CHAPTER 32

Tuesday night, TAMC:

"We lost the Commander on the table…"

Kono gasped, bringing her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. She stood and turned away as her eyes began to water. Danny appeared to deflate in the chair, as though waiting to be swallowed up by a deep hole. Chin and Tillman remained seated, as though waiting for the next punishing blow. Doctor Palamo brought his hands up in a halting gesture.

"But…we brought him back. The good news is, he's still fighting. He's in recovery right now."

The people in the room relaxed at that.

Danny sighed loudly. "You should have led with that, Doc."

"What's his prognosis?" Chin asked the question they all wanted to know.

"Currently, he is critical, but stable. The bullet entered his left side, deflecting off a rib. Unfortunately, this broke the already cracked rib, causing the bone to splinter and a piece to pierce a hole in his left lung. When he was brought in, Commander McGarrett was in respiratory distress, causing him to go into cardiac arrest due to the lack of oxygen. We were able to get him stable enough to go into surgery to fix the pneumothorax. The surgery was successful, but he went into cardiac arrest again and required two electric shocks for his heart to work again. That's why we took so long in there. He currently has a drainage tube in his chest and is on a ventilator to help the recovery of his lung. In addition, he has a few more cracked ribs plus two broken ones, which will inhibit his ability to breathe deeply. We will be watching him closely for signs of pneumonia."

The doctor took a breath before continuing. "Commander McGarrett managed to bust the stitches on his shoulder wound. We repaired those easily. He also managed to re-dislocate his shoulder. As far as we can tell, there is no nerve damage, but he did tear some ligaments. He will require some intense physical therapy to get it back to full strength and until he does, he will need to wear a sling."

"Steve's not going to like that," Kono commented while the others nodded in agreement.

"In addition to an array of new colourful bruises, my main concern at the moment is brain damage," Doctor Palamo stated.

"Wait, what do you mean, brain damage?" Danny asked, sitting up straight in his chair.

"When he went into cardiac arrest, it took us four minutes to revive him. The paramedics told me it took them two minutes, not including the time you were providing air for him. During these times, his brain was not supplied with oxygen, which could be very dangerous. At this point, we don't know if there is any damage, and probably won't know until he wakes up. But that's not the only factor…"

"What else is there?" Danny asked.

"When Commander McGarrett was brought in the first time, he had a moderate concussion. Normally, that would heal on its own, given time. However, sometime in the last day, he received more hits to the head without allowing the previous concussion to heal. This is called Second Impact Syndrome. We are going to have to watch him closely for swelling on the brain, which can happen very quickly and cause him to decompensate rapidly. He is currently in a medically induced coma, at least until his lung is healed enough for him to breathe on his own. After that, we will allow him to wake up and then we can assess the damage, if there is any," Doctor Palamo explained.

Danny swallowed nervously as he took in the information. "How long?"

"It could take up to a week for the lung to heal sufficiently. After that, depending on the severity of his head injury, it could take a couple of hours to a few weeks for him to wake up. His body and his brain will need time to recover, from both his older injuries and his newly acquired ones."

It took a few moments for the information to sink in. They knew it would be a long road of recovery for Steve, but they were pleased to know he wasn't dead.

"When can we see him?" Chin asked in a low voice, as though he was trying to contain the emotion bubbling up inside of him.

"He will be settled in the ICU shortly. I will send a nurse to come and get you when he is settled. You can each see him for five minutes and then I must insist that you all go home. He won't know you're there and quite frankly, you all look horrible. You can come back tomorrow after midday to see him again…"

Seeing the group was about to protest, the doctor held up his hand for silence and continued. "I know you all want to stay here with him. I get it, I do. I assure you we will do everything we can to make sure he is comfortable. But you can't be here if you don't take care of yourselves. If you are not careful, you could end up in a bed next to him. Then what good would that do?"

Like a group of scolded school children, they looked down and nodded, agreeing with the doctor. They knew he was right, but they didn't want to leave Steve.

"If there are no more questions, I will go inform the nurses to come and get you when he is ready," Doctor Palamo said.

They watched in numb silence as the doctor exited the room. Half an hour later, a nurse came to take them to see Steve. She was short, with blond hair. Her name tag read 'Kayla'. She led them to Steve's cubicle in the ICU.

"You can go in two at a time for tonight. I'm sorry, but five minutes only," Susan said, giving them a warm smile.

"Why don't you guys go first?" Danny said to the cousins.

Danny waited until they had entered the cubicle before turning to Tillman.

"Did you leave anyone alive?" Danny asked bluntly.

If Tillman was shocked by the question, he didn't show it. "No…We didn't think you would have minded."

Danny sighed. "No, I don't mind. That's a few less bad people in the world my daughter lives in," he held his hand out to Tillman for a handshake. "Thank you for helping my family."

Tillman took the outstretched hand. "Of course. You are part of Steve's family, and that make you my family too. Just…look after him, alright?"

"Like I wouldn't. That man is like a brother to me, even more so now," Danny paused. "Where are you going?"

"I have something I need to take care of. I'll be back in a few days. Just make sure Steve stays safe," Tillman said, his face not giving anything away.

"You got it. I will await your return so you can tell me some embarrassing stories about Steve," Danny said.

"I could, but they are…"

"…Classified," both Tillman and Danny said in unison.

They chuckled, allowing the relief the spread over them, even if only for a moment. Tillman straightened, squaring his shoulders before nodding at Danny and leaving. Danny watched the man depart, wondering what he was about to do. Danny decided he was past caring. At that moment, the cousins returned, having been to see Steve.

Danny took one look at their faces and knew he should brace himself. Kono, normally so strong, had red, puffy eyes. Chin, a man you could never read, had a face that displayed the turmoil of emotions he was experiencing, ranging from anger to sadness.

Danny sighed. "You guys should go home and get some sleep. God knows, we need it. There's paperwork to be done in the morning."

"What about you, Danny? Are you going to sleep?" Kono asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"Yeah. I'm just going to hang out here, in case he needs anything," Danny said, shrugging.

"Danny…" Kono began sternly.

"Look, I know…but that man in there saved not only my daughter and my brother, but also my sanity. He endured torture to protect my family. He did what I couldn't do to ensure their safety. There is no way I am leaving him alone. Not after everything he has been through. This is literally the least I could do," Danny pleaded with the cousins, his eyes begging for them to understand.

Chin nodded in understanding. "We get it, Danny. We feel the same. Just remember you are not alone, and neither is he. We'll bring you some clothes tomorrow when we come to visit. Call us if anything changes."

Chin took Kono by the shoulder and led her down the hallway, leaving Danny alone outside Steve's cubicle. Danny stood outside the door, not sure he wanted to go it. Ten minutes later, Susan came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him towards the bed where Steve lay.

"It's hard to see the people you love like this. Just talk to him, he might hear you," she said, leaving him to have some private time with Steve.

Danny stopped by the foot of the bed. To say his partner looked horrible was an understatement. He looked like he was dead. His skin was the same colour as the white sheets on the bed. He didn't have much more colour than the bodies on Max's autopsy tables. Steve's chest was bare, the white sheet coming up to his hips. It exposed the severe bruising on Steve's torso, in various shades of blacks, purples and greens. The chest tube that was sticking out of the left side of Steve's chest was a stark contrast to the multicoloured bruising covering Steve's chest.

Steve's right arm was strapped down to his chest. His shoulder was bandaged, the white dressing another contrast with the bruising. A small patch of blood was seeping through the bandage over the gunshot wound. The exposed parts of Steve's shoulder were black with bruising. The injury that took the least repair would probably take the longest to recover from. Looking down to Steve's other arm, Danny spotted several IV's in his arm, leading to multiple packets hanging on the pole above the bed.

Looking towards Steve's face, Danny winced when he saw two black eyes developing, obviously from a hard hit straight to his nose. He saw similar bruising around his jaw and cheekbones. It would be difficult to speak or eat for a while. The thing that concerned Danny the most, however, was the tube sticking out of his partner's mouth, breathing for him. Danny watched as his partner's chest rose and fell evenly in a mesmerising pattern. The sound of the respirator, however, disturbed the tranquility of the room.

There were patches stuck all over Steve's head, with leads that led to a machine on the wall. Danny assumed it was to measure the intracranial pressure. Danny had no idea if the numbers he was looking at were good or bad. To be honest, it was all overwhelming.

Dragging his eyes away from the machines maintaining Steve's life, Danny moved around to the side of the bed and carefully grabbed his partner's left hand, careful to avoid the IV placed in the back of his hand. Steve's skin felt cold and clammy, making Danny shiver in sympathy. Danny supposed that had something to do with the blood loss and the cool temperature in the ICU. Danny stood there, not moving as he decided what to do. He was well known for his rants, but right now, looking down at his vulnerable parter, he was at a loss for words.

"Hey Steve…" he began before stopping. He sighed, looking up to the roof. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Um…I don't know if you can hear me and it's not like you could tell me if you could, not with that tube shoved down your throat. But I'm gonna talk anyway…" Danny rambled.

"What the hell were you thinking, going after Fuentes by yourself? You are such a self-sacrificing idiot. When you wake up, I will be giving you the rant of a lifetime. Next time, at least go in with some back up," Danny paused and sighed. "I shouldn't be angry with you. Really. I mean, despite your inability to follow police procedure, you did a good job."

"…Thank you. I mean it. You made sure I never had to hand Matty over to Fuentes. I have the opportunity to hug him again, and maybe punch him. But mostly, thank you for saving my daughter's life. Twice. She told me what you said to her, by the way. Thank you for making sure that she knew I loved her."

Danny suddenly became choked up with emotion at the thought of how close he had come to losing everyone he cared about.

"You know, Grace is the only reason I was willing to live on this island surrounded by shark infested waters. Now, thanks to Fuentes and, partly, my brother, Rachel wants to take Grace away from me again. She's blaming me for this, like I can control what psychotic drug lords do with their time. Grace needs to stay here, with her family, where we can support and love her. Rachel taking her away…that's just not acceptable. But Rachel won't listen."

Danny started to realise he was getting off topic. "Anyway, we can discuss that later, when you're better. Like I was saying, Grace was the only reason I wanted to stay here. Now, I have a few more reasons to stay, and you, the team and the Ohana you've built, that's just one of them. Besides, I'm starting to think that without me, you have blown this island apart already. Seriously, blowing your own doors off with some grenades? What were you thinking?"

Danny took a moment to get his emotions under control.

"…But, seriously, you have to get better man. I don't know what I'd do without you. Not just me, but Grace also needs you. She needs you to get better so you can show her the wonders of this island and teach her inappropriate things. And Chin and Kono, they are a mess. We need you, Steve…"

At that moment, the nurse entered the room again, informing Danny it was time to go. Danny leant down and whispered in Steve's ear.

"You had better pull through, or I will kick your ass, SuperSEAL."

As he reluctantly left the room, Danny looked back over his shoulder one last time. He could have sworn he saw Steve smile around the tube. Danny grinned and followed the nurse out of the ICU.

Wednesday afternoon, Five-0 Headquarters:

Duke Lukela walked into Five-0 Headquarters the afternoon after Steve McGarrett had been found. He was unsurprised to find it empty. Duke assumed the team was at the hospital with McGarrett. He jumped when he heard a door slamming. It came from the break room. Carefully, Duke made his way over, his hand resting on his weapon just in case. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he ran into Chin Ho Kelly.

"Chin!" Duke exclaimed as hot coffee ran down the front of his shirt.

"Oh, Duke! Sorry…" Chin apologised as he found a cloth to wipe up the coffee.

"It's okay, Chin. It wasn't that hot. Why are you here?"

"Danny sent us home, but I couldn't sleep. So I came here to get started on some of the paperwork,' Chin explained. "What are you doing here?"

Duke held up the file he had in his hand. "We finally finished processing all of Fuentes' known locations on the island. I thought you might want to see this."

Chin took the file from Duke and flipped through it as Duke talked.

"The initial house where Steve and Grace were held yielded nothing. We did, however, find something in the woods…" Duke said, pointing to a photograph.

In the photo were six men, lying sprawled on the ground in various positions. They were all dead.

"We were guessing that McGarrett was responsible. He managed to take out these guys before Fuentes grabbed him again. The warehouse, where McGarrett took out Andre Fuentes, also yielded nothing."

Chin rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that. The rest of Fuentes' men are there. You might want to send Max up there, with multiple body bags."

Duke raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"What else did you find?" Chin asked, side-stepping that incident.

"The house on the North Shore where Steve was found was also a bust. However, the second location you sent us to revealed some interesting items. Firstly, we found one hundred and three kilograms of cocaine stashed under the floorboards."

Chin whistled when he heard that. That was one hundred and three kilograms less on the streets.

"We also found this," Duke said, pointing to a photograph that showed a room.

In the room were photos all over the walls. Photos of Grace. Chin wondered if Steve had seen these. That would explain the lengths his boss had gone through to protect Danny's family.

"Well, I'm glad he's dead," Chin said as he closed the file.

"So are we," Duke said, taking the file back before presenting Chin with another one. "One more thing…"

Chin opened the new file. "What's this?"

"We found four bodies down on Waikiki Beach yesterday morning. Apparently, they had been weighed down with something for a while, before floating to the surface. They have been dead for three days. Do they look familiar?" Duke asked.

Chin inspected their faces and immediately recognised them. "These are the four guys from the house. The ones we have been looking for. Fuentes killed them?"

"That's what we think. We think Fuentes was cleaning house. Let's just say that you are all very lucky to be alive," Duke said.

"Thank, Duke," Chin said.

"I'm glad this is all finally over. How's McGarrett doing?" Duke asked.

"He's hanging in there…" Chin replied.

"Don't worry Chin. McGarrett will be back soon enough. He won't let this stop him," Duke said confidently, clapping Chin on the shoulder.

"I hope so," Chin said, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

It's all they could do: hope.