Summary: I know I am such a horrible person. I haven't updated in days but real life has been sucking hard right now. First Huey dies, for real this time and for those who don't know Huey was the name of my computer that I've had for about eight years. So yeah, I took that pretty hard and I miss him so much. And yes, I am one of those people who get extremely attached to their electronics. Also the car is having problems and now I can't get out to try and get a new computer or get to the mailbox where my modem is currently sitting. Luckily my niece has a hotspot and a laptop for me to use to post this update. Enough with the talking, time to post. Enjoy
Disclaimer: This show, not mine and when I say not mine I mean I didn't create it and when I say I didn't create it I mean it was not my idea and when I say that, you get what I'm saying.
Author's Note: Since this is AU there are no spoilers. And just to let you all know this piece of work is being beta'd by the lovely Megan Mirs who is taking time to turn these words into a masterpiece. She is a beta pro. Awesome.
Chapter Fourteen - Everything's All Right
True to his word, Steve arrived at the hospital a few minutes after visiting hours were scheduled to begin, carrying a small bag. He wasn't sure what Ms. Williams would be in the mood for, so he brought her a few things off the menu. Immediately he made his way to Danny's room, but stopped suddenly when he saw Eve pacing outside of the door.
"Steve-"
His body tensed with fear as he slowly made his way over to Danny's mother. Once again he found himself unable to speak as he looked at her, towards the door, and back at Eve.
"Steve, it's not what you think," Eve quickly reassured the young man, grabbing his hand with hers. "I stepped out because the doctor is checking on Danny."
He let out a sigh of relief as his free hand rested against his chest. "So he's okay," he asked hesitantly.
With a smile she pointed towards the door and pulled Steve closer to it. "See for yourself."
Steve pushed the door open slowly and his eyes immediately drifted to Danny's face, who was happily staring back at him. "Danny," he exhaled joyfully as he rushed to Danny's side.
"He woke up about ten minutes ago and I came to make sure everything was okay," Dr. Pike stated with a soft smile.
"And will he be okay?"
"With injuries like Danny sustained, I believe he will be in the hospital for another four or five days to make sure his wounds heal properly, but I expect him to make a full recovery," explained Dr. Pike still smiling. "However, at this time, because of the ventilator, Danny is not allowed to over stimulate his lungs."
"You mean he can't talk?" replied Steve once he realized what the doctor was telling them. A coy smile spread across his face as he looked down at the blond, lying in the bed, now glaring at him. "That's going to kill him."
"It's only for the next twenty four hours while we monitor the healing of his lung. Surely he can handle not talking for that long."
Evelyn chuckled. "You don't know my son doc," she teased as she playfully nudged his shoulder. "I gave birth to him and even though people tell me otherwise, I truly believe he came out talking instead of crying." The heated glare she received from her son only made her break out in laughter, both her and Steve. "You know it's the truth kiddo."
"Trust me Mr. Williams, everyone would prefer you talking constantly then being unable to say anything at all any day."
Danny smiled smugly as he wrote on the notepad he had been given. "Thanks Doc," it read in Danny's neat handwriting.
Chuckling softly himself, the doctor gave them another smile, as well as a nod, before he quietly left the room.
With a content smile, Evelyn leaned down and placed a loving kiss against her son's forehead. All night she stayed by his side, afraid to sleep, in fear of something bad happening to him. Still, the events of the day caught up with her and sometime during the night, she did fall asleep. Even as the Hawaiian sunlight filled the room, she didn't wake until she felt someone rubbing the back of her hand. Opening her eyes slowly, she was overjoyed to see it was Danny gently rubbing her hand as he gazed down at her. She was more than glad to know he was going to be okay and figured it was time to alert the others of the new development. It would also give Steve and Danny a chance to be alone for a while. "I'm going to go call everyone, tell them the good news, and then maybe go down to the cafeteria for some breakfast," she declared with a smile. "You boys be good."
"We will," answered Steve as he sat down in the chair next to Danny's bed.
"Hi," Steve spoke to Danny for the first time since he entered the room.
Danny smiled as he began writing back. "Hi. How are you?"
"I think that's something I should be asking you. You're the one in the hospital, not me."
"No, but you're still in pain and I'm the cause of it," he wrote, a painful frown on his face.
Steve instantly began shaking his head. "No, Frank is."
"And where is he?"
"In jail, where he belongs," he answered with a deep growl.
Smiling, Danny gave Steve a slight nod. "Good."
"Can we talk about something else?"
"Okay, what?"
"I have no idea."
Danny smiled as he wrote more down on the paper. "How about you just sit down and hold my hand. I'm feeling a little sleepy," he admitted as his eyes began fluttering slowly.
Steve didn't waste any time, immediately grabbing Danny's hand and holding it with his. "Anything for you," replied Steve, leaning over and pressing a quick kiss to Danny's lips. "I love you."
"I love you too," he repeated as a sense of calm washed over him and sleep claimed him once more.
Two days later Danny was moved from ICU into a regular room that allowed him more visitors. However, at the moment, the only person in the room with him was a nurse who was checking his vitals. His lung had healed well enough that he no longer needed the ventilator to breath and he was allowed to talk, but only for short periods. Since it was Monday, he convinced his mother to return to work and Steve and his siblings to go to school. Now he was alone and regretting his decision. A sudden knock on his door drew him away from his thoughts. He turned to find John and another man standing at his door.
"Mr. McGarrett?"
"Hey son," said John smiling. "Is this a good time?"
Danny nodded. "Yeah, sure. What are you doing here?"
"The police need a statement from you, about the assault, so I decided to come along with Detective Springs while he asked you a few questions."
"Am I in trouble?" he asked, worry filling him quickly. "Do I need to call my mom?"
The detective shook his head and gave the injured teen a warm smile to help calm him down. "No," he replied. "You're not in any trouble, but I would appreciate it if you answered all my questions honestly. However, since you are minor, if you want to call your mother, you can. Whatever you're comfortable with is fine with me. I can wait."
John could tell Danny was still apprehensive about the situation, so he moved closer to the bed and placed a gentle hand on Danny's shoulder. "I know this seems scary kid, but Lou here just needs to hear your side of what happened."
Lou nodded in agreement. "Yes, Mr. Delano is claiming what he did was an act of self-defense and not an act of malicious intent, as some people maintain. I need to know if his claims are valid in any way."
"Well they're not, not by a long shot," growled Danny, rapidly agitated by the claims. "He came at me first."
"Okay. Then why don't you tell me your side of the story."
"I was going to get my sunscreen out of Steve's truck, when Frank and one of his friends showed up. Frank started threatening me again," began Danny.
"Again? So he's threatened you before?"
"Yeah," Danny answered directly. "Both times warning me to stay away from a girl in my class named Jane. She kind of had a thing for me, Frank didn't like that. He wanted her for himself."
"I'm guessing his feelings weren't reciprocated."
"No," Danny scoffed. "From what I heard, Jane couldn't stand him. She constantly told him to stay away from her and her friends."
"So you two were involved in a verbal altercation, how did it become physical?" the detective questioned.
"He came at me, I kicked his ass, and turned to walk away. Next thing I know, I'm being shoved from behind right in front of an oncoming car."
Lou paused for a few moments, writing down everything Danny told him so far. "Okay Mr. Williams-"
"Please, call me Danny."
"Danny, is there anything else you remember before or after being struck by the car?"
"I'm not positive, but I think I heard someone scream out my name before I was hit, then everything went black."
"That was Steve," John mentioned with a small smile.
That information was new to Danny, causing him to gasp softly. "Steve was there? He saw what happened," he replied completely shocked.
"Not all of it. Trust me, if he had, you wouldn't have done the ass-kicking all on your own."
"But why was he there?"
"Because I was worried," came the answer from the door, as everyone turned to see Steve standing bashfully at the entrance. He really tried to get through the school day, but he couldn't force himself to stay away. So there he was, at the hospital, to make sure Danny was okay, not knowing his father was there. He didn't want to get caught, so he decided to turn around to go back to his truck, until he heard the topic of conversation. Once he realized they were talking about the accident, he felt compelled to remain standing in the doorway. "You were gone longer than you should have been, so I thought I would go look for you," he continued, taking a step inside. "That's when I saw Frank push you into the middle of the street."
"Steven-"
But Steve continued speaking as he made his way over, sitting down on the bed next Danny. "I screamed out your name and ran as fast as I could to get to you, but it was too late. You were on the ground, not moving, and I...I kept saying your name, begging you to open your eyes, but you wouldn't and there was so much blood. I was scared I was going to lose you."
Reaching across the bed, John grabbed his son's shoulder and squeezed it. "But you didn't," he replied proudly, squeezing it again. "You stayed with him, got him help, and did everything you could for him."
"Your father's right Steve," added Lou with a smile of his own. "You did good, probably even saved his life."
Ducking his head to hide the sudden flush that spread across his face, Steve shook his head. "I didn't do anything special," he disagreed.
Danny grabbed Steve by the chin and forced the other boy to look him in the eyes. "You did everything special," Danny said, voice full of love. When Steve tried to shake his head again, Danny held on firmly to keep him from doing so. "I'm serious McGarrett," he said sternly. "Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't been there. What Frank might have gotten away with if you hadn't seen him doing what he did."
Steve didn't say anything as he reached down and slipped his hand into Danny's. "I wanted to kill Frank," he whispered softly against Danny's cheek. "He ran after he did it and I wanted so badly to go after him to hurt him like he hurt you, but I couldn't. I knew I needed to be there for you."
"Well, I'm glad you didn't go after him. I wouldn't want to endanger my health trying to break you out of prison."
"Always about you isn't it?" Steve teased, poking Danny in the side playfully, causing the other boy to laugh.
"Isn't it always," smirked Danny, leaning further back against his pillows. His body once again began to tire and he was finding it hard to keep his eyes open.
John noticed Danny was close to falling asleep, so he patted Lou on the arm, and gestured towards the door. "Maybe we should go, let Danny get some rest."
"Of course," Detective Springs concurred with a nod. "I think I have everything I need here," he commented as he stuffed his notepad into his pocket. "I'll call if I have any further questions."
"Thanks Detective, Mr. McGarrett," mumbled Danny graciously, closing his eyes once more.
"You're welcome son. Steve, can I have a word outside please?"
Steve looked torn between leaving Danny alone and disobeying his father. Not wanting to get into any more trouble, he stood up and followed his dad out into the hallway.
"At least tell me your mother knows you're here." When Steve didn't respond, John let out a disappointed huff.
"Okay dad, I know you're mad, but I couldn't be at school knowing Danny was all alone here. I needed to be here with him and I didn't call mom to tell her because she would have forbid me to come. Danny needs me," finished Steve unrelenting.
"Steven, I'm not mad."
He gave his father a look of surprise. "You're not?"
"No, I'm not," answered John, shaking his head.
"Oh," was the only response Steve found himself able to give.
Sighing, John walked closer to his son and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Look son, I can't say I know what you're going through because I don't, but I know if it was your mother lying in that hospital bed, nothing could keep me from being at her side," he stated passionately.
"So you understand?"
"I do. However, you can't sneak off without letting your mother and I know where you are going. And you can't start skipping school because you're worried about Danny. Your mother and I will not tolerate your grades dropping for any reason."
"I understand sir."
John smiled. "Good. Now, I don't expect you to be home in time for dinner, but you better be in that house by curfew, understand?"
Smiling ecstatically, Steve nodded enthusiastically. "Yes sir."
Pulling Steve into a hug, he held him tightly before releasing him. "See you at home kid," he replied.
"Bye dad." After waving goodbye to his father, Steve slipped back into Danny's room, finding the blond still awake and awaiting his return.
"So, how much trouble are you in for ditching school?" Danny asked straightaway as Steve came and sat next to him on the bed.
"None," smirked Steve. "Dad was pretty cool about it this time, but says it can't happen again."
Danny smiled. "Good," he replied happily. "I wouldn't want your academic career suffering because of me. Besides if you're here with me all the time, who's going to bring me my homework?"
Steve rolled his eyes at the comment. "Good to know I'm good for something."
"Oh Steven, you're good for a lot of things," chuckled Danny.
"Really? Care to elaborate?"
"Not now, maybe later. I'm really sleepy."
"I'll be here when you wake up."
"Always," Danny mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.
"Always," repeated Steve. Pressing a soft kiss to Danny's forehead, Steve held Danny tighter as his eyes closed as well.
Hope that was worth the wait. As if I would seriously take out one of my boys, especially not while he's a teenager. No, never. Hopefully I will have another chapter posted soon. Only two chapters left in the fic and then I'll be done. So until next time,
Fruits make the best juices,
LadyCizzle