Danny could not contain his smile as relief consumed him, Steve was awake!
He continued to talk to him softly as he tried to calm him down. It was obvious that he was in severe pain. He squeezed the SEAL's hand firmly, "Relax Steve, slow your breathing down for me okay?"
"DDanny…oh sshitt hhurts mman"
"I know partner, don't talk…just listen to me and relax….nice and slow babe…..that's it"
As his breathing settled, Danny spoke softly. "I'm going to tell you everything….it's all over and everybody's safe. Everybody's okay. We're all worried about you. Steve…you saved my baby. I can never thank you enough or re-pay you for that" Danny's voice shook with emotion as Steve used all the energy his injured body could muster, squeezing his hand as he said softly, "She's ggood….sshe's good"
"Yeah partner, she's great. Thanks to you, she's great"
"Good…ggood….oooohhhhh ddamn DDanny…..mmy hhead…my eye…sshit hhhurts mmann"
"I'm so sorry Steve…..ssshhhhhhhh….don't talk now….ssssshhhhhh" Danny gently wiped the beads of sweat and stroked Steve's forehead and cheek as pain shot through his body, "Relax partner…that a boy…..breathe slow, nice and slow babe"
Steve's eye remained closed until the Nurse returned. She hooked him up to an additional IV drip, instructing Danny how he could release a dose of morphine when needed. "I can't give him too much?"
"No, it's time-released. If it's too soon the drip won't open" She placed a hand on Steve's shoulder, "Steven, do you need any pain medication?"
"No…nno meds…no mmeds"
Danny nodded to her, "He's a stubborn ass ma'am"
She smiled adding as she left, "Just ring if you need anything. Dr. Kalanni's been called and he should be here shortly"
The blonde detective smiled back at her, "Thank You"
Danny watched the heart monitor and listened to the steady beeping of the machines.
After a minute or two Steve called out loudly, "DDANNO…..DANNNOO"
"Hey I'm right here partner, I've got you"
"DDannno …'mm siicck"
Steve was unable to move, his head felt like it was going to explode. He had never felt pressure like this before, and his eye was throbbing. He tried to move his left arm but couldn't. His chest hurt, his ribs ached…..every breath he took was excruciating but at this moment it was the nausea…he was going to puke, he had to move…..
Danny moved swiftly and cradling the SEAL's head he tipped his body slightly towards the right as he vomited onto the floor.
"Get it out babe….I got you"
Steve was shaking horribly, "Ooohhhh Godd…."
Danny held him steady for several minutes until he felt Steve relax slightly in his arms, "Okay buddy, you done?"
"YYeahh…..'m ggood"
"Okay, I'm going to lay you back…..just relax" Steve moaned softly as Danny moved him as gently as possible, "Good job Steve, you're doing great" Danny stroked Steve's cheek as the man struggled again to control his breathing.
As Danny leaned up to administer a dose of morphine Steve opened his eye and called out, 'No ddruggs Danno….nno"
"Steve come on man, you need the meds"
"NNO mmeds….pplease Daanno…..nno…nno meds"
"Okay babe I hear you, no meds…"
Steve's eye closed as he mumbled over and over again, "No mmeds….nno meds….."
As Danny continued to comfort Steve, he reached up and released the medication and in moments Steve's words slurred and the drugs took him under.
Over the next three days they kept Steve under most of the time as his pain level remained extreme. They kept him awake only long enough for the Nurses to confirm that he was coherent and then they would put him back under. Chin and Kono took turns staying with Danny at Steve's side and on the third day, seven days after he was injured the swelling on his brain subsided and the Doctor removed the drainage tube.
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On day eight at a little before six in the morning, Danny opened his eyes as he felt his hand being squeezed.
He stood and moved closer, "Hey buddy…how do you feel?"
"Better…..my head hurts, but it's not as bad"
"Good, that's good. How about your eye?"
"Ummmmmm…better. What happened to my eye?"
Danny spoke softly, "Steve, once you were hit you were thrown about fifty feet….you then slid for several feet across the pavement"
Steve squeezed Danny's hand, knowing how hard recanting this was on his partner, "It took a long time to dig all the tar and pebbles out of your flesh but they did a great job. You developed just a mild infection and the antibiotics took care of that"
"Danny, what happened to my eye?"
"The entire right side of your face was pretty torn up babe and there was a lot of swelling. Steve, your eyelid was almost torn off and your cornea was torn"
Steve's voice shook slightly as he asked, "Am I going to lose my vision?"
"They don't know. They couldn't tell much until you regained consciousness, I'm sure the Doc will check it out soon. A micro surgeon worked on you right away and he did a really great job sewing you up. They all are saying that eyes can really heal up well. They seemed more concerned about the lid and that you might lose some movement with it"
"My head?"
"You hit your head hard on the concrete. You had some bleeding and quite a bit of swelling on your brain. They had you hooked up with a drainage tube in your skull until yesterday. The Doc seems really positive partner. He seems most concerned about your arm" Danny went on to tell him the extent of the injuries to his left arm and shoulder including the pins and screws now holding the shoulder together. He saw the concern in the SEAL's face, "Hey, you'll get physical therapy and you'll be good…Steve, trust me buddy, it isn't your arm I'm worried about!"
"What are the rest of the injuries?"
Danny told him of his multiple broken ribs, his bruised lung and kidney and of his ruptured spleen, "Steve…the day after you were brought in you went into cardiac arrest. They had some trouble getting you back with us partner, so trust me when I say that your injured wing here is the least of our worries"
"How long was I….."
"Almost four minutes and you slipped into a coma for those four days…four fucking long days"
"And you stayed here"
"Well yeah…..a good partner is hard to find and I'm finally getting you broken in"
Steve grinned widely bringing pain to his bruised face and jaw, "You think you're getting 'ME' broken in? I think it's the other way around partner"
"You're sick…so I'll let you believe what you want to believe…but we both know the truth"
"I do know the truth Danno…..the truth is that I'm damn lucky to have you in my life and I love you man"
Danny wasn't going to cry! He had spent too many days crying…and here he was choking up again, "I love you too buddy"
"So my heart? What's the Doc saying?"
"You'll need to take it easy for a while but all the tests seem to show minimal damage. Your heart rate is good and strong"
"Good…Danny...that's good. Hey,how's Gracie doing?"
Danny smiled, "She's good but she really needs to see you"
"What day is it anyway?"
"It's Tuesday. Almost six thirty in the morning"
"What time does she get up for school?"
"Seven thirty"
"Let's call her then okay?"
"She'll love that. I need to run to the head, I'll be right back"
Steve smiled weakly, "K man"
Danny returned a few minutes later to find Steve sleeping. He smiled down at his best friend and pulled the blankets up over his chest.
He then moved from the room to let the Nurse know that Steve was much more coherent this morning. He then called Chin to fill him in and made his way back to the room.
******* Please let me know what you think ! ********