Chapter 14
Steve was getting impatient. Far more used to driving around the small island of Oahu, he couldn't believe how long it was taking to get to the hospital. Northern New York was rural, the small towns were spread far apart and the closest city wasn't very close at all. It was even slower going as Lars was driving on a slushy, slick road surface with the ever present danger of black ice.
Suddenly the car in front of them started to spin out of control. Skilled at dealing with such conditions, Lars pumped the brake and turned the wheel to avoid a collision. The rapid unexpected change in direction caused McGarrett to grab the dashboard and brace himself, which wrenched his already sore shoulder. He hissed at the pain.
"You okay, Steve?" Lars asked after he had pulled into the break down lane and stopped the cruiser.
"Sure. What happened?" the dark haired cop asked, squinting out the windshield at the other car while he cradled his left arm and tried to catch his breath.
"Probably hit a patch of black ice. I'm going to go check on them."
Steve watched Erickson exit the cruiser, cross the road and approach the car that had skidded to a stop in the highway median. Out of habit, he noted the license plate: Florida.
A few minutes later, Lars returned to the driver's seat of the blue and white.
"They're okay. Tourists; no snow tires."
Erikson certainly wasn't a man of many words. He cautiously pulled the car back onto the highway then noted that the car from Florida had done the same behind them. For the next several minutes, the two cops rode in silence.
"Lars, I'm sorry that O'Neal was hurt working on our case," Steve finally said, hoping that conversation would make the time seem to pass more quickly.
"Jenny's tough; she'll be fine," was the only response he got from Lars. But trained as he was at interpreting facial expressions, Steve was certain that he saw genuine concern in the usually unreadable Erickson.
o-o-o
"I'm Maguire," Ed told the young surgeon. How old is this guy, twelve? Ed wondered. "And this is Detective Williams;" he nodded toward the curly haired man with the bruised face.
"I'm Dr. Meyer," the surgeon introduced himself, shaking hands with Ed and then with Dan. "The surgery went as expected with no complications." The doctor removed his scrub cap revealing his thick wavy red hair. "We had to repair some muscle damage, but fortunately the bullet missed the bone. Miss O'Neal will need some physical therapy, but I expect her to make a full recovery." The surgeon watched the two men in front of him visibly relax.
"Can we see her?" Dan asked anxiously.
Dr. Meyer glanced at his watch before answering. "She'll be in recovery for another twenty minutes then we'll move her to a room. You can see her then." This was the good part of his job; he didn't always get to deliver good news in the waiting room, but he lived for the times that he could.
"Thank you, doctor," Ed said gratefully before the surgeon turned and left. Feeling one hundred percent better, Maguire turned to Dan and put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "How about we get that coffee now and a sandwich to go with it?"
"That would be great!" Dan replied sincerely. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now past the dinner hour.
o-o-o
It was only hospital food, but the sandwich and coffee made a world of difference in Danny. He felt more alert and less shaky; he was relaxed and definitely relieved after hearing the surgeon's report. He was also looking forward to seeing Jenny again. With the previous cloud of worry removed from the equation, Dan and Ed enjoyed swapping stories of their police work and getting to know each other better while they ate.
"I'm glad that you're here, Danny," Ed said. Then after a lull in the conversation, he added "You're good company and it's made the waiting much easier."
Dan nodded, acknowledging the compliment. Before he could say anything, McGarrett and Erickson entered the waiting room at a brisk pace, both craving an update.
"Steve!" Dan rose and greeted his mentor as the big man approached him, looking tired but clearly glad to see him, Dan thought.
"Danno, how's the jaw?" McGarrett asked, tilting his head to study the side of the shorter man's face.
"Not broken," Dan replied firmly.
"Any news yet?" was the first anxious question from Lars, directed to Ed.
"Yes," Maguire responded, a big smile lighting his face and removing years from his appearance. "Jenny's going to be just fine. We'll get to see her soon."
As the four men hurriedly exchanged information, Dr. Meyer entered the waiting room unnoticed.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," the young surgeon interrupted the conversation. Once he had their attention, he continued. "Miss O'Neal has been moved to a room and you can see her now, but just one at a time. She's groggy and needs her rest, so only five minutes. Who's first?"
"I am," Maguire said without hesitation, knowing that the others would fully understand.
"Okay, follow me."
o-o-o
Jenny thought she heard a familiar voice, but it sounded far away and she couldn't quite climb out of the darkness. She concentrated on the voice. When she felt a gentle pressure on her hand, she slowly opened her eyes to see Ed looking down at her with a broad grin on his face.
"Officer O'Neal," Maguire addressed the woman with mock formality.
"Hi Ed," Jenny weakly answered with a smile of her own.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired; better than before," the young woman replied, trying to keep her eyes open.
"The doc says you're going to be just fine," Ed assured her. "But you need your rest, so I'm not going to stay long. Danny told me what happened. That shot you managed to make…you did a fine job."
"Danny?" O'Neal asked, attempting to lift her head to scan the room.
"Relax, he's right outside." With a final squeeze of Jenny's hand, Maguire prepared to leave. "I'll stop by to see you tomorrow. Get some rest…" …sweetheart.
Ed hoped that he hadn't said that last word out loud by mistake. Over the years that he had worked with O'Neal, he had come to think of her as the daughter he never had. At a time like this, that fatherly feeling was particularly intense, and he had to swallow the unprofessional terms of endearment.
"Goodnight, Ed," Jenny whispered. "You get some rest, too."
Maguire left the room and walked back to the waiting area feeling that a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He looked Williams in the eye, smiled and nodded in the direction of Jenny's room.
"She's asking for you, Danny."
o-o-o
Dan stepped into the small hospital room and approached the bed. Jenny was covered with a white cotton blanket, beneath which her bandaged right leg was elevated on three pillows. A bottle of clear fluid dripped into her IV line and her loose brown curls fanned out on the pillow framing her face. Williams offered a silent prayer of thanks that O'Neal was safe and would make a full recovery.
"Hi, Danny." Jenny lifted her hand from the bed and held it out to her visitor.
"Hi, you," Dan greeted as he took her hand in his, unable to keep the grin off his face.
"Sorry that we didn't get to have our lunch date," O'Neal said quietly.
"I'll take a rain check," Dan said, gently squeezing her hand. "It's the least I can do after you saved my life."
"You saved my life, too, Danny. I guess we're even." Then Jenny mustered up the courage to ask the question she had been dreading. "When do you have to go back?"
Dan saw the sadness in the woman's eyes, and he tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his own throat.
"Tomorrow morning, I'm afraid," he replied truthfully.
Jenny fought hard to push down her emotions and will the tears from forming in her soft grey eyes. She interlaced her fingers with Dan's and held tight.
"Then I guess this is goodbye. Mahalo for everything, Danny."
Dan's eyes widened with surprise, and he broke into a large grin. "Now where did you learn that?"
"I heard Steve say it," Jenny replied matter-of-factly.
Dan was both amused and endeared by O'Neal's use of the Hawaiian word. He bent down, lightly kissed her cheek and whispered "Mahalo and aloha, Jenny. Feel better." At that, he eased the woman's hand back down to the blanket, gave it a final squeeze then let go and left the room.
Jenny settled back into the pillow and closed her eyes, savoring the moment and trying to commit every detail to her long term memory. When she opened her eyes again, she was looking into the worried face of Lars Erikson.
"Lars, will you do me a favor?" O'Neal asked.