A/N: Thank you very much for your reviews and comments again! It's very nice to know some of you out there are still following this... :) Here's the next chapter - with a few more still to come after this one...
"Detective Williams! It's good to see you again… How are you doing?"
Briefly scanning his chart, the medic rolled towards him with a small smile and a patient look.
Danny raised his eyebrows. "Well, you probably know best, Doc. What's the verdict?" He nodded towards the x-rays hidden in the folder the doctor was holding.
Another smile. "Your pictures look good. Everything seems stable…" He nodded towards Danny's head. "May I take a look?" He waited for Danny's slight nod before carefully peeling back the bandage still protecting the wound.
Studying it for a moment, he finally nodded with a satisfied look. "Okay, these stitches are ready to come out…" Reaching for a pair of surgical scissors, he carefully started to cut the knots all the while continuing to talk.
"How are you doing with your ribs, Detective? – Any trouble with the pain? Or breathing? Or sleeping…?"
"I'm good."
The medic couldn't help but smile again at that. "Wow. That must be the shortest reply you've ever given me. Not used to you being so monosyllabic."
Danny huffed out a breath. "Monosyll… – Alright, okay. Then let me rephrase that, please." He started gesturing carefully with his right hand, hindered only by the medic who was still busy removing the last of his stitches. "Thank you very much for asking, Doc, I'm doing alright. The pain is manageable, I'm breathing – which is really good, it's a relief – and when it's dark outside, I usually go to sleep. Which is how it's supposed to be, I guess."
"Yes, it is. And that sounds good." The medic leaned back now, slowly reaching out to touch, then gently probe Danny's left hand. "And how's the arm, detective? Fingers still seem a little swollen. – Have you been using the sling?"
Danny gave a one-sided shrug. "Sometimes. Hasn't been so bad, really… But yeah, in the evenings; if I needed to. – Hand still feels pretty weak though. It's hard for me to make a fist even…" His tone was more quiet at that, but otherwise unreadable.
Meeting his eyes again now, the medic slowly nodded. "That's what we'd expect at this point; it's normal, don't worry. And you're not supposed to be using the hand anyway. Just give it a rest for now… And I want you to keep taking the anti-inflammatories for a while, but you should start feeling some real relief in another week or so." Rolling back towards the only desk in the room, he started writing something on his prescription pad. Without looking up from what he was doing, he finally spoke again:
"So… How's Commander McGarrett?"
Danny immediately started frowning at that. "How's… He's good. What do you mean." Then, sounding almost stunned and definitely concerned: "Did he – ?" He vaguely gestured towards the room in general waiting for the medic to finally look up at him again.
"Oh, no no no… I'm sorry. He hasn't been here other than in his capacity to bring you in last week. Certainly not as a patient. Not recently at least …"
A brief look of relief, then Danny fixed his gaze on the other man again. "Then why do you ask."
The medic replied with an innocent shrug. "I just wanted to know how things were between you and the Commander. – I imagine he's not always an easy person to work with…"
The frown on Danny's face deepened. "Even though that couldn't be any more true, I honestly have no idea what you're saying right now." Then, raising both eyebrows in sudden, shocked understanding. "You don't mean…?" Pointing towards himself he vaguely indicated his head, arm and rib section. "I hope you're not talking about this because – very obviously – Steve has had NOTHING to do with it."
The medic was still calmly looking at him, waiting.
"I'm serious, Doc. Why would you even THINK something like that?! – Steve may look like a big bad Navy SEAL, and he certainly acts like a Neanderthal much of the time, but he's got the softest heart I know, trust me; he would never do anything like that."
"Okay," was all the medic returned, voice neutral. Then, carefully: "It's just that you both seemed pretty spooked last week. I've actually never seen you like that, and as you know, I've seen you here plenty of times…"
Nodding a few times, Danny briefly looked down, then up at the medic again, voice firm. "Commander McGarrett has had no part in my injuries, and I'm talking zero involvement here. So, I appreciate your concern, Doc, but there's truly nothing to worry about in that regard."
"Alright." A hesitant nod. "That's good to hear, because Commander McGarrett has 8 inches and at least 30 pounds on you. Things like these can get real dangerous real quick…"
Danny nodded with once again raised eyebrows. "I see that! But as I said, this is not what's been happening here. – And, please, please, don't say anything about this to Steve; I'm serious, man. He's already freaked out by this whole thing enough as it is. Last thing we need is for you to accuse him of some sort of domestic abuse on top of all that…" To the other's surprised look, he quickly amended: "Or workplace abuse, whatever it is you've been thinking exactly…"
The medic finally replied with a soft smile. "Alright. Of course not. I take your word for it, Detective Williams." He handed over the prescription. "So… If you don't have any more questions for me right now: Please see us or your GP for another follow-up in two weeks. And don't hesitate to come in again, should you experience any problems in the meantime..."
Accepting the script, Danny nodded slightly, meeting the medic's gaze and holding it. "Okay. And thanks, Doc."
