"Danny, look at me," Carson goaded with an annoying finger-snapping dance until Danny acknowledged and slowly focused on the doctor's face; furrowing his brows at the weird mask-clad man leaning on him. "Do you know who you are?" All held their breath as the answer was not forthcoming. "Danny? Answer me. Do you know who you are?" Finally, a blink and all exhaled.
Carson vacated his space to bring Danny's mother in the foreground. Once again, he asked the question if he knew that person.
"Remove your mask for just a few seconds to show him your face," Carson instructed.
Beverly's warm smile flickered when Danny appeared to be struggling in remembering who she was.
Errant tears were seen pearling down the corner of his eyes and a ghost of a smile brushed against his lips before he blinked once.
"That's good. That's very good, Danny." Carson praised.
"Doctor Carson, his heart rate and blood pressure are increasing," alerted the nurse.
"Okay that's enough strain for today." Dr. Kailo slowly increased the dose of Phenobarbital. "We're going to put you to sleep now, Danny," he said calmly to the patient, whose eyelids already began to close. "That's it, sleep now." Once the blond was under, he beckoned the group to follow him outside where they all shed their surgical scrubs
"Well, there is encouraging news, which is that his memory appears intact. To what degree, we'll know more upon further neurological tests," Carson explained.
"He is paralysed, isn't he?" Kono asked in dread of the obvious answer.
"Yes he is, but that was to be expected with the kind of spinal injuries he sustained," Dr. Kailo replied.
Beverly moved closer to her son's doctor and put her hand on his arm. "Is it permanent?"
"It's too soon to tell, Mrs. Williams. But as I said before there is no evidence of major nerve damage in the broken cervical vertebrae, but we're dealing with edemas that can cause pressure on the nerves and thus, temporary paralysis."
A nurse came rushing out of the next room. "Doctor Carson, come quick!"
"I'll be right back." He hurried down to Steve's room where Mary was a nervous wreck.
"What happened?"
"I was...I was just talking to him when all over sudden..." she choked on her account of the occurrence.
"The EEG showed a spike in neuronal activity," the nurse informed.
"What did you say to him?" Carson asked the frightened girl as he flashed his penlight into Steve's eyes that he could only open to a slit due to the swelling.
"I was reliving happy childhood memories, one in particular when he bought me a stuffed pony for my eighth birthday. Is what happened a good sign?"
"I don't know, but I would tend to lean toward a clinical sign of an oncoming seizure," he surmised as he began analysing the EEG readings of the last minute.
"Oh God!" Mary cried, slapping her hand over her mouth. She turned to Kono who wrapped a consoling arm around her shoulders.
"Don't panic. It might be that he's starting to react to external stimuli, which is good."
Carson instructed the attending nurses to pay particular attention to the EEG activity and to have ample doses of anticonvulsant handy in case his intuition should hold true.
The following few days passed without much significant changes in either patients, save for their burn marks that had healed acceptably enough to allow a transfer to a regular ICU room.
Frances, Karen, Kono, Chin, Beverly, Rachel and Mary each took shifts at keeping a bedside vigil, but sleep would evade them whenever they were off duty. They would manage to steal a few winks while at their loved one's bedside, but the emotional and physical exhaustion was starting to take its toll on all of them.
As the daughter-father weekend drew near, Rachel tried to muster up the courage to explain Danny's injuries to Gracie, but the formidable task was too demanding and proved to be a lost cause.
Chin's suggestion that all women spend the weekend engaging in fun-filled activities to shield the child and, by the same token, get a break from all the recent turmoil was met with some reluctance, as they unanimously argued that Grace would eventually pick up on their grief behind a fake mask of pleasure and delight.
It was ultimately agreed that Grace be told of the tragedy involving her father and her Uncle Steve but to a lesser extent; leaving out the parts that would unavoidably scar her for life and instead, highlight the positive. A little glow would go a long way, even for the afflicted party.
Leaving Chin and Malia in charge of keeping a watch on both men, the girls took little Gracie in town to shop for items that the munchkin wholeheartedly believed would put the comatose patients on the road to recovery.
They finally converged to Steve's house where Frances and Karen took Gracie swimming in the ocean while Kono, Beverly Williams, Rachel and Mary remained behind on the lanai to laze about in lounge chairs shaded from the sun under large umbrellas. Soon, sleep would claim them under the watchful eye of Papa Bear, Kamekona.
Seeing the carefree little girl frolicking about in the sea brought an onslaught of nightmarish images of her time spent as McFadden's slave girl. Karen couldn't begin to describe the horror she lived through to her big sister, despite Frances's best efforts to pry the cork open. Danny was the only one she felt comfortable confiding in with her innermost fears and purging out her demons. Did little Gracie come close to being one of McFadden's victims? The mere thought churned her stomach. As strong as Danny was for her, that's how she needed to be for him.
Came Sunday night and the end of her weekend spent with grandma Williams and her aunts. Gracie was raring to go to the hospital and bring the stuffed seal and monkey to the bedridden pair, but she understood, though begrudgingly, that her Uncle Steve and Danno were too ill for little children to visit them quite yet. Frances, Karen and Kono promised to hang her drawings on their hospital room walls as an incentive to get well soon.
At some point during the afternoon, Frances excused herself from the group to go pick up her ringing cell phone.
"Frances? It's Duke."
"What do you have for me?" she asked as she made her way to the study to turn on her laptop.
"No doubt about it, McFadden's behind the bombing. Listen to this." He brought to the mouthpiece Steve's phone recording of the message he received seconds before the blast.
Frances listened intently to the exchange and flinched when she heard the explosion in the background.
"We recovered it from McGarrett's phone. The voice's a bit scratchy but you can distinctively hear McFadden's name."
"Looks like we've got our man," she grinded.
"Question is how do we catch him? He's one slippery snake. We spoke to the Finney girl. Of the descriptions she gave us of all the men she's seen while in captivity, one does match the artist's sketch Steve, Karen and your informant provided. We ran it through our data base as well as the FBI's, CIA's and Interpol's; no match."
"That doesn't surprise me but thanks to them, we're finally able to put a face to this psycho."
"If he did this that can only mean that he wanted Steve dead, undoubtedly because the Yakuza has a high price on his head. With the word out being that he's still alive, McFadden might hang around the hospital to make sure he does give up the ghost."
"Keep your men posted at their hospital rooms. Relieve them every three hours and crosscheck their credentials. Incidentally, the guy who was on watch at Danny's house? Did you have a chance to retrieve his background file?"
"Yes. I have it in front of me. Want me to email the data over to you now?"
"Yeah please." While waiting for the information to download she continued, "How long again has he been with the police force?"
"Nearly two years. I know him well. He's very ethical. Never had a disciplinary action taken against him," Duke informed.
"I read on his file here that he's had previous experience with explosives."
"You really suspect he could be behind this bombing?"
"At this point I suspect everyone, safe for you and the Five-0 members. One thing's for certain and that is McFadden didn't rig that bomb himself. He had to recruit an errand boy and what better than a cop who has easy access to guns and explosives," Frances explained, providing food for thought. "Do you have a recent psych test of that guy?"
"HR does. They perform one on us every year."
"Has he had any personal trial or trauma or perhaps suffered a recent setback at work?"
"He was recently denied a lucrative promotion in favor of a colleague with more seniority. He took it with a grain of salt, or so they believe. Fair to assume he might have been holding a grudge."
"That's another good reason to turn against your peers. You become an easy prey for a vulture like McFadden."
"I doubt it. He's a good cop."
"Don't forget, Carl Bayne was a good cop too before he quit NYPD to join up with McFadden. Ideology and values often take a backseat to money when you're on the war path with your boss. Say, can you do a voice recognizance of the one on the message and your guy's?"
"Sure. I'll have the boys down at the lab do one."
"We find a match, safe to assume we find our bomber. Granted, we're grasping at straws, but I just want to zero in on a prime suspect while the trail is still hot."
"I'll get on it and give you a full report. I could have gotten you all this information before today but I figured with what happened and all…"
"You did good. You're right. I wouldn't have been able to concentrate. My brain's still a bit fuzzy but I must press on if I want to nail McFadden."
"By the way, how are Steve and Danny?"
"So far so good. They both made it beyond the twenty-four-hour mark. Danny is now breathing without a tube and showing signs of cognitive perception. He does recognize us but can't talk and is still paralysed from the neck down.
"Steve on the other hand is still in a deep coma, but the brain activity has increased some. Doctors suspected the spikes in the EEG were signs of possible seizures but they never came to be. They believe he's responding to his sister's voice. She's been at his side most of the days, talking and reading to him. He's lost deep in the abyss and it's our job to try to pull him out of this dark and hellish hole."
"They're tough, remember that. In the meantime, we'll deploy all effective to nail this creep."
"We'll get him," Frances snarled, eyes shooting daggers. "If it's the last thing I do. Even if I have to crawl on my hands and knees battered and bloodied, gasping my very last breath I'll get him."
She hung up and stole a moment to compose herself before she moved to the living room where Karen, Beverly, Rachel, Mary and Kamekona were gathered around Kono.
"What's going on?"
"It's Danny!" Karen exulted. "He spoke."
"Okay. Yes Chin. We'll be right there." Kono said, exhilaration in her voice.
Mary offered to stay behind and babysit Gracie, but the little girl wouldn't hear of it. She threw a temper tantrum, demanding to see her daddy despite the grown-ups' objections, stating that she wouldn't be allowed to see her father just yet. Nevertheless, Danny's stubborn little monkey held her own and won.
Chin was conversing with the guard at the entrance of Danny's room when the herd came stampeding in.
"Chin, what's the word?" Kono asked in great anticipation.
"Danny's awake, or at least conscious. Doctor Kailo's with him now to assess the extent of his progress."
"You said he spoke?" Rachel said.
"Yeah but they don't quite know what to make of it. He mumbled a few words, they were slurred and unintelligible, though three names stood out clear and those were Steve's, Gracie's and Karen's."
All eyes fell on Karen who felt a tad embarrassed.
"Me? But why?"
"You and Danny have been seeing a great deal of each other lately," Frances observed.
"Yes but it's not like we've been together for months!"
"Perhaps but you noticeably made quite an impression on him, young lady, because he did call your name in his delirium," Dr. Kailo explained as he exited Danny's room, removing his gloves that he threw in a biohazard bin.
"Did you say delirium?" Beverly queried.
"Yes, your son appears to be caught in a loop, playing over and over again the same train of thoughts and always with Steve, Grace and Karen in center stage. He's distinctly not reliving a pleasant occurrence, which for the life of me I cannot comprehend. Perhaps you might make some sense of it?"
"I want to see my daddy!" Grace insisted, stomping forward to make her voice heard.
"Oh Grace, honey, I don't think your father is ready to receive underage visitors just yet. It might not be safe for young people," Rachel tried to reason with her pig-headed ponytailed daughter, as she picked up on the doctor's uneasiness to comply with the little girl's wish.
"Please, I want to see him just for a few minutes. Look," she held up her stuffed monkey, "I bought him a gift."
Kailo squatted down to the child's level and patted the small token of her affection for her father. "Listen...Grace, is it?" Grace nodded. "Your daddy is very ill right now, so much that he might not recognize you. Plus which, you might get frightened by all those machines around him to help him feel better."
"I won't," she maintained with confidence.
The good doctor lifted his gaze up at Mrs. Williams.
"She can handle it, doctor," Kono spoke up. "She's seen her father in a hospital bed before."
The neurosurgeon stood and sighed. "Yes, but has she ever seen him like THIS before? It might traumatize her." All hung their heads, evidence that the little girl had never witnessed such a harrowing sight. "All right, I'll allow it for a few minutes but I would ask you to pull her out of there at first sign of distress."
"Understood."
"Okay now. Mrs Williams, you, Karen and this young lady here, come with me."
The three women silently followed the neurologist inside the dim-lit room. Dr. Kailo stole a glimpse at the monitor to check the vitals before rounding the corner of the bed to stand on the opposite side of the threesome. Grace stepped on a small stool to rise to bed level. She somewhat cringed at the brace encasing her Danno's body, but she quickly composed herself for fear of being removed from the room.
The doctor pulled out his penlight to study Danny's pupillary reflex, as the patient continued slurring nonsense in his sleep. "Danny, Danny it's time to wake up," Kailo goaded, leaning close to the blond's face and rubbing his cheek lightly. "Come on, Danny. Open your eyes."
Danny's nightmare had his face distorting in pain."Steeeeeeeeeeeve, nooooooooooooonooo. Ouuuuuuuuuuuut nnnnnnnow," he drawled incoherently.
"Danno! Danno wake up," Grace beseeched, her tiny hand slipping into her father's calloused one. She gasped when she felt a tiny squeeze. "He moved!" she exulted.
"What?" her grandma asked.
"His fingers, they moved!" Grace reiterated, looking down at her father's limp hand resting in hers, hoping for a repeat.
The neurologist furrowed his brows and placed Danny's other hand in his. "Danny, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." He waited for a response than never came. Again, he coaxed the patient, "Danny, come on, squeeze my hand." Then a tiny reflex of the thumb had Dr. Kailo smiling and Gracie squealing with delight.
"He moved his fingers again," the little girl cheered.
"Did he move all of them or just the thumb?"
"Just the thumb, doctor," Karen answered.
"What is it?" Mrs. Williams queried, anxious as to the doctor's verdict.
"It is a very good sign, indeed. He should soon be able to bend all of his fingers, flex his elbows and wrists as the feeling gradually comes back in his upper limbs," he explained as he went to the foot of the bed and lifted the sheet off Danny's feet.
"Then the paralysis is really just temporary?" Karen asked.
Kailo proceeded with the Babinski test by stoking the sole firmly with a metal stick from back to front along the outside edge. There was no response. He dropped the sheet back over the feet and returned to the hand. This time, turning the palm upward and pricked the tip of each finger to trigger a response. Albeit sluggish, the reflex was there.
"There is neuronal activity in both hands, which confirms our initial diagnosis that there is no nerve damage in the broken cervical vertebrae. The brace kept his neck and spine immobile and as a result, it helped with the healing.
"However there's no plantar reflex, which means he's still paralysed from the waist down. But that could come from the edema in his lower back, which is applying pressure on the lumbar nerves. We'll wait until the swelling subsides and see if he regains some feeling in his legs. I'll also do another MRI to check for spinal epidural abscesses or other ailments that might have arisen in the last few days. We already have him on broad-spectrum antibiotics so technically there shouldn't be any infection."
"Nooooooooooooooo, leaaaaaaaaaaav alonnnnnnnnn. Stoooooooooooooooop. Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaacie," Danny mewled in his sleep.
"Go ahead little girl. Try to wake your daddy. He might respond to your voice."
"Can I put the monkey on daddy's shoulder?"
"Sure, go ahead. But gently."
Gracie did as instructed before she leaned her elbows on the mattress to get close to her father's face. She delicately brushed one finger against his cheek. "Please Danno, wake up."
Danny's constant moaning and sniveling didn't deter his tough little monkey. She was staunchly determined to rouse her father from his slumber and have him focus on her before she was asked to leave.
Danny's eyelids fluttered, much to everyone's jubilation. His efforts sent hearts aflutter. It took a while but finally, the vacuous blue eyes peered through a slit.
"Come on, Daniel. Open your eyes, son. All the way," Beverly encouraged, taking his hand and using her gentle squeeze as a beacon to pull her son to the land of the living.
Danny painstakingly pried open his eyes that instantly roamed the room in confusion before resting on his mother's beaming smile. "Sweetheart, it's mom. You recognize me, don't you?"
The recollection wasn't immediate, which sent a cold chill through the room. Following a good fifteen seconds of anxiety, the patient responded with a single blink.
A collective sigh of relief filled the room. Beverly's elation couldn't be contained. She bent forward to place a kiss on Danny's cheek. "That's good, Daniel." She moved to the right to place Grace in the foreground. Danny's wandering eyes settled on the little girl.
"Danno? Are you okay?"
Danny's face contorted as he struggled to remember the name of his darling daughter. A small cry escaped his lips and tears began pearling down his cheeks. All could see that he was trying to form the word.
"Come on, Danny, you can do it. Say it! Say her name," Doctor Kailo incited, glancing up at the monitor to catch any change in the vitals.
"G...Gra...Graccccccccccccccccccccccce," he finally heaved out.
Beverly closed her eyes and put a hand over her month. She was shaking all over.
Tears gushed out of Karen's eyes as she too was unable to contain her joy.
"Daddy! I love you, Danno."