Danny reached blindly for the phone on his night stand. Seeing Steve's number on the screen he glanced at the clock, three o'clock. Bringing the phone to his ear, he spoke wearily, "Steve…..what's up?"
"Da….aann..o…..hhellp….Dann…oo" Steve's voice was so soft that Danny could hardly hear him.
"Steve, hold on buddy…I'm on my way…hold on" He was calling Chin and Kono as he threw his pants on and raced from his apartment. They all arrived at the McGarrett home within seconds of each other. Drawing their guns, Chin moved to the back of the house as Danny and Kono moved towards the front door. They shared a worried glance as their flashlights hit the door. It was open half way and there were bloody handprints on the door. As they entered the living room a lamp was overturned and broken on the floor. Sweeping the lights across the room they noticed nothing else out of place in the tidy home. To their right, Chin came from the kitchen, "All clear". They turned their lights to the steps and Kono gasped at the sight of the bloody footprints on the light tan carpeting. They went swiftly from room to room until they came to the master bedroom. They swept their lights across the room noting the blood stained sheets and pillow. Certain no one was in the room, Chin flipped on the lights and instantly they spotted Steve's bare feet on the floor at the end of the bed. Danny raced over and looked down on his injured partner.
His hands were bound behind his back and his feet were also bound. He was dressed only in boxers and blood pooled on the carpet under his chest. His face was turned to the side, his cell phone lay close to his mouth. He was deathly still and pale, he had a deep, bloody gash above his eyebrow and his face was bruised. Danny knelt at Steve's side feeling his neck for a pulse. "He's alive…..Steve…Steve, wake up buddy"
"Daanoo…Cath…..where'sss Caathh?"
"Hang on buddy, let us get these ropes off you" Chin worked on the feet as Danny untied his hands.
"Daanny…wwhere's Cath?"
Rolling Steve onto his back they noted the bullet wound in the left shoulder, Steve was struggling to sit. "Stay calm buddy, we don't know where Cath is. We'll find her though. Let us take care of you first here now, we're going to get you to the hospital"
"NNOO…..nnoo hospital….Dannyyy…"
"Steve, you've got a chunk of lead in your body, if we don't get that out soon you'll get infected and you will die. What good will you be to Cath and the baby then, huh?" "
No ttimme for the…..hhospi..tal…..Daanyy…you take….iittt outtt"
"What are you talking about, I can't take that out?"
Steve turned to Chin, "Chinnn, would you…..ppp…leasee take this bb…bullet out…ssoo I CAN GO FINNDD MMY WIIFEE!"
Chin looked at Steve, then Danny, "Yes boss, I can remove it"
"Are you two insane? This isn't the damn wild west Chin!"
"DDanny…..I'm llosing a lot….of bbllood…sttopp wasting ttimme….and let's ddoo this"
Chin added, "Danny, I've done this before"
"Oh great…just great…..you've DONE this before…..is that supposed to make me feel better?" Running his hand across his face he looked at Steve and added, "What do I need to do?"
Chin sent Kono from the room to boil water and get the needed supplies as the two detectives lifted Steve and carried him to the far side of the bed. Following Chin's instructions, Danny sat at the head of the bed and they positioned Steve in his lap. As Danny held a shirt tightly to the wound Steve spoke softly, his voice pained not only by the physical wounds he had suffered but even more so for the fear he felt for his beloved wife and son. "Four men…..Asian…..I didn't hhear…..them 'til…it was too ll..late"
Chin squeezed the injured man's hand, "Try to relax now bro…..we'll talk later"
Steve's breathing became very rapid as the urgency of the situation began to sink in.
His head was resting against his partners' chest and Danny spoke soothingly into his ear, "Slow down your breathing buddy. We're all here for you, just relax"