Hey guys! So schools been getting really calm and almost all of my classes are now just the equivalent of study halls, so I decided that I would go ahead and update early. I wrote this in numerous classes and couldn't decide where I wanted to end it, so it's kind of long.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-O or any of it's characters.
Hope everyone enjoys!
Steve had been staring at the wall for . . . Well, he didn't really know. Kono had been sitting next to him, occasionally trying to talk to him, but he couldn't respond. He was lost in his own thoughts, most of them dominated by the events that had transpired and gotten them into the situation that they were currently in: Danny in the hospital and Steve sitting in a hard plastic chair, covered in his partners blood as he awaited the outcome of whether he survived.
A voice finally broke him out of his reverie, announcing the presence of another person. "Steve? Steve, can you hear me? Come on, Super SEAL. You gotta come back, for Danny."
Steve came back at the sound of Danny's name, looking up and seeing the smiling face of Jessi. "Jessi? Is Danny out of surgery yet?"
Her smile slowly turned to a frown and her eyes grew heavy. "No. He's still in surgery. There's no news as of yet. I brought you a change of clothes." She held out a small stack of clothes, a t-shirt and a pair of scrub pants, allowing him to take them.
He stood and took them, clearing his throat and pulling himself together. "Thanks, Jessi." He turned and began to walk towards the bathroom, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him in the opposite direction.
"Uh uh. Faculty showers are this way."
Steve didn't pull out of her grasp, allowing her to pull him towards the showers. Truthfully, a shower sounded wonderful right now, but he couldn't. He had to be there for Danny. "I don't have time for a shower. I have to be here for Danny."
Jessi let go and turned to face him, looking at him, fighting the part of her that wanted to be blatantly honest and the part that didn't want to kick the sad seal. Eventually, she decided on both. "Steve, Danny's not going to be out of surgery for at least another hour, and, if the rumors are true, you'll be out of the shower in two minutes. So please, just . . ." She didn't finish her sentence, simply looking down as his shirt and hands, looking at the blood that stained them.
Steve nodded, and gestured for her to lead the way. "Ok."
She led him to the faculty showers, and left, standing out in the hallway and waiting. She knew that she wouldn't be waiting for long.
Steve stood, looking at the rows of showers and chose the one closest. Undressing quickly, he stepped in and started the water. The hot water felt amazing on his sore muscles, soothing the aches and pains for the day. Blood mixed with water and drained down the drain. After thoroughly rinsing himself, he toweled dry and pulled on the clothes. They fit loosely, but Steve was so covered in bruises that he was glad they didn't fit tightly. Looking at his blood stained t-shirt and cargo pants, he decided to throw them away. He'd find a replacement and they were ruined. Also, he didn't want to be reminded of what had happened, the look on Danny's face as he fell backwards, sliding down the wall, a bloody trail on the wall-
Steve rushed from his position staring at the mirror into one of the bathroom stalls, promptly throwing up everything that was in his stomach. Leaving the stall, he went back to the sink and leaned against it, splashing some cold water on his face and rinsing his mouth out. Once he was finished, he made sure to compose himself before he walked out.
Jessi was standing beside the door and she smiled up at him as he came out. Her instincts immediately kicked in as she studied his face. "You ok, Steve?" She knew that he wouldn't answer truthfully, but she could gauge just how much was wrong based on how he answered.
Steve looked down at her, his hands shoved down into the pockets of the scrubs to try and help conceal the shaking. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get back to Danny."
Jessi smiled a sad smile as she followed him. "No you're not."
Steve turned around to face the young woman, not expecting that response. He'd never gotten it before. "Excuse me?"
"You said that you're fine," Jessi said, cocking her hip and crossing her arms as the SEAL faced her, "and I'm here to tell you that you're not fine."
Steve was about to snap something back at her, but she grabbed his wrist and yanked his hand out of his pocket, revealing the tremors. A deep shame filled his gut and he looked at the floor, feeling inadequate. Danny had been shot, beaten and almost bled to death and had managed to stay strong. Steve had only been knocked over the head, and he was falling apart.
Jessi saw his reaction and hated herself. Stupid SEAL. He really doesn't understand shock, does he? Bending over, her hand still clasped around his wrist, Jessi fought to look up into his eyes. "Steve . . . It's ok. You may not have been injured as badly as Danny, but you just carried him through the Hawaiian forest and watched him go through a terrible ordeal. You're in shock, ok?"
Steve slowly looked up at her, his eyes read and filled with unshed tears. It was highly unprofessional and later on, Jessi would regret it, but he needed it. Stepping forward, she wrapped him in a hug, her head only come up to under his chin. She waited for a moment, wondering if he would return it, but his answer came. Arms wrapped around her back as he seemed to sink down, his head on her shoulder. He shook with silent sobs and Jessi felt tears come to her eyes. But she couldn't cry. She had to stay strong.
They stayed like that for a few moments before breaking apart. Steve cleared his throat and smiled a shy smile. "I . . . um . . . I-"
Jessi returned the smile and held up a hand. "You're welcome. Now let's go check on your partner."
Steve nodded adamantly and allowed her to lead him back to the waiting room. Kono and Chin were there, sipping cups of coffee. Jessi recognized his need to speak to them privately and hurried off with a plan to find out if there was any news on Danny.
The SEAL watched her go before walking over to his team. "Hey, guys."
Chin nodded, looking his boss up and down. "Well, you look better. How do you feel?"
Steve nodded. "Better. I was introduced to this thing called a shower." Looking around, he noticed the lack of Catherine and remembered the fight. He would have to apologize later.
Kono noticed the wandering gaze and shook her head. She'd overheard the fight and was a little surprised at what Catherine had said. Being as close to Steve as she was, she should've known that Steve would never leave his brother alone. "Catherine texted me and told me that she was at work."
Steve nodded and sat down, hiding the fact that he didn't know if he could stand any longer without out falling.
Chin and Kono looked at each other, aware of the fact that Steve was trying to hide and followed his lead, sitting on either side of him. They waited like that for about 15 minutes when Jessi returned, accompanied by a man in a pair of surgical scrubs.
Steve jumped out of his seat, and met the doctor not 20 feet away from the door. The doctor smiled and put his hand out, glancing at Jessi before returning his attention to Steve. "From what Nurse Savin has told me, I can only assume that your are Detective Williams medical contact, Steve McGarrett?"
Steve nodded and shook the doctor's hand, returning his hand back to his pocket after he released it. "I am. How is Danny?"
The surgeons smile faltered and he looked at Jessi. Steve's stomach leapt up into his throat as he held his breath. He could already tell that the news wasn't going to be real good.
"Detective Williams suffered a bullet wound to the abdomen. If he had gotten medical attention immediately, he would be in considerably better shape. Unfortunately, from what I've been told, this was not an option. Your quick thinking and treatment saved him, but still," Steve understood that the doctor was trying to make him feel better, but it really wasn't working."
The doctor cleared his throat as he began again. ". . . He lost a considerable amount of blood and an infection set in. We managed to get the bullet out and repair the damage along with cleaning the wound out thoroughly. But, he is running an extremely high temperature and we don't have enough blood here to fully resupply him. That's what I'm primarily here to talk to you about. In his file, it says that you share a blood type with your partner."
Steve nodded, too stunned by the news he was taking in to speak.
"Would you be willing to give some blood for your partner?"
Steve found his voice immediately. "Of course! Do you need a kidney too, because you can have that too if you need it."
The doctor gave a nervous laugh, not quite sure if Steve was joking or being serious.
Steve was dead serious.
Jessi saw the awkwardness and stepped in. "I'll do the draw. After that, I'm going to take Commander McGarrett to see Danny."
The doctor nodded and shook Steve's hand one more time. "You're doing a great thing for Detective Williams."
Steve gave a half smile and looked shyly at the floor, not liking the praise. Looking back up, he simply said, "Danny would do the same for me."
The doctor smiled and walk off, allowing Jessi to move Steve to an examination room. There, she drew blood and convinced Steve to get something to eat and drink. He wasn't feeling real well after she drew the blood. But as soon as he had eaten a sandwich and drank a bottle of juice, he asked to go see Danny. Jessi agreed and lead him to the room. She left quickly, knowing that Steve needed to be alone for a few minutes.
Steve stood in the doorway for a moment, simply looking at his partner. An IV pole stood next to his bed, a bag of both fluids and blood snaking through a pin and into his arm. He was pale and had dark bags under his eyes. A nasal cannula wound under his nose to give him oxygen and a heart monitor bleeped next to him. The worst part was he looked so small, so fragile amid the numerous machines. The man who's personality was usually the biggest in the room and who never let his size matter was incomparable to the man in the bed.
Stepping forward, Steve felt the familiar need to protect his partner from anything that may come his way. Only now, it was so strong that the idea of leaving literally made him feel sick. He pulled a chair up beside Danny's bed and grabbed his hand, clutching it desperately and rubbing his thumb against the back. His skin was sickly warm and a sweat had broken out on his brow, but that didn't matter to Steve.
"I'm here, Danny. I'm right here, buddy. And I'm not going anywhere."
How was it? I really hope that it was ok, because I put a lot of thought into it and really tried to make it good. I apologize for any spelling mistakes that there were, my iPad app doesn't really catch spelling so I had to rely on the goodness of this wonderful websites spell check.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and have a great rest of the day. I may update over the weekend so keep your fingers crossed. ;)
Bye!
