***** Thank you all for your comments, as always, each and every one of them is appreciated. I need to respond to a couple of things though…First, (we are unable to respond to guest comments privately) so in response to the guest comment inquiring about switching the story to Steve whump. While you may not like Steve's character and are a Danny fan, I happen to love them both and thus I write that way. I have the story finished 'in my head' before I begin to post, so I don't 'switch it up'. I promise you that the Danny whump is far from over in this story, although it is not necessarily 'physical whump'. By the way, the name of the story is 'United We Stand, Divided We Fall' and I don't feel I misled anyone since my summary specifically states 'What will happen when she tries to come between Steve and Danny' - I truly try to make my stories exciting so I hope you'll hang in there and I hope you'll enjoy what's to come….Secondly, I'm a little surprised at all the negative reaction to the Season 4 premiere. I too, wish the show did even more than they do with character development (and I'd LOVE more whump) but I try to understand how incredibly hard it must be to write a procedural that is limited to an hour a week and that needs to appeal to such a broad audience. I personally feel they do a wonderful job overall with mixing the action with the personal drama, much better than most shows do. I think what makes a show special is when the actors can make you care about the characters they bring to the screen and I feel all four, Alex, Scott, Daniel and Grace do that amazingly well. Their portrayals of these characters are what motivate me to write. I hope none of you give up on the show. Remember what drew you to it in the first place, and if you need more whump….please keep coming to my stories as well! *****
505050505050505050505050505050505050
Chin rode in the ambulance with Steve. He sat close to his head talking to him and encouraging him the entire ride to the hospital. Steve remained unconscious and his hand was limp in Chin's grasp. The EMT's had placed him on his side with pillows propped up against his back. Chin's voice was low but reassuring, "I'm with you Steve. We'll be to the hospital soon and we'll see Danny and Kono…you just keep fighting buddy, you're going to be fine" Chin stroked his friend's cheek with his free hand….he was so cold, so horribly cold and his skin was clammy. He listened as the EMT's rattled off his vital signs and stated that his pulse was rapid but weak. Looking up Chin asked, "What's happening Henry?"
"He's in shock Chin. Just keep talking to him, we're almost to the hospital"
Chin nodded, "Did you hear that buddy. We're almost there…..you hang on"
They arrived at the hospital and Steve was whisked quickly into the emergency room.
A Nurse stopped him at the door, "Sir…stop you can't go in there. We'll take care of him now"
"His name is Steve McGarrett, he's the head of the Governor's 5-0 task force. One of our team members is a patient in room 404. I need to get upstairs to let them know what's happened…"
The Nurse, Donna grabbed the distraught man's forearm, "We'll take good care of Steve" She pointed to the nearby Nurses station, "Please leave your name and the room number with Crystal over there and I'll make sure someone comes and gives you an update soon"
"Okay…..one other thing, the patient upstairs, Daniel Williams is his partner and he's his Medical POA"
Donna patted his arm, "Okay, thank you…..someone will be up soon"
Tears welled in his eyes as Donna turned and entered the room. He stood motionless for several minutes watching through the small window on the door. They had transferred Steve onto an exam table and had stripped him down to his boxers as three Doctors were feverishly working on him. Eventually he said softly, "Hang on Steve…..dear God, please hang on" and after one final look at his friend, he walked to the Nurses station and after leaving the information, he made his way to the elevator.
Soon he was standing outside Danny's room trying to figure out how he was going to break the news.
Tipping his head back and sighing deeply, Chin entered the room.
505050505050505050505050505050505050
They were sitting at the small table and Kono's back was to him.
Danny's eye's met his and the smile instantly left his face, "Chin…what's wrong?"
"Danny…"
Kono had turned to face him as well and her heart sank. Her gut had been right, oh God no…...
Danny stood and asked softly, "Where's Steve?"
Chin paused briefly, "He's downstairs in the ER"
"What happened?"
"Danny, I found him at headquarters. He's...he's bleeding internally"
"What are you talking about? From the club?"
"Yes….." Chin told them how he had found Steve. He told them about the blood and the bruising on Steve's back. "Danny, it hurt him to talk but his last words were that it wasn't your fault"
Danny was holding firmly to the back of the chair and nausea overwhelmed him.
In a terrified voice, Kono asked "What do you mean his last words?"
Chin sucked air into his lungs and continued, "He did stop breathing….they revived him but he hasn't regained consciousness"
The fear in Chin's voice scared Danny as much as the words that he had spoken. "How long Chin?"
"A little over three minutes. They had to use the paddles five times…and now he's gone into shock"
Danny didn't say anything, he couldn't say anything. He turned from them and looked out the window as tears slid down his cheeks, 'Oh my God, what did I do?'
He listened on as Chin added, "One of the Doctors will be here shortly to give us an update"
Kono was sobbing as she said softly, "We knew something was wrong with him Chin. Why didn't we make him see a Doctor? God Chin, he was in pain and we knew it…."
Danny turned and said, "This isn't your fault Kono….I hit him….." The detective ran his hand across his face, "Oh God, what did I do to him?"
Kono moved to his side, pulling him into his arms.
Chin spoke firmly, "Danny, you CAN'T do this to yourself. Yes, you hit him out of anger but he had forgiven you…..you know that. You hit him in the jaw, you didn't cause the bleeding"
"So….what are you saying Chin? The bottom line is I HIT HIM, and he hit that table because of it. No matter what either of you say, he wouldn't be in the ER if I had controlled myself…" He again ran his hands across his face and turned from his friends muttering softly, "Oh my God, Oh my God"
They all paced the room nervously over the next half hour. None of them spoke as they were all deep in their own thoughts of Steve, fighting for his life a couple of floors below them.
It was a little before four o'clock when the Doctor entered the room asking "Are you the family of Commander Steven McGarrett?"
Danny stepped towards him, extending his hand, "Yes, I'm his partner Danny Williams. How is he?"
He shook Danny's hand, "We performed an ultrasound, abdominal CT scan and x-rays and we've detected a small tear in his kidney that has led to retroperitoneal bleeding. The tear has led to blood slowly spilling into the peritoneum. We need to operate immediately to repair the tear and clean out his abdominal cavity. Detective Williams, I've been told you're his Medical POA?"
Danny shook his head, "Yes. Do whatever you need to do Doc"
Kono then asked, "Is he going to be alright?"
"We hope so. We've been able to stabilize him, but we need to move quickly. I'll come back up once we're done"
Danny nodded, "Thank you Doctor, please take care of him"
As the Doctor was leaving the room he passed Sergeant Duke Lukela.
505050505050505050505050505050505050
Knocking on the door, Lukela entered. He could instantly tell that something was wrong as tension filled the room.
Chin moved to his side, "Hey Duke" He then filled him in on what had happened with Steve.
"I'm sorry Chin"
"He's going to make it Duke"
"I know he will"
"What have you found?"
Duke motioned to the table, "Let's sit down"
The four sat, and Duke pulled out a recorder, turned it on and began "Danny, I know this is a difficult time for you and I need you to tell me everything but first, I need to read you your rights"
"I know my rights Duke"
Chin interceded, "Danny, he's only doing his job brah"
Danny nodded, "Sorry Duke….go ahead"
After hearing his rights, Danny told Duke everything, ending with "I didn't do this Duke. I never would have hurt Tracy"
Duke shut off the recorder. "Danny, I believe you but I have to look at the evidence I have, and everything points to you at this point"
"Duke I was drugged"
"I know that but at this point, we've not found any drugs in the apartment other than what was given to you"
Chin asked, "Are the tests back on the coffee?"
Duke opened his notebook, "Yes, it was laced with midazolam hydrochloride"
Chin added, "Okay, so we know he was drugged. We were told he was given a high dose of that sedative"
Duke shook his head, "Yes we do, but we haven't found ANY evidence that anyone else was in the room other than Danny and Tracy, and Danny, your prints are the only ones on the knife"
"I know….…I woke up with it in my hand"
"We didn't find any other prints in the apartment either but we did find a book under her mattress, a diary actually"
Chin asked, "That's good, can we see it?"
"I sent it to the lab and once it's been tested for prints I'll get it to you. We finished interviewing all the neighbors, but no one saw or heard anything.….Danny… we need to talk" He paused briefly, "I spoke with your Doctor and they're going to release you in the morning. When they do, I'm going to need to take you in...…I'm sorry"
"Duke, I need to be here for Steve…..please"
The grizzled Sergeant looked into the young detective's eyes. He knew how much these two men meant to each other, and knowing how Steve had been injured, he knew Danny was not only worried about his partner but he was feeling guilty about his role in the injury as well. "I'll see what I can do and I'll stop up here in the morning"
Danny said softly, "Thank you Duke"
"You're welcome" He then turned to Chin, "I'll call you with any updates on the case Chin"
After Duke left, the three friends sat quietly for several minutes before Kono asked, "Are you okay Danny?"
He chuckled, "No, no Kono I'm not"
Chin spoke calmly, "Everything's going to work out Danny, you'll see"
Danny placed his elbows on the table, and buried his face into his hands "How could I have let this all happen?"
Chin responded softly, "Danny please don't. You didn't do….."
Danny interrupted him, "Don't say it Chin….don't you dare say I didn't do anything wrong. Steve is fighting for his life and I'm at risk of spending the rest of my life in jail, away from Gracie. So please Chin, don't say it. There's nobody BUT me to blame for this. I was stupid….I was careless, and everyone I love and care about is paying the price…."
Danny stood and moved back to the window. Chin and Kono watched as their tortured friend stood silently staring out at the people walking across the hospital courtyard below.
***** Much more to follow - thanks again for reading and remember, reviews are very much appreciated! *****