I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: my continued thanks for the encouragement and such wonderful reviews! Special thanks as always to Cinderh, Jazzie and Synbou - luv you guys! ;-)

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CHAPTER 9

"Another four days?" Danny blurted the words out in shock to Doctor Ramirez who was now sitting perched on the edge of the hospital bed. "Four! Why so long?" The doctor had been very pleased by the sudden break in his patient's temperature. More than pleased at the unexpected news and now normal readings across the board. But he was being, what Danny deemed over-cautious, at the estimated number of days before his patient could expect to be released from the hospital. And then it would be at least two additional weeks worth of time before he could resume 'moderate activity' - whatever that was - and however that was defined, the annoying bottom-line meant no immediate return to field work.

Setting his jaw determinedly, Ramirez was already finding the argument tedious as he explained why his patient needed to stay hospitalized for additional care. The doctor had just finished changing his bandages and was silent before answering Danny's petulant complaints. "Because, Detective. I said so."

"That's hardly an answer." Danny griped unhappily, wincing as Ramirez palpitated his very sore stomach.

"If you'd open your ears about my original explanation, you wouldn't continually be asking me the very same question now. Would you?" The older man snarked back with a mocking tone. "I could make it five .. and actually have a mind to."

To forestall further discussion, Ramirez leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "Do me a favor. Let's prove a point, shall we?" Danny glared at the man suspiciously as he waited.

"Just .. sit up. Sit up and then show me how you can physically swing your legs off the bed. Unassisted."

Chin was in the room. Standing silently in the background and his eyes widened in surprise at the doctor's challenge. Both Steve and Kono were down in the cafeteria getting coffee. If they'd been present, he was sure that their expressions would mimic his own.

"Uh .. Doc." Chin mumbled as he rocked off the wall to move closer to the bed. He clearly understood that Ramirez wanted to teach Danny a strong lesson, but Danny would try and he would try hard. But he was forced to close his mouth as the doctor's hand came up warningly.

So he only grimaced in sympathy and took a step back from the bed when Danny growled at him too. "Chin. I got this."

"Alright, brah. But I really don't think so." Shaking his head at the coming folly, Chin's face remained distinctly unhappy about what was going to happen.

To make matters worse, Ramirez was now standing and he had even raised the head of the bed to be more convenient. Tossing the remote to the foot of the bed, he moved the blankets off Danny and motioned for him to try.

"Okay, let's go. Show me." And Danny tried. He doggedly got as far as shifting his weight on an elbow. When that failed, he used both hands and leveraged himself awkwardly on to his side before a sharp pain stopped him cold and took his breath away. Visibly screwing his face up from the pain, he fell back weakly into the pillows as it rocketed not only through his stomach, but also into his lower back.

"Injury to the abdominal muscles is one of the most painful, Detective. Add to that, the fact that the bullet exited through the muscles of your lower back. And what do we have? Hmm?" Ramirez smiled curtly as his patient panted and blinked pain filled tears from his eyes. Leaning forward, he fixed the blankets back around Danny's waist and then raised the side rails to the bed. Snaring the remote back, Danny found himself being reclined to a more comfortable position.

"You need to rest." Ramirez softened slightly as he watched his patient come to terms with the necessary slow steps towards recuperation. "Even with medication, you are going to feel very sore. You need to rest, heal and then will still need to be careful with any type of activity for a couple of weeks."

It was all enough for Danny to merely nod with undeniable defeat in his eyes as the doctor continued and Chin tried to hide a small smile. "I also don't want you to risk tearing what we just repaired. And Danny, it can happen much easier than you might like to think. So put your feet up and enjoy your stay. You aren't going anywhere until I say so."

The words and absolute proof of his painful weakness didn't open the door for any type of continued discussion or argument and so Danny could only dismally watch the doctor stride away. Only Chin saw the cheeky wink and Ramirez's gleeful smile as he exited the room.

Once he was gone, it was only a matter of moments before Steve re-entered with a beaming grin of his own. Kono was still in the cafeteria, but Steve had met Ponch in the hallway and gotten the abbreviated rundown on when his partner could expect to be released.

"Four days isn't so bad, Danno. It's the two plus weeks after that which are going to get on your nerves." The funny sound Chin made in the back of his throat said that was an understatement. And it made Danny purse his lips and narrow his eyes at the obvious meaning which included the potential for trying the patience of his friends.

"Says you." He muttered irritably before picking at the bedding and then aimlessly turning on the television.

"No, says Ponch." Steve brightly replied as he lounged back in the bedside chair. It was a startling change from just the previous day where Danny lay so miserably in bed; tossing and turning in a restless fevered state.

"What a difference a day makes." Steve muttered to Chin happily as he stared at Danny's weary, but now animated face. Grinning, he caught his eye and stretched his long legs out in front of him.

"Besides, Grace is on her way over now. So wipe that look off your face and get ready for a ray of sunshine .. sunshine."

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Two days later, Danny was being wheeled to a completely different wing of the hospital. It was late morning and his team needed to work .. it was also the first time that the man he had asked to see was coherent. Before going through the last set of double doors, Doctor Ramirez stopped and once again felt obligated to remind Danny that Corporal Carter might not be all that willing to talk.

"I'd just like to see him." Danny said quietly. "I know what you're saying .. but I would like to see him anyway." After learning of the Corporal's more recent injuries in a barroom brawl that had worsened his TBI and resulted in the serious incident at TAMC, Danny had been drawn to the man. Ramirez silently made the arrangements with the caveat that he attend the brief meeting with his patient.

"He may or may not be receptive." According to the Corporal's doctors, his temperament could still be volatile and though he was obviously being treated, they didn't expect any major, future improvements. Whatever he had been hit with in the alley near the bar had caused a serious swelling to complicate the original overseas injury. After the ordeal in the emergency room, Carter had lapses of unconsciousness and had only been lucid for less than a day. Understanding that there might not be a conversation or even a congenial meeting, Danny had still asked to visit the solider.

An M.P. was stationed outside and he insisted on remaining in the corner of the room during their visit. In addition, Carter was cuffed to his bed. But then both men were surprised by the Corporal's sincerely overwhelmed response when they announced their arrival. Barely able to remember what he had done, the soldier did know he had injured two people and created quite a stir in the facility.

"You came to see me? Why would you .. after what I've done?" Danny couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he introduced himself to the embarrassed and teary-eyed soldier.

"Because none of it was your fault." In fact, Danny had no intention of doing more than making sure the solider got the help he needed. TAMC and the military could do whatever they liked, but for his part, Danny merely wanted the man to get the help he deserved. He had additionally made that particular point clear to anyone who would listen. They visited for a short time; and the meeting was brief for two important reasons. The first being that Carter's concussion was severe and he tired quickly. And as they quietly spoke amongst themselves, Ramirez was the one that noticed the man's pained change in breathing.

"Headache? Migraine?" The older doctor kindly asked and then Carter didn't object as his two visitors excused themselves immediately to then send someone in with the appropriate pain medication.

The second issue was with Danny as his healing muscles became fatigued and he needed to rest. He was back in his own room and happily taking his own medications as weary abdominal and back muscles seemed to seize and cramp. His much wiser expression made Ramirez chortle as he bounced on his toes while Danny gently rubbed the outside of the bandages on his stomach.

"Now you understand the four days." Ramirez grinned as his patient gave him a half-grin. But the activity was also exhausting for him and on top of the medication, Danny was soon sound asleep.

Turning to leave, Doctor Ramirez came face to face with a pig-tailed blonde-haired little girl. She was staring up at him with astonished brown eyes and his mouth dropped open. A child-sized stethoscope hung around her neck and she was wearing something that could almost be a white doctor's lab coat but it went well past her knees.

With both her hands shoved deeply into the over-sized pockets of that coat, she was studying him with an unabashed adoration. At least seven tongue depressors and two lollipops peeked out of her top breast pocket; the name tag carefully pinned above them was borrowed from her father and clearly said "McRaney".

"Oh no." He muttered as he tried to sidle around the six-year old. It was then that he saw Steve and McRaney lurking in the corridor. He was sure that Ellen was nearby when he heard the all too familiar muffled laughter.

With no choice but to accept the inevitable, Doctor Ramirez rolled his eyes at Erin McRaney and held his hand out to her. The smile that broke across her face was huge and honest as she willingly wrapped her fingers around his thumb.

"Well come on then. We have rounds to do."

~ End ~