It had been three hours since Steve had gone into surgery when a nurse entered the waiting room.
"Mr. Williams? Doctor Kini wanted me to let you know that they have repaired the abdominal artery and large intestine. They are working on cleaning the abdominal cavity and it will probably be another couple of hours"
Danny looked into the nurse's eyes, "There's something else, isn't there? Has there been a complication?"
"I think it's best that the Doctor discuss those details with you Mr. Williams"
"Fine, fine…you don't have to give me details…..please tell me what happened"
"Mr. McGarrett went into cardiac arrest on the table and they had a difficult time reviving him"
Kono took Danny's hand in his as he choked out the words, "How long?"
"Almost seven minutes"
Danny shook his head, "Okay…...thank you"
"The Doctor will be in as soon as he's finished"
As the nurse left the room Danny walked over to the large picture window overseeing downtown Honolulu. After several seconds he dropped to his knees and sobbed. Kono sat at the table, tears flowing as she watched him and prayed for Steve….and for Danny.
Danny was so scared. He had never had a friend like Steve McGarrett. A friend who he we would die for, and who he knew would die for him. When they had met they were two tortured souls. Steve's father had just been murdered and nothing was going to get in the Seals way in his search for vengeance. And Danny, having lost his marriage and more importantly the day to day relationship with his precious daughter had been depressed with his life. He hadn't even realized he was depressed but looking back at that time now, he knew he had been. And those two tortured souls, two men so different except for their need to serve and protect, had drawn on each other for strength and support…and the love they both needed. It was nothing sexual and it never would be, these men were heterosexual all the way. Their bond together had developed quickly and their mutual trust and respect for each other grew with each passing day. Now a year and a half later, Danny looked out at the beautiful Hawaiian day as he wondered how could he go on if Steve did not survive? Steve had saved him. By coming into his life and trusting him, giving him a job on his elite task force, Steve had given him a reason other than Gracie to live. Although the Navy Seal drove him to near insanity every day, he loved the big goof and the thought of him losing his life because of Matty…..his baby brother….was more than Danny could even fathom. 'God please…please don't take Steve. Please God I need him'
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. It was his youngest sister Sarah, "Hey sweetheart how are you?"
She heard the distress in her brother's voice, "Danny? What's wrong is Matthew okay?"
"Yes, Sarah…Matt's safe, I promise honey. It's my partner. He was hurt keeping Matt safe and he's in surgery"
"Oh God Danny, I'm so sorry….Dad didn't tell us about Steve. Was he hurt in the crash?"
"I didn't tell Dad. Sarah, Steve was shot. The men that are after Matt are ruthless"
"What kind of trouble is he in?"
"He took out a loan, a big loan. He thought it was with a loan shark, it turned out to be a drug kingpin out of Columbia"
"Danny, how much does he owe? Can we take care of this for him?"
"Half a million dollars babe"
"How did this happen Danny? What went wrong with him?"
"I don't know sis…..all that matters now is keeping him alive. Try not to give Mom and Dad too many details yet Sarah. I don't want to worry them"
"I won't. Melissa and I just needed to know. We figured it had to be very serious for you to put police protection on all of us"
"Go ahead and talk to Melissa and Tracey and I'll keep in touch with you. I love you guys and I miss you"
"We love you too. It's been way too long since you've been home to visit. You haven't even met your newest nephew yet, the boys are all getting so big and Carley asks about Gracie all the time"
"When this is over, Gracie and I will come for a visit, I promise. I'll call you soon"
Danny hung up and held the phone to his chest. His older sister Tracey and her husband had three boys, the youngest almost a year old. He couldn't believe that it had been that long since he had been home. His middle sister was two years younger than him and they had always been very close. Her twins Chase and Carley were just a year younger than Gracie and the two little girls had been like sisters. It had been very hard on both of them when Rachel had taken Gracie to Hawaii. He missed them all but he had not had any choice but to follow Gracie to Hawaii. He had made a good life for himself here and his Five-0 family was a huge part of that.
Danny continued to stare out the window and pray for Steve.
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