Disclaimer: No, Hawaii 5-0 doesn't belong to me. It does to CBS.
A/N: Like a lot of other quirks Danny has, his hatred for pineapples (especially in the fanon) has been intriguing me from the get go.
I' wish to thank Marie Thea for doing a wonderful job at proofing the story and making spot on suggestions. You're the best!
000
Rolling in Waves: Sixth Wave
14: The Pineapple Effect
Steve barely had time to see the road sign as he drove the Camaro forward at full speed. Motivated by Danny's encouragements, he was determined not to lose their fleeing suspects. Steve did not need a road sign anyway. He knew where they were heading. He also knew his partner was going to have a fit about it.
"A pineapple plantation?" blurted Danny. "You have got to be kidding me!"
Steve did not hide his smile. "Welcome to hell," he said.
"No, no, no, not funny," Danny retorted, bracing himself against the passenger door as Steve took a sharp turn. "Man, I— I can't go in there."
"Where? Hell? According to you, that's where you've been ever since you got to Hawaii," Steve said, enjoying the situation before Danny's rant went full blown.
"Yes, hell; this is definitely hell and you're the devil, driving me straight into it." Danny rambled, voice quivering. "You have got to let me out, like now! Pineapples: no can do. Understand?"
"No, I don't," he said, frustrated. Danny's hatred for the fruit was one of the man's many quirks that Steve did not get. Trying to reason with him on these issues was like banging your head against a wall. "Danny, I know you don't like pineapples, but I'm not deciding where we're going. The perps are. Cut me a break, here. Okay? Besides, pineapples won't kill you."
"But, they can," Danny insisted. "I don't have my Epipen with me. It's too cumbersome to carry around all the time and it gets too hot during the day to keep it in the car."
Steve spared him a quick look, surprise and concern both showing on his face. "Epipen? You mean, you're allergic to pineapples?"
"Pineapples, passion fruits, papayas, litchis… the list go on," Danny replied, eyes fixed on the long rows of pineapple plants now lining each side of the road.
"And you're telling me this now?" Steve said with incredulity. "I thought you were just picky and didn't like fruit."
"You're right; I don't like fruit. They make me sick. I usually dislike things for a reason, Steven," Danny told him, using his formal name to add emphasis to his point. "I dislike your driving because it's going to get me killed one day, and I dislike pineapples because they could do that too. Knowing my luck both will probably conspire to kill me simultaneously, today! I'm so dead," he added dramatically.
"Danno, relax," Steve told him. "First , I'm a very good driver."
"So you like to tell yourself."
Steve ignored him. "Second, I'm not going to let pineapple kill you."
"Because you getting me shot would be so much more "honourable"," Danny said, finger quoting the last word. "That's so wrong, but thank you. It's reassuring…sort of."
"You know we can't stop," Steve said. "We've almost got Boone and Hale."
"I know. I know, we can't let them go. Just don't lose them," Danny instructed. "Maybe we'll only pass through hell."
"Right, maybe," Steve nodded.
Boone's dark blue Chevy Silverrado skidded to a halt in the parking lot of the main pineapple processing plant. Both suspects sprang out of the truck, each man taking off in a different direction. So much for hoping they would only pass through the plantation.
"Great, that's just great," mumbled Danny. "You can go after Boone with the car. I'll run after Hale."
Steve hesitate, concerned. "Danny—"
"Slow down already so I can get out without killing myself."
They had a job to do and Danny was up for it. No matter what, Steve always knew he could count on his partner to step up to the plate. Danny's dedication for his work was one of the reasons he had chosen the former New Jersey detective for partner. Steve had never regretted it, even when Danny's endless tirades nearly drove him mad.
Steve slowed long enough to let Danny out of the car and then sped back up towards Boone. Hands clenched on the starring wheel, he fixed his eyes on his target. He had to catch the smuggler, run over him with the Camaro if he needed to, but he had to do it fast. Danny had taken off towards the inside of the plant and that could not be good.
Closing the distance with Boone, Steve stressed the man enough to make him fall as he tried to jump off the road and into the field. He slammed the car to stop and jumped out. Boone was quickly back on his feet and ready for a fight. The smuggler got Steve in the face. The SEAL retaliated with a hit in the gut that had Boone doubled over. He then sent the man down with a knock behind the head. Steve retrieved his handcuffs and locked them around Boone's wrists. He hauled him up and shoved him face down on the back sit of the car.
Danny was going to be pleased about at least one thing, Steve thought as he drove back to the plant. He had managed to make an arrest without firing his gun. Heck, his partner had better be impressed!
Steve bit his lower lip nervously. And Danno had better be all right…
000
Danny sprinted after Hale towards the main building. Pineapples or not, he had a suspect to catch and that was what he intended to do. He reserved himself the right to rant about how much he hated this pineapple-infested hellhole later. He would rant, curse, and shout for as long as it took for everyone on this God-forsaken island to know how much he hated it. More importantly, Danny would make sure Steve heard every word he had to say about this so-called "paradise". Of course, all this assumed that he would have the voice to do it, that he would not be choking from an anaphylaxis reaction. His breath hitched. Maybe it was better not to think about that and focus on the job at hand.
As he followed Hale inside the pineapple processing plant, the 5-0 detective became conscientious of employees working at various conveyer belts. Yelling, he identified himself as a police officer and ordered Hale to stop, which of course the latter disregarded entirely.
As Danny's gaze swept the room, he counted over half a dozen workers, mainly women, scattered around. It was not the best place to draw his gun at the running man. Steve would probably do it without hesitation, but Danny was not a crazy-trigger-happy-Neanderthal-one-man-commando. He was a professional trained to protect innocents, like his daughter Grace, from unscrupulous drug smugglers like Hale and Boone. That said, under the current circumstances, shooting Hale and getting the hell away from the pineapples was appealing. Still, Danny held on to that alternative. Unless his fleeing suspect pulled a weapon in his direction, the detective would work on tackling the guy.
A lift bringing crates inside the triage facility blocked Hale's main escape route, and the suspect made a beeline toward the far end of the large room. Danny ran on a direct intercept course. Forced into a confrontation with the detective, Hale grabbed a nearby wooded crate and tossed it at him, sending dirt and pineapple scraps in the air. While Danny ducked, Hale took off toward a group of women taking in the scene, apprehensively. Frightened, the workers abandoned their stations. Seizing an opportunity, Hale picked up a discarded knife and turned to face his pursuer. He took a step back, startled by the gun aimed at him.
"Drop the knife, Hale," Danny ordered, breathing heavily. The smuggler hesitated. "It's over. Drop the knife or I will shoot you. Understand?"
Danny's itching eyes were starting to run and his lips were swelling. He was sure to be as red as a beet already. As Hale complied with his demand, Danny wondered if the man realized the detective was serious because of his weapon or his crazy appearance.
"On the ground, hands behind your head," he wheezed out. Gun in one hand, he retrieved his handcuffs with the other.
Hale did as he was told. "Man, you don't sound so good," he taunted, stating the obvious.
"Don't get any ideas." Danny coughed, making a gurgling sound. "I can still shoot you… although… I might get your head while aiming at your shoulder," he panted, as he cuffed the smugglers.
"Danno!"
As much as Danny was glad to hear his partner's voice, he cringed at the sound of his favourite nickname coming from Steve's mouth. Why could the man not understand that "Danno" was one of the few precious things only he and Gracie could share? Each time Steve used it, Danny felt that little bond being threatened. Deep down, he knew the SEAL did not mean it that way. It was just another misguided expression of friendship. As Danny stood there, less and less able to breathe, this entire train of thought about Steve's attempts at normalcy became unbelievably trivial. Thinking of his beloved daughter was not helping either.
Feeling lightheaded, fear gripped him.
"Boss, he's over here," called Kono from somewhere to his right, urgency in her voice.
Thank God, the cousins had finally caught up with them. The Cruze had been a few minutes behind the Camaro and Danny had feared Chin and Kono had lost their trail.
His adrenaline wearing off quickly, he was breathless and tired. With his team ready to handle Boone and Hale, his job was done. He could finally walk away from the despised pineapples.
The rookie's eyes went wide at the sight of him. "Oh brah… this is not good."
"Got this?" he croaked out, loosely gesturing at Hale.
"Sure do," Kono assured him.
"And I've got you," Steve added as he took Danny by the shoulders to steady him.
000
Steve's chest tightened at seeing Danny all red and puffy, unable to draw a healthy breath. His first impulse was to drive his partner to the nearest hospital himself, but Danny was sure to suffocate in the car from the heat, not to mention from an adverse reaction to his driving. So instead, Steve called for emergency medical services as they slowly exited the plant.
Once outside, they were joined by Kono and Chin who had already secured their prisoners in different vehicles. They lowered Danny down in the shade by the Camaro. Steve sat beside his partner and put a comforting hand on his resting arm.
"EMS dispatched medevac," he told him. "It's going to be here in about five minutes. So keep on breathing, Okay? And no sleeping."
By the time, the EMS's helicopter reached the pineapple processing plant, Steve and Kono had been performing CPR for over two minutes.
000
Epinephrine and Benadryl shocked Danny's airways into opening up. It took two jolts of the defibrillator to get his heart back into normal sinus rhythm. Stable enough for transport, Danny was loaded into the helicopter and flown to Honolulu General Hospital.
With his partner looked after by the doctors, the Head of 5-0 went back to work to tie a few loose ends in their case. Being the boss had its drawbacks. Hours later, Steve pulled back a chair by Danny's bed in the ER. With the Benadryl wearing off, his friend was expected to wake up soon.
Danny's heart was now beating strongly and he was breathing on his own, only assisted by a nasal cannula. Still, uncertainty lingered. Danny had gone into cardiac arrest due to lack of oxygen. Until he woke up, there was no way to tell if there would be serious brain damage. Steve had been told to expect some memory lost. If Danny did not remember today, that was fine by him. Every other member of the close knit team would never forget their horror at their friend suffocate.
The doctor's warning that any further contact with pineapple would kill Danny in mere seconds was not lost on Steve. From now on, they would always have an Epipen close by. Steve would carry it himself, if Danny was too stubborn to do it. Of course, until today, Danny had done a good job at avoiding pineapples– making his dislike for the fruit very vocal. If Steve had known about the allergy though, he would have been sure to have the epinephrine on hand.
Danny's hands started to move. Always the hands first, thought Steve with a relieved smile. He rang for the doctor. "Danny, can you hear me?"
The attending physician, a black-haired petite woman, joined him in coaxing the sleepy man in waking up. Long minutes passed before confused light blue eyes looked up at them.
"Danny, do you know where you are?" asked the Doctor.
"Hospital," he croaked out.
"That's right," she said, checking his pupil's reactions with a penlight. "Do you know what day it is?"
"Tues—?" he hesitated. "Are we still Tuesday?"
"Yes, we are," she replied, smiling. "How about this man?" she said, pointing at Steve.
"Is my Neanderthal partner," Danny replied, deadpan.
Steve grinned. "He's fine," he declared. "Welcome back, Danno."
"Don't call me Danno."
"Sorry, can't help it," he said, unrepentant. "Do you remember what happened?"
Danny shocked his head. "No, but it feels like the pineapple effect."
"That would be good detective work," Steve told him.
Danny shot him an alarmed glare.
"Don't worry. You're going to be fine," Steve promised. "I won't let a pineapple ever harm you again."
"Good luck with that, Super SEAL," Danny said with a tired smile. "They're everywhere."
000
The end.
A/N: This one was inspired by my own food allergies. Ironically, pineapples are one of the few fruits I don't react to. I hope the story was not overdone. I imagined that a pineapple allergy in Hawaii was just as hazardous as a seafood one in Atlantic Canada.
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
(Jan. 2011)