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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.
MY CONTINUED THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR READING AND FOR ALL THE FANTASTICALLY POSTIVE COMMENTS.
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 FIVE - SOLO
It was an agonizing hour for Steve with Danny gagging and dry heaving twice more. Unable to lie on his back, Steve had quickly pulled Danny practically into his lap to support and elevate his friend. His casted arm was gently around Danny's middle and his free hand was on Danny's forehead as he continued to retch. He was incessantly murmuring "Okay. It's okay, D." But Steve himself was sick inside about Danny's condition and counting the minutes until help would arrive.
Before passing out from the severity of the last bout, he heard Danny choke in a pained voice, "Steve, no more. Please." And the desperate plea tore at Steve's heart. All he could do was hold Danny and repeat useless words. He began to berate himself for not insisting the day before that Danny get into the EVAC. "The day before. It was JUST the day before! I can't believe this." Steve thought bitterly as Danny once again moaned and tried to curl into himself. "Easy, Danno. Easy." He repeated mindlessly as he rubbed Danny's shoulder in sympathy.
Far past exhaustion and now completely depleted, Danny's eyes were closed, his hands were hanging limply at his side, and he was unresponsive. His breathing was uneven and very shallow as if he couldn't get enough air.
Leaning forward, Steve stroked his hand into Danny's hair to gently lift his head back and to get a better look at his face. Pale had become almost gray – even ashen - and his skin was cold and clammy. "I guess we can officially take hiking off your bucket list, Danny." Steve shook his head in disgust as he looked around the small shelter in sheer frustration.
Glancing at his watch, he could no longer wait and pulled out the sat-phone immediately getting Kono on the line. Without preamble, Steve was demanding and angry. "He's worse, Kono. I need to know exactly how far out they are." Checking quickly, Kono was back in seconds. "They're at the thirty mark now, Steve." Her voice was tense as she picked up on Steve's vibes. "How bad?" she asked uneasily. Exhaling loudly into the sat-phone, Steve looked down at Danny again. "His nausea is much worse. Dry heaves and now …. Now he's totally unresponsive." He was succinct, brief and trying to hold it together. Pausing a moment before replying, Kono was almost too calm. "I'll pass that on to the medics."
Ending the call, Steve left Danny resting up against his chest. Twenty minutes had passed and he was mildly relieved that the vomiting seemed to have stopped. But he was afraid to move should any change in position cause a relapse. Leaning forward again, he gently lifted Danny's head back to look at his lax face once more. "Danny?" He whispered softly and sadly. Upset at the lack of response, he continued to whisper. "It's okay, buddy. Try to sleep. Chin will be here any minute now."
He suddenly looked up sharply as he heard a noise outside. And then he almost laughed with relief as Chin burst under the opening of the shelter. "Steve! Hey, we're back. Medics are here. How's Danny?" He was breathless, covered in mud, and drenched in sweat, but Steve could have thrown his arms around him in joy.
Not waiting for a reply, Chin noticeably paled as he took a worried look at Danny and backed out rapidly in order to virtually propel the medics into the small space.
Instantly professional, the two Army medics fired questions at Steve that he answered equally as terse. Though he feared moving Danny, Steve laid him prone once more so that they could adequately examine their patient. He moved aside as well, but refused to leave in order to watch the activity. Appropriate medical supplies were quickly unpacked and Danny was given an antiemetic for nausea, placed on IV fluids and put on oxygen. Steve's bandage was removed as they evaluated the head injury and subsequently redressed it. Vitals were taken and recorded quickly. But Steve grew angry when attention was thrown his way as a medic inquired about his arm. Snubbing the concern, he vehemently pointed to Danny. "I'm good and will let you know when I'm not. Just take care of him." Within fifteen minutes of arriving, the team had Danny on a litter and was moving as rapidly as humanly possible back to the landing zone.
The final return trip was admittedly difficult with an injured man and was just shy of two hours. Chin's initial adrenalin was wearing thin too. But he and Steve kept step together and assisted the medics through, over and under obstacles on the trail. During the ordeal, Danny remained unconscious which Steve wasn't sure was a blessing or a curse. While the dry heaves didn't reoccur, the silent and unmoving form of his friend and partner was more than disconcerting. In addition, the medics insisted upon stopping every so often to check Danny's vitals and to readjust either oxygen or check the IV fluids. The halted movement would nearly send Steve into an emotional frenzy and Chin would remain close offering comfort with his presence.
"Come on, come on, come on." Steve chanted to himself as they stopped again to check vitals. He desperately wanted to be on that EVAC and well enroute to a hospital. Danny needed real medical attention and the necessary delays were just about killing Steve.
"Easy, Steve." Chin had come up along side. "You know they need to do this. His blood pressure is just so very low …." He ceased talking as emotions nearly overcame him too. Placing a hand on Chin's shoulder, Steve nodded once in mute thanks. Unable to stand still for long, he bent over one medic's shoulder and sternly demanded. "Well?"
The medic removed his stethoscope to reply. "He's holding his own." But upon rising to his feet, the medic looked squarely at Steve. "He's severely dehydrated and the head wound is worrisome. With his symptoms, it's at least a grade 3 concussion. But they'll do a CT scan or an MRI at the hospital to evaluate any further brain injuries. I, for one don't like his vitals. To be exact, I don't like his blood pressure readings – they've been consistently low. We need to keep an eye on that so he doesn't crash." And then reaching down to pick up one side of the litter, he tried to add a few words of reassurance. "But we're close now. Chopper's waiting just over this rise. He'll be in the very best of hands possible within fifteen or twenty minutes."
They aggressively pressed on and as promised, the Army EVAC was there and patiently waiting. A mere forty-five minutes later, Steve, Chin and Kono were not so patiently waiting in Tripler Army Medical for an update on Danny's condition. Exhausted from his morning marathon, Chin had commandeered a small sofa on one side of the waiting room. While he appeared to be sleeping, he was inwardly on edge and would have heard a feather flutter to the ground. Kono was leaning up against a wall and watching the doctors and nurses like a hawk. She was cataloging in her mind any and all activity in and out of the emergency trauma room where Danny had been taken. And in typical fashion, Steve was anxiously pacing the floor in deep emotional thought. Dark circles had formed under his eyes and the tension was clearly evident on his face.
Kono recognized the attending physician immediately as the doors to the emergency trauma room opened and he strode over to them. "Guys, the doctor's here." She stated loudly and rocked off the wall.
Instantly, Steve rounded on the doctor and Chin was on his feet. "Doc, how's he doing?"
Holding up both his hands in mock defense as his personal space was overwhelmed with eager inquiries; he gave the team a grim smile and indicated that they should all sit.
The doctor acknowledged all of them but directed his update to Steve. "As our medics told you already, Detective Williams is badly dehydrated and is suffering from the after-effects of heat exhaustion. We'll be continuing IV fluids and electrolytes to normalize and rehydrate his system. But I'm pleased to tell you that he's already showing improvements and his kidneys look good. I'll be keeping him on oxygen for quite awhile longer."
Steve let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding and relaxed slightly back into his chair. There was a general collective sigh of relief across the team. Running his hand over his forehead, Steve closed his eyes briefly. "And?" he asked tentatively. "What about his head injury? Where are we with that?" "Please, please D. Keep the good news coming." He silently prayed.
Carefully, the doctor hesitated before providing more information. "We'll know more about that shortly. Because of his prolonged loss of consciousness and what you've described in terms of his nausea and vomiting, I've ordered a CT scan. We're preparing him for that now and will have an evaluation within the hour, or even less."
Impatient, Steve was back on his feet. "Okay, alright." He said as he rubbed his face again with both hands and then winced as he tweaked his left arm. Noticing the grimace and then the cast, the doctor also rose to his feet in order to gently inquire about Steve's injury. "That looks new." He said, taking Steve's arm in his hands to examine the cast and Steve's swollen fingers. "When did this happen?"
Tempted to jerk his hand out of the doctor's grip, Steve forced himself to relax and simply stated. "Yesterday." Surprise evident on his face, the doctor was incredulous. "Yesterday? Really?"
And then unable to control his sarcasm, Chin snorted. "Yeah doc. And good luck with this guy about it." Rolling his eyes, Steve glared at his friend. "Like I've been saying. It's fine. Can we stay on topic here please, people." Steve raised his voice as he became annoyed. "What happens after the scan?" Pointing a stern finger at Chin and then at Kono, he silently warned them to stay off the topic of his arm.
Raising his eyebrows, the doctor took in the antics. "Basically, the scan will tell us how traumatic the injury is to his brain. We'll be able to see if there's any swelling, bruising or bleeding."
"So it's bad then." Kono asked quietly for all of them.
"Let me say that we just don't know yet." The doctor replied. "We've got a mixed bag here. On one hand, I'm encouraged by your initial feedback. I appreciate that Detective Williams was easily awakened early on and was lucid more times than not. That's an encouraging sign. However, and I must be honest. He's still unconscious and the onset of nausea and vomiting is concerning. We could be talking brain injury or we could be looking at residual results of heat exhaustion."
Nodding, Steve quietly absorbed the news. "So we wait some more then."
"Yes. And I'll be back with news as soon as possible." The doctor offered. "Once he's settled in a room after the scan, I'll also clear you all to visit. It won't be too much longer."
Excusing himself, the doctor left the three in various stages of discomfort. Chin leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Sitting back down with a huff, Steve rested his elbows on knees. Sighing sadly he then covered his face with his hands. Kono moved to stand silently next to him and put one arm over his shoulders.
"Hey, it's Danny, Boss. He'll be fine." She said quietly. "He will be." She added with conviction. But there was no reaction from Steve as he sat there with his face buried, placing all blame directly upon himself.
~ to be continued ~
