Part Three, Zero, Five

Danny had always wondered where the phrase 'The pain was breath taking' had come from until he got shoved into a wall by mountain-sized perp while recovering from a broken collarbone and a gunshot wound. The pain that shot up his back into his shoulder literally took his breath away. He slid down the wall and landed hard on the floor.

Through the haze of pain, he heard his name being called but it took a lot of effort on his part to focus on the voice.

"Detective Williams? Danny? Can you talk to me?" The voice belonged to Sgt. Ramirez, Bella, HPD.

The first words that crowded into Danny's mind were profanities. "Damn…" was all that came out. He focused on Bella's worried face and added "Sorry to get in your way."

She rolled her eyes. "Danny…" She looked up and away. "Someone get a 'bus. SOMEONE GET A 'BUS!" He winced. He hadn't realized how loud she could get. "You think you broke something else?" She asked him.

He shook his head. Damn, it was hard just to do that. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Danny, open your eyes and talk to me. Who's over at 5-0's headquarters? Kelly? Kalakaua?"

Without opening his eyes, Danny said "Both but Kono's on crutches."

"Westcott! Get across the street to 5-0's headquarters and get Chin Ho Kelly. Got that?"

Apparently, Westcott did not get it fast enough because Bella added "Is there a problem? You know what he looks like, I KNOW you do!"

Danny cracked open an eye, saw Bella still crouched in front of him and saw the tail end of Westcott disappearing through a door.

"When you say 'jump', they say 'how high'?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, whatever…I just mention the man's name and people think the Earth's going to open up and swallow me."

Danny started to laugh but stopped because it hurt too much.

"ETA on the 'bus is three minutes." An older man, also in uniform, leaned down and spoke to Bella.

"Thanks." She looked back at Danny. "At least you're not bleeding to death."

"Such bedside manner you've got." Danny told her, closing his eyes.

Footsteps heralded the arrival of Chin and the return of the erstwhile Officer Westcott.

"What happened?" Danny heard Chin ask.

Before Bella could respond, Danny said "I got in the way of a resisting perp."

"He got caught between the perp and the wall. There's a 'bus about two minutes out." Bella said.

"Brah, I can't you leave you alone for a moment, can I?" Danny heard Chin's voice near his ear and opened his eyes.

"Where would the fun be in that?" Danny replied.

"Okay, you think you can sit forward? Chin asked him.

Danny swallowed but nodded. "I can try."

"Sergeant, can you help me out here?" Chin asked Bella. "When he sits forward, hold him up so he doesn't fall back."

"You got it." It was Bella's voice in Danny's ear that time.

It was easier said than done. When Danny tried to lean forward, pain again shot up his back and down his arm. He tried not to cry out but didn't succeed. His eyes slid shut against the pain.

"Westcott, find out where that 'bus is!" Bella yelled at the man.

"All right, you did that fine, really." Chin told Danny.

Danny opened his eyes and found himself supported by Bella on one side and a man he had never seen before on the other side. He eyed Chin. "Liar."

Chin slipped Danny's shirt off his shoulder and was able to tell that, fortunately, Danny hadn't torn any stitches out but he had probably rebroken his collarbone. The medics arrived before Chin could say anything. Gently, they transferred Danny to a gurney and were gone.

Bella held out her hand to Chin. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

Chin looked at her for a long moment before taking her hand in his. "You're welcome." He looked around at the assemblage of people. "Excuse me, I've got to get to the hospital."

Dr. Julia Brown took a glance at the X-Rays on display as she came into the surgical room; the clavicle was broken, not cleanly either. "Wait a minute…"

She looked closer at the films, eyes darting back and forth until it dawned on her. "Son of a BITCH! Vicky, pull that film up so I can the see the patient ID on it, please."

The scrub nurse did as she asked and Dr. Brown cursed again. "Great, I get to repair my own damn repair job. I'm going to stick around in recovery until this one wakes up – warn the staff for me okay?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Funny…I don't recall signing a release for you to return to work, Detective Williams." Dr. Brown said, watching Danny wake up.

"You told me you didn't want to see me again and to go see my personal doctor." Danny retorted, scowling.

Dr. Brown nodded. "True. But I doubt that he or she signed one this soon. If they did, I might just have to have them up in front of a review board."

"You came all the way over here to make comments about me?"

"Nope, I was actually called in to assist on the reset of your clavicle."

"You were? Why?"

"'Cause I'm also a Sport Orthopedic surgeon in my private life too and am actually one of the bone rattlers on call for Queen K's hospital." Dr. Brown smiled a wicked smile. "You just had the misfortune of being the one patient I got called on when my rotation came up."

"Story of my life." Danny mumbled. "You gonna handcuff me to the bed now?"

"I thought about it…believe me, I thought about it but I'm hoping you're going to tell me that you're not going to go back to work any time real soon. I'd like to see my work actually have a chance of knitting."

"Like they'd let me in the door now." Danny said. "Trust me, Dr. Brown, you won't have to worry about me being back at work. I swear."

"Good. Okay, I'm done with you, Detective. Again, see your personal physician for a follow-up in a week or so, and don't forget to tell your therapist at your first appointment that you had to have a secondary surgery. All right?"

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Go back to sleep, I'm sure they'll move you up to a room fairly soon." She waved and disappeared from his bedside.