Shock
By Montez
Disclaimer: Still don't own, but would accept a time-share if available :)
A/N: I know a few fic's have been written for the ending of this episode, which in my opinion was one of the best of the whole series! Danny was awesome, Steve was awesome and yes I believe even Stan was awesome even if we only saw a few minutes of him, it seemed he did understand what Danny was saying in those few words exchanged and it seemed he was willing to let Danny do what he needed if it was for Grace, (just my impression of that slight nod from Stan). Anyway, I love me a bit more angst as my reader's know and just couldn't let this wonderful chance slide-so here's my attempt at an ending of that amazing episode, and yes it's only a one shot. Thanks in advance again, you guys are always wonderful!-Montez
Steve watched as Danny carried Grace out of the storage unit, his mind replaying the last several hours. The panic that filled him as he watched all those images of Grace, Danny, Rachel and Stan flash across Peterson's computer screen, the images not clicking until he heard Chin's unbelieving voice, "That's Grace."
In a matter of a few minutes everything went to hell, he'd had to tell his partner, his best friend that someone had been stalking his family. He'd had to listen to terror enter his friends voice when Danny heard Chin say a uniform had picked up Grace from her tennis lesson, a uniform no one knew, the world seemed to come crashing down around them, Grace Williams had been taken.
Steve heard it in Danny's voice, his partner was living a parent's worst nightmare, his little girl, his life, had been taken and there had been nothing any of them had been able to do about it. Steve ran his hand through his hair when Danny hung up, saying Rachel was on the other line and he'd call Steve back. McGarrett looked at Chin, who was disconnecting the laptop trying to preserve evidence, possible prints. "We should have gotten here sooner." Steve mumbled.
"Steve?" Chin looked as his boss, his friend; there was raw pain and fear in his expression.
"DAMN IT!" Steve shouted as he punched the bare wall before storming back toward his truck.
He'd dropped Chin off with Charlie Fong, the laptop high priority now, they needed a face, they needed to know who had Grace and God help them, if Danny didn't kill the guy Steve sure as hell would. Minutes stretched out and still no call from Danny, Steve's gut twisted with each passing moment. Reaching headquarters Lori told him Rachel was at HPD, but still no word from Danny. Kono came out having a name, Rick Peterson, former Jersey cop, no former dirty cop who Danny had been the key witness into putting away for ten years, who had been out for seven months and who had been stalking his ex-partner and his ex-partner's family for those seven months, how the hell did they not know? Steve berated himself for that, he'd been Naval Intelligence, he knew how to track people without them knowing, how did he never get a feeling? Never have a clue his friend was in danger, that Grace was in danger?
Once Danny's phone and gun had been found they knew Rick was controlling Danny with threats to Grace. They all knew Danny would do anything for his daughter and it was that scenario that terrified Steve, what would Peterson make Danny do to save Grace? 'if Grace was still alive to be saved', flashed in McGarrett's mind as he quickly pushed that one terrifying thought from his head, there was no option to him, Grace was alive, she had to be because God knows if Danny lost Grace, they would lose Danny.
It was all soon answered when they tried to call Stan Edwards only to be told by his secretary that he'd left to meet Danny. Revenge meant to took something from someone, Peterson saw Danny as having taken his life away when he'd turned him in and Steve knew the vengeful man was trying to take Danny's life away from him, by doing the unthinkable, by making Danny kill an innocent man.
Only once in his life had Steve been more terrified than he was in the moment he slid his truck to a stop in that park and saw his partner holding a gun on his ex-wife's husband. McGarrett knew he'd never be able to cross that distance in time, he'd never be able to stop Danny from shooting Stan, but the thought of pulling his own gun never crossed his mind, he'd never pull it on Danny, not when he knew the duress Williams was under, that someone was making him do this. A part of him wanted to believed Danny wouldn't actually pull the trigger, but the echo of the shot across the park, watching Stan go down and Danny move in closer for the 'kill' shot, all Steve's mind could scream was 'this isn't happening'.
Hearing the two successive shots nearly caused Steve's step to faultier until he came up and saw Stan very much alive, wounded, but alive. Danny's words barely registered as Steve dropped down next to Edwards calling an ambulance, seeing Rachel running down the sidewalk, her panic visible. McGarrett glanced toward his retreating partner, seeing him moving toward Chin and Kono, who had Peterson cuffed in front of the Camaro.
He couldn't hear the words, but it was another echo of a gunshot that propelled him again, Danny was going to kill the guy. But he didn't and they had gotten the information they needed, however the drive was unbearable as Steve took the wheel of the silver car, Grace was in a storage facility twenty agonizing minutes away.
Darkness fell quickly as it seemed to take forever to reach the unit, for a terrifying second after Danny had yelled out Grace's name and silence met their ears, Steve didn't know if he wanted to open that door, afraid of what they would find and what it would do to his partner. Yet in that moment a muffled "DADDY!" was heard, Danny shot off the lock and the red door went up. A wall of boxes met them, but was no match for the two men, then suddenly there was Grace, the headlights of the Camaro illuminating the darkened unit, tears streaked down her face, her small arms duck taped to the chair, but she was unharmed.
Steve's own hands shook when he pulled out a knife to cut through the tape allowing Danny to finally take his little girl into his arms. Williams walked out of the unit with his daughter clinging to him, Steve followed, watching Rachel run from the police car she'd arrived in to embrace her daughter and Danny. Steve glanced toward Chin, then Kono, the expression the same on both cousin's face, relief with an underlying current of just how bad everything could have gone, at just what they could have found when they opened that unit, but it wasn't, Grace was safe.
Steve stayed close, but far enough back to give the three people space. He watched as Danny walked Grace and Rachel toward the back of the waiting ambulance. Danny helped his ex-wife and daughter into the rig, a few words spoken, more hugs for the brown-eyed, pig-tailed little girl and Steve watched as Danny, himself closed the doors, banging on the back of the rig, it exploding to life, carrying Grace Williams to the hospital to be checked over.
To say Steve and the rest of Five-0 were shocked Danny hadn't climbed into the back of that ambulance with his family was an understatement, Steve approached him, Chin and Kono just behind. Watching his partner a moment he could see the pale, blank expression, where only minutes ago it was fear, panic and terror. He could see the tremors in his partner's hands when the blond man ran his hand over his face, through his hair. "Danny?" Steve said, stopping just feet from his friend.
For nearly a minute Williams stared in the direction the ambulance had left taking his little girl to the hospital, he then slowly turned toward McGarrett. For a moment his eyes took in Chin and Kono just behind Steve before they locked back on Steve's. It was in that moment that Steve saw the change, saw the void that took over Danny's expression; it was in that moment he barely had time to lunge forward and catch his partner as Danny collapsed.
"DANNY!" Steve caught the smaller man's full weight, going to his knees as he held onto him. Chin was there in an instant helping Steve ease Danny onto the ground, Kono's voice yelling in the background for another ambulance. "Danny…come on…" Steve reached his hand toward his friend's neck, the pulse beneath his digits was rapid but weak, the breaths escaping were quick and shallow, Williams' whole body was trembling. "He's going into shock." Steve told Chin, who's hand was on the younger man's shoulder.
"We need a blanket!" Chin yelled toward Kono, who raced to the nearest blue and white, the officer popping the trunk revealing the emergency blanket in the back. She quickly shook it out over her unconscious teammate.
"Chin?" she whispered, her cousin just glancing up as he and Steve tucked the blanket around Danny.
"Come on Danny…open your eyes for me." Steve kept trying to rouse his friend to no avail. The distant sound of the approaching ambulance was heard in the distance.
The ride to the hospital was too reminiscent of the one over six months ago when Danny had been exposed to Sarin. Steve had prayed he would never have to make another ride like that with his partner, his friend, but now, again all he could do was sit next to the unconscious man, hand laid on his shoulder as the EMT relayed Danny's erratic vitals to the hospital.
Coming through the doors, the doctor's and nurse's swarming his friend, it was all like a sick replay that Steve felt was a nightmare repeating itself. Danny still hadn't stabilized before reaching the hospital, a million things played through Steve's mind, he knew the signs of shock, hell he'd suffered from it himself on the trip back from North Korea, but sometimes when a person loses consciousness and the body shuts down either vitals stabilized or crashed completely, depending on severity. It worried McGarrett that maybe Danny had been hurt some how or forced to take something by Peterson as he watched Williams disappear through the treatment room doors.
Ten minutes later Chin and Kono arrived, "Do you know anything yet?" Kelly asked.
"No," Steve replied, for what seemed like the millionth time today scrubbing his hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. "His vitals were still erratic…I…I don't know…" Steve watched the closed door.
"Have you told Rachel?" Kono asked quietly, sure Grace was in one of the occupied exam rooms being thoroughly checked and probably admitted for the night for observation.
Just then Rachel stepped from a room down the hallway, her eyes inadvertently finding Steve's gaze, "Rachel…how's Grace?" It was automatic, Danny would understand, Grace was first priority.
"She appears fine, they are still running test, but physically the doctor's assure me she should be fine…" Rachel's voice broke as she glanced toward the room just feet away. "Oh, God…" She broke, Kono moving forward, her arms going around the distraught mother, "God we could have lost her…" The British woman tried to take a couple calming breaths, nodding toward Kono acknowledging the support, "Stan's upstairs, the doctor's say he should be okay as well…he told me what Danny was trying to tell him, how R…" Danny's ex stuttering over the man's name, "How Rick had told Danny if he didn't…shot…" Tears fell again as her hand went to her mouth again. Another moment passed before it seemed Rachel finally noticed that Danny wasn't standing with his team. "Where's Danny? You didn't arrest him did you? This wasn't his fault…he was trying to protect Grace…Please Steve…" For a second worry was on the woman's face at the thought of Danny in jail when he should have been here, with his daughter who had been begging to see her Danno.
Chin noticed that Steve seemed to faultier slightly, he gave the younger man a moment, "Danny's not under arrest, he's…" Kelly was cut off by Steve.
"Rachel, Danny collapsed at the scene. He was brought in just a few minutes ago." Steve needed to be the one to tell her, he was Danny's partner.
"What?" Disbelief crossed the dark-haired woman's face. Just then an alarm sounded in a room a few doors behind the remaining Five-0 team members; Steve turned and ran down the hall.
"Danny!" he yelled as he stopped at the partially opened door to the room that held his friend, the sight of a doctor doing compressions on Danny's chest nearly stealing his breath.
"DANIEL!" Rachel's scream snapped McGarrett back to awareness as he grabbed Danny's ex before she rushed into the room.
They all watched as the doctor sent a current through Danny's chest, thankfully only once before the screen jumped to life with a blip, followed by another. After a few more orders to the surrounding staff the doctor made his way into the hallway, stopping in front of Steve and Rachel, Chin and Kono a few steps away. "What was that? What happened?" Rachel demanded.
"Detective Williams appears to be suffering from severe shock, his bodies normal ability to regulate basic functions has been disrupted, that along with the exhaustion and adrenaline dump from what I understand the events over the last few hours have been caused his body to start to shut down. However his vitals are starting to stabilize, his respirations have started to level out, as have his heart rate and blood pressure. We will run test to make sure his heart wasn't damaged by this episode, but I believe with rest he should make a full recovery. We are admitting him since he hasn't regained consciousness." The physician concluded.
"When will he wake up?" Steve needed to see his friend conscious to know for sure he would be okay.
"Honestly, that is up to Detective Williams, hopefully within the next few hours he'll show signs of waking, if not within the next twenty-four hours then we will have to run additional test." When both people before him glanced back into the room without further question the doctor added, "We'll move him to a room shortly, I'll have the nurse let you know which one."
The man walked back into the room to check his patient as a nurse approached, "Mrs. Edwards, Grace is back in her room and we will be moving her up to the pediatric ward overnight for observation."
"Go…I'm staying with him; we'll let you know when he wakes up." Steve nodded down the hallway.
Rachel nodded then moved a few feet with the nurse when Steve's voice was heard again, "Rachel…" The woman turned, "Tell Gracie her Danno loves her." Only if you knew McGarrett could you hear the slight waver in his voice, but Rachel heard it as tears filled her eyes again before she made her way back to Grace.
Oxoxoxoxoxoxo
It was nearly twenty hours, Danny made his friends, his family wait nearly twenty hours before showing any signs of waking. The first few hours Steve had sat beside his partner's bed, head held in is hands, the horrible events of the last day playing through his mind. The images of Danny and his family flashing across the computer screen, Danny standing over Stan, firing a gun at the already injured man, then the overwhelming guilt he saw in his partner's eyes as the terrified man finally got to hold his daughter in his arms, a frantic string of 'I'm sorry' whispered to the small child as he carried her from the storage unit.
The next hours passed with McGarrett's own body demanding rest as he reluctantly dozed in the same chair. Chin and Kono had been in the room most of the time as well, but would occasionally go to get coffee, something they all seemed to be running on. At some point Lori had shown up, but was ushered home by Chin because of her own injury from the previous day.
At hour eighteen Danny's door opened to Rachel carrying Grace, the little girl's face streaked with tears. Steve was on his feet in an instant, "Rachel? Grace, you okay?" He laid his hand on the small girls back, could feel the slight tremors through her body from crying.
"When she woke up and her father wasn't there, she started demanding to know where he was…God I never realized how like her father she could be." Rachel said softly, her eye's drifting toward the unconscious form of her ex. "Her doctor agreed that she should come see Danny, she was becoming too distraught. Has there been any change?" Kono had been going back and forth letting Rachel know how Danny was doing, while keeping the remaining Five-0 members updated on Grace.
"No" Steve's voice was rough from minimal use. His attention turning to the little girl in her mother's arms, "But I know it would make him feel better to know you are doing okay, Sweetheart."
They watched as Grace wordlessly pushed herself down from her mother's embrace, her hospital gown adorned with Disney Princess, making her look so much younger than her ten years. The two adults watched as the little girl slowly made her way toward her father's bed, her tiny hand reaching up, resting over top of her fathers. "Is it okay if I leave her here with her father? Stan's doctor should be seeing him soon; he may be released in the next day or so." Rachel said quietly, looking at her ex-husband's partner.
"Yeah, she'll be fine…" Steve responded, watching Grace as she ran her hand over her father's stubble cheek. Rachel moved up to her daughter, leaned down, whispering something in the girl's ear before again pulling her into a tight hug, then leaving the room.
Steve moved his chair closer to the bed, "Grace, why don't you sit down here so you can stay close to your dad." He watched as the small girl's eyes never left her father's face.
Her small voice causing Steve to knell next to her to hear, "Danno said not to go with someone I didn't know…" Grace's gaze taking on a much older look, "But the man said Daddy was hurt and you and mommy were with him…" Her tear-filled eye's looked at Steve, "But you came for me before…I shouldn't have went with him…Daddy's told me not to…this is my fault…" She sobbed out; tremor's shaking her small frame.
'Damn, what was it with Williams' and their guilt?' Steve thought, instinctively reaching out and pulling Danny's daughter into his arms. "No Gracie, this is not your fault. I know you've been told you can trust officer's in uniform and that man used that. It was his fault…this was not your fault do you understand?" Steve held his partner's daughter tight as her arms clung tightly to his neck, her small frame racked with sobs, "Your dad will tell you the very same thing, you didn't do anything wrong Grace and neither did your dad, okay?" Steve was a bit out of his element, but knew he needed Danny's little girl to know what had happened wasn't anyone's fault but that of Rick Peterson, who if he had his way would be dropped in general population with a sign on him saying 'I was a cop'. "Grace, you need to tell me you understand that this was not your fault."
He felt the little girl's grip tighten again, her head nodding in the crook of his neck, "Okay." She whispered between ragged breaths, trying to calm herself. Another minute passed before Grace pulled back, looking back at her father, "When is Danno going to wake up?"
Steve stood, sitting in the chair before pulling Grace into his lap, "I don't know Gracie, but I hope it's soon." McGarrett said softly.
"Can I give him a hug? Will it hurt him?" Grace asked glancing back at Steve before her eye's returned to her father.
Without answering Steve stood, sitting Grace on the side of Danny's bed, the little girl turned toward her father, lying down next to him, her head resting on the unconscious man's shoulder, her arm reaching around his chest. McGarrett watched for a moment, then walked over to the small closet in the room, opening it he found an extra blanket, taking it back he opened it a bit before laying over Grace before silently returning to his chair, keeping vigil over both Williams' as he watched Grace drift to sleep next to her Danno.
Two more hours passed and Steve was now staring out the window of Danny's room, evening was descending over the island again, so much and so little had happened in the last twenty-four hours and he was still waiting, they all were, for a certain blond haired man to open his eyes again, so that they all could start to heal for this latest ordeal, so Grace could start to heal.
A soft moan drew Steve's attention back to the bed, Grace had fell asleep almost as soon as she laid down next to her father, but it was the slight head movement of said man that had McGarrett reaching forward, laying his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Danny? Hey man can you open your eye's for me?"
The waking man's forehead pinched as movement behind his eyes was seen. Suddenly a sharp breath and rapid increase on Danny's heart monitor gave Steve only a second's indication that Williams was truly waking before his partner's eyes flew open, a panicked cry to his voice, "GRACE!"
The little girl in question jumped at the shout of her name, while Steve's hand tried to keep his partner from coming up out of the bed, "Danny, calm down, Grace is fine…look she's right here…" Steve watched as Danny's head turned quickly, tears filling his eyes at the sight of his daughter just inches from him.
"Oh God, Grace…" Danny choked out as he reached up and pulled her to him, her small arms again encircling her father, "God, Gracie…"
Steve stepped back; knowing father and daughter needed this time. Time to hold to each other, for Danny to feel his daughter breathing in his arms, for Grace to feel the safety of her father's embrace. Several minutes passed in silence before Danny spoke softly, "I'm so sorry Grace…I was so scared baby…are you okay?"
"I'm okay…" Danny pulled her back to him, just needing her close.
"I'm sorry, God I'm so sorry." Williams whispered again.
"Not your fault Daddy." Grace pulled back, "Uncle Steve said it wasn't anybodies fault but that man's."
"It's my job to take care of you baby, to protect you and I couldn't…God all I wanted to was to find you." Danny said again hugging the little girl tight.
"You did find me, you and Uncle Steve…I tried not to be scared because I knew you'd find me…I love you Danno." Grace kissed her father's cheek as she lay back down next to him.
"God, I love you too Monkey…I love you too." Danny whispered into her hair, glancing at his partner near the window, a wordless 'thank you' passing in the glance. The subtle nod from the quiet man was the only response as Steve headed toward the door, to find Danny's doctor, Rachel and the rest of the team to let them know that Danny was awake, he was back with Grace and they could all start to come to terms with what had happened and start the process of recovery, together.