"Now what?" Asked Steve, who was having trouble digesting what the doctor was saying.
"Waiting. Yeah, I know that sounds awkward after what you've just been through. But unfortunately I have to say it's not over yet. If we get the baby out now, Sara won't survive. With every hour we can wait, stabilize and nurture her, their both chances increase. We will try everything so she can gather enough strength. You should stay around in case she has another panic attack."
"You don't seriously believe I will step foot out of this hospital in the next few hours?" He snapped at the doctor.
He hurried to shake his head. "Of course not."
"Well. I'll inform my people, then return to Sara."
"I will give instructions that you will be allowed to stay with her and that you will be looked after."
"Thank you."
He took a deep breath, then walked down the hall to the waiting area. Danny and Nahele went to meet him, the others stood up when they saw him coming. Nobody said anything. He cleared his throat. "They are alive. Both. At the moment they are stable, but not out of danger." He briefly reported what the doctor had told him. "Which one of you gave them the bottles?"
There was a short silence, then Junior stepped forward. "I thought it might help. The content looked funny and smelled funny."
"Good idea. Thank you. Thanks for all of you here. But you don't have to wait here. I hope it will be a very, very long time for Jerry to set off the next Sara alarm. Some of you still have a lot of paperwork to go. Chin, please do me a favor: call Kawika. Tell him thank you. I will do this again personally. If all of this here ... "
His friend understood. "Sure. I will. And I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Very firm."
"Thanks." He got a few hugs, Kamekona almost broke his bones, then his ohana said goodbye.
Danny came up last. "If you need anything ... or Sara needs anything ... call. At any time."
"Thank you."
"Stop saying thank you. Sara is Five-0, just like you. And while I still think that word is stupid, she's ohana. She belongs to us. So we are there."
His partner hugged him and slapped him on the back, then said goodbye.
As he turned toward the hallway, Steve pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He sent a message to Jerry. 'Reset the counter.' Then he started the stopwatch on his phone. It was Thursday, just after twelve. Almost exactly forty-eight hours had passed since Sara's abduction - and the waiting began again.
After a few hours, Sara was transferred from the emergency room to another department. Every time he left Sara's room, be it to eat something, because the smell made her nauseous, or to stretch his legs a few steps, one of his friends or teammates sat in the waiting area. Chin and Brian had to leave, but the others took turns. The first night he found Lou with a book in one of the chairs, followed by Tani, later by Junior, on the second night it was Danny who was on watch. Sara slept most of the time, which the doctor attributed to her head injury and exhaustion, but waking moments became longer and more frequent. Late on Friday evening she opened her eyes again.
"Hello. How are you feeling?" He leaned out of his chair so that he was close to her face.
"Broken," she replied softly. "I'm glad that the package is doing well so far. And that the eternal cramps subside. But I hate this situation."
He put his hand over hers, which was resting on her belly. "I know you hate hospitals."
"That too. But that's not it. You should be chasing criminals, instead you're sitting here holding hands. You help the nurses to look after me. You sent Danny and Grace to the hotel to get my scar cream and you personally take care of my wounds. I can not get up. Don't do my exercises. God only knows when I'll be able to walk again. I am helpless like a baby. This situation is the last thing I ever wanted. A man by my side who has to look after me. Be a burden ... "
"Take a short break. First, I'm not doing anything here that I don't want to do. Second, remember our marriage vows. This falls under illness and it will pass. Third, you have never been a burden and you are not now. It was clear from the start that you couldn't do everything, you never left me in the dark and I didn't buy a pig in a poke. And fourth: I know you and your iron will. You will run, sooner than everyone will think it's possible. I'm sorry, your dad and Patrick are no longer with us, and Liam and Zoe are a little too far away to help you, but that's what I'm here for. The man who loves you. Just in case you forgot."
"I know that..."
"Then don't worry your head. Get well. That's much more important." He carefully wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Everything will be fine. Try to sleep. I'm here." He leaned over and kissed her.
Only a small night light was on when Sara opened her eyes the next time. Steve was sitting in the chair next to the bed with his head on his hand and was sleeping. Whenever she opened her eyes, he was there. She tried not to make any movement or noise so as not to wake him. With only one finger she stroked her belly, in which her baby kicked around. In the meantime she also had a conversation with Dr. Takamoto who had explained what happened to her. The doctor had said the arrhythmia would subside and the little one would be fine. She hoped, more than anything, that he would be right. The infusions helped, she also felt better, apart from the fact that she could literally feel the muscles in her legs weak down. It would be a tough job getting back on her feet, literally.
On Saturday morning, Dr. Takamoto pulled Steve aside when he came back from a short walk. "Commander ..."
"Is something wrong?", He asked worried and looked in the direction of Sara's room.
"Not really. She is stable, her laboratory results, including her kidneys, are getting better. That's good news. However, we are running out of ideas about what to offer her to eat. She has to slowly start eating again. But on soup she vomits and she refuses to eat jelly."
"She hates it."
"She said that. But we have to find something that she can get in with. Starting with solid food directly is too risky. "
"I might have an idea." He ran out into the waiting area where Jerry was reading. He jumped up when he saw him coming.
"Everything okay?"
"Yes. Do me a favor, go to Kamekona and get two servings of Haupia." His colleague looked at him as if he had gone mad. "Haupia?"
"Exactly."
"Okaaay," replied Jerry drawn out. He closed his book and went to the elevator. Half an hour later he was back with two plastic boxes, which Steve immediately brought to Sara.
"Look, I've got something for you. Maybe that will help your appetite a little." He handed her one of the boxes and a spoon.
"Where did you get that?"
"Fresh from Kamekonas, Jerry was picking it up. Coconut milk is light but nutritious. Maybe that works. We have to feed you and the package with something."
He watched as she looked at the dessert skeptically, but then opened the lid and carefully took a small bite. Bit by bit, she ate almost half of the piece, then handed the box back to him. "That's enough. I wont get in more. But it tastes good."
"It's a good start. I just hope you can keep it."
"I'll try hard."
That day Steve ordered Haupia again from Kamekona and that evening Sara actually managed to eat some bread. Slowly they found hope.
