As Danny neared the hospital he dialed Chin, "Hey brother Good Morning"
"Morning Danny, how's the Boss?"
"I'm on my way back to the hospital now. Doris is back, she called a couple of hours ago"
"Where is she? Or better yet, where has she been?"
"I didn't ask where she's been but I just dropped her off at the Hilton"
"So…..what did you say to her?"
"I laid into her pretty hard Chin, but I'm not going to sit by and watch her hurt him….not again"
"She needed to hear it brother. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. She promised she'd tell him everything but whatever it is, its got her terrified Chin"
"That doesn't sound good"
"No…..I have a feeling the hurt our boy's felt so far is nothing compared to what's ahead of him. I hate this"
"He's strong Danny. Whatever it is, he'll be okay"
"I know. It doesn't seem fair though does it?"
"No, but Steve would be the first one to tell you that life's not fair"
"We'll be there for him…..really that's all we can do. So what have you two found out?"
"Kono and I are on our way to the HPD now to talk to Scates again. According to the officers, Mrs. Burgess identified Scates as an ex-employee of her husbands. He was fired three months ago after being accused by three co-workers of sexual harassment"
"So this was purely vengeance"
"That's what we're thinking"
"Okay good. Are you going to come up to the hospital when you're done?"
"Yes, why don't you plan on us bringing up lunch for everyone"
"Sounds great brother, Thank You"
It was a little after nine when Danny re-entered Steve's room. He was sleeping and Catherine walked with him over to the window. She asked quietly, "How did it go?"
"She's feisty…the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" He chuckled, "It was a little contentious, but she listened. She agreed to stay at the Hilton until he's well enough to see her so let's not mention this yet okay?"
"Yes, yes I agree. Did she explain anything to you?"
"No, but she agreed to tell Steve everything and Catherine she's very worried it. She says he'll never forgive her"
"Any clues at all?"
"Nothing"
They were interrupted as Steve's weak voice came from the bed. "Hey what's the big secret?"
Both were smiling as they moved towards the bed. Danny reached out and grasped Steve's extended hand, "No secrets. You're looking and 'sounding' better this morning. How do you feel?"
"Well…..I don't think I should work today Danno"
"Good call partner. So how are you, really?"
"I'm alright, thanks to you"
"It was nothing, that's what partners are for"
"So Danny, fill me in will you"
Danny told Steve everything that had happened on the boat and all he knew about Scates and Burgess, finishing with the news that Chin and Kono would be up in a few hours.
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The three visited, with Steve dozing periodically until the Doctor arrived at about ten thirty to examine him.
He checked his temperature, vitals and re-bandaged the wound, "Everything's looking good Mr. McGarrett, how do you feel?"
"Pretty good Doc, just very tired"
"That's not surprising. You lost a lot of blood. Your temperature is slightly elevated so I'll keep you on the IV antibiotics for another day or two. I'll remove the IV lines for the blood transfusions and the fluids. I'll also remove the catheter and we'll try to get you up and about today. Don't overdo it though. The bathroom and back….maybe all the way to the window, but no more than that today, do you hear me?"
"Yes sir. So you think I can be out of here soon then?"
"You'll be our guest at least two to three days. It all depends on your fever, so don't push it. Do you have any questions?"
"No. Thank you Doctor"
Danny and Catherine left the room while the Doctor removed the catheter and IV's and then they returned to his bedside.
Steve again snoozed and a little before noon he woke and turned to Danny, "Could you help me to the bathroom Danny?"
"Yeah, sure"
Catherine asked, "Can I help?"
Danny responded, "Can you help with the IV pole?"
"Sure"
Danny pulled back the blankets and then grasping Steve's hand and placing his other hand behind his friends' shoulders he pulled him to a sitting position. Steve painfully sucked in his breath as Danny asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good"
"Just take your time buddy" Danny swung Steve's legs over the edge of the bed and Catherine knelt down to put slippers onto his feet. She stood and after kissing him tenderly she stepped aside as Danny took hold of Steve's forearms and slowly pulled him to his feet. He swayed slightly as Danny held his arms firmly saying, "Okay, now relax Steve…..."
Steve was shaking and his eyes were closed as he said softly, "I'm dizzy"
As Danny supported his body Catherine leaned in close. His head was bent forward and she placed her forehead against his, "Relax baby, there's no hurry. We've got you"
It took a couple of minutes for his body to settle and then lifting his head he kissed Cath's cheek and said, "Let's go"
He leaned heavily against Danny as Cath stood on his other side holding his elbow and pushing the IV pole as they moved gingerly towards the bathroom.
The short excursion totally wore the SEAL out and within moments of getting back into bed he was sleeping.
As Catherine sat at Steve's side, Danny moved to the window calling Doris and Governor Denning with updates.
The SEAL woke to the commotion of Chin and Kono arriving a couple of hours later armed with a lunch of soup and deli sandwiches. Danny raised the bed moving Steve to a sitting position and as they ate Chin told them everything about the case.
"Scates confessed to everything. He managed one of Burgess' shops for five years and over a six month span three female employees accused him of sexual harassment. Each incident was more serious than the previous one and the final accusation was for attempted rape and he's due in court next month on that charge"
Danny spoke up, "Why wasn't he in prison?"
"He had a clean record before this and he made bail"
The Jersey detective was clearly angry, "So this asshole makes bail and his crimes continue to escalate. He murders Burgess and almost kills Steve. What the fuck is wrong with this picture!"
Steve spoke softly, "Danny, brother calm down. You know they couldn't hold him. The system is not perfect. You know if he had no record they had to offer bail. He was accused, not convicted"
Danny shook his head in frustration, "I know, I know…"
Chin continued, "He couldn't find work and he felt his life was over. The last couple of months his anger and hatred for Burgess grew and he blamed him for his downfall. He insists he's innocent and the women's claims are all false. He felt that with Burgess firing him instead of standing by his side that any jury would see that as a sign of his guilt and he decided to make Burgess pay. He claims he initially was going to torch one of the shops but then one morning he saw an ad in the paper showing that Burgess was selling his boat. His anger had been growing more intense every day and when he saw that ad he instantly decided to kill him. He set up a meeting using a fake name and he was actually on board waiting for Burgess when he arrived. According to Scates, Burgess knew he was going to be killed and he pleaded for his life. Scates had cut the radio wires immediately and once they were about fifty miles from shore he said things happened quickly. Once the boat was stopped he said Burgess lunged at him. He fired six shots, three striking Burgess and the other three were wild. One hit the radio and the other two punctured the fuel tank. Burgess was dead and Scates drug his body below deck. His plans were to drive the boat back to the docks. Having been a manager in the business he had spent time on the boat before so figured he could explain away his fingerprints being on the boat and he had used a fake name in scheduling the meeting. He recovered all the shell casings and cleaned the blood off the deck, throwing the casings and towels overboard. By the time he was ready to start the boat up the fuel tank was drained and he decided to leave in the dinghy. He didn't realize how inadequate the dinghy was on the open waters and soon that fuel was gone as well"
Steve looked to Chin, "So it sounds like he thought he had an airtight alibi, what made him confess?"
"He forgot to get rid of the shell casing from shooting you so we had his fingerprint and once we told him who you and Danny were he realized the game was up"
Steve looked at Chin and Kono, "Thank you both for all your hard work on this. You are both amazing professionals and I'm so grateful to have you on our team"
Kono smiled as she said, "You just said it all Boss….'our team'. We're family and we're so thankful you both are okay"
They all smiled as Chin added, "Amen cous"
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The next day Steve's fever broke and the Doctor removed the IV, transitioning him to oral antibiotics and it was determined that he could be released the next day.
A short time later as Steve was napping it was decided that Danny would talk to him about his Mother.
Everyone left and Danny sat at the bedside waiting for Steve to wake.
****** MUCH MORE TO FOLLOW – next up, Steve gets answers. Can his Five-0 Ohana bring him peace ? ******