Author's note- I am really sorry that this story has not been updated in such a long time. I have move countries twice and have been busy with work. I know that a lot of you were worried about me not finishing the story. Hopefully I will be posting more regularly now that I have some more free time over the holidays so you will see this story developing.

Once again thank you for all the reviews. It is great to hear that people are really enjoying the story, I certainly enjoy writing it. Thank you as well to everyone who has picked up any inconsistencies or error in my previous chapters, they are now fixed. I am mid way through the next two chapters so they should be up before Christmas. Mahalo!

The weekend came and went. Monday morning they met again with Steve's medical team. His neuro specialist was happy enough with his brain activity from recent MRI for them begin allowing him to wake up. "This might be a little confronting" she warned "he will be very disoriented, probably quite frightened and his speech and eye movement will still be slightly impaired from some residual frontal lobe swelling". Danny, Kono and Chin all nodded, they understood, even if they weren't really ready for it.

"We may have to initially sedate him slightly, but I don't expect these problems to carry on for more than a few days". The doctor leaned forward across the board room table, her voice was calm and definite "as most of impact and following shock was to his fontal lobe there may be some lingering emotional and psychological difficulties which might take a little while longer to clear up". Noting the three's confused and concerned expressions, she continued with her explanation. "The frontal lobe is an important area for many parts of our thought process. Commander McGarrett may seem confused and have difficulty concentrating on an idea or task, he could also be a little more impulsive or react aggressively to some situations which you could not normally expect him to".

"Ha! What's new there" Danny thought to himself, but fortunately, he stop himself from vocalising his reaction as fear for his friend again took over his thoughts.

The doctor continued with her explanation "he may also experience some problems with short term memory retention, which" she paused, choosing her words selectively "could be very difficult for him, under his specific circumstances. But, I really don't expect any of these problems to be permanent. All his recent results have been surprisingly good" she gave the team a weak smile "so that is one positive thing".

"Well" Dr Lucas cleared his throat, "regarding my side of things, we still have to wait until the spinal shock and swelling around the injury area resides before we can really know anything definitively. Even though we know that Commander McGarrett's injury is complete, the level of impairment is really on a case by case basis. We will just have to see how much functionality returns over the next two to three weeks". He looked directly at Danny. "When he wakes up, his range and level of movement will be restricted above what we expect. This will be both by the next and back brace which is protecting his injury site while the stabilising rods heal as well as by spinal swelling. He will most likely have vey little fine motor control in his hands and may lack a lot of strength in his arms. But, with both physical therapy and tissue healing this should abate relatively quickly. However" the doctor looked across at all three, glancing quickly at the trauma therapist, "the loss of mobility will mean that Commander McGarrett will require around the clock care".

"Yes" interrupted the trauma therapist "having a spinal injury is like being a new born, Steve will have to learn to depend on you all, and, like a child, learn new ways of doing things".

This analogy was starting to make Danny's stomach turn. He wasn't ready to talk about these things, to hear how everything was going to change. Of course he had been reading everything he could find on the matter, but edging closer to Steve waking up and learning of his injuries was horrible. Steve McGarrett was a god dam US Navy SEAL for Christ sakes, not some pathetic pasty flabby computer nerd. Steve could do anything and Danny was not ready to let go of that image.

Perhaps the therapist could sense the groups unease. Glancing down at Chin and Kono it was clear they were having a similar internal struggle that Danny was feeling. "We can talk about this later, I need to discuss the idea of grieving with you all, but maybe in a few days" the young man tried to smile warmly at them but got no assistance from the three cops at the table.

There was one question which had been lingering in Danny's mind since he started educating himself on his best friends condition. "What about pain?" he blurted out. "How much pain will be be in, how are you going to manage it?".

Kono looked down the table at Danny, eyes wide with shock. Clearly, this was not something that she had though of. But Danny had.

"Right, pain" Dr Lucas shifted his position in his seat, "Commander McGarrett will most likely not be in too much pain when he initially begins to regain consciousness. We will work with the neuro team to keep his pain medication as well as a mid sedative relatively high for the first week. While he is still experiencing spinal shock there will not be too much pain, but we will start with a pain management program almost immediately. However, pain for spinal cord injuries is severe and can be long lasting or even permanent." Leaning forward he looked eyes with Danny, "Detective Williams, I assure you that we, as well as the rehab team at Tripler are very experienced in managing this kind of pain. But it certainly is an issue which we will have to work together with Commander McGarrett to address. Neuropathic pain can be intense both around the injury area as well as in his non-functioning areas".

The cold nauseated sensation which has been lingering around Danny constantly came back in a forceful wave. Just the mention of "non-functioning areas" made his guts perform a reverse. All he could manage in response was a curt but definite nod at what the doctor had said.

Fortunately, the meeting ended soon after. Chin, Kono and Danny had been sufficiently warned about what lay ahead in the near future. Quietly thanking the medical team, the three walked out of the room numb and lapsed into silence as they headed back to Steve's room. Each one terrified of how he was going to react.

H50H50H50H50H50

Steve could hear voices but could't make out what they were saying. They came in and out, none of they sounds were languages he knew. Blurred images and outlines of faces would move in an out of the darkness. He had no idea where he was. Who had him? He must be drugged. He thoughts were short, he was thinking in single words.

Capture? The Taliban? Al-Qaeda? Al-Shabaab?

There was flashes of different colours, reds and greens. He could hear a beeping noise. The sound was travelling in an out. Where did they have him? He tried to focus in the sound it but it kept disappearing. Was he in a plane, a van? He didn't know if he could sense movement or not.

And then darkness again.

The torturous pattern continued. Gradually things started to become clearer and then he would slip back into his dark, soundless, thoughtless hole. He had no sense of time. How long had they had him? It could have been hours or even days that the pattern continued. Slowly the seemed to be less time in the darkness and more in the light and noise. Slowly he started to sense his surroundings. The SEAL became aware that he was tied down. There was something near his face. Maybe even around his neck he wasn't sure.

Slowly the images coming in and out started for form people, but their faces were all beige. He could feel something stuck to his cheek and as he tried to open his eyes he knew one was swollen. He tried to take a deeper breath, to better pull his thoughts together. Something was up his nose. It was dry and cold. The air made him cough and splutter. Then an intense white hot burning pain shot all over his body. It didn't even radiate from anywhere, it just covered him like a blanket. He could see and sense bodies covering on top of him. What were they trying to do? What had they already done? He tried to fight them off but they were holding him down. He couldn't even turn his head.

"Grrraawghh!" he tried to yell out. Only more coughing, spluttering and excruciating pain followed. And then, his captors had been merciful, he could see their shapes hovering over him as the darkness and nothingness closed in. For now there was no pain.

H50H505H50H50

Standing in Steve's ICU room with his neuro specialist and her doctors Danny, Chin and Kono were terrified. At first they could see his eyes moving back and forth frantically behind his lids. His mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, but no sound would escape it. On the monitors they could see his blood pressure and heart rate becoming erratic, the little lines rising and falling, with the tempo of the normally regular beeps growing faster and louder.

This was his team, his ohana, but right now all three of them were backed up against the furtherest wall. None of them new what to do, there seemed there was nothing they could do. Kono held tight onto her cousin's hand. Her fingernails were starting to cut into the side of Chin's palm but he didn't even notice. All his attention and energy was focused on his leader, his brother, who looked to be in trapped grips of agony and torment. Chin had to keep reminding himself that he was waking up, that the doctors had it under control. Becuase from where he was standing he looked like he was dying. Like all those fish he had caught who would choke on their last breath before giving up.

There was cold sweat pouring down Danny button up shirt. He could feel it transferring onto the wall his back was pressed so heavily up against. Steve's panic was causing him to panic. Just as he could see his best friends blood pressure skyrocket, he could feel his own following course. The rational side of knew that this was probably normal. It fit with everything that he had read so far. But, his emotional side was in over drive. He had never seen Steve look vulnerable for a second. The stupid jerk always brushed it off or seemed to be unaffected. This time with absolutely no barriers up Danny could see his raw uncontrolled panic. Nothing was more frightening to watch.

H50H505H50H50

The sounds of voices around him grew louder, but they were still unintelligible. What had happened? He had no idea of how he got here. He tried to focus on something but is all seemed to float off the minute he tried to zero in on it. Then just as he started to make out clearer sounds the blackness converged again. He tried to fight against it this time and succeeded. The light and noise came drifting back. The faces, his captors, were standing over him. What did they want? He tried to get up, but he couldn't move. He could lift his arms slightly, but every thing else seemed to be locked down.

H50H505H50H50

Steve's eyes looked around wildly from one friend's face to the other. There was a fear behind those blue eyes that Danny had never seen. Confused, disorientated, in pain an unable to move basically any of this limb, the SEAL was panicking.

Danny suddenly realised what a coward he had been. His friend needed him and he was backed up against the wall. There motto was leave no man behind and Danny hadn't fully been there for Steve. He assured himself that was the last time that would happen. No matter how scary it got, not matter how scary or dark Steve got he wasn't going to shy away.

Danny pushed himself of the wall and walked over to Steve's bed side. Leaning in so that his face would be in Steve's view he very gently put a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"I'm here Steven. Its Danny. You are at Queen's in the ICU. You were hit by a car. The doctors have had you in a coma for a week but you are waking up now". Danny made sure to speak slowly and calm. He looked up at the neurologist, she seemed pleased with what he had said. "Okay Stephen, if you can here me and understand what I am saying blink twice". Two weak flutters of long eyelashes came from the patient.

The SEAL's mouth continued to open and close as if her was trying to get words out. Danny placed his ear close to Steve's mouth to try and here what he was attempting to say.

"You came for me" Steve's statement came out of his mouth as a faint whisper, his words were slurred and ill pronounced but Danny knew what he was saying.

"Yes brother, I came for you. You are safe now. It is going to be alright" Danny was finding it hard to keep his emotions in check, he also had no idea what he was saying. All he wanted was for Steve to no longer be frightened.

"He is waking up well. I would be happy for us to give him a very mild sedative and let sleep for a few hours. Coming out of a medicated comma is a tremendous strain on the body" Steve's neurosurgeon calmly stated.

Danny moved a hand to very gently stroke Steve's forehead. "Steve, you are safe now. We are all here. You just go back to sleep for a little while and we will see you soon". His partner looked back up at him, eyes still full of panic and confusion.

"No one is going anywhere I promise".

As the nurse on his other side began to administer the sedative into his drip line Steve's eyes began to once again slowly blink shut.

"They are here, I am safe….its okay, my team are here" Steve's thoughts drifted off as sleep again took over.