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"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. "I just wanted to be sure of you."
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Chapter Thirteen: No Kau a Kau ~ For Eternity

Chin wheeled Kono into the intensive care unit. According to Doctor Ramirez, the surgery had gone well and Danny had been quietly resting now for hours. Steve had seen him personally and brought him up-to-speed. Based upon what Steve shared next, Danny had been tremendously relieved by their successes and had fallen asleep virtually mid-sentence. Despite that happy news, Chin winced when he saw his friend lying so pale and quiet. So soon after the first hospital visit, he saw what Steve had first noticed: that Danny's face was still very bruised and another wound had been added under a thick, heavy bandage. For what seemed the hundredth time, Chin found himself completely unconcerned about Topher Reid's fate even though what might happen would be at his own hands.

"Stop," Kono whispered, already rising from the wheelchair before he'd even ground to a halt or had time to thumb the brake.

"He's sleeping," Chin needlessly whispered under his breath. With a patience that seemed to never end sometimes, Chin guided Kono's hand to the mattress for balance. Her hair was now damp and brushed though to hang down her back. Out of habit, she tucked a few belligerent stray strands behind her ear even though her fingers were still trembling. She had permitted Lennon and his team to tend her as soon as the red dress had been properly disposed of. For the time being, that meant bagged and retained as evidence. Something that Kono well knew in the back of her mind, but refused to acknowledge. As far as she was concerned, even making believe that it had been burned was satisfying enough. A nurse had helped her to take the hottest shower which she could stand. That same nurse had found a hospital-issue bathrobe to cover the thin material of the pale blue gown. The robe was ancient and worn, but it covered her completely down to her ankles. Afterwards though, when the doctor had deemed her in no apparent physical danger and her room had been readied, she'd momentarily declined further care until she'd had her way.

"Now. I'm going now and I don't care what time it is!" Kono's eyes had darkened with annoyance when Lennon had attempted to change her mind for a second time.

"It's not a good idea," Lennon had tried to interrupt her, his look nearly mirrored that of his patient's which soon had forced Chin to intervene. "If your Commander says that he's fine and sleeping, I fail to see why you need to see him. Your vitals are from being stabilized ... you both need to rest ... it's almost dawn!"

"Doctor Lennon," Chin had inserted himself between his cousin and the flabbergasted doctor. His jaw moved painfully because in a large way, he did agree with the young physician. Kono was dehydrated, bordering on famished, and still under the influence of strong sedatives; toxic drugs that needed to be flushed from her system. It was apparent that she ached to sleep, too. Her body needed all of these things to recover. However, this time, she was sticking fast to her argument and making no compromises.

As her shoulders tensed under his hand, Chin easily recognized the war that was to come. "I'll take her for a few minutes; we won't be long," Chin interjected to calm Kono's rising irritation. He knew without a doubt that what Kono needed at that very moment far outweighed logical medical advice. To quiet his own nerves, when he reluctantly supported her decision, his fists were welded to his hips as he made a simple statement. "We'll need a wheelchair."

Now in Danny's ICU room, her left hand slid along the outside of the blankets, just shy of his body as she leaned into the bed to keep her feet squarely under herself. She had believed Reid and she hated him more for the lie now. She was tired of being tired and plain angry at being so out of sorts. Her thoughts were still muddy. Her reactions were slow and behind in an odd sort of way; as if she weren't yet back at home in her own body.

Kono leaned heavily into the bed as her hand slid along the side until she found Danny's left hand still scabbed and roughened by scrapes which were finally beginning to heal. "He's cold," she whispered automatically. Her voice broke and though she didn't think she had any more tears left, her eyes pricked painfully when she saw his face for the first time. She had anticipated seeing the bandage covering part of his head, but not the colorful bruising which traced his cheek nor so heavily marked his jawline. "He looks terrible. What ... what happened? Chin?"

"Remember I told you," Chin softly and patiently provided yet another abridged recap for her sake. His own head was beginning to throb from the ongoing stress of managing the abysmally long day. He hissed under his breath when her knees wobbled but she regained her balance by pausing briefly. "Slow down," he murmured. They were both whispering as softly as humanly possible. Their voices were low in the room and barely above a rhythmic beep of a random machine. "He was surprised from behind and when he fell, he put his hand out. His right shoulder was dislocated; but when he was hit ... the one to his temple prompted the slow bleed. Ramirez and Fratelli say he's going to be fine ... he's going to be okay with rest, Kono."

But again, her question might have been rhetorical because Chin could see that she was barely paying any heed to his words. Her attention span was limited, jumping to stray to the oddest of distractions. She would listen and soon forget what she'd been told. Or conversely, ask a question but become so distracted with something else that she never quite grasped the answer only to ask the same thing a few minutes later. However, now that she was with Danny, her focus was entirely true.

"Danny?" Not quite expecting an answer, Kono whispered his name anyway as she eased herself down to sit next to his hip. Her eyes were huge, darkly full of tears and still able to show her tale of being over-drugged by the way they glistened in her face. She had his hand enveloped now in both of hers and was completely unaware that her sporadic trembling was shaking his fingers in kind.

"Fratelli recently administered Danny's latest round of medication, Kono. He's going to be out for awhile," Chin quietly reminded her. He was relieved when she took a moment to nod her understanding. For their short trip, Lennon had removed her IV drip - again done under protest. But she had insisted because she didn't want to feel tethered or trapped when she saw Danny. While Chin understood her feelings, he now used it to gently coax her to leave. "Danny's going to sleep and you need to sleep too. Let me take you back to your room. Lennon wants to restart your IV so he can flush your system out; maybe you can try to eat something. The sooner you get started and follow Lennon's orders, the faster you can go home."

"Wait. In a minute," Kono murmured back. Her eyes were on Danny's face and she had no intention of leaving so quickly. Instead, she leaned forward with his hand still in her left and her right now gently tracing his hairline around the bandage. She knew she was acting strangely but she wasn't quite right yet. Oddly, she had an urge to make sure this was real ... that Danny was real. Inside, part of her chastised herself for the sheer stupidity of the thought, while another simply didn't care. "Topher said he'd died ... he said that he'd been killed. I was stupid to believe him and so stupid not to listen to Danny in the first place. So, so stupid."

"You're not stupid, Kono," Chin sighed on the softest of exhales, slightly irked when Kono used the man's first name. "Far from it. But he lied."

Her next move was completely spontaneous and if she were thinking clearly, she'd still blame it on the volume of drugs in her system. In reality, she was exhausted and utterly driven by a simple tide of emotion. What she acted on felt right and was done with a single thankful sigh. The upper part of her body followed her right hand as she stroked Danny's hair. Her legs left the floor next as she tucked herself gingerly along his left side. She arranged herself carefully, Danny's left hand still clutched in hers while she propped herself on her right elbow. She stayed that way with Chin behind her now to ensure she wouldn't topple to the floor off the side of the bed while she stared sadly at Danny's face. Tears fell and then soaked into his hospital gown when she bowed her head to his shoulder, eyes closing as she just listened to him breathe.

"I won't stay long," Kono whispered softly. "I just need to be sure." Behind her and standing sentry, Chin didn't know what more to do or even say, so he simply waited.

~ to be continued ~