Filling the Gap
Disclaimer: No, they don't belong to me and I'm sure that is a good thing.
Episode Tag to 1x20. What happened between McGarrett leaving the hospital and arriving at the restaurant to take a look at the fish. Well, this is my take on it.
Thank you Sherry57 for the beta on this one.
Steve McGarrett was debating calling Danny again to let him know that he was still at the hospital. Almost an hour ago he'd told his partner that he was on his way to HQ to meet him there. A trip that would only take a few minutes. But here he was still standing on the steps of the hospital entrance waiting for his ride. He was getting kind of tired of waiting for Kamekona to arrive, not to mention that his side, back and head had started to hurt. Well, what do you expect after that fall? Steve knew that he was damn lucky to even be alive let alone standing outside the hospital in almost one piece. He was just going to head back inside to sit down when Kamekona arrived – finally. Heading down the few steps he was debating whether to be pissed at him or just grateful that he was picking him up. He settled for something in between.
The ride to HQ was short and uneventful. But he was still glad to get out of the uncomfortable car, since every bump aggravated the pain of his bruised side. He was thankful that he had taken the pain meds the doctor had offered him. Normally, he was not one to take any kind of medication, but to function, he had to keep the pain at bay. He just knew that he would be in a world of hurt later that night, when the injuries had time to settle in. But for now he was fine to work. He would worry about later, well later.
The halls of HQ were quiet when he made his way to their offices. Something rare since it was midday. He was thankful for not running into anyone, not that he was usually one to chat, but today he was really not in the mood for that.
Danny looked up from his desk when Steve entered his office.
"Finally! What took you so long?" Danny asked by way of a greeting.
"Nice to see you too. It seems that there was a big sale on ice."
"Huh?" Danny looked at his partner and was trying to make any sense of what Steve was saying.
"Don't ask."
Danny looked at his partner who was now sitting on the couch in the office and was looking somewhat forlornly towards the floor. Danny followed his gaze and saw that one shoelace was undone. He had to smile at that, seeming that even a SuperSeal can't tie his shoes properly with just one arm.
He went wordlessly to Steve, bent down and tied his boot.
"Thank you."
"You are very welcome."
They both knew that they were not talking about the shoelace. A smile crept on both their faces.
"Hey listen, I'm sorry I didn't pick you up from the hospital."
"That's OK Danny, don't worry about it. Kamekona did a good enough job with it. How did the case go?"
"Straight to business, eh?" Danny filled him in on their findings so far.
"OK, so let's go and see some fish." With that Steve got up from the couch, and while doing so reminded himself not to sit down on a low couch in the near future again.
Danny of course observed his friend. Seeing his discomfort, he was debating lending a hand, but it seemed that Steve was managing fine on his own.
"Steve! Are you doing OK? Are you up to this? If you want I can take you home." Danny knew that Steve would never agree to that, but still he had to ask. He saw the fall and the crash to the ground. He was so sure that his partner was seriously injured. He still couldn't believe that he was basically OK.
Steve was about to dismiss the question with a joke but one look at his partner stopped him cold. Danny was looking at him with such concern. It had been a long time since anyone had voiced concern for him. That he had a real friend who would stick to him like Danny did, no matter what. Steve owed him nothing but the truth.
"I will be fine. My arm is not as bad as first feared. It's a clean break of the ulna. The radius is intact, so I was really lucky. I guess I will be sporting some spectacular bruises later, my whole side and back hurts quite a bit. But nothing else is broken or seriously hurt. Of course not to forget the killer headache. But I was cleared, no concussion."
Danny looked at his friend open mouthed. That was not what he expected. He was sure he'd get a dismissive "I'm fine, end of story". He did not expect to get a run-down of injuries, and he certainly did not expect the confession of being in pain. Det. Danny Williams was speechless.
Steve looked at his friend and couldn't suppress the low chuckle. But he got serious real quick.
"Danny if I weren't up to it, I would never accompany you on the investigation. Never endanger your teammates because you're hurt, and to always know your limits is paramount. I know, it doesn't seem that way to you sometimes, but I always know what I can or can't do. I had a lot of training concerning just that. I promise you if I start to feel worse, I'll let you know, and then you can take me home."
Danny just stared at his friend and the only thing that came out of him was a weak "OK". He had just realized that Steve saw him as a real friend, his best friend. In spite of himself that thought filled him with awe and pride. When Steve was airlifted off that cliff, Danny's heartfelt declaration of love and friendship was very spontaneous, but now he realized, that he really meant it. Suddenly, it was clear to him how much this friendship really meant to him. A smile formed on his face while he was looking his friend up and down.
"What are you looking at?" Steve found Danny's behavior somewhat irritating. This was not his normal partner.
"I just realized that "I" will be driving for the near future." Danny declared with a now big smile on his face.
Steve laughed at that "We'll see about that."
"What do you mean we'll see about that? Hey wait, slow down, wait for me. Where are my car keys? Did you take my keys? Steven!"
Danny hurried after his partner, mumbling all the time about crazy car-key stealing partners.