Chapter 6:
"No change, I'm sorry."
Every hour a nurse or a doctor came in, testing if Steve's reflexes were back, but so far the answer to Danny's unspoken question had always been the same. He had heard that statement so many times by now, he was sure that the next time someone uttered that sentence he would smash one of the many instruments around Steve's bed.
Danny felt so helpless, so useless. So damn useless.
All he could do was sit by Steve's side and wait, wait for any sign that he might get better. He couldn't even pray that Steve would come round because Danny knew he would only wake up when the doctors finally decided to bring him out of the artificial coma.
Heaving a sigh, Williams closed his eyes, tiredly rubbing a hand across his face. He didn't know exactly how many hours he already spent here, but judging how the cramped muscles in his neck and back screamed and burnt it must be quite some time.
As Dr. Alakika had promised, Danny had been released earlier this morning, after a restless night, his sleep interrupted by more than one nightmare. But instead of heeding his doctor's advice to go home and rest, Danny immediately went back to Steve's bedside.
Chin and Kono kept him company until a call from MPD came in, asking for their assistance; Coast Guard found an abandoned boat halfway between Molokai and Maui, the three dead bodies on board matched the description of Paul Baines' accomplices. After the cousins assured themselves that Danny would be fine on his own, they reluctantly left their teammates, promising to be back as soon as possible.
Danny stood up from the uncomfortable chair next to Steve's bed, cautiously stretching his aching body. He looked down at his partner, apart from the mechanical rise and fall of Steve's chest, the only change was a tiny movement of eyeballs behind closed eyelids once in a while, accompanied by a slight, almost invisible frown. Danny didn't know why but somehow that movement gave him the impression that Steve was in stress, as if bad dreams were rushing through his sleeping mind. So each time Danny noticed the movement, he gently placed his right hand on McGarrett's forehead, and soon enough Steve relaxed under Danny's touch.
It must be way past noon by now which meant that more than fifty hours had passed since the crash. Fifty hours of waiting and hoping and trepidation, but still no sign of change.
Williams had never been cold since he moved to Hawaii, not one single time he had been freezing. On the contrary, he was always sweating, always complaining about the heat, cherishing the air con more than anything else.
But now he involuntarily wrapped both arms around his body to save the last bit of warmth inside of him, not caring that his broken and cracked ribs hurt like hell. Every once in a while a shiver would run down his spine, a shiver from a coldness that no amount of Hawaiian sun, no matter how bright and hot, could chase away. Because the coldness didn't come from outside, it was as if he was freezing from the inside and he knew for sure that nothing but the tiniest of movement from his partner could melt the ice inside him.
Danny just longed for a little bit of warmth and suddenly he found it extremely difficult to draw in enough air, he felt like the whole environment was suffocating him. He swallowed convulsively as a wave of dizziness rolled over him.
Leaving Steve alone was the last thing he wanted to do but he knew that he either would throw up or collapse right where he was if he just stayed one second longer in that room. With the last bit of strength Danny could muster, he squeezed Steve's shoulder, whispering, "Hang on, buddy, I just need some fresh air, I'll be back in no time."
Two minutes later, Danny stumbled out of the hospital building into the warm afternoon breeze, heading for the first seat that came to his sight. His heart heavy with guilt that he left Steve alone, he dropped down, greedily sucking in the clean, fresh air.
He had no idea what was wrong with him, never before he had experienced something like a panic attack but this felt pretty damn close to one. Danny squeezed his eyes shut as the world began to spin around him, the blood loudly rushing in his ears. Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward, putting his head between his knees, ignoring the fact that his ribs and neck protested painfully, because passing out like a schoolgirl at a Justin Bieber concert was not an acceptable option.
Danny tried to breathe slowly and deeply and to his relief it seemed to work, the dizziness began to retreat only a few moments later. After a while he carefully sat up, turning his face toward the bright rays of sunshine, gladly bathing in their warmth for another minute.
The fresh air helped immensely to clear his mind and after a final deep breath, Danny rubbed his eyes and stood up. He made a small detour via the cafeteria, granting himself a strong, black coffee, before he hasted back to McGarrett's room.
Williams almost dropped the paper cup as he left the elevator, noticing Dr. Santiago rush into Steve's ICU cubicle.
"What's wrong?" he asked breathlessly, chasing after her to his partner's side.
Bracing himself for the worst, whatever that might be, Danny anxiously looked at the young doctor, but nothing could have prepared him for the expression he saw on her face. His legs almost gave out and he weakly leaned against the bed, the huge smile on Dr. Santiago's lips telling him everything he needed to know.
Steve was going to be alright.
Danny grinned wryly, remembering the ringing in his ears, caused by Kono's excited scream over the cell phone when he had called her and Chin a few hours ago to tell them the news about Steve. They were still on Maui, trying to find out the whereabouts of Paul Baines, but it seemed like once again the man had disappeared without a trace, leaving behind nothing but the dead bodies of his three accomplices.
Heaving a little sigh, Danny shoved the unpleasant thoughts about Baines to the back of his mind, turning his attention back to his partner. Dr. Santiago was very pleased with the progress Steve was showing, as soon as he started to breathe on his own, the ventilator tube had been removed and Steve had been moved to a private room.
Although Danny felt much better, now he knew that McGarrett would be alright, however he was still pretty impatient for him to wake up. He knew that the tenseness inside him would only completely go away when he saw Steve alert and talking, but the effect of the drug induced coma wore off slowly and according to the doctor it might be another few hours before Steve would regain consciousness.
True to her words, evening had long turned into night when Steve finally began to stir.
Danny got up from his chair when he noticed the slight change in his partner's breathing frequency, forgetting his own tiredness as he gently placed his right hand on Steve's shoulder, hoping that it would ease his friend's way back into consciousness.
Another few minutes passed agonizingly slow, but finally Steve breathed out a soft moan and his eyelids slowly fluttered open. He licked his lips, blinking a few times as his gaze sluggishly traveled around the room, taking in his surroundings. Danny gently squeezed McGarrett's shoulder, keeping the physical contact until Steve's eyes finally found his.
"It's about time that you came round, Popeye," Williams said quietly, unable to completely hide the relieved smile that spread across his face. "It's not nice to keep people waiting for so long."
Steve frowned, once more running his tongue over his dry lips before he whispered hoarsely, "… 'm not Popeye…"
Danny raised his brows, cheerfully arguing his point, "Why not, you're a sailor, you got the tattoos, only thing missing is the pipe." He barely managed to stifle a chuckle at Steve's pitiful attempt to glare at him.
"…don't like spinach…" Steve finally rasped out. Danny winced sympathetically as he saw Steve's pained effort to swallow, his throat probably raw from the ventilator tube.
"Seriously? You don't like spinach? But it's healthy and makes you big and strong," Danny briefly chuckled before he got serious, reaching for the glass of water on the bedstand. "How about some water to soothe your throat?"
McGarrett nodded, gratefully taking a few sips, closing his eyes as the cool water ran down his aching throat. "Thanks," he murmured, his voice still hoarse but remarkably smoother than before. Watching as his partner put the glass back on the bedstand, Steve noticed Danny's splinted fingers and his somewhat stiff movements.
Cautiously clearing his throat, Steve asked concerned, "Are you ok?"
Danny stared at Steve for almost a minute before he nodded tiredly, "I am now." He heavily dropped down on the edge of the bed, pondering his next words. He locked eyes with McGarrett, and when he finally rose to speak, his voice was low but firm, "Let me put two things straight. First, I don't care where you got hit, the next time I tell you to wear your vest, Steven… just do it, okay? And second, I'll never again go anywhere near a helicopter, ever in my entire life."
"Helicopter?" Steve asked perplexed but as soon as he uttered the word, his memories resurfaced and his eyes grew wide. His left hand involuntarily rubbed over the bandage on his right upper arm as he exclaimed, "Oh, shit."
Danny chuckled mirthlessly, "Yeah, shit. You could say that…"
"What happened?" Steve wanted to know, his eyes fixed on Danny's face. "We're still here, so I guess you managed to land the helicopter?"
"Well, depends on how you define 'land'." Danny replied dryly, throwing a wry look at the other man. "I rather call it a crash than a landing, I fear you won't get back your deposit for the helicopter."
Taking in Danny's worn out posture, Steve suddenly realized that it apparently had been a rough time for his partner. "That bad?" he asked hesitantly.
Williams heaved a deep sigh, silently nodding his head.
Steve swallowed, briefly squinting his eyes at the pain in his throat. "How long have I been out?"
"A little bit more than 60 hours," Danny replied, exhaustedly scrubbing his right hand over his face. "You've been on a ventilator most of the time."
McGarrett gasped at the mention of the time span, confusedly repeating his question from before, "What happened?"
Cocking his head, Danny briefly chewed on his lower lip, "You decided that moving and breathing wasn't necessary any longer."
"I don't understand…" Steve said frowning as he shook his head ever so slightly, intensely staring at the other man.
"I'm sure, your doctor can explain this much better, but from what I understood," Danny explained tiredly, "you suffered some sort of trauma to the spinal cord which temporarily deprived you of the ability to move or to breathe on your own." He took a deep breath, "You had us quite worried for a while…"
Danny interrupted himself as he saw the terrified expression on Steve's face. "Hey, Steve, keep calm. It's okay, you're fine now, there will be no permanent damage, okay?" Danny quickly reassured, placing his hand on Steve's arm. "You'll be back to your old bothersome self in no time, doing everything to make my life miserable," he added, a wry smile on his lips.
"I make your life miserable?" McGarrett asked, raising his eyebrows as he gladly accepted Danny's obvious attempt to enlighten the mood. "I don't know what you're talking about. What did I ever do to make your life miserable?"
"Oh, there are so many things, I honestly don't know where to start, Steven," Danny answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You force me to land a damn helicopter, you get me shot, you drive like a maniac… is that enough for a start?" Locking eyes with Steve, he added, "Oh, did I mention the helicopter thing?"
"I thought you like flying," Steve smirked.
"Yeah, I did," Danny glared at his partner. "But that was before you passed out, miles up in the air, leaving me with a broken radio and the need to land that huge piece of metal on my own. Thanks to you, I really lost any desire to fly ever again."
"Oh come on, Danny, I think you're a natural. Not many people would have been able to accomplish what you did," Steve said earnestly. "You really should take flying lessons and finally achieve your pilot's license."
Danny vehemently shook his head, defensively waving his arms through the air. "Let me put this straight once and for all, Steven. As I said before, I will never ever go back in a helicopter cockpit, not with you and certainly not alone."
Steve looked at his partner for a long moment, a slight smile finally creeping across his face. "Believe me, Danno, you will be back in a cockpit sooner or later," he said confidently. "I know you…"
"Oh, you know me?" Danny asked, still shaking his head. "But this time you're incorrect, Nostradamus. Trust me, you've never been more incorrect in your whole life."
(tbc)