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EUPHORIA

CHAPTER 9

Given he was safe, he was in his own bedroom, and he was surrounded by the people he trusted most in the world, the adrenaline was maybe pumping around Steve's body more than it should have been. But the prospect of another battle with his stricken partner was looming. He hated this.

Danny was curled into a ball of misery in his arms. His eyes were open wide as he stared off somewhere into the unseen distance, pupils huge and dilated. He panted hard, sweat running down his face even as he shivered. He was agitated and confused and hurting like crazy…. so he was fighting them every inch of the way.

They struggled to give him water, to get pills in his mouth, to get him to swallow them. They were forced to physically restrain him, hold his head still, pry his mouth open to get the tablets in…. and, ninety percent of the time, what they did get down him came straight back up, Danny's body quivering with spasms as he vomited.

Steve hated himself for every moan of distress that came from his partner. He hated fighting Danny like this, knowing his partner was genuinely scared.

Steve leant back a touch so he could see Danny's face. He cupped his cheek and tried to turn it so he would have to meet Steve's eyes.

"Danny, buddy, listen. We've got some medicine for you, something different. Kono went and got it. Max said it would really help you, make you feel so much better." Steve glanced up at Chin, beyond grateful that they had taken the decision to contact Max to ask for advice, even if they hadn't exactly told him what was going on.

"Just let us slip it in your mouth, okay? It's a wafer, not a pill. You don't have to swallow or anything. It's just ondan…. What is it?" He stopped, looked at Chin.

"Ondansetron." Chin said with a wry smile, one hand resting on Danny's knee. "It's a wafer so it'll dissolve in your mouth."

Danny shook his head weakly, pushed feebly at Steve's chest with one trembling hand. Steve grimaced in pain as the light contact pressed on his ribs.

"Maybe if we just put in it his cheek?" Chin suggested. "That might be less of a fight."

Steve nodded in concurrence. "Ok, come on Danny. Listen, you know I'm on your side. Open up. Come on, we're trying to help you."

"S-Steve?" Danny's huffed word came out like a plea.

"Yeah, I'm here." Steve replied gently. "Please let us help you. Just relax and open up. Trust me."

For a second it seemed like he was going to comply. For a second his mouth opened, albeit by mere millimeters.

Then he jerked back, twisted round, tried to fight out of Steve's grasp again. As Danny thrashed his elbow caught Steve's chest in just the wrong place. White flashes of pain sparked from Steve's ribs. The pain was excruciating.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, drawing harsh breaths through gritted teeth while he waited for the pain to subside, vaguely aware that Chin had wrapped his arms around Danny's upper body and pulled him away from Steve, trying to restrain him, to prevent him from causing more injury to any of them.

The whole thing was nothing short of a nightmare.

"Shit that hurt. Shit." Steve gasped, looking over at Chin through tears of pain. He shook his head, about at the end of his tether. "This isn't right, Chin. This is just not right. There has to be a better way."

At that very moment the bedroom door opened. Steve and Chin gaped in amazement as Max Bergman walked right on in to Steve's bedroom uninvited with no hesitation whatsoever. Whether the eccentric medical examiner's timing was simply impeccable or whether he'd been waiting, listening, outside the door, was unclear, but right then Steve didn't care. He was ready to admit they needed more help and Max, in person, was simply the answer to their prayers. In that moment of clarity, he wished they'd just asked him to come straight out to begin with.

Max bowed his head smartly in greeting, dark eyes taking in the situation without comment. "Commander, I have no wish to intrude, however….your team contacted me to request advice appropriate for the hypothetical situation where a person or persons has been forcibly addicted to an opiate substance. I was happy to oblige, but then concluded that, should those circumstances ever occur, it would be better, hypothetically, if I could attend such a patient and render assistance in person. If you have no objections, that is."

Steve chuffed out a disbelieving laugh that was perilously close to a sob. "No objections. None at all."

…

Steve watched in silence as Max busied himself. He had re-positioned himself back behind his partner, supporting his Danny's limp weight against his aching chest, ready to restrain him if necessary. Chin stood close by, ready to assist.

Perhaps Danny was just totally exhausted by that point, but he didn't fight. Or maybe Max was just brilliant. He set up an IV, slipping the cannula in Danny's hand with such skill the detective didn't even appear to register. Somehow he manoeuvred the wafer Steve and Chin had struggled with into Danny's mouth with virtually no effort whatsoever.

Steve cleared his throat as he watched. "Is he gonna be okay?" he croaked.

Max nodded curtly. "I have given him clonidine to help with his agitation and his muscle cramps. I also gave him ondansetron, which is an anti-emetic, for his nausea and vomiting, and some intravenous fluids to counter the significant dehydration caused by his gastric motility: a side effect of cessation of opioids. In different circumstances I would suggest the use of methadone, but I'm guessing you'd like to avoid that as the stigma of long-term prescription of a heroin replacement, albeit on a gradually reducing dose, would essentially be identical to that of using heroin itself. He would be no better off."

Steve stared blankly at Max, because that would be one hell of a lot to take in even if his brain had been firing on all cylinders. He nodded, mute.

"Commander, I am happy to assist in alleviating Detective William's symptoms, but I am aware you must be concerned that he still has the additional challenge of overcoming the desire to self-administer further doses of heroin to face. It will, after all, be the manner with which he copes with the ongoing cravings of addiction that will govern the outcome of this whole affair and the potential for his reputation to survive intact. "

Steve nodded again. Now Danny's suffering was easing…that right there was the crux of the problem. Could Danny overcome this psychologically? The battle was only just beginning. Steve felt a lump rise in his throat.

Max stared at him in an unnervingly intense manner, then placed a hesitant hand on Steve's arm in a rare display of physical support. "Commander. Steve. I have every faith that Detective Williams' unfailing and often irritating strength of character in combination with his devoted circle of friends will ensure he comes through this experience unchanged. You can trust that I, for one, will not pre-judge him in future."

Max paused, then released Steve's arm. "Detective Williams should rest more easily now. I believe it would be advantageous for you to sleep too as you appear overtly exhausted and are clearly injured. Your partner will undoubtedly need your support when his physical condition begins to improve. I will assist your colleagues in tending to his needs meantime."

Steve's eyes began to sting and fill. "Max, I….just thank you."

Note: Thanks to the lovely KomodoQueen for providing Max's technical medical speech. You are awesome, KQ! And that you to the equally lovely IreneClaire for confirming the first version of this chapter sucked.

That all said….review please…