Cujo III - Reloaded – This Time It's Personal
Chapter 18
Here's the next. Not all that much humor but things are moving along. Can't tell you how much I appreciated your comments on the last chapter. I think I answered them all but if I didn't I apologize. ADD does make things a bit hard to keep track of when there's . . . Oh, sorry . . . where was I? Anyway, rainbows and fuzzy kittens to all of you who took the time. It certainly helps to keep this story on track.
NOTE: Medical stuff is based on annoying questions asked of a relative who is a former EMT. Promised not to hold her responsible if anyone dies of a typo.
Disclaimer: If I made money from this, I'd just blow it on babysitters for husband and ninja cats . . . oh, and that one-way ticket to Hawaii.
*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0* Hawaii 5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*
Hood Ornament
Once again Danny paced back and forth across the linoleum. Once again he waited for someone - anyone - to come out to tell him what his partner's condition is. This had gotten to be a far, far, too familiar process.
Momentarily stopping his pacing to face Chin who sat ever tranquilly in one of the blue plastic chairs that provided only meagerly comfortable seating; his hands began their dance. "You know what! I'm going to have the Neanderthal bubble-wrapped. Yeah, a helmet and full body armor under bubble wrap! That's exactly what the big jerk needs if he can't manage to keep out of trouble for even one friggin' evening."
The Hawaiian, though also extremely worried for his boss, smiled while thinking. Danny may have a point.
Last night, immediately after getting the call from Danny, Chin had contacted Kono and his cousin had pulled up to the McGarrett house right behind him. By the time they'd made their way to the trashed dining room, Steve had already been hooked up to IV's and oxygen in readiness to being loaded into the ambulance.
The cousins had been shocked, not only at the appearance of their boss, but at the destruction of the room. There was broken glass and china everywhere. It sat in a jagged layer over the darkly stained carpet amidst the splintered chairs and picture frames.
Steve had a large bloodstained compression bandage around his right thigh. He'd looked nearly dead; his skin pale and bluish. Though unconscious, he was in obvious distress; chest rising and falling far too quickly as he gasped for oxygen beneath the plastic mask one of the EMT's checked for a tight fit; adjusting the flow from the tank beside them.
Chin knew from the amount of blood that soaked the carpet beneath their feet and from the looks on the faces of the medics as they tended their patient, Steve was in big trouble.
Knowing Danny would want to ride to the hospital with his friend, the cousins stayed behind to give HPD direction and secure the scene as quickly as they could before leaving for the hospital as well.
Danny's concentration didn't waver during the entire journey. He silently watched them work on his partner who hadn't given any indication of waking; his hand ice-cold in Danny's warm grip
About halfway to Queens Steve began gasping in distress despite the oxygen mask clamped onto his face. The EMT yelled to the driver and the bus quickly pulled over to the side of the road; driver now jumping into the back of it as well.
"What's happening with him?" asked the detective, fear taking a tighter grip on his own chest as the beeping portable monitor registered a much too fast and erratic pattern.
"His body is telling him that because he's lost so much blood there isn't enough to carry oxygen where it's needed. It's making his heart and lungs work too hard. It's called hypovolemic shock. This will help him out." answered Tiko Hamane one of the two disturbingly familiar EMTs who knew the team by their names as the other medic pushed a syringe of milky fluid into the IV port. Danny watched in dread as they tilted Steve's head back and efficiently inserted an airway.
"Don't worry Danny, we're handling it, said the younger and female half of the medical duo, Terri Arden, as she expertly flicked the bubbles out of yet another syringe before inserting it into the port.
In mere minutes, they were once again on their way, siren cutting into the sodden air and flashing lights dancing off rain slicked surfaces. The ambulance even fishtailed briefly as Terri took a corner a little too quickly.
Steve was still desperately trying to pull enough oxygen into his lungs but remained unconscious as the emergency vehicle backed up to the ER entrance and the gurney was quickly offloaded and wheeled through the sliding glass doors. The last Danny saw of his partner was when he was wheeled into a trauma room and a beefy nurse blocked him from following behind.
Now that they were here in this fluorescently lit room with the speckled linoleum and incredibly uncomfortable plastic chairs, the events leading up to it felt almost surreal.
Kono had just returned with a cardboard carrier holding three cups of coffee and a paper sack of breakfast sandwiches.
Danny smiled his thanks to her as he took the Styrofoam cup, this one without the ubiquitous mermaid, thank God, and took a sip. It was very much needed since no one had gotten any sleep to speak of and he himself had none since discovering Steve lying beneath an upturned china cabinet and bleeding to death on his own dining room floor.
"No word yet I take it?" asked Kono as she set down the carrier and reached into the bag and pulled out a ham and egg on rye which she handed to the blonde detective. Rye bread disgusted her but she knew Danny liked it. She handed Chin the next sandwich then took the last for herself. It felt weird there were only the three sandwiches. When one of the members of their family was missing, it made things . . . asymmetrical.
Though the food was from a cafe near the office they knew to be a good one, she disinterestedly examined her own breakfast.
When ordering lunch from there, Steve's usual favorite was one with the embarrassingly precious name 'Cow-abunga Bunny' which was essentially a humongous cheese and veggie sandwich. She knew he hadn't the guts to order one when he went to the shop himself but had no problem getting her to do it.
One time he'd even told her to have them hold the cheese which of course was fodder for Danny who'd immediately declared, "Now I know you're insane. You just ordered a cheese sandwich without the friggin' cheese!"
"But I like the veggies and sunflower seeds in that one!" defended Steve, not knowing what he'd done wrong this time.
"Then, why didn't you just order a veggie sandwich you idiot?"
"A veggie sandwich is fifty cents more!"
"Okay, I take it back . . . insane and cheap!"
She almost smiled at the memory as her own sandwich remained in its wrapper and she silently put it back in the bag. She noticed neither of the other two had yet unwrapped theirs. Somehow, no one was very hungry.
"Oh, hey," said Danny, suddenly remembering. "Did you guys see Cujo anywhere?"
"No brah. Forgot he was even staying at Steve's." said Chin
"Well, I think before he passed out completely, Steve was trying to tell me that Cujo took off after whoever broke in."
"Wouldn't be surprised." said Chin, eyebrows actually raising in surprise
"We'll have to let Animal Control know to look out for him." said Kono, another expression of worry crossing her smooth face. "As soon as we find out about Steve, one of us should probably go look too."
"Yeah, who knows. Maybe the wolverine caught up with whoever it was and we'll just have to call Max to come collect the body." said Chin only half in jest
"Entirely possible, considering who's on the perp's trail." smiled Danny. "I know I wouldn't want El Gato del Diablo chasing me through darkened streets."
"That's about the only place he hasn't chased you Danny." snorted Kono, glad for the opportunity to speculate on a comparatively lighter subject. Not that stalking and killing was necessarily lighter; it was just better than worrying oneself to death over Steve.
After nearly another hour, a woman in fresh green scrubs entered the surgical waiting room. She knew better than to scare the crap out of family by wearing the blood covered ones she'd just replaced. There wasn't anyone else in it other than the odd mix of the three who looked up at her worried and expectant.
"Family of Steven McGarrett?" she asked though it could be no other
"Yeah, that's us." said Danny as he came to his feet, nearly spilling the now cold coffee still clutched in his hand.
"Just sit." She said with a smile, motioning to Danny to retake his seat on the hard plastic chair.
"I'm Doctor Trilling, Commander McGarrett's attending" she began
"How is he?" asked Danny before she could say another word.
The doctor smiled again at the worried looking blonde who'd obviously been out in the rain; rumpled clothing and plastered hair testifying to the fact. His clothing looked no less grisly than had her own only minutes before.
"He's still with us."
The three of them sighed collectively with relief at the news.
"What are the damages . . . this time?" asked Chin
"First, I must tell you that your commander cut it pretty close. He was almost bloodless when he arrived. He's currently still being transfused and we're almost out of his blood type. It's a good thing we have the ability to obtain more from neighboring hospitals."
"You mean he nearly bled to death?"
"Very nearly. His systolic BP on arrival placed him firmly in stage four hypovolemic shock which to put it simply is very very bad and when one's organs aren't supplied with enough blood to carry oxygen to them, well . . . lots of nasty things can happen."
"Nasty things like what?" asked Kono, the slim Hawaiian woman intensely focused on the doctor, worry creasing her brow.
"If there's not enough oxygen supplied to the brain, there is the possibility of brain damage."
"Are you saying that Steve could have brain damage?" asked Danny, the dread of such a thing making him nauseous.
"So far there's no evidence of that but we'll have to have him wake to confirm it" answered Dr. Trilling almost cheerfully - far too much so for Danny's liking when the well-being of his partner was in question.
"What about the other things?" asked Kono in alarm
"Other things to think about are kidney damage and stress on other organs but we're monitoring that very carefully. The readings aren't good but I think it's something that, with time, will improve."
"So, we just wait?" asked Chin, trying to clarify for all of them
"Yes, essentially. When he wakes, we can evaluate where he is. The anesthesia will take a while to wear off. From his records . . ." with her tone of voice and the raise of an eyebrow to indicate there were many of them from previous visits, "I can see he always has a bit of difficulty with the side effects so it's not going to be any time very soon."
"Yeah, it takes him forever to wake up after anesthesia." supplied Danny as he once again ran both hands through lank hair in frustration.
"Commander . . . Steve is going to be out of surgery in a few more minutes. Our vascular guy did a great job and they're just finishing the sutures on the last layer of muscle before closing up. He'll be going to recovery and then we're keeping him in ICU until we're sure he's completely stable. Sometime after that we'll be moving him to a step-down unit.
"When can we see him?" asked Kono, biting her lip in worry that hadn't yet abated
"When he's settled into ICU you can visit him individually for a few minutes every hour."
"I need to see him." said Danny, face setting into a hardened expression; he knew he'd have to fight for it.
"Like I said, when he's in ICU . . . "
"No, I need to see him in recovery. There's . . . an ongoing investigation into how this happened." Danny pushed
"I had assumed it was an accident?" said Trilling, raising her own eyebrows in question, "There were small shards of glass embedded in his skin in various places and a couple more in the gash on his thigh which appeared to be caused by something that made a very clean slice . . . like a large piece of broken glass."
"He was attacked." said Danny hoping this new information would get him enough points to see Steve in recovery.
"Be that as it may, he probably won't even know you're there. He certainly won't be in any shape to answer questions." said Trilling, now crossing her arms over her chest and locking eyes with the blonde detective.
"I can get the Governor involved if I have to." said Danny, knowing it may be an empty threat but he had to try anyway.
Trilling rolled her eyes. She knew these guys were Five-0 and though she hadn't had the pleasure, she'd heard of their fierce loyalty to one another from her colleagues.
Standing her ground for a few more moments she finally sighed. She knew cops had their own way of going about things. It had been a long night and she was tired. She'd already lost one patient earlier and had no energy to argue with the compact and strongly adamant detective.
"You can see him very briefly." she conceded, "If you cause any distress to my patient, you'll be thrown out on your ear, cop or not."
Danny solemnly nodded. He'd take what he could get. He just had to see Steve still breathing. The scenes in the dining room and then in the ambulance had shaken him to his core. He knew it was selfish but he had to see his friend alive and in the flesh – no matter how battered it may be at the moment.
There were a few more questions which Trilling patiently answered before excusing herself to get back to her duties.
"Great, just great, now more waiting." grumbled Danny, again trying to tame his hair by running his hands along both sides.
"Danny, why don't you go change your clothes?" said Kono as she gestured to the blonde's pants; the knees of which were stiffened with Steve's blood. "I fetched your go-bag from the office when I went to get the sandwiches. It's on the chairs over there."
"Uhh, yeah." answered Danny as he looked down at his now nearly dry slacks, one of the knees of which was actually stuck to his skin with its huge blackish stain.
". . . fucking bubble-wrap the bastard." he muttered as he almost angrily snatched up the bag and strode toward the men's room.
…
His prey was just ahead of him. He could hear its loud breathing as it ran further into the darkness. There was the scent of blood. He could tell that some of the blood wasn't that of his prey. It was his very own human's. That was distressing and it made him even more determined to find the man and kill him.
He ran faster as the water that fell from the sky began to make the smell wash away but the taste of blood still lingered in his mouth.
The little cat was locked on target.
…
Danny approached the bed slowly. He could see Steve shivering beneath the warming blankets placed over his body. He glanced worriedly at the nurse who was adjusting the flow of the bag of blood whose line ran to the crook of his partner's left arm.
The only part of his body that wasn't buried beneath the mound of blankets was his thigh which was propped up on several pillows, a huge bandage wrapped around it covering the leg nearly from groin to knee.
"Don't worry." she said reassuringly as she saw the blonde's reaction to the almost violent trembling of her patient, "It's a normal reaction for some people. He'll warm up soon."
He'd wanted to know . . . had to know . . . that his partner was still alive. Had to see for himself that the Neanderthal was still breathing but despite this not being the first time he'd seen Steve after surgery, it was still disturbing.
Steve still looked nearly bloodless. No hint of color was yet evident in the pale complexion tinged with blue in the hollows of his eyes and around his mouth. At least now the airway had been replaced with only a mask and the rise and fall of his chest was slower and steadier; the earlier desperate quest for oxygen no longer evident.
Taking Steve's still nearly icy hand, he gave it a quick squeeze before saying, "You cut it a little too close this time Steven. You know we're going to have to have another talk about such things."
Steve shivered again as Danny tucked the blankets tighter around his partner's shoulders.
….
He held his hand at the back of his neck as he ran. He could feel the warmth of blood mixing with the rivulets of the cooler rainwater as it ran down into his collar. That had been way too close. Whatever it was that had leaped onto his back and tried to kill him was terrifying.
He ran blindly toward where he'd left his car a couple of streets over. In his rush to escape, he'd just broken out the closest window and the thing had followed him. He heard it as it landed right behind him in the mud of the flower bed.
This wasn't the plan. Maybe McGarrett was dead and maybe he wasn't. If he was, then Kiki would be happy. If he wasn't, Kiki would be disappointed he hadn't gotten the job done.
There were all sorts of things these days that could tie him to the crime now. He'd read about DNA and fiber analysis and those things. Kiki was going to be pissed. He really didn't want to make her angry though it's what made them meet in the first place – that anger management class.
Splashing through a gargantuan puddle the size of Lake Ontario, he finally reached the Prius. He heard a bloodcurdling screech behind him just as he pulled the door open.
"Shit!" The creature had followed him! He threw himself into the car and slammed the door. Something thumped onto the windshield almost causing him to wet himself as he reached toward the dash to start the engine. Peering through the rain distorted glass he saw two evil yellow eyes staring back into his.
It's a damned cat! What the hell?
He pressed the button and waited for the green light that told him the engine was running. Usually the process was fast enough for him but this time it seemed to take forever. He could hear the animal's claws scrabbling for a hold on the wet slippery hood as he swung the car onto the street.
*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0* Hawaii 5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*
Hope you liked it. As always, reviews and any suggestions you'd like to make would be much appreciated.
Next chapter about halfway done. Just have to keep ninja cats out of my hair, (literally at times), to get the rest of it completed.