Steve waited anxiously just outside those damnable swinging double doors that did more to block him from where he wanted to be than a row of land mines had in Iraq on that one mission…never mind. Classified.
He ran a hand through his hair. He'd already called Chin, who said he'd alert Kono. Next thing Steve knew, the cousins plus Malia plus Charlie Fong (oh, my God, Kono was dating him, seriously?) were making a beeline down the hall for him like a tightly controlled somewhat darkly comical parade of very worried, very serious people.
Steve was honest with them, he had no idea what'd really happened, but from the food everywhere and the fact that one of them had been ripped with apples and oranges and a pineapple (!) everywhere, and from the positioning of Danny and the rest of the grocery bags, it looked like he'd simply fallen down the steps.
Steve, of course, always suspected foul play when anyone he knew was involved, and had HPD processing the scene to make sure there wasn't any evidence that Danny'd been attacked, pushed or otherwise "helped" to where Steve had found him, but overall it seemed like an accident as far as he could tell.
A stupid fucking accident.
Danny, a guy who risked his neck every day of the week ("And twice on Sundays!" Danny would've added had he been here and not fighting for his life behind those fucking swinging double doors), who got into as many firefights as he did foot pursuits and nerve-wracking car chases, felled by a staircase and bags of groceries.
And a pineapple. A goddamn pineapple.
Steve was really working hard not to punch something.
Malia bit her lip. She didn't know Danny very well at all, nor Steve for that matter, but she could see the worry on her husband's face. Charlie knew Kono better than the rest of them (apparently even better than better, Steve noted as he saw the man's hand settle at the small of Kono's back), but he'd worked with Danny a few times and he was worried as hell, too.
Chin's and Kono's faces, well, Steve couldn't bear to look at them because he was sure their looks were mirroring his own, and that hurt.
"So you don't know anything? What was his condition when you found him?" Kono asked.
"I saw him when I got out of my truck, I was on the Enterprise when he moved in, as you guys know, but he'd texted me the address and apartment number, and told me to take the flight of stairs nearest the visitor parking spots, so I turned and headed for them and that's when I saw him on the first landing up."
Malia took Chin's hand and squeezed it.
Steve ran a hand through his hair once, twice, three times. Took a deep breath, then continued. "When I got to him, his pulse was thready, his breathing was shallow, and he was pale. Too pale. Pupils fixed and dilated. Medics got there in eight minutes, but I don't know—" Steve felt a lump form in his throat and stopped mid-sentence. Chin moved closer, as though he could somehow project his Zen-like calm onto Steve through sheer force of will. "I don't know how long he was there before I found him," Steve finally managed to finish.
A cell phone trilled and Steve pulled his out of one of his cargo pants pockets. "McGarrett," he answered. A pause. "Yeah, Duke, okay, just…have the building manager let you into his place, stash whatever goes in the fridge and just double-check for any signs of foul play before you go, okay?" He looked at Kono. At Charlie. At Chin. At Malia. "No, I'm his next-of-kin, I'll let Rachel know."
Chin's eyebrows went up a bit. Kono did a mini double-take. Steve hung up the phone. "What?" he asked, placing it back into the pocket.
"Really?" Chin asked.
"Well, who else?" Steve asked. "His ex-wife?"
Chin opened his mouth, thought the better of it, and closed it. Kono lacked her cousin's finesse, however, and was about to go ahead and say it anyway when a man's voice from behind them said, "Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett?"
Steve turned, hand already outstretched to shake the hand of who he presumed was the doctor. But the look on the doctor's face made his arm drop listlessly back to his side.
"Danny?" Steve said in a voice he was sure was far too small to be his own.
Instantly Kono was on his right and Chin was on his left, their significant others standing behind them. "Doc?" Chin prompted.
"Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, I'm Dr. Ma," the Chinese man who couldn't have been any taller than Danny said, hand outstretched. Steve took it, shook, but was in a daze. "I'm afraid I need to speak with you privately."
"Whatever it is can be said in front of Danny's ohana," Steve countered.
"No, I mean, Detective Williams' wishes on this are very clear. If anything happens to incapacitate him, you are his next-of-kin, and anyone in charge of his care is only supposed to speak with you, privately."
Steve's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He looked at Kono. "S'okay, brah, we'll be right here," she assured him.
"Go ahead," Chin said, hand touching Steve's shoulder.
Steve nodded and followed the doctor through the swinging double doors. He felt like a dog taking its last walk at the pound. All he could think was, Danno's as stubborn when he's fighting for his life as he is when he's standing right next to me giving me shit.
He hoped, prayed, that stubborn nature would keep his partner alive.