Rachel was sitting in the waiting room with Gracie asleep in a chair next to her. Danny sat to Rachel's other side and sighed deeply.
She took hold of his hand, "How is he Danny?"
"He's bad honey…he's in a coma. God Rach, he saved our baby and he could die"
"Danny…."
Danny's mouth and chin were quivering with emotion as he turned to her and grinned softly, "You know what? He would give his life up for her any day…..he loves her so much"
"Daniel look at me…..you need to be with him. You need to encourage him to hang on"
"I need to stay with Gracie"
"No, Gracie is fine, but she will NOT be fine if Steven dies. Stay with him dear, please"
He turned and looked looked into her eyes, "I'm scared Rach….I can't lose him"
"Then don't let him quit. You have to stay strong for him Danny….stay strong"
They sat quietly holding hands for several minutes. Rachel squeezed Danny's hand and whispered, "Trust me Daniel. You need to be here…..you'll never forgive yourself if…." She saw the tears welling in his eyes as she continued, "You can call us every hour if you need to, but you need to be here. The Doctors gave Gracie a clean bill of health and I've just got some bumps and bruises. We'll be fine at home"
"You can't go home…there's a lot of damage and it's a crime scene right now. I'll put you two up at the Hilton for the next few days" "Gracie will like that, she'll feel like a princess"
"Well she IS my princess. We sure did good with her didn't we?"
"Yes Danny, we did. She's a very happy and secure child"
"Have they told you anything about Kono's condition?"
"They took her into surgery about an hour ago. I gave the Nurse your information and they'll reach you in Steve's room when they're done. Steve and Kono saved our lives, I will be forever indebted to them"
"Thank you Rachel…I'm so sorry you were both put in danger. I do everything possible to keep my family information confidential"
"Danny, this isn't your fault. There are risks in this line of work and things happen that you have no control over. I am so proud of you and the work you do and our daughter idolizes you"
"Maybe I need to talk to her huh?"
They both chuckled softly, "Danny, you're an amazing Father"
"Thank you. She couldn't have a better Mother, I've always said that…..but maybe I don't say it enough"
She leaned in and kissed his cheek, "You go now, we're fine"
"I want you to wait here and Chin will drive you to the house so you can grab some clothes and anything you'll need. Then he'll get you to the hotel. Duke had your car towed to the shop and he's going to need to interview you, probably sometime tomorrow but I'll let you know. Umm, have you talked to Stanley yet?"
"No, why?"
"Well I was just wondering …."
She smiled, "The answer is no Daniel…he does not even know that I thought I was pregnant"
A sly smile crossed Danny's face as he added "Good…."
He then kissed her forehead and without giving her a chance to respond to his comment he moved, kneeling down in front of Gracie and shaking her gently to wake her.
Her beautiful brown eyes opened, "Hi Danno"
He smiled broadly at her, "Hi Monkey, you tired?"
"Uh….huh….can we go home now?"
"That's what I need to talk to you about. Uncle Chin is going to drive you home to get some things and then you and Mommy get to take a little vacation and stay at the Hilton for a few days, how does that sound?"
"Like fun! Are you coming too?"
"Monkey Uncle Steve needs me here, are you okay with that?"
"Yes…..is he going to be okay Daddy? I'm scared?"
He lifted her into his arms, "Hey don't be scared, we're talking about Super Seal right? He's going to be fine he just took a really hard hit on his head and he needs to rest a lot"
"If I can't see him, can I at least talk to him on the phone?"
"Not yet baby girl. He's sleeping all the time right now but I'll have him call you as soon as he can okay? And I promise that I'LL call you EVERY day, LOTS of times!"
"Okay Danno, I love you"
He kissed her and set her back onto the chair, "I love you little Monkey. I'm very proud of you. Be good for Mommy now and call me if want to talk okay?"
She shook her head, "I will Daddy"
Danny turned and walked away. When he entered the empty elevator and the doors closed, he immediately dropped to the floor and sobbed uncontrollably as the events of the last twenty four hours crashed in on him.
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He sobbed as he pounded his fists against the walls of the elevator in anger, frustration and fear. In less than twenty four hours he had TWICE come so close to losing his only reason for living….Gracie. Steve and Kono had both put their lives on the line to save her. But they hadn't only saved her, they had saved him because he knew he could not survive without his daughter. Gracie was his life and he had put her and everyone else he loved on this God forsaken Island in danger because of his job. He again slammed his fists on the walls as he screamed. Seconds later, his chest heaving, he looked up to see he has nearing his floor. He wrapped his arms tightly around chest silently berating himself for his weakness. As the doors opened he was greatly relieved to find no one standing on the other side.
The bathrooms were straight ahead of him and he moved swiftly into the small room locking the door behind him. As he entered he suddenly became very nauseated and moving to the toilet bowl he vomited violently….'Oh fuck….get ahold of yourself William's…pull it together' A couple of minutes passed and then he moved to the sink where he splashed cold water onto his face. Cupping water into his hands he rinsed his mouth and took a drink. Then running his wet hands through his hair he left the bathroom and made his way back to Steve's side.
Chin looked up as Danny re-entered the room. The blonde detective looked worn out and ….scared…..scared was the only word that came to Chin's mind as he looked into Danny's eye's, puffy and red from crying. He moved away from the bedside to greet him, "Are you okay brah?"
Danny shook his head, "Yeah…..I'm fine. How is he?"
"No change at all Danny"
"Chin can you do me a big favor man?"
"Of course, anything"
"I need to stay here. Rachel and Gracie are cleared to leave. Can you take them by the house to pick up some things and then get them checked into the Hilton"
"Yes, no problem"
Danny pulled out his wallet and handed Chin a credit card, "Put the room on this"
"Any word on Kono yet?"
"No, Rachel gave them Steve's room info, so they'll let us know when she's out of surgery"
"Okay, I'll be back soon"
"Thanks brother"
Chin left the room and Danny moved to the bed taking Steve's hand in his, squeezing tightly.
Danny spoke soothingly, "I'm here babe….we're all with you. Please don't quit partner…..damn it Superman…..." The lump in his throat was huge and he struggled to talk as again more tears fell, "In twelve weeks you've become so much more than a partner to me…..you're my brother and I love you….I can't lose you Steve….."
Chin returned a couple of hours later bringing with him a dinner of pasta and salads. After setting the bags and drinks onto the table he moved to the bed.
"Anything?"
"No…no….."
"Gracie's doing great buddy. You don't have to worry about them, they'll both be fine"
"Thank you Chin. Kono?"
"She's in her room. Everything went well and she's resting. They should release her in the morning"
"Thank God"
"Danny, come on….you need to eat now"
"I don't know if I can keep anything down man"
"You have to eat, come on" Chin grabbed Danny's elbow and guided him to the table.
As they ate, they talked about the days' events and about the man lying a few feet away fighting for his life.
Once done eating, Chin looked at Danny "You need to get some sleep"
"No…..no I'm good"
"Buddy, you look like hell. You haven't slept in over thirty hours. I'm here, I'll wake you if there's any change"
Danny tipped his head back and rubbed his eyes, "I'm fucking exhausted…"
"Sleep…I've got it here"
"Thank you"
Danny curled up on the couch in the room and slept through the night. Over the next three days he along with Chin and Kono kept a round the clock vigil at their leaders' side. Steve's vitals remained stable and his heartbeat strong. The swelling on his brain did not increase any more and the Doctor took daily CAT scans to monitor the swelling and bleeding. The drainage tubes continued to draw the blood and fluids from his brain and his other injuries slowly began showing signs of healing.
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Back to current day…. (four days after surgery)
'Come on Steve…you keep fighting partner'
He felt it, he wasn't certain because it was so weak but he felt it. His eyes watched closely as Steve's fingers moved around his, ever so slightly but they moved! Danny jumped to his feet keeping a tight grasp on Steve's right hand. He placed his other hand on the injured man's forehead, rubbing softly. "Steve, can you hear me partner? Squeeze my hand buddy….squeeze my hand"
He definitely felt it now, the squeeze was very weak but it was there! "That's it baby, that's it!" Danny reached up and punched the Nurse's call button as he continued to encourage Steve "Don't try to talk buddy, you've got a tube in your throat" Again Steve squeezed his hand in understanding. Danny noted a tear slipping from the SEAL's uninjured eye. He wiped it away with his thumb as he asked softly, "Are you in pain partner?" Steve's grip tightened in his, "I'll get you something for the pain, you relax…you're doing great Steven. I'm right here. It's time you came back to us so open those bright eyes for me now, can you do that?"
Danny watched as Steve struggled to pull himself back to consciousness, his eyelid eventually fluttering open.
Danny could see the pain in man's eye as he continued talking softly…
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Steve suddenly became agitated as memories flooded back to him, "Gracie? Oh...God...Gracie?"
Danny again held Steve's head down on the pillow, "Calm down partner. Gracie's fine, I promise. I'll tell you everything once you calm down"
The Doctor left the men alone letting Danny know that a Nurse would be in shortly to hook him up with an IV pain medication drip. Danny shook hands with the Doctor and then turned back to Steve'
****** MORE TO FOLLOW - HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING! ******