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Chapter 40: Hot steam

After a heavy downpour at the afternoon and then immediately after the sun hitting its rays above the wet island, the humidity level reached a new historical mark and one that Danny couldn´t even compare with any hot humid day on his almost ten years on Hawaii, nor even with the ones he had to endure while imprisonment, where he was forced to suck on the weather unmercifulness against his will. But today he could do something about it, so as soon as the movie he was watching with Charlie finished, he kissed his child´s head and got up.

"I´m going to take a shower now, Charlie. Don´t answer the door unless it´s Steve or Lou or someone you know, ok?"

"Shouldn´t you wait for Uncle Steve to come back?"

Damn! The kid was right and was just reminding him what he had been told and what obviously the child had overheard. The commander, indeed, had left the house to attend a meeting that required his presence without further notice and was obliged to leave Danny alone with just Charlie. Annoyed with that fact and with Danny just ignoring him while he practically begged him to stay put on the couch, Steve had left father and son watching a movie that still had an hour and a half to go, so he prayed the meeting will finish before that time and he could be back before his partner could try to do something that exceeded his actual limited physical capabilities. "Hey, are you listening to me" "Yes, go I´ll be fine" Steve had hesitated, considered calling someone over but decided not to, allowing Danny to get a bit of air and ´freedom´ for at least an hour. "Call me for anything ok?" Danny just had rested his head and sunk further down on the couch, sighing deeply and without taking his eyes away from the TV. Steve had smiled and finally left, considering it would do Danny´s soul good to start being on his own and unsupervised at least for a few amount of time.

But the hour and a half expired, and Steve hadn´t returned yet. Danny´s repaired fingers and ankles bones were aching rather fiercely by now after a long two hours sitting down and not moving and also responding to the high humidity. The last thing he needed was to stay put sitting on the too hot couch, which material was already plastered on his sweat-damp skin and clothes.

"I´ll be just in the bathroom, won´t take that long" Danny smiled to his doubtful child, easing Charlie´s doubts at the sound and sight of his confident father. The kid finally agreed and somehow let Danny permission to get his way by grabbing his toys that lay on the floor and heading off towards his room, leaving Danny on his own.

The detective limped, due to his aching ankle, towards his own bedroom and after preparing for his shower closed the door of the bathroom behind him and then closed the little window to avoid the humidity to keep entering. And that was his mistake. Instead of the external humidity to enter, the increasing hot steam that the mild warm water that caressed his body was slowly creating was unable to escape, creating an irrespirable dense vapor which made Danny´s lungs began to complain. Breathing through his mouth to get as much air as he could take, Danny managed to open the window. The air outside was so dense and hot, that it didn´t really help to improve the suffocating situation. He should open the door. Turning off the water, Danny grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower area. Apart from the hot steam, his lung capacity was considerable deteriorated already to begin with, so Danny found himself panting miserably while his sight begun to falter at the sides and yellow dots started to dance in front of him. Dread engulfed him as he reached the doorknob and managed to pry it open, not without difficulty. The fresher air that suddenly soothed his skin was not enough to prevent him from passing out and face plant on the tiled damp floor.

"Charl…" The last thing that crossed Danny´s mind before blacking out was his son. "Shouldn't you wait for Uncle Steve to come back?" The child had been right, and now he couldn´t do anything to prevent his kid to find his father sprawled face down on the bathroom door.

The cold current of air hitting his face was the first sensation he registered. He took a deep breath of air; it was easy to breathe now, so Danny filled his lungs repeatedly. Next, it came the notion of lying on a soft bed and being covered with a slight bed sheet. He was so comfortable, that he sank further his head on the soft pillow. Oh, his head. That next sensation was not pleasant, his head felt terrible, and it could explode at any moment. It hurt, inside and outside, big time. "He´s coming around". His partner´s voice was miles away, muffled by a ton of cotton. Danny didn´t pay it much attention, he was asserting his current state. Why was he lying down? Why was his head pounding unmercifully? And suddenly it all came back to him.

"Charlie?" His voice came out weak and anguished, seeking for his son who was the only person with him when he passed out.

"Easy champ, everything is fine"

That grave voice, he knew it… his doctor. Was he back to the hospital? Danny´s heart started to accelerate. He didn´t want to be hospitalized, but the prick on his arm and a hand immediately restraining him when he moved it told him, apparently, that he certainly was. To make sure, he snapped his eyes open, frightened, looking around him to check out his location. Thankfully, he was in his own bedroom, lying down on his own bed. His rather confused eyes travelled the space, fixing first on the IV post and then following the length of the cannula until it reached his elbow flexure, where Dr. Kalama´s globed hand was maintaining him still so he didn´t rip off the catheter. Danny lifted his sight and sought his doctor´s face. The physician was fast to clarify the doubts he found on his patients scared eyes.

"The IV is there to run fluids into your system, because you´re slightly dehydrated, ok? So try not to tear it away". As the doctor saw understanding in Danny´s eyes he let go his arm, patting it slightly. He continued, while Danny started his travel through the room with his sight, reaching his partner´s stoic figure and fixing his eyes with the arm crossed serious man´s. "You took a serious head bump and I had to give you stiches on your upper right temple" After a pause and with his patient still trying to connect silently through his eyes with his apparently angry friend, Dr. Kalama asked. "Do you remember what happened, Danny?"

"Yes" Danny closed his eyes suddenly, as a sharp pain assaulted his temples when his own voice made his head vibrate. "I fainted because I couldn´t breathe… there was a lot of steam…" Danny opened his eyes again when he remembered something important. "Where´s Charlie? The thought of his son and what the kid had probably gone through made him anxious and his voice faltered with emotion. Finally, his serious and silent partner spoke in order to calm his increasingly anxious and nervous friend down.

"He´s with Rachel, she picked him up. He´s ok, relax".

"He´s ok?" Danny asked, amidst a deep breath that almost stole his voice while he tried to overcome his panic, but failing. Suddenly, a rush of relief came through him. Obviously, his doctor had inserted something to calm him through the IV. But Danny fought it back; he fought his heavy eyelids from dropping because he wanted to know now what his kid had been through. Desperately, he sought his partner´s reassurance before he was forced to fall asleep.

"Yes, he is. We´ll talk later"

His friend was obviously not telling him right now what has happened after he collapsed, and he had not the strength to fight to stay awake anymore. With a restless whimpered complaint, Danny had no option but to succumb to sleep.