Here comes chapter 9. :)
A few days later
Chin entered the hospital and got to the front desk where a nurse looked up at him and smiled friendly.
"Can I help you with something?"
"Yeah, I was with Danny Williams when he came in. He got shot. I saw him for a few minutes after his surgery, but don't know in which room he is. I mean, I forgot the room number", Chin admitted.
"Oh yes, I remember", the nurse answered with a sympathetic smile. "Detective Williams will be moved to the cardiology ward within the next days. Right now he is still in the ICU, room 146."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
After a few minutes walking through seemingly endless hospital corridors, Chin reached Danny's room. Through the window Chin could see that Danny's eyes were closed so he stepped in silently, supposing his friend was asleep, but Danny turned his head and looked at him as Chin approached the bed. He still had the nasal cannula to support his breathing, but had finally regained some of the color on his skin which made him look healthier.
"Hey", Danny greeted with a light smile.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Uh, it could be worse. They're keeping me on the good stuff so I only feel very sore and exhausted, but not much pain. Major surgery on the heart and all that, you know?"
Chin swallowed heavily and nodded and Danny could tell that Chin secretly put the blame on himself which was a nonsense that needed to be eliminated.
"Don't blame yourself, Chin. It wasn't your fault. I'll be okay, it just takes some time."
"We shouldn't have gone in there without backup not to mention leaving our vests in the car. That was absolutely reckless."
"We had no choice. Redford would've escaped."
"I know. But I would prefer him being out there alive and hiding somewhere from the police instead of you being here and seriously injured anytime."
Danny smiled and gave him a small nod as he took Chin's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"Thanks, but I really will be fine. I got the best doctor of all", he replied with a wink and looked past Chin who turned around and saw Dr. McGarrett coming into the room. He was wearing jeans and a casual shirt, which was an unfamiliar look for him since Chin only knew the doc in his scrubs.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a visitor. I can stop by later", Steve said and looked from Chin to Danny, silently asking the patient to make the decision whether he should stay or leave and come back later.
"Oh, no it's okay", Chin answered for his friend, "I just wanted to see how Danny's doing. The nurse said he will be moved to the cardiology ward soon and you do look much better", he added with a smile at Danny.
"Yeah Danny's progress is pretty good. I think all in all he will make a fast recovery."
"That's great. And Grace, is she okay?"
"She's fine, still worried about me though, so she badly wanted to come and Steve stopped by with her and they visited me yesterday. She loves the lanai at Steve's place, that she keeps telling me so I think she's just fine."
"I'm glad to hear that Gracie is okay. Kono told me she was a bit silent during her surfing lessons at first but is almost back to normal now. She's a strong girl."
"She is", Danny smiled and looked at Steve who nodded.
"Absolutely", he agreed.
"Okay, I'll visit you tomorrow, Danny. Fill you in on which temporary partner the chief had chosen for me." Chin didn't look so happy and made a grimace when Danny started laughing.
"Hopefully not Makaha, the rookie who is eager to hunt down criminals", he joked.
"Oh please spare me. Duke said Makaha arrested an old lady yesterday, because she forgot to pay her purchases at the supermarket. Can you believe that?", Chin rolled his eyes which amused Danny even more.
Suddenly the laughing got into coughing fits and Danny started to wheeze, causing the monitors to beep rapidly.
Chin watched in worry as Steve immediately sprung into action and gently put the straw of the water cup into Danny's mouth so he could drink and increased the oxygen level to help with the breathing.
"Easy", the doctor soothed.
"Sorry", Danny croaked slightly. "I didn't mean to worry you. My throat is still a bit sore."
Chin took a deep breath and calmed, but McGarrett seemed slightly worried.
"I warned you to keep it low, Danno."
"Danno?" Chin gave the doctor and patient a questioning look.
"Eh yeah, he likes the nickname", Danny explained with a shrug.
"I see."
Steve got a bit nervous, but Chin gave Danny a gentle hug, said he should take care and listen to his doctor, before he went to the door and said goodbye and left them alone.
"You know you're getting all goofy when someone else is here with us?"
"I'm not getting goofy and what is that even supposed to mean?", Steve answered utterly confused.
"It means you're acting like you're crazy in love with me."
That's most probably because I am, Steve thought with a miserable smile.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"You ask me what's wrong? You're the one who was shot."
"Come on, you know what I mean, Steve. You look a bit pale yourself. Are you okay?"
Steve sighed. Danny wasn't the first one to notice and certainly not the first who asked Steve if he was alright.
"I'm good. I didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."
"Because of Grace?"
"No, no Grace's fine and she never complains about anything. She's an angel."
Danny knew that there was more, that Steve was hiding something from him, but he didn't want to force him to speak. They hadn't talked much about the feelings that Steve had confessed to Danny. Both knew there was something going on between them and that it was mutual, but they were unsure of how to deal with it and go on from this point so they avoided the subject and told themselves they would figure it out somehow.
Danny had to spend a whole week in the ICU before Steve even started to consider a move to the cardiology ward. Despite knowing that he had been seriously injured Danny couldn't ignore the feeling that Steve was more protective about him than he was normally about his patients.
Not that he blamed him as he was hardly able to imagine the shock he had given the doctor as he had been brought in. Danny had no memory of the trip to the hospital itself so all he could do was guess. Everything between being shot and waking up in recovery was missing, most likely because he had gone into shock and all the medication that had been administered into his system. He still felt like he needed to sleep the drugs off as he was easily getting tired, and each little movement just as lifting an arm or sitting up a bit left him exhausted and with a nurse who answered at the slightest alarm of the monitors and increased his oxygen level until his breathing had leveled back down.
The stay in the ICU meant for him barely any time alone as nurses often came into his room to check his vitals and the cousins stopped by for a visit but still enough time to think about Steve's words and especially the fact that he was taking care of Grace while Danny wasn't even able to sit up properly.
Without him realizing, Steve had become an important part in Danny's life, and the truth was that he was more than okay with it. He was only worried about hurrying up things too much. Telling Steve he had affectionate feelings for him would turn their lives upside down and he wasn't sure if he was ready for the possible consequences. Partly because of Grace but mostly because Danny was afraid to built up a new family that he might lose again in the end. It left him disappointed in himself for not being able to let bygones be bygones, especially cause he was aware of the fact that he would never be able to find love again if he kept fearing the future but he still continued imagining the worst possible outcome each time he looked into someone's eyes that had an interest in him.
Danny was lost in his thoughts again as one of the nurses from the ward named Layla came into his room and told him that Dr. McGarrett had ordered to move him to the cardiology ward today. Danny wondered why Steve hadn't come to tell him personally but didn't think it was that important and told himself Steve was probably just busy. The big room in the cardiology ward was in a quiet area of the station and he had it for him alone, which he was sure he had to thank Steve for but the doctor didn't appear.
It took Danny another day to realize that Steve seemed to avoid him. A female doctor who had introduced herself as Dr. González made the visit in the morning and stopped by later to run some tests to get a record of his recovery so far.
In the afternoon Danny heard voices outside his room and recognized them as Steve's and Grace's. He thought Steve would come inside as well, but only Grace walked through the door and greeted him. A nurse had already placed a chair next to Danny's bed for the little girl and she climbed easily on it.
Danny tried to hug Grace but she stopped him by placing a kiss on his forehead and telling him to rest with so much authority that he wondered with a smile if she had secretly practiced how to play doctor. So he lay back down and talked with her about the surfing classes with Kono, some new moves she had learned at the cheerleader team and her stay at Steve's house which she really enjoyed.
The time flew by and visiting hours came to an end so Grace was picked up by a nurse, and when Danny heard Steve talking to them as soon as they left the room he realized Steve had been waiting outside for Grace to take her back to his home for the night.
Danny wasn't angry at Steve for avoiding him. He knew that the other man waited for an answer and he came to the result that he had to take the risk despite his anxiety about what would be in the future. The possibility of losing Steve if he didn't make a decision was more frightening then admitting his feelings and with that choosing to get into a new relationship. If it didn't last or work out he would have enough time to think about the 'why' later.
The next morning Danny thought that the female doctor from yesterday would do the visit but to his surprise it was Steve who stepped in with some colleagues.
Even though Steve seemed slightly different than usual he was almost the same as he had been when Danny had first met him, friendly with his own calm attitude. When they left, Danny felt sorry that Steve wasn't alone as he came, cause he suddenly felt an urge to talk to him.
A knock on the door without anyone entering got his attention and he asked the person to come in, a bit wondering why any of the clinical staff would knock on the door like this and wait for permission to enter, usually they just knocked and got in without waiting. Visitor hours haven't even started yet so it was most likely one of the nurses.
Danny breathed in sharply when the form of Dr. McGarrett stepped from behind the corner.
"Hey Danny."
Steve's voice was low and sounded a bit hoarse.
"Hey."
Steve inhaled. "I wanted to apologize for avoiding you. It was really childish of me and I had no right to involve Grace. She was wondering if we had a fight so I assured her that we hadn't and promised to visit you."
"It's okay, it's not like you kept her away from me. To be honest I understand why you didn't want to see me."
"I'm your doctor and that alone is reason enough to fulfill my duty. It doesn't matter what I want. I should be on your side during the recovery, give you advise when you need it and take care of your health."
"You do", defended Danny and thought of the many things that Steve had organized behind his back not sure which one of them he should call the 'smallest' cause he was quite sure they all had taken some effort.
"Not like I'm supposed to", Steve insisted and Danny knew he referred to the female doctor that had took over for Steve and something else.
Danny sighed.
"Okay, maybe you're right with your last argument but that doesn't mean that you didn't do your job."
"Danny-"
"Let me talk, please", Danny interrupted the man and motioned him to sit down which Steve instantly did to his surprise. Danny had actually expected a bit more resistance, but was glad that Steve really seemed to get things sorted.
"Stop punishing yourself. You did nothing wrong. I think I get your conflict. Doctors are not supposed to fall in love with their patients, right?"
Steve nodded in answer, knowing better than to speak it out loud, because he had a feeling Danny was not finished yet.
"We're all human so it's predictable that it will happen nonetheless. I won't blame you for your feelings and especially not for being human and reacting like any human being would. I told you that I think you deserve an answer and I really intend to give you one, okay?"
Steve smiled and nodded.
"Okay. Thanks, Danny. I know it's not easy for both of us but I appreciate your honesty and that you took the time to think about it instead of rejecting me then and there."
Just as Danny was trying to form a sentence to express his feelings to Steve, the pager beeped and Steve barely managed a rushed "Emergency, sorry I gotta respond" before he stormed out. With a sigh Danny stared at the empty chair where Steve had sat a minute ago and cursed the little thing that had dared to disturb them.
Danny had planned to tell Steve right away when they would see each other again but during his visits in the morning, Steve was never coming alone and in the afternoon visits he was working while Grace stayed with Danny in his room. In the very few times of them getting some kind of privacy it didn't feel right to bring up this topic, cause Steve barely had any free time to pay Danny more than a five-minutes visit and Danny wouldn't admit his feelings between "how was your day so far" and "I have to perform a surgery in 10 minutes". Maybe he was old school and hopelessly romantic but he would prefer to do this outside this room, hell even outside the whole hospital. So a part of him was okay that they had not much time together in here and he waited more or less patiently for the perfect occasion to tell Steve that he loved him.