Everything seemed foggy, he couldn't remember feeling this tired, his mind drifted as he tried to recall what he last remembered. He couldn't string his thoughts together, he kept coming up blank no matter how hard he tried. Slowly as the fog lifted, he remembered the rush of air, the sudden impact of cold water...Steve. "Steve!" as Danny lurched forward
Chin grabbed Danny by his shoulders effectively pinning him back onto the bed "Danny!...Danny! is ok relax brah"
"Steve" Danny breathlessly yelled again
"It"s ok Danny" as Kono tried to soothe him
Danny was wide eyed and breathing like he had just ran a marathon
"Danny its ok …were at the hospital…Steve's here too"
"Steve" the tension dissolved as he started to relax
A nurse came in turning off the heart monitor "he sure set that off"
"He kind of jump started awake" Kono said
"Well Detective Williams you need to relax" as she took his pulse "How do you feel?"
"fine " as he looked to Chin and Kono obviously still somewhat confused, Chin quickly took over
"think he could get something to drink?"
"yes of course…..he should eat too if he feels up to it…I'll go bring him something" as she left
Danny focussed back on Chin "Steve?"
"We haven't heard anything yet Danny….he's still in the OR"
Danny looked down at the IV , just now seemingly noticing, as well as his surroundings. Both Kono and Chin picked up on his confusion.
"What do you remember Danny?" Chin asked
Danny frowned "we were in the ambulance…Steve and I both…..I was tired" he rubbed his hand through his hair "I think?" Confusion was clearly etched on his face as he looked up at Chin and Kono, desperately seeking an answer to his unspoken question.
"You went into shock Danny "as Kono placed her hand on his shoulder "we're not sure what you and Steve went through, but we thought you were fine"
"We should have known better" Chin stated "McGarrets truck at the bottom of a cliff, a bullet in him, two dead guys….I know the two of you together anything is possible but really ….that was a little out of the ordinary"
Danny smiled then "yeah….just a little"
The nurse returned with some juice and a tray of food and slid both in front of Danny "the doctor knows you are awake, he should be here in a while to see you…you should eat it will help you feel better"
Both Chin and Kono thanked her as she left
Danny cautiously lifted the lid of the tray, peering inside as a puff of steam escaped "I'll be here permanently if I eat this" as he quickly closed the lid
"Can't be that bad brah" as Chin lifted it and both him and Kono looked
Kono gagged "seriously I'm going to get you something from the cafeteria "
Kono left while Chin filled Danny in on their two dead guys and the meth lab house they were connected to. They were working on getting the Silverado pulled out but it might take a day. Danny filled in the blanks that took place with him and McGarrett and soon Chin had the whole story.
"Seriously brah you guys are magnets for trouble" Chin said with a laugh
"No McGarrett is the magnet…. I'm his innocent side kick…just don't forget that"
Kono arrived back with food for everyone "hey guys Steve's out of surgery….his doctor should be here in a while"
5
0
Dr. Connors arrived in the room "Detective Williams you're feeling better I see?"
He moved around checking Danny's vitals marking his findings on his clip board." I'll get the nurse to remove the IV and bring your release papers, but you need to take it easy for a couple of days"
"What about my partner?" Danny asked "He's supposed to be out of surgery"
"I just ran into his surgeon and they are getting him settled in ICU, he will be here shortly to update you on your friend's condition….remember what I said Detective…take it easy"
"He will….we'll make sure of it" Kono said as she patted Danny's shoulder.
5
0
Ten minutes later the surgeon came into the room introducing himself to Danny, Chin and Kono. The surgery itself had not been complicated but Dr Riley was concerned with the infection that had set in. Steve had a high fever and they put him on a wide spectrum anti biotic. They had left the wound open to allow it to drain as they were concerned that it may become septic. It would be about 12 hours before there would be any noticeable change in Steve's condition and only then would they know if the antibiotics were working.
Danny was visible shaken, the doctor assured him that there was nothing more Danny could have done for Steve, the bullet itself had caused the infection. It was just a matter of waiting now to see if they had him on the right combination of drugs to fight the infection.
"Can we see him" Danny asked
"Yes of course…. we had trouble getting him to wake up after the anaesthesia, but apparently with him that isn't uncommon….we've moving him into ICU right now, typically we only allow one visitor at a time but there will be no other patients around him so you can all go in….he probably won't be awake….he needs the rest so he can heal" Dr Riley pointed at Danny's IV "They'll have to let you go first?"
Danny looked down at it "the nurse is supposed to be here"
"Yeah with his release forms too" Kono said "maybe I'll go find someone then we can go see Steve"
"I'll send a nurse to get you guys in about 15 minutes" as he turned and left
Kono came back with a nurse in tow "alright brah we're officially busting you out so we can go check on the boss"
5
0
The ICU was fairly quiet except for the hum and beeps of monitors. Steve was on his side, pillows kept him from rolling directly on to his back as well as his front. Danny thought he could have easily past for sleeping if it wasn't for all the extra accessories and how pale he was.
Kono brushed her hand through his sweat drenched hair "he's so warm"
Danny reached over placing his hand on his forearm "hopefully the antibiotics start working" as a look of guilt past across his face.
It didn't go unnoticed by Chin "he's going to be ok….you know how tough he is"
Danny smiled, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, as he glance back down to Steve "I hope you're right"
"I know I'm right brah" as Chin lightly hit Danny on the shoulder.
"I'm going to stay with him"
Kono looked concerned "Danny you need to rest"
"Yeah brah…doc said so"
"come on you guys you know I'm not going to rest if I go home…I'll be fine…I need to be here"
"Well if you're going to stay " Kono nodded at Chin "find him something comfortable to sit in"
"Got it Cuz"
It wasn't long before Chin had wrangled a comfortable chair from the nurses. Chin tried to get Danny to go home with either himself or Kono and one of them would stay. Danny was adamant, there was no wavering him from his decision, he was staying.
Chin held up his hands "Ok you win….against both of our better judgements…but you rest!…the nurse said Steve will probably sleep most of the night"
"I'll be fine….go" Danny waved his hands "see you guys in the morning"
"Ok see you in the morning brah" as both Kono and Chin left
Danny stood, grasping the metal rail of Steve's bed "Ok big guy this would be a good time to show me your super healing powers", as he leaned heavier on the metal rail, a testament to how tired he really was. Danny reached down placing his hand on Steve's wrist "Come on Steve…." As he dropped his head letting out a breath of air "Ok super seal maybe tomorrow….I need sleep" he patted Steve's arm settling himself back into the chair. It wasn't long before Danny was out, lulled to sleep by the steady beep of the monitors.
5
0
The noise was incredible annoying, he batted his hand out trying desperately to shut the alarm off. Reality hit as he remembered where he was, he sat up quickly, almost too quickly, taking in the sound of monitors wildly beeping around Steve. A nurse was busy shutting them off while another rushed out of the room.
"What's going on?" as Danny jumped up, only then noticing the sweat beading off Steve "What's wrong with him?"
"His fever has gone up….we've called his doctor…."as she was readjusting the monitors
"Aren't the antibiotics taking care of that" as Danny worriedly ran his hand through his hair.
"They may not be working…his doctor will be here soon but we need to work on getting his temperature down"
The other nurse returned with a cooling blanket "we need to get this under him"
Danny dropped the metal rail, pulling the pillows out of the way, mindful of the IV "I'll roll him towards me". Danny eased Steve forward as the nurses manipulated the blanket under him, he was hot, way too hot. A sheet was placed over the blanket and Steve was eased back onto his side with a light sheet draped over him. The nurse wiped his face and chest down with a cool cloth to help ease with the heat that radiated off of him.
Danny noticed the slight change in Steve's breathing, it was subtle, he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been staring so intently at him. "I think he's going to be sick!"
Steve groaned, his eyes flashed open as his body jerked, the nurse grabbed an emesis dish as she told the other nurse to find out how much longer Dr. Riley was going to be. Danny grasped Steve trying desperately to keep him still while he curled into himself. Another painful groan and Steve was getting sick.