Note: thanks for all the reviews. Sorry I havent had time to reply individually.
Time for Danny to wake up.
Chapter Seven
Danny's became aware that instead of the pounding pain in his head, there was now only a dull ache, and the air around him was cool, instead of the stuffy heat that made it hard to breathe. Wondering if it had started to rain again he forced open his eyes expecting to see the bland interior of the trunk.
Surprised to see ceiling tiles, a sharp intake of air passed his lips, alerting his friends to his waking.
"Danny!" Steve jumped to his feet. "Hey buddy, welcome back."
"H..y." Danny croaked his throat still dry and hoarse from all the shouting the previous day.
"Here, Danny." Kono stepped closer offering her friend some ice chips which he gratefully accepted.
"Knew you'd find me," Danny's voice was weak.
"I'm sorry it took so long." Steve apologised.
"How, long?"
"Just short of a day," Lou answered, each team member feeling guilty for the length of time it took them.
"Felt like a week." Danny sighed.
The team all frowned, and Kono helped Danny with another mouthful of soothing ice.
"I'm sorry." Danny said once he had finished.
"Sorry? Danny what are you sorry about?" Steve asked confused.
"I let him get the drop on me. I told you to back off. I trusted him to let me go, and look where it got me. Did you catch him yet?"
"Danny, none of this is your fault. The house should have been cleared, you weren't on guard. And as for trusting the guy, you had a gun to your head. It was either go with him or be shot. He might have kept his word, let you go."
"What do you mean, might?"
"We found him dead on the beach only a few hundred meters away from the car, he'd overdosed."
Danny thought over what he had just been told. "The idiot couldn't wait to sample the goods, ended up killing himself, and leaving me to bake?"
"Pretty much," Chin answered.
Danny closed his eyes and took a moment to process everything. He became aware of the line in his neck, and the catheter suddenly started screaming at him. Their presence weren't surprising though, given how dehydrated he'd been. The headache also made sense as he remembered being hit by the gun, however there was a deep ache across his chest that he had no explanation for.
"Why does my chest hurt?" Danny opened his eyes and looked to his friends for an explanation.
"Do you want some pain relief? We can get Dr. Pearce in." Steve asked hoping he wouldn't have to give his friend an explanation just yet.
"No, it just aches. It feels like someone sat on me. Why?"
Steve looked up at the others, who each gave small nods, agreeing that Danny needed to be brought up to speed.
"D, when we found you, you were really dehydrated. It's caused your kidneys to shut down and toxins to build up." Steve started to explain.
"Shut down?"
"You're in acute renal failure at the moment, and the potassium built up in your blood which made your heart stop."
"Stop?" Danny again repeated Steve's words.
"Your chest hurts because of the CPR." Steve waited for Danny to respond.
"Crap. My heart stopped? My kidneys aren't working? That doesn't sound good." Danny finally said, the heart monitor giving away how anxious he was.
"Dr. Pearce has it under control Danny, try not to worry." Kono took Danny's hand trying to soothe him.
"They're still giving you fluids, hopefully that will kick start your kidneys. If not we'll get McGarrett to give them one of is best Navy SEAL glares, scare them back to life." Lou joked.
Danny gave a half hearted smile in response, but Steve could tell that his friend was on the verge of freaking out.
"Danny, its acute renal failure, which means your kidneys have taken a hell of a beating from being so dehydrated, and they just need a rest. Dr. Pearce said it might take a few days, and you might need some dialysis, but she was hopeful they would kick back in eventually."
"Eventually?" Danny choked.
"How about I take over the explaining from here?" Dr. Pearce said arriving at the door, and the team let out a breath of relief. "You guys go get a drink. I'd like to examine Danny."
Chin, Kono, and Lou left the Critical Care Unit and headed for the canteen, but Steve didn't move staying behind to support his friend. Dr. Pearce examined Danny then sat down to explain the situation and answer any questions that Danny, and Steve, had. Once finished, Danny and Steve both felt better about the situation.
When the team returned, Danny was sleeping, Steve's hand resting on his friends forearm, providing comfort. Steve was sat quietly by his side, staring disappointedly at the bag that hung below the bed, which sadly remained empty.
5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0
The team stayed by Danny's side until late evening. They brought him up to speed with how they had managed to find him, and Danny explained how he had managed to kick out the lights and even get a drink using his shoe. Steve couldn't be more proud of his best friend, and his resourcefulness. The nursing staff continued to monitor Danny closely, still replacing his fluids. Danny had managed to drink a satisfactory amount to relieve his sore, and dry, throat.
Lou excused himself to head home to the family, once he knew Danny was out of immediate danger, and Chin, and Kono, followed an hour later. Only Steve remained, and he had no intention of leaving. He had already cleared it with Dr. Pearce for him to stay the night. He was concerned that Danny had been very quiet all evening. Just looking at Danny's bruised and swollen fingers, some wrapped in band aids to cover the fleshy pads that had been tore open, Steve could tell that Danny had desperately tried to get out of the trunk. Knowing his friends hatred of small spaces he also knew that Danny had been through hell.
Without Steve verbalising it, Danny already knew the SEAL would be staying with him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was grateful. After spending a full day with only himself for company he didn't want to be left alone. He also didn't want to admit that he was scared silly that his kidney function wouldn't recover.
"Danny, are you in pain?" Steve had seen his friend carefully rubbing up and down his sternum with his hand.
"Huh?" Danny replied. He had been lost in thought, remembering his time in the trunk.
"I asked if you were in pain. Does your chest hurt?"
"Oh, yeah, a bit, it's aching." Danny answered honestly.
"I'll get a nurse." Steve jumped to his feet and left the room before Danny could object.
Danny sighed and rolled over onto his side, attempted to curl his legs up. His muscles were screaming at him from spending hours in such cramped conditions, and strangely they felt better resuming the position he had been forced to lay in for so long. Curling into a foetal position, Danny winced as his leg caught the tubing of the catheter causing it to tug in a delicate place, and he wondered how long he would have to put up with the monstrosity.
Steve returned to the room after speaking with the nurse, and his step faltered for a second when his eyes rested on his friend. His mind flashed back to the image of Danny lying in the same position in the trunk, his body lifeless and still. Shaking the images from his mind he returned to his seat by Danny's side.
"The nurse is getting you something."
"Thanks." Danny smiled, but before he could say anything more the nurse entered the room and gave Danny some pain relief. She then snapped a heat pack, starting the chemical reaction, and placed it against Danny's chest before leaving the room again.
Danny closed his eyes, and Steve saw a small smile of relief dance around his lips as the heat worked its way into his friends aching chest.
"Better?"
"Yeah, thanks." Danny opened his eyes and watched Steve attempt to settle back in the chair. "Thanks for staying." He added closing his eyes again and trying to let his body relax.
"I just spent the past day worried out of my mind, not knowing where you were. I'm not going anywhere, Danno." Steve reached over to the bed and resting his hand in Danny's forearm like he had previously that day.
Danny just smiled and let the comfort from the heat pad, and his friend's support, lull him into a restful sleep.
Steve also let himself relax, a quick glance at the bag at the bottom of Danny's bed told him his friend's kidneys were still not working, and he knew if that was still the case by the morning then the likelihood was that Danny would need dialysis, a scary prospect for all of them. If he was going to support his friend through this then he would need to get his rest also. So he rested his head against the high back of the chair and stretched his legs out. Closing his eyes he was also out for the count, exhausted from staying up all night in search of Danny.
TBC
