Hey. It's cold. The heating in our house went out. I legit had to build a fire in my living room. This would be why I am not a huge fan of winter. Not to mention that the garage door is frozen shut, so until Mitch gets back from work, I don't have a car to go anywhere warm. Anyway, enough about me and onto the story! For those of you who don't remember, the line Danny says and Steve finishes in the last chapter is actually from the show. It was one of their first car arguments in the first season. To jog your memory or if you just want to relive the laugh, here's the name of the video on You Tube: Hawaii Five-0 - Steve & Danny - Carguments. It won't let me post links on here unfortunately. Probably because it could be a link to something inappropriate that violates their user agreement. I believe it's the second clip in the video, but they're all pretty funny!
In his arms, Steve cradled his friend, feeling the life slowly leave his body. The only indication that the man was indeed alive was the constant trembling and the unnatural heat radiating off his body. As Danny's shivering increased in the frigid room, Steve pulled him closer, all the while whispering softly.
"You'll be okay, Danny. You're gonna make this. I got you now. Help's comin', so just stay with me, you hear? Don't do this Danno. Remember when I promised Grace I'd keep you safe? Huh? Well, I'm not breaking that promise. Don't make a liar out me, Danny." He kept up this litany until Chin and Kono burst into the room, guns raised. The moment they saw the two men on the floor, they dropped their weapons and rushed forward. Chin quickly restrained the unconscious man on the floor, then joined Kono at Steve and Danny's side.
"Paramedics will be here any minute. How is he?" Kono asked, gently wiping blood off of Danny's chin. Steve shook his head.
"It's bad. God, just look what they did to him! And he's so sick." Steve said, unconsciously pulling Danny closer. Footsteps from outside drew their attention.
"That'll be the medics. I'll show them in." Chin said as he ran to meet them. When Chin returned with two men in tow, everything became a blur for Steve. Different readings were taken and phrases such "pneumothorax", "tachycardia", and "shock" were tossed around and jumbling together in Steve's head. Soon Danny was being rushed out of the building and into the bright sunlight before being loaded into the ambulance. Steve was grateful when the paramedics made no move to argue with him as he climbed in and sat next to Danny. As it turned out, it was for the best. It was the ambulance ride from hell. They had only left the warehouse thirty seconds ago when Danny woke up, eyes wide and panicked.
"Sir, we need you to calm down. You're going to be okay. We're on our way to the hospital." One of the medics tried to soothe, but it only served to upset Danny's confused brain even more. He tried to talk, but only a rasping hiss of air escaped his lips, bringing to his attention the fact that he was nearly unable to breathe. Still, he kept trying to get his point across. After a few tries, Steve was finally able to pick out a few words.
"Steeeevvve…killed-d him…mmmy f-fault."
"Shhh Danny, hey. It's me. It's Steve, buddy. I'm okay, really I am. They were playing tricks on you, remember?"
"N-nooooo! D-don' hurrrt 'im!" Danny begged weakly, looking around, but not truly seeing his surroundings.
"His fever's spiking!" One of the medics yelled to his colleague.
"Hey, Danny. Listen to me. Listen…Danno!" Steve yelled finally. The use of his daughter's nickname seemed to focus him a bit. Steve smiled. Of course. "You're doing great Danny, but you need to calm down, okay? I'm alright. Whatever you believe they did to me is a lie." Steve said. At last, his words began to make headway through Danny's confusion. Unfortunately, his fever had already climbed to high. The next thing they knew, Danny's eyes were rolling back in his head again and his whole body was going rigid. Moments later, he began to seize uncontrollably. After two minutes, his body sank limply back into the gurney. Immediately, the paramedics examined him.
"I think the seizure shifted that broken rib further into his lung. It's totally collapsed now!"
"I'll start ambu-bagging."
"He's crashing!"
H
5
0
They found Steve sitting on the floor, his back against the wall and a blank expression on his face.
"Steve?" Kono asked, squatting down in front of him. "Where's Danny? What happened?" But Steve didn't respond.
"I think he might be in shock." Chin commented. Kono nodded as she took in the pale, clammy skin and shaking frame of the man she had come to know as her brother of sorts. As a nurse passed, Chin stopped her and requested a blanket, which they secured around him.
"Is he going to be okay?" Kono asked.
"Yeah, he's just exhausted and trying to process everything. I mean, you saw that guy, Brooker or whatever's body. He was an exact replica of Steve. I can only imagine what kind of a shock that must've been. Not to mention whatever happened to Danny."
"I know. Did you see what they did to him? Those injuries are consistent with torture!" Kono said furiously. Chin pulled her into a tight hug until they saw Steve blink rapidly and color return to his face.
"Hey boss. You with us now?" Kono asked gently
"Yeah." Steve said, his voice flat and emotionless. He climbed unsteadily to his feet, then nearly fell over.
"Take it slow, Steve. Come on." Chin said softly, leading Steve over to a nearby bench. After a moment, Kono couldn't hold back any longer.
"Where's Danny? He's not-"
"No." Steve said. "He's…he's in surgery right now." He said, his voice faint.
"Steve, what happened in the ambulance?" Steve was silent for a moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice was thick with emotion.
"He woke up and he thought he had killed me. I tried to tell him that I was okay, but as soon as I started to get through to him, he started seizing. They said his fever just got too high. His lung was torn open and it collapsed. They said they'd try to do the surgery with his body packed in ice."
"Oh my god…" Kono whispered, tear spilling from her dark eyes.
"What…what did they do to him to make him think that he killed me?" Steve asked quietly, his voice breaking. "These bastards used me, damn it! This whole thing was about Danny from the start. Those months where I was missing, I bet you anything they were using that time to make Brooker an exact copy of me! They must've wanted something from Danny and thought that he'd only talk if I was involved. But Danny's too strong and he wouldn't break. What did they do to him?" he asked again, knowing that the answer he sought would only serve to feed his anger and guilt.
"It's not your fault, Steve. The doctors said they almost killed you during the kidnapping. You had no say in this." Kono said firmly.
"She's right. No one blames you for this. I know Danny never would. And besides, like you said, Danny's strong. He's going to make this." Chin said, hoping to relieve some of his friend's unnecessary guilt.
"I hope you're right."
Yay, Mitch is home! His car got stuck on the highway! I'm just so glad he's okay. Well, he's going to fix the furnace now, God bless him. Sorry for the short chapter, I'll update soon! And just a reminder, I am leaving This One's For The Readers open until the end of this story, so keep sending me you ideas!