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

Notes: off to the expo - have a great day everyone. thank you for the reviews. I will try and catch up personally over the weekend.

Chapter Ten

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

It took less than thirty minutes for them to hand the rest of the investigation off to HPD and to Max, their intrepid medical examiner. There was an unspoken imperative that proper procedure be followed and documented; Sanderson was insistent that his team would handle each and every detail of the mission with kid gloves. With everything now under control and the threat eliminated, travel back to the hospital broke every regulation in the police manual as Steve used sirens and lights to return.

And they made it with only minutes to spare. Steve was perched on the bed when Danny first started to toss his head and murmur unintelligible frantic words under the oxygen mask.

"We got him. I'm sorry we weren't here earlier .. but we got him." Rough with emotion he could no longer bury, Steve desperately tried to calm Danny before he even woke fully. And it seemed to work as his restless activity quieted.

"Take it easy." Steve coached softly as he already recognized the stress crossing Danny's face. "No repeats of the last time. You can't afford to get so worked up."

As he woke, Danny heard Steve's voice first and then felt the strong gloved hand covering his own. But he remembered too that he was paralyzed and the stirrings of panic came back strong as the heart monitor started to climb again. He was unable to stop the first erratic inhale that pulled painfully on his back and chest.

However, he didn't expect the angry growl as Steve leaned in closer and it forced him to open his eyes. "Calm down, Daniel. Do it or else I'm calling Ponch and he will sedate your ass from here to Sunday! And Grace comes home in just a couple of days, so good luck visiting with her."

Alarmed wheezes eventually dwindled to a manageable level as Steve stayed angry and threatened him with everything from long-term sedation, to sleeping through Grace's visit, and on to never having another malasada in his lifetime. And it was easy because he was exhausted, still on edge from the stand-off with Rick Peterson, and reeling from Ramirez's earlier and very frightening phone call.

"That's better." He drew in his own sharp, deep breath as he used his forearm to wipe sweat from his brow. Still fully geared, Steve was once again a formidable sight for Danny to see. However, he could tell that something had happened since Steve's expression post-mission was completely different. Shoulders now hunched, much of the dangerous tension too had left his body and he was almost an entirely different person.

"Steve?" Unsure of what it meant, Danny's eyes were filled with a fearful confusion as he latched on to the strong hand. "What .. happened?"

"No." Steve's finger waggled from side to side in front of his face. "No. We have a lot to do to get you better and you are not going to undermine it with a panic attack."

Steve softened as quickly as he'd gotten angry but refused to get into what had just happened. He preferred to focus on what was now the more important matter with his best friend. "They don't know yet .. and you hang on to that for now. You have a great deal of inflammation near your spine and the pressure is affecting your nerves."

Danny drew in a noisy, shuddering breath as he listened to what could be and to what he might expect over the next few days. Even with the oxygen circulating across his nose and mouth, he felt light-headed and woozy from the shock. Inadvertently closing his eyes as painful thoughts swirled dizzily in his head, he felt Steve give him a worried shake on his shoulder.

"None of that either. No dwelling, shutting down or running every bad scenario you can think of through that obsessive brain of yours."

"Wasn't." Danny whispered tiredly. The mask moved slightly as he tried to say a few words before his voice diminished to a bare murmur. "It's all too much .. I don't know .. if I can. I can't do .. this."

"Yes, you were. And yes you can because we're all here to help." Steve snorted gently at the weary statement.

"It's been a day since it happened, Danny. One extremely long, terrible day and a lot has gone on in that time. We're all still trying to wrap our heads around this. But it's over .. we got the lunatic that did this and he's off the planet ... permanently."

He watched as a Danny managed a small nod and his eyes began to slide shut from a true fatigue and the strong sedatives that remained in his system. Both doctors were adamant that Danny now remain sedated until he was more stabilized. And Steve was glad that he still didn't need to say Rick Peterson's name out loud too because he was absolutely positive that Danny wouldn't be ready for the whole story.

Ramirez had been lurking along the back wall and he walked up quietly behind Steve as Danny fell asleep.

"Nicely done." He murmured quietly. "And you're right about what excessive inflammation can do to the body, but he needs time. We need more time. I spoke with Doctor Ober and he's pleased with how the surgery went considering the trauma."

"And." There was always more and Steve's one word was loaded with a demand for the complete truth.

"And, he's still listed as being in critical condition. Not much has changed. His vitals are far from stable and he's extremely weak. But his oxygen saturation levels are holding and slowly coming up. Stress and lack of rest are his worst enemies right now. We're discussing how to keep him mildly sedated without further risk. But it's a complicated balancing act. The possibility of needing to put him on a ventilator is still very high and professionally speaking, both of us want to avoid having to make that decision."

"And he could be paralyzed." The statement was barely audible and Steve felt Ramirez put a kind hand on his shoulder before the doctor repeated himself.

"We need more time. First things first though ... stay calm and focused. Get his vitals stabilized and avoid the vent." Steve now understood the reasoning behind avoiding using the mechanical device. Besides being even more heavily sedated while on the machine, Ober had explained the potential for a patient to build up too strong a reliance on it. And then, a patient could acquire pneumonia. So while the vent certainly had its life-saving advantages, in Danny's case the host of new problems could easily negate any possible long-term benefits.

"He won't need it." Steve said as he watched Danny's chest rise and fall in short, shallow pants. "He won't need it because he's going to be fine."

Ramirez looked down at the floor and then at his hands in frustration. "Yes, well you still all need to be prepared .. the odds are not yet in his favor. You all need to be realistic and give Ober the time he needs to make the best prognosis."

His voice was very soft but it reached Steve's ears and he watched the broad shoulders stiffen once again in anger. This time Ramirez almost winced himself at the reaction. Heaving a sigh, he shoved his hands into his deep coat pockets.

"Is Kono with her cousin? I was told that he could be released the day after tomorrow." There were times when deflection was a good thing, and the change in subject lifted some of the unpleasant tension in the room.

"She's with him and I'll go over when she comes to sit with Danny." Steve was still on edge as he answered Ramirez, but he was slowly coming down from the stress of the mission. He eventually glanced in the doctor's direction as he stripped his gloves off and tiredly rubbed his face.

"Chin's doing well and can be back at desk duty in about two weeks."

He and Kono had agreed that Danny would never be alone based upon what had happened over the night-time hours. Chin was already asking to see him too. And Steve certainly didn't need to explain those facts to the doctor. In actuality, Ramirez fully believed the teams' intervention would be crucial to healing.

"And .. uh .. I can assume now you got that crackpot off the streets?"

"That we did." Steve stated with a flat finality.

"Good." And as he left the room, Ramirez accepted it easily enough without needing the details. "Very good."

~ to be continued ~