I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter Ten

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Sitting upright in the side chair near his hospital bed, Danny stoically breathed in a set rhythm. Strategically placed pillows lined his back and supported his left side; the side not sporting the chest tube and drain. He breathed calmly in and then out, entirely through his nose and with his eyes closed in studious concentration. If he did it just right, the rhythm minimized the annoying pull and internal harsh grind in what Webber described as the pleural space. Resentful of learning a bit too much about his body's anatomy, Danny made a disagreeable face, feeling the itch of the nasal cannula for still required oxygen. It had been nothing short of a production to move from bed to side chair. Dealing with the exhaustion was one thing, but then the niggling pain and sharp pang of discomfort caused by the tube moving against said pleura was difficult; almost more than punishing in its fiery ache when he also couldn't straighten his back from a hunched position.

He'd made it though. Panting, swearing under his breath, he accomplished the daunting task as his nurse and an aide assisted him inch by inglorious inch to the chair. Then he had to shuffle-turn and take on the formidable task of bending his knees to sit. Peeking now through partially opened eyes, Danny glared at the tube which disappeared under his gown, understanding that it was embedded in his body. The other end terminated in a water-filled, clear plastic canister placed carefully onto the floor next to him where gravity allowed accumulating blood and leaking air to drain from his pleural cavity. Danny had been told the worst of it was already resolving itself, but the disconcerting bubbles which rose up through the water each time he coughed or tried to take a deeper lungful of air was disturbing to say the least. The strange implement was essentially saving his life, yet he could barely look at it. He was not impressed at the near-future concept of even walking with the contraption in tow until a CAT scan or an ultra-sound proved that the hemopneumothorax had resolved itself.

"How are you doing? Not too tired?" His doting nurse was never far, especially with this being the very first venture out of bed. In fact, in attempt to cater to his comfort, an aide had already neatly fixed clean bedding and plumped the sad excuse for a pillow.

"Fine." Pumped with analgesics to combat the pain, Danny squinted at the nurse. His oxygen saturation was still not entirely optimal and between the various tubes or intravenous lines either wending their way into his body or touching him in some way, he was essentially tethered in place. However, other than home, he had no real desire to go any place in particular at that very moment.

"Do you think you can manage another fifteen minutes in the chair?" she asked. Waiting patiently for his reply and judging his complexion with a well-trained eye, she patted his arm before leaving him alone.

"Sure ... yeah." Hesitating slightly, Danny nodded with a glance towards the clock before closing his eyes again in concentration. He'd expected Steve and Grace to have arrived, yet they hadn't shown up. Now sitting upright in a chair and feeling mostly pleased with himself, Danny hoped to stay that way. But he was admittedly tired and the pain medication to accomplish the task only exacerbated his desire to sleep. Minutes later, his attempts at concentration had turned into an easy doze of sorts lulled by the sounds of light footsteps, soft speech and mechanical hums.

Eventually though, Danny roused to noises closer to his ear; nearer to where he was sitting and his head jerked off his chest before his eyes managed to open. Quietly unpacking a plastic shopping bag, Grace was using his bed as a counter of sorts. Standing just behind her, but looking steadily at him as he woke, was Steve.

"Hey, buddy. How are you feeling? We didn't expect to find you out of bed." Pleasantly surprised, Steve smiled as he tugged once on Grace's ponytail at the same time. "He's awake."

"Danno. You're sitting up already!" Her exultant observation left no time for Danny to reply as her head whirled around, eyes shining with happiness. Abandoning her bag of prizes, Grace's smile lit her features as she carefully gave him a lop-sided hug and kiss. "You are better. Doctor Webber said you were when Uncle Steve called ... maybe you can come home soon."

"Soon. Hopefully, very soon." Stifling a yawn, Danny's reply ended with a wry grin. "I thought you guys would come a bit earlier?" He would have a number of added trials to endure before being discharged; though it was obvious that his doctor was indeed quite happy that morning. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the nurse once more checking in on him from the doorway. His fifteen minutes were nearly up and he'd slept right through the majority of them. With his anticipated guests now in the room, Danny didn't want to disrupt the visit nor did he relish the concept of moving back to the bed. However, his wounded body consorted with strong medication to dictate otherwise.

"Well ..." picking at the new blue shirt Grace was wearing and then pointing to the plastic bag, Steve shrugged. "We were here on time, but then we made a spontaneous side trip to the lobby gift shoppe. Grace needed a new shirt or two and then we splurged on reading material. Not to mention a few snacks and one or two other things."

Steve's walk with Grace to burn off steam and to resettle frayed nerves had naturally ended in the colorful gift shoppe. It was the perfect place to put aside the former serious nature of their heart to heart talk about what to tell Danno and when. The distraction was also ideal for Grace; allowing her to find a better alternative to focus on versus the frightening threats of Mark's parents. Without even asking each other, both had migrated to the small clothing section where Grace had instantly picked out a blue shirt. Planning ahead, Steve had added a second yellow version to their small pile of therapeutic retail articles. Before leaving the store, the original school emblazoned cleanup t-shirt had met its now timely end in the store manager's waste basket.

The change in clothing had caused an instantaneous improvement in Grace's attitude. Smiling as she overcame the nasty altercation with the Paquins, she'd been eager to get back to the ICU to visit with her father. Finding him asleep but sitting up in a chair had only added to her reinstated feelings of joy.

"It's a pretty color." Danny's grin grew as Grace dramatically modelled the dark blue shirt. Looking over her shoulder, he soon spied the second version folded neatly inside of the opened bag. "And a yellow one I see? Did you really need two?"

"Yup, she did." Neatly cutting Grace off, Steve gave a nonchalant shrug because he was watching his partner with a critical eye. Danny was intentionally modulating his voice to a lower pitch and keeping nearly monotone. While it was true that his partner certainly wasn't well, to find him sitting upright and speaking more normally was a complete relief. There was no more panted wheeze or long pause because of a seriously painful tug. These early successes took away from the near disastrous hallway argument with the Paquins and Steve was personally relieved for the healthier changes.

"I'll pay you back later," Danny offered, gently swinging Grace's hand. She looked happy, well-rested and incredibly better than just the night before. He grinned as he gave Steve a thankful look.

"Nope," Steve was already declining and snorting in loud disgust at even the idea of it. Grace was so much happier and while the Paquin issue was rearing an ugly head, a great many things were looking up. "You will do no such thing. This is entirely my treat for my special house-guest."

"Whatever you three are discussing, it will have to wait," disrupting the discussion, Danny's nurse strode in while tapping her watch. Extremely petite in stature, a new nurse's aide was following closely on her heels. Simultaneously addressing her patient and his two visitors, she sweetly pointed towards the door. "I can't have you overdoing things. So if you'll excuse us, I need to get Danny back in bed. It's going to take a good few minutes to get this done."

Danny couldn't help nor hide his disagreeable moan. The pending discomfort was going to be astronomical and his ability to recover his stamina, very slow. Probably slower than the first time since he was already growing fatigued.

"I'll help." Steve tented his fingers together, flipping them outwards to fake flexing them. The aide was physically tiny and he could already see her hesitance about being able to manage what Danny might need while avoiding hurting him. Newly worried about Danny's reluctance and evident uncertainty about navigating the short distance, Steve made his offer more final. "It's no problem and I think you could use my help."

There was no doubt too that Danny was relieved for the extra pair of hands, but he was glancing anxiously towards Grace. His desire for privacy and to not have his daughter see him struggling and very likely reduced to a miserable wreck was of utmost importance. On top of it, he too was having continued difficulty with adapting to just the concept of the chest tube; the less she saw of the intimidating medical device, all the better.

"Grace. If Uncle Steve helps, can you wait just outside?" Danny held her hand, fingers intertwined as some of the happiness left her face. But she nodded before carefully repacking the magazines and newspapers in the gift shoppe bag.

"There's a chair by the nurse's station, dear. Kelly, do me a favor and stay with Grace?" The nurse gently lay a hand on her head as Grace departed with Kelly, the petite nurse's aide, with a quick look backwards. She frowned when she saw the canister and tubing disappearing under the flimsy white hospital gown. Lingering to peek, she worriedly watched for a few minutes as Steve took her father's weight on the left and the nurse positioned herself to the right. Even with judicious help, he was barely able to stand. Upset, Grace backed up when the nurse carefully picked up the plastic canister and Danny literally moaned in obvious pain. Briefly ignoring Kelly who had placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, she stared at the doorway before truly retreating towards the nurse's station.

"Are you okay?" Kelly asked, understanding that the girl didn't like seeing her father in pain or having such trouble only standing. "Your dad will be fine once he gets back in bed. He's doing really well."

"Yes. I'm good," Grace murmured in reply while looking towards her father's hospital room. "Thank you."

She took the chair, sitting dutifully while Kelly visited with another nurse reviewing something on the computer. But Grace's obedience only lasted a few uncomfortable minutes. Her eyes wandered across nameless faces who were busy with various jobs. Some were standing in the corridor, while others were moving in and out of other patient's rooms. No one was really paying her much mind though. She made her decision quickly then, standing to take stock of where she was in relation to Danno's room. Her next decision was just as spontaneous as she fished through the plastic bag to find the purple beanbag dolphin which was originally intended for her father.

"Where are you going?" Kelly suddenly asked, making Grace realize that she wasn't as alone as she had first presumed. She was pleasant and kind though, giving Grace the courage she needed to ask an important question.

"Can I see Mark?" For a moment, Kelly was confused until she realized that Grace meant her young classmate.

"I guess so as long as his nurse says it's alright." Side by side, Kelly led Grace to the right room which was on the opposite side of the ward. Surprisingly, there was an intense but brief conversation between Kelly and Mark's nurse who wasn't immediately forthright with her permission. As Grace stood there in growing confusion nearly rending the poor beanbag dolphin in half, the nurse refused to budge from Mark's doorway.

"Do you want to give him that?" The nurse motioned to the toy first, obviously still mulling the request. "Mark isn't going to be able to talk. You do know that he's still very sick?"

"Hmm." Nodding, Grace murmured a small agreeable sound. "I just wanted to see him ... and leave this." Nervously, Grace scrunched the beanbag toy in her hands while peering around the corner. But she waited until the nurse made up her mind.

"You can come in for a few seconds, dear," his nurse finally conceded, offering a kind smile. Still cautiously looking in case his parents had returned, Grace paused but other than the nurse, no one else was with Mark Paquin. His room was lit by filtered morning sun coming through the one window's partly drawn blinds. Almost tiptoeing in with Kelly nearby and the nurse watching, Grace stood quietly by his side studying his lax face and the bandages on the side of his head. His eyes were bruised looking and his face was very pale. Unlike her father, he lacked a great deal of the oppressive tubes and mostly looked like he was merely sleeping. Yet according to what she'd heard thus far, her classmate was much more critical.

"Mark?" Grace whispered his name. She frowned worriedly when of course, he didn't move let alone answer. Creeping closer, she dared to look deeply into his face wondering and then hoping he would wake up soon. She froze in place when she heard louder noises in the corridor, but people were only walking rapidly passed his room. Quickly, Grace tucked the dolphin into the crook of his arm. Her next whisper was full of a desperate emotion. "Mark, it's me, Grace. You have to wake up and get better. You have to wake up and make things right."

She waited for a split second longer until her nerve gave way to a tingle of fear that she might be caught by his parents. That she might be seen should his parents return and it certainly wouldn't matter that Kelly was with her based on their prior unpleasant attitude. Without another word but missing the shared smiles between the petite aide and Mark's nurse about the purple toy, Grace left as quickly as she'd come with Kelly. Retreating towards the direction of Danno's room and safer refuge, she took a deep calming breath while resuming her seat in the plastic chair by the nurse's station.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Helping Danny back to bed was a strongly sobering experience for Steve. It nearly dissolved his initial optimistic feelings upon entering the room with Grace. It rekindled the old animosity he felt towards the Paquins too as his own stomach tightened in sympathy and concern when Danny sagged into him. Having his partner trembling, sweating and panting erratically in his arms, Steve was once again on a taut stressed edge.

"I got you, just lean on me," Steve softy urged. Worried by the weakness he felt as Danny swayed, he glanced towards the nurse but she was focused solely on his partner. Upon taking two short steps from the chair, he was already supporting almost all of Danny's weight and they'd quickly rocked to a uniform halt. On the opposite side of his partner, the nurse was the epitome of patience and care as she managed the tubes, lines and drainage canister which evidently was the largest culprit causing Danny so much pain.

"Just like before, Danny. We go as slow as you need to go, so take your time and tell me what you need," the nurse added, without a single ounce of impatience in her tone. "Stop when you have to and regroup. Then, let me know when you're ready to continue." Her steady nature was soothing and as bolstering as it could be as her patient made steady progress towards their goal.

Resorting once more to closing his eyes, Danny didn't even nod as he willed his feet to move knowing that the nurse would be keeping up to minimize the agitating feeling of the chest tube. With Steve on his better side, he merely gripped his partner's arm like a life-line; something he hadn't dare do with the prior nurse's aide even though she'd been ready for him to do so. After what felt like an eternity, the nurse was telling him to stop and in gratitude, Danny realized he was finally bedside.

"Wait one sec for me." The nurse was once more gently fixing things to expertly line them up with how he would need to sit and then lay down comfortably.

It didn't take long for the nurse to be ready, but Danny was trembling now and breathing in a discordant fashion having lost his original methodical rhythm. Each labored breath was shallow out of necessity and he failed at hiding an occasional pained moan. Blindly, Danny felt Steve's right arm go around his shoulders while his left hand firmly anchored to his quivering left elbow. That support was going to be critical in shuffling a half-turn, sitting and moving just enough onto the bed so he could attempt relaxing into its raised head.

"You two do what you need to do. I've got you, Danno. You're not going to fall," Steve softly admonished. He'd helped injured men before and focused on the logistics of what he thought his partner might need in order to remove the fear of falling and to alleviate as much potential pain as possible.

Going so far as to place one knee on the bed to support his upper body, Steve purposefully followed Danny's lead as the nurse coached his partner steadily to commit to each of the next movements. Hesitating would create potentially irreparable pain; starting to sit or lay down only to reverse direction would counter their diligent progress and Danny needed to trust them to help. Planning ahead, Steve waited and then used his own body as a brace to support Danny's weight like an immovable wall.

Breathing heavily, Danny heard every word and concentrated on each of the steps described. He was incredibly relieved to virtually collapse into Steve's strong dependable hold which made sitting more comfortable than he had anticipated. With the highly efficient nurse maintaining her role and Steve literally having his back, even the slow positioning to eventually fully lay supine in bed was easier than Danny feared it might actually be.

Once there though, Danny wilted weakly as the nurse quickly catered to the last of his needs. She moved swiftly to ensure each of the intravenous lines were as they should be; that his chest tube was as comfortable as humanly possible and that oxygen was flowing once more over his nose and mouth. Pain medication was dispensed and light sheets fixed neatly over his legs with a heavier blanket following.

Eyes tightly closed as he willed the pain to abate and his breathing to obey, Danny knew that Steve had moved around the bed to stand over his left side. Out of the way of the nurse's main area of ministrations, Steve was hovering and wondering what else he could do to help. Evidently though, his friend was at a loss because he lay a concerned hand on Danny's left forearm, only to grip his hand as Danny shuddered through a final ripple of pain.

"He's okay, Commander. Danny, you did pretty well and that wasn't too bad, right?" The nurse's temperament was naturally light-hearted and Danny had to peel his eyes back open to partially grin in reply. Already gaining ground in combating the pain and controlling his breathing, it had been a challenging feat but Danny was generally satisfied. His annoyance was now with the malaise which seemed to be the cause of the continued muscular tremble which even Steve's hand couldn't subdue.

"Do you want a few more minutes before I call your daughter back in?" The nurse was beyond astute as she cocked her head as if calculating his physical ability to recover. "I think you need some more time."

"Yeah," Danny pushed out while allowing his eyes to droop closed. He was still out of breath, sweating and desperately needed to regain a modicum of self-control before Grace should see him. In fact, it was more than obvious that even Steve was dismayed by the depth of the production. Before he could provide his own best estimate about Grace though, Danny chuffed softly when Steve answered in his stead.

"Give him about ten minutes," Steve offered, continually concerned about Danny's obvious pain and fatigue. Reluctant to leave, he smiled in thanks when the nurse smoothly went to the doorway to look down the hall. It as as if she was reading his mind about Grace.

"I can see your daughter from here, Danny. She's reading a magazine." Her breezy comment was welcome and Steve felt Danny diligently relax even more, knowing that he had time; that what he needed to have to comfort him further was patiently still there. With an appeased chuffed sound of his own, Steve squeezed Danny's hand as the nurse accurately surmised their dual needs. "I'll let her know that everything is fine but that you need a few more minutes to get settled. She's not alone; Kelly will stay with her."

"Thanks," Steve murmured, once again for his partner, who had only managed a weary nod. Steve's smile fell from his face though after the nurse left the room. Danny was awake based upon the heavy lines denting his face which proved he was still working on modulating each achy breath. However, his eyes were closed and residual beads of sweat still traced his forehead.

"Are you sure that you're okay? Do you need anything … water maybe?" Steve swallowed worriedly, not entirely mollified when Danny carefully shook his head to decline.

"I'm good. Just tired," Danny whispered, barely audible for the oxygen mask. "Need ... a minute." Other than the physical pain which was slowly coming down to a manageable level, he wasn't nauseous or experiencing too many other real issues. His next soft question nearly caused Steve to pause uncomfortably though. Danny didn't know that his partner's need to recover quickly was so neatly done as a pang of anger passed through his very core.

"How's Mark? Is he any better?" Danny asked, oblivious to Steve's mood change. Behind closed lids, he could only envision the tube leading to the canister and how air bubbles were likely fizzing the water silently as he fought to control his breathing. He hadn't had time to consider the young boy and now, Danny hoped for some good news. "How are the Paquins holding up?"

"Mark?" Patting Danny's arm to prevent himself from digging his nails through his own palm, Steve was glad that his partner's eyes were still closed as the lines of stress eased one by one in his face. He was sickly thrilled that Grace wasn't present to hear her father's due concern.

Rather than saying a word about the parents, Steve's short reply was truthful and solely focused on the boy. With Danny's eyes closed, Steve had time to wipe the black look from his face as he provided the briefest of answers. "No. There's no change yet, Danno. I'll let you know though."

~ to be continued ~