This story was finished, but then my muse came up with an additional scene that I hadn't planned on and I couldn't figure out what to do with that in relation to this part. Things took a few days to sort, but I think (hope) I'm there now. I'm still not a medical expert, and don't own anything. All that to say - I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for reading, and for all of the wonderful reviews so far! -abby
Katsumoto opened his eyes groggily. It took a moment to bring the hospital room somewhat into focus past the relentless pounding of his head. "Ugh," he muttered.
"He's awake," a familiar female voice said softly, speaking to someone Gordon couldn't see. There was a quiet exchange he couldn't follow, but it didn't seem intended for him so he didn't pay much attention. After a few seconds the woman's voice redirected and he felt a gentle touch on his forearm. "How are you feeling?"
"Head…hurts," the detective mumbled, unsuccessfully attempting to make his eyesight cooperate.
"I'm not surprised," Juliet replied warmly. "You were shot and have a serious concussion. But you're going to be fine."
Katsumoto grunted softly in response. Suddenly he remembered what had happened…sort of. We were being chased and- "Wait. Magnum?"
"Aw, Gordie," Magnum's voice was so thin and weak it scarcely carried from the neighboring bed, and Gordon had to strain to listen. "See? You do care."
"Professional curiosity," a faint smile passed across Katsumoto's face as he slowly rolled his aching head toward Thomas. "You okay?"
"'M fine," came the predictable, if unconvincing, reply.
Rick and TC were sitting at their brother's bedside, and even through his wavering vision Gordon noticed how they exchanged a glance. The detective squinted at the bag of blood that was rigged to one of Magnum's multiple IV lines, and the way the other man's eyes seemed sunken in his ghostly pale face. An oxygen cannula snaked under his nose and though his lower body was covered by thick blankets, his injured leg was clearly propped and supported by pillows. Thomas didn't appear to be anywhere in the vicinity of fine. He looked like death warmed over.
Katsumoto turned to the room's other occupants, knowing he'd get a straight answer. "How is he, really?"
"He nearly died from blood loss," Juliet said candidly, concern apparent in the quiet words.
"Paired with the severe dehydration it was touch and go for a minute there. He came very close to bleeding out entirely, but he's finally stable." TC chimed in. At the mild confusion on Katsumoto's face the pilot smiled. "You've been out for quite a while," he explained gently.
"What about...his leg?" Gordon asked, not sure he really wanted to know.
Juliet, Rick and TC exchanged another meaningful look and there was a long silence. Finally Higgins spoke, ignoring the feeble protests coming from her partner's bed. "Given the extent of the muscle damage, it's unlikely that he'll regain full mobility. At minimum he'll need extensive physical therapy, and possibly reconstructive surgery." She paused. "He didn't want us to tell you."
"I knew I shouldn't have pulled out the arrow," Katsumoto frowned.
"He didn't want us to tell you because he doesn't want you to blame yourself. It is absolutely not your fault," Juliet said firmly.
"Jules is right. It was a no-win situation, man," Rick shook his head. "There was no good option. If you'd left the arrow in, Thomas could have caught it on something as you guys ran, which might have been even worse. Besides, a lot of the damage was probably just from the initial hit."
"He might not have lost nearly as much blood if I'd left it alone," Gordon insisted.
"I doubt he could have run for long if you hadn't pulled it," TC added. "His muscles were seizing pretty bad just from the trauma, and a foreign body would have made it worse." He paused. "Those arrows are meant to immobilize and kill their prey. TM is just lucky it hit his thigh. Anywhere else could have been fatal for sure."
"It was almost fatal anyway," Juliet's voice was soft. Rick and TC nodded grimly, and Gordon could see the lingering fear in their haunted expressions. He realized that they weren't exaggerating. Clearly it had been a very close call.
"I knew the risks," Thomas whispered. He shifted uncomfortably in the bed, unable to hide a wince as his leg protested the movement. TC reached over to help him adjust, and Thomas flashed a wan smile before returning his attention to Katsumoto. "Told you...to pull it. Not...on you." He studied the detective solemnly. "'S okay." Thomas couldn't stop his eyes from drifting closed. Though he wanted to hear Gordon's response his strength was simply gone, and he was asleep almost before he finished speaking.
"He's right, man. Those hunters are to blame for this, not you. You did what you had to do. Thanks for having his back." TC held the detective's gaze.
"I think you have it wrong. He took that arrow after pushing me out of the way." Gordon sighed. "And I don't know what happened after I got shot, but the hunters were closing in fast."
Higgins filled in the blanks for Katsumoto regarding what she had witnessed in the forest.
"Seems to me like you had each other's backs," Rick observed mildly.
"Indeed. Thomas is asleep, you know. He won't hear you. Maybe it's time to admit that the two of you work well together," Juliet teased.
"Never," the detective's smile was weary. "But...I do have to admit that I've never seen anything like it."
They looked at him curiously.
"I've never understood Magnum. Or been able to take him seriously," Gordon elaborated. "You know how he...can be."
"We do," Juliet said encouragingly.
"But out there...I've never seen him that way. He was like a machine. I don't even know how he kept going. By the time I got shot he was barely standing and definitely in no condition to carry me. He was really sick from the ketamine and then his leg..." he trailed off, then cleared his throat and continued even as the others opened their mouths to offer reassurance. "Anyway, he was really...something."
Rick and TC chuckled softly, and looked affectionately at Magnum's sleeping form. "He's something, all right," said Rick.
"TM doesn't know how to quit," said TC. "Sometimes to his own detriment. I can tell you one thing, though. He may not always worry about himself but with the proper motivation, like someone else's life, he will never stop fighting."
Rick nodded. "He would sooner die," the blond man added meaningfully.
"He...uh..." Katsumoto began quietly. He cleared his throat. "He insisted he was slowing me down," he said. "At first I thought he was giving up. Tried to get me to leave him behind."
The others were hanging on every word. "You obviously didn't, so what did you tell him?" Juliet asked what Rick and TC were thinking.
"That he was an idiot," Gordon sighed. "I gave him a hard time about how I thought SEALs didn't quit." He paused, and snorted softly. "Then I told him that if I did leave him behind and somehow the hunters didn't kill me, you guys almost certainly would."
Everyone laughed but as their chuckles tapered off, Katsumoto frowned. He was really going to do it. Without a second thought, he would have stayed behind if it meant I would survive. The magnitude of that conversation hadn't hit Gordon at the time, but suddenly the very idea was jarring. "I thought he was quitting. But he wasn't. He really was willing to sacrifice his own life to save mine," he said slowly, as if the thought had only just occurred to him. "Just...like that. As if it was no big deal."
Despite what seemed to him a startling revelation, when Gordon looked up he simply received three knowing smiles in reply.
"Sounds like you understand Thomas just fine," TC said.