In the 25th Hour...
By Jen
Special thanks to my awesome beta Traw for her fantastic job on this!
"This is Williams to Central Dispatch. Do you copy?"
"This is Central Dispatch, go ahead."
"Requesting road block on the Kalanianaole Highway towards Hanauma Bay. In pursuit of a blue Jeep with license plate MD-407. The suspect is armed and dangerous; repeat, the suspect is armed and extremely dangerous."
"Request for road block approved. Stand by for further information."
"Ten-four." With that the ex-Jersey cop threw the radio mouthpiece back onto its holder and turned to look at the driver briefly before squinting into the afternoon sun. McGarrett grasped the steering wheel tightly with both hands as he took a tight corner and stepped on the gas pedal. He kept a tight trail on the blue car as it weaved in between the sparse traffic at a dangerous speed, leaving skid marks on the road from the burnt rubber.
McGarrett gnashed his teeth and concentrated on trying to close the gap between them. His heart was pounding fiercely and his hands were slick with sweat, slipping and sliding on the thin arm of the steering wheel. Adrenaline surged through his veins as the blood whistled past his ears. The speedometer said they were going at 100 miles per hour. At speeds like that steering accuracy was heavily compromised and the Commander had to be careful otherwise they could lose more than just Fontaine out here.
Shaking his head he quashed that line of thinking to maintain his focus. There was no way he was going to let Fontaine get away again. Five-O had put more than 100 man-hours into getting the perp and now when the net was closing in on him Fontaine had sensed it and taken off like a bat out of hell with all the blood money he could fit in an attaché case. If they could catch him red-handed like this then the charge of murder one to stick.
"Woah! Slow down you crazy lunatic!" Danny yelled as he was shoved against the window when the lead detective sped up and abruptly changed lanes. The tires in the Camaro squealed as he pressed the gas pedal to the floor and the passenger was pressed back into his seat as they literally flew at more than 150 miles per hour. "You're going to get us both killed!"
Ignoring his partner's protests, they continued their pursuit and weaved in and out between the light traffic. The scenery around them passed in a blur as the wind whipped ferociously. The Camaro had just passed the spot where the Lunalilo Highway became the Kalanianaole Highway at Mau'Umae Nature Park.
"That road block better be in place." Steve growled as he twisted the steering wheel viciously to get around another car. The smell of burning rubber was very strong by now.
A crest on the road appeared before them and Steve ground his teeth sorely wishing that the car had a manual transmission. The multiple horsepower engine lagged just a little at it climbed the steep slope. He took his foot off the gas pedal slightly to depress it swiftly again as the engine roared and surged upwards, peaking over the crest.
"Brakes, brakes!" Was all Danny managed to say before the car screeched as McGarrett took his foot off the gas and stomped hard on the brakes. As soon as they went over the crest the brown Jeep's taillights were flaring as Fontaine attempted to stop before he reached the road spikes. A deafening screech filled the air as Fontaine tried to stop but it was too late; he went over the spikes and his tires were blown. The car spun wildly out of control before the door on the driver's side flung open and their crook jumped out of the car onto the grassy embankment before uniformed HPD officers were on him, pressing him to the ground and cuffing him. Fontaine escaped just in time before the car slammed into the entrance gates to the Hanauma Bay Nature Reserve and burst into flames.
Danny could only watch in horror as the needle on the speedometer moved further to the right. Even though Steve had pushed the brake all the way in the momentum of the downwards slope caused the Camaro to go faster and get too close for comfort; at that stage Danny had grabbed onto the side of the car to steady himself. The speedometer indicated that they were still going at about 60 miles per hour.
In a last ditch effort to get the car to slow down and avoid impending death the former Navy SEAL seized the handbrake and put all his strength into pulling it up. The car lurched forward violently but slowed down. Danny had raised his hands over his heads in an effort to protect himself from impact as they slammed into the back of the blue Jeep with a loud sickening crunch. The inside began to fill with brown smoke and Danny thought he could smell gasoline. The glass windscreen shattered, showering them all with tiny shards as the metal twisted and folded. The front of the car burst into flames as fierce heat engulfed them.
Fumbling for his seatbelt, Danny tried to ignore the pain that blossomed on various parts of his body. "Get out! OUT!" The seat belt slid out and he managed to climb out of the car shakily before running to the driver's side to fling the door open and fumble with Steve's seatbelt. His hands were badly shaking and he ignored the blood on them as well as he pulled an unconscious Steve out of the wreck onto the grass, before collapsing onto the bitumen of the road outside. He could hear footsteps approaching and felt a pair of strong arms lift him off of McGarrett.
His last thought was 'I'm glad that we came out of that with our lives. Steve will be happy that we got Fontaine…' before he succumbed to the darkness that engulfed him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Danny opened his eyes to the sight of a familiar ceiling. Ever since McGarrett the incorrigible had demanded his presence on the Five-O team he had gotten plenty of opportunities to get to know the subtle nuances between different ones. The warm white of the panels coupled with the checkered pattern in the plaster told him that he was in Queen's Hospital. Upon waking he became aware that all of his extremities were numb, and he had a pounding headache. Each passing second brought a new throb of pain and the harsh white lighting stabbed at his eyes like a thousand tiny knives, until he couldn't stand it anymore and closed them again, taking a few calming breaths. A wave of dizziness washed over him, but the sound of a man's voice caused him to snap his eyes open and glance over his shoulder, to see Chin sitting in the chair by his bedside.
Almost immediately he tried to sit up as the implications hit him of just exactly what had happened. Cold dread bloomed in his stomach and the air rushed out of his lungs as panic clawed its way into his consciousness. It should have been Steve in that chair, and for Steve to not be there meant…
The beeps on Danny's heart monitor machine got a whole lot faster, and Chin reached out to lay a hand comfortingly on the man's shoulder, encouraging him to lie down again. "Danny! It's okay. Calm down brah, you were involved in a bad accident, but you're okay now," he explained softly, pushing the ex-Jersey detective back onto his bed.
"Steve…" was all that Danny could get out before the Asian detective interrupted.
"It's a good thing you pulled him out of the car in time." Chin explained, "Within minutes of you getting him out the Camaro burst into flames. There's nothing left."
Danny heaved a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes. He remember his last thought before waking up here was of gladness at having gotten to Steve and pulling out of the wreckage in time. A smile graced his lips that Steve was still alive. He let that thought wrap around his mind like a warm blanket before he opened his eyes, and asked the question that he feared the most.
"Is he…okay?"
He felt his heart constrict when the silence stretched on. After what seemed like an eternity, Chin finally answered. "We don't know yet. Steve is still unconscious."
For the first time since regaining consciousness he became aware of the heavy cast in his right forearm and the bandages covering his forehead and the right hand side of his face. The skin under there felt very hot, and he raised his right arm to look at the thick cast as well as the cuts and bruises that mottled what was visible of his hand.
"What do the doctors say?" Danny asked, "Is he…in a coma? Will he wake up?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know." Chin replied honestly, "But I can get someone who can tell you more, Danny. Just a second."
The detective nodded his head in thanks, and watched as his friend stood up and hurried out of the room. He closed his eyes and tried to will himself to stop shaking. Steve was going to pull through. If the man had managed to survive all those covert special ops with the SEALs with all limbs intact then what was a measly car crash? He clung onto this thought like a lifeline, but he couldn't suppress cool logic when it reasoned that Steve was only human, and pushed too far there was the very real possibility that the man will break, and shatter into so many irretrievable pieces.
He tried to calm himself down and firmly control the panic that was rapidly building again, as he rationally considered all the possible outcomes. Just how bad would Steve's injuries be? Danny tried to move his finger and toes, relieved that they were in working order. He then tried to move his arms and his legs, wincing at the sharp pain radiating with movement from his right leg. From what he could tell most of his injuries had occurred on the right hand side of his body, but the left was still just as sore and achy.
"Stop that, you'll do more damage to yourself." At the sound of that recognizable voice he snapped up to see the doctor at the doorway in front of Chin. The physician moved into the room and sat down, before Chin smiled at Dan and closed the door. Dan was glad that he would wait outside, because he didn't want Chin to be there if Doc had any bad news. "We managed to get most of the shrapnel out from your right leg, but I'd advise against any unnecessary movement for the time being. What do you want to know?"
"How is Steve?" the younger man asked instantly, his clear blue eyes focused intently on the physician. He had a hundred questions to ask, but it would be better not to overwhelm the man in front of him.
The doctor ran a hand through his graying hair as he contemplated how to answer. He looked into those expectant eyes, unsure of how he was going to answer the simple question. The truth was, they just didn't know. It had been two hours since the ambulances carrying Steve and Danny docked at Queens' Hospital and whilst Danny had woken up, Steve still hadn't.
"We don't know, Danny." He admitted truthfully, "Steve isn't out of the woods yet, so to speak."
"What do you know then?" the detective pressed on more urgently. "Can't you use all those fancy machines to look into "
The physician could only sigh. There was a reason Danny was the ipso facto Second-In-Command to the most elite State police force on the Islands, "We've conducted extensive tests on him. They show that he has a few broken ribs, a broken arm and extensive bruises and gashes on him from the shattered glass. Until he wakes up, we cannot do any more tests. It is simply too risky."
"Can I see him?" Danny asked in a small voice. There was a hint of pleading there and the physician could tell that allowing Danny to see Steve might help reassure the young man that the man was still alive. Unfortunately given the injured man's current condition that was not possible.
"No. You need to rest." The doctor's voice took on an authoritative tone, "I will not allow it."
Now it was Danny's turn to sigh. "When will I be able to see him?"
"I don't know, Danny. I'm sorry." He apologized. It pained him greatly to see Danny in such a state, but there was nothing else to be said or done. "Is there anything else you want to know? Anything you need?"
The blonde haired man chuckled. "No I'm good. You should go and see what you can do for Steve. He needs it more than I do."
"Will do." Doc confirmed and with a nod, he stood up and walked out of the room.
A few moments after, Chin went to sit down and resume his bedside vigil. The officer had a newspaper clamped under his arm, and offered it to Danny, who shook his head. There was nothing of interest to him there. He turned his head to the side and looked out the window, watching the branches of the trees sway in the afternoon sunshine.
"Did you get a chance to see how Steve was?" the blonde detective asked lightly in a mood that did not permeate any deeper than his voice.
Chin wasn't sure how to answer the question. The truth was, Steve was very badly hurt and he had been shocked when he dropped by his Boss' room. For a second he had thought that it was not Steve that was in that room, but some sort of fabric doll. The Commander was covered head to toe in bandages that were rapidly turning red with his blood. Kono had looked up from her chair in the room, shaking her head sadly at her cousin.
The Five-0 Detective forced himself to look at his clearly distraught friend. One didn't need to be very observant to realize that Danny's feelings for Steve ran deeper than the conventional tides of friendship; spreading further than the bonds of ohana they had formed since the inception of Five-0. Wherever Steve was, Danny was by his side, much the same way that the gentle ocean tide hugged the shore, never completely letting go. There was more than meets the eye at work here, but it wasn't Chin's place to comment about such things. So long as his friends were happy, then who was he to object? Right now though, the last thing Danny needed was to find out that Steve was skirting the edge of death. Given the doctor's prognoses, there was a very real chance that McGarrett was going to die. The line of tension in the injured man's body betrayed just how badly this shook him up. It started as just the barest of tremors but slowly escalated until his shoulders began to shake.
As the seconds ticked by, it was clear from the foreboding silence that the uncertainty of the whole situation was festering, slowly spreading like the worst of sickness until it was. In the end, he said in a falsely cheerful voice, "Steve is going to be alright Danny, he will."