CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

NOT FOR ANOTHER SEVENTEEN YEARS

MCGARRETT'S HOUSE - O'AHU

One minute Danny was lying in a hospital bed, all bruised and broken. The next minute Danny's mind took him back to his partner's backyard. A place he felt so familiar with. A place that comforted him. Lots of memories. Good ones and bad ones. Yet this time, things felt off. As if he wasn't supposed to be here. He didn't know why he couldn't pinpoint it, it was just a strange and odd feeling. Maybe that was because he couldn't actually remember getting here. He just suddenly showed up. It felt off.

However, Danny could feel the sand between his toes and he could hear the waves rolling in. Slowly and peacefully. Meaning, his senses seemed to be working just fine. Meaning, he was really here. And so was his partner. Danny spotted Steve sitting in one of the chairs by the water. Which again felt off, because seconds ago Steve had been nowhere around. The yard had been empty. Danny was sure of it. Nor did Steve just walk past him without Danny noticing. No, Steve just popped up, like a ghost in a terribly low-budget horror movie.

Just as Danny started wondering if Steve was really here too, he turned in his seat. "Yo."

"Hey," Danny said back, and as he approached he asked. "How did you get here?"

"I'm waiting for you."

"Me?" Danny checked, reasonably suspicious of the situation. "What you waiting on me for?"

"Why do you always have to act suspicious?"

Danny shrugged. "It's called being a detective."

"All right, sit down, Detective," Steve pointed at the empty chair next to him. "Let's have a couple beers, okay? Watch the sunset and maybe laugh a little." Steve used an opener to pop the cap off a Longboard and handed Danny the cold beer.

"Okay," Danny accepted the Longboard. "Beers I can do." He said and sat down in the chair next to Steve as the sun was beautifully setting.

Steve raised his beer bottle. "Cheers, buddy."

Danny tapped Steve's bottle with his own. "Cheers."

Then there was complete silence. They said nothing to each other. Both of them were enjoying each other's company in silence. Danny leaned back in his chair and watched the sea. With his eyes focused on the horizon, his face was aglow with the last orange sun rays. Danny hadn't felt this serene in ages. He like it and wanted to stay here for as long as he could.

Steve cut off the silence. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Danny pouted doubtfully. "It's peaceful, I'll give you that."

McGarrett smiled, took a long pull on his beer, swallowed and said. "Can I ask you something?"

"You? "Danny looked aside at his friend; one eye closed as he was blinded by the setting sunlight. "Always."

"You still thinking about leaving the island one day?"

Danny locked eyes with Steve. Paused a beat. Then he said. "On occasion, sure."

Steve moved to the edge of his chair and faced Danny. "You being serious? Why? You've been here, what? Eight years?" Danny did the math too, he nodded. Steve shook his head in disbelief. "Eight years and this place still doesn't feel like home to you?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "I didn't say that specifically, it's more of a safety issue, you see."

"A safety issue?"

"Yeah, I only think about leaving after you do something crazy and I physically pay for the consequences."

Steve frowned perplexedly. "That only happens like maybe twice a year."

"Twice a week's more like it," Danny corrected and stared at his partner. "You wanna tell me what this really is about?"

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you're not going anywhere."

"I'm not. I'm sitting right here."

"For the moment, maybe," Steve said and leaned back in his seat. He looked aside at Danny. "Seriously, you aren't really considering leaving the island, not even out of safety concern, right?"

Danny took a swig of his beer and swallowed it. "Just out of curiosity, uhm—, when you say the island, you mean you, right?" A busted smile appeared on Steve's face. Danny smiled too. "I'm not leaving you, you know better than that."

Steve nodded, satisfied. "Good."

"I mean, even if I wanted, I can't. Who else is gonna talk some sense into you? Not that you ever listen, but I like to think that I give you time to revaluate your plans and maybe adjust strategics every now and then."

Steve snorted. "Don't worry. I value your input."

"That's not what I'm saying. It's the execution I'm talking about," Danny bantered but paused as Steve's smile stretched from ear to ear. "Why are you smiling?"

"This right here, this is how I thought it would end for us. Couple of old guys, sitting on a beach. Watching sunsets."

"What'd you say?" Danny asked pretending to be insulted. "Couple of old guys? We still have time. We might be deteriorating a little, but we're not old. Not for another seventeen years or so."

"Would be nice though, right?"

Danny agreed. "It would."

"Then why are you still here?" Steve asked.

Danny's brows snapped together. "And go where? You just asked me not to leave you."

Steve nodded in the direction of the house. "Go grab me another round. Can't sit here with nothing to drink."

"You're a putz, you know that, right?"

ICU - KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - O'AHU

Being whisked away by the nurse, Steve found himself anxiously standing outside the ICU cubicle. With his hands on the back of his head, he watched it all happen. Or he tried so. He couldn't see a thing going on inside as the doctor and nurses packed the cubicle like bees swarming around its nest. Steve tried to push away the growing panic eating away his insides, but without knowing what was going on in there, his heart pumped fast. There was a possibility of actually losing his best friend for real this time. The next 24 hours are crucial, echoed through his mind. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be.

Completely focused on the ICU cubicle, Steve didn't even notice Lou Grover closing in from behind.

"Steve?"

Steve turned around. "Lou? What are you doing here?"

"I came back the minute I heard HPD released Kim Leung," he explained and asked. "What's your play? What do you wanna do?"

Steve faced the ICU cubicle shortly. Still, nothing to see. He sighed. "It will have to wait."

"Why?" Lou's eyebrows knitted together. Then he connected the dots and immediately eyed the ICU cubicle. "What's going on? Is Danny all right?"

"I don't know, I —," Steve shook his head. "Danny and I were talking, then his O2 levels dropped, his heart rate spiked. The machines went crazy," he paused. "The doctor said he wouldn't make it to the OR."

"All right, hey, look at me," Lou placed his hand on Steve's shoulder. "The doctors are in there, they know what they're doing."

"Yeah, you're right," Steve looked up at Lou, nodding. "We need to put an HPD detail on Rachel's house. Charlie and Grace are at school, I want unit's there too."

"Are they in danger?" Lou questioned, recognizing the alarming signs as a true cop.

"Danny didn't say, but he panicked. I'm thinking Leung threatened to hurt them."

That was all Lou needed to hear. He took his cell phone out of his floral linen shirt pocket and said. "I'll have Tani and Junior swing by the school, to make sure Gracie and Charlie are safe and sound in class. HPD can cover it after that."

"Thanks, Lou," Steve said as his coworker turned to leave the ICU to make that phone call.

Right as Lou disappeared through the sliding door, doctors and nurses cleared out of Danny's ICU cubicle. Last to leave was Dr. Keller. He went straight up to Steve. "Commander,"

"Doc, what's going on?"

"Your partner suffered a Cardiac Tamponade. It causes fluid to accumulate in the pericardial sac around his heart. Constricting it from pumping properly, and slowly crushing the heart as the amount of fluid increases," he explained. "I removed the fluid successfully doing a pericardiocentesis, and as precaution, I left a pericardial drain in placement in case the fluids build up again."

"He's okay?" Steve breathed out for what felt like the first time in half an hour.

"As of this moment, yes," the doctor stated. "Moreover, a Cardiac Tamponade after a Thoracotomy is considered exceedingly rare, and a serious complication."

Steve's stomach turned. "Will he make it through the night?"

"That's our goal," the doctor said reassuringly. "I'm actually thinking that it's not related to the Thoracotomy. A Cardiac Tamponade can occur hours after initial impact and as Detective Williams took a severe beating to the upper torso, it could be possible we're dealing with a delayed Tamponade. To be sure, I'll send the fluid aspirated from the heart to the lab to rule out any underlying causes. We'll know more when we get the results back," he added. "In the meantime, the drain will stay in place for a few days, just until there's no more fluid build-up."

Steve sighed. "All right, more tubes and needles then."

"He'll look much better in a couple of days," the doctor smiled with compassion. Steve tried to smile back, but his mouth refused to make the shape. Instead, Dr. Keller said. "I'll be back to check on him in a bit."

DANNY'S ROOM - ICU - KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - O'AHU

Sure enough, after the doctor checked back in and examined Danny, Danny remained asleep. Steve waited by his friend's side nonetheless. With the cardiac scare, Steve realized Danny really wasn't out of the woods just yet. There was still a good chance that things could go south, so every few seconds Steve's eyes studied the numbers on the monitor. Heart rate. Saturation levels. Temperature. He felt comfort checking, but it almost became obsessive.

After some time passed Danny shifted. Steve took it as a sign his partner was waking again. But instead of opening his eyes and blinking or yawning, Danny went rigid in pain. His entire body was tense. It was just like Steve had seen him do hours ago at the bottom of the skatebowl. Steve jumped from his seat, unwilling to stand by and watch his friend suffer so blatantly.

"Hey," Steve reached for the pain reliever pump. "Here, use this," he put the device into Danny's hand. Danny fumbled his fingers around the PCA pump, which he hit to give himself a wave of narcotics. After seconds, Steve could tell Danny relaxed. He opened up his right eye and by watching his pupil slowly dilate; Steve assumed the medicine was working. The heart rate also dropped back. 80. 75. 70. 65. "That's it. You're okay, buddy." He breathed out and sat back down again.

Danny's stare was fixed at the ceiling, gazing inquiringly and speculatively, "Steve?"

Steve leaned in, waiting, as Danny's good eye moved and narrowed and widened as if there was something written up there, something complex and difficult to understand.

Then he said. "We're out of beer."

Steve's brows snapped together. "What?"

"Your f—fridge's empty," Danny mumbled disjointedly.

"My fridge?" Steve repeated confused.

"We should go to a bar."

"Danny, you're in the hospital." Steve reminded, trying to bring some sense back to his friend.

"That's f—fantastic," Danny paused, tired out by saying a few words. "So, no beers then?"

"No beers," Steve said, worried but slightly entertained at the same time. "You'll be all right, buddy. Try to rest, okay?" He comforted and squeezed Danny's arm. It didn't take long after that for Danny to close his eye and drift back to sleep. Steve shook his head and said to himself. "Where'd you go, huh?"

"Not going anywhere," Danny muttered out of nowhere. "I already t—told you. I'm not leaving you."

"Good to know, buddy," Steve took hold of Danny's hand. "I'm not leaving you either."

DANNY'S ROOM - ICU - KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - O'AHU

With one press on that button, Danny was given a good dose of medication that probably buried the pain beneath several layers of numbness. As he lay in a drug-induced slumber, Steve still held his hand. Every few minutes, a finger would twitch in Steve's grasp and he squeezed back gently. It was all the reassurance he needed. As long as he was there, he trusted that Danny was going to be okay. At the moment, little else mattered.

Watching his partner sleep, Steve couldn't help to feel exhausted too. He couldn't remember the last time he had more than 5 hours of sleep. Steve tried to recall, but what was the point. He was drained and probably should sleep some. However, if he'd drift off, he no longer could keep track of his friend's well-being and that was something worth staying awake for. Steve ran his hand over his face, rubbing his weary eyes briefly. The uniform beep, coming from the heart monitor, didn't help to try to stay awake. Steve was glad it was beeping regularly and at a normal pace, yet it was a very monotone and hypnotic sound. For a minute Steve was tempted to close his eyes and rest up, but before he could give in, Dr. Keller entered the room.

"Commander, you look like you could use some rest." He noticed as he went to check Danny's monitors.

Steve leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So do you, Doc."

A half-smile appeared on Keller's face. "I will, in an hour, but what about you?" he asked. "You know it's okay for you to go home, right? Even if it's just for a few hours. Do you have a ride home?"

"I can't leave him," Steve's eyes landed back on his injured and resting partner. "He's confused and in pain."

The doctor's eyebrows snapped together. "How confused?"

Steve lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. "He seemed pretty out of it after he took a shot of his pain meds."

"Did he have slurred speech?"

"Little bit," Steve acknowledged and as he understood the seriousness of the questions he asked concerned. "Something wrong?"

"No- no, it's probably the concussion that's making him confused," Dr. Keller comforted. "His head CT showed minor swelling, which should decrease within days," he waved in a nurse. Waited for her to enter the bay before he continued. "Let's schedule a new head CT, to make sure the swelling isn't increasing. And I'd like to check his previous scan," the nurse gave a firm nod and left the cubicle again. Dr. Keller focused back on Steve. "What did he say?"

"He was talking about going to a bar," Steve replied. "Don't think he realized he's in the hospital."

"Hard to disagree. A bar seems like a better choice of scenery than a hospital," Doctor Keller joked. "And if I remember correctly from the shooting, he has a great imagination."

Steve's aneurysm face appeared. "You think he's hallucinating again?"

"Unlikely, but no one knows for sure what goes on in one other's mind," the doctor said, putting his hands in the pockets of his white lab coat. "Did he mention he was in pain?"

"Didn't mention it, but I could tell he was hurting. The meds knocked him right out though."

"Good. He really should numb the pain if he wants a steady recovery." Dr. Keller said and went to check the pain relief pump. He pressed some buttons on the screen of the device.

The nurse from earlier came back in. "Dr. Keller, his numbers have increased." She handed him a tablet.

Steve looked up at both. "Is that a good thing?"

"No, it's not," doctor Keller answered curtly while he focused on the tablet. "Let's take him up for that CT. To make sure." He said to the nurse, unlocked the brakes, and pulled up the railings on the side of the bed, locking them in place with a click. Together they pushed the bed forward. More scrubs entered to help with the sudden transfer. They rolled the bed down the hallway, Danny fading, as he got farther and farther away from Steve. They went into the elevator and as the doors slide shut they disappear out of sight.

— TBC / HAWAIIFIVE0 —

A/N: Another week, another chapter.

It's a bit shorter than usual, but I'll make it up to you with more, and longer, chapters from here on.

I'm really grateful for the heartwarming reviews, thank you, for letting me know what you think of the story! I appreciate it!

Mahalo!