*********** Thank you all for reading and I really appreciate the reviews and alerts! Please remember I write purely for entertainment, I have no medical background - I hope you all enjoy *************
He woke to his phone ringing at a little after four in the morning.
"Williams"
"Detective Daniel Williams?"
The fog cleared quickly and Danny sat up, "Yes, is this the hospital?"
"Yes sir, I was told to contact you if there were any changes in Commander McGarrett's condition"
"Yes, what's happened?"
"His fever has spiked dramatically in the last hour and he just experienced a seizure. Dr. Malama is on his way and he thought you may want to be here as well"
"I'm on my way, thank you" Danny grimaced in pain as he pulled his shirt over his injured arm. He used the bathroom quickly and then grabbing a bottle of water and his medication he raced to his car. Once enroute he dialed Chin.
"Danny? Are you alright?"
"Yeah...Chin, Steve took a turn for the worse. His fever is spiking and he had a seizure. I'm on my way in now. I'll call you a bit later to update you. Can you call Kono?"
"We'll be in the waiting room Danny. Take care of him brother"
"I will Chin" Danny's hands were shaking as he hung up the phone and accelerated even faster.
As Danny entered the ICU, two large orderlies stood on either side of the bed holding Steve firmly down. A nurse was working on re-inserting the IV's into his arm that had been torn out during his seizure. A second nurse was wiping his sweat drenched face and head with a cool cloth. The Doctor had not yet arrived. They had removed him from the respirator and taken the tubing from his throat. He was moaning loudly and his head was thrashing from side to side.
Danny raced to his side hollering, "Damn it give him something for the pain!"
"Detective, the Doctor should be here in fifteen minutes. He didn't want us to give him anything else until he saw him. He may need to go back into surgery. Please help us try to calm him"
Danny grabbed Steve's face tightly. He then leaned close to his ear, talking softly but firmly. "Steve, it's Danno. I'm here partner, you have to relax. Buddy, I know it hurts...I'm sorry, ssssshhhhhhhhhh. I'm right here, I've got you babe…..sssshhhhhhhhhh, relax babe"
Steve did not speak and the moans of agony tore through Danny's heart. He continued to talk to him, whispering soothingly and after several minutes Steve's moans quieted somewhat. "That a boy, relax. You're doing so great buddy. Keep fighting SuperSEAL, I'm right here with you and I'm not going anywhere, ssshhhhhhhhhhh. Sleep now partner, I'm right here"
Danny continued talking non-stop while running his hand through Steve's hair and caressing his cheek with his fingers. Dr. Malama arrived and after asking Danny to keep consoling Steve he pulled back the bedding and removed the bandaging. Danny glanced at the wounds. The incision on Steve's abdomen went from hip to hip with a small exposed opening for the drainage tube. The examination went on for several minutes before the Doctor moved in and inserted additional pain medication into Steve's IV port.
Almost instantly Steve's moans stopped as the drugs took effect.
"Danny, let's go talk. Carissa has him here"
The nurse smiled at the men and continued to wipe Steve's face, head, neck and chest.
The men moved to the side of the room.
"Doc?"
"The incision looks good. He is definitely battling a severe infection. I'll keep in in ICU today and we'll keep him under. We had to remove him from the respirator when the seizure hit. His heart rate is strong but too fast. We'll still take him for tests this morning. He's breathing fine on his own so for now I'm going to keep him off the respirator. He seems to be responding to your voice and remaining fairly calm, would you mind staying with him and talking to him?"
"Of course Doc. The nurse mentioned he might need more surgery?"
"He might. If the fever continues to rise that could be a sign that there could be additional waste materials in his abdomen that I missed. I don't want to go back in prematurely though. He's very weak and he may not survive another surgery at this point. I'm here for the day now and I'll be in every half hour or so to check on him. We need to keep him calm and cool and hopefully he can find the strength to fight the infection"
"What about the seizure?"
"It happens with very high fevers like this"
"Will it cause any permanent damage?"
"It could but we just won't know until he wakes. Any other questions Danny?"
"No, thank you Doctor" Danny then made his way back to Steve.
He stood at his partner's side watching him as even fully unconscious he battled his fever ravaged body. His eyes darted swiftly behind their closed lids and his head continued moving although not as frantically as before. Danny talked softly about Gracie and the planned camping trip they were scheduled to take in two weeks along with Chin. The little girl had never camped before and he didn't think she would enjoy herself at all, but SuperSEAL had convinced her that they would have a blast and now she was extremely excited to go. He talked about everything and he talked about nothing, just silly things...anything to keep his partner resting calmly. Every so often Steve would moan and his facial features would tighten in pain. Danny would put down the cool cloth and squeeze his partner's hand tightly until the pain would subside. This scene went on for the next forty eight hours with Danny only leaving the ICU when Steve was taken down for tests. Danny would take that time to catch a cat nap and grab a bite to eat with Chin and Kono while he updated them on Steve's condition. Steve had three additional seizures within the first eight hours but then the fever began to slowly decrease. The test results on his heart and brain activity were all very positive and the Doctor chose not to re-insert the breathing tube opting for a nasal cannula.
After three full days in the ICU and a fever that peaked at 105 Steve was ready to be moved into his own room.
Once he was settled the Doctor came in to talk to the three detectives.
"He's progressing well. His breathing and his coloring are much better. He's a very strong young man. At the peak of that fever I truly did not think he would survive. His fever is still slightly elevated at 101 so we still need to work on keeping him cool and calm. We'll allow him to start waking now, I think he should start coming around in about six to seven hours. Please let the nurses know when he wakes"
Danny smiled, "So he's going to be fine Doc?"
"I think the worst is over Detective Williams"
Danny enthusiastically shook the Doctors hand, "Thank you Doc, thank you so much"
"Well since you're in such a cheerful mood how about if we take those stitches out of your arm as well"
Danny gladly removed his shirt and after he was re-bandaged and the Doctor had left the room the three detectives shared hugs and kisses, all of them so relieved to finally see that Steve would recover.
A couple of hours later as Danny slept on a couch in the room his phone rang. As he sat up he glanced at Chin and Kono before answering, "Yes Governor"...