few more weeks .. or days and his eyebrows lifted curiously at the thought.

In fact, he could just as easily sit at his desk at Five-0 Headquarters with Chin to manage a few hours of desk duty. The wheelchair was just the right height for the desk and he'd be able to work on any variety of interesting tasks. Unconsciously, Danny's lips twitched into a subtle grin as his eyes lost some of their focus and his brow squinted suspiciously.

"No!" He was startled as Steve interrupted his private scheming. He was giving him a knowing, sideways look, and Danny immediately screwed up his mouth defensively. Index finger held high, Steve arched his own eyebrows in warning but he was wholly unable to cover up a genuine smile.

"You aren't cleared yet, pal."

Folding his arms belligerently across his chest, Danny tried to scowl back with a firm set to his jaw before finally giving in to a soft laugh. "Stop. Doing. That."

~ END ~