Note: Just a little light hearted whump. Thanks to Wenwalke again. I'm certainly keeping her busy. I think most parents will relate to this one.
Disclaimer: I do not own H50.
Danny stood at the door to Grace's bedroom watching her neatly stack her things into boxes. Her school was having a charity drive and Grace had really got behind the idea, clearing out all the things she no longer played with or clothes that were now too small.
"You sure you want to get rid of all this stuff Grace?"
"Yes Danno, I don't use any of it anymore." She replied placing a tennis racket into the box.
Danny gave a smug smile. He never liked Grace playing tennis in the first place. It was one of those things Step Stan had insisted she do to fit in at his posh country club. Now that Grace spent a lot more time living with him the tennis lessons had been replaced with baseball, roller hockey and cheerleading. While Danny wasn't overly keen on the, in his opinion skimpy cheer leading costumes, Grace loved it, so he let it go.
"Ok monkey, if you're sure." He said picking up one of the boxes that was full of clothes, "I'll take this one out to the car."
"Ok." Grace replied starting to sort through her books.
Danny moved through the hall and into the kitchen intending to exit the house via the side door to the car. However because his vision was limited by the box he failed to see Grace's roller blades lying abandoned on the floor.
Danny knew he was going down the second his foot hit the boot, and he was going down hard. Stepping on the boot had twisted his bad knee and as a sharp pain shot up his thigh and down his calf, his leg gave way. Desperately trying to right himself he flailed his arms sending the box flying across the kitchen. But his attempts to save himself only sent him crashing into the hard marble topped island in the centre of the kitchen, knocking the air out of his lungs as he felt a snap in his chest. As if in slow motion he felt himself fall the rest of the way to the floor and the back of his head connected with the tiles and everything went black.
Grace heard the thud as she placed more books in a box. Looking towards the door she shouted to her dad to ask if everything was ok, receiving no answer she tried again. Still getting no answer she rose up off the floor and wandered into the kitchen.
Rounding the island she was shocked to find her father sprawled out on the floor. The box of clothes was tipped on its side, clothes covering the floor. She immediately noticed the roller blades at his feet and realised what had happened.
"Danno! Danno! Are you ok? Daddy, talk to me." She said giving his shoulder a little shake.
She was rewarded with a small groan, as Danny slowly opened his eyes.
"Are you ok Danno? Are you hurt?" Grace asked with tears in her eyes.
Remembering what had happened Danny tried to reassure his daughter. "I'm ok Monkey. How many times do I have to tell you not to leave your things lying around?"
"I'm sorry Danno, I'm so sorry." Grace cried.
"Hey it's ok baby, just be careful next time." He reassured.
"Are you hurt?" She sniffled.
Taking stock of his body Danny realised that his knee was throbbing, as was his head. But the left side of his chest was extremely painful.
Raising his right hand to the back of his head he brought it away only to find blood on his fingers.
"Danno, you're bleeding. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." She cried.
"Grace its ok, I just split my head open. It's not too bad." He reassured. "But my knee and chest hurt. I think I might need a hand getting up."
Grace moved around and helped Danny into a sitting position then waited for him to catch his breath. It was obvious that the movement was painful and she noticed that her dad looked very pale.
"Danno, should I call for help?"
"No. Just give me a second and I'll get up." He replied eyes closed.
Grace watched on, nervously biting her lip as Danny slowly tried to leaver himself up using the counter. Unable to put any weight through his bad knee he finally gave up and rested against the unit.
"Ok, you're right I need help. Do you think you could call Uncle Steve? See if he can swing by." Danny asked admitting defeat.
Grace ran off to her room and grabbed her phone, dialing Steve. On the third ring he answered.
"Good afternoon Miss Williams. What can I do for you this fine day?" Steve joked.
"Uncle Steve, Danno fell and he can't get up." She blurted out.
"Whoa Gracie. Slow down. What happened?"
"He fell over my blades. I left them out and he didn't see them. He's hurt Uncle Steve. He can't get up because of his bad knee. Can you come help?"
"Relax Grace, I'll be there in ten minutes, ok? Tell your dad not to go anywhere." He joked trying to cheer Grace up. He could tell she was obviously upset.
"That's not funny, Uncle Steve." She chastised.
Steve arrived at Danny's and headed straight into the house. Grace called him into the kitchen, where he took in the sight before him. Danny was propped up against the kitchen unit, a pillow behind his back. A bag of frozen peas had been placed over his knee and Grace was stood by his side holding some gauze to the back of Danny's head.
"I think she planned it so she could practice for her first aid badge for the Aloha Girls." Danny said looking up at Steve.
"Remind me to stay clear when she goes for her self defence badge." Steve said bending down next to Danny. "Ok, let's check you out."
"I'm fine, just help me get up." Danny demanded.
"No can do buddy, I'm not moving you 'til I know what you've done to your self."
Steve took the gauze from Grace and checked out Danny's head, noting that the bleeding had stopped. "This is probably going to need gluing or something," Steve said checking the wound out. "Did you lose consciousness?"
"No."
"Yes." Grace replied at the same time.
Steve stood back and stared at Danny.
"Well maybe for a minute. But I'm fine." Danny insisted.
"Sure you are. Apart from the knee which I can see is swollen, you hurt anywhere else?" Steve probed.
"I hit my ribs on the counter, they're pretty sore." Danny explained indicating his left side.
Steve lifted Danny's t-shirt up and winced seeing the bruise already forming. Running his fingers down Danny's side, Danny suddenly pulled away and yelped out in pain as he felt a rib shift.
"Sorry buddy, but you definitely busted at least one rib there. I'm going to have to take you to the hospital. Between your head, knee and rib, you need checking out."
"Ok." Danny simply replied.
"Ok? That's it? Just ok? You must be hurting." Steve said concerned.
"Yeah, I think I might have torn my ACL again. I don't think I can put any weight through my knee." Danny grimaced moving his leg slightly.
"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" Came a voice from the other side of the kitchen. Rounding the corner Kono came with Chin following close behind.
"Oh great. The whole gangs here." Danny said with a flush of embarrassment.
"Be grateful I called Chin on the way over. Now we can get you straight to the truck." Steve stated. Looking at the new arrivals Steve filled them in. "He's busted his ribs and knee, and was knocked unconscious."
All four team members suddenly turned towards Grace as she let out a sob.
Danny looked mortified that his daughter was so upset. Kono moved over and gave her a hug. "Grace sweetheart. Please don't cry." He begged.
"It's all my fault... I left them there... I'm sorry." She sobbed into Kono's shoulder.
"No, Grace I didn't see them, it was an accident baby." Danny comforted.
"But you were carrying my stuff so you couldn't see them." She said wiping her eyes.
"Come here babe." Danny said holding out his right hand and pulling her in for a hug, careful of his injured left ribs. "It was an accident Grace, you didn't mean for me to get hurt. Just try and remember to put them away in the future. Danno loves you baby."
"Love you too Danno." Grace said wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I'm going to have to go to the hospital though Grace." He explained as he looked over to Kono. "Could you watch her for me?"
"Why do you think I'm here brah? She smiled. "We can finish sorting all this stuff. What's going on anyway, tell me you're not moving again. I like this house."
"We're not moving Auntie Kono. In fact Danno's buying the house. This is all for my school, we're having a charity drive." Grace explained.
"What? Did I just hear right? You, Daniel Williams are actually buying a house on this pineapple infested hellhole." Steve asked shocked.
"The landlord wanted to sell up, it was either buy it or move. And I like this house. And I believe I've already admitted Hawaii is home now, so can we please get me to the hospital where the doctors can shoot me up with some good drugs. Please." Danny said obviously in a fair bit of pain.
Chin moved around to Danny's side. "How do you want to do this? Chair lift?"
"Yeah." Steve replied.
"Whoa, I'm not a damsel in distress I don't need carrying just help me get up." Danny protested.
"You kind of are, brah." Chin laughed.
"Danny, you can't put any weight through that knee and hopping is gonna hurt like a..."
"Steven!" Danny interrupted knowing where Steve was going with the sentence.
"Sorry. Sorry Gracie." Steve said looking ashamed that he almost swore in his nieces' presence.
Grace gave a little giggle.
"Well, it will hurt your ribs, so it's best if we carry you to the truck." He finished off.
Danny considered his options for a moment before relenting and raising both arms.
Chin and Steve linked arms behind Danny's back and under his legs and scooped him up into a chair lift as Danny groaned in pain.
Kono moved ahead of them opening doors and soon they had Danny sat in the passenger seat of Steve's Silverado. Chin and Steve got in the truck and they drove off to the hospital leaving Grace and Kono behind.
Arriving at the hospital, Chin went inside and returned with an orderly and a gurney. They all helped Danny slowly slide from the truck to the gurney and then Steve accompanied Danny inside while Chin moved the truck.
After an hour Danny had finally been seen, and sent for a chest X-Ray and a scan on his knee. Now he lay propped up on the gurney while a nurse cleaned away the things she had used to glue the cut on Danny's head. Once the doctor had confirmed he didn't have a concussion he had been given some morphine to help with the pain, so Danny was now resting comfortably.
Danny looked up and groaned as Dr. Hale entered the room, knowing that if the surgeon was coming to see him his knee must be bad. Dr. Hale had been Danny's surgeon when he had been hit by a car saving Grace, so he was familiar with the team.
"Well isn't that a nice warm welcome." He joked. "Been in the wars again I see Danny. What happened this time?"
"Man versus rollerblades, rollerblades won." Danny dryly stated.
"You were rollerblading? The doctor asked with amusement.
"As if doc, no my daughter left them laying around and I tripped over them."
"Oh dear." Dr. Hale replied. "Well as you have obviously guessed, the knee needs surgery."
"Great." Danny replied sarcastically.
"You have a tear in the ACL and given your history with this ligament there is some scaring so you need surgery for us to tidy it up. It's a straight forward surgery and you should be back on two feet in a few weeks if you work well in PT. We can do the surgery tonight and release you tomorrow."
"No doc I can't, I can't stay. I have Grace this week. Rachel isn't on the island." Danny panicked sitting forward then regretting the sudden move as his ribs protested.
"Hey, calm down Danny, we'll take care of Grace. You know that." Steve said helping his friend to rest back against the pillow.
"I bet that hurt didn't it? You have one broken rib and another cracked one. Your chest X-Ray is starting to look like a work of art with all this rib damage." Dr. Hale said referring to Danny's previous injuries from the car.
"Yeah that hurt a lot." Danny replied slightly out of breath.
"Ok take it easy Danny. We'll get you moved to a room while we wait for an OR. You behave yourself and I promised I'll have you home for dinner tomorrow."
"Guess I don't have any other choice, do I?" Danny conceded.
Once Danny was settled into a room Chin left to grab some food and go help Kono with Grace. Danny had suggested that they get the tent out in the living room and have a camp out to keep Grace distracted from the fact that Danny needed surgery, and an over night stay. Steve stayed with Danny doing his best to distract him from the upcoming surgery.
Finally Danny was taken for surgery and four hours later he was back in his bed, asleep. His knee raised on a pillow and heavily bandaged. Strong painkillers on board, he slept for the whole night. Steve had stayed until Danny returned from surgery but then was forced to leave by the head nurse given that Danny's condition wasn't serious.
Steve returned to the hospital the next morning, bringing Danny a change of clothes which Danny gratefully took and headed for the bathroom to get changed. Steve hovered near by watching Danny struggle with the bag and his crutches, but not wanting to interfere.
Once Danny had safely made it to the bathroom Steve sat down and waited for the inevitable.
"Steven!" Danny shouted.
"Yes Daniel." Steve replied trying not to giggle.
"Are you kidding me? Seriously? You expect me to wear these?" He said appearing at the bathroom door with a pair of shorts and throwing them at Steve. "Cargo shorts? Really? I am not wearing those."
"I went shopping especially for those on the way here. I thought the pockets would come in handy for painkillers, your phone, perhaps some glasses so you can see where you're walking?" Steve joked throwing them back to Danny.
Danny reached forward to catch them and winced as it pulled his ribs. Leaning against the door frame he closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. Opening his eyes he was shocked to see Steve right in front of him. "You ninja freak, don't sneak up on me like that."
"You ok?" He asked concerned.
"Yeah," Danny replied nodding. "And I don't need glasses. I can see perfectly well thank you. I just don't have Super SEAL powers like you, I can't see through boxes."
"Just put the shorts on. They'll be better for your knee than pants until the swelling goes down. Then let's get you home, Grace is waiting for you." Steve explained.
"Ok. I suppose I should be grateful you brought a t-shirt and not a hideous Hawaiian shirt." Danny said returning to the bathroom.
Two hours later Steve was helping Danny slowly make his way inside the house. Dr. Hale had seen Danny and discharged him with an appointment to see a physiotherapist and prescribed him a boat load of painkillers and anti-inflammatories.
Grace came running over to Danny and Steve scooped her up stopping her from plowing into her dad. "Easy Grace, I think Danno has been through enough for one week. Why don't you let him sit on the couch and then I'm sure he will be more than ready for a hug, just watch his ribs, ok?"
Danny eased himself down, leaving his crutches within easy reach and Steve helped him lift his leg onto the couch and placed a pillow under his knee. Grace then perched at the side of him and sank into a hug.
"Are you ok Danno?" She asked nervously, still feeling guilty that her carelessness had caused her dad's accident.
"I am now Monkey. I'm glad to be home with you. Did you have fun last night?"
"Yeah we had fun, but I was worried about you." She replied.
"You didn't need to be. They fixed me up good. A few weeks and I'll be good as new." He reassured.
"And in the mean time, your dad gets to have fun completing all the paperwork at the office." Steve said as he returned from the kitchen with an ice pack and placed it on Danny's knee, then offered him a glass of water and handed him his pain meds.
"Nothing new there then." Danny replied easing himself down so he was lying down.
"Hey Grace, why don't we let your dad get some rest? He looks tired. We could bake those cookies you wanted to make for when he wakes up." Kono asked.
"Cookies sound great." Danny replied rubbing his sleepy eyes then trying to stifle a yawn.
"Get some sleep Danno." Steve ordered. "We'll help Grace in the kitchen."
"Thanks Steve, thanks for everything. Getting me to the hospital. Waiting around while I was in surgery. I really appreciate it. Even the god awful cargo shorts." Danny said gratefully.
"No problem Danny, it's what Ohana do." Was Steve's simple reply as he headed to the kitchen to help the rest of his family, leaving Danny to sleep.
The End.