NA HALA A KA MAKUA - SINS OF THE FATHER
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters. (wished I did though, but who doesn't)
A/N: It's a true pleasure to write, if you have such a bunch of lovely people review on the story! Really guys, it's absolutely amazing! Love going through them and I'm so humbled to see you all seem to enjoy the story, at least this far! Also love how much involved you all are with this story and characters. The support is really appreciated. Same goes for the guest reviewers! Wished I was able to thank you by PM, but that's not how it works unfortunately, so let me say it this way. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Again, the hutchlover, my sincerest thank you! You move mountains!
Well enough with the rambling, here goes;
CHAPTER NINE
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SURGICAL WARD ROOM 208 – TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER – OAHU
The following day Danny finally got moved to the surgical ward. Steve had left early in the morning, to work for a while. After Steve had calmed Grace yesterday, he had gone back to the hospital and spent the night at Danny's bedside. Steve could tell that Danny was exhausted from his busy morning. He didn't slept well during the night and in the morning the doctor did some tests and scans. After that they moved him, which took more energy out of him than he expected. So once he was settled in his new room he had fallen almost immediately asleep.
Hours later Steve walked in and Danny was still asleep. The room seemed spacious and a bit more humane than the ICU cubicle. However the blue and white painted walls came off cold and sterile. The fluorescent lightning also wasn't very helpful in making the room more comforting. The room was still dominated by the bed, but there was less equipment and more furniture. The comfortable chair was also still there, in addition with two dining type chairs. Danny's bag with personal belongings was sitting on one of the chairs.
Steve walked over to the window. The view was stunning, from where he was standing he could see the Moanalua Valley. The Hawaiian landscape would never cease to amaze him, but being able to see it from a hospital room he appreciated his surroundings even more. He wasn't sure whether Danny would like it or not. He might rather see skyscrapers than a giant green hill, as he probably would describe it.
Steve turned around; with his arms folded he stared at Danny. He noticed Danny was wearing his own gray T-shirt. He was also glad to see the oxygen mask was changed for a nasal cannula. The pain relief pump along with the IV fluids were the only things attached to him. No heart monitor, no tubes, nothing. Those were all good signs. Expect that Danny was sleeping in the middle of the day. He hadn't been that long in his new room, but his sheets and blanket were all messed up. That didn't surprise Steve though. The way Danny was animated with his hands told Steve his partner wasn't very good in laying still either.
Danny woke up startled as Steve sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Hey, what are you doing here?" he croaked out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Thought you said you would go to work in the morning?"
"Yeah I did. It's almost 2 pm, buddy. Thought I stop by after I checked on Grace and Catherine." Steve leaned back in the chair. Clearly Danny had been sleeping for a long time.
Clenching his chest Danny pushed himself into a sitting position. "Catherine's been with Grace all day?"
"She's working at my place, so she can stay with Gracie." Steve appeased as he could hear some worry in Danny's voice.
"You can bring Grace here. I mean Catherine must be going crazy at the house by now." Danny suggested. He tucked the nasal cannula back behind his ear. Everything seemed to be out of place after a couple hours of sleep.
"No, no she doesn't. She actually enjoys spending time with Grace."
Danny was surprised. "She does? She's a keeper, you know."
Steve nodded agreeing. "She would be a great mother,"
Danny's eyes were huge, astonishment transforming his face. "Did you…?" He snorted with laughter, like only Danny could. It was followed by an outburst, the shoulders shaking kind of outburst. The one that provokes laughter in others. All though it was a more of mocking laugh, Steve went with it anyway. Danny ended the laugh with a painful cough as his ribs protested against the movement.
Steve was instantly serious again. "You okay?"
"No, I'm not okay," Danny grunted and waited for the flaring pain to ease. "I would feel a lot better if you told me you asked Catherine to move in with you, or to marry you or even better to start a family." Danny teased, taking advantage of the situation.
"You almost sound like you got shot in the head." Steve bantered back.
"You just said," Danny raised his voice in disbelieve.
Steve rolled his eyes. "I know what I just said, but no. Things are good the way they're right now. They don't need to change."
"Hold on, since when did you became a man of safety, huh?" Danny asked bewildered. "Not willing to jump? Because I've been asking for this guy for a few years now and suddenly he shows up? Just like that?" Danny snapped with his fingers.
"I am willing to take the jump, but someone very sensitive told me to take things as they are," Steve said defensive. "Coming from someone who never jumps I shouldn't be even taken this seriously."
"I moved to a sandbox surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. That compares with skydiving without a parachute, so I'm done jumping." Danny argued back.
"You know what," Steve raised his eyebrows in excitement. "We're going to skydive one day and you'll love it. You'll even wished you would've done it sooner."
"You nuts? How many times did you go skydiving? Because I'm pretty sure you lost your mind while doing so." Danny shoved his left hand behind his back to readjust the pillow. He arched his back when he leaned back and accidentally touched the gunshot wound.
"Your back bothering you?" Steve asked concerned. He could see Danny flinch when he leaned back against the pillow.
"Maybe." Danny hissed. He hadn't felt it before, but Steve didn't need to know that.
"Hey guys," Chin greeted as he walked into the room. "Wow look at that view. You can see the Moanalua Valley from all the way over here." He said amazed, while he looked outside through the window.
Danny frowned. "The what? That green hillock you mean?" He waved towards it.
Steve suppressed his grin. "It's not a hill, Danny."
"Whatever. I'm not familiar with them. Don't know how you manage to know which one this is… The entire island is covered with these hil…" Danny quickly corrected himself. "Valley's."
Chin smiled and leaned on the end of the bed. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. You seem more like yourself though. How are you doing, brah?"
"It's going great," Danny combed his fingers through his hair. His hair was a disaster he could feel it. It probably looked like he had been walking through a tornado or something. "How's the case going? You find my phone yet?" He asked, not expecting anything, but Parrish had taken it with him, so they had been waiting for it to show up.
"Actually, we did," Chin pulled something out of his back jeans pocket. He held up a translucent evidence bag with Danny's cell phone as content. "We found it a couple of blocks from the scene. A homeless guy turned it back on, so that's how we were able to get it back for you."
"Hope you cleaned it before you brought it in here," Danny carefully took it from Chin and looked disgusted at his phone. He placed it on his bedside table. "Did Parrish do something with it, or?"
"We already checked with your provider a few days ago. They gave us a list with your recent calls. Parrish did make a call, but the number came back to a burner phone. So nothing we didn't know so far." Chin sighed placing his hands on his hips.
"What about the laptop we found at the dead witness's house?" Steve asked hopeful.
"Fong tried to decode Akama's laptop, but it's highly encrypted." Chin reported. "We need an expert for it, if we want to see what's on it."
"I want to see what's on it," Steve insisted. "Akama was a construction worker, right? Doesn't seem like he was a computer savvy to me. Which makes me curious what he's trying to hide."
"All right, I'll see if I can find someone."
"What about your friend Jerry?" Steve suggested.
"Jerry, the conspiracy guy?" Danny looked judgmental from Steve to Chin. "The one you know from space camp?"
Chin was about to respond, but Steve waved it off. "Don't listen to him. You think he can do the job? Wants to help us out once more?"
"You kidding?" Chin sounded aroused. "He's still bragging about the last case. Let me ask him if he can decode."
"Okay, go give him a call, see if he can help us. The sooner we crack this thing, the better." Steve demanded.
"Well, it's Jerry we're talking about, so I'll have to swing by his place," Chin said. Both Steve and Danny stared questioningly at Chin "He's not a very big fan of phones." He explained.
"Remembering the last case, I should have known that," Steve scratched the back of his head. "All right, if he can help us, take him back to the Palace. I'll go by the crime lab and pick up the laptop," he stated while he rose up from his chair, ready to go back to work. "You, behave yourself. We'll be back later." Steve placed shortly his hand on Danny's shoulder and walked towards to door.
Chin went up to Danny and gave him a fist bump. "Take it easy, okay?" Danny nodded obediently and waited for Chin to leave his room as well.
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SURGICAL WARD ROOM 208 – TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER – OAHU
Danny sank weary back with his head on his pillow. He inhaled deeply to get more air in his lungs. Doing so it required his ribs to extend, which caused him to grunt and clench his left side. When would it be all better again? He asked himself. If everything were fine with his health, he would find something to nag about. Only when something was wrong with his health, the only thing he wanted most was to be healthy again. He could handle some pain. He could handle the soreness. He could handle the exhaustion. Only when would it stop? Danny closed his eyes, trying to get some rest. It felt like it was the only thing he did all day, but it sped the time forward, the pain wasn't present and he would gain some energy.
His eyes hadn't been closed for a minute yet when he heard a familiar tune. It was his phone. Someone called him. Danny pushed himself up again, searching for his phone. He grabbed it from his bedside table. Looking at his screen, he frowned. It wasn't someone from his contact list, nor did he recognize the number. He quickly tore open the plastic evidence bag and answered the call. "Hello?"
An unfamiliar low male voice popped up from the other side of the line. "If you think you can get away with this, you're wrong! Killing Akama to come after me... Let me tell you, I'm going to find you first. I'll kill you myself, if that's what it takes. You keep watching over your shoulder, Parrish. I'll be there sooner than you think." The call was disconnected and Danny stared confused at his phone.
Danny was trying to connect the questions that ran through his mind. The only reasonable explanation was that this was the guy they were looking for. Dale Sullivan. He had to call Steve. Let him know he just received a call and they should look into that. Danny scrolled through his contacts and stopped by the 'S'. He pressed onto Steve's name and before he realized it, his screen went black. His battery died. Danny looked helplessly around. Of course his phone would die after being on the streets for days and just as obviously he didn't have his charger here. There was one thing he could do and that was to get up and see if Steve and Chin were still here. They couldn't have gone that far, not this quick.
Danny slowly tried to get up, but quickly he realized how futile it was. Regardless, he needed to go. Pulling the sheet off him, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, letting out a harsh breath. Inhaling one more deep breath, he took the nasal cannula from behind his ears and out of his nose. He tossed it behind him and he grabbed the IV stand and pulled it towards him. He was glad he was wearing his own shirt and blue sweat shorts and not the hospital gown with an open back.
It was against doctor's orders to be moving on his own right now, but he had to let Steve know what just happened. He'd have to have both legs broken before he'd ask for assistance; he was too stubborn for that. With his bare feet on the cold floor he steadied himself, but he still rose. He had to bite his lip as sharp pain lanced through his torso and his vision became dark around the edges. Danny grabbed the corners of the nightstand to keep himself from fainting. Taking in some shallow breaths he managed to clear his vision.
Every movement caused some muscle or bone to ache, so he clenched his left side with his right hand. With the IV inserted in his right arm he had to shuffle his way forward by holding the IV stand in his left hand. Luckily the pain relief pump was connected onto the same stand as the IV bag, so he only had to take one stand with him. Danny slowly made his way towards the door, putting one foot in front of the other. His legs were shaking. He didn't expect his body to be this weak after a few days lying down in bed. But there certainly wasn't much strength left. He was already panting as he reached the doorway. Holding the doorpost tightly he searched the corridor for his friends. There weren't many people wandering around, but it only took him a moment before he spotted Steve and Chin at the end of the hallway. He could see them walking towards the elevator.
"Steve," Danny made an attempt to call out, but it would only be intelligible if he had been standing next to him. Danny grabbed the wooden railing onto the wall, trying to take a few steps into the hallway. He made four steps before he cringed and wrapped his arm back around his left side. He looked up to see if Steve and Chin were still there. Luckily they were; Chin pushed the button on the side of the elevator, ready to leave. Danny waited with the hope one of them would look his way and see him. Come on, turn around.
"Steve," Danny half shouted this time, as Steve still hadn't turn towards him. Why was it he never seemed to listen? Like he became instantly deaf when Danny asked him something or needed his help. Taking in a deep breath Danny winced in pain, but he managed to move forward again. He had made it half way through the hallway by now, but with each step the pain amplified. He was panting heavily and had started to wheeze.
Three more steps were all he could take. He didn't know how much longer he could handle before he would crash onto the floor. Danny squeezed his eyes closed as his face contorted. Both his chest and back seemed to be on fire, but he had to get Steve's attention. Otherwise this whole field trip down the hallway had been for nothing. Danny leaned with his entire weight on the IV stand. It was the only support he had from falling down. His body trembled and his legs were barely holding him.
Danny could see the elevator doors open. A man and woman came out, Steve stepped aside to let them through before he got on the elevator himself. Danny had to do something. Chin was already on the elevator and Steve was about to step in. Dark spots flashed in front of his eyes. Like had gotten up too fast, but he was already standing. So he ignored it and took another step. Once more, giving it all the strength Danny had left, he called out. "Steve!" As the name echoed through the corridor Danny collapsed. Taking the IV stand with him as he crashed in a heap onto the floor.
-H50-
A/N: Whoops... sorry for the little cliffhanger... Next chapter will be up on Wednesday!
Always love to hear what you think of it!
Thank you for reading
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