Thanks again for all your reviews and alerts. You have no idea how much they mean to me.
I hope everyone will have a blast tonight with 3x20 !
Purple Heart – Chapter 06
Steve McGarrett's house, Hawaii present time
"Wait a minute. You knew Steve back then?" Danny looked at Cath for an answer.
"Yeah, we met in Washington. When I saw him sitting in that restaurant, looking so sad and alone, I just had to take pity on him," Cath answered with a smile, making sure Steve knew she was kidding.
"I always wondered why you had asked to join me at lunch." Steve had wanted to ask her that for years now.
"You really don't know, do you?"
"No. I wouldn't ask if I knew. I mean, I was not really a picture of health. I'm sure I looked pretty pathetic," Steve told Cath and his friends. He remembered what he had been wearing that day, and it made him chuckle.
"Yeah, Cath, tell us what made you talk to Steve," Danny encouraged her.
"You looked like someone who had seen a lot, and I was interested in your story. But most of all it was the pamphlet from the National Gallery that did the trick. It was such a contrast seeing 'you' and knowing you were interested in Art."
"Are you serious? My visit to the Gallery made you sit down next to me?" Steve couldn't quite believe that.
"Well, that and I was hungry. The diner was packed and you were the cutest guy in the joint," Cath told them with a laugh.
Steve grinned at her and stole another kiss.
"Hey! None of that, you two. Stop it," Danny called to them with a wink.
"So, I take it Steve did call you to have lunch again?" Max asked, and it was obvious that he wanted to know how the story in D.C. proceeded.
"Oh yeah, he did. And let me tell you, he can talk you into anything if he wants to," she told them with a twinkle in her eyes, remembering their phone call.
"If I recall you didn't need that much encouragement," Steve tells them as he tried to get a bit more comfortable in his chair. His broken leg rested on a second chair, but it had started to hurt again. His last pain medication had been a while ago. Steve was still wearing the brace on his leg that went almost from his groin down to his ankle. His doctor insisted he wear it whenever he was out of bed and put weight on his leg. The hairline fracture was almost healed, but he was still at risk of further injury to the femur because he couldn't use two crutches due to his shoulder injury. Wearing the brace was a small price to pay, even though it hindered his movements a lot. Which was the whole idea of wearing it. But at least his right ankle was a lot better and he was able to hobble around.
"You okay?" Cath was well aware that her friend was hurting more than he let on.
"Yeah, fine."
"Uh huh, do you want another pill?"
"No, not yet," Steve shook his head at her. "As I was saying, Cath didn't need a lot of encouragement to come to dinner with me…"
"SO not true!" Steve didn't pay any attention to her mumbled words, and continued with his story.
H50 – H50 – H50
Washington D.C. – Rehab Center – 2006
"Steve, I want you to head over to Adams and get that bruise checked out."
"Oh come on, Milo, you can't be serious! I'm fine. Have been all morning." Steve couldn't believe his therapist wanted him to see his neurologist.
"Lieutenant, that was not a suggestion. Don't make me call Adams, and he'll make it an order."
"You wouldn't…"
"Watch me," Milo challenged his patient.
"Fine. I'll go. But I'm telling you, this is a waste of time." Steve knew that he had lost, but he didn't have to like it.
"Just humor me, Steve." Milo looked at the lieutenant and as much as Steve tried to hide it, he could clearly see the pain in his eyes. "Just admit your head is hurting big time."
"I just got a little headache. It's not that bad." Steve looked at Milo and hoped he was convincing enough.
"Uh huh," Milo was not convinced at all but let it rest for now. He concentrated back on stretching Steve's right leg. "Are you still suffering spasms?"
"No, not really. Only sometimes at night," Steve told him. In the beginning his leg muscles would spasm a few times a day and the Baclofen he had been taken for it only helped a little. But after a couple of weeks it lessened considerably and he was now very happy that he only had to deal with mostly mild cramping.
"Are you still on Baclofen?"
"No. The side effects were almost worse than the good it did."
"I know. Close your eyes, Steve. We're almost done. Relax and concentrate on your leg. Try to move it." Milo looked down at his patient, who was still floating in the warm water, suspended by the floating elliptical ring.
"I can't. I really try, but it's just…"
"Hey, it's okay, Steve. It will happen, don't worry. Your head is still not working straight. You will get there," Milo told Steve when he saw how frustrated he became. "Come on, I think you have had enough for today."
A few minutes later Steve wheeled to the changing rooms with Milo next to him. "I can change on my own, Milo. I don't need help."
"I know that. But I saw that there was no walker in the changing room, I'm going to get you one," Milo told him as he held the door open for Steve to pass through.
"Oh. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Have you tried using crutches?"
"Yeah, but I can't keep my balance with them. It's easier to move around with them, but after a minute or so, I lose my balance. I get really dizzy and need to sit down. It's frustrating."
"That doesn't happen with the walker?"
"No. I can hold on to it a lot better." Steve was very frustrated that he still couldn't keep his balance unaided. Two crutches simply didn't give him enough stability to keep standing or moving.
"I'm sure that will improve soon," Milo told him as he pulled the walker out of the utility room. "Let me adjust it for you." He adjusted the handle bars for Steve's height and put it in front of Steve's wheelchair so he could grab onto it when he stood up. "I'm going to dry the chair and put the cushion back in while you take your shower. Call me if you need any help."
"I will," Steve said and grabbed on to the walker and easily stood up. Ever since this morning he could stand up a lot easier than in the last weeks. He still couldn't move his leg, but he had the feeling that it was a bit more stable. Steve felt confident that he might even be able to stand in the shower. It would be the first time since he was injured.
Steve watched Milo tend to his next patient who had arrived a minute ago. Colonel Oxley had lost both his legs in an accident six months ago. Steve looked down at his own legs and thought how lucky he had been. To be as close to a blast as he had been normally means missing limbs; or death. But he got away with just a head injury and moderate blast trauma. He really was one lucky SOB.
H50 – H50 – H50
Steve sat in one of the ER trauma rooms and was told someone would be with him in a few minutes. He felt silly occupying a trauma room when he was really fine. He was just thinking about leaving when his doctor, Colonel Adams came into the room.
"Lieutenant McGarrett, the front desk said you were here. We're scheduled for Monday for a follow up. What's wrong, you feel okay?"
"I feel fine, Sir."
"Then why are you here?" Adams looked up from his clipboard as he stepped closer. "Wow… that is an impressive bruise. What happened to your head?"
"Ehm… I fell. Yesterday; in the early evening. But I feel fine. Milo insisted that I come here," Steve told his doctor.
"He was right to do so. We need to make sure there is no damage to the skull or your ear. Tell me what happened." Dr. Adams took out his pen light and checked Steve pupils; he accompanied his task with noncommittal mumbling.
Steve told him about his day and how he ended up on the ground of the Metro station.
"So, were you unconscious?" Adams had sat down on a rolling stool and listened intently to his patient.
"Not really. I was severely dizzy, and was for a few hours. I woke up this morning with a really bad headache, but after about half an hour it was okay. Now I feel fine," Steve looked at Col. Adams and hoped he could convince him not to do any tests. He still had a mild headache but he was sure it would go away soon.
"Okay, here is the deal, Lieutenant. I know you feel a lot better than you really are. I understand that. But what you have to understand is that you are still suffering from a serious injury. Your skull fracture is not completely healed yet. Your sense of balance is still shot to hell due to the severe injury to your inner ear. We still don't know if that will improve in time." Dr. Adams looked at Steve and could see that he was not happy to be reminded of his injuries. "You have to handle your head with special care at the moment. So to speak." Adams smiled at the face McGarrett made about that comment.
"I am careful, Sir. And I know I was lucky."
"Yes, you were. We should play this safe, and that's why I want a CT."
Steve couldn't quite keep in the groan after hearing that.
"Is there a problem with that, Lieutenant?"
"Ehm, it's just… it's very uncomfortable to lie on my back," Steve admitted.
"Are you still experiencing pain while doing so?"
"Yes, Sir. And my leg starts to spasm if I lie on my back for longer than five minutes. I normally sleep on my side or stomach."
"We will make you as comfortable as possible during the scan. But I really feel it is necessary."
Steve only nodded his head, he knew he couldn't get out of this one, so he accepted what was inevitable. But he also knew that he would be in pain after the test, and there was not much he could do about it. Unless he took one of his heavy duty painkillers, which he clearly didn't want. They always made him fuzzy, and he had a date tonight. Well, not yet, but hopefully soon.
"Lieutenant?"
"Sorry, Sir." Steve looked at Adams who obviously had asked him a question while he had been daydreaming.
"I asked if you need help getting on the gurney."
"No, Sir."
"Good. I will send in a nurse, she'll prepare you for the scan. I will see you again when we have the test results," Adams told Steve and left him alone for the time being.
Forty five minutes later the CT was done and he was back in the ER. Again sitting in his wheelchair; the only difference now was that his leg and back were hurting. And that the headache had increased while he lay in that damn torture device. He had suffered through severe cramping in his leg during the test, and now he just hoped to get home soon.
Steve looked up when Col. Adams came back into the room, with a serious expression on his face. That didn't bode well.
"Well, Lieutenant McGarrett, it's not as bad as I feared, but it's not good either," Adams told Steve as he clipped the CT film onto the light box. "Here is your scan from last week, and on the right from just now." Adams pointed to the two films and looked at Steve.
Steve wheeled closer and stared at the images. If he was honest, he couldn't see much on them anyway, not from close up or from farther away.
"Can you see the difference here on the side?" Adams motioned to a spot on both images.
"No, Sir. They look just like a gray mass to me," Steve told him honestly.
"Here you can see your original skull fracture. On the new picture the fracture is longer than in the old one."
"I cracked my head again?" Steve couldn't believe that.
"Yeah, you did. But there is nothing we need to do about it." Adams looked at his patient and continued, "But it is very important that you're more careful. Something like hitting your head can have fatal consequences for you. Or put you in that wheelchair permanently, or take away your balance for good."
"Sir, I am careful. I had to help her, I…"
"I know. I just want you to be aware that you are not healed. You are not back to normal. All that you are still suffering from, the paralysis, the vertigo and headaches are caused by your head injury."
"Yes, Sir, I know. I'll be more careful in the future. Can I go back to work on Monday?" Steve hoped that privilege wouldn't be taken from him.
"If you're not experiencing any headaches, then yes. And I want you take it easy over the weekend. No strenuous activity, lieutenant."
"Yes, Sir."
"And take a cab to work next week, no Metro adventures for a while. You got that?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good. Now get out of here and check back on Monday afternoon. Make an appointment before you leave," Adams told Steve and made it clear that he was dismissed.
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."
It took Steve only a few minutes to get his new appointment, and then he was finally on his way home. There was still a phone call he had to make.
H50 – H50 – H50
Lieutenant Catherine Rollins looked down at her phone that was in the process of vibrating itself off the table. Before it toppled over the edge she grabbed it and looked at the unknown number. She hoped it was the guy from yesterday's lunch. She really would love to meet him again.
"Lieutenant Rollins," she said into the phone as she took the call. She almost held her breath until she heard the voice she was hoping for.
"Uh… hi, Catherine… it's Steve."
"Good morning. I was hoping you would call," Cath said and wondered if she sounded too eager.
"I, uh.. I wanted to thank you for the pleasant company yesterday."
She could practically see Steve shaking his head at his own words, the thought that he was just as nervous as she was brought a smile to her face.
"The pleasure was all mine." God, that isn't any better, she thought.
"I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me?"
"I would like that."
"Great! I mean… good. That's good." She laughed when she could hear the happiness in his voice. "How about tonight? I have this invitation from a friend, and I would love for you to come. I mean if you want to. He's really nice. And his wife is cooking."
"I'd love to," Catherine interrupted his babbling.
"Really? I mean, that's good. I said that already, didn't I? I'm sorry, I'm normally not such an idiot. Let's try this again. Would you mind coming to my place, say 05:45 Ty will pick us up. I don't even know where he lives, actually."
"Yes, I can do that. I will see you then. And Steve?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for calling me."
"Uh huh."
Catherine only laughed and ended the call with a big smile on her face. And only then did she realize that Steve never gave her his address. Her phone started vibrating again and she grinned seeing Steve's phone number.
H50 – H50 – H50
Thanks again for reading. Let me know what you think. Would love to hear from you.
And here is another tiny little sneak peek.
Purple Heart – Chapter 7
Steve was nervous. He looked in the mirror and shook his head at his own silliness; he had changed his shirt twice now. He was wearing jeans, not a faded old pair like yesterday, but a designer pair he had paid good money for. They looked really nice, but more importantly they were very comfortable, even after sitting for a few hours. He realized very early that not every pair of pants was made for sitting.
Deciding on pants and shoes was easy, but he was struggling with his shirt. His favorite one was in the laundry, and the one he was wearing now didn't match the jeans. "You are crazy to think about your damn shirt," Steve thought out loud and wheeled out of the bathroom. He threw the shirt on the bed and pulled out a sweater to pull on over his tee shirt. Now he wouldn't need a jacket, and if it got too warm at Ty's, he could still just sit there in his tee.