I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
NOTE: My Doctors Ramirez and Adler are going to make guest appearances in this story plot-line as introduced from a few of my previous stories.
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
Chapter Three: Letters E through G
Steve sat quietly by Danny's bedside and was mesmerized by the gentle rise and fall of his chest. There still was no sign that he ever intended to awaken and the doctors simply didn't know. One more day of this and Steve had been advised that a feeding tube could be expected.
Exasperated and quite honestly, scared to death, Steve hadn't left the hospital since Danny had been brought in twenty-eight hours earlier. A large bandage covered the left side of his head where they'd operated to alleviate the cranial pressure .. and remove the bullet. The bullet accidentally fired by an excited twelve-year old child that had found his mother's boyfriend's weapon carelessly left out in the bedroom. Thinking it was cool, he was showing it off to his friends at one of the beach playgrounds.
Danny had Grace there. Danny had intervened. Danny had accidentally gotten himself shot when the startled boy panicked and hit the hair-trigger.
"God, D. will you never ever learn?" But what was there really to learn from this? Steve scrubbed at his weary face and slumped in the uncomfortable chair. A child had a loaded weapon in a public place that held other children. Doing nothing would never have been an option.
Steve was only happy that he was at Tripler not just because of the trauma specialists on staff, but also because of the Ramirez's. Doctor Ramirez and his wife Ellen, a head nurse in the fourth floor surgical recovery ward, were now part of the Five-0 team's Ohana. Steve's neurologist, Dr. Adler was also involved with Danny's case and it did much to soothe him that trusted familiar faces surrounded them.
But with nothing left to do except to wait, Steve continued his game.
The letter E. EGOTISTICAL? At first Steve frowned at his mental choice and then re-considered it. Danny had once told him long ago – in fact when they had first met - that he liked his job and that he was good at. And that he liked to be reminded every day that he was very good at what he did. So, if that was egotistical then so be it.
"I'll give you that one." Steve whispered as he watched Danny breathe and listened to the heart monitor. The EEG machine was a complete mystery to him with its odd and funny little waves. Electrodes were attached on Danny's scalp measuring his brain activity. But all that Steve knew was that it was good for Danny to still be breathing unassisted and without life support.
The letter F. Steve looked at his hands as he dwelled. Danny was quite simply his FRIEND.
He had to stop thinking for the painful and overwhelming hitch in his chest. The one that had been present from the very first time he received the call about Danny and the "accident".
Steve had just come back in from a long swim. Getting to his phone by the third ring, he was still dripping as he toweled himself off on the Lanai. It was an early Saturday morning and he recalled smiling when he heard Chin's voice. But that had faded quickly as he heard the raw fear.
Chin was never afraid. Chin was unflappable … until then. The words were hesitant and laced with real fear.
"That's a bad word." Steve muttered to himself. "Not a good one for this game."
Chin was downstairs currently getting Steve more coffee. It was the only thing he'd been able to keep down now for more than twenty-eight hours.
"Steve. Danny's been shot … it's bad. They aren't sure …Tripler .. emergency surgery .."
And as he stood from the chair to stretch and briefly pace the small room, the doctors still didn't know.
No one was sure about anything.
The letter G. And then Steve did cry. Silent tears ran down his face. GRACE. Her mother was still picking up the fragile pieces of her daughter – Danny's daughter.
Forever the best father. Steve choked at the unbidden thought, sobbed audibly, and then stumbled out of the room with the words FOREVER, FATHER and GRACIE ricocheting around in his head.
Passing Chin in the hallway he waved off the concerned man and rapidly took the stairs two at a time and down to the closest exit possible. Once in the bright sunshine, Steve gasped and choked his way back to something more normal and more in control. But it took many minutes and he was gone a very long time.
Thinking ahead, Danny had made sure that Grace wouldn't have the opportunity to witness anything or to be in the remotest hint of danger. He had asked another child's mother to please take both their children safely away. The mother did as he asked and made Grace sit in her car until HPD had arrived on scene. In fact, Danny had cleared the playground as much as humanly possible.
Grace had been sobbing hysterically and desperate to see her Danno. But the woman had been kind and exceedingly careful.
She had managed to keep her safely away until HPD arrived and Duke Lukela had time to call Rachel Edwards, and then Chin Ho Kelly before any real damage could be done to the child.
But Steve had been unreachable. Chin knew first because Steve had been swimming.
~ to be continued ~
