Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: I am still finishing Mahoe...but I thought it was time to start up a little KoVe story with some Steve whump, angst, rollercoaster of emotion type stuff. Enjoy. Skillet's Comatose is the Muse for this story. This is standalone from my other KoVe stories, but I have kept Ailana as Kono's sister. Also, loosely based on Alex's tease about splintering the team and "You'll never believe where McGarrett will end up."
Comatose
Chapter One: Broken
Waikiki Beach. 1500 hours.
"Good time sis." Ailana smiled, throwing her arm aroung her kid sister's shoulders, both women wet and sticky with sand and saltwater. She ruffled her hair as they carried their surfboards towards the jeep.
"It was..thank you..it's been awhile since we got to surf together." Kono smiled, the breeze blowing her soft hair gently.
"Yep..so..how's work?" Ailana asked, passing her sister a water as they sat in the open jeep, watching the beach before heading off to meet Tara for dinner.
"Good..it's been fairly calm, maybe the criminals are taking a summer vacation." Her eyes twinkled and Ailana chuckled,
"Maybe. So..how is your love life sister? You need a man, girl. Don't make your big sis find you one." She quirked a fine black eyebrow.
Kono shook her head, sipping her water, "Nah, I dunno sis. I'm too busy with the force."
Ailana had that matchmaking gleam to her eye, "What about Steve?"
"What about him?" Kono quirked a brow, trying to hide what she thought about that subject.
"Have you ever spent time with him off shift?"
"Of course." Kono shrugged, "We hang out as a team quite often, sometimes Danny even brings Grace."
"No..nutty, not as a team, I mean as..you know..alone." She wiggled her eyebrows and chuckled when Kono hit her arm playfully,
"Sister, he's my boss." She blushed lightly.
"Ah! But." Ailana winked, "Come on sister, you've worked with him for almost a year, you're not gonna be the rookie much longer. Hell, even that blonde haole doesn't call you rookie anymore."
"Danny." Kono gave her sister a pointed look.
"Right. Sorry, forget his name." She waved her bottle, "I'm saying, Kono, you have feelings for the man, and it wouldn't surprise me if somewhere in that stiff, rigid personality he does for you." She nodded, "You tell me everything Kono, and what you *don't* tell me, I hear. Either he's the most fucking chilvarious man in the world or he has a thing for you." She smiled.
Kono shook her head, "Whatever."
"Just be careful, little sister...a man like that is in high demand...hell, I don't *like* men and I'd do anything at his command." She smiled.
Kono merely shrugged, slightly embarressed at her sister's pressing, but it was true. "It would make it awkward." She said softly.
Ailana just shrugged, about to say something when her sister's phone rang and she watched her face closely as her expression changed from happy to pale and stricken. "What's wrong?" She sat forward, alarmed, "What happened?"
"Drive to the hospital...that was Danny...Steve's been head shot."
Hospital. 1640 hours.
It was like a death watch. They sat, each with a different expression of worry and fear. Danny with his hair a mess from the numerous times he'd run his hands through it, his head bowed, arms resting on his knees, sleeves rolled up and tie askew. Chin standing calmly at the window..he was always calm..was there anytime he ever was ruffled? His forehead leaning on his wrist as he leaned his arm against the window, looking out over the busy street below, his other hand on his hip, resting lightly. No one had spoke...Danny had told Kono what had happened when she arrived, then gone silent with numerous repeats of "it's all my fault." Kono sat, perched stiffly in her chair, staring straight ahead, her eyes wide, hands clasped between her knees. The doctors said there was a great possibilty of repairing the damage...and he would be extremely lucky to live. Extremely lucky. That didn't sound very positive to any of them. There was a high possibilty of brain damage, memory loss, function loss *if* he lived. There was no gaurentee he'd even make it through surgery. Kono was strong, but inside she had fell to her knees in fear, her heart squeezing tightly, taking her breath away. Steve was one of her partners, her teammate, her boss, her friend, someone who made her feel like no one ever had.
Warehouse. Oahu. Previously at 1500 hours.
"We really need backup." Danny hissed.
"Don't have time." Steve hissed back, locking and loading, nodding for him to proceed. They had proceeded with caution, guns drawn, at each other's backs like any other day..any other normal manuever...in one fluid motion like partners are supposed to be. Steve had headed around a corner, Danny's bad feeling increasing with the moment. Hunting an assasin wasn't the best move to be doing just the two of them, but it was also no time to argue. All of the sudden there was shooting and Danny felt himself being pushed out of the way, his grip loosening on his gun momentarily before firing at the asailant, then there was the heart-stopping pop as he watched his partner's head snap back and fall. "Steve!" He yelled, firing off another round from behind a crate, screaming into his radio for backup, cursing his partner as he watched the attacker fall as one of his bullets landed squarely in his neck. He'd ran to him, careful not to move him, seeing the puddle of blood behind his head. And that's where HPD and the medics found him, his hands covered in blood trying to stop the flow from the hole in Steve's head. No one would ever say anything about what were quite possibly sounds of crying coming from the short detective.
Hospital. 1715 hours.
"Dad?"
"Hey son."
"Dad." He breathed, clutching his father to him, how good it felt to feel his arms around him again, the knarly hands patting his back. His father pulled back, looking him over.
"Steve."
"Why..why am I here? Am I dead? I don't remember anything, Dad. Where am I?"
"In between." His father said softly, "You're very close to being dead, son."
"Where's mom. I want to see her." His father stopped him, and he looked at him sharply, "What...I've waited years to see her. Wait..Dad!" He yelled as his father dispeared, the whiteness vanished and it was all pain as he felt his body jump...jolts of electricity running through his body as his heart was restarted again. He didn't much like that. He had wanted to see his mother. Just hold her one more time and tell her that he loved her. He'd forgotten to that day, she'd said...love you son...and he'd said..yeah..sure, distracted by his music. He just wanted to tell his mother he loved her.
1740.
The team stood as one as the doctor entered the waiting room, their breathes held as one, their hearts stopped. They tried to read the doctor's expression but it was unreadable. "He's alive." The doctor sounded surprised himself. "We were able to repair the damage, but..he's in a coma. There's not gaurentee that he will wake up..or if he'll be able to regain normal function."
"You mean..he may be a vegetable." Danny's voice was quiet.
The doctor sighed, "Yes."
Danny nodded and turned, walking out without a word.
"Where..where is he going! Danny!" Kono called, "You can't just walk out on us! We're your team! Steve needs you! Danny come back here!" Her voice was too loud and she knew it.
"Kono.."Chin said, "Cuz." he pulled her back and she fought him,
"He can't just leave us, Chin! That's walking out! You can't do that..he can't..he can't." She collapsed against her cousin, the sobs falling uncontrollably, fistfulls of shirt in her hands as her cousin simply held her, his own eyes misty as the doctor faded into the background to give them space.
Our Lady of the Mount Catholic Church. 1815
The church was empty and silent, the votive candles flickering in the draft. He entered and sighed, his eyes itchy and dry, burning with unshed tears. He swallowed and approached the votive alter, reaching for the lighter and lit an unlit candle, watching as it took. His voice was soft as he began, his throat raw, "Watch, o Lord, with those who wake, or watch or weep tonight and give your angels charge over them that sleep." He swallowed, his chest hurting with a hurt he hadn't felt since Matty turned and boarded that plane, "Tend..Tend your sick ones, o Lord Jesus Christ, rest your weary ones, bless your.." he swallowed hard, a tear trickling down his cheek, "your dying ones." He breathed, "Soothe your suffering ones, pity your afflicted ones, shield your joyous ones, and for all your love's sake. Amen." He made the sign of the cross slowly. No more words coming. Danny Williams didn't cry often. He usually cried alone. Like those first few nights after Rachel left him. Alone. Or when he went home from Rachel's after Matty left. He cried alone then. And as now, soft silent tears trickling down his cheeks. He'd never been so close to any of his partners before, Steve was like a brother to him. If he lost him, that was the end. He was strongly tempted to turn in his badge and gun tomorrow morning..but knew that would be giving up too soon and Steve wouldn't want that. Instead he would wait. He sighed, looking around him, he hadn't been inside of a church since Rachel left him. His mother would be appalled. She faithfully went to Mass and confession both and expected her children to do the same. "May I help you?" Danny turned to see a small native priest watching him with a sympathetic smile.
"No..just..just saying a prayer for a friend." he said, turning back to the votives,his emotions gathered and packed away.
"I will remember your friend as well." The priest said, his voice kind, silently offering an ear if Danny needed it.
"Thanks." He said, "Goodnight Father.' He nodded, his hands deep in his pockets as he left to wander the streets. He didn't want to go back to the hospital and see Steve lying there unconsious, tubes stuffed everywhere, head wrapped up like a damned mummy. He snorted, thinking that when this was all over they'd have a good laugh over the mummy joke. But then he knew there was no gaurentee of tomorrow. He realized, as he reached Rachel's gate, that he had left his car at the warehouse..riding in the ambulance with Steve and then walking from the hospital to the church..and now here. He smirked ruefully and walked up to the door, which she opened.
"I tried to call you..you never answered, I was getting slightly worried." She said, then seeing his face. "Danny..is everything okay?"
"no." he said softly, meeting her gaze.
"You're not staying alone tonight. I won't have it." She said, pulling him inside, not even knowing what was going on as of yet. A quiet, torn Danny was not a safe Danny. She was eternally glad Grace was at a friend's house for a sleepover. "What happened." She took his face in her hands, her heart stopping as she saw the sadness and pain in his blue eyes.
Hospital. 1900 hours.
She perched in the chair, watching over him, her eyes travelling over the blue tubes, the clear lines, the monitors, the bandage around his head. She couldnt' do this anymore. Maybe this life wasn't for her. Her throat hurt from the crying earlier, her eyes dry from all the tears. Mary Ann would be arriving around nine and Chin was going to pick her up. Kono wasn't moving. SHe'd already said that, and threatened to cause a scene if anyone attempted to move her. Why. Why hadn't Steve called for them? For HPD? Why did he have to be superman? So strong and taking on the world. Fuck. The tears started again. She didn't know what they would do if they lost him. Danny had left them, walked out with out a word and that scared her of itself. Steve and he were almost inseperable. If Danny couldn't stand to see Steve like this..to support ...she didn't know. She stood, untucking her legs and moving to the bed, taking his warm hand and stroking the rough skin. She pressed it to her cheek, the soft salty tears hitting his hand. "Please come back Steve." She breathed, "If you die...we all die."
To Be Continued
Music for this chapter. Bright Morning Stars by Abigail Washburn,
The End by Pearl Jam
Just Breathe by Pearl Jam.