6.

Moments later, Danny slumped back on the pillow once again unconscious. A doctor hurried into the room and read over the chart that Betty handed him. Glancing up, he frowned to see Steve standing on the other side of the bed. "I need you to leave the room immediately." he ordered. Steve looked at his name tag and noticed this was Doctor Michael, the one he had waited for.

"Doctor Michael, this is the head of Five-0, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. He's Detective Williams's partner." Betty told him.

"I don't care if he's the governor, I need him out of here." Michales replied sternly. "Look, I realize you're worried about your friend, but we have to remove the ventilator tube and I need to check out his injuries and see if he's done any new damage moving around. Betty?" the doctor said pointedly.

Betty touched Steve's arm. "Come on. Please wait outside. It shouldn't be too long."

Steve nodded in agreement and slowly stepped back towards the door. The doctor spoke again, more kindly this time. "Since he's trying to breathe on his own, we're going to remove the ventilator. As he's been sedated, he'll probably be under till mid morning and even then he might not be coherent. Why don't you go downstairs to the cafeteria for something to eat, then check back in about two or three hours? I know it's hard, but try not to worry. We're doing everything for him that we can."

Betty gently squeezed his arm consolingly as Steve turned and left the room. Moving over to a row of chairs, he sat down heavily and rested his head against the wall. Breathing deep with his eyes closed, he was aware that his hands were shaking. Just then, the elevator pinged announcing it's arrival. As the doors opened, Chin and Kono stepped out. Spotting Steve and noticing how worried he looked they rushed over fearing the worst.

"Steve? What's happened? Is Danny alright?" Kono asked quickly.

"It's okay Kono. He's in his room." he said nodding at the closed-door. "He woke up, but had a panic attack so they sedated him. They were afraid he was going to hurt himself thrashing around. The doctor is getting ready to remove the ventilator tube now." Steve replied. "You know, there was something about him that seemed odd, but everything was happening so fast."

"So how long do they expect him to be out? We haven't even been able to sit with him." Kono complained. "I don't care if he doesn't know we're here, I'll feel better if I'm in the same room with him."

Steve frowned. "I know what you mean. They told me mid morning. How about if you drop me off at his place and I'll take the Camaro to get cleaned up. You two go over and see if Fong has anything yet. And check with HPD on any progress they've made, then I'll meet you back here later."

With another look at the closed-door, Steve stood up and headed towards the elevator with Chin and Kono following. After leaving his truck at HQ, Steve jumped in Chin's Traverse. Once they arrived at Danny's apartment, he went inside. Stopping inside the door, he gazed at the discarded plastic bags and other items left scattered on the floor that the paramedics had left. As he picked them up to throw away, he knew the image of his friend laying on the floor barely breathing would always stay with him.

Steve pulled a small overnight bag out of the closet and placed items in it that he knew Danny would appreciate having. After closing and locking the door, he walked to the Camaro. Hoping to arrive back at the hospital before Danny woke again, he headed the silver car towards a clean up shop.

But while Steve was hurrying to get things done, Danny was already starting to stir. Surprised when she noticed Danny's breathing and heart rate increase, Betty commented on it to her coworker. "That's odd. I didn't think he'd be waking up for another thirty minutes or so." she said. "Could you please page Doctor Michael to come here?" she asked as she hurried towards the room.

Slowly waking up, Danny felt groggy. His head was pounding and he felt nauseous. Trying to swallow, his throat was sore and without even moving his back ached. Familiar with the constant bleeping of the monitoring devices he knew he was in the hospital. He knew from experience that the bright lights in the room would make his headache even worse so he slowly opened his eyes, thankful to find the room was dark. Suddenly a woman's voice startled him.

"Detective Williams, you're back with us again. How are you feeling? My name is Betty and I'll be your nurse for several more hours. Do you remember what happened?"

Danny jumped when he felt her hand take his wrist. "I...don't know." he answered his voice hoarse. "Head hurts...dizzy."

"Here, take a sip of water. I know your throat is sore." Betty said holding a glass of water to his lips.

Danny greedily sipped at the water before she took it away. "Thanks. How long...have I been here?" he asked confused. "What time is it? It's dark in here. Could you turn the light on?"

"They are on and it's ten in the morning." she told him. "Wait...can you see me? Can you see anything?" The once steady beeping of the machines monitoring his vital signs started to increase in intensity as scared, Danny slowly shook his head. "I'll get the doctor. Please Detective, try to keep calm." Betty told him hurrying from the room.

Frightened, Danny tried to take a deep breath, only to hiss sharply when his ribs protested. "No, wait. What happened...where are you?" Not hearing a reply, he flipped the blanket off and gritting his teeth against the pain, started to roll towards the side of the bed intending to get up.

"Here, here, none of that now." Doctor Michael admonished as he walked into the room. "Detective Williams, I'm Doctor Michael. Let's get you settled back down so I can look at you."

As the doctor touched Danny's arm, he jerked at the unexpected touch. "It's alright, I didn't mean to startle you, but you need to lay still. You've been unconscious since yesterday morning." Continuing he inquired. "Do you remember what happened?"

Danny thought a moment before replying, his voice gruff. "It's, uh, kind of fuzzy. I was home...no, a store...I think." Frowning he continued. "There was a man...no, two men...I was trying to get up."

"Correct. You have been hit with some sort of object like a pipe or bat. Your back is severely bruised and there are several cracked ribs. We put stitches in the cut on the back of your head. Your left hand also has some broken bones so its been put in a splint. You also have a serious concussion."

Doctor Michael paused a moment. "The nurse tells me you are having problems with your vision. Can you see anything? Any light? Shadows maybe?" The doctor looked worriedly at the monitors.

"Please Detective, try to slow your breathing down. I know you've had a traumatic experience and this isn't what we were expecting, but if you can't calm down we'll have to sedate you again and I really don't want to do that."

Danny made an effort to compose himself. "I can't see anything. Not a thing. What's wrong?" he almost whispered.

"Alright, let me check your eyes." The doctor pulled out his penlight and flashing it into Danny's eyes found no eye movement. "The severe concussion or cerebral contusion is a bruising of the brain. Most concussion patients experience post-concussion syndrome. This can include headaches, memory lapse, dizziness, depression and in some cases affect the vision or sense of smell. The best thing for you to do is to rest and sleep. I believe once the swelling goes down, your eyesight should come back."

"Are you sure? How long?" Danny asked forcing himself to stay still.

"Now it's early. You've just woken up. We need to watch the swelling as it goes down. It could be a week or two, possibly up to a month." Doctor Michael paused. "I know it's upsetting but you need to lay still and try to relax. Rest is the best treatment. I'm going to go confer with Doctor Una. He was the attending when you came in. I'll see you soon."

When the doctor left, Betty took his place at the side of the bed and arranged the blanket. "Would you like some more water, Detective?" When Danny barely nodded, she picked up the glass and moved towards him. But as she touched his hand Danny jumped. "Oh I'm sorry. I did it again. I know this is stressful."

After he had taken several sips of water, Danny closed his eyes and turned his head away.

Betty had been a nurse for a long time and could already see the early signs of withdrawal. "Your partner will be here soon." she told him trying to be cheerful. "He'll be happy that you're finally awake."

When Danny didn't comment she continued. "When he gets here, I'll send him right in."

"No." Danny said in a low voice.

"What? Now Detective, he's your friend and he's very worried about you..." Betty started to say.

"I said no." Danny replied in a flat voice. "I don't want to see him. I don't want to see anyone. I don't want anybody to know. Just...please, leave me alone." Danny told her firmly struggling to control his emotions.

Betty knew better than to try to persuade her patient. He needed time to process what was happening. "Alright, he'll be disappointed but I'll tell him you're sleeping." Touching Danny's arm, she felt terrible when she startled him again. "You try to get some rest and I'll be back to check on you soon." Quietly she turned off the light and softly pulled the door partway shut leaving Danny alone.