Chapter 3:
Staring after the ambulance Steve unconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists and it took all of his willpower not to jump into his Silverado and race after his partner; all he wanted to do right now was follow that ambulance and be at Danny's side to provide as much support as possible.
Steve took a deep shuddering breath as he watched the vehicle disappear around the next corner and suddenly, like a switch that was turned, he was able to shove all his worry for his friend to the back of his mind and ice-cold determination filled his whole being. Deep inside he knew that Danny's current condition was not just the outbreak of a disease or a simple accident; he swore to himself that he would find out what exactly had happened and that he would find the person who was responsible for that.
Slowly turning around to head back for Danny's apartment, McGarrett tried to sort his swirling thoughts. There had been no sign of any visible injury, no trace of blood or bruising, so it was safe to assume that Danny had neither been shot, nor stabbed or beaten. The first thing that came to Steve's mind was some kind of poison, but how that might have been delivered? Gas? Poisoned water? Something he had drunk or eaten?
Breathing out a frustrated sigh, Steve was just about to search for his cell phone when he saw Chin's motorcycle coming down the street, closely followed by Kono's red compact car. Only a short moment later his two teammates were standing by his side, listening closely to Steve's meager explanations of what had happened to Danny.
"I'll call CSI," Chin offered after Steve had finished, throwing the Ex-SEAL a solemn look. "We'll make sure not to overlook the tiniest little detail. We'll find out what happened to Danny," he promised, waiting for Steve to nod his approval before he stepped back and pulled out his cell.
"And we already called the Governor and cancelled the meeting," Kono said, knowing that right now that appointment was the last thing on Steve's mind. Placing a slender hand on Steve's forearm she added quietly, "Denning wasn't too happy about that last-minute cancellation. Maybe you should call him later and explain what's going on, Boss."
"Yeah, okay," Steve answered absentmindedly, running a hand over his hair as he averted his eyes from Chin and looked down at the young woman. Seeing the distress in her dark eyes, he forced a small smile onto his lips and said with a soft sigh, "Thanks, Kono."
Waiting for Chin to end his call, Steve tried once more to gather his thoughts but the feeling that he needed to be at Danny's side was just getting stronger with every passing second and he had trouble concentrating on the task at hand.
"CSI is on its way," Chin reported curtly, looking expectantly at his boss for further instructions.
"Okay, good," Steve nodded his thanks. He briefly closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face before he said grimly, "I want you to check everyone who might have had access to the building and to Danny's apartment; janitor, craftsmen, pest controller, window cleaner, postman, everyone you can think of. The door to the apartment was locked; there was no sign of forced entry. So whatever had happened to Danny, he either didn't see his attacker as a threat or he was affected outside of his apartment. I also want you to check everything that might contain poison, the items in his fridge, toothpaste, shampoo… just everything, okay?"
"We're on it, boss," Kono answered solemnly, exchanging a quick look with her cousin before she once more placed her hand on Steve's arm and squeezed gently. "You go and look after Danny."
"Make sure he's alright," Chin added, briefly slapping his hand on Steve's shoulder. "We've got this covered."
"But…" Steve tried to object but he was immediately interrupted and almost forcefully shoved toward his car.
"Go," Chin said, his calm voice making the last bit of Steve's resistance crumble. "And make sure to call with updates on Danny's condition."
"Thanks, guys," Steve replied, grateful about his teammates' unlimited support. "And you call as soon as you find out something or if you need my help."
Steve arrived at the hospital more than twenty minutes later, impatiently pulling his truck into an empty parking spot. The streets had been terribly crowded and Steve's uneasiness had increased with every passing second during the painfully slow stop-and-go traffic. He had already got a call from Chin and Kono who had informed him that CSI had arrived and that they had taken the first samples of food and water.
Jumping out of the car, Steve hurried into the hospital building and after a second of contemplation he headed directly for the reception desk and asked for his partner.
"Daniel Williams?" the gray-haired receptionist repeated as she readjusted her glasses and squinted at the screen in front of her. "Ah, here it is," she finally said after almost a full minute of typing on her keyboard and scrolling through the lists in front of her, totally oblivious to Steve's increasing inability to control his impatience. "He was moved to the ICU a few minutes ago, but I'm afraid you can't…" she informed Steve but he never heard the rest of her sentence because he was already on his way toward the elevators.
Steve sighed unhappily when he entered the elevator and pressed the button to the fourth floor, noticing that he knew the way to the ICU without even asking. The Five-0 team had been here much too often for his liking, either to interrogate a victim or to visit one of their own just like now.
"Commander Steve McGarrett," Steve introduced himself to the first nurse who crossed his way. "I'm looking for my partner, Detective Danny Williams," he added in a tone that tolerated absolutely no dissent but the petite blonde woman only nodded her head toward the end of the corridor and rushed toward the elevators, tightly clutching three or four small tubes with blood samples and a few sheets of paper.
A shrill sound and a cacophony of voices from one of the rooms made McGarrett accelerate his steps and the worry for Danny suddenly spiked to a new level. Steve somehow knew for sure that a change in his friend's condition was the reason for the sudden noise and he didn't waste another second and followed another nurse into a small room that was crowded with medical staff and equipment. Furrowing his brow, Steve looked around and tried to understand what was going on and his gaze finally fell on his partner who was the center of all that attention, at least five doctors and nurses buzzing around his bed.
Danny's eyes were closed, his skin held an almost ashen tone, an oxygen mask covered most of his face and he was lying completely still. ECG electrodes were attached to his chest and Steve counted three different IV bags that delivered their contents to an IV port at the right side of Danny's neck.
Hesitantly stepping closer, Steve's gaze involuntarily traveled to the monitor next to Danny's bedside; he was no doctor but he had enough medical knowledge to notice that Danny's vital parameters were alarmingly poor and the ECG waves showed some unusual spikes and peaks.
"We need to wait for the new lab results," Steve heard one of the doctors say and he turned his head just in time to see a very short, middle-aged Asian man look up to a stunningly beautiful red-haired young woman. The doctor crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his brows when he noticed the disgusted expression on the woman's face. "I'm not willing to endanger my patient's well-being for another of your phantasms, Dr. Carmichael. You are new here and you are still young so I'm willing to overlook your defiance; but for the future, I'd suggest you reconsider your behavior toward your superiors."
The Asian doctor stared expectantly at the young woman and after a few seconds she gritted her teeth and nodded reluctantly. Her pale blue eyes sparkled dangerously for another moment before she slightly raised her hands and replied with a genuine smile, "Yes, Dr. Sakagami. I'm sorry."
Holding the eye contact a little bit longer, Dr. Sakagami finally smiled back before he turned his attention back to the small monitor. Closely studying Danny's vital parameters he scribbled something into the chart in his hands before he repeated his instructions again, "We will wait for the lab results before we decide how to proceed with the treatment." He handed the chart back to one of the nurses and turned around to leave the room. "Call me as soon as the results are here or if there's any change in his condition," he added, hurrying out of the room without even taking notice of Steve.
"We don't need to wait for those second lab results," the red-haired doctor hissed angrily as soon as her superior had left the room. She snatched the chart out of the nurse's hands and impatiently skimmed through the pages until she found what she was looking for. "The first results were correct, I've seen something like that before," Dr. Carmichael whispered more to herself than to any of the other people in the room. "Why didn't that stupid old dwarf believe me?"
That last comment elicited an uneasy giggling from the present nurses and a very unhappy and almost angry frown from Steve. He didn't like it at all that the two doctors fought over the best treatment for his partner. Danny's well-being was the most important thing at the moment and Steve didn't have the feeling that the medical staff devoted their full attention to that task.
Steve just opened his mouth to voice his concerns when a tiny movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he swiftly turned his head to look down at his friend. Danny's fingers twitched on the bed sheet and his breathing seemed to get more laborious with every passing moment. The heart monitor started to wail with a high-pitched sound that sent an ice-cold shiver down Steve's spine.
"He's crashing," one of the nurses exclaimed unnecessarily while everything around Steve immediately erupted into hectic activity.
Steve was rudely shoved out of the way and he staggered back a step, watching wide-eyed how the people in the room tried their best to save his partner. Everything around him blended into a blur of voices and sounds and he didn't understand most of the medical terms that were shouted. He saw Dr. Carmichael give instructions and one of the nurses rushed outside only to come back a moment later with two different drugs that were immediately administered to Danny's bloodstream.
The activity seemed to come to a total standstill when everyone watched the ECG waves on the monitor, waiting for any change that indicated that the drugs had an effect on Danny's condition. Only Steve didn't look at the blinking numbers and lines, instead his eyes were glued to his partner's deathly pale face, willing him with all his might to hang on. He felt absolutely helpless about the current situation and a wave of dread and despair washed over him when he noticed the increasing concern radiating from the medical staff.
"He's not responding," one of the nurses said quietly after another look at the figures on the screen. She pressed a few buttons and instead of one ECG line six different lines showed the erratic beating of Danny's heart.
"Another ampule of calcium chloride," Dr. Carmichael urged tensely and a second later the nurse who had brought in the drugs placed a syringe in her outstretched hand.
"Come on, Danny, fight," Steve whispered tonelessly, clenching his fists so tightly that his fingernails left crescent-shaped marks on his palms as he watched the young doctor treating his partner. "Don't give up!"
Dr. Carmichael injected the medicine into the IV port at Danny's neck and took a small step back from the bed. She turned around and glanced at Steve, for the first time noticing that someone else was in the room. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and pursed her lips but instead of addressing the uninvited visitor she ignored him for the moment and instructed the nurse next to her, "Call the University of Hawaii's Department of Tropical Medicine. I need to speak to someone who knows about box jellyfish venom."
(tbc)