Thank you very much for your support and reviews, here is another short one for you...

Chapter 10

54 days after the explosion

Danny felt happy. Since his daughter had talked to his stubborn best friend a week ago, things had changed significantly. Steve was still quite silent and sad most of the time but he had accepted the support of his whole team. There was no waking moment in which he wasn't in the company of one of his team. Even if they often sat in silence, Danny was sure that Steve had finally realized that there was no such thing as the strong support of friends and family. Together they could start to heal and look to whatever the future held.

Today was finally the day when Steve should be transported to the REHAB hospital of the pacific. As his condition had improved over the last week, he was now ready to start a long-term rehabilitation process. Yesterday, Danny had visited the highly specialized clinic that dealt with patients suffering from traumatic spinal cord injuries resulting in permanent paralysis of at least the lower part of the body on a daily basis.

Danny had spoken to the leading physiatrist Dr Michael Johnson who would be coordinating Steve's stay at REHAB. The first week would mainly consist of patient assessments. When Johnson had read the information on Steve's condition provided by TAMC, Danny had been shocked that Steve's injury was classified as an incomplete tetraplegia, which he understood as a permanent paralysis of all four limbs but Johnson had quickly explained, that as it was incomplete, the team of doctors were pretty optimistic that Steve would regain functionality and control of his arms. As the cervical spinal cord had only suffered some damage through compression, the loss of sensation and also loss of muscle power in both forearms, wrists and hands was hopefully only temporary. The second injury, the complete separation of the spinal cord at the T7-level had no chance of recovery and the paralysis of his lower torso and legs was irreversible and therefor classified as a complete spinal cord injury. The main focus of the therapy would be for Steve to relearn day-to-day activities to achieve maximum independence even if he would maybe never get full control of his hands back. As Steve still had to undergo a second surgery of his cervical spine to replace the removed bone fragments, the therapists couldn't start the normal schedule for patients who had suffered such trauma. The surgery was supposed to be performed in about 3 months. Until after that stabilizing surgery he would need to remain in the immobilizing brace from trunk to head 24/7. Danny's concerns that until that surgery happened no efficient therapy would be possible made Johnson chuckle and he assured Danny that there were multiple stages of rehabilitation that could and needed to get started as soon as possible. Danny instantly liked the man.

Now he was on his way to TAMC to accompany his friend to his new temporary home. Johnson had explained that Steve would be staying in the rehab facility for at least 12 months courtesy to his severe injuries. So Danny had not only talked to the doctor but also had delivered most of Steve's wardrobe and some personal stuff from his home to the rehab centre. He fervently hoped that his best friend would accept his new situation and would continue the positive path he had started after the conversation with Grace.

TAMC, Steve's room

Today was finally the day he would be moved to the rehab facility. With a 30-day-delay Steve would be transferred to his new temporary home where he would spend the next year to learn to live his new life. By now he had accepted his new challenge and looked to an unknown future. His team stood by his side every waking moment and for the first time in nearly two months, Steve was confident that he would get accustomed to live a life in a wheelchair. He knew he would never ever walk on his legs again but he was determined to get the use of his arms back, no matter how long it took.

Steve lay in his bed and stared at the wall, lost in thoughts. Nearly two months had passed since his life had so drastically changed and there he was, waiting for the ambulance to arrive that would transport him to the REHAB hospital of the pacific. He had been severely injured in the line of duty more than once in his career, first as a SEAL, then as the head of Five-0, but never had there been the necessity of EMS when getting discharged from the hospital. Well, honestly, this time it wasn't a real discharge but a transfer to another kind of hospital. Long-term stay, arriving by ambulance flat on his back. Steve felt humiliated but he had silently promised to Grace that he would be strong and not get lost in self-pitty. He owed that to his friends, especially to Danny. The whole team had been at his side for the last week and even now, when the transfer was scheduled, Danny would be there for him and accompany him. Steve was excited to see something else than the stupid wall he was looking at but at the same time he was also scared. He knew that he had a long road ahead with an unknown outcome. For now, nobody could make a safe prognosis on how much abilities he would relearn and his biggest fear was that he would never be able to return to his home again. It would be at least a year, probably longer until he would be able to leave the rehab centre but he was determined to train as hard as possible to live an independent life some day in the future. He missed his home so much, the sound and smell of the ocean was something that followed him into his dreams and his biggest wish was to return to the water. But that was something to think about in the future, now he had to focus on his new temporary home.

Danny entered Steve's room and looked at his brother.

"Hey buddy, you ready for some entertainment? EMS is already outside, I'm pretty sure your little trip is going to start in the next few minutes."

As Danny finished the sentence the door opened and two paramedics entered the room with a gurney.

"Commander McGarrett, you called for a cab?" the redhaired paramedic named Max smiled at Steve. "We have already all your papers and personal stuff ready, so if you are ready, we would now transfer you on the gurney to drive you to REHAB. Are you ok with this?"

Steve happily agreed and the two paramedics deftly transferred him from bed to gurney and strapped him down for transport. As Steve could only look straight at the ceiling he decided to close his eyes. Too much movement still caused him nausea and dizziness, so it would be better to turn out the world and hope for the trip to be a short one.

Max saw his patient close his eyes and immediately readied some anti-nausea medication for the 40-minutes-drive. Danny looked concerned at the paramedic's administrations but before he could ask, Max already explained that Dr Mason had informed them that Steve would need additional medication for the transport as he was prone to motion sickness.

Danny chuckled. "Really, he told him the car sickness thing? I don't believe it."

Steve opened his eyes and smiled proudly at Danny. "I now have the official confirmation of a doctor that I - in fact - get car sick!"

The two friends were very well aware that Steve's problems with movement and nausea had nothing to do with getting car sick but were related to his new physical condition instead, but Danny was happy that his friend had his humor back. This was the first joke Steve had made since being injured and Danny was overwhelmed. It was only a simple joke but it showed how much Steve's mood had improved.

REHAB Hospital of the Pacific, two hours later

Steve lay in his new bed in his new room and tried to breathe deeply. His mouth and nose were covered by an oxygen mask and he looked in the concerned eyes of a doctor whose name he couldn't remember.

"Commander McGarrett, breathe deeply. Just concentrate on the air getting in and out of your lungs. You have a very normal reaction to the stress of the transfer. Your body isn't used anymore to getting tossed back and fro in a car. The drop of blood pressure, the need of supplementary oxygen, this is all perfectly normal. By the way, my name is Michael Johnson, I'm the leading physiatrist of the SCI-ward of REHAB."

Steve instantly felt better as the friendly doctor assured him that he only was experiencing a very common spell of weakness caused by the transportation. He took a couple of deep breaths and started to speak. Johnson realized that his new patient was breathing normally again and removed the mask.

"Good to meet you, doctor. ...I'm usually not the one to make such a dramatic appearance. I deeply apologize." Steve smiled shyly at the doctor and his eyes started to search for Danny. "Where is my partner? He arrived with me…"

Danny's face came into Steve's vision. He smiled at Steve and took his hand in his. "I was worried about you, babe. One moment you look perfectly fine and the next moment you faint. Stop doing this to me, I already have enough grey hair."

Dr Johnson watched the two men interact and remembered what Dr Mason had told him about his new patient and his ohana. He immediately understood that he would have to change visitor's hours for the members of the Five-0 task force. Usually, visitors were allowed between 4:30 pm and 8:30 pm but this team had such a strong bond and his patient had just overcome a severe depression. There was no way to prohibit anyone of them to visit Steve McGarrett whenever they wanted to. Two days ago Johnson had received a call from the governor of Hawaii who announced that McGarrett was a VIP patient to whom the normal rules couldn't be applied. This man had been the leader of his task force until the fateful explosion and the governor insisted on being regularly informed about his condition and progress.

"Commander, we usually assess the patient's condition immediately after admission to create an individual therapy plan but I think you had enough stress for today. You should rest and we will start the assessment and the introduction of your team of therapists in the morning. How do think about that?" Johnson looked at the exhausted man in the bed and then at his partner. They both agreed and he left the room to give them some space.

"I think, I like him." Steve told Danny as Dr Johnson had left the room.

"That's good, I guess you'll spend a lot of time with him in the foreseeable future", Danny smiled at Steve. "Do you need anything? Are you hungry, or thirsty, or anything?"

"No, thanks. I'm just tired. Who would have thought that a trip by ambulance, flat on my back and well medicated, would be so exhausting. I guess, I will close my eyes for a few minutes."

Steve's breathing evened out and Danny knew that his friend had fallen asleep. He looked around in the spacious room and found a comfy-looking armchair near one of the windows where he settled to watch over his brother. This was the first day of many to come when he would be sitting in that armchair. He should get used to it sooner than later.