/ Short Story / 4
Danny was numb, he unlocked the front door of his ground floor apartment and let his legs carry him inside, the door clicking closed behind him. He looked down. He was bare foot, still dressed only in his board shorts. How long had he been wearing them? All day? He needed a shower. He reeked of salt, sweat, adrenaline and blood. Steve's blood. He shook his head, trying not to let the images from that morning swarm back into his mind.
He threw his keys on the kitchen bench and wandered off to the bathroom. Danny let the shower run before getting in. A habit he had developed from the old New Jersey pipes which blasted iced water for a good ten minutes in the winter. Placing his hands on either side of the sink he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked fucking haggard.
Danny stepped into the shower and let the stream of hot water run over his head and down his back. The images of the accident rushed in front of his eyes, he had let his guard down, there was no pushing them away. They kept pouring in, Steve's body being tossed into the air, that terrible crunching noise as it made impact, his best friend lying crumpled unconscious on the road, the EMTs, the neck collar, the back brace, looking down at Steve from the ambulance, white doors closing, the pastel room, TRAMA large across the doctor's chest. Danny closes his eyes, the images only became more vivid. He was hyperventilating, he could feel his chest rapidly expanding and compressing. Oh God! Oh God! His rapid breathing turned into tears which quickly evolved into loud audible sobs, wracking though this body. There was no control, they came rising up from his gut and belting out of his mouth, bouncing off the white tiles in front of him. Tears and snot dripped down his nose splashing onto the shower floor. Danny just let it happen. Standing there arms up against the wall, head down. He was hardly present to what his body was doing. Replays of the accident, of Steve twisted around his head.
After about ten minutes his body began to calm, his breathing slowed to a normal pace and his mind switched back on. He dragged his fingers through his blond hair, pulling it away from his face. A semblance of calm returned. Swiftly he turned off the shower, grabbed the towel which was hanging on the outside of the door and dried him self off. Finally he felt clean, no sweat, no adrenaline and no blood. Stepping out of the bathroom, he was shaking slightly from what had just taken place. He heading for his bedroom. He was completely burnt out, it was only 9.00 but he just had to sleep. Turning on the TV and he pulling on a pair of boxers, as soon as his head hit the pillow he was out for the count.
"Steve!" Danny yelled out in his sleep, his dreams wakening him up. He sat up with a start and checked his surrounding it was 4.00am. His bright blue eyes darted around the still dim room. Memories of yesterday tangled between dreams. It didn't seem real. How could it be real? Danny realised he had just left the hospital, after he threw up, not even gone to see his best friend. He had just let Chin take him home. The only news he had received was through the ER doctor.
"He has an unstable dislocation at his T12 and L1 vertebrae...it is a complete injury to the spinal cord...an injury like this isn't likely to heal".
He had to go and see Steve. He had to go now. Chin had picked up his car from the beach cove and taken it to HPD. It was too early to call anyone. Danny sighed rubbing his face. He would have to get a cab.
Fifteen minutes later Danny was sitting in the back of a cab, head resting against the window as he watched light break over Honolulu. He was embarrassed and a little ashamed at himself after last night's breakdown. It didn't matter that no one saw, he thought he was stronger than that, apparently not. He hasn't lost it like that since Rachel told him that she was leaving him and taking Grace. But that time there was a lot more rage involved.
The cab made a right up the drive into Queen's Hospital. "No more of that" he whispered to himself. This was about Steve, his partner, his brother. He would have to be there for him.
Paying the driver and he walked into the main hospital foyer approaching the information desk. The woman behind it was in her late 50, grey curly hair pulled up on the top of her head with a pen, her large round glasses on a cord around her neck. Danny cleared his throat to get her attention. " I'm Detective Danny Williams, here to see my partner Commander Steve McGarrett". He tried to sound professional, but truthfully he was scared irrespective of the taxicab pep talk.
"Yes Detective, let me just check the system" she put on her glasses and then looked down to type something into the computer. His stats must have come up on the screen, because as she read Danny could see as a hint of sadness crossed her face. "He is in the ICU, you will need to go straight ahead, just ask one of the nurses when you get there. He has been Patient One all night, they will all know where he is". She gave him a weak and sorrow filled smile, her eyes crinkling in the corners. "Normal visiting hours are between 9 and12 and then from 3 to 10, but in your case its fine, you just go straight ahead". She gestured to the hallway behind her. Danny thanked the woman, his nerves building with every step towards the entrance to the ICU.
When he entered, he could see the nurses' station on the left. Directly in front of it, there was a glass walled room, filled with medical machinery; he could see the array of lights flashing through the dark. A sign on partially opened door read "LCDR MCGARRETT - 1(ONE) SCI TBI " Danny didn't need directions. Taking two long breaths he walked inside.