CHAPTER 33

Friday afternoon, TAMC:

Doctor Eric Palamo approached his patient's ICU cubicle early that afternoon. He stopped, observing the scene taking place in front of him. While not strictly allowed, he had waived the visiting restrictions for Commander McGarrett. After having spotted Detective Williams sitting outside the ICU, waiting for the time to see his partner, he had given in, allowing the Detective and the team unrestricted access as long as they listened to the nurses and kept the noise down. It was a decision he hadn't regretted.

Ever since then, Commander McGarrett had never been alone. There was always someone with him, talking to him, coaxing him to get better. The nurses had long since stopped complaining about their presence, finding it was actually helping their patient, whom appeared to be getting better at an incredible rate. Doctor Palamo smiled, wondering if any of his friends or loved ones would be that devoted to him. Commander McGarrett was definitely a lucky man to have such a close-knit group of people who cared for him.

Today, it was apparently Detective Williams' turn to look over the Commander. Doctor Palamo observed as Detective Williams sat next to his partner with his young daughter, Grace, sitting on his lap. Grace appeared to be talking a mile a minute at her Uncle Steve, telling him all about her day at school and about a boy named Tommy, who thought dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Doctor Palamo bit back a laugh to Danny's eye roll, unseen by Grace. As much as he wanted to watch this continue to unfold, Doctor Palamo needed to check on his patient. He approached the cubicle and knocked on the glass partition, announcing his presence.

"Good afternoon, Doc. How is our patient doing today?" Danny asked brightly. It appeared the man became an entirely different person when his daughter was around. Much different to the usual snarky and sarcastic person the doctor had come to know.

"Good afternoon Danny. Good to see you again, Miss Grace," Doctor Palamo said, nodding his head towards Grace. Grace waved back in response, suddenly very shy.

"Let me give him a quick once over. Why don't you guys go and get something to eat?" he suggested.

Taking the hint, Danny quickly scooped up Grace and left the room while Doctor Palamo got to work. Danny decided the cafeteria was a good place to go, given they were in a hospital. They went over to view the selection of treats. Taking their food, they sat down at a table near the window. Danny munched on his sandwich as he watched Grace devour a giant chocolate chip cookie and wash it down with some milk. Danny smiled, thinking about how close he had come to not seeing this again. He sighed, thanking the Gods above that Rachel was holding off on taking Grace away.

"Danno?" Grace's timid voice startled Danny from his thoughts.

"Yes Monkey?" Danny said, giving her his full attention.

"Is Uncle Steve really going to be okay?" she asked nervously, picking at the remains of her cookie.

"Of course he is. He's SuperSEAL," Danny said brightly.

"But even SuperSEAL has his kryptonite," Grace said, her eyes watering.

"That is true, Grace. Uncle Steve is very sick at the moment and it will take some time before he is back to normal. But, the good news is, is that he has his very own kryptonite destroyer."

Grace looked at Danny, confused. "Where?"

"Right here," Danny said, reaching over the table and pointing at her heart before tickling her.

Grace giggled at her father's antics. Her concerns now resolved, she continued to consume her cookie. However, Danny was now more concerned than ever. To Danny, Steve didn't look like he was getting better. He was still pale and on the respirator. It had been two days and he wasn't seeing any improvement. The doctors had said that it was normal, that there wasn't anything to worry about. But Danny couldn't help but worry. Whenever Steve was involved, something had to go wrong. The man was a trouble magnet.

Danny felt a tug on his shirt and looked around to see Grace looking at him. Apparently she had finished her cookie and was ready to go back upstairs to see Uncle Steve. Danny downed the last of his water and they went to see if the doctor had finished. They arrived outside Steve's cubicle just as the doctor was exiting.

"How's he going, Doc?" Danny asked.

"Go and have a look for yourself," Doctor Palamo said, motioning for them to enter.

As soon as Danny walked in, he wondered if had walked into the wrong room. Steve was still pale and covered in healing bruises. However, the chest tube was gone, the incision covered with a white bandage. Even more invigorating was the absence of the ventilator. Steve was now breathing on his own with the assistance of a nasal cannula.

Danny let Grace go and sit next to Steve while he talked with the doctor.

"We will still need to keep an eye on his oxygen saturation levels, but all his other numbers look good. I'm going to ease off on the sedation tomorrow morning and give him some time to wake up," Doctor Palamo explained.

"So, he's going to be okay? This is a good sign?" Danny asked, not daring to hope.

"We are cautiously optimistic. Provided he doesn't present with any deficits from his ordeal, he should make a full recovery, given time."

"And by deficits, you mean brain damage?"

"Essentially, yes. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. For the time being, he is recovering quicker than we expected."

"Typical over-achieving SuperSEAL," Danny muttered.

The doctor stifled a laugh with his hand. "SuperSEAL?" he asked curiously.

"It's his nickname," Grace answered eagerly from Steve's bedside. "He leaps off tall buildings, tackles suspects and can deflect bullets. Well, most of the time."

"He also drives my car like it's a race car because he thinks he's invincible," Danny added.

"That would explain the stories I have heard around here about a certain SEAL. I'm guessing that is Commander McGarrett?"

"Yep, that's probably him. We appear to be here at least once a month. As much as I don't like his tactics, I admit that they often get the job done," Danny said, glancing at his partner.

The doctor smiled. "Well, I will be back tomorrow morning to reduce the sedation."

Danny nodded and watched the doctor leave the room before joining his daughter by the bed. Inspecting his partner, Danny noted that he looked remarkably better. Steve had some colour back in his face, noticeable even underneath all the bruises. However, without the ventilator, Danny could see the full extent of the bruises. As the bruises began healing, they looked worse than before.

Danny sat with Grace on his lap. He felt invigorated at the sight of Steve finally recovering. Grace held Steve's hand and continued to tell him about her day. Danny closed his eyes as he listened to Grace ramble happily about her latest book report. He smiled and before he knew it, he was fast asleep in the uncomfortable chair next to his partner's bed.

Saturday morning, TAMC:

Danny was disturbed from his slumber in the early hours of the next morning. Looking around, he tried to figure out what had woken him. Looking over, he saw Kono smiling at him cheekily from the other side of Steve's bed. She had small balls of paper in her hand. Evidently, she had been throwing them at him. Danny just gave her the finger in response. Danny looked around the room and noticed Chin, with Grace curled up on his lap, fast asleep.

"You've got a little drool there," Kono whispered to Danny, pointing at his face.

Danny impatiently wiped the drool trail away from the corner of his mouth, much to Kono's delight. There was a quiet knock at the entrance to the cubicle. Looking up, they saw Steve's doctor entering the room.

"Good morning Doc. What's happening?" Danny asked.

"Good morning Danny, Kono. We're going to ease off on the sedation today. All of Commander McGarrett's numbers look good, even his oxygen levels. Just remember, it could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, so just be patient and keep talking to him. Since I know you won't be leaving him, we need you to tell us when he shows signs of waking up," Doctor Palamo explained.

"Will he be in pain when he wakes up?" Kono asked, concerned.

"He will be groggy and may feel some pain. We will assess him as soon as he is awake and depending on what we see, we will give him some pain relief if that is what is required. Any more questions?"

Danny and Kono shook their heads and motioned for the doctor to go ahead with the procedure. They watched as he approached Steve's bed and began fiddling with the IV's and flow rates. A few minutes later, he was finished.

"Okay. Now we just need to wait," Doctor Palamo said before exiting the cubicle.

"Hey Doc?…Thanks," Danny said, waving farewell to the doctor.

Danny and Kono settled in to wait for the first signs their boss was waking up. A couple of hours later, Chin woke up with Grace still asleep on his lap. He whispered across the bed to Danny.

"Do you want me to take her home?" he asked.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Danny whispered back.

"Not at all. I'll give Rachel an update while I am there. I'll bring you some clothes too," Chin replied.

"Thanks man," Danny said tiredly as he watched Chin carefully stand up with Grace in his arms and walk out of the room without disturbing Grace.

Danny and Kono remained in the room, silently keeping vigil over their injured friend. After an hour, Danny stood and stretched out his sore muscles. After a couple of days sitting in that chair and almost no sleep, his back was sore and tight. Kono winced when she heard his back pop as he stretched. Danny moved over to the window and looked out across the hospital parking lot. The sun was high in the sky, promising another fine day in paradise.

A quiet groan disturbed the quiet. Kono and Danny immediately turned to face Steve, wondering if the sound came from him. Danny was immediately by his partner's bedside, grabbing his uninjured hand. He watched as Steve's eyes moved under his eyelids. Steve groaned again, this time louder. Danny turned to tell Kono to find a nurse, only to find she had already left the room. Danny turned back to Steve.

"Hey, Steve. Time to wake up, buddy. You've been sleeping on the job again," Danny quipped, trying to coax his partner to open his eyes.

Steve only groaned in response and tried to shift his body.

"Hey, don't move buddy. Just relax. You are in the hospital. everything is fine. We just need you to open your eyes…come on, let me see those baby blues," Danny said encouragingly.

Steve's eyes fluttered slightly, like his eyelids were too heavy to lift. Kono returned at the moment with a nurse in tow. Steve groaned again, trying to open his eyes.

"Come on buddy. That's it. Time to rise and shine," Danny said.

Steve's eyes slowly opened. It looked like it took all of his energy to complete that simple task. He blinked slowly, taking in his surroundings. His eyes began drifting closed of their own accord. He forced them back open, desperate to know what was going on.

"Da…" Steve bang before he started coughing.

The nurse brought a small cup of water up to his mouth, encouraging him to take a few small sips.

"Danny?" Steve said in a raspy voice.

"Yeah, that's me. How are you feeling?"

Steve only looked at him blankly, like he couldn't comprehend the question. At that moment, Doctor Palamo entered the room, pleased to see his patient awake.

"Good afternoon, Commander. My name is Doctor Palamo. Do you remember me?" the doctor asked his patient.

Steve looked at the man before him blankly before blinking and nodding slowly.

"Yeah, I remember. Sorry about…" Steve trailed off.

The people in the room waited for Steve to continue, but he didn't.

The doctor looked at his patient quizzically before ignoring it and moving on. "Not a problem. I'm just going to check you out."

Doctor Palamo shone a pen light into Steve's eyes, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut.

"Warn a guy next time," Steve growled, pushing the man's arm away.

"Sure, and next time you will let me do it," Doctor Palamo quipped sarcastically before becoming serious. "How are you feeling, Commander?"

It took a moment before Steve answered. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Was I?" he asked, confusion evident in his tone.

"No, you weren't. What's the last thing you remember?" the doctor asked.

"Um…I remember being here for…something. I went outside and got a cab, I think. I saw my old CO. Why was he there? Where is he?" Steve said, trying to sit up. The doctor and Danny held him down, stopping him from moving.

"Commander, before anyone answers your questions, I need you to answer a few of mine. Then I have a few tests to run. First, can you tell me your full name and rank?"

Steve rolled his eyes before deciding that wasn't a good idea. It took him a moment before the room stopped spinning. He had to ask the doctor to repeat the question.

"Um…Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett," he answered.

"Excellent. Do you know where you are?"

Again, it took Steve a few moments to register what he had been asked. "Hospital, T'pler?" he slurred.

"Yes, you are at Tripler. Can you tell me what year it is?"

"Um…2012?"

"Good…and who is in the room with you?"

Steve looked around at the two other people standing around his bed. "Um…tha's Danno 'nd…um…K-Kono?" Steve slurred, sounding a little unsure.

"Great. Now I am going to give you something for the pain. I suggest you try and get some rest. Your body needs some time to recover.

Steve nodded tiredly, not even arguing or demanding answers. Instead, he submitted to the doctor's orders and closed his eyes, asleep within ten seconds. The doctor motioned for Danny and Kono to follow him outside.

"So, how is he Doc?" Danny asked immediately.

"He's doing remarkably well. He was very alert, but he got tired very quickly. That was his body saying that he needed rest. Don't be surprised if he falls asleep in the middle of a conversation for a while. He appeared to be a bit slow when processing what was being asked of him and supplying the appropriate answer. Now, that could be due to the fact that he has just woken up and his body is coming back online. It could also suggest an underlying issue. He was slurring his words slightly. Again, it could just be because he was tired. At the moment, he recognises you, he knows who he is and where he is. It may take him some time to stop the marbles rolling around inside his head," Doctor Palamo explained.

"I always said it was empty in there," Danny said, smirking.

"What about his memory? Will he remember what happened to him?" Kono asked.

"He may. He might not remember right now, but in time, it could come back to him. With traumatic incidents, it is quite common for people to not remember the actual incident and maybe a few days either side of it. We will run some more tests when he is more alert. For the time being, he needs rest, and lots of it. The good news is, we can move him out of the ICU and into the step-down unit. Do you have any other questions?"

"No. Thank you, Doctor Palamo," Kono said.

"Okay then. I will come and see him again tomorrow morning. He's going to room 310 on level three. If you have any concerns or want to ask any questions, let the nurses know and they will come and find me."

"Thank you, Doc," Danny said.

Danny and Kono watched as some orderlies moved Steve from his room. As they wheeled him past, they noted that he definitely looked like he was recovering. Arriving at Steve's new room, they noted the room was more spacious than the cramped ICU cubicle and even had a couch. The orderlies got Steve situated in the room and the nurses made sure everything was in order before leaving them to it. Steve hadn't moved once throughout the whole process.

It looked things were only going to get better from now on. They really should know better than to make assumptions like that.

Saturday night, TAMC:

Danny was sitting on the couch, again watching over his friend. He had sent Kono home at eight o'clock for some much needed rest. There was an uneasy feeling developing in his stomach. He felt like he couldn't take his eyes off Steve, otherwise something would happen. Something bad. He knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't help it. The sound of a knock at the door drew him from his macabre thoughts.

Rodger Tillman entered the room. The man looked much better than he had the last time. He was clean shaven and not covered in camouflage paint or dirt. However, he looked tired. Even more so than after having taken out an entire compound full of Fuentes' men.

"Hey," Danny said by way of greeting.

"Hey," Tillman replied. "How's our boy?"

"He's doing much better. He's breathing on his own and healing quickly. He's sleeping a lot, but the Doc says that's a good thing," Danny answered.

"But…?" Tillman said,

"There was no but," Tillman looked at Danny. "Okay, maybe there is one. I've got this feeling, like something bad is about to happen."

"And you think it's got to do with Steve?" Tillman suggested.

"I don't know…maybe," Danny looked at Tillman. "You look better than the last time we saw you."

"Yeah…" Tillman said of his appearance.

"Can I ask what you were up to?" Danny asked.

"You can, actually," Tillman replied. Danny raised his eyebrows. Tillman laughed. "Not everything in our lives is classified."

"Right, so what was so important that you had to leave for a couple of days?"

"I went to Afghanistan…"

"What?!" Danny exclaimed loudly before looking at Steve. Thankfully, he hadn't disturbed the sleeping man.

"You remember the auction?" Danny nodded and motioned for Tillman to continue. "Well, the Navy traced all those bids to the perpetrators. There were a lot of them. Steve made a lot of enemies in his naval career, in Intelligence and the SEALs. Anyway, there was this one guy, a real bad dude. Naval Intelligence had been chasing him for decades. Steve had a dealing with him before. Let's just say that Steve will never have to face the man again," Tillman explained.

"You did that, for Steve?" Danny whispered.

"Yeah. Because he would do the same for any one of us. I told you I owed him a few favours. He's the best man I've ever had the privilege of working with," Tillman said.

"So, about that. What was he like, you know, before I met him? Give me the gossip…" Danny said.

Tillman looked over at Steve, to make sure he was still sleeping. "Do you want to know how he got the nickname, Smooth Dog?"

"Yes…absolutely…" Danny said excitedly.

"Don't you dare, Rod. That's classified," came a raspy voice from the bed.

The two men smirked at each the man on the bed, who rolled his eyes and went back to sleep.

"Okay, well, how about how you two met?" Danny asked.

"Well, that's a good story…It all started when Ensign McGarrett was assigned to…"