Chapter 10

A/N: Again, thank you for all reviews and reads! You have been so thoughtful that I literally felt the best thanks I could give was to get this chapter out. The next one will be The Meeting, but this one had to set that up.

I love this show, and the characters, and while I am definitely first and foremost a Danny/McDanno fan, there are characters I wish I had been able to fit into this. I am used to writing novels, so the length of this does not surprise me. I could have reduced this chapter to 4 paragraphs, but that would have been shortchanging the journey to get to the end. I don't write that way. Each scene gets its due. To those who want me to just GET THERE ALREADY, 11 is coming. Have hope. Like Danny, have hope. That's all I ask.

The usual disclaimer: CBS owns the toys I am playing harmlessly with. I make money or goods from this, gain nothing but readers and friends.

Chapter 10

It was closer to four hours later that Chin brought a lidded file-sized box of items back into the room shared by Steve and Danny. Twice Chin had called, to explain his delay. Once it was because he was stuck in traffic, and other time was because the office printer jammed so he had to have maintenance come and fix it. But when he finally arrived, he gave a groggy Steve the thumb's up. "I got everything you asked for, Boss."

Steve rubbed sleep out of his blue eyes, thanked Chin, and then studied Danny, still sleeping with his oxygen mask undisturbed. He had a new saline drip bag, and two others. "Rachel called. Gracie will be coming earlier than originally planned, but she gets to stay an hour longer, so that's good. Except Danny will be asleep for most of that. She should be here in an hour, which is just about when the doc is returning, so let's make sure she enjoys the visit with Uncle Steve and Uncle Chin. -If you can stay?"

"Sure!" replied Chin. "I can stay for at least part of it, maybe get us all some food or something."

Steve began pulling things out of the box. He nodded after he saw everything he had asked for. "You even lined up the files in order, and these," he held up a CD and several thumb drives, "are our Star Witnesses." He held up the CD. "I haven't even heard this yet, so I'm a little nervous about it."

Chin blew out a breath. "The only person in this room who has heard this is Danny, and he may not be too happy to hear it again, but it's important we all hear it together. Do you think any of this will change Kono or Lou's minds?"

Steve was quiet for awhile. "Honestly?" he finally answered. "Honestly, probably not, if they really believe what they said. My hope is that they are doing some thinking, and that maybe they will change their own minds."

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow."

"Say some prayers, Chin."

"Covered."

H50 H50 H50 H50

The Doc arrived punctually, and greeted Steve and Chin before checking his patient. He was displeased about Danny's fever, which had risen three-tenths of a degree. "If it goes any higher, I'm switching the antibiotic."

"Why?" asked Grace, just arriving at the room. "And why is my Daddy sleeping?" Steve motioned her over to join him, but she was in her "guard" position at Danny's bedside.

Dr. Cornett recognized her and greeted her by name. "I'm your daddy's doctor. He's caught an infection, and I'm not letting it get worse."

Steve watched Grace feel Danno's forehead. "He does feel warm. Is he going to be okay? And why does he have more stitches?" Of course she had noticed them instantly.

"Yes, your Daddy is going to be okay. Especially now that you are here. The stitches are from a fall he took a couple nights back. See his heart rate there?" Cornett pointed out the green line on the machine, neatly distracting her from the stitches. "Put your hand back on his arm." Grace did so, and the green line grew a little bit stronger and steadier. "He knows you are here, and he feels better for it."

Grace smiled happily. But then she frowned. "He doesn't like the face mask." With a bit of a flourish, the doc produced a syringe. "If we don't tell him it was on, he won't know. This is to help him sleep through it."

After he had administered it to the saline line, Grace entered happily into the conspiracy of keeping Danny in the dark about the oxygen mask. She listened as the need for it was explained, and nodded.

Steve was checked again, too. "Tomorrow we can switch you to a lighter dressing. Just remain cautious about lifting or sudden movements of the abdomen. Give the tissues plenty of time to heal."

H50 H50 H50 H50

The evening passed quietly, with Grace content to hold her father's hand while she watched TV with Steve and Chin. But eventually Chin bade them both good night and Steve returned his wave. There was a lot of meaning in the unblinking look that passed between Steve and Chin when the dark-haired man on the bed said, "See you tomorrow."

"Count on it," replied Chin to his boss, before he patted Danny's arm and whispered softly to him to rest, then left.

That left Steve alone with Danny's daughter, who he thought of as his own flesh and blood. Gracie had been calling him Uncle Steve for years, and he felt like her Uncle. Danny was like a brother to him. Therefore, his child was Steve's niece, and he loved her as he would love his own child. Many times, when Danny faced danger, he had entrusted his daughter and son to Steve's care as his own stand-in father figure if Danny didn't make it. It meant so much to Steve, on a level where words were inadequate, that his partner and friend trusted him so deeply that he wanted Steve to have care of the most precious people in his life, his children. It was even something Danny and Rachel had worked out legally. If anything did happen to Danny, Rachel had agreed that Steve would have access to both Grace and Charlie, in Danny's stead.

Steve got an idea while he and Grace were finishing up a dinner he could even recognize for what it was: spaghetti, although after one bite he could tell that the acidity of the sauce had been reduced greatly, something he was actually grateful for due to his propensity lately toward a hot stomach. Grace had been given a tray too, and had eaten with politeness, until she finally pushed the tray aside, half-eaten, and asked, "This is what Danno has to eat in here?"

It was their first spaghetti, but Steve recognized the question for what it was. "Uh, yup."

"Uncle Steve, we gotta smuggle him in some real food!"

Steve laughed. "This is what Danno misses most about your visit. You always put a smile on his face."

Which gave Steve the idea. He reached for the small camera brought to record video and audio of the meeting the next day. If he had to ask for badges, he would need to justify it, and thought that a video of the meeting was a good idea. "Listen, Gracie, what if we talk, and I record, and we can play this for Danno when he wakes up. It would be special, so he would not feel like he'd missed your visit."

"Okay," enthused Gracie.

"So, what if I, like, interview you, Gracie. There are a lot of things about you and your Dad I still have never gotten to ask either of you."

"So you will be like a reporter!"

Steve nodded. "Something like that! Okay, let's set this up."

H50 H50 H50 H50

Eventually Grace was picked up by the driver sent by her Mom. Steve received a huge hug before Gracie approached Danno. She held one hand in his, and felt his forehead with her other hand. "Get well quick, okay?" She kissed him on the cheek, and hugged him gently. "I love you, Danno." Before she vanished out the door, she carefully finger combed and patted his hair into his trademark comb-back. "There, that's better."

Steve reached for the kleenex almost immediately after the door closed behind her. It was the simplest thing for her to do, but it showed how much she loved her daddy. Danny was very particular about his hair, and no one had ever seen him let it get out of that neatly combed style before he'd whip out his comb and fix it. Even after swimming, or standing in the wind, he'd find a way to keep his hair the way he always wore it, or comb it back before it got too much out of place.

H50 H50 H50 H50

Evening meds had come, and with them sleep for Steve. Danny still slept. But at 2 o'clock in the morning, Dr. Cornett was called because Danny's fever had climbed another two tenth's of a degree, to 101.9. It was not a dangerous fever, but evidence that the antibiotic was not combating his infection. He listened to Danny's lungs again, frowned, and switched the antibiotic to one that would combat the pneumonia Danny was developing. It would be administered continuously via a drip, adding one more to the number of bags feeding fluids into Danny's veins. The amount of oxygen was increased. The incline of his bed was raised slightly. An expectorant was added to his medicines. A nurse checked his temperature every hour. At 4 o'clock, it hit 102 degrees, but after than it went no higher, and by 8 o'clock, had dropped a tenth of a degree. Cornett had returned, and was studying Danny's readouts and helping Danny sit upright in bed while he listened again to his lungs.

Danny was very groggy, but he cooperated with his doc. When asked to cough, he tried his best, and somehow his doc caught a sample of what he coughed up. His lungs ached. He did not notice Cornett handing the sample off to a nurse who promptly rushed it to the lab for analysis and culturing.

Steve woke up to the sound of coughing, and knew immediately upon opening his eyes and seeing the doc with Danny that things had not improved. He kept quiet and watched. Cornett encouraged Danny to cough some more, so Danny did, and it turned into a series of deep coughs, which cleared his lungs somewhat. "Ugh, doc, that hurt, but I can breathe better," rasped Danny. Cornett wrote something on a slip of paper, and another nurse left the room with it as Cornett helped Danny to lie back down.

"You've have the beginnings of pneumonia, but we caught it early," said the doc. "But now we have to make a decision."

"Uh oh," Danny sighed. "Is this one of those right arm, left arm decisions?"

Cornett smiled. "Not that bad. Have a little faith in your physician!" He noticed Steve and nodded to him, before putting his full attention again on Danny. "The best course now would be an oxygen mask, with regular deep breathing and coughing to keep your lungs from going south on us - do you like my medical terms?"

"'South,' huh?" Danny turned his head, to think, and noticed Steve watching him with long intervals between blinks. "Morning, Buddy," he said in a weak voice that made Steve think of sandpaper, the coarse kind.

"Doc, what's the other choice?" asked Steve, to spare Danny the effort.

"The other choice is the nasal cannula, even more deep breathing sessions, and regular coughing."

Danny paled and sighed. "Oh. Claustrophobia-mask, hyperventilation and coughing, or nose thingie, fiery ribs, and coughing. What about a nice hypo to make me sleep, and the mask and coughing?"

"You breathe too shallowly in sleep. But I think this A or B will only be for part of today, since we are catching it early. The only way we can add sleep to the mix is to intubate you, and your condition is not that advanced. Besides, since I don't want you to sneak up on me after you get well and hit me with whatever is handy, I'd prefer to go one of the other two routes."

Danny grinned. "I wouldn't hit you, I would shoot you. But not in the hands. Let's go with the fiery rib one, since I hate hyperventilating and passing out."

"I love thoughtful patients," said Cornett, and laughed softly. "Okay, first deep breathing session after we get this 'nose-thingie' on you."

"We already did one, and there is no 'we' in this equation. I'm the hapless patient being assaulted with medical equipment. Let's get it over with."

Steve asked, "Will this work as well as the mask, Doc? And should we worry that you have given up medical-ese in favor of plain English?"

"Would you rather I said 'genotype showing hetrozygous TUR and 3RC, likely causing increased enhancement to fluoropyrimidine therapy'?"

"Whoa, doc! I am never playing Scrabble with you," said Danny.

"What did that mean?" asked Steve.

"Nothing Danny has to worry about. It was actually a reference to a report I had to do once on a type of leukemia. You don't have that. As for this treatment, well, with diligence on Danny's part, the cannula, deep breathing, and coughing should work well enough. In other words, no, but considering the patient, I don't see multiple panic episodes as helping, and the sedative can only do so much against a phobia. This should do well enough, since he is motivated to be cooperative." Cornett smiled down at Danny once the nasal cannula was in place and the oxygen turned up. "Now," he said, the stethoscope against Danny's back, "give me the deepest breaths you can manage. I'm going to need 8 of them."

"God, help me," rasped Danny, and started to inhale, while his ribs yelled silent obscenities at him.

H50 H50 H50 H50

Steve's meds and breakfast was delivered, and while he ate, Danny rested, eyes closed.

"You are missing something good," Steve said, just to take his partner's mind off his ribs.

"What?"

"Oatmeal with fish in it again, and passion fruit jello."

Danny's eyes opened, and he turned his head far enough that his eyes could do the rest of the work to see Steve. "Passion fruit jello even exists?"

"It does in Hawaii. At least, I think that's what this is. It's pretty good. It's pink." He held up the last spoonful long enough for Danny to see it.

"Jello should be red, or yellow, or green. Is there anything you won't eat?" Danny was going along with the conversation, because he needed to get his mind off his aching everything.

Steve thought about that. "There are a few things I would prefer to not eat, but I guess where I draw the line is cannibalism."

"If we are ever stranded together anywhere, I will take comfort in that."

"I'm glad I made you feel better, buddy."

"No, it is the anti-nausea meds that are making me feel better since you brought up fish in oatmeal, and cannibalism."

Steve smiled, but changed his expression quickly. Danny noticed. "Are you okay?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah. But there is something serious I need to talk with you about." There would not be as much time as he had hoped to tell Danny about the meeting. Danny's treatments and need for rest afterwards meant Steve would have to explain in stages.

Danny grew worried, but nodded for Steve to go ahead. "So let's talk."

Steve told Danny what Kono and Lou had said. He got to the part where Kono had said she had wished it had been Danny who was shot in the plane, not Steve, but was then interrupted by another treatment for Danny. It was noted that his temperature had gone down another tenth of a degree, his coughs were not as difficult, and his lungs seemed clearer afterwards.

As soon as Danny was settled again, and had had a few minutes to just close his eyes and wait for his ribs to back off a bit, he turned to Steve. His voice was weak. He picked up where Steve had left off. "I can't blame Kono or anyone for thinking that, Steve, because I even wished about a hundred times that it was me rather than you that got shot."

Steve ruffled his own hair and scratched against a 3 day's worth of beard stubble. Danny had that too, but on Steve it was much more noticeable because his stubble was a dark brown, almost black. "Well, there's more."

After Steve finished with everything, Danny did exactly what he and Chin had predicted. He offered to resign, or quit. He was also obviously very depressed. Steve rushed in with his refusal to accept either a resignation or a quit, but was cut short by another treatment, a meal, and that both patients were scheduled for baths. Steve was helped to the bathroom, where there was a shower, and an attendant helped him, while Danny was bathed in his bed by another attendant. Steve got a wet shampoo, while Danny was given a dry one, and both were beardless when everything was finished. And Danny's hair was combed neatly back.

"Danny -"

"You can not refuse if I quit."

"Then I quit too, Danny. Because I can't do this without someone who balances me out the way you do. You are the heart of this ohana, and both Chin and me see that!"

Danny shook his head. "Nope. You are the heart. There would be no Five-0 Task Force without you."

Steve was upset, but his focus was on Danny, whose eyes were focused on his toes, or something at the foot of his bed. "Okay, fine, whatever. You can be the liver then. Can't survive without one, buddy. We both know that, don't we? So you are Five-0's liver. The perfect match to keep the Five-0 heart going."

Danny was silent long enough that Steve almost broke it, but then Danny whispered, "They think I am the weakest link. I heard Grover say that a couple times, and thought he was teasing. I did not know he meant it. Or Kono. I heard her say it once, too."

"They are both wrong, Danno. You have a kind of strength few have. You are stronger than they are. Chin thinks so too."

Danny shook his head, and tears started sliding down his cheeks. "At least Chin is still ..." He hesitated, and then said in a tiny, unsteady voice, "I want us all to be ohana again, Steve."

There wasn't much to say to that except, "Me too, Danno."

"But I'm not sure we can be."

"Danno," said Steve, wishing he could give Danno a big hug. "Give the meeting a chance, okay? It starts in twenty minutes. Obviously, this may be difficult, but I have a plan. Have hope, okay?"

Danny nodded after a few moments, still deeply depressed. The tears were still sliding slowly down his cheeks. "Okay, Steve. I will have hope."