Ultimatum XIII

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. Maybe I should look into adoption proceedings.

Thank you all for reading my story and taking time to comment. Reviews really do make a writer's day.

Chapter 13

At five A.M. a nurse entered Catherine Rollins' hospital room and gently shook her awake. Cath's eyes flew open and she sat up, instantly alert thanks to years of Navy training.

"Ms Rollins, I just got a call from the ICU. Commander McGarrett is awake and he's asking for you," the woman said quietly.

"Thank you, I'll go right away," Catherine said throwing back the blanket and sheet. She had not taken off the scrubs she had acquired earlier, wanting to be ready if Steve woke up. Getting out of bed, she slipped her feet into the slippers and headed for the door.

"Would you like me to get an aide to go with you?" the nursed asked as she went to the door with Catherine and adjusted the sling before letting her go.

"No thanks, I'll be fine," Catherine said, anxious to get to Steve.

Forcing herself to walk and not run through the halls, Catherine still made good time getting to ICU. A tall nurse met her the minute she stepped through the doors.

"Ms Rollins, Commander McGarrett woke up and he's been asking for you. He's rather groggy but he's also agitated, concerned about your welfare. I told him you were okay but I think he needs to see you with his own eyes," the woman said leading her toward Steve's cubicle.

Catherine followed her into the room which had cubicles running in a horseshoe around a central desk/work area. They moved past several units of glass walls with privacy blinds closed if the room was occupied. Catherine paused slightly at a cubicle where an HPD officer sat outside the door. The unit's door was slightly ajar and she could see Marcus Choy was being tended to by a nurse as he was hooked up to several machines.

"How is he?" she asked the officer.

"Holding his own," the officer replied, knowing who Catherine was. He had been briefed on the events of the day before and had observed the flurry of activity that had taken place when McGarrett woke up.

With a curt nod, Catherine caught up with the blonde nurse who had paused at a cubicle three doors down.

"Ms Rollins, Commander McGarrett is still very weak and he is running a high fever. Try to keep him calm, I'm sure he will be relieved to see you." Catherine nodded, noticing the woman's ID badge said her name was Darla.

"Thank you Darla, I'll keep him calm," she promised and entered the room.

Inside the narrow room, she paused and stared at the man in the bed. Steve's head was elevated slightly and an IV pole was positioned on the right side of the bed, several bags hanging from it, tubes snaking down to his arm. The machine monitoring his vital signs was beeping softly in the background just behind the bed. Steve blinked at her and smiled weakly.

"Cath…"

"Hi Steve," Cath said warmly and hurried to his side. With her left hand she took his right and squeezed it gently. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "How are you Sailor?"

"How are you?" he questioned instead.

"I'm okay," she answered softly. She released his hand and ran her fingers across his forehead and then stroked his cheek. "They patched me up and I'm good. You're the one we're all concerned about."

"I'm fine," Steve declared.

"Sure you are," Catherine chuckled. "You are throwing off more heat than a blast furnace and you're as white as these bed sheets. Time to let those antibiotics do their work Steve."

"I'll be fine," Steve insisted stubbornly and reached up to catch her hand. "I needed to know you were okay. I thought Choy had…"

"No Steve, thanks to you, he missed his mark," she assured him and this time leaned in to kiss his lips. "You're my hero."

Steve smiled.

"Hero… I like that," he murmured.

"Don't let it go to your head Sailor. You look like you need to sleep. How about you sleep now and I'll stay here and hold your hand?" Catherine suggested. She used her foot to drag a chair closer so she could sit.

"Good….." Steve sighed and closed his eyes. His grip on her hand tightened as he fell asleep and Catherine sat down, ready to keep watch.

Darla poked her head in the room at the sound of the chair scraping across the floor. She smiled in sympathy and entered, moving in to check on Steve.

"Ms Rollins….."

"It's Catherine, please don't' be so formal," Catherine told her.

"Okay Catherine, you should go get some rest yourself. I'm sure the Commander will sleep for a while," Darla advised.

"I'm not tired," Catherine protested.

"I'm sure you're not feeling it at the moment but it will catch up with you. Dr. Walters was very specific about us limiting the time visitors were in here," the nurse said apologetically. She gently placed her hand on Catherine's wounded shoulder.

Reluctantly Cath got to her feet but as she did Steve suddenly gripped her hand tighter and drew it up on his chest near his chin, mumbling in his sleep.

"I don't think Steve wants me to leave," Cath said with a smile.

"It appears that he doesn't," Darla agreed with a smile of her own. "All right, I'll give you a little longer but we need to make you more comfortable." She repositioned the chair so that Catherine didn't have to stretch her arm awkwardly and placed a pillow under it for support after Cath had taken her seat.

"Thank you Darla. Steve feels so very hot. How bad is this? Is the infection in his bloodstream?" Catherine asked worriedly.

"His temperature is high, almost 102 and that is very high. It is down from earlier this morning so that is a good sign. We are dosing him with a spectrum of antibiotics to counteract the bacteria from his wound. At the moment his heart rate and oxygen levels are good, as is his blood pressure. We are sponging him down with cool water periodically to try and cool him off," she explained and indicated a bowl of ice water that sat on a nearby table. "His wound was checked just before you came in and it is clean, no sign of infection at the surgical site. We are keeping a close eye on him," she promised.

"Okay," Catherine acknowledged. Her shoulder pulled painfully as she twisted in the chair and that reminded her that the man responsible for all of this was laying in a room just a few doors down.

"What are Marcus Choy's chances of survival?" she asked Darla.

The entire ICU staff had been given some of the information on the connection between the two newest patients in the unit. Darla was aware that Choy was the reason that McGarrett had been injured and that he had also caused Catherine's shoulder wound. Given the rules of HIPPA, she could not give details of Choy's condition even though she felt that Rollins had every right to know.

"I can only say he is still alive. I am afraid I can't go into details because of patient privilege but we will do our best to keep him alive to face justice," Darla said uncomfortably. "I am sure the doctors will be cleared to talk to 5-0 and HPD and they will tell you later. I'm sorry; if I could I would tell you everything."

"I understand that," Catherine replied with a sigh. "I am torn between hoping he dies of his wounds and wanting to see him in a court room to answer for what he did to Steve. If Steve doesn't recover then all bets are off," she added bitterly.

"I'm sure the Commander will recover," Darla said quickly although she knew it wasn't wise to promise things she couldn't control.

"Thanks Darla."

"You rest a bit yourself and I'll check back later," the nurse said and left the cubicle.

Shifting in her chair, Catherine got as comfortable as possible as Steve continued to hold her hand. Minutes ticked by and she leaned forward, resting her head on her outstretched arm and dozed. A sharp tug on her arm brought her back to alert status and she could see Steve moving restlessly, caught up in a fitful dream. She stood and freed her hand from his and then winced as she removed the sling and reached out to capture Steve's face in both her hands.

"Steve…Steve….sssh, calm down," she soothed. "It's okay, I'm here," she added as he mumbled her name.

His eyes fluttered open and focused on her face.

"Cath….." he said and ran his tongue over his dried lips.

"It's okay Steve," Catherine said quietly. "You don't have to worry about anything but getting better."

"Where's Choy? Did they get him?" Steve demanded.

"Yes they did. Chin and Kono shot him and he is here in ICU," she told him. "You need to relax and rest."

"I'm…so hot….," he murmured, his gaze becoming unfocused.

Catherine debated calling Darla but instead went to the table and pulled the cloth out of the bowl of ice water. After wringing it out, she came back to the bed and began bathing Steve's face and neck.

"Nice," Steve whispered, his eyes closing.

"You rest Sailor," Cath ordered gently, glancing up at the monitor behind his head. All the signs looked good except for the heat that was burning off his skin. She repeated her efforts to cool him down.

"Come on Steve, beat this," she urged in a low voice. "I need you to get better. I love you."

"He knows," a voice behind her caused her to startle and look around. Danny stood in the doorway with a smile. "You look exhausted babe, have a seat, I'll take over trying to cool the big guy off."

End chapter.