I apologize profusely for the delay in posting this. I had a mini health concern last week that totally knocked things for a loop. Then when I got back to writing this chapter I got completely stuck. That finally resolved itself. So I really hope you all like this chapter despite my misgivings.
Vanessa
Steve appeared to be dozing when Danny entered his room in early afternoon the next day. The detective approached the bed but hesitated, debating whether or not to stay. Before Danny could decide though, Steve stirred slightly.
When his partner's eyes slowly opened and drifted in his direction, he said, "Hey, Sleeping Beauty wakes!"
Steve cleared his throat and rasped, "Thank God—at least it's you this time."
Danny's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What?" He pulled up a chair and sat down.
"I keep waking up to find people staring at me," Steve groused, "It's creepy."
"So random people are so mesmerized by your self-defined incredible handsomeness that they're stopping to stare, huh?" Danny quipped.
The lieutenant commander scowled and shifted on the bed in an unsuccessful attempt to find a comfortable position. The hand not burdened with an IV drifted to his stomach and he grimaced. "You know what I mean—doctors, nurses…"
"Isn't that kind of like—oh, I dunno—their jobs?"
"Yeah, well, they could let me know they're there instead of sneaking in and staring at me."
"I see they brought you the breakfast of champions," the detective jutted his chin toward the small rolling table at the side of the bed. Next to Steve's stuffed seal sat a tray containing a tiny bowl of lime gelatin and a cup of apple juice. Both were untouched.
Steve glanced at the food but quickly looked away with a grunt. "Don't remind me." Again his hand went to his stomach. "I've been avoiding looking at it since she brought it earlier about five minutes after I finally stopped puking from the anesthesia." He swallowed hard and turned a shade paler.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Steve responded automatically then he reconsidered, "No…I dunno. Stomach hurts."
His partner's honesty was disconcerting for Danny who'd expected him to prevaricate as he usually did when it came to his health. "Well, you did just have abdominal surgery…" he offered.
"Yeah, feels different though," Steve paused, "God, not again," he moaned. Steve swallowed hard then reached for the emesis basin on the tray. Pulling it toward him, he just managed to get it into place before he started to dry heave.
"Uh…I'm going to go…find someone… I'll be right back," Danny muttered and left the room. He returned several long minutes later with an impossibly young-looking nurse in tow. Pointing at his still suffering partner, Danny declared, "See! I told you something's wrong."
The nurse, Janine according to her nametag, quickly approached the bedside. "Okay, Mr. McGarrett, let's see what we've got going on here. Detective Williams, can you wait outside, please."
Not having to be told twice, Danny stepped into the hallway. Worry had him rocking from heel to toe as he waited. When the nurse stepped out of the room a few minutes later, he pounced. "Well? Is he okay? What's going on?"
"He's showing some signs of infection. I need to put a call in to his doctor to see how he'd like to proceed. It may be as simple as a switch of his antibiotics. Unfortunately, I also need to insert an NG tube as he's having a bit of a complication from the surgery."
"Complication?"
"It's known as paralytic ileus. His gut's a little unhappy at being disturbed so we're going to remedy that. Hopefully, the NG tube will wake things up a little bit. You can sit with him until I come back if you'd like."
Danny nodded and re-entered the room, resuming his place in the highly uncomfortable chair next to the bed. His partner looked terrible—pale, clammy, and still nauseated—and Danny felt a twinge of sympathy. "You ever have one of these before—the NG tube thing?"
Steve shook his head. "No, never had the pleasure," he grumbled.
"I have. Look, don't sweat it. It's a piece of cake. Like 1-2-3 and it's done."
The lieutenant commander scowled in his direction. "Liar."
"Me? Lie? Never," snarked the detective.
McGarrett snorted in clear disbelief.
"Okay, maybe sometimes. Like, say—now. But you're right, getting one of these sucks but—"
Danny's comment was cut off by the return of the nurse. He carefully avoided looking at the supplies she carried, still remembering in detail his own long-ago unpleasant ordeal. He stood and made a beeline for the door. "I'll be back when she's done."
Steve watched in trepidation as Janine laid out the supplies needed for the procedure. Tape. Towels. A rubber band and gloves followed by a curved basin and a safety pin. To this array she added an irrigating syringe, water-soluble lubricant, and the NG tube itself. With each item, Steve's apprehension grew. It wasn't so much that he was scared; it was more that this contact was too intimate, too invasive. And most definitely not under his control. That fed his apprehension.
Janine looked at him and smiled. She patted his knee. "Don't worry. It'll be okay. I've done a lot of these." She filled a small plastic glass with water. "Now let's get you sitting up a little more here." Janine sought out the button controlling the bed and raised the head of the bed up as far as it would go. That done, she snapped on a pair of latex gloves. "All right, let's get started. I'll explain what I'm doing as I go." She handed him the cup of water.
Steve shifted nervously and decided she was way too perky for his liking. He bit his lip as he watched her take measurements for the length of the tube. He tapped a finger on the bed railing while she inspected his nose with a flashlight and decided which nostril to use, informing him along the way that his nares were about equal in size so it really didn't matter. He watched her coat lubricant on the NG tube. And he watched her approach him with it in hand, and he tensed, resisting the ridiculous urge to close his eyes.
"Now once I start feeding the tube, I want you to swallow. Take small sips of the water if that's easier…"
H50 * H50 * H50
Ten minutes later, a slightly-flustered Janine exited McGarrett's room and nodded to Danny who was leaning against the wall nearby. "X-Ray will be in to confirm placement of the tube soon, but you can go in now. Watch out though," she paused and ruefully pursed her lips, "he's a little cranky at the moment."
"Why am I not surprised?" Danny walked into the room and whistled long and low at the thundercloud expression gracing Steve's face. "Yikes! That's some black cloud you've got hanging over your head there!"
"Yeah, well," rasped McGarrett, "I just had a garden hose shoved up my nose and down my throat. Twice."
"Twice?"
"Well, once and a half."
Danny grimaced in sympathy but said, "And I bet you called that nice nurse a nasty name, didn't you?"
Steve scowled. "I told her she was a sadist."
"Now that wasn't very nice, Steven. You should apologize."
McGarrett's glower deepened. "Then she said she was sending Olaf right over to give me a sponge bath."
Danny laughed. "Olaf? I think I really like that nurse. Look, all this," Danny motioned with his hands, "I know it sucks right now, but all this should make you feel better, and just think in a few days you'll be back to your normal everything's-rainbows-and-unicorns outlook on life."
A one-fingered salute was Steve's only comeback to Danny's accustomed sarcasm. But it was followed by the slightest of smiles as Steve laid his head back and closed his eyes.
TBC…