Steve watched as the HPD officer reached for Charlie Gardlow, ignoring the young man's insane pleads to his dead Aunt Martha to die if she truly loved him, as the officer handcuffed and led him away him away towards the psychiatric ward located on the other side of the hospital grounds. Charlie's cousin, Arnold Martin trailed after them, still shaken and shocked that his cousin had murdered two young ladies and their elderly aunt before attempting to murder him not once but twice.
Turning his attention back to his detective who was still standing silently in the corner of the room, McGarrett frowned. Danny looked pale, too pale as he stared at the bed where only minutes before he had been forced to roll from danger as Charlie began his frenzied stabbing attack believing the person in the bed had been his cousin. McGarrett felt a tingle of unexplained fear ripple through his soul as he stepped towards his Second –In-Command as Danny swayed unsteadily on his feet. "Danno?"
The young detective blinked as he turned and looked at his boss before his eyes drifted down to where his hand was pressed against the hospital gown he was wearing over his clothes. It was only then Steve noticed the red stain that was seeping through his young detective's fingers before dripping onto the floor. "I don't think I rolled quick enough!" Danny murmured softly as his eyes rolled back in his head and his legs buckled beneath him, tumbling him heavily to the floor.
"Danno!" Steve gasped as he moved swiftly across the small distance that separated them, dropping to his knees beside the crumbled body of his closest friend as he shouted, "We need a doctor in here!" Reaching for Danny's shoulders, he gently rolled the younger man onto his back and carefully lifted him up against his chest, cradling him, as he slid the gown upwards and out of the way before unbuttoning the blood soaked shirt beneath. He swallowed hard as he stared at the deep, jagged hole in Danny's abdomen before grabbing his clean handkerchief from his pocket and pressing it against the wound as he whispered a near tearful apology for the pain he was causing to his unresponsive friend laying in his arms.
"Steve, what happened?" Doc asked as he hurried into the room followed closely by two nurses.
"He didn't manage to roll out of the way fast enough." McGarrett answered softly glancing up at the crusty coroner/ official physician to the Five-O detectives before his eyes dropped back down to the pale face of his friend, "Gardlow was just too quick with the knife."
Doc nodded silently as he quickly crossed the room and knelt down beside the two detectives, one hand reaching for the pulse point on the side of Danny's neck as his other hand gently lifted McGarrett's hand exposing the jagged wound beneath. He grimaced as he quickly examined the damage before he returned Steve's hand back down to return pressure onto the wound before glancing up at the two nurses standing beside him and ordering, "Let's get him to the OR stat. I want him started on ten units of 0 negative blood and tell them to have more on standby." The young Hawaiian nurse nodded and hurried out of the room.
"Doc?"
Bergman ignored Steve as he turned to the second nurse gruffly ordering, "Contact the OR and tell them we are on our way with a patient with severe internal hemorrhaging from a knife wound – the resulting injury possibly involves both the stomach and the lineal artery."
"Yes, Doctor." The older nurse answered as she turned and stepped around the medical staff that hurried into the room pushing a stretcher.
"Doc?" Unable to keep the panic he was feeling from his voice, Steve grabbed Bergman's arm as Danny was lifted from his lap and placed onto the waiting stretcher before being wheeled from the room.
"It's not good, Steve, but I promise we'll do everything we can," Doc answered softly before he turned and began to follow the stretcher from the room. He paused at the door and turned back towards the dark haired detective, shaking his head in a combination of frustration and anger, "It was an insane risk to take, Steve, a risk that I tried to warn you against."
"It was the only way, Doc." Steve defended weakly, aware that Bergman had argued vigorously against using Danny as bait in an attempt to prove the obviously insane young man was responsible for multiple murders and willing to attempt to murder again, even if his intended victim was his only living relative. Doc had tried to warn them that the young man's mental instability made the risk downright dangerous, possibly suicidal, if the young man's psychosis was as severe as he suspected it was. It had been a risk that he and Danny had been willing to take.
"Yeah and Danny might just pay for it with his life." Doc muttered angrily as he turned and hurried from the room, leaving the lead detective staring at the empty doorway.
OoOoOoOoO
"More sponges…. Damn it! There's so much blood I can't see what I'm doing…suction please Nurse…" Doc muttered worriedly as he tried to clear away the blood that was filling the open cavity before he asked, " Can you move the forceps a little more, Peter?…Ahhh that's better, now I can see the tear."
"God, what a mess! You said it happened in the hospital?" The younger doctor asked as he moved the artery forceps out of the older man's way.
Bergman looked up at the young surgeon assisting him and nodded grimly. "They were trying to get a confession out of a mentally unstable suspect. I tried to warn them that it was way too risky to do."
"He's lucky they took the risk in the hospital and not somewhere else!" Peter Holding shook his head as he manipulated the artery forceps a little more to allow the coroner/physician more room to get to the torn blood vessel; "He would have bleed out before they could have gotten him here."
"I know," Doc agreed softly as he carefully maneuvered the needle through the edges of the artery before pulling the sides closed as he tied the first stitch. "It was an insane risk for them to take!"
"Blood pressure's falling 80/60. Pulse is 120 and thready. He's throwing some PVC's." The anaesthetist softly interrupted as he stared at the heart monitor "You better hurry up and finish whatever you are doing. I don't think he is going to handle much more."
"I'm just trying to repair the tear in his artery- It's much bigger than I thought! Just a few minutes more…" Doc exclaimed in frustration.
"I don't think we have a few minutes …his pressure's dropping fast…50/30…lost it…No pulse…he's in full cardiac arrest!" The anaesthetist announced loudly as the shrill alarm of the heart monitor began to echo around the sterile room.
"Don't you dare do this to me young man!" Doc growled as he swiftly passed the needle and thread to the young surgeon assisting him before he quickly moved up the table and placed his hands in the middle of the young detective's chest as he started chest compressions, ignoring the frantic but controlled activity around him as the defibrillator was quickly moved into place as he ordered it charged to three hundred and sixty watts.
"Doctor." The nurse said quietly as she handed him the prepared paddles.
Bergman turned and quickly took the paddles from the nurse, placing them on Danny's chest before he called "Clear." He waited for a heartbeat for the assisting medical staff to step back before he depressed the small button, sending a jolt of electricity that made Danny's body arch of the bed. "Don't you dare make me go out there and tell McGarrett that my warnings about the insane risk you both took have come true! Do you hear me, Danny? Don't you dare give up on us now! Don't you dare!" Doc growled as his eyes turned to the heart monitor screen and the small green line that spiked with the shock.
He held his breath as the small green blip dropped back down on the screen for a couple of seconds before it gave a small spike, followed by another and then a third. "Good boy!" He murmured affectionately as the small beeps across the screen grew stronger. "Okay, let's get another ten units of blood going and get him closed up before he decides to give us another scare." Doc instructed quietly as his attention quickly returned to the surgical opening in the detective's stomach and he took the needle and thread again.
OoOoOoOoO
Spinning towards the door as he heard it open, McGarrett felt a wave of frustration and disappointment wash over him as Chin entered the room, followed closely by Kono. Aware that it was neither of these two men's fault that they were not the person he wanted – no - needed to see, he quickly pushed his emotions aside and slipped on his professional mask that he used so well to hide his vulnerability to the world. Both men rushed forward, their own fear and confusion evident on their faces as the questions tumbled out.
"We just heard about da kaikaina. Is he okay?"
"What happened, Boss?"
McGarrett swallowed hard, his mask threatening to slip as he cleared his throat in an attempt to stop the tremor in his voice when he answered, "Danno wasn't able to roll quick enough to get clear of Charlie's knife." McGarrett's voice dropped as he guiltily confessed, "I didn't even realize that he had been injured until he collapsed. I should have noticed…."
"Steve, it wasn't your fault," Chin tried to reassure his distressed boss, aware that Steve would hold himself solely responsible for Danny's injury as well as for the incredible risk that Danny had willingly taken to remove the threat of an insane murderer from the streets, "With all the activity and the adrenaline flowing in his system, Danny probably didn't realize himself that he had been stabbed."
"Yeah, Boss!" Kono chimed in, "But the main thing is da kaikaina is gunna be okay … isn't he?"
"It doesn't look good, Kono." Steve answered truthfully as he glanced at the still closed waiting room door, willing Bergman to enter and reassure them that Danno was indeed going to be 'okay'. Returning his attention back to his two now silent detectives, he drew a deep breath and tried to explain, "Danno was knifed in the stomach, he was hemorrhaging when they rushed him into surgery."
"Auwe!" Kono murmured as his boss turned and began to pace.
"It doesn't look good. Doc believes that an artery might have been damaged. The docs are doing everything they can." Steve continued.
"He's in the best hands." Chin added softly as he sent a silent prayer that the doctors would be good enough to save the life of their youngest colleague and close friend.
"Why did I let him talk me into allowing him to take such an insane risk? I should never have allowed him to undertake such a dangerous stunt! I should have noticed that something was seriously wrong!" McGarrett growled angrily to himself as he paced restlessly.
"You allowed him to take the risk because that was probably the best way you both could see to getting the job done!" Doc answered as he entered the room. "And it's that little bit of insanity that affects all of the Five-O team to risk your lives to get the job done that makes you the best State Police unit around! Although all it does for me is gives me gray hairs and makes me thankful for my day job as the Coroner!"
Spinning around in surprise at Doc's voice, the three detectives quickly crossed to where Doc stood smiling, his surgical mask still dangling around his neck as he tugged the surgical cap free from his head. "How is he?" Steve asked cautiously.
"He scared the Hell out of us, he's weak but he's holding his own!" Doc answered truthfully before he walked across to the hard plastic chairs that lined the wall and gratefully sank down onto one before silently demanding the three detectives to do the same before he would continue his report.
"So he's going to be okay?" Steve demanded desperately as he sat down on the chair next to the crusty coroner.
"He's going to be our guest for a while and will need to take some time to recover but yes Steve, barring any complications he's going to be fine."
"Thank God!" Steve murmured as Chin and Kono released their breaths and nodded in silent agreement.
"But that doesn't mean he is going to be up to taking any more crazy risks like this for a while!" Doc admonished angrily before he drew a deep breath to calm his still raw nerves and continued more softly. "We nearly lost him today Steve, it was too close, way too close this time. The blade dissected his Lineal Artery, if he had not been here in the hospital and taken into surgery as fast as he was, there is no way he would have survived!"
McGarrett paled and swallowed hard at Doc's words.
Bergman continued, his own heart aching at the pain his words were causing the lead detective but he wanted Steve to realize the sometimes insane risks he allowed his men to take in the name of justice, he never wanted to see one of these brave men to end up on the table in his coroner's lab for a risk they took. Seeing the effect his words were having on McGarrett, he softened his tone a little as he continued, "But by God's grace it did happen here and we were able to repair the artery and the tear in his stomach and stop the bleeding. Danny should make a complete recovery with just a scar as a badge to his bravery and a few weeks of R and R to recover. We were lucky this time Steve, next time, we might not be as lucky..."
"I know, Doc." Steve conceded quietly, "But unfortunately the risks do come with the job. Now can I see him?"
Bergman smiled and lightly patted McGarrett's shoulder, "I know they do Steve but we don't have to like them. Danny should be settled into the ICU. I'll take you up now."
"Mahalo, " Steve smiled as he stood and followed Doc from the small waiting room before he gently slapped the medic's shoulder and added softly, "and a big Mahalo for saving Danno's life. I'm not sure if you even realize how much that means to me!"
"I already know, Steve." Doc answered quietly as he led the three detectives into the elevator.
OoOoOoOoO
Stepping into the hushed atmosphere of the ICU room, Steve hesitated as he stared at the pale, motionless figure in the bed. Unable to ignore the white-hot flame of guilt that burned in his soul, he closed his eyes and prayed that Danno would forgive him.
"Are you sure da Kaikaina's gunna be okay, Doc?"
Kono's anxious whisper pulled McGarrett from his guilt ridden thoughts as he opened his eyes and moved towards his detectives standing beside Danny's hospital bed as he heard Doc's reassuring words again as the doctor lightly patted the worried Hawaiian's shoulder and reiterated. "He's going to be fine Kono. He's going to be a little weak and sore when he wakes up but with rest and time, he's looking good for a full recovery." Stepping to the side of the bed, Steve placed a hand lightly on Danny's arm and smiled as Doc added, "Besides I heard that there's a typhoon near Japan that will be sending some big waves towards the Pipe, now you don't really think that Danny would miss trying to surf those, do you?"
"He'd better, if he doesn't want me to come down on him like a ton of bricks! He's agreed that surfing the big waves is out!" McGarrett growled affectionately as he gently squeezed the cool arm under his hand before he looked back up at his two exhausted detectives, "It's been a long day, Doc says Danno's stable, why don't you two head home? We'll meet in the office for a team meeting and wrap up at 7 am."
McGarrett smiled as Kono and Chin nodded tiredly and bade their goodnights, reassuring them both that he would call them if there was any change in their young friend's condition.
"What about you Steve?" Doc asked as they watched the two other detectives leave, already aware of the answer he was about to receive as he added, "As you said, it has been a long and exhausting day for everyone."
"I think I'll stay a while." Steve answered as he turned back and moved a chair closer to the edge of the bed before sitting down and reaching through the bed rails to rest his hand again on Danny's arm, "Just in case he wakes…"
Doc nodded knowingly as he quickly cast a glance over the young detective and the various medical equipment that was attached to him, satisfying himself that nothing was amiss as he admonished, "Just don't expect our young friend to wake anytime tonight Steve, between the shock, the blood loss and the anaesthetic from the surgery, he will probably sleep until lunchtime tomorrow."
"I know Doc!" Steve answered.
"And I don't want to hear from the nurses that you have spent the night either, Steve, as you said to the boys, it's been an exhausting day!" Doc growled as he turned and headed towards the door, "And I promise you, if Danny needs anything, I am just down the hallway in the doctor's office, I've decided to stick around myself for the night!" Doc added softly as he turned off the overhead light and left the room, leaving Danny and Steve bathed in the soft illumination of the small bed light.
Unable to stop the small smile that tugged at the sides of his mouth at Doc's gruff affectionate admonishments, Steve whispered to the empty doorway, "Mahalo Doc!"
Turning back towards the bed, Steve stared at the gentle rise and fall of Danny's chest as he listened to the soft, regular beeps of the heart monitor that reassured him that his greatest fear today had not came true…he had taken a gamble, an insane risk and had almost lost the one of the things that he knew that he would never survive its loss – Danno's life.
He swallowed hard and drew a deep breath, grateful that the darkness hid the tears that now ran freely down his face as he began to speak, his hand tightening on Danny's arm as he tried to apologize, "I'm sorry Danno, I shouldn't have let this happened. I should have said 'No' when you suggested setting yourself up as Arnold Martin in that hospital room this afternoon. We both knew it was a huge gamble with your safety – that the odds of Charlie Gardlow attempting another murder attempt on his cousin were high, too high! Doc tried to warn me of the danger but I ignored him! I thought that we could beat the odds but we didn't my friend and you were the one who paid the price.
I should have realized just how unbalanced and dangerous Charlie Gardlow truly is, I should have insisted that we try another way to prove his guilt but instead I willingly risked your life to gather the proof we needed! And then…" McGarrett paused and swallowed the lump that threatened to choke him as his chest tightened painfully with the guilt he carried as he confessed, "And then after it all happened I didn't even notice that you were injured…I should have checked…My God Danno, how can I even ask you to forgive me! All I can say is I am truly sorry my friend, I failed you and it almost cost you your life! It was such a stupid, insane risk I took and you are the one suffering for it! Oh God, I'm sorry Aikane!"
McGarrett jumped guiltily as he heard a soft noise at the door and quickly brushing away his tears he turned and found himself staring into the nervous face of Arnold Martin.
Arnold cleared his throat as he nervously shifted from foot to foot before he quietly entered the room and stared at Danny's still figure in the bed before looking back at Steve, "I'm sorry Mr. McGarrett for interrupting but I just heard what happened with Detective Williams and I wanted to see how he is?"
Rising from his chair, McGarrett cast a quick glance at his friend before returning his attention back to the nervous man who stood at the end of the bed. "He's looking good for a full recovery- the doc says he's going to be okay."
The younger man smiled in relief as he whispered, "Thank God!" McGarrett silently nodded his agreement as Arnold continued, "I'm really sorry for what happened this afternoon, I'm really sorry for everything Charlie did, if only Aunt Martha and myself had realized just how sick Charlie was…"
"None of us realized he was as sick and as dangerous as he is…this isn't your fault!" Steve tried to reassure the upset man.
Shaking his head, Arnold turned back towards Danny as he continued, "The doctors say that Charlie is suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia, that he has suffered a total break from reality…his chances of recovery or ever being able to be held responsible for what he did is at the best slim." Arnold paused as he glanced back at the lead detective and whispered, "If it hadn't been for you and Detective Williams taking the risk that you both then I doubt that I would be still be alive and Charlie would still be free to murder again. I just can't thank you both enough for what you did and I am so sorry for what happened to Detective Williams. I'm sorry, I'm rambling, I know I shouldn't be here…I-I better go," Arnold stuttered as he moved towards the door before adding, " but before I go if there is any way I can repay you both…"
Steve smiled as he reached for Arnold's shoulder, "Thank you but we were just doing our jobs. I'm just so sorry that this happened. You have our deepest sympathies for the loss of your Aunt."
Blinking away the tears that threatened to fall, Arnold nodded before he turned and nearly fled from the room.
"Just you …remember that too… Steve," Danny's weak admonishment caught McGarrett off guard and he spun towards the bed to find Danny tiredly watching him.
"Danno!" Steve gasped as he moved closer to the bed, "How do you feel?"
"Better than…you look!" Danny whispered as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "Just remember… we were doing…our job."
Steve swallowed hard as he felt the guilt roll over him again and he found himself confessing, "I 'm sorry Aikane, I should never have allowed…"
"Never… allowed what …Steve?" Danny murmured, determined to stop his friend's guilt in its tracks before sleep claimed him again, "Never allowed…me to do…my job? …It was…my idea …remember…I knew the …risks better than you…I'm the one…who did psychology…I was willing…to take the …risk …to get the…job done!"
McGarrett shook his head as the tears began to fall, "But after it was all over, I didn't even realize that you were hurt. I should have made sure that you were okay. I'm sorry Danno, I should have realized that something was wrong…It almost cost you your life. Please forgive me."
Danny shook his head as he weakly grabbed Steve's hand, ensuring he had his Boss's and best friend's attention before he spoke, "There's nothing …to forgive… Steve… I didn't even know…" A small smile crossed Danny's face as his eyes slowly drifted closed and he murmured, "And I'm the… one who usually… blames myself when…things goes …wrong. …There's nothing to …blame yourself…for. It's …just …one of the risks…that comes…with the job." Danny's voice trailed away as exhaustion lulled him back into the darkness of a dreamless sleep.
Sinking back down into the chair, McGarrett wiped away the tears and the guilt as he stared at the young man, who was becoming such an important part of his life, asleep in the bed.
"Thank you." he whispered as he placed his hand back onto Danny's arm as his own eyes slowly closed and he drifted into an exhausted sleep.
PAU