Chapter 49,
Hey guys, thank you for the support as usual. Here's another one, i hope you like and review.
"Shut up and roll." Danny growled.
"Okay." Steve shrugged, then tossed the dice. "No doubles." He settled back into his
wheelchair and reached over and started to play with Catherine's hair.
"Use your Get Out Of Jail Free card, ya goof."
"I have one more turn" Steve protested. "Then, I will use it."
Frustrated, Danny took his turn. Three; he hung his head. Not again.
"And you are going broke, boss. I own Pennsylvania, you owe me for your hotel stay…" Chin
consulted the deed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Danny handed over the last of his on-hand cash.
"Meanwhile, Steve's 'safe' in jail." Lou chuckled.
Catherine rolled the dice and landed on her own property. She managed to avoid Danny's
hotels on either side. She smiled happily at her good fortune.
Grover took the dice and rolled doubles twice.
"Come see me." Steve teased.
Grover rolled again, snake eyes. He tossed his game piece toward jail. "Hey Steve."
Danny rubbed his hands together in anticipation of Chin's roll. "Come see me, Chin. My hotels
await you."
Chin rolled. He managed to land on the railroad between Danny's hotels. "Saved. It's good to
own a railroad or two."
Steve rolled, got double fours and grinned. "I'm free and I own the Water Works. A good roll,
passed all Danny's hotels, again."
"I hate you."
"I hate you, too."
Everyone laughed at the two as they bickered. To any by passer, they sounded hateful but to
their circle of friends, they were hilarious.
Danny took his turn and refused to concede when he was caught cashless. He had to mortgage
hotels and properties but he paid Steve.
"Thank you, Danno." Steve collected his rent gleefully, ignoring Danny's sour look.
"Isn't it your bedtime?"
"Are you conceding?"
"A Williams NEVER concedes!"
"Okay, your funeral." Steve and Chin Ho said together. They grinned at each other.
"Quiet, both of you!"
The friends played into the night. Jenny joined them during her lunch break and ate sub
sandwiches with them and enjoyed the snarky comments that were flying back and forth. At
10pm, she called the game due to Steve's medication time. The players cashed out while she
took Steve's vitals.
After Catherine, the banker cashed everyone out, Lou won by $9.
"I told you, I love this game." Lou gloated. "Good thing I won that ten dollar prize in the beauty
contest."
"Who did you bribe?" Chin teased. "Who was in last place?"
"Want to report to Parking Enforcement next Monday morning, Chin?" Danny asked pointedly.
88888888888888888888888888888888888888
The morning flew by, Dr. Lionel worked at a steady pace. Steve remained in good humor, he
thought about the 'vision' he had of his daughter. He kept replaying his dream in his mind.
Finally, after hours of hanging his mouth open, pushing and other discomforts, the lady dentist
set aside her tools.
"Well, Steve, what do you think?" Dr. Lionel handed him a hand mirror.
Steve took it and looked at Catherine, who was literally bouncing in her chair with excitement.
He took a deep breath and smiled at himself.
His 'new' smile was beautiful, downright dazzling.
Steve closed his mouth, then his eyes. He reopened his eyes, looked in the mirror and smiled.
Bright, perfect teeth. He beamed at Catherine.
Catherine grabbed his ankle. "Steve, if I didn't know better, I'd never know."
Steve sat dumbfounded, smiling broadly. "Me neither." He held his hand out to Catherine, who
was already in motion. Their hands touched. "Cat, let's not wait to get back to Hawaii. New
Jersey or Hawaii, what's the difference? It's all the U S of A. Let's get married as soon as
possible."
Catherine beamed. "Oh yes, I'm tired of waiting too." She had grabbed his outstretched hand.
"We've waited long enough."
"Agreed."
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Chin drained his coffee cup, it had turned cold and bitter. He set the near empty cup aside just
as Danny appeared with a tray of fresh coffees for Chin, Grover and himself.
"Steve's still in there?" After tossing the carry tray into the trash, Danny sat down and opened
his coffee. He savored the scented steam rising from his cup.
"Yup." Grover had been dozing but now he sat up straight and took his coffee from the
detective. "Thanks, boss."
"Cheers." Chin raised his cup. "Anything new on our missing Russian?"
Danny swallowed. "Not yet. He'll turn up. Either here or at the hotel. I'm betting here."
"Why?"
"Because if he did away with Lynn, it would just further motivate Steve to testify but kill Steve
and Lynn would fold like a weak poker hand."
Chin nodded. "Makes sense. I think Lynn would run. I'm surprised she's hanging on."
"She's tougher than we're giving her credit for." Lou opined. "The night Steve got hurt, she
found her back bone."
"That's my theory as well."
"Good thinking, boss." Chin popped off.
"Shut up, Chin." Danny said with a smile.
As the men chuckled, the door to Steve's room opened and a woman in white scrubs exited.
"Gentlemen." She smiled as she shut the door behind her and went down the hall.
"Steve's anesthesiologist." Chin said.
"Maybe that means they're about done." Danny observed.
88888888888888888888888888888888888
Lynn was so frustrated that she broke her pencil in half. She grabbed her cigarette caddy and
left her office. Ignoring everything in her path, she made a beeline for the gardens.
Once outside, she lit up a cigarette and forced herself to calm her nerves. She started to walk
down the gravel path slowly. She smiled at a 'Spock' and an "Uhura' walking hand in hand,
"Good morning."
"Greetings." Pseudo Spock replied. His companion blushed with a shy smile.
Lynn kept walking, lost in thought. It was late morning and a beautiful day, blue skies and mild
temperature. She reached the 'rose room.'
A vision of Steve McGarrett came to mind and even though their situation changed 180
degrees, she found that she still had strong feelings for the navy man. Those sentiments aside,
she was genuinely concerned for him.
By the time she returned to her office, she decided to call the hospital and check on him.
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
George was climbing the walls of the budget hotel across the street from the hospital where he
was waiting for the American sailor to emerge. His room faced the patient pick up/drop off and
he stood at the window, watching, waiting.
"Why doesn't this man go home already?" George grumbled.
"You must have hurt him more seriously than you realized." Dennis replied quietly. "I'm sure
with the Navy paying the bills, the hospital is milking his insurance coverage for all they can."
"Hmm."
A knock at the door, "Housekeeping."
George growled with irritation.
"No, thank you." Dennis called through the door. He released the breath he didn't even realize
he was holding as he heard the maid and her cart proceed down the hall to the next occupied
room.
"Well, it's passed discharge time again." Dennis consulted his watch. "Order lunch in again?
"Whatever you order."
"Fine. I'm sick of pizza, Chinese sound okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I should go in there and just waste Lynn's friend and be done with it." His accent
was getting thicker, betraying his frustration.
"I doubt you'd get very far. When I walked through there are police everywhere and you need a
special pass to get certain places. Probably where they stashed him. You should have killed
him when you had the chance."
"I thought I did, he wasn't moving. I would have cut his throat if Lynn's damned cat hadn't
jumped on me."
"You make that cat sound like a tiger." Dennis pointed out.
"Mean little animal. Tore off my flesh, I needed stitches. Then the police showed up or I would
have killed him and that fucking cat. I slammed his jaw pretty hard, I was sure I hit him hard
enough to kill him. I wish my brother would have listened to me and didn't underestimate that
bastard."
"Like you did." Dennis pointed out bravely. "Well, he's alive and well and he'll bury you in
court. You may have skipped bail, but if the police don't get you, a bounty hunter will. You got
a high bail which means high reward; you'll have everyone and their grandma looking for you."
"SHUT UP!" George growled coldly. "Lynn's pretty boy will be dead soon enough. And I'll be a
free man, free as a bug."
"Bird."
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Lynn hung up the phone, disappointed. The hospital would give her no information regarding
Steve, his condition or even verify he was a patient there. In her frustration, she threw her
broken pencil across the room.
It bounced off the wall as the door opened. The gesture was not wasted on Adam Noshimuri.
"I'm sorry I didn't knock."
"It's not you, Adam. Just having a real lousy day." Lynn smiled sheepishly. "Nothing is going
right. Ever have one of those days?"
"My fair share, like everyone, I guess."
Lynn blew wayward hairs out of her eyes. "I just want one thing to go my way today. I can't get
the front desk or the coffee shop books to balance. We're still super busy and I don't have
enough personnel to cover all the shifts, which means overtime eating into the profits."
"Growing pains." Adam soothed. "George chased a lot of good employees off. By the time
the next convention rolls around, we'll hire more employees and it will be better. With George
out of here, we can make this place a true success. You and I, partners."
Lynn smiled at the recognition. "Partners."
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
"'Steve is doing much better, Monkey. I'll be home tomorrow. Will you help mommy until I
get back?" Danny spoke gently to his daughter.
"Yes, Danno, I'll help mommy. Please tell Uncle Steve I miss him."
Danny ignored the 'uncle' comment. "I will, Gracie. Let me talk to mommy."
"Okay, bye daddy." She put the phone down and yelled. "Mommy!"
Danny smiled at his daughter's behavior. He sipped his drink while he waited for his wife.
"Hello Daniel."
"Hiya babe. How are you holding up?"
"Nothing I can't handle. How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. I have kept the home fires burning before. How's Steve?"
"Almost back to himself. I feel his assailant is so close I can almost smell him."
Rachel laughed, in spite of the weight of danger her husband was in. "Stale vodka?"
"Yeah." Danny laughed, grateful to his wife for breaking the tension. "This is the logical place
that Russian bear will try to take Steve out, once and for all." He sighed heavily. "I let him
down before; I won't do it again."
"Daniel …"
"You were right; I pushed him into a situation that made him feel uneasy and he was injured. I
shouldn't have done that. I wouldn't even know how to approach the subject with him. He's in
the hospital - because I pushed."
"Daniel, he was aware of the risks. I was concerned about his fiancée misunderstanding, that's
all."
"I know, I know." Another heavy sigh.
"Daniel, talk to him." Rachel said quietly. "You'll feel better. "I'm sure Steve doesn't blame
you. He didn't strike me as a grudge holder."
"He's a good guy." Danny agreed. "I'll talk to him. And I'm sorry about not coming home again
tonight."
"I understand."
"Hey babe, you think the kids would mind doubling up? I'm sure the hospital will release Steve
soon. Would you mind terribly if he and Catherine come stay with us? His apartment is up a
long staircase and is most depressing."
"I don't think that would be a problem."
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
A rather dull afternoon was spent on the hospital's rooftop 'café, visiting with the floor staff,
playing cards and enjoying the mild weather, the sunshine.
"This is really incredible." Catherine looked out over the city. "And the employees did all this?"
"It started with old patio furniture and a smart remark." Melissa smiled at the memory. "My
flippant husband was putting up our new outdoor grill and looking to get rid of our old set.
Well, I loved this chair…" She caressed the arms of the chaise lounge she was sitting on as she
looked out over the employee's hideaway, to the corner being used as a makeshift smoking
area. "I hatched this idea." She gestured to the area. "Once approved by the hospital brass, I
asked everyone to consider bringing old furniture here. And watched it develop around me and
my chair. It came together slowly, piece by piece. We pooled money and added the
retractable sun awning for rainy days and the smokers bought the outdoor ashtrays. The staff's
private sanctuary." The nurse finished proudly. "Of course, we allow special patients like the
Commander up here too." She smiled warmly at Steve, who was enjoying the warm sunshine
on Catherine's other side. When did he go from Captain Ahab to one of her favorite patients?
"All this, because I couldn't part with this chair."
"I heard my name mentioned." Steve said smiling. He opened his eyes and looked over at the
nurse with mischievous eyes . "Am I a 'special' patient?"
"In more ways than one."
Steve chuckled, closed his eyes and resumed his sunbath.
Catherine stroked his hair. "Enjoying being lazy, my love?"
"Lazy? This is therapeutic. I'm simply enjoying my vitamin D infusion."
Catherine laughed.
"What's funny?" Danny asked walking up. "Steve say something coherent?"
"No harassing our patients, Detective Williams." Melissa admonished playfully as she wagged
her finger at him. Inadvertently, her eye caught sight of her watch. "Oh geez, I better get back
downstairs, lunchtime is almost over. I got meds to pass!" She got up, quickly gathered her
trash, grabbed her purse and hurried to the stairwell.
Noticing the movement, Chin got up and set aside the substitute 'security' measure so the
nurse could exit easily. He resecured the door and returned to the Gin Rummy game he was
playing with Lou by the only door.
Danny was hoping to talk to Steve privately but couldn't find a way to tactfully ask Catherine to
leave him alone to talk. He couldn't very well just ask her to go stand in the corner now could
he? Instead, he found himself just standing there awkwardly, staring into his coffee cup.
Catherine sensed the detective's discomfort. "I'm thirsty. Want a protein shake, mustang?"
"Yes, please, and a couple jellos?"
"A couple?"
Steve smiled sheepishly. "One of each flavor, please."
Catherine rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Just what I thought." She looked at the
Commander's guardsmen. "May I get anything for you, gentlemen?"
Once Catherine was gone with their requests, Danny gestured to the vacated chair. "May I?"
"Please."
Danny sat down in Catherine's vacated chair. "How are you feeling?"
"Every day a bit better." Steve's face became befuddled. "Please explain to me what the
difference is between walking around the gym is classified as 'therapy' but my running on a
treadmill is 'extreme.'"
Danny understood the frustration. "I think the therapist doesn't want you over doing it.
Therapists have to be able to 'prove' they rehabbed you. I remember I hurt my hip once. After
five days off, I returned to work but I had to have physical therapy for twelve weeks. That
therapist had me walk the gym and ride a stationary bike in the morning, but I was literally
kicking down doors in the afternoon. I laughed about it and told the therapist. He shrugged
and told me 'rules be rules.'"
Steve chuckled. "You're probably right. I just want to be a little more active."
"Hey, you were looking pale. You need a few days of this." Danny held his hands out toward
the sunshine. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and lowered his voice. "Steve, I am sorry."
Steve frowned as he turned his face toward the detective with a questioning look.
"I pushed you, forced you into that situation with Lynn. I was suspicious of George Federchuk.
I didn't want to prejudice you so I said nothing. You got hurt, I'm sorry."
Steve blinked rapidly, digesting Danny's apology. "Danny, Federchuk was caught where he
wasn't supposed to be. A cornered animal panics, strikes without thinking." He smiled at
Danny. "You forced me? No one forces me to do anything I don't want to do. Honestly, if he
had attacked anyone else, I doubt they would have survived. Lynn wouldn't have stood a
chance."
Danny snickered.
Steve felt a bit slighted. "I didn't mean to sound arrogant, but I have been trained to handle
surprise attacks … "
"I don't doubt your skills. I just thought having a hard head helped."
They both cracked up.
"You're right about that." Steve admitted. "Not the first time I've been told that either."
"You're determined."
Steve nodded. "I don't like to lose." He looked at Danny. "Did you think I felt that you were
responsible?"
Danny looked at the naval officer sadly. "Yeah, I thought you may have." He said quietly.
"Don't." Steve said firmly. "You had no way of knowing he was hiding in her penthouse.
Atleast he got himself arrested. Not your fault by any means. We're good." Steve smiled
devilishly. "Danno."
Danny shot Steve a dirty look. "I thought we agreed, Stevie."
"Sorry." His smiled told Danny that the sailor wasn't through needling him.