Over the Edge Chapter 10
A/N: Okay, I learned that if you don't post for a week, you're gonna lose readers. I don't think I'll do that again, if I can help it. So, for the readers that I still with me, I would like to say thank you, once again. The reviews that I have gotten make me soo happy, like you don't even know. I really should get a life, like any other person, but I love the reviews, so I'll just stick with not having a life. Now, If you have been reading this, from beginning to the present, can you do me a favor and just review it. You don't even have to say anything, for all I care just put a period. It's a long story as to why I want you to do this, so I'll just leave it at that and hope you guys trust me. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 10
"Danno, what happened to those guys that hurt Uncle Steve? Did you catch them?" Grace questioned Danny with hope in her voice.
"We caught some of them, Gracie. Yeah, they… They're gone now. You don't have to worry." Danny whispered through the tears that were now streaming down his face. He was just glad that Grace couldn't see his face because she was in the back seat.
"Some? You only got some? What about the other ones? What about the one who threw that knife at him?" Grace started getting emotional, just like her father.
Danny didn't answer, he couldn't. He didn't want to tell her that he failed her, it was his job to catch the bad guys to keep her safe. And, of course, he did not.
After Danny didn't speak up, Grace assumed why he wasn't saying anything. "You didn't catch him, did you? What if he tries to hurt us again, Danno?"
A pang of guilt stabbed Danny right in the heart. She was right, he didn't get that man, he was gone once they got there. He couldn't protect Grace if that man was still on the loose.
"He won't, you know that I'll protect you. I won't let you get hurt like that, again, Gracie."
There was silence. Danny kept driving, and Grace kept sobbing. He felt helpless, like his little girl was out in the open for anyone to take. He couldn't do anything about it, he just had to sit back and watch.
Danny's phone rang, Kono's name flashing upon the screen.
"Danny, you have to get here. It's Steve, just come quick…" Kono choked through the phone.
"What… What happened? Is he…" Danny stammered.
"Yes, he's alive. Well… We're just not sure how long… Look, just come quickly, okay? Just… Hurry." Kono cried in strangled wailing.
"I'm almost there now, Kono. I'll be there in thirty seconds, I just pulled up into the lot. Just… I'll be right there." Danny forcefully clicked the 'end call' button and scooted out of the car, shouting at Grace to follow.
They jogged through the parking lot and up to the main desk of Tripler.
"Steve McGarrett." Danny huffed at a snobby looking nurse with slick black hair pulled in a tight bun. She typed a bit on the computer in front of her then winced.
"What, what was that for? Is he okay, where is he?" Danny asked, running a shaky hand through his disheveled hair.
"He's still in surgery, I'm afraid. You can just go sit in the waiting room with your team, friends, I suppose." She said, pointing her long nose up in the air. She gestured down the hallway to where Kono and Chin were waiting for him.
"Come on, Gracie. Let's go see Chin and Kono." Danny swept Grace's hand into his and rushed down the hall to the waiting room.
Kono looked like a mess. Her hair looked like a bird's nest and her normally tan face was red and blotchy. She had tears spilling out of her eyes, but Danny couldn't blame her, he probably looked the same way. Chin, on the other hand, sat quietly, his eyes still glazed over. He seemed to be in a trance, not moving or blinking, just staring at something that simply was not there.
"Guys… Any news? What's going on?" Danny asked as he approached the cousins. He put a shaking hand out to pat Kono's shoulder, but she pulled away. Danny stepped back in shock, why was she so mad all of a sudden?
"Danny, they say that he has a slim chance of surviving. You know, he might die because he was trying to save Grace." Kono started, but before she could continue, Danny stopped her.
"Chin, can you take Grace down to the cafeteria for a minute, so I can speak with Kono?"
"Sure." Chin blinked, stood up, and walked out of the room with Grace in tow.
"And all that time, you were saying that it was all his fault. It wasn't, it wasn't his fault. He's in there dying, and he's dying for Grace." Kono continued once Grace and Chin left.
"Kono, I thought you forgave me. I told you-"
"No, Chin said that he forgave you. I never said anything. I still think that it was terrible, what you said, you knew that he was trying to help."
"I know, Kono. I know. I regret it, too, but I can't go back in time and change that. I wish I could, but I can't. I'm just hoping we can forgive and forget."
"We can't just forgive and forget, Danny! Don't you get it? By saying the things you have said, it showed me that you didn't trust Steve, after all he has done for you. If you couldn't trust him, then I'm thinking that you don't trust me or Chin. I can't be friends with a guy that doesn't trust me, it's just hard to do that. I just, Danny, I just… I don't know… I'm just-" Kono's voice was cut off by a gruff man.
"Family of Lt. Cmdr. Steve McGarrett?" He asked in a loud, booming voice.
"That's us." Kono said, standing up to greet the man.
"I'm Dr. Stein, I was performing the Commander's surgery. It went better than expected, actually. We found that a piece of small shrapnel and that knife had cut into his right kidney. We weren't able to fix it, so we just removed it. Normally, anyone that got stabbed in the kidney would die within about 15 minutes, so we almost didn't make it. He's a fighter, though, any other man would be dead right now."
You could almost hear the relief that filled the room. Kono's tears started up fresh, right along with Danny's.
"Anyway, there are complications that could form. Internal bleeding could certainly be one of them, but we couldn't check for that while we were in there. He would have lost too much blood, so as soon as the kidney was out, we had to stitch him up. So, that is something that we will be searching for. Now, for his ankle, we will have to perform surgery again. He still has a bullet lodged in there, and that needs to be removed as quickly as possible. It has already started to become infected, so the sooner the better. Are you with me so far?" The man paused for a moment, then continued once he got two nods from Danny and Kono. "So, we should be doing that once we get some blood transfusions into him. He's still a little weak for that now. We have stitched up and cleaned the bullet wound in his shoulder, also. He was really beaten up, I can tell." He paused for a moment to let that all sink in. "Okay, would you like to hear the list of his minor injuries?" The two nodded simultaneously. "Let's go from the top to the bottom. First of all, he has a minor concussion. That should treat itself in weeks to come, so we shouldn't be too concerned about that. As for his right arm, the shoulder was dislocated and, of course, has a bullet wound. Very painful, I might add. His forearm is fractured in two places. The first happened from the fall from the coaster, I assume, and the second was just from strain on the arm after it was broken. Moving onto his leg, his knee was dislocated. We popped it back into place, but he will need physical therapy to get full motion back. His ankle was shattered. We will definitely have to surgically fix that, along with removing the bullet at the same time. So, he was pretty beaten up. I can't imagine the deal of pain that he will be in when he wakes up, so we will try to keep him as comfortable as possible. I must leave, I will update you soon." The doctor stood, looking at his frantically beeping pager, and rushed out of the room.
"Wow, he was tortured. He had to be. We need to find out who this person is. It could be anyone, really." Danny whispered, placing his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees.
"We will find the person who did this, we will." Chin said.
"Chin, when did you get back?" Danny whipped his head up and looked at Chin who was now standing above him.
"I heard the whole thing, Grace was crying, so I decided to just come back in after we left."
"Oh."
"Danny, Steve will forgive you, I know he will. Hell, he doesn't even know that you said anything about him, he can't be mad."
"I have to tell him, though. I will have to get it off my chest, and he's the only person that I can tell."
"Let's just relax, I'll go get coffee." Kono suggested. She sprang from her chair and scrambled out of the room.
Chin, Danny, and Grace did exactly what Kono said. They all slumped down into the surprisingly comfortable chairs and relaxed. It did wonders, no crying, no pitying, just relaxing.
-H50-
"Detective Daniel Williams?" A young nurse silently approached Danny and the team.
Danny snapped out of his light sleep and stood to greet the nurse.
"Yeah, yeah, that's me. How is he? Is he okay?" Danny asked, concerned traced in his words.
"Yes, we believe so. His condition is still posted as critical, but we believe that he will pull through. Two of you can come see him if you'd like, but only two for right now. Follow me." The nurse said in a gentle, kind voice. Danny and Chin both stood.
"Can we bring my daughter, too? I can't leave her alone." Danny asked the petite blonde nurse as she started to walk away.
She turned and faced him. "Uhm, I suppose so. You and your daughter can go at once, then your friend…"
"Chin." Chin spoke up when he realized that the nurse didn't know his name.
"Right, Chin. You two will have to go separately. Now, follow me. You can visit for a few minutes, but we have to allow the Commander to rest." The nurse continued walking once again, Chin, Grace, and Danny in tow.
Once they arrived at McGarrett's door, Danny stopped abruptly.
"I… I don't think I can go in. Just… Chin, can you take Gracie in? I'll just wait out here…" Danny trailed off then traipsed silently towards some nearby chairs. Chin didn't want to get in the way of Danny when he was upset, so he just took Grace's hand and stepped inside the room.
Steve looked slightly better from the last time Chin saw him. Well, last time Chin saw him, he was covered in blood and seemed on the brink of death, so he could see why he might look slightly better. Steve was as white as a sheet with machines hooked up all around him. He looked so prone, lying there, and Chin wasn't very used to that. He was used to Steve being a big, tough super SEAL, not lying in a hospital bed, seemingly close to death.
"Hey, Steve. How are you? Well, I can answer that myself. Not too good." Chin spoke quietly to himself. Steve's face was dark with purple and black bruises, his eye almost swollen shut. His exposed shoulders were just as bad, bruises were scattered all over, darkening his skin.
"Uncle Steve, I'm sorry that I did this to you. I let you down, I didn't escape like you told me so. It's all my fault." Gracie sobbed besides Steve's limp body. Chin listened, but he couldn't say anything. He loved Gracie, but he was just at a loss for words. He knew that he should have been telling her that it was not her fault, but he knew it wasn't his place to. It was Danny's job to do that, to be a father.
"Gracie, I'll be right back, don't move." Chin put his arms up, as if teaching a puppy to stay. He turned around and swiftly headed out the door towards Danny, what Grace needed.
"Danny, you have to go in there. Grace, she needs you." Chin told Danny when he spotted him pacing a few feet away from Steve's door.
"Chin, I just can't. I can't…"
"Grace needs you in there! I don't care if you don't want to see Steve, it's your daughter in there that needs you! Sure, I can see why you don't want to go see Steve, but what about Grace?" Chin lost it. Stress combined with balled up anger released itself. That wasn't it, though. "Look, Danny. I know that you are mad at yourself, I get that. I just feel like maybe you should get past the self-pity! It's not you on the verge of death, it's Steve! I think you at least owe him a thank you or something! He put his life on the line for Grace, for you! Just snap out of it and get a grip!" Chin obviously was beyond mad, and Danny understood. He was always able to keep it in, just because it was building up bit by bit. Never had he gotten so many emotions shoved at him at once, he couldn't control it this time. Danny got that.
"You're right, Chin." Danny stated simply, showing no emotion. He walked towards the door, stopping for a moment, then proceeded.
"Grace." Danny spoke up after a few minutes of standing there, Grace's sobs the only thing that were heard.
"Danno… It's all my fault!" She cried out.
"No… Shhhhh, Gracie. It was not your fault. You know that Uncle Steve would do anything for you, right?" Danny held her in his arms, both of their shaking bodies staring down at Steve.
"I dunno, it's not fair! He… He jumped in front of the knife for me. I… I was… I was the one who… Who was supposed to die. Not, not Uncle Steve." Grace started shivering through fear and emotions.
"Gracie, Monkey, like I said, he would do anything for you. He would do anything, including throwing his life out for you. And you know what? He's going to be okay, he has to be. You know him, he'll make it out of this and pretend that nothing even happened. Gracie, he loves you so, so, so much, he will do anything for you, and don't you forget that." Danny took her in for one last tight squeeze. "Now, let's get going, Uncle Steve needs to rest. We can come back when he wakes up, okay?" Danny released his grip on her and led her out of the room. He just hoped that he was right about Steve being okay.
-H50-
A/N: Guys, keep in mind that I have no idea about anything medical whatsoever. So, if I get anything wrong, just tell me and I'll fix it. Okay, thanks!