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Chapter 14

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Just shy of five hours after being admitted to Tripler, Danny woke slowly and with not only a stuck brain, but a mouth that seemed to be clogged with cotton. His right arm was leaden across his chest and with a great deal of confusion, his eyes traced a blurry red line from the crook of his left elbow to an equally red but nearly empty bag.

His short intake of breath and weak attempt at moving brought Steve directly into view. Unkempt and clearly a combination of relief and frazzled temper, it was apparent Steve blurted out only what first came to mind. "Danno. Welcome back."

Danny stared at him and then frowned even more. He didn't quite know what had happened and didn't fully understand the tiny bandage on the side of Steve's temple near which, a purpling bruise darkened into his hairline. Lazily looking around the room and then the bed he lay on, his eyes went back up to the IV pole and he pursed his lips. But he was still groggy from the anesthesia and not much in the mood to talk, so he wound up waiting for Steve to explain what was going on.

"Transfusion." The too blandly said one word was shared by his angry partner who was standing at the foot of his hospital bed. Not expecting that to be the offering, neither the attitude nor the word made sense. Still in the dark, he tried to open his mouth but failed miserably when a wave of exhaustion swept over him from head to foot. Danny closed his eyes tiredly and tried to remember.

He of course didn't know that Doctor Ramirez had recently left the room as well, after ensuring Danny's care was up to par; not that it wouldn't have been. He also had reassured himself, plus both Steve and Chin, that Kono was indeed quite fine. Their quiet conversation had been intense as Steve brought the big doctor up to speed on what they now knew Alan Parker was responsible for. "He's been escalating for years." Steve explained. "When his father transitioned out of running the clinic actively, that just became another avenue to get what he wanted."

They still needed to learn so much more; slowly and surely they certainly would. Some of which Steve knew would seem unjustly obvious though the crazy doctor had done well in hiding his true personality. Even his own father had sensed something was wrong, however like Ramirez, he had assumed it focused solely on diverted budget dollars, stolen medical merchandise, and an illegal drug trade. With a long list of innocent people mutilated, murdered and abducted all of this new knowledge did very little to pacify Ponch's turbulent emotional state.

Opening his eyes again, Steve had moved to lurk closer to the bed. He was anxiously watching a nurse and absorbing her soft reassurances that his partner was in the post surgical recovery room for a reason. "Of course, he's going to be confused and very tired, sir."

So now after waking from a critical surgery to not only save the use of his arm but also his life, the only reason Danny knew Steve was angry was due to the tightly stretched skin by his eyes. The deeply furrowed brow only added to the severe expression set off by a rigidly held posture and it was likely a good thing that Danny's throat was too dry to speak. The nurse walked away and Steve glanced down, relieved to find Danny's eyes open. Once again though, his comment wasn't what Danny expected to hear.

"I should cut your arm off myself." Steve had no real reason to be mad except that he was; and his display of anger was more testament to what had nearly happened. First the shock of finding Kono so helplessly close to being mutilated and then murdered had been maddening. Then learning the truth behind Alan Parker, the small clinic and the relationship to the organ trafficking case was an unexpected jolt of reality for all of them. On top of it all, Danny's simple little scratch hadn't been so much of one. A clearly dazed and shocked Doctor Mitchell could even see that well enough before the ambulances had arrived to the warehouse.

Steve unconsciously looked at his fingers expecting to still see dried blood and was fully relieved when he didn't. He had washed that off long ago while Danny had still been in surgery. Not yet mentally digesting what had almost happened to Kono and listening to the inane laughter from Parker, Steve hadn't been able to stop the flow of blood that had continued to eke through the bandages on Danny's arm. The fact that it wasn't a mere scratch had become more painfully obvious as Danny physically wilted in front of him and Duke Lukela, still complaining that he'd suffered nothing more than that.

Standing over him now, Steve rubbed his eyes and then scrubbed at his hair, wincing when he glossed accidentally over his own bruises. An hour was a long time to wait for news on anyone in a hospital. He'd been forced to endure four before word reached him that the surgery was going well and that Danny was holding his own. Then it took another hour after that for staff to permit him to visit though his partner was still in recovery.

Steve had been waiting for Danny's eyes to open or for the slightest of movements. What he had just said wasn't even close to what he'd rehearsed, but the relief at having it finally happen, accidentally came out as sarcasm. He took a deeper breath in order to start over when he saw the continuing depths of the confused expression.

"I'm sorry." For a brief moment, Steve hung his head and whispered mostly into the bed's metal frame. "Sorry, Danny. It's been a rough day."

After that, he was at a loss for words as he ground his jaw deliberately from left to right. It was easier to start at the beginning, which was to explain to his partner where he actually was and why. He blew out a steady breath of air before beginning with a much softer tone. "It wasn't just a scratch, Danno. You're in the hospital ... at Tripler ... and you just got out of surgery a little while ago."

Steve forced his voice to remain low after their stressful afternoon. Danny's right arm had been operated on to repair layers of damaged tissue, a torn ligament, and badly severed blood vessels. Of course, that had been the instinctive arm to throw up into the air to protect himself from the downward swing of the razor-sharp scalpel. The attack had been a surprise but his reaction had nearly been his undoing.

"It was very deep." Steve repeated himself as Danny's face worriedly changed. He was remembering short dark snippets of time now that Steve was quietly reciting what had occurred at the warehouse. "It wasn't just a scratch and you could have bled out. You could have lost the use of your arm. But you'll heal if you listen to the doctors. And trust me, Danno, you will listen."

Steve had a slight concussion himself, a vile headache, had almost lost two of his team and was in a terrible mood. Possibly one that even rivaled Doctor Ramirez's own. That irritability was another thing Danny quite naturally realized and he waited to be updated next on Kono's status. He waited patiently as Steve inhaled loudly in another attempt to settle edgy nerves before slowly sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Kono's fine. She was heavily sedated just like Doctor Mitchell said .. her knee was cut up from the surfing accident this morning. But even that's okay and has been looked after." Not needing to talk, Danny quirked a small smile because it was good news and completely closed the terrifying loop.

"HPD called hazmat to go through a few things at the clinic and they found her wallet and cell phone tossed into medical waste disposal bins." The more he finally spoke, the more Steve deflated and Danny allowed it all to happen. The man needed to talk to calm his nerves and assure even himself that his friends were going to be fine. "Chin is with her, and she's already beginning to wake up. She actually missed all the action and only remembers being at the clinic. She doesn't remember anything else."

With their stress all skyrocketing, it was almost amusing to find that Kono had essentially slept through the entire affair from start to finish. It was also a blessing unto itself because she was saved from having had to see or experience what they had witnessed. Entirely serious, Steve was still talking as he completed the necessary updates. "I don't think she needs to stay the night, but she's still woozy and being monitored. She's on a round of fluids to flush all of that stuff out of her system."

"Good." The word puffed out on an exhale. Danny nodded wearily before running the fingers of his left hand through his hair and asking about Alan Parker's first kidnap victim. "Mitchell?" He asked quietly before coughing as his dry throat hitched. "How's he?"

"Mentally and physically exhausted." Steve confirmed, while handing Danny the plastic cup of water and then managed a grin. He retrieved and then balanced the left-handed bobble before the cup could spill, made even more awkward by the effects of pain killers and anesthesia. "He's suffering from shock, dehydration and exposure. Doc Ramirez showed up with the dog of all things but it seemed to help pull Mitchell out of the worst of his funk. He's going to need time though."

Danny closed his eyes in sympathy while he whispered to agree, "Sure."

The basement room was dark, solid and dismally solitary. He understood the mental stress and didn't doubt that the young doctor would need time to move past that terrible experience. He sensed Steve fidget and then the bed moved as Steve got back to his feet. He was still running on the remnants of a nervous energy and unable to sit still for too long.

"You're staying a day or even two. Get some sleep." His eyes were already skidding shut though as Steve provided him with that last bit of information.

Danny recognized a tone that would have sounded defeated to someone else's ear. In reality, Steve was as mentally and emotionally drained as he claimed Jasper Mitchell to be. Once it all dissipated from his system, he'd probably sleep for hours now that his own adrenalin rush was plummeting. Danny knew that before he hit his own bed, his partner would use the ocean to purge whatever was left despite the bruise on his temple. It was part and parcel of the job, a habit Steve needed to ensure his own sanity, and Danny couldn't complain as he allowed himself to fall asleep.

He would learn about Alan Parker's fate later; right now, everything was mostly right in the world and he could rest.

Remaining in the room a few more minutes, Steve paused in the doorway to be sure his partner was sleeping. The transfusion was nearly complete but two other intravenous lines were forcing both fluids and antibiotics into Danny's system to combat infection. The nurse was back if she had ever actually left to check one thing or another and she smiled at Steve once more.

With another abstract glance towards his hands, Steve shook his head in one last attempt to rid himself of the nightmarish memories. Kono on an operating table. A crazed maniac in a white surgical mask. He sucked in a deep breath before finally leaving. The clean white bandage that now covered Danny's arm and a multitude of expertly laid stitches was an enormous difference from the bloody wad that the first had become.

~ to be continued ~