About six hours passed before Dr Peters' came to the waiting room.
"He handled the surgery well, he's a very strong young man. The intestinal incision had become infected and split open. We were hoping not to have to remove any of his intestine, but to assure that we can avoid additional infections we removed eight inches and then we performed a re-section ..."
He was interrupted by Danny, "How is this going to affect him?"
"Long term, he should be fine. This is the type of surgery we would perform to remove a cancerous growth as an example. Short term we will keep him on a feeding tube until he heals and then we will slowly wean him onto solid foods. There is nearly five feet on intestines in the body, removing what we did should not cause any permanent issues for him. I did want to discuss the tests we've run with you, I understand you're Mr. McGarrett's power of attorney?"
Danny shook his head, "Yes sir I am. You can speak to all of us"
"His EKG shows minimal heart damage which is a very good sign and again can be attributed to his superior physical conditioning. But I'm afraid to tell you the Cat scan results show only minimal brain activity. Mr. McGarrett is in a coma"
Danny was seated between his two friends and Kono reached over to grasp his hand as he spoke, his voice soft and shaky, "What is his prognosis Doctor?"
"It's far too soon to tell. Brain traumas are very unpredictable. I was informed though that his body reacted to the pain of the bleeding and that is a good sign. The nurse told me you spent a lot of time talking with him throughout the night. Did he exhibit any reaction, eye movement, moans or squeezing your hand?"
"No Doctor, nothing..."
"It's very soon after the trauma so that is not surprising. Once he is out of the ICU and in his room it's important to keep talking with him, read to him, play music, attempt to prompt responses from him. He seems to be quite a fighter, don't give up on him"
"We'll never give up on him Doc, I promise you that. Thank You for all you've done and I'm sorry I gave the nurses a bit of a hard time. I'll apologize when I see them"
"I promise you that's not necessary. You were simply looking out for your friend, just like they are, they understand. Do you have any more questions"
"When can I see him?"
"It will be about an hour. I'll have the nurse come get you once he's settled"
"Thank You"
The three sat for several minutes in silence before Chin spoke, "Danny, we've got to stay positive man. He's beating this and we just have to be there for him"
All Danny could do was nod his head in agreement. He was exhausted and it was going to be a very long day.
Chin again spoke, "Why don't I go check on Jonathan's condition and then head to the airport"
"MaryAnn, I almost forgot. Are sure you don't mind?"
"Of course not. I'll call you and check in, you just take care of our boy"
"I'll come with you Chin"
"No Kono, you can stay here. I'll take care of things"
"Okay cous', let me walk you out" Chin squeezed Danny's shoulder as he and Kono left the waiting room.
Outside of the waiting room Kono and Chin embraced, "Kono try to get Danny to rest. He looks horrible. This is going to be a long haul, we have to stay strong and rested"
Chin wiped the tears from his cousins cheeks and kissed her gently before turning to walk away. Kono took a deep breath to compose herself and made her way back to Danny's side.
Danny was still sitting on the couch, staring at the ground. Kono knelt in front of him, placing a hand on his knee. "Danny, can I get you something to eat?"
"No, no I'm fine...Thank You"
"Okay, okay...I need you to lay down for me though. Just rest until you can see him" Before Danny could argue she had stood and was gently pushing him back onto the couch. "Danny you'll be no good to Steve if you aren't rested"
"Alright dear...you win. I need to call Catherine first though."
"I can do that"
A small smile creased his face as he handed her Steve's phone, then lying back onto the couch he closed his weary eyes. He was exhausted and he knew the rest would do him well.
Kono moved over to the window and dialed Catherine. After giving her the update she turned back towards Danny, hearing him softly snoring. She covered him with a blanket from the back of the couch and then sitting in a nearby chair she sipped her coffee and waited.
About ninety minutes later the nurse entered and Kono woke Danny.
"Hello Danny, he's settled. You can see him now"
Running his hand through his hair, he squeezed Kono's hand and nodded.
"Give him a kiss for me Danno"
They smiled at each other and Danny followed Nurse Jenny to the ICU, talking as they walked, "How is he?"
"His vitals are steady. The Doctor has him on a higher dose of IV antibiotics and pain medication. His body has been through a lot. I'm looking forward to getting to know him once he regains consciousness. He's a very strong man"
"Very strong, and very special. And may I add extremely stubborn"
"Those are very good traits to have with injuries like these. All we can do for him at this point is monitor his pain and keep him as comfortable as possible. His body needs time to heal"
"I'm sure you've heard I caused quite a scene in here last night, I'm sorry"
"No worries. You love him and are concerned, we all understand that"
"Thank You" Once in their scrubs, they entered the room.