"So, Gabriel's man had the drop on you? And you still managed to take him down?" Lou tried to keep his voice low, but as Kono recounted her part of the story, he almost slipped back into his regular tone as he questioned the climactic conclusion.

Kono raised her finger to her mouth to shush him before pointing at Steve who sat in the semi-comfortable recliner just a few feet away. Although it was mid-afternoon and the brilliance of the sun was at its peak outside, the small private hospital room was darkened by the closed blinds on the lone, narrow window. If not for a little light sneaking through the slats and the light and activity from the hallway, one would have assumed it was nighttime.

When they first arrived at the hospital, and Steve knew that Danny was finally in good hands, he had allowed himself to be checked out as well. However, when he reached a certain point of impatience, he strategically, and some would say menacingly, influenced his assigned doctor to rush his care and expedite his release. Although reluctant, the young and somewhat inexperienced intern had felt more than a little intimidated and capitulated which allowed Steve to reunite with his team and await word on his partner.

Danny had been in the emergency department all morning and into the start of the afternoon. The last news they had heard was that he was still unconscious and his condition was still undetermined. The group was allowed to wait in his assigned room until the doctors were finished running Danny through a gamut of tests and evaluations, including a CT scan and MRI.

With likeminded thinking, Lou, Kono, and Chin had quickly selected their seats in the room, leaving the recliner available as Steve's only choice. Steve had obligingly scowled at them, knowing exactly what they were doing, but silently appreciated the gesture. He had still refused to raise the footrest of the chair, however, thinking he would be getting up as soon as they brought his partner in to settle him into this room. What he didn't expect was the sleep that would overtake him at almost the very moment he allowed himself to prop his head on his rolled-up fist.

"Sorry." Lou adjusted his volume back down and continued. "You still managed to take him down?"

"Yeah. Adam acted like he saw someone behind him, which distracted him just enough for me to land a punch to the side of his face. Adam was able to grab his gun and take him down."

Chin smiled, silently reminiscing about the day Kono joined Five-0 and the punch she had given the surfer who infringed on her wave. They had been through so much since that day, and through so many changes, to bring them back to this moment. The original four had organically developed into something much…

"Hey, everyone," Adam spoke in a hushed tone after seeing Steve as soon as he walked into the room. Chin's thoughts were temporarily put on hold. "Any news?"

"Not yet," Chin responded. "Still waiting. We were just being regaled with the story of how you and Kono managed to evade capture from Gabriel's man. Pretty clever handiwork," he praised.

"It was all Kono. She practically had him on the ground before I knew what was going on."

"That's not true," she quickly objected.

Lou raised an eyebrow at the playful interaction he was seeing between the former couple. "Did you get to see Junior?" he abruptly changed the subject to help the awkwardness left hanging in the air.

"I did. He's doing really well. The doctor had just been in and said they can probably release him tomorrow, but he's 'bout as stubborn as Steve. Wanting to get out of that bed now. May be a SEAL thing. I don't know. Tani's with him now. He's actually just one floor down. I'm sure he'd love to see everyone."

"If Tani's with him, I kind of doubt it. Two's company, three… or more, is a crowd." One side of Lou's mouth turned up mischievously.

Adam smiled. "Well, maybe. Tani did seem pretty settled, but they both asked about Danny."

"Danny?" The quiet voice belonged to Steve. Danny's name had awoken him.

"No, Steve," Adam apologized. "Sorry, I just got back and was asking if there was any word on Danny."

"Uh, yeah, sure, of course." Steve felt a little embarrassed as he tried to dust away the mental cobwebs. "Sooo, is there any news?" He was hopeful but didn't expect anything based on the long faces that appeared after he asked.

Chin got up from his seat and sat at the foot of the empty bed that was awaiting its occupant so he could face Steve. "We haven't heard any more, but it shouldn't be much longer."

"I didn't mean to doze off. How long was I… "

Chin started shaking his head, trying to allay any guilt. "Just a few minutes. You've got to be exhausted."

Steve drug his hand down his face and breathed out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I guess I am," he admitted.

"I was just telling the others I saw Junior and Tani. Junior's doing well and itchin' to get out of here, a lot like another SEAL I know," Adam smiled.

Steve managed a grin in return. "How 'bout Tani? How's she doin'?"

"She's also tired but doing okay, at least physically. We still don't know everything she and Danny went through. I'm sure we'll be hearing more on that. For now, she's just glad this whole thing is over and is worried about Junior and Danny," Adam answered.

"Well, it sounds like Junior's going to be okay. I wish we'd hear something about Danny," Kono said.

Steve leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees bracing his head with his hands as he stared at the floor. 'Glad this whole thing is over'. That's what Adam had said, and for the most part, it was, but there was still something very important that was still hanging out there, still undetermined. Lou was going to be fine. Tani was going to be fine. It sounded like Junior was going to be fine. Hell, even he was going to be fine, after coming pretty close to not making it through himself after being shot by Gabriel. Now it was his brother's turn. He had to make it through. The stubborn, exasperating, device of torture that fate had brought into his life by the name of Daniel Williams, was also his rock, advisor, confidant, and anchor. He needed him in his life. He couldn't even remember what his life was like before Danny had come into it.

A chill skittered up his spine as he let the thought of losing his best friend creep into his mind, even though it was just for a second. He shifted in his seat and buried the intrusive thought as far back in the depths of his mind as he could.

A nurse suddenly appeared at the door and abruptly came to a stop as she evidently didn't expect to see so many people gathered in the small room.

Though Steve was longing for a diversion, this was not what he intended. Her arrival had the opposite effect. His heart skipped a beat and his stomach felt like it had flipped over. He suddenly felt nauseated. He wondered if she was about to deliver bad news. The others must have had similar thoughts, because the drone of mundane chatter had suddenly stopped as well.

"Oh, I didn't know… I mean I didn't expect there to be so many of you waiting for Detective Williams."

Chin stood up and moved out of Steve's line of vision to stand beside Adam. Kono also stood. Lou remained in his chair due to his leg, but had to pivot slightly to see the new arrival. To the group's surprise, Steve did not stand. They expected him to be nose to nose with anyone who may have any news about his partner.

What they did not know was that he could not stand. Every muscle felt like jelly and he was pretty certain if he tried, he would pass out. So, instead of doing a faceplant onto the floor, and possibly losing the partial sandwich he had been forced to eat earlier, he opted to remain seated.

The nurse recovered from her surprise and said no more but smiled and casually ignored the stares as she meandered her way through the crowd to get to some equipment that sat dormant against the back wall. She rolled a cart forward, flipped a switch or two, and opened some cellophaned tubing and lay them out side by side at the foot of the bed where Chin had just been sitting a moment before. Then she tore off a couple of strips of tape from a roll that she pulled from a drawer in portable cart and placed the pieces loosely on the metal railing for easy access when needed.

Several glances were made toward one another in question, but no one seemed able to talk. Steve's bottom jaw fell open as he was taken aback by the nurse's nonchalant attitude. And was she humming a tune? His best friend was dying or… dead and she was humming a song… out loud. Out of an impatient frustration due to the lack of any gumption on the others' part, he finally broke the awkward silence.

"Ma'am, Danny Williams? Is he… ?"

"Oh, he'll be here shortly. Just getting things ready." She turned her head partially in his direction but maintained her attention on the tasks she was doing.

"So, he's okay?" Jeez, this was like pulling teeth. Then, it came to him. He got it. Steve felt a heated wave of relief run through him from his head down, as he finally was deciphering the body language and actions of the health care professional that had just wandered into Danny's room and took over without giving the visitors much more than a once over before continuing her work.

"Yes, he's…" With one hand still holding the bar of yet another piece of rolling equipment that she had starting pulling closer to the bed, she spun around giving the speaker and the other bystanders her attention. She glanced at each stupefied face before asking her question of Steve. "Wait, are you telling me the doctor hasn't been in here to give you an update?"

"Lady, do you think we would all be hanging on to your every move if…" Lou spoke harshly but was stopped by a small hand that was gently laid on his arm. Getting the desired result, Kono left Lou and moved closer to the nurse.

She continued but in a much calmer tone, "What Captain Grover means is, no, we haven't heard anything."

Except for a death grip on the arm rests of his chair, Steve was calmly sitting, taking all of this in, anxiously waiting for more information.

"Oh, dear." The nurse took two final seconds to pull the equipment she was holding forward and pressed one button causing the thing to light up in multiple places. Then feeling content that she had completed all she had to do, she once again faced the group and stuck her hands into the front pockets of her scrub top with her thumbs resting on the outside. "I am sooo sorry. I thought Dr. Morgan had already been in. I will leave the details to him but yes, Detective Williams is doing okay. I, personally, was spared, but the detective is giving some of the male nurses a hard time. Very respectful of the ladies, though."

Steve smiled and dropped his head for a moment. That was his Danno. He was alive and evidently, awake. He lifted his gaze toward her and was still able to beat the others with a response. "He's awake?"

"Well I don't know about this very minute. He's on some pretty powerful meds. May be in and out of it a while, but yes, he has been awake."

The atmosphere in the room changed. Shoulders dropped in relief and smiles replaced worried frowns.

"When will they be bringing him to his room?" Steve eagerly asked.

"This was the last thing that needed to be done," she said as she waved her hand toward her handiwork. "Could be anytime. I'll go check and I'll make sure Dr. Morgan comes to tell you more. Again, I'm sorry how I acted, I just assumed…"

"It's okay. You've actually made our day," Chin said.

"Well, good. Glad I could help." She went to the dry erase board on the wall and wrote her name… Bonnie. "I'm sure I'll be seeing more of all of you. I'm assigned to Detective Williams and I'll be on shift 'til midnight."

"Danny," Steve spoke softly.

"What?" she questioned.

"Danny. You can call him Danny," he spoke louder.

She smiled at him and then raised her eyebrows at the others. "If you all need anything, let me know." She then left them alone to await their friend.

~to be continued~

\,,,/BronsonL