The team gotten no leads on Danny's location. He was after all once a part of the elite task force. This meant he knew exactly what they would look out for and by default, he would know what to do to avoid getting found. Still, they hadn't left any stone unturned in looking for him but finding a clue as to where their former detective was proved to be a difficult task. It had been a week since Danny's disappearance, and Steve could no longer hold himself back so he had returned to work. He had a mission. To bring his friend home. His physical wounds were healed up and he was feeling mostly back to his old self. Physically he was fine. But emotionally, he was still wounded by Danny's sudden departure.
He had mostly avoided talking about Danny to anyone on the team, perhaps because the thought of his friend being alone was too painful for him to talk about. Yet, he couldn't hide that he was struggling with the loss of his partner. In fact, unknowingly, a day after he was back at work, he had slipped up in front of his team. So used he was to having his partner by his side when at work that Danny's name had so effortlessly rolled off his tongue when they were working a case.
"Danny, you're with me." He had said while intently looking at the screen. He hadn't even realised what he had said until the room went completely silent and still for a moment. His partner's voice did not break the silence. That was when he realised. Danny wasn't with him. He looked around the room, as Chin, Kono and Lou looked back at him with a grim expression. He swallowed, regretting the blunder he had made which had instantaneously broken his tough facade. He cleared his throat and turned to Lou. "Lou. You're coming with me." He said in a low voice.
"Are you okay?" Lou had asked him in the truck.
He greeted Lou with silence.
"Steve?"
"No." Steve had said. "I'm not okay."
"I get that.."
"You don't get it. Look.. he .. I should have known. He was not alright. He hadn't been for a while. I just didn't think he would really leave just like that. I thought.. I thought there was no way he was going to leave Grace. He loves her more than anything, it's just not possible for him to leave. But.. he did it. I.. I'm really worried about him, Lou. He's not even fully healed yet and.. He..uhh he.. He's not thinking straight. He's obviously not thinking straight! And.." Steve stopped. He didn't want to complete his words. He didn't want to say it out loud for fear it would make the words come true. And I'm afraid it might be too much for him. I'm afraid, it might push him off the edge.
"Steve, we're all worried about him. And we're trying our best to find him. We will find him. And when we do, we're all going to be there for him. To help him the way he needs to be helped." Lou said.
"I just hope we find him before it's too late. I've got a promise to keep to a little girl." Steve said.
As days passed, Steve's worry for his friend was growing exponentially. There hadn't been a word from his partner. No one knew where Danny was. He hadn't made contact with anyone, not even his family in Jersey. And the team still hadn't made any progress. Steve could only hope that wherever his partner was, he was safe. And he convinced himself that maybe no news was good news.
Steve tried to go about the day as normally as he could but that was not something easy, considering how much Danny had made up his normal routine. Each time he left the house, he hated seeing Danny's Camaro still parked in his driveway. He vowed never to drive it. Not without Danny sitting in the passenger seat. Each time he was at the HQ, he couldn't help but glance at Danny's empty office. He held on to the unrealistic hope that his partner would be seated inside with his signature pout. The nerve of that guy to comment on Steve's face when he was a million times more expressive. But Steve missed that. He missed everything about his friend. The taunts, the rants, the overly expressive face, the chaotic hands that couldn't keep still when he talked. Everything. He missed his best friend.
...
Days had turned into weeks. And the weeks turned into a month. Nothing much has changed for Danny. Nightmares still haunted him every night and he was honestly close to giving up. He was forced to relive the wretched day his partner and daughter were shot every waking moment of his life. It was too painful for him to continue living this way. He was in his own self-inflicted purgatory, problem was, there was no way to wash away his mistake and this would be his permanent abode. He would forever live this way, not knowing what was going to happen to his life next. He had no one to turn to but the walls that threatened to cave in around him. Maybe that would actually be a good idea. That would end all his misery. He had no idea when he had run out of tears. But one day, they had just stopped flowing. Maybe he was finally getting over what he had done but he doubted it. More likely, he was just numb to the pain of his relentless memories now.
Danny forced himself up, taking slow steps as his body barely had energy to carry his weight. His muscles were sore and he didn't even know why. Honestly, almost every part of his body was afflicted with some kind of pain. His stab wound was not even properly healed yet which was weird. It didn't usually take him this long to heal from his injuries. He looked at himself in the mirror, supporting himself on the sink. He could barely recognise the man staring back at him. His eyes were sunken from the lack of sleep. He had been surviving on probably 2 or 3 hours of sleep a day for the past month. He had neglected his personal grooming, allowing his hair to grow longer and he had a beard to go along. It was obvious that he had also lost several pounds but even if he tried to eat, nothing would stay down. In other words, Daniel Williams looked terrible, he was the perfect stock image of a desolate man. The man standing in the mirror was a far cry from the handsome detective he once was. And inside, he felt even worse. It didn't feel like he was alive and he knew, if he kept this up much longer, he wouldn't stay alive much longer anyway. Truth be told, that might actually be a good thing. Yet, at the same time, he knew he couldn't do this to his daughter. He couldn't end up dead in some dodgy motel and leave her with a lifetime of trauma. What she had already gone through was way more than enough. He couldn't add this to the list.
He splashed some water on his face, combing his hair back to at least try and look a little less miserable. Fighting the dizziness brewing in his head, he hobbled over to the bed and rummaged the drawer on its side for some aspirin only to find that he had finished his stash. He groaned as the throbbing in his head persisted and the weight in his chest grew heavier. He lifted his hand to his forehead, massaging it but the relief was short-lived. What he needed was food, sleep and painkillers. Food and sleep wasn't really up to him, those were more his body's own decision. Painkillers, that was something that had been helping him get through the month. He sighed, not really having it in him to walk to the store but he didn't have much of a choice.
The store wasn't too far from his motel, probably a 10 minute walk for a normal person. But in Danny's current condition, it took him well over 20 minutes to reach the store and by the time he did, he was swaying on his feet. He could barely stand straight and his vision began to cloud. Breathing heavily and sweating profusely, he headed to the medication section and took a few boxes of aspirin along with a bottle of water and some bread. He walked up to the cashier, putting the items on the counter. He stood, supporting himself on the counter, still trying to catch his breath. His worrying health was an obvious cause of concern as even the big Hawaiian guy behind the cash register asked if he was alright. Danny nodded briefly and croaked a barely audible "I'm okay."
The guy packed up his items and handed him the plastic, barely convinced by his customer's answer. He continued to keep an eye on Danny as he staggered his way out of the store, his hand to his chest as it was really bothering him. Good thing the guy was watching Danny because the moment he left the store and stepped into the burning daylight again, it got too much for him and he dropped gracelessly to the ground.
The Hawaiian guy along with another customer in the store ran out to help him when they realised he wasn't making any efforts of his own to get up.
"Brah, are you okay?" The guy asked, helping Danny sit up.
He blinked in confusion, not fully understanding what was happening. He managed a nod but it was obvious he was not alright. His chest was hurting almost as much as his head. Before the two men could help him up, Danny lost the fight with consciousness and his eyes rolled back as he crashed back onto the ground.
...
The team was out to get lunch and Steve had decided to stay back as he wasn't feeling that hungry and if he were honest with himself, he felt a little uneasy. At what he wasn't sure. He ended up alone in the Five-0 HQ as he waited for his team to return. He glanced over at Danny's office and walked towards it. Pushing the door, he entered his partner's office and sat on the seat opposite Danny's, just like he usually did when he needed to talk to his partner. He hung his head low. He sorely missed his best friend and even that was an understatement.
"Danny, where are you buddy?" Steve whispered. "I can't do this alone. I need you. Can you just come home. Please. I promised Grace to bring you home. She needs you too. You can't do this to us, Danny. You can't just decide to disappear whenever you like. It's been a month. Isn't that enough? That's enough, Danno. I miss you, buddy. Please come home.." His voice broke, which surprised even him. He wasn't really someone who left his emotions on display.
Danny had been gone for a month now and he had had to take on the tough job of explaining to Grace that they were still working on looking for him. He couldn't bear to look her in the eye and tell her that he might not be able to keep his promise. That he had no idea where else to look. But he couldn't just give up on his friend.
At that moment, his phone rang and he spent a few seconds composing himself. He took a deep breath and looked at the caller display but it was an unknown number.
"McGarrett."
"Good afternoon, is this Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett?"
"Yes that's right. Who am I talking to?" Steve asked, not recognizing the voice.
"I'm calling from Queen's Medical. I'm calling because you've been listed as Daniel Williams' medical proxy on our system. Is that right?" In an instant, Steve felt his heart race. The hospital was calling him. And they had mentioned Danny's name. There was only one reason they would call him. Was his fear really becoming a reality?
Steve swallowed. "Ye..ah that's right. Is..Is Danny alright?"
"Mr Williams was brought in to the ER unconscious around 30 minutes ago. Would you be able to make your way here?"
Steve breathed nervously, nodding his head as though the nurse on the line would be able to see it. Danny was in the ER. Why was he unconscious? A thousand horrible possibilities played in his head.
"Sir? Are you still there?"
"Yeah.. yeah I'll be right there." Steve stammered. He rushed out of Danny's office, and zoomed straight past his team members who were just now returning from lunch.
"Steve, where are you going?" Chin asked.
Steve stopped in his tracks, "Danny. He's at Queen's Medical." He did not take the time to read their shocked faces before he continued on his way. He had no idea what happened to his partner. Did he get hurt? So many things could have happened but he didn't want to imagine the worst case scenarios.
"I'll come with you." Lou volunteered as he trailed after Steve.
Lou tried to ask Steve for details. But Steve himself had no idea what happened. "He'll be okay, Steve." Lou said.
"He has to be." Steve said. "He just has to be."
...
With Steve's certifiably insane driving, it was a wonder that they managed to arrive at the hospital without a scratch on their bodies. Arriving at the hospital, Steve made a dash for the ER, leaving Lou and his poor arthritic knee chasing after the guy.
"Danny Williams? Uhh.. he was brought in maybe an hour ago. I'm Steve McGarrett. One of you called me earlier." Steve explained to the nurses sitting at the desk.
"Ah, that's right, I called you earlier. Let me bring you to him. He's still under observation." A nurse that Steve would later come to know as Delia said.
"Observation? What happened? Is he alright?" Steve asked nervously as Lou finally joined him.
"He fainted outside a store earlier and the storekeeper called in the ambulance. He's running a high fever and his hemoglobin levels are on the lower side coupled with iron and vitamin deficiencies. He's currently still unconscious."
"Is he.. is he going to be alright?" Steve asked.
"He will probably need to be warded for a couple of days but currently his condition is not life-threatening. We have him hooked up to an IV drip to replace the fluids in his body. I will get the doctor to explain to you his condition in more detail, if that's alright?" The nurse said.
Steve nodded. "Th..thanks. Can we see him?"
"We can only allow one person in the observation room. Maybe the other can wait till he's transferred to the ward?" Delia said.
"Okay, go see him, Steve. I'll let the others know." Lou said as he stood back.
Steve nodded at his friend and followed the nurse. He didn't know what he had expected to see but this was definitely not it. He winced as his eyes landed on his friend and he rubbed his face with his hands. Licking his lips, Steve tried his best to push the tears away from his eyes. He dragged a chair and sat next to his partner, a hand brushing Danny's forehead.
"You should have at least taken care of yourself if you were gonna go running off like that." Steve said. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again, you know that right? You're stuck with me now, buddy."
...
A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks again for all your reviews, PMs and favs/follows. Because you guys have been such nice readers, I decided to give you another chapter today. I couldn't bear to write another one with the boys apart so, I did a little bit of time skip (hope that's alright and not too abrupt for you guys). Is Danny gonna be alright and importantly is he coming home now? Guess we'll find out. Hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you in the next one. Do drop a review if you can because it would really make my day!:) Thanks for reading and stay safe!