I SHOULD HAVE INSISTED…

CHAPTER 2

With a growing dread in the pit of his stomach, Steve slid the key into the lock of the office door, pushing the door and turning the key at the same time with no result. "Slow down," he told himself. He turned the key again and then pushed on the door; this time the door swung open.

"Lori!" he yelled, with nothing but the faint glow of the smart table in "sleep mode" to illuminate the room. He flipped the light switch on and strode over to her office door. "Lori!" he called again, louder this time as he noticed that the blinds of her office had been closed. "Were they closed before he left?" He hadn't noticed since there was no light on inside the office to shine through the cracks of the blinds.

He slowly opened the door to her office and walked in. He took in the sight of her sitting behind her desk, head on her folded arms on the desk, as if catching a nap. He didn't turn on the light immediately, but could see a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water on the desk beside her.

He got closer and, reaching across the front of her desk, put his hand on her arm, "Lori," he said gently with no response. Without removing his hand from her arm, he pivoted himself around her desk so that he was alongside her.

"Lori," he said more firmly, with a jostle to her arm. No response. He leaned closer, relief flooding over him as he felt her wrist for and found a pulse, heard her breathe, and saw the rise and fall of her shoulders and back with each breath. She was cool to the touch, but the air conditioning was on and her door had been closed so the cool air had nowhere to go.

Leaning over her, he put his arm around her back and shoulders and gently eased her back so she was against the back of her chair and he could see her face. He tucked some loose hair behind her ear.

"Hey, Lori, can you hear me," he prodded. He got only a very weak moan. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 911.

"This is Lt. Commander Steve MCGarrett, 5-0. I need an ambulance at my office. I have an Agent down. What? I don't know – a head injury I think," he said, somewhat rattled. He got confirmation that help was on the way and shoved his phone back into his pocket and grabbed his keys off the desk.

He scooped Lori up into his arms, her head supported against his chest and under his chin, and carried her toward his office. He supported her with his forearm and inserted the key into his office door. He gently placed her on the couch in his office and turned on the light. This elicited a slight frown and another faint moan.

"Hey," he called to her. "Lori, can you hear me?" he asked, kneeling alongside her and taking her hand. He heard a siren in the distance, fast approaching. Help was almost here.

He was rewarded with a slight mumble. He couldn't understand what she said, but at least there was some response.

"There's an ambulance on the way," he advised her. She seemed to have lost consciousness fully again. He heard the sounds of the EMTs coming up the stairs, led by the Desk Sergeant.

"Commander!" the Sergeant called.

"In here!" he called back, coming to the entrance of his office.

He stepped aside to let the medics through, the Sergeant coming up alongside him. "What happened?" he asked Steve.

Steve was intently watching the medics check her over. "What? Oh, she had a blow to the back of the head earlier," he started, taking a couple of steps closer to the medics; one of which had turned toward him to get any information on the circumstances while the other went about getting vitals.

"What kind of a blow?" the medic asked. "Did she get knocked out?"

"Um.., yeah, she did," he answered. "We, I was on another floor of the building. We were talking on the phone and then she didn't answer my question. I went looking for her and found her unconscious. There was some kind of metal saw or something on the ground next to her that I think the perp hit her with – the back of her head," he added.

"She was coming around when I found her, so I'm not sure how long she was out. It was about three minutes from the time she didn't answer me to when I found her," he added.

"She was fine after you found her? Did she get checked out at all?" the medic asked.

"She, she said she was fine. I told her to get checked out by the medics on scene. She told me she did and she'd seemed fine the rest of the time at the scene and back here after," Steve said. "I didn't notice when she went into her office because we were all working on paperwork and tying up loose ends from the case," he finished.

"Okay, Commander, that helps. We'll take it from here," the medic said, turning back to Lori to help his partner with her care.

"Commander, what do you want me to do?" asked the Sergeant.

"Umm.., Charlie," Steve said, putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "Can you call my team and tell them what's going on and that I'll be going with the ambulance to Queens Medical?"

"Absolutely, Sir. I'll go do it right now. Let me know if you need anything. Don't worry about the office, I'll lock up as soon as you all clear out of here," he said, turning to head back to his desk.

Steve gave the Sergeant an vague nod of thanks as he turned his attention back toward Lori and the medics.

"Is she gonna be okay?" he asked as they began moving her to the stretcher and fastening the belts.

"We're gonna take good care of her, Sir," one of the medics answered. "Are you riding with us or following us over?"

"I'm with her," he answered without hestitation, following them to the elevator.

"Lori, I'm right here. Everything's gonna be fine," he called to her.

TO BE CONTINUED….