Danny knew something was wrong with McGarrett and was frustrated when no one seemed to give him answers as a doctor entered the room and moved to the second bed. The nurse who'd introduced herself as Alana drew the curtain across and left him alone with his thoughts.
He heard the doctor asking Steve several questions, but McGarrett's weary response didn't quite reach his ears. Guilt and worry gnawed at his gut, yet he knew he did what he had to do. The fact that the women were safe did little to ease his mind as he listened to Akoni Wilson working on his partner.
"Alana, I want to repeat the blood work," Wilson said and ordered several other tests before pushing back the curtain and moving to Danny's bed.
"Doc, how is he?" Williams asked.
"He's running a fever and showing signs of an infection in the wound. I had hoped the antibiotics would work, but in the commander's case we need a stronger one. We also need to make damn sure there are no more midnight trips to the ER," Wilson explained and reached for Williams' chart. "Now why don't we talk about you, Detective...how do you feel?"
"Like someone drilled a hole in my shoulder," Williams answered and motioned to the immobilized limb. "How long?"
"You'll have to wear that for at least four weeks, Detective, but you'll also need physiotherapy during that time," Wilson told him.
"Damn," the Jersey native cursed softly.
"You're a lucky man, Detective. It could have been a lot worse, but that bullet must have lost a lot of velocity before it entered or it would have torn up muscle and bone, not to mention the major blood vessels. So take it easy and let the staff take care of you. You're hooked up to a morphine infusion pump right now, but tomorrow we'll switch it so you can take the medication when you need it."
"Thanks, Doc," Williams said.
"You're welcome, now please don't make me sorry I let them put you two in the same room," Wilson said before leaving the room.
Danny raised the head of his bed and waited for the nurse to finish with his partner. God, help him he needed to cleat the air and apologize for what he'd said, and hope that he could set things right with McGarrett. All the things he'd said since O'Brien showed up kept replaying over and over in his mind and he thought about what he'd said about Steve needed to pick his friends more carefully.
"Commander, I'll be back in a few minutes to start the antibiotics and a lab tech will be here shortly to draw blood," Alana said and smiled at Williams before leaving the two men alone.
"Steve," Williams called softly,
"Danny," McGarrett turned toward his friend. "You okay?"
"Not really, but I will be...you look like hell."
"Honestly, Danny, I feel like it too," McGarrett answered softly.
"Why'd you come down to the ER?"
"I needed to make sure you were all right."
"That's nice, but tell me exactly what you could have done that trained medical personnel couldn't do? I mean really, Steven, all you did was put your own health at risk."
"It was a risk I was willing to take, Danny. I know it was stupid, but I couldn't sleep and I..."
"Thanks, Steve, but next time ignore that little SEAL with the protective streak and admit to being human," Williams said.
"Sometimes I don't know how to do that," McGarrett admitted as the nurse returned carrying two bags, one of IV solution and the other the new antibiotics. He closed his eyes as she set them up and felt himself drifting toward sleep.
Danny waited for the nurse to leave and turned to his friend, sighing heavily as he readied himself to apologize, but McGarrett seemed to be sleeping. He knew there was no point in speaking and closed his eyes as sleep beckoned to him.
5050505050
Kono and Chin spoke with the ER doctor in an official capacity about the women who'd been brought in with Danny Williams. They were all suffering from bruises and drug use, but it was the emotional trauma that worried the resident the most. They'd been admitted for observation, and their families had been contacted, except for Sandra McMillan.
Kono had told the doctor that Sandra's husband was a patient and that she would personally tell him that his wife was alive. She also understood that right now, Sandra didn't want to face him, but to keep him in the dark about her rescue would be cruel. They reached Kevin McMillan's room and chin held the door for her to enter.
"Mr. McMillan," Kono called and watched as the man turned away from the window and looked at her with such sorrow that it tore at her heart.
"Please tell me you found her," McMillan begged and swallowed convulsively when the two officers stood beside his bed. "Oh, God, she's dead isn't she..."
"No, no, she's not dead, Mr. McMillan," Kono assured him.
"Did you...did you find her?"
"Yes, we did, but..."
"I need to see her," McMillan said and pushed back the blankets, but found his hands caught and held by the woman who'd tried to help him.
"She isn't ready yet," Kono said.
"What do you mean she isn't ready? What's wrong with her?"
"Your wife' been through a lot, and she just needs a little time to come to terms with what happened to her," Chin answered.
"What happened to her?" McMillan asked softly, his heart in his throat as he looked from one face to the other.
"I think it would be better if she told you, but..."
"Please...just tell me what happened to her. Why doesn't she want to see me?"
"It's not that she doesn't want to, it's just that she needs a little time. Just give her that," Kono said. "She'll come to you when she's ready and you'll both be able to talk about what happened. I know you love her and as log as you remember that and give her a little space then you'll both be fine."
"She can have all the time she needs as long as she doesn't try to push me away," Kevin said. "Will you give her a message from me?"
"Yes," Kono answered.
"Tell her that I love her and that nothing that was done to her will change that. She is my anchor and I promise to be the same for her," McMillan told her.
"I'll tell her," Kono said and knew there was nothing more she could do for Kevin McMillan. She silently prayed the couple was strong enough to face what had happened and allow the love they had for each other to wash away the pain and turmoil that came with this type of crime. She walked out of the room and felt her cousin beside her and knew he was as affected by this as she was.
"They'll be fine as long as they remember the love that brought them together," Chin said.
"I know," Kono said as they headed for McGarrett and Williams' room. She opened the door to find both men sleeping and frowned when he noticed McGarrett's flushed features. "Steve looks terrible," she whispered.
"Probably overdid it last night," Chin said. "Why don't we go to HPD and let these two sleep?"
"Sounds good," Kono said and followed him out of the room.
5050505050
Paul Higgins and Charlie Sheffield knew they'd made a mistake where David O'Brien was concerned, but they were smart enough to know how to fix things. McGarrett was still under investigation because of the drugs found in his home, but if they were honest with each other there was no way of making those charges stick now that they'd lost O'Brien.
Williams had been shot, but reports said he would be fine if he took the time he needed to heal. It also meant that Five-O was down half its team and vulnerable. The two members that were left had less than stellar files and had come under IA's scrutiny before. Chin Ho Kelly had dodged a bullet when McGarrett asked him to be part of the governor's task force. Kono Kalakaua was a rookie and should never have been given the position.
Higgins was angry that they'd have to forget going after McGarrett for the moment, but Sheffield had convinced him they'd find another way to get to the SEAL. They were seated in his office with the door closed and away from prying eyes and listening ears, but even here he never felt completely safe. Sheffield had once accused him of being paranoid, but he'd shook it off, yet the truth was he always felt as if he was being watched.
"Charlie, did you hear anything I said?" Sheffield asked.
"What?"
"Jesus, what's up with you today?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Paul, this whole thing is fucked up and if we're not careful we'll fall victim to the trap we were setting up for McGarrett and his team," Higgins told him.
"We've been careful, Charlie..."
"Have we? People have seen us with O'Brien..."
"We were investigating Five-O and he is part of the team so it made perfect sense to question him," Sheffield offered.
"Maybe, but once McGarrett and his team go after O'Brien they'll also turn to us," Higgins said.
"Not if we get rid of O'Brien first."
"How do we do that when we don't know where he is?"
"We find him," Sheffield answered.
"Just how do we do that when there's already a statewide APB issued and yet the bastard seems to have disappeared."
"No one disappears for long, Charlie. He has to surface sometime and when he does we'll make sure we get to him first."
"I hope you're right, Paul, because O'Brien could take us down with him," Higgins said angrily.
"Keep it cool, Charlie," Sheffield warned as a knock sounded on the door. "Business as usual until we find O'Brien."
"Guess so," Higgins said as Sheffield opened the door.
5050505050
Danny hated the feeling of waking up in a hospital bed. Between the taste in his mouth and the medicinal smells he knew he'd need a tube of toothpaste and a large bottle of Listerine just to get rid of the first layer. He reached for the glass of water on the table and took several sips while trying to make sense of what had happened.
David was dirty, Steve had been right about that, but he hadn't been ready to hear it and it had cost him any chance he had with Rachel. It had nearly cost him his friendship with McGarrett and Danny turned his head to make sure the other man was still there. Steve seemed to be sleeping, but he knew the man was awake and decided now was as good a time as any to talk.
"Steve, I know you're awake. Can we talk?"
"Guess so," McGarrett answered and raised the head of the bed so he could see the other man.
"You were right about David."
"I know and I'm sorry, Danny, I wish I'd been wrong," the SEAL told him.
"I do too, but nothing we can do will change that. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you...we wouldn't be here if I had," Williams observed and ran his fingers through his hair before sliding his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. He wavered for a few seconds before using the bed to right himself and moving to his friend's bed.
"You sure you should be up?" McGarrett asked.
"Probably not, but when has that ever stopped either of us?"
"Point taken," McGarrett said tiredly.
"Steve, I need to apologize..."
"You already did."
"Not for what happened the other day. I said some things that should never have been said and I need to explain why."
"You did what you had to do," McGarrett said, his voice soft, yet filled with the emotions he was trying to keep in check. He turned away, not wanting to relive the scene again, but felt a hand on his arm.
"Steve, look I know what I said hurt..."
"I'm big boy, Danny, words don't hurt," McGarrett lied.
"Really?" Williams snapped and regretted the way the single word came out. "Steve, I know damn well words can hurt...sometimes they hurt more that getting shot. Rachel was here earlier and she said she couldn't do this any more. That hurt worst than my shoulder, so don't tell me being told your a dictator with delusions of Godhood didn't hurt because I know better."
"If it wasn't true why did you say it?" McGarrett asked, shifting so that he could sit on the edge of the bed. He felt like crap, but he needed to get this off his chest and make sense of why Danny said what he did.
"I figured the best way to go after David was to make myself look dirty, but we didn't have a lot of time and the only one I could trust besides you and Kono was Chin. We knew David was nearby because I'd seen him when I got here so I staged the whole setup to get in quick with O'Brien. I know you thought he might have been involved with the disappearance of those six women and you were right, Steve."
"I'm sorry, Danny..."
"No! Don't you go apologizing for seeing something I refused to see. If you hadn't opened my eyes those women would still be missing."
"You found them...alive?"
"Yes, they are, but they'll need therapy to help them deal with what O'Brien did to them...what I almost...God, Steve, I've been undercover before, but this...making David believe I could do that to them was the worst. She cried when I touched her even though I tried to let her know she'd be all right."
"Sometimes we're forced o do things we don't want to, Danny."
"I know, but this was bad, Steve. I wanted to just tell her who I was, but that would have..."
"Gotten you both killed," McGarrett finished.
"Yes, and the others too. I did what i had to do to prove what you already knew."
"I didn't know, Danny, but I suspected," McGarrett told him and rubbed at his eyes. "When we were at the bar and the perp took Kono...I saw something just before I was shot."
"What did you see?"
"David's gun wavered for a second and I heard the man say 'You'."
"So maybe David knew him?"
"Possibly. Where is O'Brien?"
"We don't know," Williams answered. "The bastard got away after he shot me. It was dark and he took off through the woods so Chin couldn't go after him. They were supposed to get the canine unit out there, but I don't know if they found anything," Williams said.
"Danny, I'm sorry I was right about David."
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, Steve. I told you once that you needed to pick your friends more carefully...guess that goes both ways."
"Danny, how long do you think David's been dirty?"
"I don't know, but I keep thinking I couldn't have been that wrong about him back then."
"That's how I see Nick. He wasn't always dirty and he saved my life on more than one occasion."
"Sometimes I wonder what could possibly happen to make a man change. I can't begin to imagine what could make me do something like this. Drugs and arms I understand...don't agree with and wish the hell I could do something about it, but this...this is dealing in human lives. He was planning on selling them to some client and we have yet to find out who that bastard is."
"Did O'Brien have anyone working with him?" McGarrett asked tiredly, his arm held tight against his side as the pain he'd been holding at bay returned.
"A man named Howard and several others. Hopefully Chin and Kono will get something from them," Williams said and knew it was time to get back to his own bed. "You should get some sleep."
"Sounds good right now," McGarrett aid and lay back, but left the head of the bed in an upright position as nausea churned through his gut.
"Want me to get Alana?"
"No, think maybe I'll just do as you said and get some sleep."
"All right...thanks, Steve."
"For what?"
"For not telling me to get the hell out," Williams said.
"Couldn't do that."
"Why not?"
"If I told you to get the hell out I'd have to come up with another catchy phrase," McGarrett told him with a hint of a smile.
"Catchy phrase?" Williams said and saw the smile get bigger. "No way, Steven, that's not a catchy phrase...well okay it is when Gracie says it, but it's annoying when you say it."
"Oh I don't know...book 'em Danno works well and so does get back to your own bed Danno."
"Oh, that's real funny."
"Say goodnight, Danno."
" Goodnight, Danno," Williams said and moved back to his own bed. He knew there as more that needed to be said, but for now things were back to normal and it felt right as he climbed into bed and closed his eyes.
Author's Note—- Thanks for the wonderful reviews. You guys are amazing...Winnie