A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews...they mean the world to me.
I don't own anything related to Hawaii Five-0 or CBS. No copyright infringement intended.
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Danny had a relatively restful night, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine. He awoke in the morning to the sight of his partner staring out the window of his hospital room. "What are you thinking about so hard, Steve?"
Danny's voice was gravelly from lack of use, and he swallowed roughly. Steve was right there with a couple of ice chips, which helped tremendously. Steve sat down and shook his head. "I'm just thinking about Charlie. Chin and Kono brought him here last night."
Steve blew out a breath, not wanting to accept what he had learned. "Danny, he has a brain tumor. It's in an area that controls emotions and personality, which explains so much. They want him to have surgery, but he's refused up to this point. It's not cancerous, but will eventually kill him if he doesn't do anything about it."
Danny felt like he'd been sucker punched. A brain tumor? Charlie? It answered so many questions, but left him with a whole lot more in their place.
"This is going to be the stupidest question known to man, but is he okay?" Danny looked really worried. Charlie had been a good friend, and he knew that something wasn't right – and he hated that he was going through this.
Steve shook his head. "Kono said that he's feeling really guilty about everything that happened, and is struggling physically as well."
Danny immediately tried to sit up, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "Whoa, Danny. Hold up – you're not going anywhere just yet."
Danny tried to grab Steve's arm and move it off of him, but Steve was determined to help him stay put. "I need to see him, Steve. I have to tell him...If he's feeling guilty, I need to tell him that there's no need." The effort of talking made Danny cough, and he weakly grabbed at his ribs.
"See, Danny? See that right there…that's why you're not going anywhere. I'll go down and see him later, okay? And if there's any way to get him up here, I'll make it happen. I promise, man. I promise." Steve made sure that he looked Danny in the eyes, so that Danny would see the truth in his words.
Danny finally stood down, and relaxed back against the pillows and took a sip of the water that Steve held out for him. "Just…please tell him, Steve. Don't let him spend one more minute feeling guilty. I'll heal – it takes more than that to knock me down for long. But…God, it's Charlie, you know? Fuck…I can't even believe this."
A light knock on the door stopped their conversation. The attending physician was rounding and wanted to see how Danny was doing. "Steve…go see him, please? They'll be bugging me for a while, and then after you get back, maybe you could call Rachel? I just really need to see Grace right now, you know?"
Steve nodded. He did know. Life was short, and Danny was emotionally reeling after everything that had happened over the past few weeks. "I'll be back in a bit, okay? Stay out of trouble while I'm gone, yeah?"
Danny rolled his eyes and shifted so that he was more comfortable…as comfortable as he could be with a tube in a place it didn't belong, that is. That would be first on his demand list from the doc – taking the damn catheter out.
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Steve stepped off of the elevator onto the Neuro floor, and made his way to the end of the hall where Charlie was resting. They had him on a regimen of medications that were keeping him calm, but he wasn't so snowed that he couldn't function.
Kono had said that all in all, things were rough for him, and Steve knew that he needed to step up. He'd dealt with soldiers who suffered from PTSD, and the one thing he knew was that they didn't choose their reactions to things that triggered a response. It would be hypocritical of him to blame Charlie, since he didn't choose the way he acted either – the brain tumor did.
He poked his head into the room, and saw Chin seated in the chair, and Kono on the edge of the bed. Charlie appeared to be resting, and Steve got a good look at just how ill he looked. He never actually saw Charlie yesterday – he was so focused on getting Danny to the hospital. But this was worse than he thought.
He quietly walked inside and around to Kono's side. He lightly squeezed her shoulders in a hug. He could see that she was struggling. She had never dated Charlie, but the two had become fairly good friends over the years. They acted very much like siblings did.
Charlie felt the gentle dip in the mattress and slowly opened his eyes. The heart rate monitor increased as he noticed who was in the room. It didn't matter what Chin and Kono had repeatedly told him – he wouldn't be surprised if Steve were here to punish him for what he had done to Danny. "Steve, I…"
Steve held up one hand. "Charlie, please don't. Before I say anything else, hear this, okay? Danny doesn't blame you. I'm not going to lie. At first, I was beyond pissed that you had done this. But we know about the tumor and the problems it's caused you. I swear to you that I don't blame you, either. We just want you to do whatever you have to do in order to get well, okay? You're not alone any longer."
Charlie broke down, and as Kono stood up, Steve sat down in her place. He immediately wrapped the younger man in a hug, feeling the shudders roll through him. He couldn't begin to imagine the isolation he must have felt for the past few months, but he knew that it was over now. The team would step up and make sure that he had support from here on out.
After a few minutes, Steve was able to sit back. He waited while Charlie composed himself, before asking, "How's Danny?"
Steve smiled and shrugged one shoulder. "He's banged up, but he will be fine."
Charlie shook his head. "No, Steve. I mean specifics…what did I do to Danny?"
Steve debated telling Charlie the truth, but knew if he were on the other end he'd want to know. "A couple of cracked ribs. A pneumo, with a chest tube which will probably come out tomorrow sometime. A bruised kidney, which is resolving. Nothing internal, though. No concussion. His sight is slowly returning, which it was starting to do after you took him. Charlie, he's going to be okay."
Charlie nodded, but it didn't help the remorse he felt. Maybe after he saw Danny for himself? But for right now, Charlie felt like the worst human being in the world.
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Kono had spoken with Charlie's doctor, and provided he stayed stable, could go and see Danny later in the afternoon. They were going to take him for an MRI to create a more accurate 3-D image of his brain, which would help map the exact location and specifications of the tumor.
Once they had that information, they would be able to plan the surgery more effectively. They wanted him to rest following the MRI because most likely, they would need to sedate him for the procedure. They couldn't risk him getting agitated during the scan, and needed to cover their bases.
Steve was on his way back to Danny's room to let him know, and texted Rachel to bring Grace. Happy to get the okay from her, he realized that right now, Danny's daughter would be the best medicine for him.
When he poked his head into the room, he was happy to note that Danny looked much better than he had before. They had cleaned him up a little, which had to feel good after being knocked around like he had been.
Danny stirred as he heard Steve's footsteps. Tiredly, he met his partner's gaze. "Hey. How's Charlie?"
Steve shook his head. "Hang on a second. How are you? What did the doc say?"
Danny rolled his eyes. "They'll do X-Rays again in the morning, and if things look okay, they may try to pull the chest tube. They pulled the catheter – they still want to keep an eye on things because of the kidney bruising, but they said rest is the best thing. They'll monitor and do something if they need to, but things have been clear for the last few hours now...no more blood. The rest of the bruises will heal over time – yeah, they hurt like a bitch, but they will go away eventually. Now…how's Charlie?"
Steve grinned – he was happy to see that Danny had a bit more fire than he had earlier. "They're going to do an MRI to get a better picture of his brain. From there, they'll map out the surgery, and if he stays stable, will schedule him in the next day or two. The doc cleared him to come up here and visit, if you're up for that."
Danny looked offended for a second. "Hell yes, I'm up for that! What kind of man do you think I am, Steven? It's not Charlie's fault. He didn't ask for this to happen to him – and I know he didn't mean for this to happen to me." Danny sank back against the pillow. Apparently, even a mini-rant was a bit too much, too soon.
He glanced at Steve and noticed the smirk on his face. "Are you finished? Because what I meant was, if you weren't too wiped out from Grace's visit, he would come and visit. If not, he'll come tomorrow, as long as things are stable with his behavior and pain levels.
Danny looked chagrined – he knew Steve wouldn't judge him for his outburst, but one of the things he had learned over the years was the once in a while, morphine knocked his emotions for a loop. Apparently, this was one of those times. "Sorry, man."
Steve just shook it off. "No worries. I texted Rachel earlier, and Grace should be here within the hour. Do you want to rest for a bit before she comes?"
Danny scrunched his eyebrows. "Yeah...probably a good idea." He pressed the button on the PCA pump they had installed. He wasn't a fan of any pain medication, but the doctor had done a lot of poking and prodding, and he was feeling every one of those pokes.
He settled back against the pillows as he felt the pain medication roll through his veins. Danny shut his eyes, ostensibly for just a few minutes, but was completely surprised to hear Grace's voice whispering to Steve.
"But how much longer will he be asleep? I just want to see him and know that he's okay." Grace's mood was subdued - she had been through just as much as Danny had, if not more, given that she was just a little girl.
"Hey, Monkey." Danny's voice was rough with sleep but he quickly woke up more as he saw the beaming expression on her face. He decided to let her in on his whole 'sight is returning' news and only hoped her reaction didn't harm any other patients. She had volume to spare, sometimes.
"You look so pretty in that dress, baby girl. What do they call that color? Raspberry? What happened to good old fashioned pink, huh?"
"Danno? You can...can you...see me?" She suddenly crumpled in tears as she realized that her dad was no longer lost to her. It had never mattered to her that Danny couldn't see - but she knew how much it had hurt him, and she was so happy that he didn't have to be sad any more.
Steve must have talked to her before she had come in, because rather than run to Danny, she carefully climbed up onto the bed. She was mindful of the tubes and wires tethering Danny to the variety of equipment in the room, but managed to maneuver herself up against his good side.
Grace's reaction wasn't quite what Danny had expected - but rather than question it, he just went with the flow and wrapped one arm around her trembling form.
She relished the feel of her dad hugging her close, and stroking her hair. There were certain feelings that she always associated with safety and security, and her dad hugging her was at the top of the list.
It took her a few minutes to calm down, but once she was able to talk, her focus turned back to Danny and his injuries.
"Are you feeling better, Danno? I made you a card." She showed him the picture she had fashioned into a card and smiled as he fawned all over it. He handed it to Steve to put on the window sill so that he could see it.
"Now that you're here, of course I'm feeling better." He smiled tiredly as Grace still looked a little concerned.
"What about the bad man who hurt you? Is he in jail?" Grace wasn't as scared as she had been earlier, but she wasn't sure if she had to worry about him coming after Danny again.
"Well, Grace...it's kind of hard to explain. Let me ask you something. Do you know what a tumor is?"
Grace nodded. "We learned a little bit in science class, but I don't know very much."
Danny smiled. "That's okay - you're still a pretty smart kid. Anyway, a tumor is a little thing that grows in a spot where it doesn't belong. Well, the man that took me didn't really know what he was doing. He has a tumor in his brain, and it makes him not remember things, and makes him not act like himself. So yeah, he took me, but he really wasn't to blame. I'm not mad at him. Uncle Steve's not mad at him. I don't want you to be mad at him, either."
Danny was struggling with telling her that it was Charlie who had taken him. Grace had met him a few times, and he didn't want her to have a colored view of the young man, no matter how forgiving she could be.
"But Danno...this looks like it hurts a lot." She traced her fingers along the bruising on his jaw and upper chest where she could see the discoloration just underneath the gown. She wasn't totally convinced yet, but if her dad said that he wasn't mad at the man, then she guessed she could be like that, too.
Danny knew that his daughter could tell when he was lying, so he was honest with her. "I'm not going to lie, babe. I have moments where it hurts quite a bit, but I'm taking the medicine and the doctors say I'm going to be just fine. This tube..." He pointed to the chest tube hanging off of the side of the bed. "...probably gets to come out tomorrow. They're saying that if everything stays good and I keep feeling better, they'll probably let me go home the day after that. And then, if I'm not mistaken, we have a weekend of fun to make up for, right? I think there were sand toys involved? And don't quote me on this, but I think Super Seal mentioned something about Sand City being built? Who knows what kinds of damage he will cause."
Grace's giggle was like a needle popping a tension-filled balloon. It was what they all needed to force themselves to let go of a little of the fear and anxiety that had plagued all of them over the last twenty-four hours. Were things miraculously better? No, but for right now, all was right with the world.
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