Wānana Pū – Recollect
A/N: I believe Fan Fiction didn't send an email, to the subscribed followers, with the notification that chapter twenty got posted. So if you haven't read chapter twenty make sure to read it first before you continue to read this brand new chapter. Any one else having the same issue?Hopefully it will send an email this time... it probably won't.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.
A/N: Enjoy this new chapter!
The story is set somewhere in season 7. If there are some grammar of spellings issues left, it's on me. This chapter hasn't been corrected or anything. I did my best though, but I make mistakes (probably a lot of them).
Chapter Twenty-one
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SATURDAY – 9:02 AM – RECOVERY WARD KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.
"Then where the hell is he?" Steve exclaimed confused. He shot a questionably look at Lou. He placed his hands apprehensive on his hips and looked around the hallway. Doctor Lewis walked up behind Lou.
"Doc, did you take Danny for a walk or something?" Steve asked as the man approached them. Lou went back into Danny's room.
"No, not yet. I'm here to take him," his smiling eyes transformed into a narrowed gaze. "Why?" He asked puzzled.
"He's not in his room." Steve stated. He could see the concern on Doctor Lewis face. Which made him automatically concerned as well.
"McGarrett," Lou shouted from inside Danny's room. Steve and the doctor hurried into the room. Lou stood near the bed. "His phone's gone and he put on his own clothes." He pointed at the blue hospital gown tossed on a chair and the bag with personal stuff stood opened on the ground.
Steve lifted some magazines off the nightstand. "The tablet's gone too," he had left it there last night. Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Danny's phone. It went straight to voice mail. He tried again hoping his partner would pick up, only that didn't happen. It went immediately to voice mail again. "His phone is off. What's he doing?" Steve looked worried with a deep frown at Lou.
"He couldn't have gone that far, right? He hasn't regained full mobility, yet." The doc mentioned. He sighed deeply, regretting that he didn't come by sooner.
"All right, I'll take the elevator down. Lou you take them up. Doc call me if he shows up at his room." Steve demanded while he scribbled his phone number on a magazine cover. Lou and Doctor Lewis nodded firmly. They rushed off to search for Danny.
Steve jogged through the corridor, zigzagging amongst the people who were walking there. He pushed the elevator button many times until the door finally opened. Lou took the elevator next to him, which was going up. Both men went the opposite way. Steve pressed every button till the ground floor. On every floor he held the doors open, looked around the hallway and went back inside the elevator down to next floor.
Steve's heart started pounding at an increasingly rapid pace. He checked his phone, to see if he missed any calls or gotten any messages, but there were none. Where could Danny be?
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SATURDAY – 9:13 AM – FRONT DESK KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.
Steve had checked the other three floors quickly. There was no reason Danny would be on one of those floors. The elevator stopped on the ground floor. The door opened and Steve looked around to see if he could see Danny, but he didn't. He scanned the waiting area quickly, not that there was much sense that he would be there. Danny had no reason at all to be anywhere else other than his room. Steve went around the corner. His heart rate slowed instantly as he heard a familiar voice.
Danny stood by the front desk, holding onto the IV pole with his left hand. He rested his right arm on top of the desk, while held the tablet in his hand. Steve sent Lou quickly a text saying they were on the ground floor. It didn't make any sense to him why Danny would be here. Dressed in casual clothes, it almost seemed like he was ready to go home.
Danny was speaking with the nurse behind the desk. "It's eight-zero-eight-five-five-five-zero," He paused. "I uh I, that's all. I don't know the rest," Steve stopped and his face slackened. Those were the first seven digits of his phone number. Did Danny just forget his phone number? Why would he forget such thing? It's programmed in his cell phone, but he was sure Danny used to know it from the top of his head. Steve's brow furrowed and his eyes darted about in concern.
"Sir, I can't call if I don't have the complete number," The nurse responded.
"Then why don't you call HPD, they will put you through." Danny snapped waving with his free right his hand.
Steve walked up behind Danny. "Aren't you supposed to have my number on speed dial?"
Danny turned around, only standing with the support of the IV pole. He sighed exasperated. "And you-you were supposed to be here 15 minutes ago."
"We got stuck in traffic," Steve explained quickly. "Danny, what are you doing down here?" He asked with an aneurysm face.
"What am I, I'm buying some baseball tickets. What does it look like I'm doing." Danny sneered.
"Well certainly not answering your phone." Steve folded his arms in front of his chest, looking disapproving at his friend standing by himself and downstairs. Two things he shouldn't be doing.
"The battery died and there was no charger in the bag you brought over." Danny stated as he grabbed the desk again for the support. He had been downstairs for a while now and his abdomen was throbbing, just like his head. His head was the one he was actual concerned about, because he had not felt his head like this in days.
"You could've called from upstairs." Steve shrugged his shoulders, as he disagreed with Danny's excuse. It was not a straight explanation on why he would be down here.
"Sir, you should get back to your room." The nurse behind the desk interfered the two men as she noticed Danny's tight grip on the desk.
"I'll take him back, no problem," Steve smiled reassuring. "Could you let Doctor Lewis know, I found him downstairs?" He asked the nurse, so the doctor could go back to work again. Steve grabbed Danny by his bicep and guided him back towards the elevator. He did it a little less gentle than normal, but he knew Danny would resist if he didn't.
"You found me? What am I? A fugitive?" Danny protested as he tried to release himself from Steve's grip.
Steve stopped abruptly. He let go of Danny and stepped in front of him. "We've been looking for you, okay?" Steve confessed as Danny rolled his eyes.
"Great, well you found me. Let's go," Danny started walking slowly and went around Steve to go towards the exit. "We need to go see the vic's parents again." He muttered under his breath.
"Whoa, what is the matter with you?" Steve exclaimed as he went after Danny. "You can't leave the hospital. You want to pop some stitches? You can't go, okay?" He stopped his friend by placing his hand on Danny's chest.
"I have to apologize and they-they really should read this." Danny handed the tablet that Steve brought over last night. Showing the session files of Eden.
Astonishment widened Steve eyes. "Do not tell me you've been up all night, reading that?" Steve snatched the tablet out of Danny's hand. "Let me assure you that they do not want to read any of that." He locked the tablet and stared frustrated at Danny. How could he possible think Steve would let him near the Morrison's after last time? Those people had been through enough.
"Did you even read it?" Danny inquired as his brows snapped together. "No of course you haven't, otherwise you wouldn't say that."
"Eric just sent the most important pages." Steve admitted. He was planning on going over it today.
"That guy you arrested is guilty for a lot more than just murdering those people. Her parents deserve to know the truth," Danny raised his voice as the exhaustion forced him to hold onto the railing on the wall. He grimaced as a jolt of pain flashed through his stomach. Danny leaned against the wall with his right shoulder as he let go of the IV pole. He wrapped his left arm protectively around his abdomen trying to ease the agony in his gut.
Steve sighed as he reacted calmer. Danny seemed tired and in pain. They shouldn't be arguing. It would only drain more energy. "Listen to me, you can't go. Look at yourself you're exhausted." He sympathized. Steve became more concerned the longer he looked at his friend.
Danny steadied himself and cleared his throat. "We have to. I have to, okay? I need to apologize to them." He acknowledged.
Steve rolled his eyes. "It's not negotiable, Danny!"
The elevator door opened, Lou got out and stumbled right onto the two men arguing with each other. "There you guys are, everything okay?"
"Yes, we are going back up." Steve announced. He was happy to see Lou and Doctor Lewis as well. There was no way that Danny was getting out of here anymore. Not with the doctor around.
Danny stared annoyed at the two men that seemed to join the intervention against him leaving. All of a sudden his heart started racing, but he was not about to give up. The Morrison's deserved to know the truth. "No, we need to, uh... to go." Danny stammered. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he was sweating, like he had been running a couple of miles. He was feeling fine before and this came out of nowhere. He still needed to go though.
Doctor Lewis was standing next to Lou. "Let me get a wheelchair for you." The doctor offered as he noticed the strain it took on his patient to just stand. He also looked a bit pale to him.
"No, Steve, we-we," Danny objected. He was not going back to his room. He had to go. He just had to. Danny tried to get out of here anyway only his legs didn't cooperate. He was too damn tired to even take another step. He blinked repeatedly as his vision became blurry. "We sh-should…" Somehow it became difficult to talk. "We ha-have," He had to swallow a few time before he managed to say the rest of his sentence. "T-To go," what was happening? It felt like a Déjà vu. Something was wrong. "Ste-"
"Danny?" Steve asked worried as he examined his friend. Danny looked pale and beads of perspiration lingered on his forehead. He was breathing rapidly and his pupils appeared to be larger than normal. Steve and Lou shared a concerned glance. Danny's eyes rolled back and the loss of muscle tone in his body caused him to slump forward.
"Danny!" Steve exclaimed as both he and Lou reached for Danny and grabbed him quickly by the shoulders before he could hit the ground. "Doc!" Steve shouted as he glanced back over his own shoulder, as he held tight onto Danny, hanging unconscious between them.
Doctor Lewis turned around and hurried back to the two men holding his patient. "Get him on his side." He demanded. Steve and Lou handled quickly. Danny's whole body was tense, but the second he was on his side he started to seize. The doctor moved the IV pole aside as it had fallen onto the ground when Danny slumped forward.
"I need ten of Diazepam!" Doctor Lewis ordered. "Watch his head." He added towards Steve and Lou as Danny continued to convulse. His body was making fast jerking movements until the doctor pushed the diazepam. All of a sudden he relaxed and his body went limp. Steve placed his hands on his hips and straightened his back. He locked eyes with Lou as the both let out a relieved sigh.
Doctor Lewis rolled Danny carefully on his back. The relieve with all three men vanished instantly as small vertical shaped crimson stains started to enlarge through Danny's light gray shirt. "Oh crap, I need a gurney!" Lewis yelled.
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SATURDAY – 11:53 AM – RECOVERY FLOOR KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.
After the incident downstairs, Doctor Lewis had closed the surgical incision again and had taken Danny up for some scans of his head and abdomen. Doctor Reid had been paged to consult with him since she was Danny's neurologist. Danny was brought back to his room after they made the scans. There didn't seem to be more damage other than popping his sutures. Both doctors agreed that he should rest. Danny was confused about what happened and had dozed off a few times. The seizure had drained all his energy and since he had barely slept that night, he felt exhausted.
Lou was sitting with Danny in the room, while Steve waited for Doctor Reid to stop by. He had a lot of questions about what happened and how this would affect his health. Danny wasn't able to have that kind of conversation right now, so Steve did it for him. Steve was pacing down the corridor as Doctor Reid showed up.
She smiled politely as she walked up to Steve. "Commander McGarrett, I understood you had some questions?"
"Yes, I do," Steve placed his hands apprehensive on his hips. He was clearly concerned about Danny's condition. "How could this have happened?"
"Well, it might just be from changing the medication and the lower dose. Or the fact that he barely slept last night. Seizures are very sensitive to sleep patterns. The lack of 'good sleep' makes most people more likely to have seizures. Don't worry, he'll be fine," Doctor Reid explained as she placed her hand on Steve's arm to reassure him. "It will be under control once he'll take the right dose of his medication and gets enough sleep at night." She added.
"That's what you said last time," Steve protested gazing indignant at the doctor.
"I know, but he didn't stick two both those things. Not that he could do anything about changing his medication, but the combination most likely triggered the seizure. I can't tell you if he will have another seizure or not. If he'll have another seizure it's a sign to slow down and adjust his medication."
"A sign? He can't be working in the field that way, right?" Steve leaned a bit forward looking confused at the doc. His arms were crossed and his brow furrowed deeply.
"I have to admit it's not a perfect situation if he gets another seizure on the job. But I'm not recommending that he's going to sit on a couch all day, just to be sure it won't happen. That's not healthy. Having seizures should not affect the type of job that a person has. So I suggest he'll recover from his abdominal surgery and once he's ready, he can go back to work." The doc shared her opinion.
"You sure," Steve affirmed and his brows creased.
"I am, there will be some major adjustments and he needs to be careful of course. He can start with desk duty, but I don't see why he can't go back into the field with time." Doctor Reid added cautiously.
Steve shot a glance into Danny's room through the window that provide the staff to keep an eye on their patients, without going into the room. He could see Lou talking and Danny seemed to be awake. He should get back in there. Steve knew enough for now.
"I got it covered doc, thank you." He forced a smile on his face as he walked back inside the room.
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SATURDAY – 11:53 AM – RECOVERY FLOOR KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - HONOLULU.
Danny let out a small gasp as he awakened after several hours sleep, his head and body a chorus of pain. He shifted, feeling a lightning bolt shoot through his head. The pain started, sharp at first and then sharper. Heavier. Slowly rounding into agony. It took him a minute to realize he lay in the partially reclined hospital bed. Again. He remembered vaguely that he went downstairs, but after that it went dark.
The bright light sunlight drove knife blades into his skull when he opened his eyes, aggravating the constant headache. He made a low growl. It was the same headache he had for weeks after the explosion. The pain provided him with an answer that something was wrong with his head. He examined his head with his fingers. He touched the scar on his forehead before he combed his hand through his hair. No bandages. Nothing.
"Hey, man." A distinctive low voice spoke. Danny slowly rolled his head to the side, to see where the "hey" was coming from. Lou was sitting next to the bed in a chair.
"What happened?" Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the headache.
"You don't remember?" Lou asked.
Danny shook his head, but twitched with pain. "Just tell me," the relentless, throbbing headache made thinking difficult.
"I don't want to scare you or anything, but you had another seizure."
"What?" Danny jolted upright. "Argh," the movement made him groan and he felt his abdomen scream in protest. He winced, brows furrowed tight with pain.
"And you ruptured some of your sutures." Steve explained as he entered the room, noticing Danny's discomfort. Danny shot him a look before he closed his eyes to deal with the pain. Steve locked eyes with Lou, asking in silence if he and Danny could have some time to talk, in private.
Lou got the hint and stood up. "I'm going to get some coffee." He stated.
As Lou left, Steve leaned on the end of the bed with his elbows. He stared at his own hands and sighed, deflating loudly. "We need to talk," Steve scratched at the stubble on his cheek his voice matter-of-fact almost distant.
"Can we do that another time? I'm tired." Danny grunted as he stared at Steve, letting him no he didn't have the energy for it. His friend looked serious back at him.
"No, we can not. I know that you're tired, you probably have a headache and you're in pain. That is because you didn't listen to yourself, so you're going to listen to me instead." He said not bothering to mince his words.
"I can take care of myself. I did it for the last 39 years and it went perfectly okay, at least until I met you." Danny objected as he reached for the spare pillow. He needed to take a few deep breaths, but without splinting the surgical incision it would hurt like hell.
Steve jumped in, handing him the pillow. "Danny, I'm going to say this once and after that I will never mention it again," his expression was compassionated.
"Steve-" Danny started but Steve interrupted him. "Just listen to me before you start arguing," he demanded. "You're going to take some time off and heal. You don't get to argue about this. I'm telling you to take it easy and you're going to listen to me."
"Why are you… you don't have to be so worried, okay? It doesn't suit you."
"I'm not worr- okay, I'm worried about you and that won't change until you're able to take care of yourself. You saved my life by giving me a piece of your liver. Besides you said it yourself; you did it, so I could take care of my self again. Let me save your stubborn ass for once, so that when you're feeling okay, you can take care of yourself again."
"Stop, you can't do this. You wouldn't be arguing with me right now, if I didn't give you a piece of my liver. So no, you don't get a say in what I do." Danny snapped as he held tightly onto the pillow.
"No, I would not, but I am. I'm not giving you any organs or something, but I'm saving you this time by telling you to slow down a notch. I rather have a best friend too, you know. One who's alive and not died because he was too obstinate to listen to his partner. Let me save you this time and in this way? I don't want have to search for another friend or partner, okay?"
A long moment passed before Steve continued. "You've had my back since day one and you always will. You even saved my life and I'm thankful for that. So let me do this in return. I'm your partner, okay? And I do have your back, I always have and I always will. I would trade places with you at any second, you know that, right?"
Danny had to swallow hard. "I know you have and I know you would. It makes you a complete idiot, but I love you for it, buddy." Appreciation glowed in his eyes. "However you really should stop worrying, you're not getting any younger by doing that." Danny teased; he wasn't very good in responding when someone he cared about opened up to him.
Steve snorted, before sadness overtook his face. "All I'm asking is for you to take the time you need to get back to being yourself and we'll go from there."
Danny sighed. He understood the seriousness of the condition he was in and if he was honest with himself he hadn't been okay ever since the explosion. He had the choice to argue about this for a while longer, but was exhausted; he really wanted to sleep and Steve was right about it. "All right, I know you're not going to drop this until I agree with you, so fine. I'll take some time off." Danny stated as he locked eyes with Steve. The only thing bugging him was that he still needed to visit the victim's parents. "I really want to speak with Eden's parents though,"
"We'll go together once you get discharged." Steve said, relieved that he finally got through to Danny. He just hoped Danny was serious about it and not because he was tired and wanted to sleep. Even Steve could tell he was exhausted, but he really needed to talk with Danny.
"Promise?" Danny asked.
"I do, okay?" Steve promised. "Get some sleep."
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A/N: Soooo Steve finally got it off his chest...
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