The next few days were painful, as well as quiet. Steve hardly left the hospital, yet Danny was hardly conscious. The sleeping detective was usually silent, machines still humming in the room, feeding a direct line of painkillers into his blood. And Steve was sure that Danny was in more than enough pain.
The white casts were so bright, nearly blending into the hospital bed, and the light blue hospital gown that Danny donned. Although the doctor had delivered the same brutal news that Steve had, Danny had hardly said another word about the subject. No more self-depreciating remarks, no more sorrowful cracks on the subject, not another word on paralysis. Yet sometimes in his moments of consciousness, Steve sometimes saw Danny straining between words, and glancing at the casts on his legs. Something inside of Steve knew that Danny was using all of his willpower to strain, willing even the slightest twitch of his toes.
The only thing that brought an upturned edge to the sorrow on Danny's face was when his daughter came to visit him, which had only been twice so far. It was heartbreaking for the blonde detective, Steve knew, to see his little girl so busy. Grace hadn't wept, and hadn't asked about Danny's condition. She was more than well informed on the situation, and Steve was glad that she was using her discretion around her father. She was already quite grown up for a girl of her age, and Steve had immense respect for her self-control.
It was dusk again, and Steve swore that his back was on the verge of breaking from such discomfort in the plastic hospital chairs. Danny had been half awake, but his body was rendered immobile still. Bones took weeks to heal, and Danny was in more than enough discomfort being forced to sit idle. Weakly opening his lips, Danny rasped out a few words to Steve.
"Why don't you talk more, huh? It's been a few days and all you do is sit there, all pensive. Plus you've gone through enough coffee to provide for a small nation."
Steve smirked at this, but Danny was right. He was surviving solely on coffee at this point, his eyelids dropping as steadily as the sun. Healing was slow, healing was grueling. Healing required patience, something that Steve had little to none of on a good day. These past few days had not been good days, and the wear was working its way into his mind.
"Don't worry, princess, I'm not going anywhere, and I know you're not either. Looks like we're stuck, doesn't it? But let me tell you, partner, it would make me feel better if you got some shut eye. It's a little creepy of you to be up like this, watching me every night. It reminds me of those books that were all the craze a few years ago, that Twilight shit. I might as well start calling you Edward, if you keep watching me all night and day like I'm sleeping beauty or something" Danny scoffed, a feeble smirk coming over his face.
Steve smiled, but realized that he had no good answer. He knew it was less than productive to sit there all day, just watching, letting Danny waver between sleeping and stewing in misery. There were better things to do, and he damn well knew it. There was an extension right off the hospital, one that Steve knew he should have visited already. It had only been days since the incident, and there was still a girl with broken bones healing just a few floors away.
Of course, the mental health facility was a fluid part of the hospital, but Steve had never been to that sector. Danny would want to visit the girl he almost died for, sooner or later. Part of Steve had a burning desire to see her as well, figure out what exactly led to this tragic incident, one that almost cost him his partner. The other part wanted to keep himself out of the mess, out of the disaster, away from the sensitive subject of suicide.
It would continue to be an endless loop of pain, confusion, and guilt, as long as Steve pushed it out of the way. There was a reason that little girl jumped, and that reason hadn't yet been brought to light. The more he thought of it, the worse Steve felt, almost as though he hadn't been doing his duty as an officer of the law and carrying out the extent of his duties. Suicide wasn't exactly a crime, but his partner more than deserved to have some form of closure to the entire incident, one that wouldn't ever truly be over as long as they both lived. Although regret tainted his decision, Steve knew then that it was made up in his mind. He was going to see that girl, the very next day, and find out exactly what caused this whole tragedy.
"Hey, Steve?" Danny called out weakly, and Steve snapped his attention back to his friend. He realized then that he had long since been staring blankly at the wall, no real focus in his gaze. "Whatcha thinking about, buddy?" Danny prompted, blinking slowly. Steve just shrugged.
"Not much. Just about you and about that girl, if you want me to be honest. I want to get to the bottom of this all. Is there anything you can remember that can help me out with her? I want to do everything I can to give you some closure, and her as well. I know that's what you would want. I know that you're obviously not feeling great, and I know you said you don't remember too much about what happened before the fall, but is there anything, anything at all in your mind, that stands out to you?"
Silence. Danny didn't even blink this time, just focused his eyes at a dark point on the wall, gaze going cloudy and blank. What felt like a full minute passed before Danny let out a shaky sigh, obviously painful by the wrinkles that appeared on his face. However, the response wasn't comforting.
"Nothing, Steve. I appreciate you doing that for me. God I wish I could, I just want to make sure she's okay, but I can't really do that right now, can I? But I swear, if I remember anything, I'll let you know. I know she was talking to me, saying something, but I can't remember any of the words. But I swear, if I remember anything at all, I'll let you know."
The pair fell silent again, and Danny shut his eyes slowly, not opening them again. His lips moved slightly, and Steve had to lean close to catch the soft words.
"I'm goin' t' sleep now, can't help it. You get some sleep too, 'kay princess? Great."
And with that, Danny stilled more than he was already still, and Steve sighed, putting his elbows on his knees and head in his hands. It was going to be a very long night.