"Hey, John, Randy, hold up for a sec."
The two HPD officer stopped and turned around as they waited for their colleague to jog across the garage parking lot to where they had parked their squad car.
"Did ya hear?" Charlie asked excitedly as he reached them.
"Hear what?" Randy frowned tiredly, not in the mood for guessing games after a long, tiring night shift and a distracted partner who seemed to have spent the whole shift in his own head than on patrol in the squad car.
"About Henderson!" Charlie grinned as the trio began to walk towards the garage doors that lead into the station.
"What about Henderson?" Randy stopped looked across at Charlie, his hand resting on the door leading into the building.
"We got the bastard!"
"When?" John demanded, surprising Randy that his partner was even listening to the conversation.
"Late last night, McGarrett and Kelly arrested him after they found him hiding out at an old girlfriend's apartment. I heard that he gave up without a fight." Charlie answered as he reached across and pushed open the door, waiting until the two other officers followed him through and the door closed behind them before he rushed on. "But get this, he's screaming that he is innocent, that he didn't murder that businessman and that he didn't shoot Williams either."
Randy snorted in disgust, like many other guilty men before him, Henderson was now screaming that he was innocent. "So, just who is he trying to say shot Williams in the head at close range while he was escaping? Those two little kids the witness saw running out of the alleyway after she heard the gunshot?"
"Yeah," Charlie shook his head in disbelief, "can you believe that? Man, I thought I heard it all but to blame two little kids of trying to murder a cop while you are trying to escape. That has to take the cake. Hell, he even told McGarrett that he thought Williams knew the boys, he claims he heard Williams called one of them Sammy."
"Sammy?" John asked softly, his face losing all color as he stared, wide eyed, at Charlie.
"Yeah, said he heard Williams call the kid Sammy. How desperate is that?" Charlie breathed as he looked over John's shoulder, eager to share the news of the arrest of Williams's shooter with the other officers who were just arriving for the change of shift.
"Did … um … did McGarrett believe him?" John asked.
"Are you kidding?" Charlie laughed as he turned his attention back to John and Randy, "Of course he didn't, he had most of us most of the night searching for the weapon that Henderson had used in the shooting and even had us turn over Henderson's girlfriend's place looking for it."
"And they didn't find it?" Randy asked.
"Not yet, but I am sure McGarrett will have the guys on the day shift searching for it." Charlie answered, "But we're sure to find it somewhere between Hotel Street and where the girlfriend lives unless someone else has picked it up and decided to pocket it. Not that it matters, from what I heard the case against Henderson is strong, even without the gun, and if Williams dies, he's facing life."
"Any updates on Danny?" John asked, desperate to change the conversation.
"Last update I heard, he's still critical and hasn't regained consciousness." Charlie answered distractedly before he suddenly excused himself and hurried away, calling out to two more officers who had just entered the foyer, "Hey Gary, Jim, hold up for a sec, did ya hear the news…"
Randy waited until the excited officer moved away before he grabbed his partner's arm and pulled him back out into the garage parking lot. Spinning John around to face him, he demanded, "Okay, John, Brah, just what the Hell is going on with you?"
"Nothing, I'm fine!" John snapped guiltily as he tried to pull his arm free of his partner's firm hold.
"Ohh come on, John, I'm your partner, don't you dare lie to me!" Randy growled, pushing John up against the wall as he released John's arm and leaned closer with his hand pressed against the wall next to John's shoulder, preventing his partner from ignoring him or walking away as he dropped his voice to just above a harsh, annoyed whisper, "You were jumpy when you came on duty yesterday and then after you heard about William's shooting.
And just now you just turned as white as a ghost after Charlie told us that Henderson was caught last night and is now trying to claim that Williams got shot by one of the two little boys in the alleyway. Hell, Brah, you're still shaking like a leaf. You're not thinking this kid who Henderson claimed Williams called Sammy is…" He stopped as he found himself staring at the look of fear and desperation in his partner's eyes that he had seen there only once before after he had insisted on taking John out for a few drinks to try and help him unwind, just a few weeks after Jamie's death. John had become quite inebriated and had tearfully admitted that despite the coroner's findings, he knew that Jamie's death was not natural, that he had found Sammy standing proudly next to the cot, where Jamie was lying dead, with the pillow still clutched in his hands. John had begged him to keep the true circumstances surrounding Jamie's death a secret and he had seen no point in sharing what he had been told. John and Janey had already lost one child, he could not put them through the heart rendering ordeal of possibly losing the second. He had made John promise to try and get his son some help and he knew that John had kept that promise but even with the therapy, he had still seen an icy coldness in the little boy's eyes that he kept telling himself was just his own active imagination after being told what Sammy had done. "Ohh, John, are you sure it was him?" he whispered softly as he dropped his arm.
John nodded before he quietly admitted, "The description of the two boys match Sammy and his friend, Tommy, down to a tee, even down to the clothes they were wearing yesterday, and Janey can't say for sure that they were playing in the street around the time when Danny was shot, she got wrapped up in her soapies."
"But that doesn't mean…" Randy began.
"There's more," John confessed brokenheartedly, looking past Randy's shoulder, unable to look his partner in the eye as his guilt about what his own son had done threatened to overwhelm him.
Randy waited a minute as two officers who glanced curiously at them as they walked past had moved far enough away that they could not be overheard before he asked cautiously, "Go on."
"Remember how Sarge said that Danny was shot with a Beretta?" John murmured.
"Yeah…"
"Well, when I went to bed yesterday, I placed my service weapon in its holster with the safety clip on in the drawer beside the bed but when I got up and went to get my weapon, it was laying on top of the holster."
"Did you ask Sammy about it?" Randy asked softly, aware that the boy had been found playing with the gun and punished on previous occasions.
John nodded, "He said that he didn't touch it." Looking back at Randy, John's could not hold back the tears that began to trickle down his face as he rushed on, "He lied straight to my face, Randy, like it was nothing. Then, after the Sarge told us about Danny's shooting, I checked my gun … God, I hated myself for even doing it, but I had to check."
"And?" Randy asked, already knowing the answer.
"There was one round missing from the clip and my gun had been fired recently but not by me."
"Are you sure?" Randy frowned.
John nodded and swallowed, "I cleaned the gun and made sure it was fully loaded before I placed it in the drawer yesterday morning and now there is a bullet missing and it's been recently fired."
"Oh fuck!" Randy breathed. "That explains why you have been distracted all shift and wanted to talk to Janey and the boys alone last night. And why you were so jumpy after I told you that a neighbor thought she saw Sammy and Tommy riding their bikes back from the direction of Hotel Street about the time of William's shooting."
"Oh God, Randy, I don't know what I am going to do. This is Sammy we are talking about and we both know that Janey is never going to cope if we lose him as well. And to be honest, I am not sure if I can cope if we lose him either."
"Easy, Brah, easy, let's take this thing one step at a time. Now you said that Tommy is staying with you and Janey for the week? Where are they now, at home?"
John shook his head as he took a deep breath and desperately tried to wipe the tears from his face with the back of his hand, "No," his voice hitched a little as he answered, "I sent her and the kids down to spend a few days at that new resort on the Big Island. I didn't want anyone deciding they wanted to question Sammy or Tommy about where they were yesterday afternoon."
"Good, good," Randy nodded as he reached up and gave his partner's arm a reassuring squeeze "Now we just have to convince Henderson to change his story and admit that he is lying…"
"But what about Danny, if he regains consciousness and remembers what happened…"
"I've got your back, partner, you just do whatever you have to do to protect Janey and Sammy and let me take care of Williams. "Now go home and get some sleep. Go on, get going, I'll fill in the paperwork." Randy told him, giving him a light shove towards his car.
John sighed and nodded, "Okay, I'll see you tonight."
"Just make sure you're not late!" Randy told him as he reached his car, "And don't forget to tell Janey I said hi when you speak to her today."
"I will," John promised across the top of the car before he opened the door and climbed inside.
Waiting until he saw his upset partner climb into his car and drive away, Randy Kelegain turned and hurried back into the station, looking for Charlie. He hoped that the excited patrolman could give him a little more information about Henderson's arrest and the search for the 'missing' gun.
He found the officer he was seeking in the locker room, changing out of his uniform into street clothes as he told the last couple of stragglers who were getting ready for the day shift about the dramatic arrest of Henderson and Henderson's claims that two children were responsible for Williams's shooting. Randy shook his head as he heard Charlie warn the three officers that they would be probably spending the day searching for the missing weapon.
Standing next to the door, he waited until the three officers had finished dressing and hurried out of the room before he walked across to Charlie. "Ah, Charlie, just curious about something, buddy, you said that Henderson was arrested at his girlfriend's home last night, that right?"
"Yeah, that's right, over on Nuuanu Avenue," Charlie nodded.
"And you said the bastard tried to claim that two kids shot Williams, not him?" Randy asked, coloring his voice with feigned disbelief.
"Yeah, can ya believe that, trying to pin the blame for shooting a cop on two little kids." Charlie shook his head in disgust.
"You don't happen to remember the girlfriend's name or her address, do you?" Randy asked as he leaned against a locker.
"Yeah, I think I heard Kelly tell the sarge that her name was Rankin … Jennifer Rankin, she lives in one of those houses on Nuuanu Avenue , … number 41, I think." Charlie told him before frowning, "Why?"
"I was just thinking of going across and maybe give the day shift a hand with searching for the gun. I think McGarrett is right, if the bastard didn't have it when they arrested him and he didn't ditch it in his girlfriend's apartment, the chances are he tossed it somewhere between Hotel and his girlfriend's house. This bastard shot a cop, a good cop, and I want to make sure that I am doing everything that I possibly can to make sure he doesn't get away with it!" Randy told Charlie as he pushed himself away from the locker and headed back towards the door before he paused and turned back to the other man, "Hey Charlie, thanks for the info."
Charlie nodded and smiled. "Anytime, Brah, just trying to do my bit," he called after Randy as Randy disappear out of the room.
Pulling out his notebook, Randy quickly scribbled down Henderson's girlfriend's name and address as he hurried back down to the parking lot and climbed into his car. Sliding behind the steering wheel, he reached across and unlocked his glove box before reaching inside. Slowly pulling out the Beretta, that he had once found during a search after a drug raid and had kept instead of turning it in as evidence, he stared at it as he chewed his bottom lip.
He had promised John that he had his back and would do everything he could to make sure that no one else knew of John's suspicions. It was a promise that he was determined to keep. He knew that neither John nor Janey would be able to cope with another loss of a child and if anyone else ever found about just how Jamie really died, or if John's suspicions about Williams's shooting were ever proven correct, that was precisely what would happen. Sammy would be placed in some sort of institution, where he would not be able to harm or kill anyone else. Randy shook his head. It was something that he couldn't… no, he wouldn't let happen, because it would tear both John and Janey to pieces if they lost their only remaining son, even if Sammy were damaged beyond repair.
Randy sighed. But if John were right and Sammy was responsible for Williams's shooting and had used John's service weapon, he knew that if a gun weren't found, questions were going to be raised about whether Henderson could be telling the truth about the shooting and that maybe the two kids seen in the alleyway were somehow responsible.
A small smile tugged at his lips as he stared at the gun in his hand. But what if the search did turn up the gun that Henderson had tossed after the shooting?
Sarge had told them that even though the bullet recovered from the alleyway after Williams's shooting was too damaged to link it to the weapon used, the lab boys had been able to determine that it was a 9mm slug. Releasing the clip, he checked that it was full before he inserted it again, his smile growing as a plan solidified in his mind.
What would be more damning than finding the gun tossed away on the same route that Henderson would have taken to get to his girlfriend's house? And what if there was just a single bullet missing from the clip? And what if the forensic examination of that gun confirmed that it had been recently fired?
The smile on his face morphed into a grin. He just happened to know somewhere where he could shoot that one bullet, a place where shooting the weapon would not raise any suspicions or where nobody would never, ever even think of searching for the bullet.
Tucking the gun into his waistband, he chuckled as he covered it up with his police jacket before climbing back out of the car and heading back into the station. The paperwork could wait until later, right now he had more important things to take care of.
H50 H50 H50 H50
The surgeon glanced at nurse's notes and observations written in the patient's bedside notes that were clipped to the clipboard that hung at the end of the bed before looking back at his restless patient in the bed. The angry hives that had covered the detective's body had now faded to large red splotches, and the loud audible wheeze, which had accompanied each breath he took the night before, was gone.
"He started fighting both the tube and sedation about an hour ago." The nurse told the surgeon who nodded and silently handed her back the chart before he walked around the side of the bed and removed the small torch from his pocket.
"Have we got the film back from this morning's x-rays?" he asked over his shoulder as he turned his torch on and began to check his patient's pupil reactions.
"They should be on the nurse's desk by now. Do you want me to get them?"
The surgeon shook his head as he gently folded back the thin sheet that covered Danny's chest before he removed the stethoscope, he carried around his neck, and fitted the earpieces into his ears, as he told her distractedly, "No, just grab me the report, I'll look at the x-rays after I have finished here."
The nurse nodded before slipping out of the room as the doctor placed the head of the stethoscope against Danny's chest and began to listen to his breath sounds before moving it to another area, frowning as he concentrated on listening closely for any sounds of crackling or wheezing.
Straightening up, he removed the stethoscope earpieces from his ears and left the stethoscope dangling around his neck before he carefully lifted the sheet and covered Danny up again. He turned as the nurse returned to the room and handed him the X-ray report.
Perusing the report, he was relieved to see that the x-rays confirmed that the swelling and bleeding within Danny's skull was under control. Placing the report on the bedside table as he heard Danny softly moan and gag on the tube in his throat, he quickly grabbed Danny's hand and gently pushed it back down onto the bed preventing the restless, semi-conscious man from trying to pull the oxygen mask free from his face. Glancing at the nurse at the nurse, he softly ordered, "Let's remove the endotracheal tube and lower the sedation to allow him to wake up enough, so we can get an idea of just how much damage has been done and just what we are dealing with."
The nurse nodded as she turned to leave the room to get the kidney tray and gloves that they needed for the removing the tube from Danny's throat, before she paused at the door and turned back towards the surgeon, "What about his partner, Commander McGarrett? He's already phoned twice this morning, anxious for an update."
Glancing at his patient, the surgeon frowned before he looked back at the nurse who standing in the doorway, waiting for his answer. "Phone him, and ask him to come in. I think we may need him to help calm our friend here if he becomes agitated when he wakes up. I would rather not sedate him again if we can avoid doing so."
H50 H50 H50 H50
Walking casually into the indoor shooting range, Randy smiled and nodded to the sergeant as he grabbed the pen to signed in.
"Hey Kelegain, weren't you here yesterday?" the sergeant frowned in confusion as he watched the younger man scribble his name into the book. "I wasn't expecting to see you back here until next week."
Straightening up, he returned the pen he had been using next to the book, Randy shrugged, "I thought that I had better get some more practice in and sharpen up my shooting skills. I have my weapon recertification coming up next month and I want to make sure I pass."
"As if there's even the slightest chance that you won't pass your recert!" The sergeant chuckled before growing serious and shaking his head as he reached beneath the bench and grabbed a pair of earmuffs and safety glasses, handing them across the counter to the younger man, "I still don't understand why you haven't accepted Jenkin's invitation to join SWAT. Seriously, Kelegain, if I had even half the shooting skills that you have and had the head honcho of SWAT offer me a position on his team, I would be accepting it in a heartbeat, instead of wasting my talent in uniform, manning a patrol car."
Randy shrugged as he accepted the safety equipment, "I guess I'm just not ready to move up the ladder yet, besides Sarge, what's wrong with being in uniform and manning a patrol car?"
"There's nothing wrong with a patrolman," the sergeant agreed before adding softly, "But I just hate seeing talent like yours not being used where it can do the most good."
Kelegain blushed, "Thanks Sarge, but I'm happy being on patrol. I have a great partner, he's got my back and I will always have his, no matter what. Besides that, I love being on the front line and never knowing just what the next call we're going to respond to is going to be."
"I still think that you should seriously think about accepting Jenkin's offer," the sergeant told him, "You really are wasting your talent being in uniform."
"How about settling for a 'I'll think about it.'" Randy relented before changing the subject, "So any particular cubicle or do I get my own choice?"
Glancing up at the whiteboard hanging on the wall beside the sign-in bench, the sergeant shrugged, "Cubicle eight is free."
"Thanks, Sarge," Kelegain smiled as he turned and headed towards the door leading into the shooting range.
The sergeant shook his head as he watched the younger man open the door and enter the inside range. "What a damn waste of talent!" he muttered to himself as he turned back to return to his desk to finish filling in the monthly report.
Entering the shooting range, Kelegain hurried past the other two shooters before he reached the cubicle which he had been assigned. Removing his service weapon from his holster, he quickly ran through the safety check, ensuring the gun was loaded and ready to use before he placed it on the bench in front of him and put on the earmuffs and safety glasses. Picking up his weapon again, he took off the safety and lining up the target, before shooting off the full round, hitting the target with each round. Pausing a moment, he quickly looked around, reassuring himself that he was alone before he placed his weapon back down on the bench and reached under his jacket and removed the Beretta he had hidden in his waistband. Lifting the weapon, he took off the safety and aimed it at the target, firing a single shot before he quickly lowered the gun, switched back on the safety, and tucked it back into its hiding place.
Picking up his service weapon again, he quickly reloaded it before taking several more shots at the target, counting the bullets, he fired until he had just one round left. He smiled, relieved, he had managed to accomplish what he wanted to, he slowly lowered his gun and flicked the safety on before re-holstering it and removing his earmuffs and glasses.
Hitting the button beside him, he watched as his target slowly slide towards him, snatching it off the pegs that held the paper target in place and studying it. He nodded to himself, as he stared at the bullet holes in the paper, twelve rounds fired resulting in twelve direct hits to the bullseye. Screwing the target paper up into a tight ball, he dropped it into the bin in the cubicle before he collected his gear together and headed towards the door.
The sergeant looked up and frowned as Randy placed the safety gear back on the bench and reached for the pen to sign out. "You didn't practice for long."
"Yeah, I know but I just remembered that I have an appointment." Randy smiled as he signed his name and dropped the pen back onto the bench.
"How well did you do?" the sarge asked as Randy turned and headed towards the door, although he suspected he knew the answer.
"Twelve out of twelve." Randy called over his shoulder, raising his hand in a wave as he opened the door and walked out.
Shaking his head as the door closed behind Randy, the sergeant muttered again, "What a damn waste of talent!"
Less than ten minutes later, Randy was driving down Nuuanu Avenue. He gave a small sigh of relief as he spotted several uniformed officers combing the tree lined edge of the Beretania-Nuuanu parking lot searching for the gun that Henderson was suspected of using in Williams's shooting. If the guys were still searching here, he knew that they had not yet begun to search the property where Henderson had been arrested by McGarrett while hiding out in his girlfriend's home.
He coasted slowly past the officers who were more focused on their search than taking any notice of any cars driving past. Driving another three blocks along Nuuanu Avenue, he pulled up against the curb, glancing down at the address he had jotted down back at the station after talking to some of the guys who had been involved in searching Jenny Rankin's house, before he looked back up and stared at the houses that lined the street, searching for number 41.
Spotting the house that he was searching for, a small smile slipped onto his lips as he spotted the fenced garden containing trees and shrubs surrounded by carefully laid out flower beds, in the property next door. "Bingo," he whispered to himself as he opened the car door and climbed out of his car.
Crossing the road, he jogged up the footpath until he reached the fence yard. Glancing around to make sure that the street was still empty, he carefully reached into his pocket, removing his handkerchief before he reached for the gun he had tucked into his waistband. Pulling it free, he used the handkerchief to wipe the gun clean of any fingerprints before he tossed it over the fence into the garden bed, where it landed partially hidden, next to a small toy car, beneath the flowers.
Satisfied that the gun would be found when the uniformed guys searched the garden, he turned and hurried back to his car before climbing in and driving away.
H50 H50 H50 H50
John sighed in frustration as the nurse at the ICU nurse's desk suggested that he join the other officers who were waiting for an update on Danny's condition. She had refused to tell him anything more than Danny's condition was critical but stable, and visitors were strictly limited to Danny's next-of-kin only until Danny's condition improved, when he had asked to see him. All his entreats of how he had been the detective's partner before Danny had been promoted to Five 0 and how he considered Danny as family had fallen on deaf ears. The nurse had refused to bend the rules just this once as she nodded towards the visitor's room before firmly suggesting again that he join the other officers in the waiting room where they would be updated on Danny's condition when an update was available.
Realizing that the nurse was not going to give in to his pleadings, he pushed himself away from the desk and turned towards the waiting room, almost bumping into McGarrett, who had appeared behind him while he had been begging the nurse to allow him to see Danny.
"Commander McGarrett," he gasped, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he began to regret the spur of the moment decision he had made, after going home to find that Janey and the kids had already left, to come to the hospital and check on Danny's condition and to see what, if anything, that Danny remembered about the shooting for himself. And maybe…just maybe if Danny did remember, he might be able to convince Danny to let Henderson take the rap, after all, Henderson was already being charged with one murder, what difference would it make if he went down for Danny's shooting as well. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that anyone was behind me. I was just trying to get an update on Danny's condition before I call my wife and break the news to her about what happened. She only left for the Big Island yesterday morning with our son to holiday at that new resort there for a couple of days. She's going to be devastated when I tell her, Danny's ohana, but nobody is really telling us anything."
Steve frowned with confusion, not recognizing the HPD officer who was talking like he and Danny were the closest of friends. "I'm sorry, Officer-"
"Wakefield, John Wakefield, I was Danny's partner ... well, sort of partner, for three months when I was assigned to assist him working a homicide case when his own partner was working an undercover case with Vice. Danny and I became good friends, probably because we both started out at HPD as haole transfers from the mainland, if you know what I mean." Steve nodded, remembering Danny mentioning the officer's name a couple of times, as John rushed on. "Anyway, Janey and I now think of Danny and Grace as part of our family, even if we don't see them as often as we used to before he joined Five 0. Please, Commander, all I have been told is Danny's critical, please can you tell me more than that? Can you tell me just do you know how Danny's really doing?"
"Danny's improving, the doctors are expecting him to regain consciousness soon," Steve told him, "But…"
"But what?" John asked nervously.
"The doctors don't know how much damage the bullet is done yet, and they won't know until he's awake."
"Oh God," John murmured, running his hand over his face as the realization of just how much damage Sammy may have done to a close friend who had been there to support both Janey and him during their darkest hours and days after Jamie's death, hit home. "Do – do they know what sort of damage he may have? I - I mean Danny's going to still be Danny, isn't he?"
"We just don't know," Steve answered honestly, his own heart breaking at the very real possibility that Danny he knew may no longer be the Danny who now was now lying in the hospital bed.
"Excuse me, Commander McGarrett." The nurse interrupted peering around the uniformed officer still standing in front of the nurse's counter, "The doctor is waiting for you in Detective Williams's room. He asked me to tell you that you're to go straight in after your arrived."
'Thank you, Nurse," Steve said softly before he turned back to John and excused himself, promising to update him later Danny's condition before he turned and followed the nurse down the corridor.
Following the nurse into Danny's ICU room, Steve hurried across to the side of the bed and looked down at Danny. Little appeared to have changed since his last visit, although the tube that had been in Danny's mouth the night before was now gone, an oxygen mask still covered the lower half of his face and the heavy white bandages wrapped around Danny's head only accentuated more the deepening dark black bruise that covered the left side of Danny's swollen face. The angry hives that had covered Danny's face and body had now faded red splotches that covered the rest of Danny's face, neck and chest and seemed to continue beneath the crisp white sheet that covered him. "Ohh, Danny," he murmured as he watched Danny toss and mumble incoherently in his sleep.
"He started fighting the sedation about an hour ago."
Steve jumped in surprise as he realized that that the surgeon was speaking to him. Clearing his throat, he apologized, "Sorry Doc, I… umm… I missed what you just said."
"I said, Commander, that Detective Williams started fighting the sedation about an hour ago. So, I've decided to lower his sedation and allow him to wake up so that we can get a basic assessment of just what sort of damage we may be dealing with. I understand that you and Detective Williams are not only partners, but also very close friends and I know that he has you listed as his next-of-kin." Steve nodded and swallowed hard as the doctor continued, "I am sure that the nurse has already explained to you on the phone that we are hoping that you being here with him when he wakes up will help to reassure him and keep him calm. But I must warn you, you have to prepare yourself that he may not be the same man whom you know when he wakes up, we just don't know just how much damage…"
"It doesn't matter, Doc, no matter what he is like when he wakes up, he's still Danny, and that's all that matters to me."
"Okay," the surgeon nodded, silently pleased that no matter what ever they were going to discover in the next few minutes, the young man in the bed would have all the support and love that he needed to face what was possibly an uncertain future, "Let's wake him up and see just what we are dealing with."
Steve nodded again and swallowed hard as he watched as the surgeon gently grab Danny's shoulder and gave it a firm shake.
"Detective Williams, Detective Williams, it's time to wake up!" The surgeon ordered softly waiting for a moment for any reaction before he gave Danny's shoulder a firmer shake as he ordered a little louder, "Come on, Danny, I know that you can hear me, it's time to wake up and open your eyes!"
Steve held his breath as Danny moaned a weak protest and tried to pull free from the surgeon's light hold.
Shaking Danny's shoulder firmly again, the surgeon ignored Danny's weak protests as he ordered, "Danny, open your eyes!"
Steve released his held breath in a sigh of relief as Danny's eyes slowly flickered opened and he tried to focus on the surgeon leaning over him.
"Welcome back," the surgeon smiled down at him, grabbing his hand, and firmly pushing his hand back down onto the bed, gently thwarting Danny's weak attempt to make remove the oxygen mask as he lightly chastised him, "No, Detective, I'm afraid that for now you need to leave that where it is for now."
"W-where?" Danny mumbled; his voice muffled by the mask.
"Where are you?" the surgeon asked.
Danny nodded as he reached again for the mask.
"You're in the Intensive Care Unit at Queens Medical Centre" the surgeon told him softly, grabbing his hand again and lowering it back to the bed. "You were shot while trying to make an arrest."
"Shot," Danny parroted distractedly, showing no other reaction or interest at all to being told that he had been shot, as he lethargically turned his head and looked around the room before he stopped and stared at Steve.
"Hey, Danny," Steve smiled as he reached down and gently squeezed Danny's arm, before looking worriedly across at the surgeon when Danny did not answer and continued to stare at him. Looking back at Danny, he said softly, "Hey Buddy, don't you know me? It's me, Steve."
The doctor frowned as he watched Danny's reaction closely before he asked, "Danny, can you tell me who this man is?"
Danny did not answer as he continued to stare at Steve with no recognition in his eyes.
"Danny? Buddy? Do you know who I am?" Steve asked desperately.
Danny shook his head slowly before he turned back and looked back up at the surgeon. "W-where?" he breathed softly as he made another weak attempt to reach for the mask.
Gently grabbing his hand for the third time, the doctor firmly lowered it back to the bed and sighed as he felt Danny's hand go limp beneath his as Danny's eyes slowly drifted closed. Looking back up at Steve, he could see the same confusion and fear he had seen in so many other family members' and friends' faces when they first come face to face with a loved one's potentially lifelong brain injury. There was always a lack of understanding, uncertainty, and fear of what could be the future not only for their loved one's but also for themselves that had to be dealt with first, even in cases like this where it was too early to tell if the patient would fully recover or if the injury was a life-altering one. Nodding towards the door, he suggested, "Let's go talk in my office."