Part Two, Zero, Four

"Commander McGarrett?"

Steve blinked awake and looked up at the young man standing over him.

"We're going to get you to sit up and then sit in the visitor's chair. It's important for you to start moving around. Petty Officer Simons is here as backup."

Steve looked at the bespeckled young man with dark hair and dark eyes before looking back at the young nurse by the name of Lt. Gorham, if he was reading the name plate right. Lt. Gorham had lighter hair than P.O. Simmons but the same dark eyes.

C'mon Steve, pull yourself together! Ask about getting off the drugs! You can do it, you have to do it.

As Lt. Gorham readied the chair and raised the bed to a sitting position, Steve struggled to get the words out.

"No more drugs." He finally managed to say.

Lt. Gorham paused and looked at him. "You want to be taken off some of the painkillers?"

Steve nodded. He hated the way he felt on them. Forming words for a sentence was like swimming in molasses.

"I will make note of that and tell Dr. Takahashi when he comes to see you, all right?"

"Okay…thanks."

Lt. Gorham smiled. "You're welcome, sir." He pulled back the bed sheets. "Slide your legs toward the edge of the bed."

Steve did as he was told, finding himself staring at the pea green slipper socks on his feet. What the…?

Lt. Gorham must've seen the look on Steve's face for he chuckled and said "It was either pea green or pink and you don't strike me as the kind to wear pink."

It took a moment but Steve snorted, then winced as his left side protested the sudden movement. Lt. Gorham slipped his hand under Steve's right elbow and, very slowly, Steve rose to his feet, trying desperately not to wobble, his left hand braced on the bed for support.

"It's all right, Commander. You can lean on me. I'm sturdier than I look." Lt. Gorham said.

Easy for you to say. Steve thought. Grudgingly, he shifted his weight towards the lieutenant and made a couple of tentative steps.

"Good. All right, that's it, don't step on the tubing. A couple more steps…" Lt. Gorham said.

The chair didn't seem that far away but it was taking forever to get there.

"Almost there. And…easy…easy…you're there." Lt. Gorham said.

Steve blinked, it was all he had the energy to do.

Lt. Gorham covered Steve's legs with a blanket. "Sit there for a bit and then we'll help you back into bed. If you need anything, just push the call button." He handed the device to Steve.

"No more drugs." Steve said.

Lt. Gorham nodded. "I'll write it down the moment I get back to the nurse's station so I don't forget."

"Okay." Steve leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

"Steve?"

The familiar voice brought Steve out of his light doze.

"Mary." He smiled at his sister.

She returned the smile, saying "Good to see you up and in a chair, bro." She sat down on the edge of the bed.

His smile broadened, then faltered. "I didn't scare you too much, did I?"

Mary eyed her brother for a long moment, a frown on her face. "You scared the hell out of me. BUT, I knew something like this might happen because of what you do."

Steve made a face.

"I'm just happy it happened here and not halfway around the world, where all I might get is a phone call and that would be after the fact, when there would be nothing I could do."

She's got a point. A little voice in Steve's head said.

"I will say that by the time I was told, you were through the surgery and were sleeping off the drugs." Mary told him.

He blinked and fought off the urge to yawn. Mary wouldn't mind if he fell asleep but it didn't feel right to do so.

"Chin? That man deserves a raise. He's worried about everyone else on your team and what is he doing? Trying to calm me down."

Steve smiled. "He's a good man. Dad trained him." He fought the urge to yawn again but lost. "Why didn't Danny talk to you?" There was something niggling in the back of his mind about Danny but he couldn't quite bring it forward.

Mary shook her head. "I don't know. Chin told me he called because Danny couldn't."

Steve rested his head against the back of the chair. What the hell had happened? Somebody had to know, he just had to find that particular person. They sat in companionable silence for some time with Steve finally caving into the need to doze and Mary watching him sleep.

Presently, there was a knock on the door frame followed by "Commander, sitting in the chair, excellent."

Steve focused, albeit slower than normal, on the man in the doorway, recognizing him as "his" doctor, Taka…something. Today, he was wearing dark green scrubs with a lab coat over them. Behind him stood a young woman, also dressed in scrubs, a notepad clutched tightly in her hands.

Mary smiled and said "Dr. Takahashi, good to see you. Who's your shadow?"

Dr. Takahashi turned and motioned to the young woman to come in. "This is First Lieutenant Jill Stackhouse. Lt. Stackhouse is starting her residency today and will be following me around. Do I have your permission, Commander, to let her observe as I check on you?"

Steve studied the young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Catherine, his on and off girlfriend, before nodding.

"Thank you." Dr. Takahashi replied.

"No more drugs." Steve told him.

"So I heard from Lt. Gorham. After I check on your stitches, I'll discuss the matter."

Steve made a face but there wasn't anything else he could do. Dr. Takahashi checked Steve's wounds and the chest tube as well as listening to him breathe, explaining everything to Lt. Stackhouse. While the doctor wrote down his observations, Steve took it upon himself to find out more about Lt. Stackhouse.

"Where are you from, lieutenant?"

"La Porte, Texas, sir." Lt. Stackhouse replied.

"Outside of Houston, lots of oil and gas refining?"

"Chemical refineries, sir."

"Have you been in Hawai'i very long?" Mary asked, ignoring the evil look Steve aimed at her.

"A couple of weeks, ma'am. It's very nice."

Mary smiled. "I'm glad you think so."

Observations recorded, Dr. Takahashi returned to the conversation. "Commander, I am quite pleased with your progress so far."

"But…" Steve said.

Dr. Takahashi grinned. "But, I'm concerned that if I lower the painkillers too much, your progress will suffer."

Steve opened his mouth to object but Dr. Takahashi held up his hand, cutting Steve off.

"That said, I did order the dosage to be lowered. However, if your progress slows down even a little, I will raise it back up, understand?"

Steve nodded. Finally.

"Lest you get the idea that you hide such things from me, you can't. You are not the first SeAL I've had." Dr. Takahashi told him. The doctor looked at Mary. "You might already know this but SeALs are the absolute worst when it comes to their own health. Well, SeALs and Recon Marines."

Steve scowled in response.

Dr. Takahashi shook hands with Mary and encouraged Lt. Stackhouse to do the same. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, Ms. McGarrett. I will see you later." He walked out of the room with the lieutenant trailing after him.