Chapter 23

Here's the next. Since it took so long to get that last chapter out, thought I'd surprise everyone, (including myself), with posting this a bit sooner. Hope you like it. Let me know.

Disclaimer: If wishes were horses and I made any money from this, (which I don't), there'd be an entire herd of them waiting to board a plane to Hawaii.

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Herding Cats

Danny looked apprehensively around himself. Cats and their owners/keepers/servants lined the walls on this side of the large waiting room. The expansive area contained assorted brightly colored chairs and a necessarily utilitarian floor covering of ceramic tile. Any animal with vet visit anxiety couldn't necessarily be counted on to mind it manners.

Today was a busy day for the veterinary clinic. The crowded waiting area was divided into a 'cat' side and a 'dog' side with the intake desk and the examination rooms behind it between the two. He was, of course, waiting on the 'cat' side. As he looked around, he felt as though he'd been transported into that Hitchcock movie but instead of being surrounded by birds waiting to tear his eyes out, he was surrounded by cats who, given the right impetus, were perfectly capable of accomplishing the same task.

No wait! It suddenly occurred to the detective with relief, you can't get cats to do anything that requires they all go in the same direction for the same purpose at the same time. He was perfectly safe.

His wary gaze landed on the biggest friggin' house cat he'd ever seen. It overflowed the lap of its owner, a young man wearing a wifebeater and a bandana. With almost soup-plate-sized copper eyes the gigantic feline glared back at him. He almost felt like backing out of the room before it decided it needed a snack and Jersey detective flesh looked appealing.

Once again, he stood and paced with nervous energy as at least twenty sets of green, yellow, blue or copper eyes followed him across the room like those cheesy cat clocks where the tail is a pendulum and the eyes go from side to side. It was totally creepy. He re-took his seat.

This sucks. Despite the animal gallery it's much too similar to the many times past when he's nervously awaited news on the condition of his disaster prone partner. The cat and the SEAL were way too much alike when locked on target; so narrowly focused on who or what they were chasing that nothing around them even registered. There was no awareness of danger to themselves, people yelling at them to cease and desist, and certainly not the threat of being flattened by oncoming traffic. Steve found that out the hard way last year when he'd nearly been rendered literal roadkill by a speeding car. Yeah, waay too much alike sometimes.

Well, at least the clinic was a much more posh place to wait than Queens and at least the 'children' were on leashes or in carriers and not annoyingly running about. The chairs were certainly more comfortable. The shape of the human derriere had actually been considered when designing things on which to sit so they were not devices of torture.

Danny tried to be still but blew out a puff of frustration and once again stood to begin his restless pacing. Was it his lot in life to spend most of it waiting to hear news of life or death for someone he cared about? The wolverine couldn't really be put in the category, 'someone he cared about', but yeah . . . okay . . . fuck it, he is. He had to face it; the Spawn of Satan sorta grew on him. He'd just never admit it to the Cat Lady.

He looked up to see Chin and Kono enter the large glass door opposite the desk. "How's the popoki?" asked the willowy Hawaiian as she walked up and handed him a steaming paper cup.

"By popoki, do you mean the fur-covered time bomb?" asked Danny, mostly out of habit as he took the coffee container emblazoned with the familiar vending machine logo.

"Yeah, that one." she confirmed with a slight smile

"Haven't heard anything yet. He was pretty much unresponsive when I handed him over but the vet tech told me it wasn't unusual for an animal in shock."

Both cousins nodded in acknowledgement as they took their seats next to him.

After taking a tentative sniff of the steam wafting from the cup, the blonde detective continued, "You know, he'd better be okay. Steve's gonna be a wreck if something happens to him."

They all knew the 'something' had already happened but realized Danny didn't want to address the result of that something and use the term, 'if he dies'. That would be unthinkable - like losing a member of their ohana.

Sadly, there was an established routine to these vigils. If there wasn't any news within a couple of hours, someone would go fetch something to eat and then they'd draw straws to see who took which shift to wait for news while the others went to take care of the aftermath of whatever op had resulted in injury.

"This is getting old brah." said Chin as he sat and took a sip of the hot, strong coffee.

"Tell me about it." said Danny as he took a large sip from his own paper cup; eyebrows rising in surprise, "Hey, this isn't bad. It's much better than the stuff we usually get from the vending machines at Queens."

Kono, glad for the small distraction responded, "Well, apparently, vet clinics rate a higher-end beverage system. There's a big, honkin' vending machine just outside the door. It's awesome! It grinds the beans and brews a cup right in front of you!"

"And doesn't burn your fingers and make you want to shoot it." added Chin referring to Steve's recent adventure with the malevolent espresso machine.

"Speaking of the world's worst barista, has anyone said anything to him about his not-my-pet being in the hospital?" asked Danny

"No, brah. We figured as soon as he was awake enough, he'd be calling and wanting to know what's going on. As we all know too well, McGarrett doesn't like being left out of the loop." said Chin

"I got a message from him earlier. Don't even know how he got hold of a phone. I know Bambi's smart enough and mean enough to keep him from getting his hands on one." Danny paused to take another sip of coffee, closing his eyes in appreciation before looking at his two companions and continuing, "Anyway, he asked about Cujo. Said he remembered the wolverine going after the guy who attacked him. I figured it would be best to wait to give him the news all at once as soon as we find out Cujo's condition."

The cousins nodded as one in agreement. No sense worrying the man already dealing with injuries of his own.

"If the news isn't good, one of us should be with him. Hell, even if it is good and the damned piranha is only gonna be in the hospital for a while, one of us has to be there to make sure Rambo doesn't go over the wall to come see him." continued the blonde

"Steve's so focused on everyone else's welfare; it's too bad he doesn't focus more on keeping himself safe." said Kono, voicing the obvious, "It would certainly cut down on time spent in ER waiting rooms."

"Yeah, I already told him we were gonna have a talk about this." said Danny running his hands along both sides of his hair out of nervous habit.

"This one isn't even his fault brah." reminded Chin, "He was attacked in his own home."

"I know but . . . how the hell does he manage to find trouble no matter what! He was only supposed to go home and go to bed! How difficult is that? Next thing I know, he's under a gigantic friggin' cabinet and bleeding out on the damned floor! I mean what the fuck!" forcefully said the detective, voice rising in pitch and volume with each word.

People turned toward the small group of Five-0's as Danny grew louder and his hands began flying in punctuation. Of course, anyone who knew him knew that ranting was his way of coping. The cousins of course were unfazed.

The big, copper-eyed cat began to growl as its owner got a tighter grip on the harness restraining the feline. The kid with the bandana around his head looked at him pointedly as the cat began to squirm in his lap.

The damned thing's probably too big to stuff into a carrier. Maybe he needs to get a horse trailer, thought Chin getting ready to intervene if needed.

"Sorry." said Danny as the kid silently nodded back in acceptance of the apology.

As she stared open-mouthed at the gigantic, long-haired cat Kono was thinking, Dude, it's not like driving a big ass car! You don't get points for having a bigger one than anybody else. Can't you just get an Escalade and a pit bull like the rest of the seriously insecure?

"Family of Cujo McGarrett?" they heard from the doorway on the other side of the room.

…

The detective strode down the tile floor of the long hallway. Reaching room 622, he pushed open the door which hadn't been all the way shut.

The room was quiet with the sun slanting into it making a golden rectangle on the wall opposite the bed. Steve lay asleep, breathing quietly and deeply. Danny hated to ruin his obviously needed rest but he had news.

He stood for a moment observing his incredibly pale and drawn looking partner. Steve was still hooked up to various and assorted things: heart monitor, bags of clear liquids, pulse-ox and, judging from the collection bag hanging off the side of the bed - the dreaded Foley. His right leg from groin to knee was wrapped in what looked like miles of gauze and rested on a pile of pillows.

Sighing, he decided to just wait for his partner to wake on his own. This wasn't going to be easy. He took a seat next to the bed. The chair was obviously an old design - probably one created during the Spanish Inquisition.

…..

He dreamt of little fishes and fat slow moving mice.

When he reached toward them, they seemed to move just out of his reach. The mice he could understand but the little fishes shouldn't be able to get away from him! They usually came out of the thing his human would get from the place where many such small round metal boxes were kept.

He could hear familiar voices: the loud man, the female who smelled like sand and water, the man who wore cloth with flowers on it . . . where was his human?

….

Danny heard a small groan and looked up to see bleary eyes staring back at his own.

"Hey D. What's going on?" came the drowsy sounding voice as Steve fumbled for the control buried in the rumpled blanket and the bed whirred into a more upright position. He grimaced as the change in angle woke the pain in his thigh.

"Haven't seen you since they put you in the step-down unit. You were still unconscious when I visited you in the ICU. Thought maybe you'd enjoy gazing on my ruggedly handsome face."

"Yeah sure." smiled McGarrett, "Always like lookin' at something so goofy it makes me laugh."

Gauging Danny's reaction to the small dig, Steve's eyes narrowed. He knew something was up. "What's wrong Danny?"

Williams was only a little surprised at the recognition something was amiss. The two of them had been together long enough to read each other pretty well. Even the Neanderthal's supposed lack of communication skills didn't keep him from sensing when something wasn't right in their world. According to what he'd seen on Animal Planet, it was a talent a lot of animals had.

"I got your message about Cujo." He began trying to gauge how much distressing information to dump on his still recuperating partner.

"What about Cujo?" Steve's face and body immediately went from relaxed and sleepy to tense and worried.

"Well, let's just say that he's about in the same shape you are right now. He's also in the hurt locker."

"He's been injured?"

"Yeah, he's in the vet hospital."

"What happened? Is he okay?"

"Just calm down Cat Lady. We think the wolverine's gonna be fine."

"You think he's gonna be fine!" parroted Steve, rising up completely, poised for flight.

"It's all right. Calm down before you hurt yourself . . . more. He's just got a couple booboos but they're taking care of it. What is it with you McGarretts running out into traffic and getting your asses run over."

"HE GOT RUN OVER?!" Steve immediately began to yank off the heart monitor leads in preparation to making a break for it; sending the machine into an annoyingly loud alarm mode.

"Hey, hey! Stop that!" said Danny as he immediately stood and grabbed Steve's shaking hands to keep him from completing the disconnection.

"I have to see him!" said the man now struggling to get out of bed.

"No, he's gonna be fine! What you have to do is stay in this damned bed until they tell you that you can get out of it!"

"Danny!" said the man who now sounded very much like the time Gracie was begging for tickets to a Justin Bieber concert.

"No whining Rambo. It's not going to get you anywhere. I told you the piranha's going to be fine. Now calm down before I get Bambi in here to calm you down. You do remember her delight in shooting your ass full of sedatives? The ones which obviously are still present in your system if you think you're going anywhere."

"What's going on here!" came a demanding voice as the woman he'd just mentioned burst into the room to bustle forward to begin reconnecting the leads Steve had managed to yank off his chest. Thankfully, he'd not gotten all the way to the IV's and the Foley.

"Nothing" was the immediate and simultaneous reply from both men as they froze and two sets of eyes widened in feigned innocence.

"Uh huh" said the annoyed nurse as she completed her tasks, silencing the alarms and making sure all connections were secure before standing before them hands on hips like a very, very, scary schoolteacher; the one you didn't ever want to cross because being sent to the principal's office was minor compared to what your mind could conjure as you stared into a steely gaze. Her pale eyes pinned both of them as they froze in mid-action.

Steve was the first to crack.

"I uhh, just got some news about one of my team being injured." he supplied, head swimming from the sudden movement required to rise from his bed.

Bambi actually looked concerned. She knew, (and at one time or another reprimanded for various infractions), all of the Five-0 members. She'd gotten to know them during their visits to their leader when he'd been hospitalized with a serious head injury about a year and a half ago. She was very familiar with the Governor's Special Taskforce.

"I can understand why you're agitated Commander. I'm sorry you're upset but you have to stay put. You won't be able to get out of bed until your leg has healed enough so you won't be in danger of re-tearing that artery."

Steve only looked at her in frustration as Danny smirked.

"Which team member was it that was injured?" she asked

"Uhh, our uhh, office guard." managed Steve, not being able to come up with anything more creative due to the ongoing pain meds and the spots that had begun to swim in his vision like a bowl full of goldfish.

"Office guard?" she asked in puzzlement. She thought they were all detectives.

"Office guard and rodent control officer." supplied Danny as Steve cut him with a look that should have his button-down smoldering from its heat.

Bambi continued to look puzzled for another brief moment before her face hardened. "You mean that mangy little cat you smuggled into the hospital a few months ago!"

"Uhh, yeah, that would be the one." confirmed Steve, hating himself for so quickly giving up intel to the enemy.

Bambi stood looking at them for a long moment before her face softened almost imperceptibly. "Be that as it may commander, you can't get out of that bed until the doctor okays it and I seriously doubt that's going to be today."

Steve seemed to deflate as with a groan he lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. He knew he was beat.

"What were this animal's injuries?" asked Bambi curiously

Surprised at her concern, Danny quickly answered. "Blunt force trauma resulting in internal bleeding, bruised kidneys and a concussion. They removed his spleen but apparently cats, along with humans, don't really need it very much unless one is planning on a career in the NFL."

Turning to Steve he said, "Sorry babe, he's never gonna make first string for the Packers. I know you had plans."

Steve flipped him off.

"Commander, from what I've heard of its injuries, the cat should recover just fine without you being there. It just has to behave itself and not move around too much like someone in this room should be doing."

Danny bravely ventured an opinion on the situation, "You know he's not gonna listen no matter what you say. It's like herding cats. They just do what they're gonna do no matter what."

It only earned him the 'schoolteacher's glare of death' from the formidable nurse.

Considering the frosty reception of his last statement, he turned the man in bed before saying, "Maybe they could just share a room. You know, kill two birds with one grenade. If the little buzz-saw was a bit larger and wore cargo pants, one could almost confuse him with his owner, err excuse me, 'caregiver'. That's the PC term these days isn't it Cat Lady?"

Steve glared at him with a look that could nuke a glacier into steam – or at least if would have if the eyes attempting to do so weren't quite so glazed and beginning to lose focus.

…

Danny stayed a while longer until he was sure Steve was calm and wasn't planning on escaping anytime soon. It was good to have Bambi as back-up. SuperSEAL would never get past her no matter what he learned in SEAL school.

"I promise Steven; as soon as I hear something more I'll call you."

"I don't like that he's all alone there. You know he's gonna give them a bad time as soon as he feels well enough."

"Look, they know him there. It's probably the only vet's office on the island that expects a box of candy after a visit from one of its patients. Didn't Pat tell you her vet techs had actually gained weight from the many times you had to ply them with chocolates to keep them from running for the hills whenever the Spawn of Satan was scheduled to make a visit?"

"Well, yeah but it more sort of an apology for the visits. They didn't always go that smoothly." defended Steve in what had to be gross understatement.

"So, don't you think that they're capable of handling him?"

"Well, yeah I guess." conceded the SEAL, still not happy about not being able to be part of Cujo's care.

"Is your Amex card still good?"

"Of course. Why?"

"I'm gonna use it to lay in a supply of chocolate. It's to keep them happy so they don't just chuck the little shithead onto the street to fend for himself when he starts to feel better and decides he needs to feed on their blood like a vampire."

"Come on D. You know you love him." smiled McGarrett

"He's a shithead like you. I'm just used to him." asserted the blonde detective

"You love both of us. You just won't admit it." laughed Steve finally relaxing back onto the pillows. Danny's reminder of Cujo's past care at his vet's finally making him feel reassured.

"Don't let it go to your head. Besides, I only tolerate you. It would be too difficult to train a new partner. Though I am pretty good at it - look at what I had to work with." Danny gestured toward the man in the bed.

"Thought you said I was untrainable?"

"You've come a long way babe. Almost ready to take out in public without a leash."

"What did I tell you about leashes D." said McGarrett regaining the frown he'd recently abandoned.

"Oh hey, I guess I need to cancel that date with Dave for you huh?" said Danny immediately changing the subject.

"I told you it's not a date Danny!" said Steve, brow remaining creased in annoyance.

"Yeah, whatever." said Danny dismissively, "You know, you guys would actually make a cute couple. Dave has a military background too. Thought I'd look up his profile, you know, just in case it might come in handy. He'd be a sort of in-law right?"

Steve amped up his frown.

"See ya later Rambo and remember, STAY!" he commanded as his laughter trailed out the door.

Steve waited to make sure the detective was actually gone before he reached for the phone that had recently been restored to the room. Bambi had taken pity on him knowing he'd never agree to stay in bed until he had a way to check on the cat.

Dialing Cath's number, he waited for her to pick-up. His next call would be to Dave.

This was gonna be sweet. Danny's a dead duck.

…

It was all over the local stations. There'd been a fatal accident on Kapiolani Boulevard. The news ghouls were sure to be delighted with the shots of a bright yellow plastic sheet with blood leaking from beneath it as it lay spread over the body on the asphalt.

Well, at least that's one less thing to worry about, thought Kiki as she readied herself for her live stand-up from the scene. Having to recount the demise of her hidden accomplice didn't faze her in the least. It certainly tied up a loose end she'd have had to deal with sooner or later. May as well be sooner.

There shouldn't be anything to connect the nut job to her even if he'd left evidence at McGarrett's. Speaking of whom, she was displeased to find out Five-0's leader would survive and eventually make a full recovery. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Her biggest concern at the moment was how to construct a plausible story on her as-yet-to-be-revealed exclusive on the Macchiato Murderer. The little twerp had inconveniently gotten himself killed and put a crimp in her plans.

At least I didn't have to sleep with him to get him to cooperate, she thought as she waited impatiently for Talia to finish setting up her shot. The cell in her blazer pocket rang and she cursed as she fished it out, annoyed with the interruption. She'd forgotten to put it on vibrate so it wouldn't ruin her bit. Glancing at the incoming caller I.D. she saw Mickey's name displayed. Shit!

*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*

Next chapter will reveal the results of Steve's plan for revenge. As far as this chapter goes – reviews would be most welcome.