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Chapter 7:
The clearing was much too small for the Army helicopter to land, so the aircraft hovered over the trees like a huge, dark predator. The rotor blades chopped noisily through the air, causing the trees to sway dangerously, shedding their leaves that whirled to the ground like giant green snowflakes before they calmly settled down on the muddy ground.
Squinting to protect their eyes from the artificial storm, Kono, Chin and Danny watched impatiently how the helicopter descended as much as possible before two Army medics swiftly rappelled down, landing only a few steps away from the waiting Five-0 team. Their feet had barely touched the ground when they immediately released their safety hooks and rushed over to Steve's side.
"Can you tell me what's happened?" the taller of the two men asked, addressing no one in particular as he put his large bag onto the ground, opened it up and pulled out a stethoscope and a few other medical instruments. Slipping off his helmet, he revealed cropped red hair that almost seemed to glow in the bright sunlight.
Listening to Danny's sparse explanations the medic exchanged a brief silent conversation with his partner before he pressed the stethoscope against Steve's bare chest. The other man motioned Chin to keep on handling the Ambu bag while he wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Steve's left upper arm. Reluctantly Danny stepped back a bit and let go of Steve's hand to make space for the two soldiers to work but both men radiated calm and professionalism so that Danny immediately had the feeling that Steve was in good hands.
"He had been trapped in that box for how long?" the red-haired medic asked in surprise and disgust as he stowed the stethoscope away in his bag a few moments later. His gaze darted from his patient to the tiny metal box before it came to rest on Danny.
"We don't know for sure," Williams replied, heaving a frustrated sigh as he ran his hands over his hair. "But we think it had been for at least four hours."
"Not much air in there…" the second medic murmured under his breath, his brow furrowed in concern. Locking eyes with his partner he instructed quietly, "He's not breathing on his own, pulse is fast and shallow and his vitals are dropping constantly. Let's just insert a laryngeal tube to help him breathe, there's no time to sedate him to get a proper endotracheal tube in. We have to move him to Tripler as fast as possible." Swiftly standing up, he said with a nod toward the hovering helicopter, "I'll prepare the harness while you insert the tube, I'll be right back."
Without looking up the red-haired medic nodded shortly as he rummaged through his bag and only a moment later he pulled out a small plastic tube and a black oxygen tank. Quietly talking to Chin who was still regularly squeezing the Ambu bag, he quickly explained the procedure as he knelt down next to Steve's head. He checked his equipment one last time and then motioned Chin to take the Ambu bag away.
In one swift, experienced move he opened Steve's mouth and slid the tube in but immediately removed it again when the unconscious man started to gag weakly, obviously fighting against the foreign body in his throat. With a concerned frown the medic dropped the tube and snatched the Ambu bag from Chin's hands. "He's not tolerating the tube," he said, gesturing Chin to press the mask over Steve's mouth and nose, while he configured a few settings on the oxygen bottle that he'd carefully placed onto the ground next to Steve's head. "Well, I guess the mask has to do for now, we'll handle everything else when we have him loaded into the chopper."
Putting away all the medical equipment into his bag, his gaze fell on Danny who had moved back to his partner's side, his fingers once more curled around Steve's limp hand. "Luckily Tripler is only a few minutes flight away," the red-haired man said with a small smile, pressing his fingers against Steve's neck to check the pulse of his patient one more time. Scanning Steve's body for any other injury that needed attention, he noticed the small visible part of the yellow print on McGarrett's dark blue top that was still wrapped around his right wrist. "He's a SEAL?" the soldier asked curiously when he recognized the logo, raising his eyebrows in surprise while he grabbed his helmet.
"Ex SEAL," Danny confirmed. "Now head of Five-0. Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett."
Looking up the medic let his gaze briefly travel over Danny before he returned his concentration to his patient. "Five-0? I've heard a lot about you guys. Williams, right?"
"Danny," the blond detective answered, bending a little bit forward to throw a look at the medic's name tag on the front of his green overall. "And you are?"
"Sergeant Julian Pepper, or Match to my friends," the medic said with a crisp gesture toward his coppery hair that really made him look a little bit like a giant matchstick. Turning around when he heard footsteps approaching he slipped on his helmet and raised to his feet in one swift move.
"Sergeant Pepper?" Danny asked, not able to completely ban the smirk from his voice despite the dire situation they were in and his worry for Steve. "Seriously? And he's a member of your Lonely Hearts Club Band?" he pointed at the second medic who had just returned and was now grinning knowingly at Danny's comment, apparently he'd heard the same remark a few times before.
"Great, another Beatles fan," Match replied indulgently, clearly accustomed to the obvious joke. "There must be millions of you out there." A small smile played around his lips as he stared down at Danny who still knelt by Steve's side. "That's Sergeant José Garrocha," he introduced, nodding toward his partner.
"José to my friends, no fancy nickname," Garrocha added with a little grin before he turned serious and pointed over his shoulder. "Match, I've prepared everything, let's get him airborne."
"Can I come with him?" Danny asked desperately as he jumped to his feet, not willing to leave his partner's side for a single moment.
Having noticed the way Danny had held Steve's hand tightly in his own the whole time, Match considered the plea for a moment. But he had been a soldier long enough to know comradeship when he saw it and so he finally said, "Usually it's not standard, but I think we can make an exception." Slapping Danny on the shoulder, he flashed him a bright grin as he nodded toward the waiting helicopter, "Come on, let's strap you in."
Danny remembered vividly Steve's and his trip to the petroglyphs that had also ended with a flight in an Army Evac chopper, at least for Steve. But watching the rescue from safe ground or being part of it, the rotor blades cutting through the air directly above your head while you were hanging from a swaying rope, tightly strapped to a brightly grinning soldier, were clearly two very different animals and Danny puffed out a relieved breath when he felt the relatively safe metal floor of the helicopter under his feet.
As was expected his hairstyle hadn't withstood the turbulences and Danny ran both hands over his hair to smooth it back to its usual look before he moved over to his partner. McGarrett had been hoisted first and by the time Danny sat down by his side, Sergeant Garrocha had already attached Steve to another ventilator, a breathing mask covering most of Steve's pale face.
Williams heard Sergeant Pepper – and he had to suppress another fit of hysterical laughter when he thought about that name – shout something behind him and a moment later he felt the helicopter gain height and tilt gently to the left.
Once more grabbing Steve's left, uninjured hand, Danny noticed for the first time how cold and clammy his skin was. His gaze fixed on Steve's slack face he wrapped both of his hands around Steve's and squeezed gently, hoping to provoke any reaction from his unconscious friend.
Despite the heavy headphones it was uncomfortably noisy inside the huge Army chopper and Danny was glad that Tripler was not even ten miles linear distance. On the few minutes flight there was just enough time for the medics to search for a vein in Steve's arm, start an IV and attach a few ECG electrodes to Steve's chest. Danny tried to ignore the chatter of the two men he heard over his headphones, because he had no idea what all the medical terms and figures meant and that just added to his lingering worry.
Not even five minutes later he felt the helicopter slowing down and losing height and when he turned his head to throw a brief look out of the window Danny saw the huge hospital complex of Tripler Army Medical Center right in front of them. Breathing out a relieved sigh when the aircraft landed with a gentle bump at the hospital's helipad, Danny suddenly felt how Steve's left hand in his grip started to tremble ever so slightly. Frowning, he immediately returned his attention to his injured partner just in time to see a faint shiver run through McGarrett's body.
"Match?" Danny said hesitantly, addressing the red-haired medic who was preparing the ventilator and the IV bag, so that it would be possible to unload Steve's gurney as soon as Sergeant Garrocha opened the huge sliding door and hand over Steve to the waiting medical team without losing time.
"Match?" Danny repeated more urgently when another shiver racked Steve's body. "I think something's wrong, he…"
But before Danny was able to finish his sentence, the shivering increased and suddenly developed into a full-blown seizure.
"Shit," the tall medic exclaimed as he bolted to his patient's side in the blink of an eye. "Commander McGarrett? Can you hear me? Commander?" Match asked loudly, trying to get through to Steve but if anything the seizure got even worse.
Swiftly drawing up a clear liquid into a syringe he shouted over his shoulder, "José? Hurry up – and tell them he's convulsing."
"Shit," Match repeated through gritted teeth, nodding sharply toward Danny. "Danny, I need your help," he said, motioning the Jersey cop to take his place at Steve's side. "Talk to him and try to calm him down, but don't touch him while he's still convulsing," he instructed, hurriedly inserting the medication into Steve's IV line.
Wide-eyed and on the verge of panicking at the sight of the recent events Danny did as instructed, rushing to Steve's side while he repeatedly called his friend's name.
Whatever Match had administered seemed to act fast because only a moment later Danny saw Steve relax onto the gurney, but nevertheless he was scared out of his wits. The short flight to the hospital had been smooth and nothing had indicated that Steve's condition would take such a turn for the worse.
His gaze glued to his partner's ashen face, Danny was barely aware that someone grabbed him by the arm, gently guided him away from Steve's side and made him sit down, his back against one of the cold metal walls of the chopper. He watched absently how Steve's gurney was yanked out of the helicopter and soon McGarrett was out of sight when the team of medics rushed him into the hospital building.
Williams startled when he felt someone touch his shoulder and then the headphones were gently slipped off from his head. Astonished he noticed that it was suddenly eerily quiet, obviously the pilot had turned off the engine a moment ago and only the big rotor blades swooshed smoothly and sluggishly through the air before they also came to a complete halt. Raising his hands to rub the sudden tiredness from his face Danny registered detachedly that his fingers were trembling visibly. Slightly leaning forward, he put his elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands. Pressing his palms against his closed eyes, he breathed deeply in and out a few times until he once more felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Danny, you alright?" Match's calm voice barely penetrated Danny's dazed mind and he had to pull himself together to actually understand the words through the buzzing in his ears. "You're not going to pass out on us, are you?"
His face still hidden in his hands, Danny took another deep breath, the minute shake of his head almost invisible.
"Come on, man, talk to us. You alright?" Match repeated, a bit more urgently this time as he slapped Danny gently on the shoulder.
With a tired little sigh, Danny finally let his hands drop to his lap and opened his eyes. Looking up he was slightly embarrassed to notice that the two Army medics watched him intently with a concerned expression, ready to provide support at any time.
"Yeah, I'm alright," he replied hoarsely, rolling his shoulders as he flashed them a sheepish smile. "Sorry, it's just…" Danny's voice trailed off when he weakly waved his hands through the air, vaguely motioning in the direction Steve had disappeared only a few moments ago.
"You're worried for your partner," Garrocha finished his sentence, nodding in sympathy. "No problem, we understand."
"What the hell just happened there?" Danny asked quietly for the second time that day, begging the two men in front of him for an explanation. "Steve, he was… I mean…" he interrupted himself, noisily clearing his throat before he tried again. "He seemed not to be too bad; I mean as good as he can be expected to be under the circumstances. Why the sudden seizure? What is happening to him?"
"Hey, give him some time, okay?" Match said reassuringly, placing his hand again on Danny's shoulder. "Your friend had been trapped inside a tiny metal box for God knows how long, it was dark, there wasn't much air and it was probably incredibly hot in there. Added to this we're probably dealing with a nasty concussion and I'm pretty sure that little burn on the side of his neck was caused by a taser."
Danny's head jerked up at the mention of a taser and he gritted his teeth in sympathy and anger. What else had that crazy woman – and by now Danny was sure that all that had happened to Steve was indeed Claire Sacotte's doing – done to his partner?
"His body needs just a little bit of time to cope with everything," Match said, giving Danny's shoulder a gentle squeeze before he grabbed the smaller man's arm and pulled him to his feet. "Hey, he's a SEAL, he will pull through, trust me. These people are the craziest and toughest guys in the whole military, and I freely admit this even if I'm not Navy myself."
"Tell me about it," Danny snorted at that comment, feeling how a tiny bit of the pent-up tension left his body. "But it's nice to finally get it officially confirmed that he's batshit crazy."
"Come on," Sergeant Garrocha said with a nod of his head, gently pushing Danny toward the open helicopter door. "We'll show you the waiting room where you can wait for information on your partner."
"Okay," Danny sighed wearily as he hopped out of the chopper and followed the two medics into the building. "Thanks guys."
Not even five minutes later José had guided Williams into a small, air-conditioned waiting room at the end of a busy corridor with surprisingly comfortable looking seats and two or three vending machines opposite the door while Match had gone off to find out about McGarrett's whereabouts.
"Your partner's being treated in the ER right now, Dr. Pierson is the attending doctor," the red-haired medic said when he joined them only a moment later. "He will get to you as soon as there is any news."
Before Danny was able to answer, a high-pitched whistling filled the air and José's and Match's hands flew to their belts when both of their beepers angrily flared to life.
"Hey Danny, sorry, but we have to go," Match said quickly, giving Danny another slap on the shoulder before he turned around and followed his partner to the door. "We'll come by later if our time allows."
"Thanks for your help," Danny called after them, meaning it from the bottom of his heart. "Oh, and Sergeant Pepper?" Danny added with a bright smirk on his face. "I really like your name. Hope you never get promoted."
"And I hope it happens sooner rather than later," Match answered good-naturedly as he closed the door behind him.
Chuckling quietly for a short moment, Danny finally heaved a deep breath as he dropped down in one of the chairs. Closing his eyes he tiredly leaned his head against the wall and prepared himself for the unnerving wait that was doubtlessly lying ahead of him.
(tbc)
