Chin and Kono arrived a short time later to find Danny in the corner of the room talking on the phone to Rachel and Gracie.
Aaron, JJ and Jak stood to introduce themselves and Danny joined them a short time later.
Chin and Kono stood and embraced the Jersey detective and then they all sat and waited…..
Chin asked, "Did you talk to Gracie?"
Danny smiled broadly, "Yeah…I can't believe how much I missed her and it was only a couple of days"
Jak asked "Who's Gracie?"
"My little princess"
"How old is she?"
"Ten going on sixteen"
Kono chuckled, "Oh Danny, you don't have a clue as to what a sixteen year old girl is like!"
"Hey, I grew up with three sisters!"
Kono added, "Yeah, you tell me that when Gracie is sixteen"
Danny asked Aaron, "Do you have kids Aaron?"
"Yeah, two boys…thirteen and eleven. I was telling Steve earlier that my oldest has made the decision that he wants to be a SEAL"
JJ jumped in saying loudly, "HOO YAH BROTHER!"
Aaron smiled, replying, "Hoo Yah"
Danny asked, "How about you JJ, any kids?"
"Yes sir, I have a little princess myself. My daughter Meghan is five" He looked at Jak, "How about you Jak, any little crumb-crunchers?"
"Oh yeah….six"
JJ responded, "SIX! You're a busy man"
"Actually my wife is the busy one. We've got three boys and three girls, 10, 8, 6, 5, 2 and 5 months"
Aaron then asked, "So Danny, when Steve first told me about Tyler he was still quite shocked about it. How's he adjusted to being a Dad?"
"Yes…it was quite a shock for him but honestly he took to the boy so quickly and the love they share, is amazing. Steve is so damn proud of him"
JJ then stated, "Well I can tell you that Tyler is awfully proud of his Father as well. We've had some real heart to heart conversations about Steve and his adoptive parents. The fact that Steve never tried to undermine or replace Ty's adoptive Dad….that he understood that Kevin had loved and raised him, well that meant everything to Tyler. And one other thing, the young man is certainly a chip off the old block, he's one hell of a man and an amazing SEAL"
Danny then added, "There was never any question in our mind about what kind of Dad Steve would be. From the day he met Gracie she's had him wrapped around her finger. He's the biggest bad ass I've ever known, and yet when he's around her he's sweet and sensitive"
Aaron grinned, "Sweet and sensitive….two words typically not used to describe Smooth Dog…..but it's nice to hear. Steve is the best damn SEAL I've ever known and no one was more dedicated to his job and to his men. Because he was the best though, his teams were frequently given the most dangerous missions and no one I know has suffered the losses he's experienced. Since he retired from active duty I've talked to him several times and I've heard the peace in his voice. He's told me all about you guys and how you've become his family and you're right…..he adores Gracie. I'm glad you all came into his life….now if he would just ask Catherine to marry him…..he's a great guy and he deserves happiness"
Danny nodded, "Yes…he does"
Their discussion ended as the Doctor entered the waiting room, and after introductions they all sat.
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Doctor Preston began, "Sam Corbett will be fine. The anti-venom did its job. His ankle is going to be sore for a few days but there's no sign of infection and he should be joining you soon. Owen Alexander and Tyler Robinson are both battling infections and dehydration. Owen sustained heat stroke but keeping his body as cool as you did saved his life. Did he suffer any seizures at all that you're aware of?"
JJ responded, "No Doc but he's been mostly unresponsive since the rescue"
"That doesn't surprise me at all, he's extremely dehydrated. No seizure activity is a very good sign though. He's in recovery now and we're keeping him iced down and hooked up to IV's of saline and high dose antibiotics. We've cleaned Owen and Tyler's wounds and treated their broken bones and because of their extreme levels of dehydration we are running tests to confirm that there's been no damage to their livers or kidneys. Tyler is in surgery right now to close up his torn lung. Whichever one of you detected that tear and treated it saved his life. He would have bled to death without that emergency treatment"
Aaron smiled, "That would be his Father"
The Doctor inquired, "His Father?"
Aaron nodded, "McGarrett…Steve McGarrett is Tyler's biological Father"
"Really…..Well, he did an amazing job being in the field like that"
Aaron then inquired, "How is McGarrett?"
"He's in surgery and so is Javier Gomez. McGarrett's wound is severely infected and I am concerned about sepsis, but it's really too soon to tell at this point. I just came from Gomez' surgery and things are progressing. He lost a lot of blood and the bullet nicked his liver but he's strong….they all are"
The group all shared smiles, thank you's and handshakes with the Doctor and after letting them know that he would keep them updated on the patients, he left the room.
Danny looked at Kono seeing the obvious fear on her face.
He reached across the table and took hold of her hand, "He's going to be okay Kono"
"Sepsis Danny…..Oh God, sepsis"
"Hey this is SuperSeal we're talking about"
Aaron grinned, "SuperSEAL…"
Danny smiled, "That's Gracie's nickname for him"
Steve's SEAL brother smiled broadly, "I love it, SuperSEAL….I need to meet that little girl"
"You will" Danny looked back at Kono and seeing tears welling in her eyes he squeezed her hand and said softly, "Let's take a walk Kono"
Not releasing his grip on her hand they walked to the large windows overlooking the hospital courtyard.
Once at the window Danny heard Kono's soft sobs and he placed his hands on her arms and pulled her into an embrace saying softly, "Come here sweetheart"
He held her as she sobbed into his shoulder and he rubbed his hand in circles on her back for several minutes until she relaxed.
Then pulling her to arms-length, he asked, "Are you okay now?"
"Yes….I'm sorry Danny. I'm just worried"
"I am too, but this guy has had us scared shitless more times than we can even count, and he always pulls through doesn't he?"
She grinned, "Yes he does"
"Okay, and this time is not going to be any different, you hear me?"
Running the back of her hand across her eyes she smiled softly, "I hear you Danny. Can you tell me what happened?"
Danny told her how they had rescued Ty and Owen, how Sam had been bitten in the jungle and of the attack on the boat that left Steve shot and bleeding on the deck of the boat.
"How bad is the infection Danny?"
Danny ran a hand through his hair before responding, "I'm not going to lie to you, it's bad. We lanced the wound on the plane but the bullet was in too deep for us to get to it"
"Was he in a lot of pain?"
"At the end yeah…it was bad. The infection set in about four and a half hours ago. It came on quick, his fever spiked dramatically and he was delirious"
Kono brought her hand to her mouth as she struggled to compose herself.
Danny took hold of her hand and motioned with his head towards the doorway, "Sam's here"
Kono turned to see the young military man enter the room on crutches and they made their way towards him.
Chin stood and shook his hand as Aaron pulled a chair up for him. As he sat, Danny took his crutches from him as Kono reached down to embrace him.
Danny inquired, "How do you feel kid?"
Sam grinned, "I'm fine, just a little sore. Any word on the guys?"
As Aaron filled him in on the men's conditions Danny looked into the young man's eyes. They had all met Sam when they had gone to North Carolina for Tyler and Amber's wedding. He and Ty had been inseparable for so many years and they truly were brothers. It had been easy to fall in love with Sam, just as it had been with Tyler. Both boys were easy going, quick with a smile, loving and honest. They fact that they had both grown to become members of elite military forces was not a surprise to Danny at all…they were good, decent men.
The Doctor came in a short time later to let them know that Owen had been moved to a room and Tyler was out of surgery and in recovery.
JJ left to go contact Owen's family and then visit the boy. It was agreed that Danny would contact Ty's parents with Steve down and after getting the number from JJ, he moved to the side of the room to place the call. Kevin Robinson answered and Danny gave him limited information on the mission while trying to assure him that his son was now safe and recovering. Plans were made for Kevin and Carmen Robinson to fly to Oahu as soon as possible with Amber.
As time went on without word about Steve or Javier, the tension in the room grew.
Finally, almost three hours later the Doctor reappeared looking very grim…
****** More to follow…..THANK YOU so much for all the nice reviews and I hope you're still enjoying! ******