A/N: There is minor mention of Danny's alcoholism, but I've lost track of his sobriety so please don't hold it against me. R and R if you'd like. Feedback is always appreciated and helps a lot. Thanks for the reviews so far. Enjoy.
Chapter 5
Kevin wheeled Danny through the hall once they got off the elevator. He laughed as Danny weakly charmed the pretty nurses with his I'm sick routine.
"How are you feeling today, Agent Taylor?" Vicky, his personal nurse asked as she gently squeezed his shoulder.
"I feel very sick. I don't know if I…" Danny teased but then suddenly his eyes closed and his body limped.
"Agent Taylor? Agent Taylor?" Vicky said very concerned as she rubbed her fist against Danny's chest but he didn't respond, causing Kevin to quickly rush Danny into his room as Vicky grabbed a crash cart.
When Danny was rushed into his room, Dr. Foster immediately knew that something had happened. So, he got Jack, Sam and Viv out of the room and shut the door and curtains.
"What happened to him?" Dr. Foster said urgently as he checked Danny's vitals.
"I don't know. He was joking about not feeling well when he suddenly passed out. I tried painful stimuli but he isn't responding to it." Vicky said urgently as she hooked Danny up to an oxygen mask.
"Do we have the results for his CT yet?" Dr. Foster said seriously as he injected a medication into Danny's IV.
"They said the results won't be ready for another forty-five minutes because they have too many patients." Kevin said very concerned when Danny suddenly began groaning pained.
"Agent Taylor, I need you to open your eyes for me. Do you understand me? Good, that's very good, Agent Taylor. Now, follow the light with your eyes but don't move your head." Dr. Foster said gently but became concerned when Danny tightly closed his eyes and began breathing erratically.
"Calm down, kid. You're safe here. You're okay. Remember, all the pretty nurses are waiting just to take care of the very sexy Agent Taylor. You don't want to make them wait any longer, do you?" Kevin teased lightly but concern was evident in his voice as he gently squeezed Danny's hand in his own.
That kind gesture, was enough to make Danny calm down his erratic breathing. He began to breathe slowly but surely and his vitals stabilized after several anxious minutes, causing Kevin to carefully tighten his grip on Danny's hand when tears escaped Danny's eyes.
"Calm down, kid. No one's is going to hurt you on my watch. Now, what do you have to say to pretty Nurse Vicky here? Hmm?" Kevin said smiling amused, causing Danny to sigh weakly as he grinned a beautiful smile to her and weakly wagged his eyebrows.
"I'm a very sick boy. How about you take care of me while I'm stuck in this place?" Danny softly said smiling as he weakly wagged his eyebrows, causing Kevin and Dr. Foster to inevitably laugh amused when Vicky reddened embarrassed.
"Take it easy, Agent Taylor. I think you've had enough excitement for one day. I'm going to leave Nurse Vicky here taking care of you until I come back with your results." Dr. Foster said kindly as he smiled but Danny knew concern when he heard it.
"What's wrong?" Danny asked weakly but somewhat fearfully again.
"Nothing at all. I just ran some normal tests to make sure that everything is okay." Dr. Foster said kindly as he smiled.
"What…tests?" Danny said weakly but slightly fearful.
"Nothing bad. I just ordered a CT because your friends tell me that you were hurt recently and I just want to make sure that you're okay. So, you just relax and I'll be right back shortly to check up on you." Dr. Foster said kindly and then left the room, causing Kevin to follow him.
"Doc, please wait. I need to speak with you." Kevin said very concerned as he looked toward a now entertained Danny Taylor who's face Vicky was gently soaking with a wet washcloth.
"What is it, Kevin?" Dr. Foster said concerned, but Jack quickly cut in.
"Why do you keep looking at my Agent like that?" Jack said more gruffly than he meant to be.
"What did I tell you, Agent Malone? I told you that Kevin is only here to care for Agent Taylor. So, stop the threatening attitude. Look, I know that you're worried about him, but being spiteful towards my staff for trying to help Agent Taylor, isn't going to help him. You must trust me. My staff and I only have Agent Taylor's best interest at heart." Dr. Foster said a bit sternly but compassionately and then looked towards Kevin.
"Now, what did you want to speak to me about, Kevin?" Dr. Foster asked concerned as he once again looked at Danny. "Does it concern Agent Taylor?" He asked concerned.
"As a matter of fact, it does." Kevin explained cautiously as he moved away from Jack a little. "When I was waiting downstairs to bring Agent Taylor back up, I noticed that a guy was standing in the far corner looking at him. But it was more than that. He was looking at Taylor as if he enjoyed seeing him lifeless. I confronted him and he said that he was Agent Taylor's brother. He also said that Agent Taylor had gotten drunk last night and that's why he ended up here." Kevin explained very cautiously, causing him to look away from Jack when Jack gave him a look that would scare even the dead.
"What did you do, Kevin?" Dr. Foster asked very concerned as he purposefully stood blocking Jack's view, hoping to calm the irate man.
"I didn't trust him and told him that I was going to call security when he tried to touch Agent Taylor. That's when he told me that he was Agent Taylor's brother. I knew that there wasn't something right about him. So, I told him that all he had to do was show me his ID and that I'd let him be with Agent Taylor alone." Kevin explained concerned, causing Sam, Viv and Dr. Foster to grab a hold of Jack when he tried to pounce on Kevin.
"You what?!" Jack roared furiously as they grabbed him tightly .
"Kevin, wait for me in the lounge. Go." Dr. Foster ordered seriously and then turned to Jack.
"That is enough, Agent Malone. If you do not calm down and stop trying to attack my staff, I'll have to remove you from the hospital. Now, I don't want to do that. But your actions aren't helping anyone--much less Agent Taylor. So, unless you want to upset him further, calm down and I'll let you and your agents take a statement from Kevin. This is still a hospital, Agent Malone and there are a lot of sick patients here and don't you forget it. Do I make myself clear on the matter?" Dr. Foster said sternly but compassionately, causing Jack to huff angrily but then he sighed very heavily as he took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
"Follow me." Dr. Foster said seriously and then led the team to the lounge where Kevin was waiting. "Kevin, the agents are going to take your statement now. But I need to know what happened with the gentleman who was claiming to be Agent Taylor's brother." Dr. Foster said kindly but concerned.
"He got mad and told me to forget it. That Agent Taylor was a miserable drunk and that he wasn't going to waste anymore of his money trying to get him clean. That's when he told me to clean up after his mess if I wanted, but that he wasn't going to waste anymore of his time and then he stormed off. That's when Agent Taylor woke up downstairs." Kevin said cautiously as he looked toward Malone.
He couldn't believe it. A man as big as he was, afraid a stubby agent like Malone. Hell, who was he kidding. The older man looked like he ate nails for breakfast. There was no way he'd piss the agent off again--not if he treasured his neck.
"Do you think that you could describe the man to one of our sketch artists?" Viv asked as she put a hand on Jack's arm to calm him down.
"Yes, Ma'am. There's no way that I can forget a face like that." Kevin said with a slight shudder.
"Why do you say that?" Sam asked concerned, not certain that she wanted to know the answer, especially if that man turned out to be the animal who was hurting Danny.
"I just can't get his look out of my mind--the way he looked at Agent Taylor. And when he tried to touch him, he wasn't going for the arm. His hand tried reaching for Agent Taylor's throat but I grabbed it and pushed him away. He got mad but he kept trying to keep his cool by saying that Taylor had one too many beers last night and that's how he ended up here." Kevin said a bit on edge as the team jotted down notes.
Jack, Sam and Viv gave each other a concerned look and they all pointed at each other as they talked all at once.
"Jack, we all know that Danny doesn't drink. He's been clean and sober for ten years now. Whoever's doing this may not know that." Sam said nervously but Jack and Viv shook their heads.
"Or maybe it's someone from Danny's drinking days that he had an altercation with and now the guy's seeking revenge on Danny for whatever reason." Viv said as she gestured with her hands.
"If that's the case, we need to look into his past. Go back to the office and find out everything you can on Danny's past. Find out who his drinking buddies were, where he used to hang out, if someone still holds a grudge against him for any reason. You know the drill. I also want the LUDS on Danny's home and cell phones. We know that the bastard called him this morning. So, it's likely that the son of a bitch has called Danny repeatedly. So, you two head to the office." Jack said somewhat gruffly as he took command again.
"What about you, Jack? What are you going to do?" Sam asked concerned but she already knew the answer.
"I'm staying here with Martin and Danny, Sam. I already called Jeff and he's on his way over here. So, go. You guys head back to the office and call for the sketch artist to take Kevin's description." Jack said with a heavy sigh as he pinched the bride of his nose, causing Viv and Sam to look at him sympathetically as Viv gently squeezed his arm.
"We'll be back later, Jack. But don't worry about our boys. Danny and Martin didn't let Dornvald defeat them. Just like Danny's not going to give up because of this bastard. So, you keep your cool for now. Because when we find this animal, he's going to regret the day he ever messed with Danny." Viv said quietly but with conviction. Causing Jack to sigh heavily and smile at her.
"Thanks, Viv. I really needed that. I'll see you girls, later. Oh, and remember to make sure that no one at the office talks about anything that's going on." Jack said kindly as he smiled a bit sadly and with that, Viv and Sam left the hospital.
Twenty minutes later, the sketch showed up and took Kevin's description. She gave a copy of the computerized sketch to Jack and then returned to the office to give another copy to Viv and Sam. Jack held the picture in his hands and glared viciously at it. He was looking at it, when Martin suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed the sketch from his hands.
"What the…" Jack said angrily but quickly stopped short when he saw that it was Martin. "Martin, what are you doing out of bed? I don't need you passing out like Danny too. Come here. Sit your ass down." Jack said a bit gruffly out of concern, but compassionate as he gently sat Martin down on the couch.
"What are you doing with his picture?" Martin asked confused, causing Jack to become concerned.
"Martin, do you know who this guy is?" Jack asked concerned, his concern growing when Martin nodded confused.
"Yeah, that's Danny's cousin. I was coming into work one day and he told me that he was looking for Danny. I told him that Danny hadn't shown up for work yet and if he needed anything else. We talked for a few minutes and then he left." Martin said still a bit sluggish from the sedative that Dr. Foster.
"Martin, what did you guys talk about? How long did you talk for? What did he say when he left?" Jack said as his concern, anger and fear grew knowing that the bastard had been at the office and he'd not even realized it.
"He said that he recognized all of us because Danny's always telling him stories and because Danny has a Christmas picture of all of us together. Then he asked about how your girls were doing and about Sam and Viv. Jack, what's with the third degree? And you still haven't told me why you have a picture of Danny's…" Martin said somewhat angrily and then as suddenly the realization that he'd been talking to Danny's torturer hit him like a bucket of ice-water as he gasped horrified and went bug-eyed as he tried to stand up--only to be sat down again by Jack.
"Martin, Martin, calm down. Calm down and breathe, damn it." Jack said sternly out of fear as Martin gasped in both fear and anger.
"Son of a bitch! He came to the office! I had him right in front of me! I should've known. I'm going to kill the fucking bastard!" Martin said viscously as he tried to get up.
Jack tried to calm him down, but Martin wouldn't hear it. So, he did the only thing he could do given the circumstances. He grabbed a pitcher of ice-water that was for doctors to drink, and poured the entire contents on Martin, causing him to gasp and cough violently when the water hit him like a ton of bricks.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sean said harshly when he saw Jack throw the ice-water on Martin, causing him to quickly grab a blanket and towels from the cabinet and wrap Martin with them as he viscously glared at Jack.
"Stay out of it. He lost it and it was the only way I could calm him down." Jack said angrily but kept his voice at a minimum because he knew that Danny was close by.
"Then maybe I should do that to you. Because, your attitude hasn't exactly been civilized either." Sean said sternly but couldn't continue when another man showed up in the room.
"Jack, what the hell happened to Martin?" Jeff Carmichael said flustered as he entered the lounge.
"Your friend threw a pitcher of ice-water on him." Sean said as he viciously glared at Jack. " Come on, kid. Let's get you out of these wet clothes. I'll give you some clean scrubs to wear." Sean said kindly but concerned as he led Martin carefully out of the lounge.
"Why did you do that?" Jeff asked seriously.
"Sit down. We need to talk about what's going on with Danny." Jack said sighing heavily as they both sat down.
Jack told Jeff everything that had happened to Danny that morning. He was shocked and outraged at the bastard who'd hurt his good friend Danny Taylor and tried hurting the rest of the team--his family. But he vowed that if he found Danny's attacker, the bastard would remember the name 'Jeff Carmichael' for as long as he lived.
"So, what do you need me to do, Jack? Whatever it is, I'll do it--no questions asked." Jeff said kindly but with conviction.
"I don't want Danny to know that we know about this bastard because then we'll lose him. The bastard already came here today and who knows what he was planning to do or what he's planning to do next. I can't very well put armed agents at his door, so that's when you come in. I want you and one of us from the team, protecting him without Danny knowing it." Jack said with a sad smile, causing Jeff to chuckle softly.
"So, you figured that since me and Danny are good friends, that he won't even suspect that he's being protected or that there's an investigation. Of course I'll watch out for him, Jack. You didn't even have to ask. Now, about you. Why don't you go grab something to eat and try to cool off? I know that you're angry right now, buddy. But you can't go around here trying to hurt everyone for being around the boys. And we both know that you were damn wrong to throw that water on Martin when you said yourself that you've been acting the same way. So, next time you're pissed off, let me know and throw your ass in the river outside." Jeff said slightly sternly but then chuckled when Jack glared at him.
"You're lucky that I've dealt with your ass for ten years. Otherwise, I would've kicked your ass for your smart ass remarks." Jack chuckled slightly amused. "Anyway, enough talking. I'm going to head down to security to see if they have any video of that son of a bitch. You go with Danny and keep and eye on Martin." Jack said as he walked out of the lounge and Jeff headed to Danny's room.
When Jeff got to Danny's room, Vicky was gently cleaning his wounds and there was Danny swooning over her and giving her a lost puppy dog look which caused him to move into her touch when she softly scratched his head.
"Stop trying to keep the hot nurses for yourself, Taylor. Leave some for the rest of us." Jeff teased amused, causing him and Nurse Vicky to laugh when Danny reddened and his eyes crinkled in mirth.
"I'll leave you two alone now. Press the call button if you need me, Agent Taylor, and I'll be here right away." Nurse Vicky said warmly as she smiled and softly soothed his head before she left the room.
"You jerk, you scared away The Future Mrs. Taylor." Danny chuckled amused, causing Jeff to laugh and then Jeff grabbed on to his hand. "What are you doing here?" He asked smiling.
"I came to see if you needed anything. They told me that you were brought here and…" Jeff said caringly and then he mocked gasped. "…ouch, that's a pretty nasty cut. Were you shaving with the real blades, like at the barber shop? I told you not to use those." Jeff said with a sympathetic smile that caused Danny's heart to constrict as he held on tighter to Jeff's hand. "What's wrong, kiddo? Is there something you want to tell me? Hmm?" Jeff said kindly but Danny couldn't tell him, causing Danny to hold onto him tighter when tears escaped his eyes.
"Hey, talk to me, kiddo. What's wrong? You know that you can always count on me. Come on." Jeff said caringly but he grew concerned.
"Tell me the truth." Danny cried softly, barely audible as tears stained his face.
"What truth, buddy? Hmm?" Jeff asked concerned.
"Martin's dead and Jack doesn't want to tell me." Danny quietly cried pained as he held his chest, causing Jeff to gasp horrified.
"Jesus! Danny, what the hell are you talking about, kiddo?! Martin isn't dead. He's in a room across the hall getting changed into some dry clothes because spilled coffee all over his clothes. Why would you think, kiddo? Hmm? Talk to me." Jeff aid calmly but horrified as he tightly held Danny's hand.
"I can't. I don't want anybody to die." Danny quietly cried fearfully as he tightly held Jeff's hand.
"Nobody's going to die, Danny. Please, just talk to me. No matter what happens, I'm not going to let anything happen to you or our friends. Please, just talk to me. Why did you think that Martin was dead, kiddo? I swear that I'll protect you, kiddo. But you have to tell me what's wrong." Jeff pushed on against the hard lump that caught in his throat.
"He said that he killed Martin first because I told Martin. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. That was the deal. Nobody would die if I did what he wanted. But now he's going to go after the team and their families. This is all my fault. I should've kept my damn mouth shut. It's my fault it happened. Aaaaagh!" Danny quietly cried in excruciating pain as he held his chest, causing Jeff to carefully embrace him protectively tight.
"Shhh. It's okay, Danny, just breathe. None of this is your fault and nobody's going to die, I promise. I swear that I'm not going to let anything happen to you or the team. Come on, breathe. Shhh. Just breathe, kiddo, you're safe. You're safe here." Jeff said as he continued holding Danny and the tears that he'd holding back, finally escaped his eyes.
"No, I'll never be safe from him. Even after all these years, he found me again. He's not going to stop until he kills the team and then he's going to finish what he started. He's not going to stop. It's my fault. It's all my fault." Danny quietly cried frantically as he shook violently, causing Jeff to hold him tighter.
"Shhh. Calm down, kiddo. Calm down. None of this is your fault. I'm not going anywhere, okay? But I need you to take some deep breaths for me because I don't want anything to happen to you. Okay? Can you breathe for me? Come on. Take slow breaths for me." Jeff said caringly, causing Danny to breathe and calm down a little.
"That's good, kiddo. You did great." Jeff said caringly and then paused as he took a few calming breaths himself before he could continue. "Danny, there's one more thing that I have to know, okay. I have to. What happened to your throat, kiddo?" Jeff asked very gently, causing Danny to cringe and quietly cry as he shook his head. "Please, I want to help you." he said softly as his voice shook and he held Danny tighter.
"He…tried to kill me this morning but I got away from him. He called me on the phone and said that if I didn't meet with him, he was going to have one of his men kill Martin. So, I went. But when I got to our usual meeting place, one of his guys tied my hands behind my back and held me up by my hair. That's when he pulled the knife and told me that our game had gotten boring and that it was time for me to pay for what I'd done. I fought like hell and I kicked his goon to the floor. When I tried to run, that's when he sliced my throat with the knife but I kept running anyway. I was able to get away from him and a homeless guy cut off the rope with a knife when he saw me trying to run. Hell, I gave him the ninety bucks I had on me and hauled ass back to the office." Danny quietly cried emotionally as he shook.
"Shhh. It's okay. I swear that I'm going to find the son of a bitch hurting you and they'll never forget me as long they live. They're going to regret ever messing with you and the team. Nobody fuck's with my family. Nobody." Jeff said with conviction as tears of anger escaped his eyes.
"Danny?" A voice cried softly, causing Danny and Jeff to turn around and see Martin at the door crying softly--apparently, he and Sean had heard their entire conversation.
"Martin?" Danny quietly cried emotionally. "You didn't lie, Jeff. He's not dead. He's not dead." Danny quietly cried somewhat like a child as he smiled a little and shook, causing him to cry more when Martin embraced tightly in a brotherhood embrace.
"Hell no, brother. Of course I'm not dead and nothing's going to happen to any of us--not you, me, Jack, Sam, Viv, Jeff, none of us. You're not going to let that bastard kick you down, are you? Just like we beat Dornvald, we're going to beat this sick son of a bitch 'til the end and then we're going to make him pay for putting you through hell. So, what do you say, brother? Are you going to stand up and fight with us or are you going to let that bastard win and push us away? Answer me?" Martin softly cried with conviction as he tightly held Danny in a powerful but careful embrace.
"But…" Danny quietly cried but couldn't continue when Jeff cut him off.
"No, Danny. There's no buts about it. Are you going to let us--your family--help and protect you? Or are you going to let that sick animal win? The choice is yours, kiddo. Do you want our help?" Jeff said with conviction as he too held Danny protectively.
"Help me." Danny cried weakly until complete darkness took over and he went limp in their protective embraces, knowing that at least for the moment, they were safe.
"Danny?" Martin and Jeff suddenly said fearfully, causing Sean to check Danny's vitals.
"Shhh. Calm down, he's okay. The poor kid is completely exhausted from all the medications we've given him. You guys can stay here and keep an eye on him, but let him rest. And remember, that anyone who comes through here has to show you ID. And if somebody tells you that I or Dr. Foster are calling you, start to worry, because if we need to talk to you we'll come to you we'll come ourselves. Anyway, if you need anything else--blankets, food, anything--just buzz the nurse and they'll help you out right away. But for now, I have to go see Dr. Foster about his results. So, I'll see you three in a little while." Sean, Dr. Novak, said kindly and then left the room, causing Jeff and Martin to grabs tight brotherhood grips of Danny's hands.
"Just get some sleep, brother. We're not going anywhere." Martin said softly but with conviction.
"And don't be scared anymore. We're going to take care of you and the team and nothing's going to happen to any of us." Jeff, too, said with conviction.
Somewhere deep down inside, through all the darkness, Danny heard his friends' voices and allowed his mind and body to drift off to a peaceful sleep away from any fears and threats. And although he was still very much afraid, he didn't have to face this torturous journey all alone anymore. He'd have his friends--his family--to lead him every step of the way.