Chapter 8:
Danny didn't know how many times he had looked on the display of his cell phone in the last few hours to check the time. All he knew was that time definitely ran much slower when you're waiting for something and that too much time had passed since Steve had been whisked away from that chopper.
Too much time that Danny had spent in this stupidly comfortable waiting room with too many cups of bad coffee from one of the vending machines and without a single word on Steve's state of health. More than once he had tried to get any information from one of the nurses outside on the corridor, but all he'd received was a sympathetic smile and the reassurance that Dr. Pierson would come and talk to him as soon as possible.
Waiting had gotten a little bit easier once Chin and Kono had joined him a while ago, but the more time passed without any news on his partner the more nervous and concerned Danny became. Vividly remembering the terrifying sight of Steve's convulsing body, he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to ban the disturbing image from his mind. Jumping from his seat when he couldn't stand the memory any longer, he started to pace the room in vigorous small steps but his slouched shoulders and the deep frown on his forehead easily gave away his real state of mind.
Feeling Chin's and Kono's concerned glances follow his every step Danny tried to pull himself together and dropped back down onto the seat next to Kono with a long tired sigh. Turning his head he flashed the young woman at his side a brief wry smile which she immediately answered by placing one of her slender hands onto his forearm.
"You alright, brah?" she asked tentatively as she rubbed her left hand soothingly over his arm.
Holding her gaze for a short moment he finally sadly shook his head. "Not really," Danny answered hoarsely, wrapping his fingers around Kono's hand and squeezing gently, grateful for any support and comfort she was offering. Looking down he noticed that her right hand was placed on Chin's forearm and that the cousins' fingers were intertwined in a quite similar way.
Consoling each other the three people sat in silence for a moment until Chin's calm voice suddenly filled the air. "We found him in time," he said quietly and Danny wanted nothing more than to believe every single word he said. "I'm sure Steve's gonna be alright."
"Let's hope so," Danny whispered into the silence, slowly nodding his head. "Let's hope so," he repeated with an almost inaudible sigh before he fell quiet again, tiredly staring out the window without really seeing a thing.
It was another agonizingly long twenty minutes later when the door finally opened and a young dark-haired doctor entered the room, briefly looking around before he made a beeline for the three waiting members of Five-0 who immediately leaped to their feet in a swift move.
"Detective Williams?" the doctor asked, already stretching out his hand to greet Danny.
"That's me," Danny confirmed unnecessarily, briefly wiping his sweaty palms on his pants before he shook hands with the man in front of him.
"I'm Doctor Owen Pierson, I was attending Commander McGarrett," the dark-haired man replied calmly, neither his voice nor his expression revealed if he was bringing good or bad news. "Why don't we sit back down while I inform you…"
"We prefer standing," Williams interrupted him not quite politely with a sharp movement of his hands, but at the moment he was just too tired and too restless to care about proper manners. "How's Steve?" he asked, desperately searching the doctor's face for any hint about his partner's condition.
Having dealt with enough worried relatives and friends before, Dr. Pierson easily recognized Danny's behavior as an expression of deep concern and so he only slightly raised his eyebrows about the little outburst. "Very well," he said, nodding his head in agreement. Taking a deep breath, he looked Danny straight in the eyes and explained slowly, "I wish I had better news but to be honest we are looking at a very unfortunate series of events that took place here." Tiredly running a hand through his short-cropped hair – Danny wondered briefly if everyone who worked in the huge Army hospital was forced to get such a military haircut – the doctor asked quietly, "I understand that the Commander had been trapped inside an airtight box for quite some time?"
Nodding almost in unison, Danny, Kono and Chin confirmed Dr. Pierson's question, clearly afraid of what the young doctor would tell them about their leader.
"The problem with being in an airtight room over a longer period of time is not the lack of oxygen that most people would think but rather the increase of carbon dioxide in the breathing air. The symptoms of carbon dioxide poisoning – or hypercapnia – depend on the amount of said gas in the air, starting with an increased heart and breathing rate, raised blood pressure, muscle twitches, extrasystoles and reduced neural activity. The higher the amount of carbon dioxide in the air becomes, the more severe the symptoms will get, and we're talking here about hallucinations, hyperventilation, convulsions, unconsciousness, and eventually a complete paralysis of the respiratory center and as a consequence death."
Dr. Pierson interrupted himself briefly to clear his throat before he slightly spread his arms and continued his explanations. "However, the good thing about hypercapnia is that once the concentration of carbon dioxide is reduced and pure oxygen is administered, the symptoms are reversible and the patient will normally start breathing on his own."
Staring wide-eyed at the young man in front of him, Danny tried to process what the doctor was trying to tell them. "Normally?" he asked hoarsely, sucking worriedly on his lower lip as he anxiously waited for an answer.
Breathing out a faint sigh, Dr. Pierson spread his arms again before he loosely intertwined his fingers in front of his body. "You have to understand that we are not only dealing with the aftereffects of carbon dioxide poisoning at the moment," he said quietly. "As I said before, we are looking at a very unfortunate series of events that took place here. I was told that Commander McGarrett was not breathing when you found him, so it's safe to assume that the concentration of carbon dioxide inside the box had already reached a critical level."
"But we immediately started Ambu bag ventilation as soon as we got him out of there," Kono interposed hesitantly, her voice wavering audibly as she squeezed her cousin's hand.
"And that was a good thing," Dr. Pierson replied, turning toward Kono with a reassuring smile on his lips. "I think it's safe to say that you most probably saved his life."
"Then what unfortunate series of events are you talking about, doc?" Chin asked, wrapping his fingers tightly around Kono's hand to provide as much support as possible.
Letting his gaze travel over the three people in front of him, Dr. Pierson suppressed another sigh. He really loved his job, he had dreamt of becoming a doctor since he was a child and even if he knew that bringing bad or painful news was part of his profession that surely didn't make it any easier.
"First of all we're talking about the two head wounds the Commander has sustained, one at the back of his head, the other one on his left temple," he said, briefly pointing his right hand at his own head to indicate the exact locations. "The CAT scan has revealed a small epidural bleeding but at the moment we're hopeful that no surgery will be required. However, any bleeding in the brain is always a cause for concern and we will monitor the progress very closely."
Danny heaved a deep sigh, running both of his hands over his hair before he stuffed them deep into his pockets. "What about the seizure?" he asked quietly. If he was honest, he wanted nothing more than to leave that damned hospital and forget everything about brain bleeding or seizures or hypercap… whatever that term was.
"The seizure was most probably an aftereffect of the heat inside the box," the doctor explained patiently. "Dehydration and excessive sweating cause electrolyte imbalance inside the body which can lead to cramps or seizures at the worst. We immediately administered fluids and electrolytes over the IV line, so we don't expect any further seizures."
"However, there is one other problem here," he continued before the three people in front of him had time to ask another question. "To deal with that seizure you witnessed while you were still in the chopper, the medics were forced to inject the Commander with a muscle relaxant which certainly helped with the seizure and was beyond all doubt the means of choice at that moment. But you have to understand that a muscle relaxant always depresses the breathing…"
His voice trailed off and he once more slightly spread his hands. There was a short moment of silence when all one could hear was the breathing of the four people in the room and the annoying hum of the vending machines at the opposite wall. Dr. Pierson blinked slowly before he locked eyes with Danny and said almost apologetically, "Unfortunately we were forced to intubate Commander McGarrett and put him on a ventilator."
Hearing the strangled gasp that escaped Kono's lips despite the desperate effort to hide her horror, Dr. Pierson raised his right hand in a reassuring gesture.
"That sounds worse than it actually is," he tried to soothe the clearly frightened people in front of him. "The Commander is already showing the first signs of spontaneous breathing and the intubation is more of a precautionary measure particularly with regard to the epidural bleeding. There will be more CAT scans later today and tonight and as soon as we're sure that the bleeding is retreating and the breathing is further improving, we will hopefully be able to extubate him either tomorrow morning or even later this evening."
Heaving a deep sigh, Danny threw a quick look at his two teammates before he turned his attention back to the young doctor. "Can we see him?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to see his partner lying in a hospital bed with a tube shoved down his throat and whatever medical equipment attached to his body.
"He's still in ICU and I'm afraid I can only allow one visitor at a time," Dr. Pierson answered; his voice friendly but at the same time leaving no room for discussion. Throwing a quick look at his watch he said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Just talk to one of the nurses and they will get you to Commander McGarrett's room. If you have any questions, feel free to come to me any time."
"Thanks, doc," Chin said, while Kono and Danny merely nodded their heads.
Dr. Pierson threw them a last sympathetic smile before he turned around and left the small waiting room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Williams took a step back and dropped down onto the row of seats, hissing out a long breath between his teeth. He tiredly rubbed his hands over his face before he looked up at his two friends who still stood silently in the middle of the room.
"Who wants to go in first?" Danny asked as he exhaustedly leaned his head against the wall, his gaze travelling from Kono to Chin and back.
"You go in first," Kono replied immediately, slightly shaking her head about that clearly rhetorical question.
"Yes, brah, absolutely," Kelly confirmed his agreement with his cousin before Danny had the chance to say a word.
Flashing them a small smile, Danny weakly waved his hands through the air. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate your offer," he said as he struggled back to his feet. "But I think first I need a little bit of fresh air before I can go in there. I just need… I mean… one of you can go in first, okay?" he stammered, pinching the bridge of his nose to get rid of the slight headache that started to grow behind his eyes.
"You sure about that?" Kono asked, exchanging worried looks with her cousin when she noticed the deep lines of exhaustion on Danny's face.
Clearing his throat, Danny blinked slowly as he nodded at her in silent agreement, not sure if he could trust his voice right now.
"Okay, listen, how about this?" Chin suggested after another moment of strained silence. "Kono and I will look after Steve for a few minutes each and then you can go in while we head back to the office and see if we can find out more about Claire Sacotte and her son Roger and their connection to Steve." Turning his head to look at his cousin, Chin asked softly, "You okay with that, cuz?"
Giving Chin a small smile, Kono nodded once before she said to Danny, "Give us a call if anything changes, okay?" Stepping forward she wrapped her arms around Danny's body and pulled him into a brief hug. "Take good care of the boss," she whispered hoarsely before she swiftly turned around and left the room before anyone could notice the tears that welled in her eyes.
"Is she alright?" Danny asked, blinking back his own tears when he looked at Chin.
"Yeah, I think so," the older man answered with a sad smile. "Make sure to call, okay?" he repeated Kono's request as he placed his right hand on Danny's shoulder. "And take care of yourself, Danny. You look like hell."
"Well, that's hardly surprising, is it?" Danny snorted tiredly. "First I was forced to go hiking and then I had to fly in a huge Army helicopter – that's perhaps McGarrett's idea of a calm and relaxing day but surely not mine."
"I know what you mean," Chin chuckled, giving Danny's shoulder a slight squeeze before he removed his hand. "See you later," he said before he also headed toward the door.
"Hey Chin?" Danny called after him, waiting until his teammate turned around to face him. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, brah," Chin answered quietly and a moment later he closed the door behind him, leaving Danny alone in the small waiting room.
Danny heaved a deep sigh and rolled his shoulders in a vain attempt to relax his strained muscles as he threw a look out of the window. The huge parking lot in front of the hospital building was almost deserted at this time of the day, at almost ten o'clock in the evening most of the visitors had long gone home, granting their loved ones their deserved night's sleep.
Stifling a yawn as he tiredly rubbed his hands over his face Danny finally turned around and stepped closer to the bed. He still wasn't used to the sight of his unconscious partner, and even if Steve was no longer attached to a ventilator, all his other injuries were enough to make Danny wince. Another CAT scan about an hour ago had revealed that the epidural bleeding was not growing and because Steve had shown more and more signs of spontaneous breathing, Dr. Pierson had decided to remove the breathing tube earlier than initially intended and to move Steve out of the ICU into a private room.
Forcing himself to take stock of Steve's injuries, Danny swallowed the rising nausea and hesitantly took another step, coming to a halt directly next to Steve's bed. The wound on Steve's left temple had been cleaned and stitched up, but the skin around the wound was red and swollen, the swelling spreading out to his left eye and down over his cheekbone, most of it covered by the breathing mask that fogged regularly in sync with Steve's breathing. A white patch apparently covered the wound on the back of Steve's head, but all that Danny could see of it was a small stripe of white fabric behind Steve's right ear.
Danny puffed out a disgusted breath when his gaze fell on the slightly inflamed abrasions around Steve's wrists and he was sure that the same kind of injury could be seen on his partner's ankles. The two pieces of thin red rope they'd found inside the small metal box were solid evidence that Steve had not only been locked inside the box but that he had also been tied up.
McGarrett's broken right wrist was splinted; luckily it had been a clean fracture that didn't require any surgery. The raw and bloody fingertips had also been cleaned, the worst of the wounds additionally covered with white plasters.
An IV line snaked its way into Steve's arm, and whatever clear fluid the nurse had administered to Steve's bloodstream only minutes ago, it obviously helped a lot to improve his state. Danny noticed that his partner's complexion was no longer sickly gray and the lines of pain and discomfort on his forehead seemed to ease with each passing second.
Thinking about the woman that in all probability was responsible for Steve's current condition, Danny shook his head in disgust. Sure, on the one hand he felt sorry for Claire Sacotte; she was dead and he was sure that she had a lot of bad problems of her own, because only the most desperate person would have been capable of what she had done, shooting herself in cold blood in front of three police officers. But on the other hand Danny was just utterly angry, all the problems in the world didn't justify locking up an innocent person inside a tiny, airtight box, even more so if said person was his partner.
"What have you gotten yourself into, my friend?" Danny asked into the silent room. "I mean, I can understand that someone is pissed off by your behavior, but what's happened today is really bad, even by your standards." Staring at the unconscious man for another moment, Danny sighed again before he started to pace the room in slow, tired steps. "What have you done to that woman, Steven? Why the hell was she so angry at you? I mean, she wanted to see you dead and look at you now, she almost succeeded…" Trying to swallow down the emotions that bubbled up in him, Danny repeated in a pained whisper, "She almost succeeded."
Bonelessly dropping down into the chair right next to Steve's bed, Danny stifled another yawn as he tried to find a comfortable position. Every single muscle in his body hurt and he wasn't sure if it was from the exhausting hike through the jungle in the blazing summer heat or plainly and simply from all the emotional stress he'd endured during the last few hours. Folding his arms in front of his chest he snuggled deeper into the seat, his gaze fixed on the steady up and down of Steve's chest.
The dim twilight and the quiet of the room in combination with Steve's soft and regular breathing created a soothing atmosphere and before Danny registered what happened his eyelids drooped, his chin sank to his chest and only a moment later he was lulled to sleep – only to be startled awake by a strangled gasp a mere minute later.
(tbc)
