CHAPTER 38

Danny was torn.

Doctor Palamo had requested that they come to the hospital immediately, but he wouldn't give them any information over the phone. So, Danny was stuck deciding between going the hospital to see his partner, or chasing down the last man involved with the person that was responsible for putting Steve in said hospital.

Kono's words came back to Danny. If this was it, then he would be there for his best friend in his last moments. He already had too many regrets in his life. He didn't want to add another to the list.

"Gibbon can wait," Danny decided. "Let the military deal with him."

Kono grinned at Danny, pleased that he had made the correct decision. She just hoped he wasn't too late making up his mind.

The drive to Tripler was tense. They all prayed that this meant good news, that Steve was out of his coma and awake. Of course, things were never that simple with Steve. Regardless, they couldn't help but hope for the best possible outcome.

Before long, the team arrived at Tripler and looked up at the building with apprehension. It wasn't like Steve hadn't been in dire conditions before, but this time felt different. After everything he had already been through, the team wondered what they could be walking into. As one, they took a deep breath and entered the hospital.

Somehow, they found themselves outside the ICU ward of the military hospital. Chin, Danny and Kono stopped just outside the doors, almost too afraid to enter. The nurse that was passing by must have taken some pity on them and asked who they were there to see.

"We're here to see Steve McGarrett," Kono answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. He's gone," the nurse replied.

The news felt like a punch to the gut. Kono's face went pale, Chin's eyes widened and Danny's jaw dropped open. The nurse took one look at their astonished faces and realised they hadn't understood what she had told them.

"Sorry. That was a poor choice of words. I meant to say that Commander McGarrett was transferred to the step down unit."

Chin was the first to recover. "Thank you. Where is the step down unit?"

The nurse smiled at the team. "Just down the hall and to the left."

"Thank you," Chin said.

Kono almost sighed with relief. For a moment, she had thought they were almost too late.

"Step down unit?" she asked. "That has to be a good thing, right?"

"Yes Kono," Chin answered. "I'm sure it is."

The trio entered the new ward and immediately noticed a difference in the atmosphere. In the ICU, everything happened with a sense of urgency. While there was still an underlying tone of urgency, everything was calmer and more relaxed in the step down unit. It inspired hope, something that had been lacking in the ICU. Frankly, hope was something that had been lacking for weeks.

A door three rooms down opened and a familiar figure walked outside. Doctor Eric Palamo smiled when he saw the team standing there. He quickly walked over to the remaining Five-0 team members.

"What's going on, Doc?" Danny asked.

"I don't understand it, but it seems the Commander turned a corner," the doctor answered with a smile.

"What does that mean?" Danny asked.

"It means he started being able to breathe on his own. We took him off the ventilator half an hour ago. We will need to keep an eye on his oxygen levels, but so far he's doing well," Doctor Palamo said.

"Does that mean…is he…is he going to be okay?" Danny asked a little desperately.

Doctor Palamo studied Danny intensely before answering. "Danny…He is still in a coma. He has a long way to go, but this is a good start."

Danny nodded, trying to assure himself that everything would be okay. Doctor Palamo was right, it was good news. But Danny couldn't help the guilt that threatened to bubble up inside him.

"You should go and see him," Doctor Palamo said to the group.

Kono eagerly made her way to the room the doctor had emerged from moments earlier. Chin paused and looked back at Danny.

"Are you coming, Danny?" Chin asked.

"In a minute," Danny said.

Chin nodded in understanding and followed his cousin inside the room, closing the door behind them. The doctor turned to face Danny with a questioning look on his face. Normally, the short detective would have commandeered the patient's room as his own bedroom for the remainder of McGarrett's stay. Instead, Danny was…apprehensive. It was an odd look on the detective.

"Danny?" Doctor Palamo asked.

"Just give it to me straight, Doc. What are his chances?" Danny asked.

"I won't lie to you, Danny, but the longer he remains in a coma, the less chance he has of a full recovery."

"Last time, he was only out for three days…" Danny said.

"That is correct, Danny. But he was in a medically induced coma then. This time is different. He has to wake up on his own. There's nothing we can do until he does," Doctor Palamo explained.

Danny sighed and ran both hands through his hair in frustration. "What if he never wakes up?"

"We're not there yet, Danny. Just be patient with him. This is a good sign. It means he's fighting, that he's still got something to give," the doctor said.

Danny turned away and muttered, "He's already given everything he has."

Doctor Palamo wasn't sure if he was supposed to have heard that or not. Given the way his patient had suddenly improved, the doctor knew that statement was incorrect. Steve McGarrett was a stubborn man; that he could attest to having seen it first hand. Doctor Palamo had never met a patient with the same resilience and can-do attitude that the Commander possessed. He would be greatly surprised if Commander McGarrett didn't make a full recovery.

Obviously, Danny didn't have the same faith. Doctor Palamo was wondering why that was when they were interrupted.

"Danny?" Kono's voice came from Steve's room.

Danny turned to see Kono sticking her head out, obviously to see if he was coming in.

"I'll be there soon, Kono," Danny answered.

"Okay," Kono said as she ducked back into the room.

Danny looked at Doctor Palamo, who nodded at Danny. "I'll leave you to it."

Danny watched as the doctor retreated further down the hallway, presumably to check on another patient. Danny took a deep breath to calm himself before walking towards his partner's new room. He was about to enter when the door opened and Chin and Kono exited.

"How is he?" Danny asked instantly.

"He's okay, considering," Kono answered, not giving anything away

Danny had no idea what that really meant. Did it mean that Steve looked like death warmed over? Or did it mean that he looked like he was asleep, just napping the day away? Danny found he didn't have the heart to ask. He would just have to see for himself.

"Kono and I are going to head out. Will you be okay here?" Chin asked.

Danny knew what Chin was really asking. Was he going to be okay seeing Steve? Truthfully, Danny had no idea. He knew that he had to do this himself, no matter what. He knew he hadn't been there for Steve, much less for Chin and Kono. Danny had left the two of them to look after Steve while he had been so consumed in finding all the people associated with the man responsible for Steve's state. It wasn't fair and it was time to fix that.

Danny nodded. "Yeah. We'll be fine."

Chin looked at him skeptically. Danny sighed before adding, "I'll call you if, you know, anything changes."

Chin nodded and wrapped an arm over Kono's shoulders before leading her out. Chin turned back and gave Danny one last evaluating look before the cousins disappeared from sight. Danny looked at the door and with all his resolve, he pushed it open, keeping his eyes averted until he was inside the room.

Eventually, Danny looked up and took in his partner's appearance. His knees felt weak as he slowly approached the hospital bed that his frail partner was laying in.

Frail.

That was a word no one ever associated with Commander I-eat-grenades-for-breakfast McGarrett. However, at this moment in time, it was the most accurate description.

Steve looked awful. His skin was pale, only just standing out from the crisp white sheets he was lying on. Steve's exposed skin was covered in bruising in various stages of healing. Danny shuddered when he though about how severe the bruising must have been before. Steve's jaw was still covered in dark bruising, just visible underneath the beard that had grown unruly over Steve's chin.

Danny was almost glad that Steve wasn't awake to feel the pain that Danny was sure would accompany the bruising. Although, Danny wasn't sure that comatose people couldn't feel pain. Danny made a mental note to ask the doctor if Steve was in pain. He prayed that was not the case. Steve had been subjected to enough pain to last a lifetime.

Danny looked up at Steve's slack face. He appeared to be almost peaceful, but Danny knew better. His partner wasn't asleep. He was in a coma. A coma, because he had been injected with a high concentration of heroin, which made his breathing so shallow that he had stopped breathing entirely. Danny shuddered when he remembered the way Steve's ribs crunched under his own hands when he had tried to restart his heart.

The nasal cannula reassured Danny that Steve was breathing on his own. That it was okay. One glance at Steve's gauze-wrapped wrists reminded Danny that it was not, actually, okay. It was so far from okay. His partner had been tortured. Again. And for what?

Danny knew exactly why Steve had to go through what he went through. Except that didn't help to dissipate the guilt was churning away inside him. Danny glanced around at all the machines monitoring Steve's vitals and wished, once again, that this had never happened. That Nazeef had been taken out the first time.

Danny dragged his eyes from Steve's prone form. He walked to the door and rested his head against it. He would make sure every last person paid for their atrocities his partner, whether direct or indirect.

"I'll get them all, Steve. I promise," Danny said.

Danny exited the room without so much as a backwards glance at Steve. He was determined to make good on his promise and nothing could stop him. The next time he saw Steve, he vowed to have good news to give him.

Danny didn't see Steve lift a finger in response.


One week later:

"…and then the teacher took us to the nocturnal exhibit. It was so dark inside, but so cool. Did you know that mongoose are carnivores, Uncle Steve? That means they eat meat…They are also i-im-imunable…"

"Immune, Gracie."

"Yes, that's right. Mongoose are immune to snake venom. How cool is that?"

Doctor Eric Palamo stopped outside his patient's room when he heard the familiar young girl's voice. Apparently, her class had been to the zoo recently and Grace Williams just couldn't wait to tell her Uncle Steve all about it. The fact that he didn't respond to her story didn't seem to deter the excitable girl.

"Then we went to the reptile place. There were tortoises, which are turtles with big, stumpy legs. And an ig-igiuwana?"

"Iguana?"

"Yeah. They look like giant lizards. I took some photos. You can see them when you wake up, Uncle Steve," Grace said.

Doctor Palamo hated to interrupt the conversation going on between his patient and his niece, but he needed to check on Commander McGarrett. He knocked on the door quietly before entering the room.

Danny turned around at the sound and saw the doctor approaching. "Good afternoon, Doc."

Doctor Palamo smiled. "Good afternoon Danny. Good afternoon Grace."

Grace Williams waved back shyly. She remembered the doctor from the last time her Uncle was in the hospital, but still wasn't entirely comfortable around the man.

"How is he doing?" Danny asked.

Doctor Palamo looked down at the chart in his hands. The Commander's vitals were not of any major concern, not having deviated one way or the other in the last two weeks.

"He's doing okay Danny. No changes," the doctor answered.

Danny's face fell. It was clear he had been expecting news of improvement. Whilst coming off the ventilator was definitely good news, the patient was still in a coma. There was no telling how long it would last or if it would end. Doctor Palamo wished he had something, anything, to tell the Commander's family.

Doctor Palamo flicked his eyes over to the bed that held his patient. He noted the way Grace was holding McGarrett's un-casted hand with such care. It was definitely a nice sight. It was good to see that Danny had finally come to his senses and come to see his friend. Not that the Commander was ever alone, but it felt different without Danny there by his side constantly. There had been a certain…energy lacking from the room that had now been restored.

"I'm glad to see you back by your partner's side," Doctor Palamo commented as he completed his exam.

Danny sighed and looked up at the doctor sheepishly. "Yeah, well, there was something I had to do first," he paused. "But I'm glad I'm here now."

Doctor Palamo nodded. That must have meant that all the people involved with Nazeef had been put away. Something Danny had obviously taken on himself to do before seeing his partner. It was admirable, but also foolish. In the past, Commander McGarrett healed faster when his partner was constantly by his side. This time, without Danny by his side, his recovery had been considerably slower.

"Well, it looks like he's in good hands. I'll leave you two to it," the doctor said as he exited the room.

"Thanks doc," Danny called after him.

Danny sat back in his chair and let Grace's talking wash over him. Grace was determined to talk Steve into waking up. She had already told him all about her book report and Tommy's antics at school. She had moved on from her class excursion to the Honolulu Zoo and was now chatting to Steve about a new friend she had met in the playground. She had a very busy life for a little girl.

Danny felt his heart clench with happiness when he realised that she was safe because of Steve. Not that Steve would ever see it that way. Steve would think it was his fault that she was in danger in the first place and withdraw even more than he already had. Danny vowed that once Steve was on the mend that would not happen. Danny would make sure of it.

Danny glanced down at his watch and groaned inwardly when he realised the time.

"Hey monkey. Say goodbye to Uncle Steve. It's time to go back to your mum's," Danny said.

"Danno!" Grace whined. "Do I have to?"

Danny smiled. "Yes, monkey. You can come see Uncle Steve tomorrow."

"Okay," Grace said before leaning down and whispering in Steve's ear. "Bye Uncle Steve. I love you. Please wake up soon."

Danny's heart swelled with the love he had for his precious daughter. Her heart was too large and so full of joy that he wanted to protect her from everything horrible in this world. Unfortunately, he knew he could never do that. There was too much evil in this world. The evidence of which was lying on the bed in front of him.

Grace grabbed Danny's hand and led him from Steve's hospital room. If Grace didn't have to go back to Rachel's, he would stay all day and night by Steve's side. Just like he should have been doing from the first day. He could dwell on that later.

"He's going to be okay Danno," Grace's voice interrupted Danny's thoughts.

Since when had his little girl become so grown up?

"Of course he is. I know that," Danny answered with feigned confidence.

"It's okay to be worried Danno. I am too…But he's SuperSEAL," Grace said. "He'll be fighting bad guys again in no time. And then you can rant at him all you want. You'll see."

Danny couldn't argue with his daughter's logic. More like he didn't want to. He wanted to believe that Grace was right. He wanted to believe it so bad that it physically hurt. And yes, he should have been the one to tell her that. But he couldn't help the comfort he felt from her words.

"You're right, Grace," Danny said with a smile.

"I know," Grace said confidently, as though it was obvious. Danny nearly snorted.

They climbed into the Camaro, with Grace in the backseat. It wasn't a long drive back to Rachel's, but it felt like it dragged on forever. Danny didn't want to say goodbye to Grace. Not yet. Normally, on the days he didn't have Grace, Steve would come and spend time with him. Just to take his mind off the fact he couldn't see his daughter. Except, for once, Steve wasn't able to be there for him. And not through any fault of his own.

Too quickly, they had arrived in front of Rachel's house and Danny felt a bubble of anxiety building up inside of him. Ever since moving to Hawaii and meeting Steve, he hadn't been alone. Now, for the first time, he had no idea what to do with himself without Grace or Steve.

He considered calling one of the cousins before he remembered how exhausted they were from working the case and spending every other waking minute with Steve. They had already been through enough. Although, Danny was certain they would drop anything to be with him, he didn't want to feel like a burden.

Danny watched as the gates to his ex-wife's house opened. He climbed out of the car and gave Grace a big hug before letting her go see her mum. He watched as she ran up the large driveway to where Rachel was waiting. Once Grace was inside, Rachel walked over to the car where Danny was leaning against the closed driver's side door.

"How is he?" Rachel asked.

Danny wasn't surprised by the question as much as he was the concern in his ex-wife's voice.

"No change," he answered.

Rachel patted Danny on the shoulder. "He'll pull through. He's too stubborn not to."

"Yeah," Danny said, not meeting her eyes.

"You know I'm right."

The smile in Rachel's voice made Danny look up. Grace had used a similar tone on him earlier.

"Yeah," Danny muttered, agreeing.

Except he wasn't so sure she was.