A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favs, follows, and for your patience. I hope this is worth the wait. Sorry for any medical inaccuracies.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of the characters.

Chapter Nine

Danny had given up on sleep. He'd been moved from the relative quiet of his private room to another one in the confines of the ICU. Resting against his pillows, he tracked the movements of a young female nurse dressed in green scrubs, her face partially covered by a surgical mask and her hair tucked beneath a matching green cap. She swapped out yet another bag of fluid on the IV pole by his bed. Something about her felt so familiar.

His left arm felt odd, heavy and constrained. He lifted his head slightly to take a look, but the motion sent a wave of nausea through him. The thought of puking in the oxygen mask he'd been forced to wear had him tugging at the offending piece of equipment. He winced as he pulled on the lines in his arm. The sudden wail of a machine alerted the nurse.

"Hey, you feeling sick again?" She repositioned the mask over his nose and mouth earning herself a not so happy glare in the process before fiddling with something behind him to make the noise stop. "I know it's hard but you need to keep it on. Your stats are low. Take deep breaths, Danny. Like we did earlier."

She moved into his line of vision, her hazel eyes meeting his blue ones. "A deep breath in. That's it... And breathe out. You're doing well."

"Arm?" That one word was all Danny could manage. His throat was dry and talking painful.

"Does it hurt?" The nurse frowned worriedly at him.

"No, feels weird." He croaked out.

"Do you want some ice chips for your throat?" She picked up a plastic cup for him to see.

Danny nodded in response.

"I'll raise you slightly." She held the button down on the control attached to his bed, letting go when he was almost completely upright. "Here, just a couple."

She lifted the mask and held a spoon containing a few ice chips to his cracked lips. Danny hummed out loud as the cool liquid trickled down his throat, easing his discomfort.

"Doctor Freeman carried out a second debridement. He was here a short while ago, but I'm guessing you were still too out of it to remember."

Danny stared at the bright white bandages that swathed his arm completely. He didn't know what was real. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. But his thoughts kept drifting to Jess. He felt oddly attached to this girl he barely knew.

His eyes watered, and his chest tightened. She was there with him. Her golden hair framed her face, so innocent and so brave. Unable to recall the colour of her eyes, he pounded the bed with his good hand in frustration. He owed her that much.

The knot twisted in his stomach as fragments of her last moments filled his thoughts. He absentmindedly touched the dressing on his neck. Shit, Danny, I'm sorry. Those words had been accompanied by excruciating pain. He'd been selfish and terrified, and instead of wrapping her in his arms and shielding her from harm, he'd let her die.

"Danny... Danny, hey open your eyes, look at me."

He did as asked, blinking away tears. The same young nurse leaned over him, her face etched with concern. "You zoned out there for a while. You had me worried, and not for the first time tonight."

"Sorry." Danny mouthed the word. More often than not now, he found himself back with Jess. She along with the chimpanzees invaded his sleep and what felt like his every waking hour.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm here to take care of you." She smiled beneath the mask, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

Danny sank deep into the pillows, and a new wave of nausea threatened, as her words sent him back to Jess and what she'd sacrificed for him.

H50 H50 H50 H50 H50

Doctor Freeman found Steve pacing the small waiting area. He stood quietly, a few feet outside of the partially open doorway, observing the Commander. Steve's hands were in constant motion, one minute scrubbing his face, the next pinching the bridge of his nose before interlocking his fingers and resting both on top of his head. He paused momentarily to stare out of a window.

The doctor took a deep breath before stepping into what he now considered the lion's den. The man caged within was without a doubt ready to pounce. "Commander McGarrett."

Steve spun around dropping his hands to his sides, his fists clenching and unclenching. His eyes narrowed and his lips flattened into a tight line.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I had a medical emergency." Doctor Freeman wasted no time pre-empting any angry outburst Steve may have had planned.

"Is that right? I got a call saying you'd operated on Danny. You assured me I'd be contacted if there was any change." Steve closed the gap between him and Doctor Freeman. The two men stood toe to toe.

"Calm down, Commander, or I will call security. You may be the head of the Governor's task force, but here, in my hospital, you're a guest." The doctor met Steve's stern gaze.

Steve stood his ground, undeterred by the doctor's threat. "I just need to know he's ok."

The shorter man seemed to take pity, relaxing his posture. "Steve. Can I call you Steve?"

"Go ahead." Steve frowned. Confused by the doctor sudden change in demeanor.

"Steve, please sit down. It's been a long night, and I'm not as young as you. My feet hurt, and I really don't want to stand here arguing." The doctor moved to the nearest chair and sat down without waiting for a response.

Steve sighed loudly and took the seat opposite.

"Let's get something straight. If at anytime I thought Danny's condition was anything other than stable, I would have contacted you immediately. I apologize for the lack of information afforded to you over the phone. Nurse Finney is new and still learning. He was just following standard protocol."

"Fine, I get that, but why's he back in the ICU?"

"Danny has developed a bacterial infection -"

"Woah, hold up a second. A bacterial infection? You don't consider that a significant change?"

"If you'd let me continue." The doctor held up his hand to forestall any more interruptions. "Animal bites, more often from dogs, carry a pathogen that can in rare cases cause infections in humans. We've caught it early, and I'm currently waiting on test results. Once they come through I'll know which combination of drugs to administer. He'll be kept in isolation until then."

Steve shifted uneasily in his chair. "But he had surgery - why?"

"Not unlike you, Steve. I've learned to read people, gauge their level of pain, when they're holding something back. It's not merely about testing blood or running scans to diagnose an illness."

"Your point being?" Steve locked eyes with the doctor.

"I'll be blunt. You want to know if I amputated your friend's arm? Well the answer is no. I carried out another, much deeper debridement."

"I'll admit I was worried. After our meeting yesterday, I..." Steve blew out a deep breath.

The doctor smiled as he shook his head. "You must know I would never go against Danny's wishes?"

"But I signed papers. You agreed..." Steve ran a hand down his face. "Why didn't you say that yesterday?"

"My priority is to my patient. Let's just say I payed you lip service. It was obvious to me from the outset that you would only leave and take care of your own needs once I agreed to your demands. You two have quite the reputation amongst the hospital personnel, and I'm also well aware of your medical history. You were on the brink of collapse, both physically and mentally."

"You'd make a great detective, doc."

"You would make a terrible patient. And quite frankly I don't want you taking up another bed in my hospital."

"I appreciate your honesty. When can I visit him?"

"You can see him now, but don't expect too much. It's been a long night and the chances are he'll be sleeping. I'll get one of the nurse to fetch you a set of scrubs." The doctor stood. "I'm taking a much needed break, and before you say another word, my staff will page me if there's any change. I'm not expecting the test results until later today, by which time I'll be back. I've assured the Governor I'd look after you two."

Steve hesitated before speaking. It took a second for last part of the doctor's statement to sink in. "You spoke to the Governor?"

"Don't sound so surprised. This is a small island." The older man smiled. "Now, let's get going. You want to see your friend, and I have a date with my bed."

Steve got up and extended his hand to the doctor. "Thank you."

Doctor Freeman took his hand in a friendly shake. "You're welcome."

~ to be continued ~