A/N: I ran "Pat's Run" today, which is a 4.2 mile run in honor of Pat Tillman. I found it very comforting to be a part of that, especially after last night's episode. So while I'm in an Advil-induced haze trying to ignore the parts of my that are in some pain, I figured I'd post the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!
I don't own anything related to Hawaii Five-0 or CBS. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Close to 45 minutes later, Kono opened the door and poked her head in. She smiled at the sight in front of her. Danny was sound asleep in his bed, while Steve was seated in a chair with his head thrown back, his mouth wide open, and was snoring softly. As funny as the picture was to her, she knew that Steve could not be comfortable. She approached quietly, not wanting her boss to jerk suddenly and either hurt himself or anyone near him, if he came up swinging in SEAL-mode.
"Steve," she whispered. "Steve, wake up."
Steve lifted his head in confusion. Glancing at Danny, he saw that he was still asleep. Someone had been talking to him, and he looked around slowly, wincing at the kink in his neck. Finally, his eyes landed on Kono, as well as Chin and Grace, who had just come into the room. Steve nodded in recognition as he gingerly untangled himself from his sleeping position.
"Hey you guys." Steve rubbed his hands over his eyes a few times and tried to wake up. "How long have you been here?"
Chin quietly set Grace's backpack down in the corner of the room and turned towards his friend. "We just got here a couple of minutes ago. How is he doing?" The concern was evident in his voice.
Steve tried to smile reassuringly at Grace, but Chin and Kono saw right through it. "He's had a rough day, but that's all going to change now that you're here." Steve's focus was on Danny's daughter as he said that, and her answering smile lit up the room.
He turned back to the cousins. "He's been having some bad headaches, but Dr. Parks can't really figure out what's causing them. He's run some more tests, but nothing conclusive has turned up."
Steve nodded towards the bed. "He tried to hold out, but the pain got bad enough that he had to take some pretty heavy medication, which knocked him out."
He turned back to his niece and frowned sympathetically. "He really wanted to be awake when you got here, Grace, but he ended up falling asleep."
Grace just shrugged her shoulder. "That's okay. I'm just glad I get to see him. I brought a book to read until he's awake." She quietly moved to the window seat and grabbed her backpack, making sure she could keep a close eye on her dad as he slept.
Steve was worried, but was trying not to show it. He didn't like the idea of Danny hurting, first and foremost, but to not have a reason? That just wasn't good. He blinked a few times to regain focus as he continued the update for the cousins.
"He doesn't need the IV medication every time, but there's no real pattern with the pain, either. It's there, or it's not. He's frustrated, but he's trying to be strong. Sometimes an ice pack helps a little. Once in a while, it makes it worse, so who knows." Steve thought that the explanation was woefully inadequate, but there really wasn't much else to share.
Kono hugged Steve appreciatively. "Thanks for being here for him. Are you taking care of yourself, too?"
Steve nodded. "I'll be doing a lot better once he's out of here and once they can get his pain under control. I hate that this feels like a setback for him, but he really has had a few improvements here and there. He's starting to work hard on his therapy so that he can get back home with his daughter. Right now, that's his only goal."
Steve swallowed hard as he thought about what obstacles Danny still had. After a pause, he breathed out slowly, "No matter how long it takes, we'll just have to make sure that that particular goal happens for him."
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Danny took a deep breath and tried to figure out what was holding his arm down. Stretching out his fingers experimentally, he lightly brushed up against a small soft limb and smiled to himself. Grace was here. He had no way of knowing, but sometime in the past hour, his daughter had carefully climbed onto his bed and tucked herself against his side and fallen asleep.
He carefully inched his way down her arm linked his fingers through hers, tracing the outside of her thumb with his until he felt her stir. By the time Grace had fully awakened, his relief to have her here again with him was visibly evident in the couple of tears snaking their way down into his hair. He felt Grace shift so that she was resting almost on top of his chest.
He could feel her soft breath against his neck, and felt her dainty fingers brushing the moisture from the corners of his eyes. "I love you, Danno."
Danny smiled and whispered his own responding words of affirmation, vowing to make sure that his daughter never had a reason to doubt his love for her. In his mind, he had come close to ruining the best relationship he had ever had, not realizing that Grace didn't see it that way. Once Steve had explained why Danny was struggling the way he was, she was much calmer about the whole situation. It was Danny who was having a hard time letting go of the guilt, not understanding that Grace was fine.
Using his daughter's shirt as a guide, his fingers followed the material until he could touch her face. He lightly traced his thumb over her cheeks, smiling at her giggle. Continuing his path, he felt her eyelashes flutter against his finger as she closed her eyes to his touch. Feeling the quiver underneath his fingertips, he was instantly transported back to when she was a little girl.
He and Grace had spent hours delighting in the simple joys of butterfly and Eskimo kisses, and no matter how many times he tried to quit, her jubilant "…'gain, Danno!" would always spur him to continue. There had been times where she could spend an hour just giggling and laughing at the uncomplicated happiness of time spent together.
As he stopped his mapping, he couldn't help but smile at her whispered, "…'gain, Danno", and he just pulled her close, sighing as she wrapped her arms around his middle.
"I missed you, Grace. So much." His voice was hoarse with unshed tears.
She stretched up to lightly kiss his stubbled cheek. "I missed you too, Danno. How is your head? Does it hurt a lot right now?"
Danny shook his head slowly, completely honest. "It's okay right now. It comes and goes." He turned his head towards the sound of her voice, desperately needing to be closer to her.
Grace rested her head back against her dad's chest and took a deep breath. She wanted to believe him, but his face didn't look like he was telling the truth. He had dark lines under his eyes, and his face looked kind of sharp – like he had gotten skinnier and some of the softness was gone.
She looked to where Steve was watching them with a fond smile, and felt just a tiny bit more reassured. If Steve didn't have 'panic face' (Danny had taught her the fine art of reading Steve's expressions, in case she ever needed to translate body language) – then maybe things would be okay.
Danny sighed, and knew that he should get up pretty soon. He was supposed to be meeting with Jesse today, and Shari had asked Steve if he would sit in on the session. Danny didn't mind at all – he and Steve had talked about him possibly staying with Steve for a few days once he was released, just until he had his bearings.
He was progressing nicely in the hopes of getting him more independent, but Danny admitted that it just felt better knowing that he had someone around if he needed anything – at least at first.
Truth be told, he was a bit nervous about the session. All Shari kept telling him was that Jesse was someone who would understand just where Danny was coming from, whatever that meant. He just wanted to get it over with, whatever the outcome.
"Hey, Monkey. I need to get up and get dressed. Steve and I have a meeting with a guy named Jesse in a little while." He felt her shift until she was standing off to the side of the bed.
"Are you okay, Danno?" Grace was trying to be brave, but once in a while, the gravity of what was happening to her dad poked at her until she flinched.
Danny nodded. "Yeah, babe. You met Shari, right? Well, she said that Jesse would have a lot of good advice for me, so she just wanted me to talk to him for a bit." That was as simple of an explanation as he could give his daughter – he hoped it was enough.
Kono stepped up. "I was thinking that I need some beach time this morning – are you up for joining me, Grace? We can bring some lunch back for your dad, Uncle Steve and Chin, if you want?"
Grace sounded excited. "Oooh…can we go to Rainbow? Their Loco Moco is the best!"
Danny groaned. He'd expanded his palate quite a bit since coming to Hawaii, but that abomination never appealed to him. "Monkey, really?"
Steve chuckled. "That sounds good, Grace. How about you bring me back one, too?"
Chin couldn't contain his grin at the expression on Danny's face. "Brah – I'm guessing none for you? What sounds good?"
Danny shook his head. Truthfully, nothing sounded good. He knew that he had lost weight, but he never wanted to eat when he had a headache. At least for now, his head wasn't pounding, so he thought for moment before replying, "Chili sounds okay."
Chin clasped Danny's shoulder. "You're right – that does sound good. So two Loco Moco's, two Chili's, and Kono can get whatever she wants."
Kono laughed as she reached for Grace's hand. "Yeah, well – I've got a Rainbow expert with me – I'm sure she'll help me pick out something good."
Grace laughed as she practically dove onto Danny for a hug – he had his arms out, as if he was fully anticipating her pounce, and wouldn't have expected anything less.
Chin told Steve that he would stay in Danny's room and get caught up on some paperwork while they were at Danny's session. Then, once everyone was back, Chin would offer to give Steve a break if he wanted one. He knew that Steve had a bag with his running clothes in his truck – he might see if he could get him outside for an hour or so to clear his head. Most likely, Danny would crash after his appointment – which would be the perfect time for Steve to actually take care of himself for a change.
Danny listened for the sounds that would tell him when Kono and Grace had left the room. When he thought he had it figured out, he reached for the white cane that was folded on the small table next to his bed.
Carefully, he swung his feet to the side and sat on the edge of the bed, willing the dizziness to subside. It always seemed to be worse when he sat up from a lying position. Once he thought he had his feet underneath him, he stood and unfolded the cane.
Sweeping it in a side to side motion as he had been taught, he got his bearings. He could tell by the resistance he encountered that if he turned right and walked nine steps, he should be at the bathroom doorway.
He had no way of knowing that Chin and Steve were standing there grinning like fools, but this was the first time since all of this started where Danny had appeared to at least be willing to try. They weren't sure that he had accepted it yet – but he was at least attempting to learn what he could so that he could get out of here.
Not long after he had shut the bathroom door to get ready, there was a light knock on the door before Shari popped into the room. She could hear the sounds of Danny with the sink running, which sort of surprised her, to be honest. She often had to drag him to his appointments – it was a bit of a change to have him getting ready on his own.
"Steve?" She figured it would be easier for him to fill in the gaps.
"You know that expression, 'Don't poke the bear?' – well, let's just say I poked at Danny yesterday until he finally blew up a little bit. It was rough, to say the least, but he got out a little of the anger that he'd been dealing with. I hope it helped, but who knows. His daughter was able to stay the night last night, which probably was the best medicine for both of them. Kono took her for some girl time this morning knowing that Danny was going to meet with Jesse."
Shari was impressed – she was sure that whatever Steve had done was not a sanctioned therapy technique, but it was clear that they all had Danny's best interest at heart. Sometimes, having family nearby was more effective than any therapy she could offer him. "I don't think that the meeting with Jesse will take all morning – but I do really want Danny to meet with him."
During Shari's conversation with Steve, Danny had finished in the bathroom and was on his way back to his bed. Shari only had to give him one minor correction, reminding him to check both sides of where he was planning to sit, as he nearly slid off the end of the bed because he was too close to the edge, having only checked to his left.
She took a few moments to fill the men in on the plan for the morning. "So Danny. We're going to meet with Jesse in one of the meeting rooms. This isn't therapy like you've had before…this is more of a chance for you to listen to what he has to say, and ask him questions if you have any. Does that sound okay?"
Danny nodded. He really just wanted to get this show on the road. He doubted that there was anything that Jesse would tell him that would make a difference, but he was willing to at least try.
The three made their way down the hallway and through the maze of offices until they came to a small meeting room overlooking the courtyard. Steve could see a young man, sitting ramrod straight in one of the chairs. Steve could immediately tell that he was military by the way he stood when he heard people come into the room.
"Hi Jesse." Shari reached forward and shook his hand, waiting to see if Steve picked up on just why she wanted Danny to meet Jesse. After a few moments of intense staring, she saw the recognition in Steve's eyes, and he turned to her with an impressed look on his face.
"Danny, off to your right and forward about two feet is Jesse. Jesse, if you turn a little to your left and if both of you keep your arms at belt level, you should be able to shake hands."
Danny looked confused as he tried to adjust his position to match Shari's cues. He was clearly at a disadvantage here, but held his hand out and hoped for the best.
There was a bit of fumbling before he felt a strong grip squeeze his hand, and he returned the greeting. "Hey there…I'm Danny. Williams."
As the man let go of his hand, he heard, "Jesse. Guerra. Why don't you sit down, okay? We can get started."
Danny nodded and used his cane to figure out his landmarks, wondering why he heard the same tapping sound coming from his right. He let Steve guide him so that he was sitting comfortably at the table before turning to where he smelled Shari's perfume. "Okay. Not to be rude or anything like that. But would someone mind telling me what is going on? I feel like I'm missing something pretty big here right now."
Jesse chuckled before letting Danny in on the reason for the meeting. "Obviously, Shari didn't tell you much about our meeting. She did fill me in on the basics of your situation, though. I understand you're newly blinded, but there is a possibility of recovering your sight, correct?"
Danny nodded. "That's about it."
"Well, Danny. I am a former Army Ranger who was injured by a roadside bomb. I took shrapnel to the face and to my eyes, and am permanently blind. So believe me when I say I get where you are coming from, and am not making light of your situation at all. I'm still active duty, and run some small group sessions with people who are coming to grips with their injury – sort of a transition from hospital to home, if you will – I feel like I have a different perspective, so to speak."
Danny was stunned. He really thought that this meeting would just be with a guy full of platitudes, but it turns out that he did understand where Danny was coming from. "Wow…I just…I don't know what to say."
Steve snorted to himself. "That's a first."
Danny may not have been able to see Steve, but he knew that Steve would definitely see him flipping him off. "Steven, play nice. Jesse, this is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Navy SEAL reservist and head of the Governor's Task Force - my best friend and partner slash boss. Steve, that's Jesse. I'm sorry, Jesse – I don't know the entire alphabet that goes after your name."
Jesse laughed, seeing Danny's sarcasm as a breath of fresh air. "Jesse Guerra. Staff Sergeant, 75th Ranger Regiment."
Danny couldn't help himself. "E-I-E-I-O."
Shari was just beaming. This was the Danny that she had hoped to meet. This was the Danny that she hoped to send home soon. Was he miraculously cured now that he met Jesse? No, but she knew that Jesse would not put up with any of Danny's bullshit, having lived through and conquered much more in terms of injury, and would hopefully be the one to set Danny straight on a few things.
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