Tuesday

Dr. Paul shook his head in frustration as he pulled the stethoscope away from his ears. "His blood pressure is still too low—way too low. I'm going to push meds in the IV to raise it."

"Alright," Dr. Harper, the respiratory specialist, said in agreement. "His lungs are in trouble. He's having to work hard to breathe. I think we should consider a ventilator, just to take some of the stress off his body."

Dr. Paul frowned. "You really think we're to that point?"

"I do. Something has to give, and soon. We need to keep a close eye on his blood work. I think we're heading toward septic shock."

"Damn it," Dr. Ward said. "I'd really like to operate on his knee by the end of the week. His shoulder isn't quite as urgent, but that knee's a mess. I don't want to wait any longer than necessary. You think he'll be stable enough by, say, Thursday?" Dr. Ward was an award-winning orthopedic surgeon but even he had doubts about repairing the damaged knee.

"Possibly," Dr. Paul said, looking at the sleeping man on the bed. Steve hadn't moved during the exam. "If we can get this infection under control. We may just have to get him as stable as we can and then do the surgery. We're taking a risk on waiting as it is. Look at this though."

Dr. Paul gently pushed aside the hospital gown and blanket to reveal Steve's horribly bruised abdomen.

"Damn," Dr. Ward breathed. "If he doesn't start to show signs of internal bleeding soon, I'll be amazed."

"Me too," Dr. Paul agreed quietly.

"How's he doin', doc?" Danny asked when Dr. Paul walked into the waiting room. Seeing Steve after being admitted to the hospital had done nothing to ease Danny's worries; in fact, the sight of his partner had only made things worse.

The large group looked at the doctor expectantly. Everyone had stepped out except for Callie during the doctors' exams and now they were expecting an update.

Dr. Paul sighed. "He's…struggling right now. His fever has gone up, which is causing him to feel worse overall. He's exhausted and in a great deal of pain. We're still working against the dehydration and infection, and we're trying to get him stabilized. We're trying to give him enough antibiotics to keep him from going into septic shock, but that's looking more and more likely."

"Septic shock?" Jerry questioned.

"It often follows sepsis if the sepsis can't be treated with antibiotics. Low blood pressure, high temperature, severe chills...It can lead to organ failure, starting with the kidneys. I'm not going to lie to you, things are serious right now. So far, he's showing every symptom except kidney failure. The pneumonia and broken ribs are complicating his breathing." Dr. Paul paused, looking each person in the eyes. "Dr. Ryan—Callie—told me to be completely honest with all of you. She said you could handle it. He's in critical condition and will most likely be put on a vent soon."

Junior turned away from the group as Tani gasped and Lou dropped his head to look at the floor.

"No, no, no," Danny said quietly. "No. He did not make it all the way back from the hell he went through in Colombia to die of an infection here."

"I understand your feelings, Detective Williams, and I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to ensure that's not the case. Commander McGarrett has been assigned a one-on-one nurse, meaning he is her only patient. And," Dr. Paul had to chuckle a bit, "he also has Dr. Ryan who, despite her size, is a bit of a bulldog. She is keeping the staff on their toes. I think the specialists are afraid of her."

That got a smile from the group.

"How is Miss Callie holding up with all this? Is she still okay with us going back a couple at a time to see him?" Lou asked.

"She's strong. She doesn't want him to see that she's worried, but she is, of course. And, yes, I asked her specifically if she wanted me to deny visitors—and I didn't mean anything bad toward any of you by asking—and she was appalled. She told me he—they—needed their ohana now more than ever."

"And that's exactly what they'll get," Lou confirmed, looking at the others who were nodding in agreement.

"Oh, my God," Lou said softly as he and Renee looked in from the door. An oxygen mask covered Steve's nose and mouth. Tubes of all kinds were everywhere, bags of IV fluids and blood hung by the bed, and countless monitors hummed and beeped, all making sure the Commander was still alive.

The problem, Lou thought, was that Steve didn't look alive at all.

Callie was sitting quietly by the bed, running her fingers through his hair. His head was turned toward her, but his eyes weren't open. Lou didn't know if the man was asleep or awake, but the scene in front of him was breaking his heart. He cast a glance at his wife and saw that she was feeling the same way.

Callie looked up and gave the couple a soft, sad smile. She leaned closer to Steve as Lou and Renee moved closer. "Hey," she said to him quietly, barely above a whisper. "Lou and Renee are here. Can you open your eyes for a minute?"

As Callie talked to Steve, Dinah quietly filled the Grovers in on what to expect. "He's very tired. In the last hour or so, he has gone downhill pretty quickly. He may only stay awake for you for a few minutes. He's medicated almost to the point of being sedated. We'll be switching to the ventilator soon to allow his body to rest and heal. Dr. Ryan wanted to give anyone who wanted to a chance to speak to him before sedating him further for the procedure. He probably won't talk to you—he seems to be reserving the energy needed for that for Dr. Ryan—but, exhausted as he is, he's still very lucid. He's going to understand everything you say."

"Thank you," Renee said. The three watched as Steve opened his eyes, blinking slowly, his gaze completely on Callie.

"There you are," she smiled. "Did you hear me say Lou and Renee are here?" He nodded once. "Okay. I'm going to move now so they can visit with you, but I'll still be here, okay?" Another nod. She squeezed his hand and stood up, smiling and motioning to the Grovers.

Renee took the chair Callie had just left. She picked up Steve's hand and gently rubbed it. "I hear you did really good things over there, Steve. I'm so thankful for you, your SEAL team, and everyone else like you. You just rest now and get better." She patted his arm. "And don't worry a bit about Lou and Danny—I'll keep my thumb on them," she teased with a wink, earning a tiny smile. She squeezed his hand again, standing up. "You've done so much for our family. I don't know where to start. I love you, Steve."

Lou switched places with his wife and sighed deeply. "Oh, man," he said. Steve had closed his eyes and was wearily blinking them open again to focus on his friend. "You are probably the most loyal, most generous, best friend I've ever had. You're gonna make it through this just fine because we need you. You hear me, brother? We all need you. Hell, I need you and if somebody would have told me when we first met that I would be saying that one day, I would've punched them in the mouth." He gave a tearful laugh. "No, we didn't get off on the right foot, but we've surely made up for it, haven't we? I don't know, man, maybe it's because I'm getting old, but I just cry these days, you know?" Tears were running down the man's face. "I just, I can't stand seeing you like this, man. But it's all gonna be alright, okay? It's all gonna be alright. You're gonna kick this infection and they'll do the surgeries they need to do and you'll be back to driving Williams crazy in no time." Lou was trying to smile, but couldn't get the tears to stop. "I never thought I'd say it, way back then, but you just mean so much to me, brother. You know that, right? Dammit, I love you, man."

Steve raised his hand slightly, motioning for Lou to come closer. "Love…you…too," he said in a hoarse whisper.

Lou put his head on the bed and cried, while the man who had come to mean so much to him fell asleep again.

The group in the waiting room rotated through to see Steve quickly. His fever was still climbing. Most of the well-wishers kept it to a quick hug and a few words, noticing how tired Steve was becoming.

Although she felt a bit uncomfortable, Elisabeth took a turn. He seemed to recognize her, and she thanked him for all he had done for her.

Hearts in their throats, the Norths looked at the man they had come to think of as a son and prayed hard for his recovery.

A steady stream of SEALs and HPD continued into the evening.

Junior knew some of the members of Five-0 (i.e., Danny, Lou, and Tani) had made fun of him when he first showed up on Steve's doorstep. He knew the three of them laughed about him washing Steve's truck in the Palace's parking lot that day. And, yeah, maybe he deserved it. But the truth was, he was just so desperate to get a job with Commander McGarrett that he would've done anything. Sometimes desperation causes people to do crazy things—like wash a truck in a public parking lot without the owner's knowledge or permission.

His BUD/s training had been filled with stories of Commander McGarrett and all his accomplishments. McGarrett was a hero, a living legend of sorts, for the missions he'd gone on and all he had accomplished during his Naval career. Master Chief Lang always said McGarrett was the best. As soon as Junior got back to Hawaii, he went straight to find Commander McGarrett. He didn't even stop to drop off his bag anywhere, and he found himself on the commander's front porch before eight o'clock in the morning. Junior knew he'd caught the man off guard, but he was still nice about everything—even though the answer about a job had been no. He didn't exactly understand why Commander McGarrett insisted that he graduate from the Police Academy, but he wanted that job with Five-0 and the Commander, and if that was what it took to get it then so be it. When Steve gave him the badge last year, he had never been so happy in his life. He was working with his hero, and if the others wanted to laugh, then they could just go ahead. He didn't care.

As he sat in Commander McGarrett's hospital room, listening to his ragged breathing and the beeping of so many monitors, he thought back over his entire relationship with the former SEAL. When Commander McGarrett walked into the homeless shelter that night, Junior had never been so embarrassed. He didn't want Steve to know how much he was struggling. There hadn't been any question in the commander's voice when he told Junior to pack his stuff, that he was coming home with him. There was no room for argument or even discussion. Steve had taken him under his wing but hadn't made a big deal about it to the rest of the team. He gave Junior a place to stay, meals, anything he needed…and wouldn't accept any kind of payment in return. Amazingly, Callie had been completely okay with this whole situation, too. She didn't question Steve's judgement or decision and had shown Junior nothing but kindness. He was blessed to have them both in his life, and he promised himself that he would tell them that even more. He loved them both fiercely.

Junior wasn't talking as he sat by Steve's bed. The commander was sleeping, and that was fine with him. He didn't need conversation. He just needed to be in the man's presence. He was the next to last person left to visit with Steve. Only Danny would be after him.

Callie stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. Junior reached up and put his hands on top of hers.

"You mean a lot to him, Junes," she said quietly. "To both of us."

Junior made a noise in the back of his throat. "I promised you I would have his back…and this happened. I'm sorry, Callie."

"You couldn't have prevented any of this, Junior."

"Still, I—"

"Nope."

"But—"

"Junior. He wouldn't want you thinking like this and I don't either. There was nothing you could have done to stop any of this. You helped get him back, you helped get him home, and I'm grateful. We've got a long road ahead of us, and we've got to focus on that, okay? I'm going to need you. Steve's going to need you. There's no room for second-guessing what happened. Are we clear?"

Junior gave her a shy smile. "Yes, ma'am."

"Look, I know you're pretty much out of it," Danny said. Steve's eyes were beginning to glaze over from medication and exhaustion. "And I'm gonna be quick, alright, buddy? Everything's going to be fine. You just worry about you. We've got everything else. We'll take care of everything. You just get better."

Steve whispered something and Danny leaned closer so he could hear. "Say it again, buddy. I missed it."

"Callie."

"You want me to get Callie?"

Steve gave a slight shake of his head. Danny frowned, thinking. "Oh! You mean take care of Callie?"

He gave a single nod.

"Absolutely, brother. You know this ohana has got her. We'll make sure she eats and sleeps and is taken care of, okay? There's nothing for you to worry about. You just get better, you hear me? Just get better."

Danny hugged Steve as tight as he could without hurting him, then rested his hand on top of Steve's head. Not caring what anyone thought—not that Callie or Dinah would even think anything of it—he leaned over and kissed Steve's forehead.

"You just rest and get better. Danno's got you."