Kono moved towards the men as they returned.
"Hey cous' any word yet?"
"No, nothing…..Danny how are you?"
"I'm fine dear, they got it out"
Chin had moved over and bought a bottle of water. Moving to Danny he opened it and handed it to him, "And you promised the Doctor you would rest. Why don't you lie down on the couch here and sleep. We'll wake you when Steve's out of surgery"
"Yeah, okay" Kono held his arm and guided him to the couch where Chin pulled out and handed him his medications.
"No pain meds Chin, I don't want to be groggy"
"Danny you need the pain meds"
"Trust me, not right now I don't. I can't feel a thing. The anesthesia has me totally numb"
"Well I watched him dig into that wound, trust me brother….you're going to need these pills"
Danny chuckled, "I probably will but I don't want to take anything that's gonna make me dopey until after we know how Steve's doing"
"I understand man"
Once Danny was lying on the couch Kono covered him with a blanket and after leaning over to kiss him on the forehead she and Chin moved back to the table to wait.
Kono motioned over to the snoozing detective, "Now, how is he really?
"His arm's infected. The bullet wasn't too deep but he's going to hurt for a while"
"Can I get you some coffee?"
"No thanks honey, I'm fine"
"Chin, what are we going to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"If Steve…..."
Her eyes welled with tears as Chin took her hands in his, "Hey, calm down…..he's strong Kono, he's so strong"
"And what's going to happen with IA? Fryer is power hungry Chin. If he can bring us down, you know he will"
"It's like I told Danny, it's going to be just fine. We both know that Danny acted appropriately. Fryer will back off. Let's not even worry about that right now okay?"
They sat quietly chatting until the Doctor came in a couple of hours later.
As the Doctor moved towards the table Kono moved quickly to get Danny.
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After quick introductions Doctor Piliki Malama began, "Everything went well but Commander McGarrett is in very critical condition. The abdominal wound is very serious. One bullet lodged in his appendix and the other in the cecum"
Danny put out his hands, "What's the cecum Doc?"
"It's the upper part of the colon, the 'tubing'. I was able to repair the cecum and I removed the appendix but the amount of time he went without treatment allowed quite a bit of bodily waste to pool in his abdomen. I was able to clean him all up but he is unfortunately showing signs of infection. The third bullet pierced the left lung. Detective Williams, if you had not gotten him out of there when you did and the EMT's had not inserted the drainage tube he would not be alive right now"
Danny was shaking as he put his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands.
Chin then asked, "Doc, what about his heart?"
"He had no other heart issues during surgery. We will run tests tomorrow to access the damage but the EMT's were able to revive him quickly so hopefully there will be no permanent damage to the heart. He will need to remain on the drainage tube for several days and I will be monitoring the abdominal infection very carefully. He needs to be on a colostomy bag for at least a couple of weeks until he recovers enough internally. We will keep him heavily medicated for the next few days and keep him on a respirator. The abdominal injuries will cause him severe pain and I don't want any extra strain placed on his heart and lung. My greatest concern right now is that due to his severe loss of blood he is very weak. He may have trouble battling the infection. I have him on the strongest IV antibiotics possible and the next few days will be crucial. Do you have any questions right now?"
Danny looked up, "When can we see him?"
"Not until morning. We just settled him into the ICU and he will remain there overnight. If his vitals stabilize we'll move him to a room in the morning"
Danny spoke softly, "Doc can I please just see him for a few minutes. I won't stay long"
"Okay, but only one of you"
Chin nodded, "We'll wait here Danny"
The Doctor shook hands with Chin and Kono and the Danny followed him to the ICU.
Danny moved to his partners side. He hated seeing this strong monster of a man in such a horribly weakened state. The sounds of all the life-saving machines was unnerving. The wires and the tubes...all those tubes...pumping life-saving oxygen, blood and fluids into his beaten body and then the tubing drawing blood from his damaged lung. He didn't even want to think about the tubing he couldn't see that was controlling his bodily functions. His skin was a sickening ashen color and beads of sweat covered his forehead.
He took the SEALS hand into his and instantly noticed the heat emanating from it. He squeezed tightly and leaned in close to Steve's ear talking soft and soothingly, "Hey Steve, I'm here partner. You're not alone babe. You need to keep fighting Superman, you're doing great. These pretty nurses are taking great care of you. Chin and Kono are here too, we all love you and need you. You rest now Steve" Danny leaned in an kissed his partner's forehead and as tears fell he turned and left the ICU.
His eyes were red and puffy when he re-entered the waiting room and Kono came to embrace him.
"He's doing okay sweetheart...he's doing okay"
Chin then spoke, "How about if Kono takes your car and drives you home so you can shower and I'll stop and pick us up some dinner. Does Chinese sound good?"
"Honestly buddy, nothing sounds good but we need to eat don't we? I hate leaving him"
"I do too but he's getting the best of care here. Did you leave your number with the ICU nurses?"
"Yeah, they'll call me if there are any changes"
"How's your arm feel?"
"It's starting to hurt, kind of throbbing"
"You're supposed to take the pain meds with food, can you wait?"
"Oh yeah Chin, no problem. Hey...thank you both. I love you guys"
No response was needed as Kono leaned in and tenderly kissed Danny's cheek and they left the hospital.
Chin arrived at Danny's apartment just as he was getting out of the shower.
Kono played nurse maid and bandaged his arm as Chin gave him his medication before they all sat down to eat.
They didn't talk much, or eat much for that matter.
"Come on Danny, you need to eat more or that medicine is going to make you sick"
Danny grinned at the beautiful young detective, "You can be worse than Steve you know that?"
"If I don't take care of you I'll have hell to pay when we recovers and you know that. So help me out here okay bro?"
"Yes dear" Danny's eyes darted between the two cousins and he smiled more broadly. In two short years his three 5-0 teammates had come to be so much more than simply teammates to him. They were his family. Other than Gracie and Rachel he truly loved no one more. They were his sister and his brothers just as much as his biological siblings were and his heart was warmed by that feeling. But that same love brought the torment that came when one of his 'siblings' was hurting. Danny was not ashamed to say that he loved Steve McGarrett and he was also not afraid to admit that the thought of losing him absolutely terrified him. He had had several partners over the years but Steve was much more than that...he was special and he had to live...he just had to.
Once they were done eating they chatted for a short time and then Danny called the ICU to check on Steve before Chin and Kono left to let him get some sleep. His arm hurt like hell and the medication was making him drowsy. He lay down on his bed, propping his arm on top of a pillow and placing his cellphone next to him on the night stand. The nurse said that Steve was resting comfortably but his fever was still elevated. He didn't want to miss the call if Steve needed him during the night. It was almost eleven when the pain and the drugs took Danny under.