I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended. Ever!
Notes: Hmm, are you ready for an unhappy awkward chapter? I can't deny the muses' demands.
* H50 * H50 * H50 * H50 * H50 *
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Danny barely managed to remain awake for five minutes after Chin returned to the room. Though unsettling feelings remained at the cusp of his memory, the splintered frightening thoughts were fading. It wasn't the same for Chin though who had swapped places with Steve for a short time and he sat on the edge of the bed as Danny closed his eyes. He watched almost warily in case the dreams or hallucinations should return so soon.
"He's turned a corner, Chin. He's going to get better." Sitting now in the wheelchair, Steve gently sketched his fingers around his own bandages. The wounds were hot and itchy and he was suddenly feeling very fatigued himself.
Chin palmed his face wearily as Danny fell asleep. He was about to whisper something to Steve when a large shape loomed in the doorway.
"Both of you, out now." The deeply stern voice didn't disturb the patient, but Chin and Steve both looked up with a start. Doctor Ramirez and a nurse that neither man recognized waited for them to react to the firm demand. Gesturing to the hallway, Ramirez repeated himself more loudly. "Move."
Steve's expression matched Doctor Ramirez's angry line for angry line as Chin maneuvered him quietly from the bedside in the wheelchair. They expected the doctor to follow but were surprised when he and the nurse went into Danny's room where they stayed for many minutes. When only Ponch came out, it was clear that he was still in a rage, though well in control of that temper as he steered them to a somewhat private corner.
"There are certain allowances that I've granted you and your team, Commander. But you will not take advantage of them to such an extent." He towered over Steve who remained seated in the wheelchair and his demeanor was not to be challenged.
"You will not jeopardize my patients or my staff now or in the future. You will not put my staff in such an awkward position or you will be forcibly removed by security. Have I made myself clear?" Steve's eyes met the challenge head-on though he bit his tongue and absorbed the older man's justifiable anger.
"Understood. But you wanted me in here to talk sense into him." Steve ground out between his teeth. He wanted to say more and would have, if not for Chin's settling hand on his arm. Ramirez was irate and no longer tolerant as he stared them down and pointed towards the ICU doors. The nurses had retreated long ago to the main desk or other patients' rooms though most were discreetly listening to what they could hear of the harshly whispered altercation.
"Talking. Talking to try and keep him calm. Not taking it upon yourself to countermand proper medical protocol. And absolutely not ordering my staff about as if they were boorish mules." Ponch's hands were fisted deeply in his pockets to avoid the dent he wished to make in the nearest plaster wall.
"I do not need to explain to you the definition of protocol nor the necessity of precaution in particular circumstances. Precautionary measures to protect not only the individual in question, but one's team."
Chin blanched noticeably as the argument began to escalate in the corner of the hallway. Standing behind the wheelchair, he could only keep one hand on Steve's arm and the other on the chair's handle. While he expected some fall-out from Steve's argument with the ICU staff, he hadn't anticipated the potential magnitude of Doctor Ramirez's personal affront.
"This is Danny we're talking about!" The anger in Steve's voice rose in direct response to the doctor's fury but he found himself interrupted and set rudely on his ear. "He didn't need ..."
"Enough!" Ponch's no-nonsense confirmation rang menacingly in the hallway. The one word effectively silenced Steve's growing defensive argument.
"He did and so, he was with the utmost care and consideration. It was done to protect himself and my team from further harm. You will not dare to question me again, Commander. Not within these walls."
There was a long uncomfortable moment of silence as the three regarded each other. Doctor Ramirez spoke first and his quiet admittance was finally enough to cut Steve to the quick. "It seems that I made an error in judgement."
Before Steve could build an adequate response in his stunned brain, Ponch was pointing to the double-doors. "Visiting hours have ended for you, gentlemen."
"Now wait a minute." Steve did push against Chin's restraining hand as he completely objected to Ponch's final edict. Though it seemed irrational, he was immediately fearful that the doctor had re-fastened the restraints in order to return to his original orders. His heart lurched as he glanced worriedly back towards Danny's room. The nurse had yet to appear as the doctor glared down at him.
"Doc, what's going on in there?"
His anger resurfaced and Ponch virtually grew in stature as he lurked over both men. He briefly let Steve stew on that potential thought for a long moment. As a type of penance, their assumption was to be that the restraints had not been used for a second time but he refused to actually give them the satisfaction by voicing it. Instead, the large man sunk his hands deeply into his coat pockets to hide an angry tremble while the fingers on each hand wadded the hidden soft straps to each restraint into a jumbled mass of material.
His coldly professional words were at first all he offered as he stood as if to block their way back to the room. "Detective Williams is resting comfortably. His temperature is elevated but has dropped two points since the last readings were taken. Vital signs are stabilizing but he'll remain here in the ICU until I see further improvements."
As he finished speaking, Ponch yanked the material from his coat and tossed it rudely to Steve's lap. He was close to the Five-0 team; perhaps too close. So on one level while he appreciated that Danny was resting quietly, he could not professionally ignore the disrespect shown not only for his medical decision but to his skilled staff. Within the walls of his hospital, his allegiance was to those in his employ and his obligation only to the well-being of his patients.
His stiff posture and extremely unfriendly attitude forced Steve to acknowledge the line he had crossed. Those who worked on a daily basis and who had experienced the man's wrath would not be surprised by his current attitude. However, what had only been a comical rumor to Steve and the rest of the Five-0 team was now a reality. Doctor Ramirez was not a man to be so idly crossed when it came to the welfare of his patients.
Steve had gone too far and had clearly over-stepped his bounds and his friend's kindness when the man would have fully worked with him. A certain level of trust had been gravely injured.
"Doc, I didn't mean ..." Steve was mortified as he fisted the material he now held. Opening his mouth to apologize, the doctor shook his head as he took a full step backwards away from the two Five-0 men. He wasn't in the mood for apologies or further discussions as he pointed once more to the exit.
"It's time for you to leave." Chin's only recourse was to have them both retreat from the ICU. When he looked back, Ponch had already turned abruptly on his heel for the inner recesses of the unit.
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Two days later, Steve had been released from the hospital and Danny had finally been moved to a private room. While he had generally improved, his temperature was still elevated and a new regimen of antibiotics was now being used. He was sitting quietly in a wheelchair after having picked through a light, distasteful breakfast of applesauce, yogurt, hot oatmeal and plain tea. The supposed meal gave him a headache and in a mild temper, he finally pushed it away.
"You need to eat, Danny." The soft female voice was at first foreign and he frowned as he looked up. Rita Sawyer stood by herself hesitantly in the doorway. Her blue pocketbook was held nervously like a shield in front of her while she worried it's leather straps. She was pale and already near tears after watching him for only a few seconds.
"You need to eat." It was clear that she didn't know what else to say as her voice broke. He stared at her equally shocked by her unannounced visit.
"Rita. I didn't expect to see you." Danny's emotions were torn as they kept a distinct physical distance from each other. He felt oddly trapped and vulnerable in the wheelchair with his leg raised awkwardly in front of him. She seemed to sense his discomfort and was about to apologize and leave when Steve entered the room.
His eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Danny and then edged past the woman to stand between Troy Sawyer's widow and his friend. "Rita. Why are you here?"
"I wanted to make sure Danny was alright." A tear rolled down her cheek and then she did back up in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I didn't know and I wanted to apologize." She was shaking now and nearly dropped her bag when her fingers plunged inside to find the small bag of tissues.
"Now is not a good time." Steve's voice was strained and uncertain as he glanced at Danny's face. His cheeks were still flushed with fever and yet he was strangely pale.
"Or, is it? Danny, are you okay?"
"Sure. It's a good time." The left-over scent from breakfast was beginning to bother him and he swallowed hard. But smiling, Danny slightly relaxed before nodding. "It's fine. I'm fine."
Rita's lips quirked into a false attempt at a matching smile as some of the tension eased in the room. "He had another wife you know. He has another son in Ireland." Her eyes were full of tears now as a short odd laugh bubbled up and she shrugged vainly.
"I guess I"m incredibly stupid and always have been. Years worth of stupid." Danny glanced once towards Steve before pointing to the closest chair.
"Rita, stay for a while." The look asked Steve to leave the room so that he could speak to Rita - alone.
The darkly shared response distinctly declined the request until Danny pointedly glared at him. Under his breath, Steve's voice was a very soft murmur.
"Are you sure?" The lack of reply shouted out a yes as Danny once again gestured to the chair and insisted that Rita stay.
"Rita, please sit down." The team knew now that Rita had definitely not been involved in Troy Sawyer's duplicity. Kono and Cath's research, the few questions that Grace had so happily crafted, and the added investigation done by the ex-agent's field office had uncovered the added shocking truth of the second young family in Ireland.
That 'marriage' was technically null and void as it happened well after his legal marriage to Rita. His young 'wife' had an illegitimate son and was reportedly in as much shock as Rita Sawyer.
Reluctantly, Steve paused before striding from the room. He held no animosity towards Rita; in fact, none of them did. They were all shocked by the depths of Troy Sawyer's deceit. But he stayed close in the hallway for Danny's sake as he and Rita Sawyer shared what he hoped would be a brief visit. His partner didn't look well and while he wanted to talk to her, the visit could be premature.
So Steve loitered in the hallway scarcely ten feet away. Not exactly eavesdropping but not even remotely attempting to be invisible. The poor woman's reality had been turned upside down where her entire twelve years of marriage were a complete and utterly contrived lie. That very morning, she had also realized that Catherine's illness at dinner had also been an elaborate ploy orchestrated by Chin Ho Kelly as demanded by Steve.
They had been afraid of her; they had thought she might be a bad person, too. They had all thought that she might hurt Catherine or Grace and so, the hurts continued to pile on her shoulders and she was beside herself by the time she reached the hospital. Inside and alone with Danny, she burst into tears.
"I never would have hurt Grace. It was just a normal night out. Just a simple dinner and a movie."
"I know. He lied to all of us, Rita. If you were stupid, then we were all in the same boat." Catherine had explained everything to Danny and he was now well-aware of every piece of the puzzle. The only very important person left was actually Rita Sawyer .. and her two fatherless sons.
"He was very good at what he did; too good." Danny offered her a wry grin. "Rita, he snookered the freaking FBI! Do you have any idea of their embarrassment right now and the trouble they are in with Governor Denning?"
His comments almost made her smile, but that faltered much too quickly when Danny continued talking. "Rita most of all, we hate what he's done to you." It was the truth as the woman dabbed at her eyes only to cry again.
"We want to help. I want to help." Rita heaved in a huge breath as she tried to settle her tattered nerves. She needed to know if Danny especially hated her, but he was already shaking his head before she could bluntly ask and smiling in understanding.
"When I get out of here, we should try for that movie again. Grace is not happy that she missed it. Up for seconds?"
"Really?" She choked out a sob and nodded before getting to her feet. With utmost care, she threw her arms around his neck. "I"m sorry Danny. I really am."
Her hand found his cheek and then his forehead when she pulled away. "You're still running a fever?"
"You're still this sick and here I am bothering you. Should I get your doctor?" She was worried for him and all he could do was shrug foolishly.
"I'm better, Rita and I'm glad you stopped by. I'll be home in no time."
At a loss once more and feeling responsible, Rita tried valiantly not to cry. "Please feel better and let me know if I can do anything for you."
And then she was gone leaving him teary-eyed in her wake and feeling almost ill by what Troy Sawyer had the gall to do his family. Not to mention the faceless young woman and toddler so many miles away. He wiped his eyes quickly as Steve re-entered the room in a whirlwind of worry.
"Okay?" Danny heaved a tolerant sigh for his personal watchdog's benefit and then tiredly grinned up at his partner's rather constipated expression.
"Yeah, like I said I'm fine." He wasn't though and Steve frowned unhappily. He shivered from a feverish chill and winced as his leg began to ache where the drain remained. Danny tried to deflect the attention from himself by keeping the subject on Rita, ignoring Steve's disapproving look.
"We need to help her. She's devastated and shouldn't be alone .. and the boys. I don't know how they're going to get past all of this." Steve nodded in agreement as he watched Danny aimlessly rub at the pain in his thigh.
"Cath is close to her and will be there for her, too. She's been with Rita almost every day. But you need to get back in bed, Danny." Wheeling the chair closer and being mindful of the ever-present IV and the wounded leg, Steve helped Danny through the few steps to get back under the covers. That bit of help allowed him to feel the sick heat rising from Danny's body and Steve quickly retrieved another blanket from the foot of the bed. Danny was shivering and closing his eyes as he sank into the pillows.
"Has Ponch been in here to see you yet?" The prior day, Danny had seemed to be well on the mend. He had expected to find Danny ready to check out of the hospital that very day. However, Steve was now sure that the tenacious fever was back with its own stubborn vengeance.
"No. Too early." Danny breathed out softly. He was tired of feeling sick and while it had helped them both overcome the first hurdle, Rita's unexpected visit left him completely sapped of energy. Forcing his eyes open, he peered up at Steve.
"Have you two made up?" The devilish question threw Steve for a moment but that was nothing compared to the deep, booming query behind him.
"Well have we, Commander?" Ponch's voice echoed ominously from the doorway.
~ to be continued ~