Chapter 31

Charlie woke up early the next morning. Danny was still asleep, but his son asked him anyway.

"Danno. Are you awake? Danno!"

"Hm?"

"Can we have breakfast and go to the beach with Eddie?"

"What…what time is it?"

"7.30."

"That is too early. Nobody is up yet. We have to wait at least another hour. And I want to sleep too."

"But you all promised me that we can play again."

"And we'll keep that promise. But there will be plenty of time left even if we wait another hour. Do you want to cuddle a bit?"

"Yes," Charlie said and crawled onto the bed again. They stayed in bed for another forty minutes when they heard someone in the kitchen. "They are up. We can get up too now. Come on Danno. The beach is waiting."

"I don't like the beach and you know that. How about you stay in bed for ten more minutes and then I'll give you a present."

"A present? But it is not my birthday."

"No, but sometimes you get a present just because someone likes you and wants to make you happy."

"Is it a good present?"

"Of course, it is. What kind of a question is that?"

"Because there are bad presents too."

"How is that?"

"Promise you don't say anything."

"Okay. I promise."

"Stan brought me a present and I didn't like it at all."

"Yeah? What was that?"

"Shoes and pants. They were blue like I like it, but they were ugly and I didn't like to wear them."

"No, mine is much better. You'll like it."

"Okay. Then I think I can stay in bed for a while longer."

When they finally got up it was another hour later. They went through their morning routine, but Danny could tell that his son was excited to see what the present might be. Danny went to his closet and gave it to Charlie.

He unwrapped it and then got totally excited. "Danno. That is one of the best balls on the market. And the jersey is sooo cool. Thank you so much." He hugged his dad and suddenly let go again. "Can I show them to uncle Steve and aunt Catherine?"

"Of course, you can."

Charlie ran out of the room and into the kitchen. Danny followed slowly but already heard his son excitedly talking and showing his new items around. When the excitement had gone down to a more or less normal level, they had breakfast and planned the day. Charlie wanted to do the same as yesterday, but Danny wanted to surf, so they decided to drive to a different beach. That way everything was possible and everyone was satisfied.

They spent a few hours with surfing, swimming, diving, sun bathing and playing fetch with Eddie. In the early afternoon they left the beach and drove to a playground which had a little football area, so Charlie could try out his new ball with real goals and of course he put his new jersey on. They left an hour later. Everyone – except Charlie – felt kind of exhausted and they wanted to relax a bit at home. Actually, they had planned to grill again, but on the way home they decided to get some take out.

After dinner the adults sat on the lanai and talked about random things while Charlie played and cuddled with Eddie. Shortly after Danny went in to change his clothes, Charlie came running across the grass.

"What's the rush Charlie?"

"I want to drink something. He took a sip of his ginger ale, then some more and then he looked at Steve.

"What's up?" the SEAL asked.

"Uncle Steve? Do we have tomato juice?"

"Tomato juice? Yes, we have."

"Can I have a glass of it?"

"Of course, you can. You can have the whole bottle if you want. Don't you like ginger ale?"

"Sure. I like it. But I looove tomato juice."

"It's in the door of the fridge."

"Thank you." He ran into the house.

Unfortunately, it was a new jumbo bottle and he couldn't open it. He tried a few times, but it didn't work. When he was about to go outside again to let one of the adults do it, his father came into the kitchen.

"Danno. Can you open this for me?"

"Have you asked if you can drink that?"

"Of course, I have. Uncle Steve had said yes."

"Okay. Put it on the countertop and hold it at the bottom. Don't press."

Danny needed a few attempts as well. Charlie tried to hold it steady and when it finally opened, he unintentionally squeezed it. The juice came out in a high arc and spattered all over Danny. The juice ran down his face and his shirt. Charlie looked a bit shocked at first, but seeing almost every part of Danny's upper body covered in juice made him laugh. Steve took that moment to enter the kitchen to have a look what took Charlie this long and to refill his own glass. When he heard Charlie laugh like that he started to smile. But it froze when he looked at Danny. His head and his torso were "covered in blood". Steve's eyes widened his right hand clasped the glass he was holding. Then he turned pale as a sheet and started saying "No, no, no Danny, no" again and again.

Danny took a moment to notice what was going on. When he finally did, Steve's whole body started to cramp, he crushed the glass he was holding and had difficulties breathing.

"Charlie, please go outside and get aunt Catherine. And then please stay outside and play with Eddie." Charlie stared for a moment at his dad, then at his uncle and then he ran outside.

Twenty seconds later Catherine came running in. During that short time, Steve legs had buckled and he was kneeling on the floor, still trying to get air in and still in some kind of a muscle cramp. Pieces of broken glass on the floor, the rest of it still in Steve's hand -literally – blood dripping onto the floor, building a small puddle, but he didn't seem to notice. Catherine wanted to know what had happened, but one look at Danny made her make the connection.

"Steve! Steve! look at me. Nothing is wrong with Danny. It's juice. Just juice. You have a flashback. Try to breathe." He suddenly did, drew in a deep breath, but then he lost the rest of his color too and violently vomited on the floor. Two second later he started breathing again – rapidly.

"Danny! You have to call an ambulance. I think he is going into shock."

She carefully lowered him onto the floor and then into the recovery position on his left side – just in case he needed to vomit again. His breathing was still rapid, his skin cold and clammy and still ashen. Danny came back from the living room, blanket in one hand, with the other disconnecting the emergency call. "They are on the way," he said, spreading the blanket over his friend.

Catherine tried to open Steve's right hand to get a look at the injury. It was a bloody mess. As far as she could see a few fragments of glass were still sticking inside his hand and he had deep cuts in his fingers as well as in his palm. She grabbed the first aid kit from the cabinet, carefully slipped some gauze in his closed hand and wrapped it as carefully with a bandage. She then started to talk reassuringly to him again and caressed his neck and cheek. He was still trembling, but his muscles weren't cramped up anymore and he hadn't vomited again. He was breathing a little easier, but still way too rapid and his skin temperature hasn't changed in any way.

When they could hear the sirens, Danny went outside to lead the EMTs to his friend and to explain what had happened. That and one look at Steve told them all they needed to know. They put him on oxygen, intravenous fluids and strapped him down on the stretcher.

"It would be very helpful if one of you can join us on the drive to the hospital to give us some more information."

"I'd love to, but I have to take care of Charlie," Danny said, but Catherine had already turned to follow the paramedics.

On the ride to the hospital Catherine told the EMTs about Steve's current condition, his liver transplant, radiation poisoning and the medication he needed. She was worried, but she had a good feeling with these two paramedics and she also knew that Steve had been treated at Tripler more than once and that they had his file.

When they arrived, she was told to stay in the waiting area.

About an hour and a half later a doctor came out, looking for her. "Hello, I am Dr. Hamilton, I am the responsible doctor for the ER at the moment. I know you came here with commander McGarrett, but I had a look in his file and you are not listed as his next of kin. Unfortunately, that means that I can't tell you anything. I am sorry. But we are going to call his emergency contact right away. Maybe he can tell you everything."

"No, please wait. His contact is Detective Danny Williams. If you call him with my phone or from the nurse's desk, he will tell you to let me know. He can't come here at the moment and that is why I am here…please."

"Okay. Come with me." He called Danny who was a little upset at first when the doctor had told him that he couldn't tell Catherine what was going on, but in the end, he understood and was glad that they could resolve the problem this way.

"Thank you for understanding this. I am going to tell you both, then you know at the same time. Commander McGarrett suffered a massive emotional shock. When he came here, he was barely responsive and that hasn't changed much yet. He was able to follow a few commands again, but he has still trouble to comprehend what is going on around him. We are having him on oxygen and fluids. From what the EMT had told me, the commander is suffering from PTSD and had a flashback. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is," Danny and Catherine said in unison.

"Okay. I am not exactly an expert, but being in shock like this after a flashback, could mean that the original incident he just relived is one of his worst experiences and definitely a significant trigger. Does the treatment he is getting involve a psychologist or is he just taking medication?"

"Both," Catherine said.

"That is a good thing. Otherwise I would have recommended this and I definitely recommend to talk with that doctor about this. Now, as far as his hand is concerned, we removed the pieces of glass and stitched up three cuts in his palm and two on his fingers. The rest will heal without it. Thankfully there weren't any sinews or nerves damaged. It should heal with time. Can't promise you that there won't be any scars though.

We also took a blood and a urine sample to rule out any abuse of drugs, alcohol or other substances.

We will keep him over night to monitor his vitals. Then we will see when he can be discharged. Do you have any questions?"

"Can I see him?"

"Of course, you can. As soon as we have settled him in a room. But you can't stay overnight. How long you can stay is up to the head nurse."

"Okay, thank you Dr. Hamilton."

When Catherine entered Steve's room he had his eyes closed, but she knew he was awake. He was still pale and connected to a heart monitor. He had a nasal cannula and his bandaged hand was lying on his chest. All in all, he looked so vulnerable that it hurt her. When she softly called his name, he opened his eyes, but didn't turn his head in the direction of her voice. His eyes were glazed and not even focused and it looked like he wasn't really in the room. She tried again – no reaction. Next time she tried with his nickname "Hey, sailor." It worked. He turned his head. It took a moment before he recognized her.

"Catherine?" he asked confused. "What are you doing here? You...you have to leave. It's too dangerous. They…they've already killed Danny and they drugged me. My arms and legs feel like lead. I…I can't protect you. You need to go."

"Steve," she said in a low and soothing voice. "I don't need protection. There is no danger. We are safe here. We are in a hospital. Danny is safe too. He is at home. You had a flashback. Nothing happened to him."

"No, no, I saw him. There…there was blood everywhere."

"No, that was the first time. This time it was tomato juice. It was "just" a flashback. He is fine."

"I…I don't understand. Why…why am I here then? And where is Danny? Why isn't he here then?" He got agitated and his heart rate increased again.

"Hey, Shh. He is at home. – with Charlie. You need to calm down." She took his good hand in one of hers, put the other on his head in order to stroke his hair and then she kissed his forehead.

The nurse entered the room. "What is going on here? Commander McGarrett needs to rest. His heartrate is going up. That is not good for him. If you are making things worse you need to leave."

"I am just trying to calm him. He is confused and doesn't realize that he had a flashback – that what he had seen wasn't real."

"We are aware of that. And that is why he needs to rest - and sleep. We will give him something to help with that when he gets his next dose of pain reliever – in about thirty minutes. As soon as we have done that you have to leave. He will sleep till tomorrow morning. You can come back around 7 am."

"I'd like to stay."

"That is not possible. I am sorry." The nurse checked Steve's vitals and wrote the numbers down in his chart. I'll go check on another patient. I'll be back after that with the medication. You can stay until he is asleep."

Steve had closed his eyes and Catherine wasn't sure if she should address him again. The beeping of the monitor had slowed down and she didn't want that to change. So, she decided to just stay with him without talking. She took the chair, sat down beside his bed and started to hold his hand. He jerked a little when she touched him the first time, but after her next try he let her do it. When the nurse came back in to tell Catherine that she was now about to give the injection, Steve opened his eyes to the unknown voice. Although he still looked not too well, he immediately noticed the syringe in her hand and tried to shy away from it.

"Steve! Look at me…it's okay. It will help you to rest and sleep a bit…you'll feel much better after it. I'll be back tomorrow and then we'll see if you can go home or not."

"Can…can you stay?"

Catherine looked at the nurse who shook her head.

"No, Steve. I'd like to, but it is hospital policy – you know that. But as I said, I will be back tomorrow morning."

"Can you stay until I am asleep? You know – m…m…make sure that it works…"

"Yes, I will." She nodded to the nurse who emptied the content of the syringe in Steve's IV line.

Although he wanted to sleep, he fought it, but after several attempts of opening his eyes again and again his eyelids became too heavy to do so and he fell asleep.

Catherine stroked through his hair one final time and kissed his forehead again. "Sleep tight! Hope the rest will help you." She turned to leave when the nurse said "you can stay another hour if you want, but after that you really need to leave."

"I'd love to. Thank you very much."

"It's okay. Looks like he needs some company after all. And I will tell the early shift that you will be back at 6.00. Maybe it is better if he doesn't wake up alone."

"Thank you. I appreciate that very much."

Catherine left an hour later, texting Danny that she was taking a cab home.

When she arrived, Danny opened the door to let her in. Then he hugged her. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Okay - I guess. He is in good hands. How are you doing? And Charlie?"

"I am okay – I guess," he smiled at her. "Charlie felt a little rattled, but I explained why this has happened and I think he understood. He and Eddie didn't let go from each other though. They are both in my room – sleeping. Hope he doesn't get any nightmares. We will know how he had processed tomorrow morning. And I need to inform Rachel. Just in case something happened in the next few days. She needs to know how to handle the situation if it occurs."

"Of course. You okay to go to bed too? I need some sleep after all of this. And I need to be back at the hospital at 6.00"

"No. It is okay. I am beat too. Just wanted to wait for you. Have a good night."

"Yeah, you too."