Chapter 10
Steve hangs up and returns to the bed.
"That was Kono. We've started to make a little progress. All you have to do is hold on, Danny. Do you hear me? You have to be strong for Kono, Chin and me. But most of all for Grace!"
As he sits there, he sees a single tear from Danny's closed eye runs down his cheek. Close to tears himself Steve takes Danny's hand and squeezes it gently. Emotional and troubled, Steve is startled as the door opens and Chin comes in.
"Dr Carter is with Dr Yakani. She wanted to discuss something quickly, before coming here," he explains.
"Kono called me just now. She looked at a Dr Cold, who left the team after the project was discontinued. Has Dr Carter said anything about how Danny can be helped?"
"If you believe that I could come here and just come up with a miracle cure, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you!" Dr Carter bursts into the room, closely followed by Dr Yakani.
"Dr Carter went through the patients' files and thinks that it is the same substance as from the research project," the native doctor tells them. "Although…"
"Although what?" Steve asks frantically. He is somewhat irritated that Dr Carter is a woman and not a man.
"I think it has been further developed, in this effect, as well as the intensity."
"Can you do you anything to help those affected?" McGarrett presses.
"As I said, I don't have a miracle cure. Before we could develop one, the project was terminated."
"How will it progress next?"
"I can't say for sure. All the animals used in the project died at this stage. If I were to speculate, I would suspect that the heart or other internal organs will be affected next. I'm so sorry." Frustrated at not being able to help Danny or the others, the doctor shakes her head.
During the flight, she had gone through the document, hoping to arrive in Hawaii with good news. But as much as she had hoped, she has no idea how to counteract the paralysis.
"All that we can do is leave them on the ventilators for as long as possible. That will give us a little time. The biggest question is when is the brain damaged by this?" Dr Yakani wonders, worried by how little time they have to figure this all out.
"Doctor, I would like to see the other patients," Dr Carter says.
"We'll come back later," Dr Yakani tells the team and the two doctors leave.
Half an hour later, Chin and Steve are still sat silently next to the bed, as Danny slept on.
"Steve, how about you take a little break," Chin suggests. "Go and get a coffee, get some fresh air. I'll stay here with Danny and if something changes, I'll call you."
"It's fine; I'm okay," Steve replies, shaking his head. "This is all my fault!"
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Chin asks, eyes wide with surprise. How could it be his fault?
"I insisted that he go to the hospital after he was hit by the bar. If I'd just left it at that…" Steve's voice trails off, the helplessness overwhelming him, as the thought that he could have prevented all this gnaws at him.
"You can't be serious!" Chin is perplexed by Steve's words.
"How could you have known this would happen? Besides, you know very well what could have happened if Danny hadn't gotten the vaccine; you just wanted to make sure he was all right." Chin shakes his head.
These two are always quick to blame themselves when the other is injured, he thinks to himself.
"Yeah, but…"
"No buts! You're taking a break and don't you argue with me!" Chin insists, unable to believe how stubborn Steve can be.
"Fine, but when I come back, then you go home. That way, at least one of us can sleep comfortably. I mean, it is the middle of the night." With that, the SEAL stands up slowly.
Deep inside, Steve is happy to escape this nightmare, if only briefly. His friends' and family's well-being has always stood high on his list of priorities, but this is something he'd never even considered.
Thirty minutes later, Chin gets on his motorbike. He'd made sure that Steve had eaten something and stretched his legs. As he leaves, Chin doesn't for a second think about going home, but instead heads towards HQ.
At half past six the next morning, Dr Yakani and Dr Carter come back into the room.
"Good morning. That doesn't look very comfortable," Dr Yakani utters as he takes in the uncomfortable position in which Steve had been sitting in the seat.
"I wanted to see how our patient is doing," Dr Carter tells him.
"The night was very quiet, I think he slept soundly. How is this going to progress from this point?" McGarrett asks, remembering that he didn't get a proper answer the day before.
"Honestly, I still don't know. It's been about 22 hours since the substance was administered, and all the test animals died by 18 hours. We have no idea what will happen next. I'm afraid all we can do is wait and hope for the best." Feeling disappointed, Dr Carter shakes her head.
Never in his life has Steve thought that humanity would create something so deadly, and then not create an antidote. Would he have to sit by and watch helplessly as his partner and anyone else affected by this died?
As Danny's phone rings, the two doctors decide to go.
"We'll come back later," Dr Yakani says as they leave.
Steve glances at the screen and answers it.
"Hey Gracie!"
"Uncle Steve! Where's Danno? Why are you answering his phone again?" Grace asks in confusion. She'd expected her father to answer the phone.
"Danno can't speak at the moment," the SEAL tells her quickly.
"What's wrong with him? Is he ill?" Grace starts to sound worried.
Steve had already thought about what he would say to her when she called, but now that he's speaking to her, it's not so easy.
"Yeah, sweetheart, Danno is ill. Do you remember the last time you had a sore throat?"
"Yeah. I couldn't eat anything at all. Swallowing hurt a lot."
"Danno feels like that at the moment. The doctor's forbidden him from speaking, so I'm with him to make sure he doesn't."
"But he'll be okay again, right?"
"Of course, and you know what? If I give Danny the phone, you can tell him about all the fun you've had with your grandparents."
"Yeah! Thank you, Uncle Steve!" Gracie is so excited to tell Danny everything she's done, that she can barely wait to start.
McGarrett holds the phone next to Danny's ear after a quick glance at the monitor confirms he's awake.
"Hi Danno! Uncle Steve told me that you can't speak. I hope you get better quickly. I miss you!" Grace doesn't pause as she speaks, hoping it would get her dad to say something. When she doesn't hear anything, she carries on.
"Today we went to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa, and it was so big that we almost didn't see all the animals. Charlie was a little afraid of the goat in the petting zoo, but I've been looking after him. They were so small and cute! At the weekend, we want to go up to Scotland, and Grandpa wants to show me the Highlands."
Steve heard everything over the speaker and replies for Danny.
"That's great, Gracie. We hope you have fun on your trip to Scotland. Say hello to Nessie for me."
"Uncle Steve! Nessie doesn't exist!" Pretending to be annoyed with the idea that adults can be clueless sometimes, Grace smiles at the idea that a monster lives in a lake.
"Are you sure?" Steve grins as well, as he imagines it.
"Yes!" she counters convincingly.
"Still, it will be a lot of fun."
"Will you give me to Danno again?" Grace asks.
"Sure. One sec." He turns off the speaker and places the phone next to Danny's ear.
He can only think what the eleven-year-old has to say to her father.
"I love you, Danno!" She pauses for a moment, hoping to hear those same words back to her.
Grace barely speaks the words before Steve hears the heart monitor increase, and some tears run down his cheeks.
"Danno, I have to go now, but I'll call you again soon. And listen to the doctor, so you get better soon!"
"I'll pass that on to him, I promise," Steve says, raising the phone to his own ear again. He hears Grace repeat those words again: I love you.
He can't help but be surprised by how caring the world is.
After Steve hangs up and has put his phone back on the bedside table, he sits back down and takes Danny's limp hand in his own.
"I've said this before, but I'll say it again. The doctors are doing everything they can to figure this out. You need to calm down, Danny, because we don't know what effect this has on the heart."
Slowly, Danny's heartbeat decreases, as does Steve's anxiety. He hadn't been sure if Grace would accept his little white lie.