A/N: I wasn't going to post until tomorrow, but I must feel generous today. You get another chapter, and it's a longer one! See, I'm not always mean... Happy Monday!
Steve sat in the hospital waiting room trying not to pace. He tried to maintain a calm exterior for Grace's sake. After three hours, that was getting harder and harder. If Danny were there, he would have told Steve that he had his "let's blow something up" face. Steve sighed. Danny wasn't here.
"What's wrong, Uncle Steve?" Grace touched his arm and looked up into his face. "Are you worried about Danno?"
Steve forgot how perceptive she was at times. He looked down at her and smiled, "Yes, sweetie, I am."
"It's okay, Uncle Steve, Danno will be okay. He's Superman, and he saved that baby."
"He did save that baby," Steve agreed. When Chin and Kono had arrived a couple of hours ago, they had brought word that doctors thought baby Ashley would be okay. She would be kept overnight for observation just in case, but napping in her room with the door closed and then Danny throwing the blanket over her seemed to have kept her from inhaling much of the deadly smoke.
"Hey, Grace," Kono rose from her seat a few chairs over. "Why don't we take a walk? We can stop at the cafeteria and get something to eat for everyone, sound good?"
Grace reluctantly nodded, "I guess so..."
"Don't worry, Gracie," Steve assured her. "If the doctor comes, we'll let Kono know so you can get back here and we can tell you what he said, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed and followed Kono out the door and down the hall.
Steve immediately jumped out of his seat and began pacing the small room.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, Brah," Chin tried to assure him. Chin's voice betrayed his worry if someone knew him enough to hear it.
Steve did know him well enough to know that Chin was worried despite trying to be the calming influence for everyone else. It had only been a few months since Malia passed away and Chin was still struggling with the death of his beloved wife. If he lost a close friend this soon, the blow would be devastating. Steve tried to smile at the man, "Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine."
Chin sat tensely in the chair while Steve continued to pace the small area. Fifteen minutes later, Chin got up to go pace in the hall so the two men weren't in each other's way but turned around when a doctor came through the door. "Family of Detective Williams?"
"Yes!" both men nearly pounced on the man.
"Please, have a seat."
Steve and Chin perched on chairs and anxiously waited for the doctor to pull one over so he could face them. Steve barely let the man settle before asking what they both were thinking, "Well? How is he?"
"He has a very serious case of smoke inhalation and is in critical condition," the doctor told them matter-of-factly. "He has some second degree burns on his upper left leg and lower back. And apparently he also suffered some trauma to his back as there is extensive bruising and swelling."
"When you say 'back' do you mean his spine?" Chin asked, wanting clarification.
The doctor shrugged, "We're not sure. The x-rays were inconclusive and until he regains consciousness we won't be able to assess his condition any further. Any idea how that trauma may have occurred? It might help us to know what caused it."
Steve looked up from where his head had dropped into his hands. His voice was almost a whisper, "Part of the ceiling collapsed on him. I'd forgotten... when I found him, I had to throw off a chunk of ceiling that was on his back. He had a back injury and I moved him."
Chin put a hand on Steve's shoulder, "You had no choice, Steve. He was in a burning building. You had to get him out."
"Your friend is right." The doctor agreed. "This is one of the most severe cases of smoke inhalation I have seen in a long time. If your friend had been in that building much longer, I don't think he would have survived."
"No sense borrowing trouble," Chin continued to reassure. "His back could just be bruised with no injury to the spine. Right, Doctor?"
"Right."
Steve nodded. "You said this was a severe case of smoke inhalation. So what's the damage?"
"We had to intubate immediately. I understand the paramedics tried with no success due to his airway being swollen, but we were able to intubate as soon as he got here. He's on oxygen, of course, and fluids. With the tube in, we're able to suction some of the fluid and debris from his airway as needed. We've taken chest x-rays which show his lungs are seriously compromised at this point. We will continue to take x-rays to measure his improvement. We're waiting on blood tests to measure toxic levels in his blood. There's no telling what was in that smoke he was breathing. That's what we can do at this point. We're keeping him slightly sedated right now so he doesn't fight the tube down his throat. As he recovers we will slowly bring him around and eventually allow him to breathe on his own. For right now, however, it's best if we let his body rest and begin healing on its own."
Steve and Chin nodded somberly, taking it all in. After a moment, Steve rubbed a hand across his face as he gathered his thoughts. "When can we see him?"
"He's going to be in ICU for now so I can allow one or two at a time to go see him for a short time."
"What about his daughter?" Chin wondered. "She'll want to see him."
The doctor frowned, "I'm afraid children are not allowed in the ICU, and it might not be such a good idea at the moment anyway with the tube down his throat. Most children don't react well to that."
Steve nodded and glanced at Chin, "I'll explain it to her."
"If all goes well and he shows improvement, he can be moved out of ICU as his condition improves and stabilizes. 24 to 48 hours would be my guess."
Steve and Chin sighed. It sounded like an eternity though it was also nice to hear the doctor be positive and say "when" rather than "if."
"I know it sounds bad," the doctor admitted. "But Detective Williams is in good shape and, presumably, a fighter, which will serve him well in his recovery. A nurse will be in to take you to him soon, but I would advise staying for only a few minutes. He'll be in good hands, and you can return in the morning. I'll be happy to meet with you at any time if you have questions about his recovery. I'll be keeping a close eye on him."
"Thank you, Doctor," Chin shook his hand.
"Yeah, thanks, Doc," Steve also shook his hand. "You're right about him being a fighter, and there's no one stronger than Danny."
As the doctor stepped back into the hall, Steve took a deep, shuddering breath and spoke softly, "No one stronger."
"He'll be okay, Brah." Chin reassured him again. "You know a little smoke can't keep Danny down."
"Yeah, I know. But what if he does have a back injury?"
"Hey," Chin squeezed his shoulder. "Remember? No borrowing trouble. We'll deal with what comes and so will Danny. Let's just get through this one thing at a time."
"Yeah," Steve took a deep breath again and sighed as he spotted Kono and Grace coming back down the hall. "Like telling Grace."
Kono knew as soon as she reentered the room that the doctor had spoken with her teammates. She could also tell that it may not be all good as she looked at Steve's face even as he smiled at Grace. She joined Chin on the far side of the room as Steve led Grace to a chair to explain what the doctor had said.
"The doctor came in, didn't he? What did he say?" Kono asked her cousin.
Chin filled her in quietly and when he got to the part about the back injury, made sure he was extra quiet so Grace couldn't overhear. "He'll be okay, Cuz. Like I told Steve, there's no sense borrowing trouble. The doctor sounds very optimistic about his recovery."
"Yeah," Kono nodded. "Danny's strong. He can do this."
"You okay sitting with Grace a few minutes while Steve and I go see Danny? I'll come switch with you soon so you get a chance to see him before we go. Doc said we could only have a few minutes and Grace isn't allowed in ICU."
"Yeah, sure," Kono agreed. "Looks like it's time now." She nodded at the nurse entering the room.
"I can take two people back to see Detective Williams now."
Grace grabbed Steve's arm as he started to stand up. "Uncle Steve, will you give something to Danno for me?"
"If they let me," Steve agreed, puzzled at what she could have for him.
Grace crooked her finger at him so he'd lean down and then kissed him on the cheek. "Tell him that I love him, too."
Steve smiled, "Of course, sweetie. I can do that."
H
5
0
Chin and Steve stood on either side of Danny's hospital bed and looked at the unconscious man. He was far too still and quiet for their liking. The rhythmic whoosh of the ventilator sounded harsh to Steve's ears and though he knew it was best for his partner right now, he hated that it was necessary.
Chin studied the monitor over Danny's head and noted the vitals were a little low. He reached down to squeeze Danny's shoulder, "Hang in there, Brah. You can fight this."
Steve gripped the rail on the side of Danny's bed with one hand while placing his other on the top of his partner's head and then leaned down to place a kiss on Danny's forehead, "Don't get any ideas, Buddy. Grace wanted me to give you that. She said to tell you that she loves you. She can't come see you, but she's waiting for you. Don't worry about her, okay? I'll watch her until Rachel gets back. You just get better."
The two stood there for another couple of minutes before Chin broke the silence, "I'll go get Kono so she has a few minutes before they kick us out."
"Thanks, Chin," Steve acknowledged.
Chin leaned down to Danny again and squeezed his shoulder, "Just rest, Brah. We've got your back. We'll all make sure Grace is okay until you're better."
After Chin left, Steve continued to stand by his partner, "I told the doctor that there's nobody stronger than you, Danno. And I meant it. You've given us all quite a scare, but we'll manage so long as you fight this and pull through. I need you here, buddy. You've taught me a lot in the last few years. A lot about police work, and a lot about friendship. I don't think I can do this the same without you. We all need you, Danno, so get better soon."
Kono quietly entered Danny's ICU cubicle and immediately went to his side and kissed his forehead. She wrinkled her nose, "Your hair smells like smoke. As soon as I can, I'll wash that for you." She whispered.
"How's Grace doing?" Steve wondered.
Kono kept a hand on Danny's arm as she looked over at Steve, "I think she's most upset that she can't come see him, but she's being a trooper. Every time I look worried she tells me that he'll be okay."
Steve nodded, but before he could respond a nurse came in, "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave for now. I need to take care of a few things. The doctor says you can come back in the morning. He'll be here at 9:00 to do a thorough exam and can give you results."
Kono leaned down to place one more kiss on Danny's forehead, "Don't give the nurses a hard time, Brah. We'll see you in the morning."
"Don't worry about a thing, Danno," Steve patted his shoulder. "We'll watch Grace, and we'll be back in the morning."
Steve cast one more look back at his partner as he and Kono left the room. He threw an arm around Kono's shoulders as he noticed she looked like she might cry. "Why don't you come over to the house? We can still do the cookout like we were planning. It might help Grace to have more people around."
"Yeah, sure," Kono nodded. "It might help all of us."
"That it will," Steve agreed as they arrived back at the waiting area to collect Chin and Grace.
Grace jumped out of her chair as Steve and Kono came back in, "Uncle Steve, can we still have the cookout at your house tonight? Uncle Chin says Danno wouldn't mind if we do."
Steve smiled, "As a matter of fact, Kono and I were just saying that we should still do that. The doctor will call me if he needs to, and I'll call before you go to bed to check on Danno, okay?"
Grace nodded and then, taking Steve's hand, led them all out of the hospital.
