CHAPTER SIX
Steve was lying on the floor of his cell. He wasn't sure how long he had been there. It had been a while since the toxin had worn off, although occasionally he would feel his body jerk in response to traces of the toxin still in his system, feeding on his nerves…
They had left him alone for a while now. He faded in and out of consciousness, feverish and all around shitty. Try as he might to resist, Steve could feel his body beginning to betray him. His health was deteriorating alarmingly fast, and no SEAL training could stop his eventual death, which was inevitable if Danny didn't show up soon.
Steve was pretty sure it had been a few days since the toxin had sapped every ounce of his strength. It was so hard to tell, though… He was in and out of consciousness all the time, and never could tell how much time had passed; whether it was day or night.
The upside of being left alone was that he wasn't being tortured, which was always a good thing. The downside, however, was that Steve was pretty sure that this was the weakest he'd ever been in his life. They'd given him a little bit of water about once a day, and food maybe once or twice, but Steve hadn't been supplied with anything since the toxin.
Steve's body had been through a hell of a lot in his lifetime, but the weakness in his bones, the hollowness he felt inside… they all told him that his bod was in the beginning stages of giving out.
Steve sighed, feeling every injury he had sustained as of yet in full force, as each wound individually was trying to find some way to defeat his immune system, trying to make his heart give out…. Resigned, Steve once again allowed darkness to obscure his vision as he allowed himself to succumb to unconsciousness.
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It had been 14 days since Danny's partner had disappeared. Two weeks of no leads, no hope… but Danny had decided that it was time to ditch the depressive, brooding persona he had been sporting the past couple weeks. It was time that he come at this case with a new attitude.
Danny was angry. Angry and determined. Angry that his partner was such a stupid asshole and determined to find him and bring him home. Angry that someone (Wo Fat) had Steve locked up somewhere (because Danny refused to considered the whole 'dead' possibility) and determined to throw the bastard in a jail cell where he could rot for the rest of his life.
In accordance to this new attitude, Danny had put a stop to fruitless sulking. Over the past few nights he had gotten full nights' sleep, and was ready to tackle this case with a clear, non-catatonic mind.
He had Chin, Kono, and Catherine backing him up, and he'd be damned if there was a finer team out there for finding their bat-shit crazy super SEAL.
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When Steve woke up, he was slightly disturbed to find that he had been moved out of his cell and hadn't even woken up during the process.
He was also shocked to find that he felt considerably better than before. Not that he felt good – he was in a permanent state of being run over by a herd of angry buffalos. That being said, he did feel like he was capable of sitting up on his own, possibly even stumble across a room without collapsing into a pitiful heap.
He could already till, however, that the latter wasn't going to be possible. He was strapped to some sort of vertically slanted operating table, and frankly couldn't get up even if he tried.
He was in the cleanest room he had seen in God knows how long, the polished a pristine white nearly blinding him.
A man in a white lab coat had his back to him and was fiddling with something. It wasn't hard for Steve to deduce that he was in some kind of lab.
"Please tell me you're not going to do some sick kind of surgery on me," Steve said.
If the man hadn't been aware that Steve was awake, he didn't let on. He chuckled, turning to face Steve. He was Asian, probably part of the Yakuza. "No, Mr. McGarrett, believe it or not, that is not on the agenda for our session today."
"I hope you're not trying to reassure me," Steve said blithely.
"Mr. McGarrett, it has come to our attention that your body has taken a turn for a worse as a result of the injuries inflicted upon in. I have been tasked with restoring just enough health to your body so that Wo Fat can continue his interrogations of you without the risk of having you dying on him."
"You have shit bedside manner, Doc," Steve said bluntly.
"Oh, I am not a doctor, Commander. Just a scientist, but the closest Wo Fat could find to the former."
"And I suppose you're supposed to form some kind of personal connection with me, try to weasel information out of me?"
The man laughed. "Quite the contrary, Mr. McGarrett. I couldn't care less what happens to you. I just do whatever Wo Fat requires. Which just so happens to include making sure you don't die."
"Aren't you just a bottle of sunshine." Steve panned.
The scientist ignored him. He grabbed a bottle of water off the table and approached Steve, holding it up to his lips. "Drink."
Steve, however tempted he was to spit the water into the man's face, decided it would be within his best interest to obey, and drank the water with as much dignity as a man strapped to a table and being force fed could.
After that Steve was given several injections.
Noticing the weary look on Steve's face, the scientist said, "Don't worry, I think we're done with the whole snake poison thing. That's what jump started the whole 'dying' thing. These are just antibiotics to keep the stab wounds and gunshot wound at bay… temporarily. I'm under strict orders not to give you more than what will prevent infection just for the next few days."
Steve was silent. After a few moments of silence, "How long have I been here?"
It was a long shot, Steve knew, and even if the scientist answered him, he had no way of knowing whether or not he was being honest.
The man raised his eyebrows at Steve's request. "What makes you think that I'd tell you?"
Steve shrugged noncommittally. "Nothing. I just thought it was worth a shot."
There was a silence. The man continued to fiddle around with various tools for two minutes in silence. Then, "Sixteen days."
Steve looked up, surprised. By no means did Steve trust this man, nor would he hesitate to snap his neck in the near future, but for some reason, he believed him. Steve gave him a curt nod, then settled to close his eyes and prepare himself for whatever torture Wo Fat had in store for him next.
A/N: Wow, so a shockingly whump-free chapter. However much I hate not hurting Steve (don't judge me), I had to be somewhat realistic in that I can't just keep torturing him horribly and expect him not to die. So now I'm going to make him slightly better and then torture him some more :) mwahaha
KEEP IN MIND again that Danny and Steve's timelines aren't completely in sync. They will sync up eventually, though, for obvious reasons.
And I've been getting a lot of reviews saying that they hope Steve doesn't die. SPOILER ALERT I'M NOT GOING TO KILL STEVE. lol super seal is invincible.. ish :) but yeah. Steve aint gonna die folks :) however, I still am mourning the loss of his hair. WHY, STEVE, WHY? People have also been saying they hope Steve gets rescued soon... trololol come on people. I will not stop until I have single-handedly written the whumpiest fic in the history of H50 fanfiction. Cue evil laugh. Somebody also suggested in a review that I seek psychiatric help. I'm not sure if they were being serious or not (lol). I do ponder that every day, as I constantly alarm myself with my obsessive fangirling tendencies..
whoooh. long author's note. ONE MORE THING not completely sure when the next update will come. not too long, don't worry, BUT a week from now I am going to be so emotionally wrecked, you have no idea. We've got the Office series finale on Thursday, and that is going to have my heart thoroughly incapacitated, and then we have the finale of Doctor Who series 7 on Saturday, which is going to be crazy intense. I don't even know if you guys watch these shows, but Doctor Who is so fantastical, I wouldn't put it past myself to have a complete panic attack by the end of that episode.
I really need to get a life. DEEP BREATHS. gaah and now I just remembered H50 tomorrow, and that has the potential to be quite whumpy, me thinks.
OK I'M GOING NOW. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW.