"So, I guess you're choosing the restraints huh?" A large Samoan nurse teased Danny as she secured a new IV into his forearm. "That was a stupid move, Sugar. Believe it or not we don't keep patients here for the money."
"I know," Danny sighed. "It's just my partner's missing. I need to be doing something to help find him."
The nurse smiled at him sympathetically. "The best thing you can do is to let yourself get better."
"But you don't understand," Danny retorted. "When I was trapped in my office by the psycho that put me here my partner used a helicopter to shoot out the windows because he's a shoot first and ask questions later kind of guy. So, the least I can do for him is to make an honest effort to be there when they find him."
"How touching," Lauren's voice quipped as she entered the room, wearing protective scrubs. In her hands she held a laptop. "But for the record, Doherty was not a psycho. He was a decorated Navy SEAL who served his country bravely."
"Maybe in your twisted world," Danny shot back, "but in mine he's a psycho with a capital P."
Lauren gave him a look, not bothering to engage in his childish like behavior. "Where's Kalakaua?"
"She went home to take a shower." Danny lied. In actuality, now that they had a possible location on Steve, he'd sent the rookie to rendezvous with Chin. If he couldn't be there when they pulled Steve from the water Danny was going to make sure that she was there to support the man that she and Chin affectionately called Boss.
"Abandoning her post doesn't surprise me," Lauren muttered under her breath as she set the laptop down on the movable cart near the bed.
"Well, Williams you're in luck. The little stunt you pulled earlier got the Governor's attention and she wants you to have a front row seat to all of the action. The webcam in the laptop will allow you to have to contact with the pilot and his reel so you'll be able to see and hear everything that is going on with the rescue."
Danny snapped his fingers in a commanding fashion. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get it hooked up. By the way, if my fever comes back, I'm telling the Governor it was your fault."
Lauren sank her teeth into her bottom lip. More than anything, she wanted to take the laptop and smash it over his head. "There's something you need to know. (Pause) About an hour ago they found the raft. McGarrett wasn't on it."
Danny lowered his eyes to the sheets wishing he could come up with some sort of snappy come back but at the moment his mind was drawing a blank. "You are going to leave once you get everything hooked up?"
Lauren looked at him, a prim smirk on her face. "No, my job as the liaison requires that I have a bird's eye view and you should be thankful that I'm choosing to share it with you."
"Awesome, I suppose you expect me to buy dinner?"
"In your dreams, Detective," Lauren returned sardonically.
"Actually, that would have to be a nightmare because you ain't getting anywhere near my dreams, Chief."
A few moments later, Lauren had secured a feed that directly linked them to the pilot of the search and rescue chopper. "We've got audio, Chief" the pilot's voice chirped.
"What about video?"
"Coming through now its a few seconds delayed but you should have a clear view of the Pacific."
"Got it," Lauren confirmed as a visual of the ocean swells covered the screen.
For a moment Danny thought he would be sick. There was nothing but bobbing water.
"They're covering a one hundred mile radius from where they found the raft." Lauren told Danny. One hundred miles seemed like a lot when you were talking about the ocean but given the fact that they had no idea of how long Steve had been in the water it seemed like a reasonable starting point.
"So the bastard was hoping that Steve would try to make a swim for the shore?"
"Navy SEALs are specially trained to be able to swim long distances." Lauren started to explain. "They have to be able to stand long periods of time in the water under adverse conditions, otherwise-"
Danny cut her off. "But unless they gave him diving gear or at least a pair of swim trunks, he's out there in his clothes." Steve wouldn't be able to swim 3 feet much less the several miles that the raft had drifted and/or been placed from the shore.
His clothes were like lead weights holding his body down, making wish he had thought to take off his short sleeved over-shirt. It was clinging to his body making even the simplest of movements nearly impossible. And his tan combat boots? What had he been thinking?
Steve wasn't sure how long he'd been in the water when he felt the presence of two divers drop down beside him. A helicopter was hovering from up above waiting for them to fasten a harness around his torso.
"We've got you, Commander." A male voice said as he started to wriggle against their attempt to help.
"No, no…I can make it to shore," Steve argued throwing his left arm over his shoulder in a true swimmer's fashion.
"You don't have to" the voice returned. "We're here to rescue you!"
"D..don't…need rescuing…I'm a SEAL." Steve dipped his face into the water as one of diver's came up behind him, sliding his arms underneath Steve's. The Five-0 Commander started to buck wildly, pulling himself and the diver under the water.
The two struggled briefly until Steve felt the urgent need for air and returned to the surface.
"He's fighting us." The lead diver said into a carefully placed microphone embedded into the wet suit.
From his hospital bed, Danny could see the exchange between Steve and the divers.
Why was Steve fighting them?
"Is there a way that the pilot can switch frequencies so that we can talk to the divers?"
"Yes…" Lauren answered telling the pilot to switch frequencies. "Why?"
"I have something I want to say, Brainiac."
Lauren glared heatedly as she moved the laptop so that Danny would be closer to the microphone.
"Hey Aquaman!" he shouted prompting Lauren to reach for the laptop in disgust.
"You are such a child!"
Automatically, Danny swatted at her hand. "Don't touch it. I know what I'm doing."
Lauren's thin brows knitted as she recoiled her hand.
"Aquaman," Danny shouted again. "I need you to listen to me!"
"Steve. It's Danno," Danny repeated hating the fact that he had just used Grace's nickname to earn Steve's attention.
"Danno? You really call yourself Danno?" Lauren hissed quietly as they both watched the thrashing commander suddenly calm down.
Hearing his partner's voice, Steve's head whipped around in bewilderment. Now not only was hearing Johnson's voice, but Danny's too? "Danny?"
"Right here, Partner" Danny grinned feeling a slight sense of victory.
Confused, Steve continued to look about for the Jersey native. "Danny, I have to make it to shore."
"No you don't." Danny answered. "Johnson is just trying to play games with you."
"I can make it," Steve protested his mind flashing back to SEAL training. If you can't make the 2.5 mile swim you'll have to ring out. Only quitters ring the bell.
Danny's words were punctuated. "No. You. Can't. Listen to me. You're too far out."
Once again, Danny's fingers started to snap at Lauren. "How far out are they?" he asked quietly.
"15... miles…give or take."
"You're 15 miles out, buddy. Not even Rambo can do that." Danny told the man in the water. "So get on the helicopter."
Danny and Lauren continued to watch with baited breath as Steve struggled to make a decision. Who was he supposed to believe Johnson or the voice of this partner? He wasn't sure. The one thing he did know was that he was here because Danny had been hurt. Not by Johnson, but a by another SEAL.
Rolling his eyes heavenward, Steve spoke softly. "Ok, Danno. You win."
Danny cupped a hand behind his ear as he watched Steve allow the divers to fasten the rescue harness around his torso. "What was that? Did you just say I win?"
Score one for me the detective through thankful that his psychological training had finally worked with the stubborn SEAL.
Tripler Army Hospital
Steve was thankful that for the fact that he and Danny were at separate hospitals. 3 days at Tripler had given him the solitude he needed to process what Johnson had done him (technically both of them if you counted that Doherty's irrational behavior was a direct link to Johnson). Not even Chin and Kono had been allowed to see him.
Suffering from exposure, hypothermia and dehydration the SEAL would be ordered to light duty until his physical ailments healed and psychiatric could figure out the extent of the mind altering drugs that had been fed to him. For the most part, Steve felt like himself, save for a yearning to return to the call of duty. He'd always had it he supposed it was just stronger now and more intense. He felt like he needed to return to a regulation based lifestyle in order find a sense of balance. Not to mention he was itching for the action it afforded (not that Five-0 didn't offer him plenty, it was just different).
Weird he thought as the nurse brought him the wheelchair and discharge orders.
His first stop should have been the Hawaii Medical Center to see Danny but somehow after spending 3 days of his own in the hospital he just couldn't see himself crossing town to enter another. Instead, he went to Five-0 headquarters where he found Kono and Chin eagerly pouring over the case file of Johnson's death.
"Boss!" Kono chirped affectionately as Steve stepped into the conference room where the two had their files spread out. The eager rookie, pushed to her feet pulling him into a hug.
Chin rose to his feet as well, extending his hand. "Hey, Brah"
Steve returned Chin's handshake ending it with a knuckle bump. "So what did you find out on Johnson?"
Chin returned to the desk, picking up the file. "Bergman's ruling it as a suicide, based on his report, Johnson was suffering from pancreatic cancer, it was still in the early stages but according to his medical file he only had 1-2 years at the most."
"But killing himself doesn't really make sense. His family will lose of all of the life insurance money." Kono added.
"Unless, there's more we have yet to uncover about him."
"Meaning? " Kono prompted.
"More people like Tom Doherty," Who knows how many more sailors had suffered at the hands of Johnson and his quest to create the ultimate SEAL.
"Perhaps he was grooming certain groups of men for a purpose."
It was then the duo noticed that Steve was staring distantly into space. A vision of Johnson's henchman dunking his head into the water flashed in his mind.
"Boss?" Kono touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah…I was just wondering who that is in Danny's office." He lied noting a short woman with honey colored hair inspecting the items around Danny's desk.
"That is Chief Petty Officer, Lauren Sanders. She is a special NCIS liaison. She's quite lovely to work with."
Kono looked at her cousin bug eyed. "You've got to be kidding me."
"What? I had no problems with her," Chin defended, "In fact she was very instrumental in helping me take down Prince."
"But why is she going through Danny's things?" Steve didn't wait for answer; instead he made his way across the hall into the detective's office. The glass and debris had been cleaned up but the general clutter from the attack remained.
Lauren was standing behind Danny's desk eyeing a framed photograph of him and Grace.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Steve interrupted breaking her thoughts.
Lauren quickly set the photo down. "Commander McGarrett, right? I'm gathering information for my report. As part of my job I have to prepare a statement." a digital camera appeared in her hands. "I'm just canvassing the scene to make sure that my facts are correct."
(Pause)
"Have I done something wrong?"
"No," Steve said slowly as a vision of Tom Doherty pressing a gun to his head popped into his mind. "Danny's just very protective of that photograph."
"I can see why," Lauren smiled, "who's the little cutie?"
"That's his daughter, Grace"
Another vision entered Steve's head. This time it was of he and Kono shooting Doherty. "He shouldn't have had to die." He said too soft for Lauren to hear.
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing," Steve replied dismissively. "Just go back to what you were doing but make sure not to disturb Danny's personal things."
"No problem," Lauren waited until Steve was gone and took a picture of the Danny's prized photograph, storing it away for another day.
A/N: I hope my rescue scene was okay. I wanted to do something a little different but still wanted Danny invovled.