I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: Happy Sunday - Hoping all the USA'ers have a great holiday weekend. :-)

Chapter Seven

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Enthralled in somnolence, Danny was lulled by an easy warmth and the deep modulation of sound which echoed soothingly over his head. Air circulated peacefully around his nose and mouth; a distant reminder that he once almost couldn't breathe at all. Too tired to think if something still might be wrong, he lay there between a deep sleep and a state of being aware. Unconsciously though, his body fought for a profound breath, one his damaged chest wall was ill-equipped to cope with. His breath stuttered, then stammered helplessly when it was prevented from expanding his lungs comfortably by damaged tissues. In the background of ache, there was an odd gurgling bubbly sensation which was far from pleasant.

"Nnn… uhh." His weakly voiced complaint was joined by a confused expression regardless of oxygen mask. Wincing as his right lung struggled, his eyes became tightly wedged shut creating furrows stretching the breadth of his forehead.

"Danny… hey, you're okay. Can you hear me?" Steve pushed, encouraged by what seemed to be a sign of a return to consciousness. His free hand thumbed the nurses' call button in earnest as Danny's head tossed painfully on the thin pillow.

The droning tone escalated, increasing in volume and Danny eventually heard it as a voice even though his chest felt as if an anvil had been inserted somewhere between skin and bone. Broken pants fogged the mask erratically and with no small effort, Danny finally managed to pry his eyes open to a hazy unfocused view of blue and black. He cringed and softly groaned as the anvil pressed harder obviously annoyed by his weak attempts at sluggish movement.

"Whu..zzz..it?" Beneath the mask, Danny's tongue refused to work from heavy doses of prescription drugs which left his mouth painfully dry and his brain a murky place. Blinking furiously, he fought the drugs and the chore it was to utter a few words. As a result, his incomprehensible question came out as a challenging mumbled combination of 'what happened?' and 'who is it?'

"Nice one, but you're fine… things are okay. Take it slow and try not to move." At first worried by the nonsensical sounds of confusion, Steve had to smile as he kept his hand on his partner's shoulder. He could feel the first stirrings of tension coming to the fore as Danny tried to make sense of his predicament. So, Steve simply accepted the initial confusion while he kept things calm. Patiently he waited for his partner to settle and waken even more, beginning again only when true recognition seemed to glimmer across Danny's eyes. "Welcome back, Danno."

The drone solidified into words as did each disconcerting misshapen puzzle-piece of blurred colors to an image strong enough for Danny to recognize as Steve. Without knowing why, Danny relaxed instantly, squinting and blinking as his vision cleared much faster than his ability to think to inquire about what had happened.

"Oh. Hmm…. hey. Shh… Ste…ve." His sadly slurred croak of recognition transformed the darkly worried face looming over his bed to one of utter happiness as hours of stress nearly evaporated in an instant. But with that faint utterance and ever so slightly, Danny stirred. The resulting fiery ache was strange and he grimaced painfully, tears coming to his eyes causing his confusion to increase.

"What... what?" Unable to clearly speak and wanting to know what had been done to him, Danny felt Steve's hand heavily on his shoulder. The reassuring touch forestalled the ache that seemed to flare again at the tiniest of movements.

"You only got out of surgery a few hours ago. You have to be careful of the chest tube." Steve's explanation was quick, its urgency communicated through the steady pressure resolutely placed on Danny's shoulder.

" 'kay." This time, his whisper was even fainter as he cautiously tried to speak on a series of very shallow exhales. Vaguely, Danny thought he might remember the very same initial warnings from the doctors in the emergency room; he certainly remembered the pain of the tube being inserted. Blinking rapidly, Danny at least tried a tentative smile. "Hey... miss... any... thing?" Four shallow pants communicated his question much to Steve's delight. Though, as discomfort crept across Danny's face, he was back to warning his friend about too much talking.

"Hey yourself. And no, you haven't missed too much. We've all been worried about you." It was finally enough and Steve whispered around a beaming smile as both the attending nurse and Danny's primary physician, Doctor Webber, strode rapidly into the room. "Everything's going to be alright, Danny. Perfectly fine."

Forced to yield, Steve made himself nearly invisible as the two medical professionals worked diligently to assess their patient and his new waking state. Words were softly shared, tubes were checked and the head of the bed carefully raised to a very slight angle. From his corner, Steve blanched in kind as all color drained from Danny's face at the subtle change. The doctor fussed, molly coddled and rechecked not just his patient's briefly fluctuating vitals, but also the chest drain and field of bandages bracing the bullet's wound. Only after finalizing new directions which augmented his already aggressive pain management, was the doctor satisfied enough to beckon Steve to his side.

"He's very weak and plainly needs to rest but he's alert which is key. I've increased his pain medication and must ask that he refrain from speaking to avoid added stresses on his lungs. But in all reality, he will be sleeping often from the analgesics I've prescribed." Rotating his jaw at the obvious nature of the preliminary update, Steve nodded while his eyes turned back towards Danny's already slackened face. "He doesn't quite recall what happened and though he's somewhat confused of those earlier events, I chose not to share too many details just yet. Please keep that in mind."

Pierce Webber, M.D. was tolerant to a fault and presumed nothing from either patient or concerned family member. On the cutting edge of ultra-modern clinical trials, studies and new advances in medicine, he was constantly looking out for his patient's best interests and least invasive methods of care. The doctor also had an almost annoying penchant for stating and restating the obvious ad nauseam to ensure understanding which served to avoid argument or confusion. His warnings now and regarding sharing details of the shooting were a prelude to his five-minute allowance of permitting the detective's distraught daughter in to the ICU for a short visit. In his opinion, certain hospital rules benefited from being stretched at particular intervals, and this was undoubtedly one of those rare occurrences. The far-reaching effects of the terrible accident touched nearly every member in the community; something of which, Webber and hospital administration were keenly sensitive to as they cared for those injured in its aftermath.

"Commander, it's not necessary to discuss what occurred earlier today unless he asks. But be cautious because your partner needs to remain completely calm. I'm not concerned about the lapse in memory and anticipate its return as his awareness increases." Webber was having a difficult time explaining his true concerns. His assumption regarding the depth of the officer's caring nature for a child was quite sound though and Steve easily completed the thought. With the critical nature of Mark's condition, Danny simply wasn't going to be ready to cope or digest that truth in a healthy manner. Unsure but sensing how Danny might react, he clearly understood the rationale behind the doctor's wise forewarning.

"Danny's going to want to know, Doc. He's going to take this hard. So yeah, thanks I appreciate the warning." Scrubbing his fingers through his hair, Steve nodded though he knew Webber had more to say. The shocking news of a youngster finding a 9MM handgun during a rather sedate beach cleanup day was all over the news by that time. Everyone was literally bowled over by what had happened, including the hospital staff. With the nature of his own very serious condition, the need to keep Danny quiet took immediate precedence. Once his partner recalled what had happened, he'd be as tenacious as a bear despite and in direct conflict of his own health.

"Good because you need to explain this to the rest of your team and to the detective's daughter. Kid gloves, Commander." The two woefully injured victims were housed under the physician's fine thumb and Webber knew the families required consolation. As the ill detective whispered the simple question inquiring after his young daughter's welfare, the doctor had begun to mentally stretch one ICU ruling regarding age restrictions.

"He's asking for his daughter and I'd like you to bring her in." Steve's head whirled back to the doctor to give him his purely undivided attention. "Five minutes, Commander. Can she handle this and be trusted not to mention a word about those details?"

"Yeah, she can. Grace is mature… she'll get it, Doc. Thank you." Steve was quick to agree as Webber hushed the final word barely under his breath. He grinned as Webber nodded towards the bed before leaving the room.

"Hey, Danno." Leaning back over the bed precisely where he had been earlier, Steve watched Danny's eyes which were fluttering vainly against gravity.

"Doc… said," Danny's attempt at speaking was shushed rapidly as Steve grasped his forearm in stern warning. The airy cough substantiated Webber's cautionary advice as talking drew on shallow reserves of breath which Danny could ill-afford to expend. The resulting flux of pain from the chest tube was hot on its heels and Danny virtually gritted his teeth as it lessened to a lower burn.

"Shhh, I know. I'll get her if you can stay awake, Danno." Steve chuffed softly under his breath when the tiny lopsided grin preceded the sketchiest of nods. His partner's eyes were closing but Steve would bet his life that it was only to build the few minutes of reserves needed to see Grace. "He also said no talking… but hang in and I'll be right back."

Bolting from the room as quietly as possible, Steve jogged stealthily down the hallway and out to the waiting room. Curled up on Chin's lap, she barely fit in his arms. Steve smirked as he realized her long slender legs were lengthening almost weekly. For what looked like an uncomfortable position though, Grace was still sleeping as Steve dropped to his knees next to them.

"He's awake and asking for someone special." Daring to smile, Steve murmured upwards to Chin who tiredly grinned in return. Ever so gently, Steve rubbed Grace's arm to wake her without frightening her from the sound sleep. He frowned when her forehead pinched uncomfortably while still in her doze, wondering if she might have fibbed about how well she was feeling.

"Gracie. Wake up, sweetheart." He smiled warmly as initially unfocused eyes met his own morphing through a variety of emotions on the way to fully coming awake. Before she could land on terrified, Steve held his hands out so that Grace would better understand. "Danno wants to see you."

"He's awake?" Glassy-eyed from strain and exhaustion, Grace's lip trembled as she took Steve's hand and he helped unfold her from Chin's lap. Steve was smiling but watching her closely, as if he could see the headache coming back to grasp the base of her skull once more and unhappily teasing her forehead. Gently, he tipped her chin upwards and pursed his lips to see eyes that were a bit too haunted for his liking. His expression was one of a knowing patience, yet clearly disapproving of her attempted deflection.

"He is, but you have to be brave and not cry because Danno's going to worry if you look sad; plus he's not supposed to talk too much." Steve quickly knelt back down, surprised when he almost wound up looking up into her face instead of eye to eye as he'd half-expected. Grace was growing up in spades whether any of them liked it or not and it made his smile deepen. "Are you okay, Gracie? I can tell you don't feel well and you aren't going to help either yourself or Danno if you get sick. If you aren't up to it, you can visit tomorrow."

"I know, but I'm good." Firmly wiping her face in her sleeve and stuffing her emotions down into her stomach, Grace freed her hands to finger comb her hair only to wrench it into a harsh ponytail. She didn't feel well and Uncle Steve knew, but she was determined to see her father if just for a few minutes.

"I'd like to see Danno. Please." Forcing the tremble to leave her lips, Grace swallowed hard. His supportive nod made her tentatively smile as she gratefully took his hand again.

"Okay but a few more things, Grace." Steve tugged her back before they reached the ICU's doors. His assessment was entirely correct that Grace was indeed mature enough to understand the implications of Webber's medical advice.

"Danno's really tired and he may fall asleep. The doctor said that would be normal and he needs all the sleep which he can get right now. But he also said not to talk about what happened today… at least, not yet. Danno doesn't quite remember all of it and the doctor wants him to stay calm. So we need to be careful and make sure that we don't mention Mark or the gun or anything about the beach, alright? If he asks, I'll take care of it."

Narrowing her eyes much like her father might when mulling evidence, Grace slowly nodded. She might not be able to put everything into words but she did think she understood what Steve meant about being careful because she knew her father's appetite for dwelling and worry. Evidently, that penchant for negative brooding was something Doctor Webber also recognized in his anxious patient. "Okay. Danno's… not… ready. He's not ready because he doesn't feel well."

"That's my girl." Her reward was a hug and warm kiss on the top of her head. His approval made her smile bravely, wiping some of her fears to the side as their hands swung gently together. "Exactly. Now let's go."

~ to be continued ~