AN: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry if I didn't reply to you, my email has been messing up, so I haven't always been notified of a review.
But anyway.
Sorry about the delay in updating, but I've been a little stuck.
This isn't the last chapter, as intended, because I got carried away after this chapter. So this means there will be another update whenever I get around to proofing and finishing the next part.
Steve drove as fast as he could, ignoring the majority of the speed limits. Fortunately, the roads weren't overly busy and so Steve managed to make it to the hospital in less than 15 minutes.
"Lori, are you still with me?" She was still conscious, but slow to respond.
"More or less." She replied, her voice thick with pain.
"Come on. Let's get you inside."
Steve pulled Lori from the car and quickly but carefully walked into the Emergency Room. It was relatively empty, seeing as it was only 8:30 in the morning. Steve walked up to the front counter, Lori's arm around his shoulder, leaning heavily on him.
"What can I do for you?"
"I'm pretty sure she's concussed," Steve said. "She's been in and out of consciousness for a while now." The woman at the desk nodded and pointed them to a nurse.
"Take your friend to her and she'll get your friend a bed and a Doctor. I'll need you to come back to fill out the paperwork immediately, though." Steve nodded and began walking. He looked across to Lori, who looked more and more dazed with every step. The nurse standing at the door began talking before Steve could start.
"Let me guess. Possible concussion?" Steve just nodded. The nurse walked quickly down the hall and returned with a wheelchair. Steve sat Lori in the chair, and spoke one last time.
"You hang in there Lori. Alright?" Lori just looked straight back at Steve with a puzzled look on her face.
The nurse began to push her down the hall, but called back to Steve.
"Fill in the paperwork and then come to room 2032." Steve nodded and walked back to the reception. The receptionist handed Steve a clipboard with paper on it and a ballpoint pen. Steve sat down and quickly began hurrying through the paperwork.
He was almost finished when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it without looking at the screen or looking away from the paperwork.
"This is McGarrett."
"Steve, listen I was wondering - " Steve interrupted him almost straight away.
"Sorry Danno, this isn't a good time." There was a quick pause and Danny huffed slightly.
"Why? What's happening now? Are you two watching the football or something?"
"No, I'm at the hospital." He was nearly finished with all the paperwork, and he wanted to end this conversation as soon as he could.
"What? Why? Is Lori alright?" Concern was suddenly evident in his voice.
"I'm not sure. I'll call you as soon as I find out." Steve hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. Standing up, he handed the paperwork back to the receptionist and immediately walked down the long hallway and into room 2032.
Pushing the door open, Steve walked into the small room just as the Doctor began talking to Lori.
"Ms. Weston, it looks like you've got a concussion and one hell of a lump on your head. We feel confident in saying that you have no further complications from the blow to the head, but we will ask you to come back in a week or so to ensure the swelling has gone down, and isn't covering something that we can't see at this time."
The Doctor looked up and noticed Steve. "You must be the one who brought her here?" Steve nodded. "Would you be able to shed any light as to how she managed to get this concussion?"
"We were working on a case yesterday and she was jumped from behind and hit on the head. She assured me she was fine, and she looked and seemed fine, so I assumed nothing was wrong." The whole time he was saying this, his eyes never left Lori, who was now conscious.
"We'll keep her under observation for a few hours, probably overnight, but she should be fine to leave by tomorrow morning." The Doctor peered at his clipboard briefly before hanging it on the end of the bed and walking to the door. "We'll move her to a different room soon so we have this room for emergency patients." Steve nodded and the Doctor turned and left.
Left alone in the small room with Lori, Steve walked over to the edge of the bed, sitting on the plastic chair beside it.
"How're you feeling now, Lori?" She rolled her head sideways to look at Steve.
"They gave me painkillers, so slightly drugged," she smiled. "Which is good." Steve smiled and chuckled slightly. "Sorry about before, you know, telling you that I was fine and all."
"No, it's fine. You're concussed. I can't hold that to you." Lori smiled.
"Thanks Steve. I'm glad you think I'm at least slightly useful now." Steve raised a questioning eyebrow.
"And what gives you that idea?" It was Lori's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Well, you're here aren't you?" Steve winked.
"Are you sure I'm not just a figment of your imagination?" Lori frowned.
"Don't do that. That's just mean." Steve held his hands up in surrender.
"Sorry, sorry." Lori rolled her eyes and looked back at the ceiling again.
"Y'know, I'm going to be so stir crazy by the time they let me out of here, I might just have to kick your butt to use some energy."
"If you weren't concussed, I might've even taken you up on that offer."
Just at that moment, the Doctor returned with two nurses behind him. He walked over to the side of the bed.
"We're ready to move you to a different room now Ms Weston." Lori nodded slightly.
Steve abruptly stood and stepped away from the small plastic chair that had been his seat for the past few minutes. The two nurses that had followed the Doctor in stepped around the bed, kicking the locks on the wheels up and slowly pushed the bed towards the doorway. Steve waited until they were out of the room and began following a few meters behind, pulling his phone from his pocket at the same time.
"Williams."
"Danny, the Doctor reckons Lori is just concussed, and she's being kept in the hospital overnight. Mind giving Chin and Kono a heads up?" There were some mumblings from the other end of the phone and Steve listened curiously, trying to get an idea on what was being said.
"We're coming around soon. Chin and Kono don't feel like doing paperwork."
"I'm not surprised."
"We'll see you soon, Steve."
"Bye." He hung up, and jogged a few steps, catching up to Lori and the nurses.
"Hey, I thought you'd run away." Lori saw Steve walking next to the bed from the corner of her eye.
"Can't get rid of me that easily," Steve replied, winking.
Silence fell as the two nurses continued to walk the bed and Lori down the hallway.
H50H50H50H50H50H50H50
"Steve?" Lori mumbled, half awake.
"What is it, Lori? I'm here," Steve said, moving from his seat at the side of her bed to gently take her hand in his, fingers interlocking.
"Does everyone else know?" She asked quietly, her eyes half open.
"I called Danny. He said that Chin and Kono were on their way over with him." Steve smiled reassuringly.
"Is that where you disappeared to?" Lori asked, a small smile spreading across her face.
"Yeah." There was a knock at the door and Steve turned around to see who was there. Danny walked into the room, hands in pockets.
"Steven, what have I told you about not getting our team killed within the first month?" Danny smiled, stepping past Steve to look at Lori.
"And," he said, raising an eyebrow, "you are not allowed to do this again." His arms were waving slightly, and Lori sensed a rant coming on. "He may not be allowed to get you killed, but that doesn't mean you're allowed to get killed on your own accord, either." Lori smiled slightly again.
"Sorry Danno." He nodded his head slightly to the side.
"But," he continued. "How are we feeling?"
"Better," Lori replied honestly. "Although I can't tell if it's the drugs or your ranting that's doing that."
"Oh, it's the ranting, definitely the ranting." Kono's voice came from the doorway, and Chin chuckled slightly behind her.
"Hey, I do not rant. OK? I just state my opinion in a way that may seem-"
"Danno." Danny didn't even turn to look at Steve.
"What, Steven?" Steve smiled slightly.
"You're ranting."
"Shut up." Danny frowned and stepped to the side to allow Chin and Kono into the room. There were a few greetings called as the team squished into the small room, some directed at Lori, others at Chin and Kono who had driven separately from Danno to the hospital, arriving slightly later after losing time at a few traffic lights.
Somewhere in the midst of the chatting with the team, Lori fell asleep. Somewhere after Danny and Chin's argument about motorbike safety, Steve looked over at Lori who he had noticed had fallen silent for a while.
On the other side of the cramped room, Danny glanced at his watch. Abruptly standing up, he began to leave.
"Sorry guys, I've gotta pick up Gracie from Rachel and Stan. Tell Lori I said bye if she wakes up anytime soon." A few goodbyes could be heard as Danny strode from the room, his phone already buzzing.
"Yes, Rachel. I'm on my way. No, I don't have a gun pointed at my head. Yes, I promise you Steven will be nowhere nearby tonight."
"I'll be off too, Steve," Chin said, stretching as he stood up. "I've got some paperwork to finish up else it'll pile up on my desk for weeks."
"Same here, Cuz. Sorry Steve." Kono stood up, an apologetic look on her face. Steve waved a hand.
"It's fine. Saves me from having to force you to do it later." Chin and Kono chuckled.
"Yes sir. We'll see you later." Steve waved his team off as they left, and then turned back to face Lori, who was still fast asleep. He suddenly realised that his hand was still holding hers, and he slowly began to pull it away. Just as he did, though, Lori tightened her grip on his hand, moving around a little in her sleep, as though something had disturbed her. Steve immediately tightened his grip again, smiling as he noticed a small smiled settle on her face. He looked away for a moment, quickly surveying the room before moving his attention back to Lori. Her brief moment of unrest had caused some loose strands of hair to fall across her face, and he gently brushed them back, tucking them behind her ear. Lori shifted around a little bit again, and squeezed Steve's hand gently, before releasing the pressure. Steve smiled as he felt the smooth, slender fingers between his, contrasting his rough, calloused ones.
"Where'd everyone go?" Lori mumbled, pulling Steve from his thoughts.
"Danny had to go pick up Grace and Chin and Kono decided they had to finish some paperwork." Using her free hand, Lori brought a hand up to her face and rubbed her eyes.
"What's the time?" She asked, looking around for a clock. Steve checked his wristwatch.
"Half past eight," he replied. "You've been asleep for a few hours."
"Which explains the sudden extra amount of energy I have," Lori frowned, frustrated at being stuck in the hospital.
"Hey, you heard Danny's rant. No getting killed by me, or getting yourself killed. That involves following Doctor's orders."
"Yeah, but Danny's not the one stuck in a hospital bed." Lori was really starting to feel stir crazy, the muscles in her legs wanting nothing more than to stand up and burn off some energy.
"If you get up and he catches you, he might just have a stress-induced heart attack. That'd put him in a hospital bed." Steve grinned at Lori.
"That's just mean, Steve." Lori smiled. "But probably called for," Steve shrugged.
"True." The two laughed slightly, enjoying a brief respite from the serious atmosphere of the hospital.
"Are you planning on staying here all night?" Lori asked, subconsciously tightening her hand around Steve's.
"It depends."
"On what?"
"If you plan on abducting my hand for the rest of the night, then yes, I will stay. Otherwise I might leave when you fall back asleep."
"I seem to recall that you were the one who started this." Lori said, gesturing towards their linked hands with her free hand.
"That is completely beside the point."
"How on Earth is that beside the point?" Lori asked, an eyebrow raised.
"It just is, " Steve mumbled, stumped for an argument for once.
A comfortable silence fell as neither Steve nor Lori removed their hand from the other, and the conversation ended there. The two sat in silence for what seemed like hours, but was, in reality, only about half an hour. And then Steve's phone rang. Leaning back into his chair slightly to pull his phone from his pocket, Steve smiled a little at Lori, withdrawing his hand from hers and standing up.
"I'll be right back, OK?" Lori nodded, and watched as Steve left the room, and then shifted her gaze to the cream ceiling.
Lori immediately decided that she didn't like hospitals. The colour was bland, uninteresting, boring, and the smell of the disinfectant on every surface made her head spin at times. The beds were uncomfortable, too, the sheets scratchy, the mattress too hard, the pillows too compact.
"Ms Weston?" Lori was snapped from her thoughts by a voice at the door. "My name is Doctor O'Neill. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before." Lori smiled and shook her head.
"That's alright."
"How have you been feeling since we gave you the pain medication earlier?" The Doctor asked, walking to the foot of her bed, picking up the clipboard.
"Much better," Lori replied immediately, not even telling a tiny lie this time. Her head felt so much better – no more drumming in her temples, no more ringing every time she or someone near her spoke. "Tired, but a lot better." The Doctor nodded.
"That is understandable. The pain medication will make you a little drowsy. Provided no complications present themselves overnight, we will discharge you tomorrow morning. However, you will have to stay supervised for another night to make sure that there are no late complications. This means someone else must wake you every few hours." Lori nodded and was about to speak before someone else did.
"Looks like you're coming back to my place then, Lori." Lori rolled her eyes as she saw Steve grinning from the doorway. He pushed off the doorframe, walking towards his recently abandoned chair. "Thanks, Doc. I'll make sure to let you know if anything happens tomorrow night." The Doctor nodded in thanks.
"When you are discharged tomorrow morning," the Doctor said, turning back to Lori. "I'll make sure you are given my phone number so you can contact me directly if something happens.
"Thank you very much." Lori smiled as the Doctor turned to leave, placing the clipboard on the end of the bed again. He walked from the room, and Steve sat down again.
"Who was calling?" Lori asked, grateful for something to distract her from the boringness of the hospital room.
"Danny." Steve smiled. "He wanted to make sure I was still nowhere near him, so that Grace was safe from anyone that might want to kill her father." Lori laughed.
"Typical Danny." Steve nodded his head to the side.
The two continued chatting quietly for a few minutes until they were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Commander McGarrett?" Steve paused, mid sentence and looked to the door.
"Yes?"
"I'm afraid we need to ask you to leave now. Visiting time ended hours ago, but Doctor O'Neill said you were to stay for longer. However, Ms. Weston needs to sleep now, and so we must ask you to leave." Steve nodded and turned to Lori.
"You heard the nurse," he said, the corners of his lips turning up in a smile. "Sleep. I'll come see you tomorrow and pick you up." Lori nodded, smiling, and Steve turned and left.
"Steve," Lori called, just as he reached the doorway. He stopped walking and turned to face Lori. "Thank you. For staying. I appreciate it." Steve smiled again.
"It's no problem." Lori smiled this time, and Steve turned away again, following the nurse to the exit.
Lori turned her attention back to the ceiling. It really was quite plain and boring, and at some point in her thoughts about how boring the ceiling was, she fell asleep.
AN: Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas, and don't forget to review! Reviews are the best Christmas present I could ask for from you guys. :)
-Scottie.