I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: thank you all! "Rain" has ceased in condo - ASSOciation got the roofers here finally (took 4 days). Now insurance and contractor estimates begin. At least that is a step in the right direction. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
Chapter Nine
Perched on a chair at the foot of Steve's hospital bed, Danny still hadn't changed his clothes from the beach. Watching his partner like a hawk for any signs of waking, he refused to budge from hospital grounds until the man's eyes at least opened. He had only made two phone calls in the long insufferable stretch of time. Both to Chin Ho to bring their friend up-to-speed on Steve's initial status and then to reassure him after a successful exploratory surgery that he needn't rush home from the Big Island.
Kono glanced over to him when he sighed loudly. Danny's gaze had wandered to the small bedside table to lazily study the new bounty of get well wishes. Ellen Ramirez had already brought a bouquet of colorful flowers. Upset that he was still sleeping, Becca had insisted on leaving her Uncle Steve a favorite stuffed toy rabbit which looked alarmingly like her own fluffy, Finster.
"How long is he going to keep this up? Doc thought he'd wake hours ago." When he caught her looking at him, Danny chose that opportunity to complain again before squirming uncomfortably at the near maddening variety of scratchy itches. He tried to act annoyed when Kono started making fun of him.
"Give it up, brah. Go home and shower." The rude giggle made him purse his lips firmly, then he was chuckling through his ongoing and very stubborn refusal. Kono's offer was very enticing, yet he ultimately remained steadfast in his decision. "I'll stay here, Danny." Kono urged. "Go on. I'll call you."
"No, not yet." He frowned at the late hour before beginning a short pace at the foot of the bed. "Why are you so … you know. Not itchy." Danny gestured at her similarly unchanged attire as he rotated his shoulders which were tight from sand and sunburn. Other unmentionable areas had him alternating between sitting and walking in the small room.
Despite his antsy behavior, Kono was utterly unfazed as she laughed harder when he tried to adroitly reposition his board shorts. "You're lolo, brah!"
Waking slowly, Steve kept his eyes closed as he listened to the hum of soft speech and laughter. His weakness inside the storage room had eventually rendered him senseless and he remembered little if anything after being placed on the stretcher for the ride in the ambulance. Peacefully recognizing each of his friends, he zoned out briefly again when the conversation ceased for a time, but roused when he registered a single presence bending over him.
"You better wake up, Boss." Kono whispered softly. "Danny's getting a rash."
"Steve?" The unbidden quirk to his lips met her quietly offered chuckle as her hand instantly found his shoulder. "You bum. You're faking!"
"Not." Eyes still closed, Steve forced his mouth to work around an ever-growing smile. "I never fake."
"Liar. You're a fake ... and a spy. You used what I told you and ... spied!" Kono's whisper was meant to be harsh, but it held a hint of laughter. Steve finally rubbed his face with his free hand, sighed uncomfortably, and cautiously squeaked his eyes open to face her wrath.
Still standing over him, Kono steeled her gaze firmly. "Very attractive, Boss. Spying on us during our day off? Not very classy." Without a valid defense, Steve didn't know what to say as Kono folded her arms expecting him to say at least something. "Well?" She asked. "You have nothing to say?"
"Well." Steve repeated with a slight fidget. "He's good. Just like you said."
"He is, isn't he?" Her pleased smile spread rapidly across her face at the genuine compliment. She was going to wind up on the chopping block as well for originally confessing their plans on the North Shore, but their morning had been a very successful experiment. Until then, she planned to chastise Steve fully for what he'd done. "Still ... you used what I told you and then you spied on us! Where were you?"
His grin was telling, yet Steve was refusing to admit more. Feeling much more comfortable than he had in the small storage room, he carefully raised the bed. There was only a slight pull from his injury and the prior incessant throb was barely a memory. All things considered, he felt good and well rested as he looked around the room.
"It's late?" Surprised, Steve noticed that was dark outside the hospital room's lone window and undoubtedly later in the evening. He grinned when he saw the flowers and then the stuffed animal which Kono pushed teasingly into his chest.
"Becca?" Steve didn't really to need to ask as he squished the brown stuffed animal in his fingers. "She's a good kid."
"She was a brave kid." Kono added with a smile. "She was scared for both of you and upset you didn't wake up before she left tonight."
"I'll make a point to call or see her tomorrow." With the bunny on his lap, Steve made his promise and then looked around the room once more, clearly surprised to not see his partner. "Danny? "Where did he go?"
"Coffee. Again." Motioning to the window sill, Kono tiredly pushed her lank hair behind an ear. Very serious now, she lost her smile as she sat gently down on the side of the bed. "You've been out for the count much longer than they expected. The attending doctor insisted you were fine, but we've been worried, boss."
Steve counted no less than six large and evidently quite empty cups. Smudged and stained by dried coffee-colored drips, his team had been waiting for him for some time. He frowned when he noticed Kono, herself, was still wearing her original beachwear despite the very late hour.
"How do you feel? And don't you dare say 'I'm fine' if you're not." Kono gently reprimanded him in advance..
Before he could answer though, there was a startled sound in the doorway. "He's awake?" Laced with relief, Danny's voice filled the room and Kono grinned down at Steve with a minuscule shrug to her shoulders. "It's about damned time!"
"Like I said, we've both been worried." Barely audible, Kono's eyes warned Steve to behave. Then she was moving aside to allow her friend room to see for himself.
"Well it's about time." Danny exclaimed again as a nonstop flood of words spewed from his mouth. "How can you get into so much trouble with a dog and on a holiday weekend? You know what? Never mind - don't answer that! Just tell me how do you feel. And don't you dare say that you're fine or so help me, Steven!"
The original quirk was back to Steve's lips as his vexed partner finally sat huffily on the edge of the bed, replacing precisely were Kono had been sitting. His relief was more than evident, but then so was the uncomfortable squirm as Danny quickly regained his feet. The amused quirk turned into a wide grin as Danny tried to adjust his irritated skin inside salt-dried clothing.
"What are you grinning at?" Danny frowned petulantly.
"So, Danno. I hear you have a rash? It's making you ... grumpy." The sly comment caused Danny's mouth to fall open. Lightly, Kono moved to the rear of the bed with a tiny gasp. Danny's mouth flapped soundlessly once, then twice before he glared at Kono. Her only defense was a shrug and lame shake of her head.
"I can't believe you just said that." Her disbelieving gaze turned on Steve instantly as she folded her arms defensively across her chest. "Not nice, boss."
"Uh huh." Looking from Kono and then back to Steve, Danny narrowed his eyes. The obligatory sound was an acknowledgment of a gauntlet being thrown at Kono's sandaled feet though he addressed his partner. "I'm grumpy?"
"Yep, Danno." Steve smirked while tapping Danny's knee. "You are sort of grumpy right now. Must be the rash."
The strangled gasp from the foot of the bed, quickly drew both men's attention. Red-faced, Kono had been wholly unable to bite back the stirrings of deep laughter. Wiping tears from her eyes and trying to bite her lip firmly, Kono was still wholly unable to stop her laughter from bursting out. However, she was pointing at their bedridden friend.
Through a bout of choked laughter, she finally got out the words. "He's a faker ... and a spy. It's not my fault!"
As the realization dawned, Danny slammed his mouth shut; with the stress of getting his partner to the hospital, he'd just about forgotten Steve's much earlier comment back inside the clinic storage room. He and Kono absolutely knew they'd been watched much earlier in the day but he hadn't quite put things together as of yet.
"What did you mean about me surfing?" He studied his partner as the head of the bed was slowly being thumbed up higher. Still smiling, Steve had yet to notice how closely he was being measured and weighed until after he got himself resettled against the thin pillows.
"What?" The all too innocent response was more than telling from the bedridden man. As if he needed to think for a moment, Steve pursed his lips and shrugged uselessly. "You know what, Danny? I really don't quite remember."
The disbelieving snorts were in stereo as Kono looked from Danny to Steve. "Unbelievable, brah." Kono remarked with a leery watery look. She couldn't help wondering how they were both going to back out of the entire truth. "Now you don't remember?"
"Uh, nope." The much too clipped confirmation lacked a deal of credibility as Steve maintained a loopy, innocent expression. "Must have been blood loss. I didn't know what I was saying."
"Blood loss?" Kono echoed, clearly stunned to her toes. Whatever Steve was playing at it, there was no way it would work as Danny's mental wheels chugged diligently forward now at a startling pace.
"Us. Me. Surfing. Explain yourself since it looked so great to you." Refusing to let it go, Danny not so patiently reminded Steve of his earlier words as Kono sidled more towards the doorway. His pause was telling and within seconds, Danny was cocking his head quizzically at Kono. His index finger rose into the air, once more squinting as certain possibilities slammed into place.
"You were watching us, Steven." Danny reported firmly. "You practically admitted it."
"Wasn't." Steve lamely voiced around a sharp intake of air which launched Danny's same left finger straight up into the air. With that motion now aimed at him, Steve nearly flinched in surprise.
"Spy!" Obviously remembering something as he finally put two and two together, Danny's next words were damning and Steve had nowhere to hide. In fact, Danny was now lambasting himself for not putting the information together well before that moment.
"Doc and Koa! You bum .. you were on the overlook watching us because Doc said you called him from there when you found his dog!" Squinting his eyes in warning, Danny added fuel to his accusations. "Sworn statement I'd say ... from a reliable source. A veritable scion of the community!"
"Scion?" Kono squeaked. She needed to palm her forehead in a vain attempt to stop laughing, but it was impossible.
As she giggled anew, Danny was plotting facts from dot to unrelenting dot because from that lofty parking area there would be only one way for Steve to be satisfied enough to watch them surf. Rotating his jaw from right to left, he remembered the takeout bag and what he'd also seen on the front seat of his partner's truck. Not only did they have corroborated proof, the evidence was definitive.
"You watched us all morning. Binoculars and even ... lunch? That is just .. really .. over the top."
"Ah. Oh." Mumbling inanely, Steve grabbed the bed's remote back into his hand. Under the playfully stern gaze of his friend, he found the down button to thumb it viciously. Stuffing Becca's rabbit into the crook of his arm, the toy became a fluffy shield as he closed his eyes.
"Tired .. yeah, really tired now. Thanks for saving me ... good work with those flash bangs. G'night, you two."
"I waited here for this?" Danny snarked incredulously as Steve settled deeply into the hospital bed's thin mattress. "All this time. Hours. Worried and waiting! Waiting for you to wake up to make sure you're okay, and this is what I get?"
He stood there transfixed, just staring at Steve's closed face and eyeing the remnants of the lopsided grin that remained teasingly on the outside of Steve's left lip. He looked completely ridiculous with the stuffed rabbit's ears just tickling the bottom of his chin. In the background, Kono was still wiping away snuffled tears of laughter. Forgetting his scratchy itchiness, Danny stood there for minutes on end until one last tiny question was formed solidly in his mind.
"Lunch." Danny whispered the word as he cocked his head quizzically. This had been no random drive-by but almost a planned stake-out. Prior to that weekend, only one person truly knew where they had intended to go on the North Shore. Kono fidgeted and then wrinkled her nose as the last fact clicked soundly home and questioning eyes turned her way.
~ to be continued ~
