Disclaimer: See initial chapter.
A/N: This chapter brings in characters from Criminal Minds; there will (hopefully) be a sequel to this story which will feature more of the aftermath of what Danny's been through, as well as the capture of Mick and Anna, which will be a joint effort between the B.A.U. and the Five-0 team.
Over the next several days Steve visits Danny at the hospital as often as he can, but it isn't nearly often enough, and he can't seem to draw the other man out.
Danny is an empty shell, and Steve mourns the loss of his friend, but that doesn't keep him from going to the hospital and attempting to engage his friend in at least the semblance of a conversation. But Danny won't let him in, he won't let him help, and it's killing Steve.
It isn't until a week after Danny's back amongst the living that they get a break in the case. The FBI team from D.C. briefs them on what they know about the serial killers and what might possibly be going on in Danny's mind.
"According to the autopsies performed on the victims, and Danny's medical and psychological exams, his captors used a combination of drugs, torture, and brainwashing techniques to break Danny down. It's part of their M.O., and why they choose the victims that they do: strong, independent, virile men. They choose men who are a challenge to break. Once they manage to break them, usually within a week, the thrill of it has worn off, and they kill and then seek a replacement," Agent Rossi from the BAU explains.
"At first, Danny might not remember anything about what happened to him. He may start to regain some memories of what happened in spurts, or in bits and pieces, or even all at once. But, it's important for you to know that he might not ever remember all, or any of it. And, though his mind might never fully recall everything, his body will remember," Dr. Reid carries on from where Rossi left off, and Steve needs to sit down, because this is all a little too much for him to take in right now.
"What do you mean, when you say that his body will remember even if he doesn't?" Kono asks.
"Danny's body will respond to certain stimuli in ways that he's been brainwashed to respond – by repeating a specific phrase, or performing a certain task," Agent Morgan says, "he will have nightmares, but may wake up with no recollection of what was in them, he'll have panic attacks, and will not understand why."
"Is it really possible to brainwash someone in just a week?" Chin questions.
"Some believe it takes little less than an hour, and some attest that it takes at least two months," Agent Prentiss says, "in Danny's case, he was incapacitated by his captors right away, taken from his home, shackled, blindfolded, and told that everything he'd believed to be true wasn't. While this was being told to him, he was being drugged, and physically as well as sexually tortured. He was conditioned to behave and respond in specific ways when exposed to a particular stimulus."
"So, he was conditioned like Pavlov's dogs? Or like what happened with Patty Hearst?" Steve asks, rubbing at the back of his neck.
He's well-versed in techniques used to 'brainwash' someone. Knows that, not only did the couple use pain and cruelty on his partner, but they'd also used kindness as a weapon against him, making him rely on and trust only them, even though they were also hurting him. It's similar to what victims of domestic abuse go through, why they so often do not leave their abuser, because he or she doesn't always hurt them.
Dr. Reid frowns. "Kind of, except in Danny's case, there was a specific deadline that his captors had to stick to. They had to break him down to the point where he believed that his death was going to benefit, not only them, but also him, and all within a week."
"So, how do I help him?" Steve cuts to the chase, because he's tired of Danny shirking away from him and insisting that he isn't real, that none of them are real, and of him quoting Anna and Mick like his whole world is now wrapped up in them. Bottom line is that he wants his partner and friend back.
"First of all, you've got to understand that Danny might never return to the same Danny that you remember. In a way, it's like he's been reprogrammed," Rossi says, and he holds up his hand when Steve opens his mouth to protest, "that doesn't mean that he can't be 'deprogrammed,' but it will take time, and…"
"And, after everything he's been through, there's a big possibility that he won't fully recover," Kono finishes quietly.
Rossi nods. "Yes."
Steve crosses his arms over his chest, and shakes his head.
"No," he says, refusing to accept the idea that, after everything that his partner, hell, all of them have been through, he won't be able to reclaim his Danny. "That's unacceptable. You can't stand there and tell me that, after he died and was brought back to life, Danny won't be able to overcome all that other shit that he's been put through."
"Lieutenant McGarrett," Dr. Reid says, stepping forward, "I think that Danny's very lucky to have a friend like you, and the team that he has by his side. Your support will help him, a lot. I know that from personal experience."
He pauses and takes a deep breath. He pales, and Steve notes a slight tremble to the younger man's hands as he speaks.
"Five years ago, I was captured and tortured by a man suffering from dissociative identity disorder. He drugged me, forced me to watch as he killed people in their homes, and made me choose who would live and who would die. He beat me, broke my foot with a chunk of firewood, and forced me to relive painful childhood memories that I'd thought had been buried too deep to resurface. Then killed me, and resuscitated me only to torture me some more."
Dr. Reid looks up, captures Steve gaze. His eyes have a haunted, pained look to them, as though, in speaking about what happened to him, he's being forced to relive the events. And maybe he is. Maybe this is what Danny has to look forward to, and endless haunting of the events that led to this death.
"The entire time that I was being tortured, the thought of my team, my family, is what kept me going. Since then, they've seen me through all of my ups and downs: my addiction to dilauded, the nightmares and panic attacks. I've still got scars – mental and physical – and I'm not the same Dr. Reid I was before all of that happened to me, but I believe that I am a stronger Dr. Reid. And I believe that, once Detective Williams faces what has happened to him, with the help of his team, he'll come out stronger in the end."
Morgan nods and places a hand on Dr. Reid's back for support. Prentiss, Hotchner and Rossi step forward as well. All creating what amounts to a wall, a united front of support, around Dr. Reid.
"You," Dr. Reid looks from Steve, to Chin and then to Kono, "are Danny's strength, for now, until he can stand on his own two feet again."
Steve nods, and though he still has questions, and has qualms about leaving their ongoing investigation in the hands of the mainlanders, he wants to get back to the hospital, back to Danny. Until he'd lost his friend, Steve hadn't fully realized how much Danny meant to him, and the thought that he might never get him back, really back, terrifies him.
I'm not going to let that happen to you Danno, Steve promises, I'm not going to let them win. Because, even though his friend had managed to defeat death, he wasn't really living, and Steve wanted more for Danny.