As time passed, the tension increased in the room.
Chin left the room to call Governor Denning and he stopped at the cafeteria and brought up soup and sandwiches for them all, but none of them had much of an appetite.
It was about eight thirty when Doctor Mario Belasco entered the room. Noticing the concern on the three friends faces, he smiled and quickly offered up, "He's going to be fine"
As Danny quietly said, "Thank God" Kono moved to him and embraced him warmly.
The Doctor motioned to the table and they all moved to it and sat.
"He's in the recovery room right now. He came through the surgery with no problems. We were able to find the tear in the kidney and repair it quickly but he had suffered a Class II Hemorrhage"
Danny asked nervously, "What's that Doc?"
"It's a severe hemorrhage, he lost almost 40% of his circulating blood volume which is why he went into shock" He looked at Chin adding, "You found him just in time and the EMT's saved his life by starting the blood transfusion when they did"
Kono inquired, "But he's going to be okay now?"
"He's not totally out of the woods yet, but I'm very optimistic. We gave him and EEG and fortunately his brain activity appears to be normal. We also performed an EKG and the heart damage appears to be very minimal but we'll keep him hooked up to a heart monitor while he's here as a precaution. We'll also be monitoring his kidney function and urine output. His second blood transfusion is underway and he needs a total of four. He's going to be very tired and very weak and he'll need to remain hospitalized for four to five days. But I am very optimistic that he will recover fully. He's young and he's very strong"
Danny smiled softly as he wiped a tear from his eye, "Thank you Doctor…..thank you"
Chin then asked, "When can we see him?"
"We received a call from Governor Denning requesting that we keep you all together. We'll be moving you to one of our family rooms Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett should be brought to the room in about an hour. Do you have any questions for me?"
They had no questions and after thanking him, Doctor Belasco left the three friends alone.
Kono reached across the table and took Danny's hand in hers, "He's going to be okay Danny"
Danny let out a sigh, "Yes….yes he is"
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A little before ten o'clock they were in the new room as Steve was wheeled in.
They watched as the hospital orderlies transferred the semi-conscious man onto the bed and the Nurses settled him in.
They lifted his gown exposing the bandaging that covered his side and back and Danny couldn't help but note how bruised his flesh was. Probes were attached to his chest monitoring his heart rate and an oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth. He had IV's in his hand carrying blood, pain medication and saline into his veins and a catheter bag hung at the side of the bed containing bloodied urine.
His skin was horribly pale due to the blood loss and as Danny's eyes moved to his partner's hands he noted his fingernails were tinged blue.
The Nurses covered him with warming blankets, tucking them tightly around him and after a final check of his vitals one of the Nurses left and the other turned to the friends. She smiled at them warmly, "Hello, my name is Hillary and I'll be Steve's night Nurse. He's doing very well. He should sleep for a while. We'll be keeping the blood transfusions going and we'll keep him heavily medicated through the night"
Danny took hold of his partner's hand, "He's so cold and his fingers are blue…"
"That will improve as his blood replenishes. We'll keep warming blankets on him and the oxygen will also help. His body has been through a severe trauma and the best thing for him now is sleep. All we can do right now is keep him comfortable, calm and quiet, he just needs time to heal. We'll watch his vitals carefully because with an injury like this and internal bleeding we need to watch him carefully for infection"
Danny then inquired, "His urine is so bloody"
"That's common with internal bleeding and damage to the kidney. It should clear up in the next day or so. Do you have any other questions?"
"No, thank you"
Hillary then looked to Chin and Kono, "Are you two planning on spending the night as well"
Kono replied, "Yes, we are"
"I'll have cots brought in for you"
Chin replied, "We'll only need one Hillary. We'll take turns sleeping"
"Okay. I'll be right outside so please let me know if any of you need anything"
They thanked her and as she left the room Danny leaned close to Steve's ear and whispered, "I'm here Steve, Kono and Chin are here. The doc says you're going to fine, you keep fighting babe"
Chin moved a chair to the bedside for Danny, "Here brother, take a seat"
Without releasing the grip on Steve's hand, Danny said "In a minute, thanks Chin"
Kono stood on the other side of the bed and Danny said softly, "His lips are blue too"
Chin stood next to him and squeezed his shoulder, "You heard the Nurse Danny, the blood transfusions will help that"
"We were so close to losing him Chin…too damn close"
"But we didn't lose him brah. You have to stay positive Danny….keep him fighting. He needs you"
Tears welled in the detective's blue eyes as he said quietly, "Thank you Chin…."
A short time later the cot was brought into the room and Kono laid down to sleep.
Chin turned the TV on low, and sitting at Steve's side the two men relaxed and soon they were all sleeping.
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Danny woke to the soft squeeze of his hand at about three in the morning.
He jumped out of his chair and as he looked down at his partner, he was greeted with a smile and a muffled, "Hey Dan….nno" from behind the oxygen mask.
He smiled broadly, "Hey buddy, I'm glad you're back with us"
Steve reached up to grab his mask and Danny pulled his hand gently down. "No, leave the mask on babe, it's helping you breathe"
"Danny…."
"Don't try to talk Steve, I'll tell you everything. You're going to be fine. You had a tear in your kidney and you were bleeding into your belly, but the Doc fixed you all up and you're going to be fine"
"I'm so ttirred D'….."
"I know. You lost a lot of blood and they're giving you transfusions. You just need to sleep partner, your body needs to rest"
Steve saw the tears welling in Danny's eyes and he squeezed his hand prompting Danny to ask nervously, "Are you okay? Are you in pain?"
"No ppain…are you okay?"
Danny smiled and wiped a tear away as it slid down his cheek, "I am now" His voice choked with emotion as he said, "God Steve, I'm so sorry"
Steve again reached up for his mask and as Danny tried to stop him, he said "Danno….STOP" Pulling the mask to the side of his face he spoke in a calm and steady voice, "Look at me partner" As Danny's eyes met his, the SEAL continued "Danny, this IS NOT your fault….it was an accident"
Danny said, "I HIT YOU! I had no right to hit you and you wouldn't be lying there if I had controlled myself"
"Buddy, I'm not going to say that your punch didn't hurt because it did, but your punch hurt only my jaw and my pride. I fell into that table, it was an accident Danny. If I had landed on my ass I wouldn't be lying here. It just happened partner, it was not your fault. Now if you want to apologize for hitting me….I'll accept your apology under one condition…"
Danny grinned, "Okay….what's that"
"I think that when you meet a girl, I should have to approve her before you start dating"
Danny chuckled, "Well I don't quite know how to respond to that buddy"
Steve laughed and then grabbed at his belly, "Don't make me laugh Danny….…it hurts"
"You're the one cracking jokes you big goof"
Seconds later Steve added, "Hey, in all seriousness now…how are you holding up?"
Danny sighed, "Honestly, worrying about you has kept my mind off everything. I'm doing alright Steve. She was a really good girl partner, she had a tough life…a lot of problems"
"Tell me about her"
"You know what, I will...in the morning. You're exhausted and you need to sleep" He reached up and placed the oxygen mask back over Steve's face.
Steve's mumbled reply came back, "Okay…..in the morning and by the way….I wasn't joking"
As the SEAL's eyes slowly closed, Danny smiled and said quietly, "Thank you partner, I love you"
He was smiling as he sat back in the chair and closed his eyes. Steve was going to be okay and THEY were okay, he knew that now. Even with everything that he still faced, a sense of calm came over him. He could get through this now….
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Steve woke again a little after seven in the morning as the Nurse was taking his vitals.
He pulled off the oxygen mask saying, "I don't need this anymore"
She slipped the mask over his head saying, "You're not in charge here Commander McGarrett"
He blushed, "I'm sorry"
She grinned at him, "It's okay. I know those masks are not very comfortable. I need you to stay on oxygen until the Doctor arrives, but I can fit you with a nasal cannula if you prefer"
"That would be nice, thank you"
As she left the room to get a cannula Kono moved to his side smiling, "Good morning boss, how do you feel?"
"Better Kono" He looked around the room, "Where's Danny?"
"He's getting dressed. His Doctor just released him"
"That's good"
"I don't know about that Steve"
"What are you talking about?"
She told him about Duke's visit to them last night. She gave him all the details on what they had, or more like it HADN'T, found at the scene and that Duke may need to take Danny into custody today.
"That's not going to happen Kono"
Danny was returning to the bedside and he inquired, "What's not going to happen Superman?"
"You're not going to jail Danny"
The Jersey detective smirked, "I don't think I have much of a choice on this Steve"
"I'm not going to just sit by and let it happen. What time is Duke coming in?"
"He just said he'd be here in the morning"
The Nurse returned and placed the nasal cannula on Steve and after she left, he turned his head towards Danny, "Okay partner, let's pick up where we left off last night. Tell us about Tracy"
Chin and Kono sat as well and Danny told them all everything. Every detail of his short relationship with Tracy, every conversation they'd had.
When he was done, Steve asked "Do you think she was telling you the truth about her background Danny, about her family?"
Without hesitation Danny replied, "Yes…I do Steve"
Steve saw it in his partner's eyes, he truly believed what she had told him, "Okay, let's see what we can find from her diary and what the labs tell us, but Kono and Chin I want you two to be ready to fly to Pennsylvania if necessary"
Chin nodded, "We'll be ready Steve"
Danny noticed Steve wince and he asked, "Hey, do you need some pain meds?"
"No, no I'm good"
"You're so full of shit Steven"
"I don't want any meds Danny, I need to stay alert"
"Look, I'm not going to argue with you here. I appreciate your dedication and your desire to help me but you had major surgery less than twelve hours ago. We can handle things right now, you need to sleep"
"Danny…."
Danny held up his hand, "Please Steve….." Their eyes met and Danny repeated softly, "Please"
"Okay Danno, okay"
Within a few minutes the Nurse had opened up the IV line and as Steve felt the cold liquid enter his veins he said groggily, "Will you wwake me when Dukke ggets here Danno?"
Danny held his partners hand tightly "Ssshhhhhhhh, just sleep Steve. I'll be right here"
****** I hope you're still enjoying! MUCH MORE to come! ******