Ohana

Quietly entering the ICU, Chin and Kono cautiously approached Steve's bedside.

It might not look like McGarrett was making any progress, but the doctor had told Chin and Kono that he was very satisfied with Steve's healing process, his parameters were improving by the minute and he probably could be shifted to a regular room by tomorrow evening at the latest.

Looking down at their boss, Kono involuntarily stepped closer to Chin. All in all Steve looked like hell and when she took in his appearance and all the medical equipment that was attached to his body she had a hard time believing the doctor's words.

Steve's hands and forearms were thickly bandaged, he was hooked to an IV line, some multicolored ECG leads were attached to his chest and a nasal cannula provided him with a constant flow of oxygen.

At the moment McGarrett seemed to be asleep, his eyes were closed and his body and face mostly relaxed but the distinct lines of pain creasing his forehead showed a different picture. The angry red skin around Steve's eyes and nose was building a harsh contrast to his otherwise pale complexion. His cheeks were hollow and the Ex-SEAL looked so much smaller than he was in real life.

Letting his gaze travel through the narrow, dimly lit room, Chin briefly left Kono's side to grab a white plastic chair and place it next to Steve's bed. Without allowing any resistance he made his cousin sit down; stepping behind her, Chin placed one hand on Kono's shoulder, providing as much comfort as possible while they silently waited for Steve to wake up.

After telling Dr. Match what had happened to Danny the doctor had made an exception, albeit grudgingly, allowing the cousins to visit Steve both at once. He had given them the strict order not to upset their boss or otherwise endanger his recovery and the cousins had nodded in agreement, knowing full well that it was probably almost impossible to calm Steve's mind once he had been brought the news. And yet they were still convinced that it was by far better when Steve learned from his team what had happened to Danny than when any stranger told him about his partner.

They didn't have to wait long. McGarrett's sleep was obviously not that deep and after a few minutes he started to stir, slightly turning his head to the left and right while his bandaged hands restlessly moved across the bed sheets. The lines of pain on his forehead increased and he swallowed laboriously when he blinked open his bloodshot eyes, needing a few long moments to realize that he wasn't alone anymore.

Swallowing again, Steve licked his chapped lips as he made eye contact with his teammates. "Hey," he whispered, his voice so raspy that it was barely recognizable.

"Hey boss," Kono answered with a strained smile, leaning a little bit forward in her chair. "It's good to see you."

"How are you doing?" Chin asked, his thumb slightly moving back and forth on Kono's shoulder when he felt her uneasiness.

"Been better," Steve said, clipped, briefly closing his eyes when he tried to clear his throat. He had obvious difficulties speaking more than a few words and the fact that he readily admitted his weakness showed clearly that he was far from being well.

"The case is closed, we found our killer," Chin started to explain right before the silence in the room became awkward. He had just decided to give Steve a little more time to compose himself before they told him about Danny, summarizing in a few short sentences what they had found out. Later there would be enough time to discuss the case in more detail, so he provided Steve only with the basic information about Mia Hardman and what they knew so far without having questioned her. He hoped that Tobias Eberlein would also be able to shed a little more light on her motives once he was awake and had recovered from his concussion.

"That's good," Steve nodded approvingly after having closely listened to Chin's explanations. "Well done," he whispered hoarsely but with a proud little smile; he knew that his team was good but every solved case confirmed again that he had chosen exactly the right people for his task force.

Furrowing his brow when he finally noticed that not all of his team members were here, Steve briefly looked around for his partner.

"Where's Danny?" he rasped, his breathing involuntarily quickening when the atmosphere in the room changed from one moment to the next. The tension was now almost palpable and Steve's red-rimmed eyes widened when Kono reached up to grab Chin's hand that was still resting on her shoulder.

"Chin?" Steve asked urgently, his voice even more husky than before. "What happened?"

Unsuccessfully trying to sit up when he saw Chin and Kono exchanging a short glance, Steve groaned in pain and the monitor next to his head immediately flared to life. Several numbers on the screen were rapidly blinking and Chin would not have been surprised if a nurse or a doctor would come rushing into the room at any moment.

Leaning forward even more in her chair, Kono soothingly placed her hand on top of Steve's bandaged one, silently begging him to calm down while Steve flopped back into the pillows. Raising his other arm he briefly covered his eyes with his forearm, trying his best to regain control and slow down his breathing.

"What happened?" he repeated tiredly after a few seconds, pleadingly looking at Chin. The numbers on the monitor were slowly dropping again and the agitated blinking had already stopped. "Where's Danny?" McGarrett whispered dejectedly, knowing his teammates well enough to see that something was terribly wrong. "Is he…" He didn't dare to finish the sentence, already fearing the worst when the unspoken question threateningly floated through the room.

"Danny's in surgery right now," Chin finally answered, worriedly observing how the last bit of color drained from Steve's already pale face. "He suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and took multiple hits to the vest," the older man went on without sugarcoating anything, knowing that Steve would learn all the cruel facts anyway sooner or later and that he wouldn't be satisfied until he had heard the whole truth.

Taking in Chin's words, Steve briefly closed his eyes and pressed his lips together, nodding sharply to show that he had understood the gravity of the situation. His whole body hurt from his own injuries as well as from the worry for his partner and he suddenly felt so exhausted that the simple task of keeping his eyes open was almost too much.

"Will he be alright?" McGarrett asked hoarsely after a moment of heavy silence, his voice almost completely gone by now. Neither Chin nor Kono answered his question but the look on their faces told him that they simply didn't know and so he just exchanged a last glance with his teammates before he finally allowed his body to go back to a restless sleep, knowing without doubt that they would immediately inform him about any news from Danny.

H50 – H50 – H50 – H50 – H50 – H50 – H50 – H50 – H50 – H50 – H50

Steve didn't know exactly how much time had passed since his encounter with the white phosphorus. During the last few days he had completely lost his sense of time, on the one hand because he still wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, on the other hand because the storm outside was still blowing with all its might, driving dark gray clouds across the sky so that there was almost no difference between day and night.

Thinking about the case that had brought him and his team to the island, Steve leaned back in his chair and heaved a deep sigh, contorting his face when the movement sent a burning pain through his airways. In the meantime Chin and Kono had not only had the chance to question Mia Hardman but also had talked to Tobias Eberlein, who had already left the hospital after a day of close observation. They had found out that Mia had been treated for bipolar disorder for quite a few years; however, right now it was still unclear if she had stopped taking her prescribed medication or if something else had happened that had thrown her off course. Seeing herself - together with Tobias - at the head of Eberlein's Garden & Vegetable Paradise, Mia had obviously snapped when first Marianne and then Nalani and Tobias had interfered with her plans. First of all Marianne Eberlein had broken her promise to resign, so that Tobias didn't become the CEO of the company. And then, much to Mia's dismay, once he had inherited the position after his mother's death, her former boss had replaced her without even batting an eye. Mia had confessed everything without showing the slightest feelings of guilt; in her eyes the death of two people and the attempted murder of two more was obviously appropriate to reach her goal and take revenge on everyone who got in her way.

Sighing again, Steve tiredly ran a bandaged hand across his face as he looked at his partner. Although they had solved the case in no time, the price they had paid seemed far too high.

At least Danny had smoothly made it through surgery, although he had lost a dangerously high amount of blood. The bullet that had grazed a nerve in his shoulder had been removed and barring any complications he should be able to use his arm again without difficulties. It hadn't been the gunshot wound or the blood loss that had bothered the doctors but rather the severe chest trauma, caused by the many hits to the vest from such a close distance. Danny would probably suffer from the aftermath for weeks if not months; the lung contusion was not only extremely painful but it was also bearing a high risk of infections or pneumonia.

So, despite the excruciating pain, Danny had been advised to breathe as deeply as possible to prevent all these complications at any cost, supported by oxygen and as many painkillers as he asked for. The doctors had allowed Danny to swap the oxygen mask with the much more comfortable nasal cannula whenever he felt the need, but only under the premise that his vital parameters didn't change for the worse.

Closely taking in Danny's appearance, Steve had to admit that his partner didn't look as bad as he'd expected. Even with all the medication his breathing was still a little bit too fast and shallow, he was a bit paler than usual and of course his right shoulder was heavily bandaged but otherwise he seemed to be amazingly well. Right now Danny was sleeping and as much as Steve searched his face, he couldn't find any traces of stress in his slackened features.

Danny's left hand was lightly resting on his chest, moving gently up and down in sync with his breathing. By now his hands were only showing a faint touch of red, the burnt skin almost completely healed. For a moment Steve stared down at his own hands, grimacing in disgust when he remembered the nasty wounds and the raw flesh he had seen earlier that day when the nurse had changed the dressings. The pictures from WP victims in Vietnam he had seen during his military training were still imprinted in his memory and he knew he had been very lucky, probably getting off lightly with only a few scars on his hands and wrists.

Startled, McGarrett raised his head when he heard a noise outside on the corridor. Briefly freezing he closely listened to the footsteps, only breathing freely again when they faded away and the door remained closed.

He knew that he wasn't supposed to be out of bed but he really needed to see with his own eyes how Danny was doing. He felt like he had let his best friend down; he should have been there for Danny when he got hurt, just as Danny had been there for him. So, once he had finally been transferred from the ICU to a regular room he hadn't wasted any more time. Sneaking out as soon as he was alone, it hadn't been hard to find his way to Danny's room and he intended to stay at his partner's side as long as possible.

Throwing a last scrutinizing and slightly guilty look at the door, he finally turned his attention back to his partner, surprised to find a pair of blue eyes intently staring at him.

"What the hell are you doing here, Steven?" Danny asked softly, his voice hoarse from sleep and laced with a barely noticeable hint of pain. "And why do you look like someone who had just been caught red-handed stealing some cookies?"

For a moment Steve was at a complete loss for words, torn between delight to see his partner awake and irritation about Danny's remark. McGarrett had always thought that he had some kind of poker face, knowing exactly how to hide his feelings from each and everyone and it bugged him to no end that Danny was obviously always able to read him effortlessly like an open book. Of course Steve would never admit it, but most of the time Danny's witty descriptions were really dead on target and he would probably find them as hilarious as the people around if they were not always directed at him.

"There are no cookies here, Danno," he tried an equally ingenious answer, inwardly cringing when he saw the smirk on Danny's face and knew that once again he had completely messed up.

"I know that, you moron," Danny replied with an amused roll of his eyes, cocking his head a little bit to the right as he gazed at the other man. "And how often do I have to tell you that you shouldn't call me Danno?"

Steve still didn't know what to say, so for a moment he just sat there silently, slightly shaking his head as he unconsciously shrugged his shoulders. Ever since Chin and Kono had visited him in the ICU he had really been in fear for Danny's life; now hearing his usual bantering took a huge weight off his mind and on the one hand he was just damn happy to see for himself that Danny was actually on the way to recovery. Maybe it was because of his own injuries - if he was really honest his little side trip exhausted him more than he cared to admit - but on the other hand the smirk on Danny's face somehow put him off and those conflicting feelings were obviously showing on his own face yet again.

"And now you even have aneurysm face," Danny chuckled predictably but then the little laughter unexpectedly turned into a coughing fit, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut. Heaving a loud groan, he clenched up his left hand on his chest as he tried to ride out the bout of pain. "Don't make me laugh," Danny gasped in between two halting breaths of air, the words so slurred that they were barely intelligible.

"God Danny, can't you just keep your mouth shut? Just for once?" Steve asked anxiously, jumping up from his chair as he watched in horror how Danny struggled to regain control. "Just breathe, okay?" The sudden movement had made him a bit dizzy so that he heavily had to lean on the edge of Danny's bed to support himself. His own breathing now also a bit strained, Steve placed one bandaged hand on Danny's good shoulder until the other man was finally able to take a deeper, shuddering breath and the lines of pain on his face slowly faded.

"Don't do that again," Steve said tiredly, slumping back into his chair before his trembling legs gave way. Without breaking eye contact with his partner, he wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead, surprised to see that his hand was also slightly shaking.

The room was growing more dimly with every passing minute, telling Steve that it probably was late afternoon, passing into evening, but without seeing the sun behind the dark gray clouds he wasn't able to tell for sure. The storm outside was still howling, now and then blowing a leaf or a small twig against the window, the muffled thud the only sound that disturbed the silence.

Staring at each other for a long moment, Steve and Danny took the time to compose themselves and take stock of their respective injuries, automatically synchronizing their breathing rhythm while they quietly enjoyed each other's company.

"How are you doing?" both men finally asked at the same time, briefly grinning at each other when the sound of their equally raspy voices intermingled.

Slightly shrugging his unhurt shoulder, Danny unconsciously moved his left hand across his chest. "They are giving me all the good stuff, so it's not too bad," he said with a slight nod towards the IV bag over his head. "At least when I don't try to laugh," he conceded when he saw the incredulous look on Steve's face.

"But you, my friend, look like death warmed over," Danny continued before Steve was able to say anything. "You definitely look much worse than I feel."

Hearing the genuine concern in Danny's voice, Steve immediately dismissed the idea of playing down the comment, knowing that for once the other man didn't make fun of him. He was also pretty sure that Danny had noticed his trembling hands earlier despite his own discomfort, and to be honest, he had to agree with his partner; when he had sneaked out of his room earlier that day, he had thrown a brief look in the mirror and what he had seen there had startled himself. His pale complexion was forming a sharp contrast to his still bloodshot eyes, and he surely wasn't able to fool anybody with the way he was cautiously moving his body or protecting his aching hands.

"Yeah, well… if you say so," Steve sighed uncharacteristically peaceable and the fact that he didn't lie about his well-being told Danny everything he needed to know.

A rising tumult outside on the floor suddenly interrupted their conversation, agitated voices and the sound of hasty footsteps reaching their ears.

"What's wrong out there?" Danny asked curiously, throwing his partner a scrutinizing look. "Steven?" he pressed, narrowing his eyes when he noticed that McGarrett was uncomfortably fidgeting about on his chair.

"Well…" Steve said slowly, sheepishly screwing up his face as he tried to avoid Danny's eye. "Maybe they're looking for me."

"Maybe they are looking for you?" Danny repeated with a little sigh, just waving his hand through the air, for once not knowing what to say about his partner's antics. He had already suspected that Steve wasn't supposed to walk around on his own but that he obviously just had vanished without telling anybody was capping it all off.

"Hey, they didn't explicitly say that I'm not allowed to visit you," Steve defended himself, immediately getting up when the noises outside briefly ebbed away. Maybe he could use the opportunity and would be able to sneak back to his own room without anyone noticing.

"You know that I don't need a babysitter, right?" Danny asked while he amusedly watched Steve tiptoeing towards the door. He had to admit that it was kind of funny to see his partner, the larger-than-life Ex-SEAL, being obviously afraid of the nurses' wrath. "Go to bed, you moron," he added with an exasperated shake of his head but Steve could see the ghost of a good-natured smile on his lips. "And stay there, okay? No more wandering about."

"Can't promise that, Danno," Steve smirked as he placed one hand on the doorknob, causing his friend to roll his eyes again.

"What's the matter with you?" Danny sighed, still shaking his head. "Maybe they should check your brain while you're here."

Grinning brightly, Steve turned around and listened again for a few seconds until he was sure that he would be able to leave the room without being seen.

"Hey babe," Danny called out softly just when his partner was about to open the door. Waiting until Steve had turned back to him, the two men locked eyes again. They silently stared at each other for a long moment, drawing strength from the knowledge that they both would be alright given time. "Thanks for visiting," Danny finally said, smiling slightly as he waved his left hand through the air to shoo Steve out of the room.

(tbc)


Only one more chapter to go...