I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: A "what if" alternate story line loosely related to Season 1 Episode 20 "Ma Ke Kahakai". "What if" Danny had to walk back down alone after the EVAC got Steve off the mountain? This includes an assumption that the victim's body was simultaneously removed when Steve was rescued.
Ps – I had forgotten that Steve actually took his backpack with him into the chopper (it didn't stay below on the ledge). Either way, Danny wouldn't have had it. I also corrected the darn Petroglyphs (versus Hieroglyphics in chapter 1). Thank you for pointing that out! How very "Danny-esque" of me to get confused!
NOTE: The Koolau Mountain Range is about 37 miles long and its highest peak rises to 3150 feet. This is where the guys did their hike.
CHAPTER FOUR - SOLO
Though he was smiling broadly, Steve was worried as he took in Danny's dull eyes and confused expression. And without looking up, he registered that Chin had also noticed it. To reassure his friend and to keep him awake, Steve simply kept talking. "Hey Danno. It's okay now. Chin and I have you."
To make sure that Danny was truly listening and aware, he asked "Can you squeeze my hand again?' He was rewarded with a slow and steady pressure that spoke volumes to relieve much of his concern. "Good. That's great."
As he regained consciousness, Danny only knew that he felt awful. His body was sluggish and heavy; he was dizzy and had heard a persistent buzzing in his ears that wouldn't stop. He was still nauseous and his head hurt badly. Plus he couldn't decide if he was hot or cold.
Eventually, the buzzing became a more defined noise and he could first make out Steve's voice. And then finally Chin. Their voices slowly formed sentences and words that encouraged him to open his eyes. Finally giving in, Danny did force his eyes open to see both Steve's and Chin's beaming faces.
Confused, Danny wanted to speak to them and ask them what had happened, but he didn't seem to be able to form any words. "Later. I'll ask later." He thought to himself as he tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep. "I'm so tired. I'm so sick."
But that idea had sent Steve into a frenzy of unyielding demands for Danny to either "look at me" or to "squeeze my hand" and Danny found himself obeying. Frowning now, Danny did try harder to speak. "Sick." He murmured quietly to Steve.
"I know, buddy. But you're going to be okay." Simple as it was, Steve was utterly relieved with the short interaction. "I bet you're thirsty. Let's take it slow." And Chin quickly moved to Danny's head and carefully elevated him using his lap, so that he could take a drink from Steve's canteen. Danny couldn't believe how he relished that first sip and both his hands came up to grab the canteen as he greedily sought more.
"Easy, easy!" Chin and Steve warned simultaneously. "Not too fast. You'll get sick. Easy." Steve insisted as he worked around Danny's weak grip and moderated his intake.
"Steve. So sick." Danny grabbed for Steve's wrist and whispered it again. He closed his eyes and moaned as he became more nauseous and his vision blurred. "Sick. Head hurts."
Chin gently moved aside and replaced his lap with one of the backpacks. He gently laid Danny's head on it to keep him elevated. Looking at Steve with genuine concern, his eyes silently asked "what do we do"? Though it hurt, Steve reached out as best as he could with his injured left arm. He covered Danny's hand with his own – the one that clutched his right wrist so desperately. Steve then asked Chin for the ibuprofen and they worked together to rouse Danny enough to take the two pills.
Steve knew that they could only do the basics for Danny until he got real medical attention. It was now pitch dark outside and the storm continued to rage. Though the shelter flapped and billowed in the buffeting wind, Steve knew it would hold.
Directed at Chin, Steve voiced a firm and positive, "We're okay." But he said it for himself as much as for Chin - and for Danny. And for all intensive purposes they were reasonably safe, they had found Danny, and Kono had their exact location. They could ride out the storm.
Steve and Chin remained vigilant over their friend the entire night and as the storm finally waned towards early morning. Dosing himself with more ibuprofen, Steve occasionally encouraged him to drink more water or asked him simple questions about Grace. And once more, he and Chin also managed to get more ibuprofen into Danny.
But there were moments during the night where Danny would fully zone out and look at Steve with confusion and fear.
"I don't know what happened. What happened?" Soothingly, Steve would talk nonsense and coax more water into Danny. Twice, Danny insisted that the hike hadn't happened yet. "No, no. That's next week." And then his gaze would fall to Steve's cast and he'd frown. "You're hurt too? What happened to your arm?"
Anxiety would pull at Steve during those occasions and after calming Danny, he'd feel his heart pounding wildly in his own rendition of alarm. And then it would be Chin's turn to soothe Steve. "He's exhausted, Steve. And concussed. We'll get him down soon and he'll be fine." Nodding, Steve would close his own eyes and briefly rest while he prayed silently for morning to come.
Finally as sunrise drew closer, they discussed how to best get Danny out to a location for EVAC. Their joint conclusion was for Chin to retrace the route to the trail-head where Danny had made the wrong turn. There was a clearing that could be suitable for a chopper and he would return with medics and a stretcher. It would take time, but they would all walk Danny out together.
Chin called Kono on the sat-phone and had the arrangements worked out with Army EVAC. By five A.M, Chin had left the emergency shelter and was double-timing it back. He had strict orders to be in constant contact with Kono. Steve was taking no chances.
And because of the previous night's weather, their time estimate was flexible. Admonishing Chin to take care, Steve's best estimate was for a two-hour round trip. Worst case, would triple that time based on wash-outs or other unforeseen issues. Kono would be intermediary between everyone and EVAC ensuring complete cohesiveness.
As Chin departed, Steve watched Danny as he slept. "Now it's just you and me, partner. Just you and me." Steve sighed and closed his eyes for just a moment, but was soon sleeping in a seated position.
Danny woke by himself a short time later. Turning his head, he saw Steve slumped next to him and apparently sleeping. He had one hand on the second sat-phone and his casted arm rested in his lap.
Grimacing, Danny winced at the pain in his head. The dizziness was still present, but some of the nausea had at least eased. Closing his eyes, he groaned softly as he lifted his hand and found his head heavily bandaged.
Steve had awakened the instant he heard Danny and he intercepted his partner's weak hand. "Hey, hey, hey. Leave that alone."
With his eyes still closed, he asked. "What happened?" Not realizing that he was asking for the hundredth time, he missed Steve's flinch and the brief shadow that crossed his face.
Trying a different tactic, Steve raised his eyebrows and countered the question with one of his own. "What do you remember?"
Danny seemed to squint with his eyes closed; as if trying to make his brain function actually hurt. Slowly moving his head from side to side, his reply of "I don't know" once again made Steve anxious.
"Come on Danny. Try. What do you remember?" Steve continued to pry and encourage him to come up with a right answer.
Frowning, he finally opened his eyes after a time. "I think you fell. Did you fall?" Nodding, Steve confirmed that and pointed to his cast. Danny tried to fill in the blanks as he remembered only fleeting painful moments. "I remember walking. And the heat. So hot." And he closed his eyes again wincing at the pain in his head. His voice trailed off with a distant memory of being lost and alone. "Head hurts."
Steve reached for Danny's hand. "It's okay Danno. You fell too and you hit your head." Steve felt guilty for pushing Danny, but he was fearful of a severe head injury. "Chin's gone for help so we can get you out of here."
Reaching for the water and ibuprofen, Steve gently got more of the pain killer into Danny. "You need to drink, Danno. As much as you can." But Danny refused more water, complaining of nausea and stomach pain. He seemed agitated and restless.
"Feel sick. No more." As he weakly pushed Steve's hand away. He was still pale and his face had become pinched. Steve hoped the ibuprofen would kick in quickly.
"Alright, D. Just try and get some rest." Getting up, Steve grabbed the sat-phone and left the shelter in order to call Kono. Checking his watch, he saw that Chin had been gone forty-five minutes and he hoped that his projected "best time" would prevail for Danny's sake.
"Hey Kono. What's the word?" he asked quietly. "Anything from Chin and the EVAC."
Proud of her cousin, Kono advised Steve that as of ten minutes ago, Chin was within twenty minutes of the trail-head. While the route wasn't great, it hadn't been terribly demolished by the storm and he was making good time. Army EVAC was enroute and she'd be able to give Steve a definitive update within a half an hour.
"How's Danny doing?" Kono asked with concern easily readable in her voice, "Chin said he had a pretty bad head injury."
Nodding with the sat-phone to his ear, Steve added "And he's pretty wiped. He was well down a different trail so he's dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion."
There was a brief silence as Kono considered the news. "Okay Boss. I'll call you back as soon as I get a firm time for you."
Steve stretched before resuming his vigil over Danny inside the shelter. He noticed that Danny's face was still quite pale and was dismayed to see that he had become even more agitated. Pulling out the canteen, Steve tried once more to have Danny drink. "Here you go D, just a little water." But once again, Danny weakly pushed the hand and canteen away and attempted to curl up into a ball away from Steve.
"Hurts. Sick." He moaned and began mutter something else that Steve couldn't quite make out. But he did hear the soft whisper of "Steve. Help." And his heart lurched.
"Danny, what hurts? What's wrong?" he prodded as he uncurled Danny's body and elevated his legs. "Is it your head?"
Groaning, Danny's hand went to his closed eyes and be briefly nodded once. "Dizzy. Steve. Feel sick again." Suddenly, Danny rolled away from Steve for a second time and started to retch and cough. Much of the water he had recently had from the canteen came up, along with the last dose of ibuprofen. Mortified, Steve lifted Danny back against his chest for support as he heaved and panted through the pain.
"Easy D." he chanted as he held Danny tightly. He could feel Danny trembling as he weakly continued to heave. After a few minutes, Danny sagged in Steve's arms completely and utterly spent. He was sweating and breathing heavily. Ever so gently, Steve laid him back down and covered him up to his waist with the emergency blanket.
Using the water in the canteen, Steve wet a cloth and wiped Danny's face. When the sat-phone rang, he jumped to answer it. "Kono, tell me something good." He practically was begging.
"They're on there way now, Boss. Chin's estimating no more than hour back to your location. We've got two medics and a litter."
Checking his watch, Steve noted the time and asked Kono for another update in thirty minutes. Turning back towards Danny, he was troubled to see that he was now semi-conscious.
Softly he pleaded with Danny. "Hey Danno. Hang in there, buddy. Chin's almost back." And Steve went back to wiping his face with a wet cloth. Slowly and with his eyes still closed, Danny raised his hand in an attempt to catch Steve's wrist.
Without a word, Steve grabbed Danny's hand instead and just held on. "It's okay. It's okay. He whispered in a voice that was nearly cracking with emotion. "We got you."
~ to be continued ~
