A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Chapter 25: It hurts me too.
Danny woke up feeling the warmth of the sun on his face. Squinting his eyes and rubbing them with the back of his hand, he moved in an effort to escape the annoying light.
"Ohh finally! Wake up already would you? It´s almost ten o´clock"
"Close the blinds you animal…"
Steve smiled. A cranky Danny was always a good sign. Steve approached him and strategically placed himself between Danny and the window, effectively shading the light away from Danny´s unaccustomed eyes. Indeed, Steve have opened not only the blinds but also the window panes, letting a comfortable warm breeze to free enter and travel the room as it pleased, taking away the best as possible the classical hospital scents and replace them with the aromas of the blooming spring.
"Come on, it´s not so bright"
"Says you" Danny also smiled, but then sighed and again tried to accommodate better on the bed. His face evidencing something was troubling him.
"Hey, what´s wrong?
"I really have to pee" Danny looked from where he was lying towards the bathroom door. It really didn´t seem that far, and he really had to go, so he just tossed the sheets away from his legs the best he could.
"Hey, what´re you doing? Steve got closer as Danny struggled to lower his legs to the floor and assisted him on sitting up.
"I want to go to the bathroom."
"I don´t know Danny, how´re you planning on going over there, why don´t I just…"
"I won´t pee on a pot, so either you help me or get out of my way." Danny attempted to get up, his matter urging him to empty his bladder but his legs not being very strong and helpful, plus his healing ankle still was not up for the task.
"Alright alright alright, but wait for me to go look for a wheelchair." Steve´s eyes looked straight inside Danny´s anxious ones, in order to emphasize his words and to make clear he was no joking about the matter. "Don´t do anything stupid, you hear me? I´ll be right back, wait for me."
The almost imperceptible nod his partner gave him was enough for him to flee the room in order to retrieve the wheelchair as fast as he could do it, because it was Danny and he knew him very well.
Steve left so quickly that Danny didn´t have time to verbalize his change of mind. The urge to urinate was starting to get painful and his emerging pride was still too weak to impose itself. Danny cursed his stubbornness and eased himself further on the border of the bed. The motion pulled on his not so covering gown, obliging him to work on adjusting it back to place to spare him from a humiliating moment. He was tired of his naked body covered just by a light and almost translucent piece of thin fabric. He needed clothes. His clothes. He couldn´t see the moment they brought them to him. Apparently, today was the day.
Looking down to his feet hanging from the bed, he was so immersed on his thoughts and focused on controlling his need to piss that he was startled when the dark wheelchair suddenly made an appearance in front of him.
"Ok, let's go". Steve put the brakes on the wheels. He was also so focused on his little mission that at first he didn´t notice Danny´s doubtful behavior.
"Come on". The Commander straightened and grabbed his friend´s arm in order to help him down the bed and guide and assist him to sit on the wheelchair, but he found resistance as Danny bent back and tensed. "What´s wrong?"
"I´m…" The detective´s voice trailed off, baring the evidence of his growing nervousness. Steve adjusted his grip on Danny´s bicep, shaking him a little bit to encourage him to continue.
"I´m not sure I can hold it much longer".
"Can you make it to the bathroom?"
"Don´t know…"
Steve started to move towards the bathroom, presumably to fetch the urinal pot but Danny was fast enough to grab his sleeve.
"No no, I can do it…" Still with doubt in his voice although his sentence was an affirmation, Danny weakly hold on to his partner´s t-shirt and stilled his movement.
"Ok, let´s go now then". Steve reassumed his place at Danny´s side and helped him slide down the bed and step on his good foot on the cold tiled floor. Damn, every time he touched his friend´s bony back and ribs an instantly urge to break something and loose his fury on the bastards that had done this was inevitable.
Unable to give free ride to those needs, he instead clenched his teeth and his hardened jaw was an enemy of the intention of hiding his rage.
"What?"
"Nothing, let´s go before you pee on yourself". Steve hated himself for exuding bad energy around his friend. He had to focus more on his calmness and supportive attitude.
Danny abandoned the intent of looking his friend on the eyes because he sensed something odd but as Steve sight was lowered on the floor where his feet were, he paid attention again to his desire to relieve his urge to piss.
Those same hands that were capable of break the neck and beat to cause the more damage possible to those who had put them through this, were the same hands that delicately but firmly guided Danny to sit on the wheelchair and pushed him towards the bathroom. The same strength that could take two men down was used to take the majority of his friend's light weight to help him sit down on the toilet. The shame showed itself clearly on Danny´s face. After all he had been through this shouldn't be a big issue, but the tension of his body showed otherwise.
Danny was able to hold on long enough to wait for his partner to go out the bathroom and as soon as Steve stepped out, he released the first ´toilet piss´ on four months. It felt good, and he didn´t care he was sitting down. It was funny, to say at least, that something so simply, natural and basic was taken like a big triumph, because the last time he peed by himself he was on that horrid place, tied up and subsequently obliged to do it on himself, with the incommodity and pain that it wore with it because his skin was raw and infected.
"Close the door please, would you?"
Steve smiled. The tone was so Danny, and he was surprised that the phrase didn´t end with "animal" or something like that. He respected Danny´s request and closed the door.
"Call me when you´re done".
"The hell I will". Danny didn´t call him, and Steve knew he wouldn't. He also respected that. It took the detective almost half an hour to finish his duties before he reopened the door by himself, not without a big amount of struggle and fighting to be able to move the wheelchair.
"Everything ok, could you go well?" Steve took over his evidently exhausted partner and, instead of heading back for the bed, he guided the wheelchair towards a comfortable chair strategically placed by the windows.
"None of your business"
"Oook" Steve put the brakes on the wheels again. "Doctor said you should stay up longer periods of time, so now you´re going to sit on this chair with this magnificent view!" Steve smiled, knowing Danny was on the verge of insulting him. His light and jovial mood was apparently not welcomed and considered annoying.
When he has closed the bathroom door, Steve had remained there, leaning on the wall and attentive in case Danny needed him. He heard his partner struggle but chose not to interfere unless he was asked for help. He knew that, in that moment, the help was to remain ready but not making himself an unwanted presence that could compromise Danny´s growing confidence and pride. The reality was that his friend´s body´s needs were totally opposed to his soul´s and mind´s necessities.
Now, Steve regretted his seemingly careless behavior that made Danny feel bad. Before helping Danny, he seated down on the chair that was for his friend and looked at him on the eyes. "I´m sorry buddy, I didn't mean to be an ass". His heart ached, he longed for those traditional easy going exchanges with his partner but at the same time he felt he had gone too far. He felt Danny was no ready yet and that it was too soon and the matters were too delicate to take them for a laugh. "I´m really sorry" He clasped his friend´s leg and pressed it affectionately, crunching his face and immediately lowering his head to hide the sorrow evidenced on his face. Off guard, Steve felt all he went through the past months and it hit him hard. When he felt Danny´s hand pressing his, he lost it completely and wasn´t able to hold back the broken sobs and then the tears that freely fell down his crumpled crying face. It was his turn to cry his anguish on his friend´s chest.