Chapter 32 "Crowded Rescue"
A/N: (10 December 2016) You all … that was the most reviews for any chapter I've ever written, and they were wonderful, and you are wonderful, and I thank you for everything! I'm so glad you were pleased! I loved all the OMGs, all the joy, even the person who just wrote, "REALLY?!" – 31 got more reviews than any chapter I've ever written! All the new people who followed and favorited, wow, thank you soooo much! To every reader, humble thanks and much happiness! I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading! :-D
This chapter was a real challenge, but it finally says "Post me!", so here goes! Enjoy!
The usual disclaimer … CBS owns Hawaii Five-0.
Chapter 32 "Crowded Rescue"
(24 December 2016, 9:53 a.m.)
Steve thought his best Christmas present ever was seeing Danny move and then say his name in that voice raspy with sickness. He laughed and coughed because he was going to burst into tears, but instead he smiled the widest smile it was possible to fit onto his face at Dr. Cornett.
The doctor returned it along with a hearty pat on Steve's back before he turned his eyes back onto the camera feed, studying his patient, his mind pausing just long enough to send a wordless "thank you" heavenward before focusing on every tiny little detail he could see about Danny Williams.
Steve took a few moments to look down at his co-workers, his Five-0 ohana, hugging one another and smiling bright enough to chase away clouds, rain, and bad weather for a month at least.
But Danny wasn't out yet. "How long till you cut through that door," called Dr. Cornett, beating Steve to the question.
"Another 15 minutes, maybe a little more." Blowtorches went back to work, with renewed vigor. Cornett turned to one of the rescuers on the shipping container's roof. "He needs a blanket to protect him from any flying sparks. And he needs socks, a medical mask, a sterile cap and a gown from the medevac." He explained quietly to Steve, "We need to protect him from germs, and ourselves from any he may have picked up in there, and give him some warmth. Overkill, but better than taking chances."
Steve was now paying full attention to Danny. He watched his friend struggle to sit up, and even on the small picture they had, it was clear that he was shivering. "Danny, give us 15 minutes to cut through that door, and we'll be in to get you out of there. That sound good, Buddy?"
Danny's smile might be weak, but it was sun-bright. "You have no idea, Steve. How is everyone? How are my kids? Is it Christmas yet?"
"We're fine now that we found you, Danny. And it is Christmas Eve, almost 10 a.m., and both Gracie and Charlie are looking forward to seeing their Danno."
By now there was a ladder against the door of the container next to Danny's, and someone climbed up and handed over everything the doctor had asked for. First through was the socks and mask, and sterile cap, in plastic wrapping, which Dr. Cornett ripped through so Danny would not have to struggle to open them. Steve was still manning the mic. "We have some stuff for you; socks and a blanket, and a hat thing. Can you move enough to get them if we drop them through this hole? If not, we will figure something out to get them to you. Doc Cornett is up here with me."
Danny smiled again when he heard Dr. Cornett's name, then looked unsure. "Hi, Doc. You make box calls." It was clear he was getting more exhausted by the sentence. "For socks and a blanket, I will sure try."
But it turned out he didn't have to. As soon as the socks, mask and cap were dropped down through the opening where the air pipe had been attached, Angel bounded over and fetched them back to Danny, then tussled to bring over the gown, and finally even managed to slowly drag over the protective kevlar blanket, latching on to a corner of it with her teeth, then yanking and dragging it backwards until Danny was able to grab the corner from her, whereupon Angel sat down and looked relieved when nothing else was dropped down the hole in the ceiling.
"Who's your little friend there, Danny?" asked Steve, impressed by the kitten. He and Cornett had noticed how grateful Danny was to not have had to use up the energy to come get the things, and how much struggle he had pulling on the bright yellow socks and the lightweight surgical gown, a barrier Cornett wanted Danny to have as he re-entered the world outside the container, and no doubt would be hugged by his friends. The mask and cap were easier, and the blanket was met with relief, for it was warm as well as protective against sparks.
Danny caught his breath, then introduced Angel, after petting her for helping him. "This little girl is my kitten, Angel."
"But you don't like cats," teased Steve, while Danny kept breathing rapidly, which Dr. Cornett's eagle eyes did not miss. He asked Steve for the mic.
"I love this one," whispered Danny, affectionately, petting the purring kitten in his arms, clutched to his chest. He was very out of breath.
Dr. Cornett spoke into the mic. "I liked your Christmas card," he began, warmly, then told Danny to cover himself and Angel with the blanket. "Sparks will be flying now, and we need you safe. Don't talk now, but breathe as deeply as you can. We're almost to you. We'll make sure Grace is waiting at Tripler when we land, so you can see her right away. I'll call Becca and ask her to drive her over."
"Becca!" Danny smiled, then frowned. "Why can't Rachel bring her?"
Not wanting to go into the big picture Danny was so unaware of, and which would be so upsetting to him, Steve leaned into the mic. "Rachel and Stan are otherwise detained, you know, with Christmas things. You don't mind if Becca brings Gracie over, do you?"
"No." Danny smiled with his eyes. "I'd love to see her too. I've done a lot of thinking in here."
Cornett took over the mic again. "Stop talking. Just nod or something, then get your head under the blanket. Any thoughts that I, as Becca's father, should be worried about?"
Danny's eyes smiled again, and he blushed. Then he pulled the blanket over his head as ordered, briefly, before popping out. "Has Steve met Hannah yet?"
"Blanket," ordered Steve and Cornett, while Cornett laughed. "Oh, they've met. We'll have to tell you about that."
They kept talking to him, keeping his focus constantly on their presence, those of the rescuers, and that he was now safe and about to be reunited with the people he loved. Steve and the doctor finally had to turn the mic over to the rescuers, while they climbed down, to be the first people in when the opening in the door was finished.
Cornett was the first one in, with his medical bag, but Steve was the first person Danny hugged, for a long time. He was crying silently, words entirely unnecessary. Then came Chin, Kono, and Abby, all with their own special hugs and more tears, and even Dr. Cornett, who had already managed to get Danny's temperature, a blood pressure reading and some skin swabs before it was his turn. Chin, Kono and Abby promised to be waiting just outside, when Danny got his first look at the world he had not seen for three and a half days. It felt to them all that it had been a lot longer.
Steve had become Angel's holder when Danny was hugging his ohana. She had climbed into his sling and hunkered down on his cast, accepting pats and praise from all until it was just him, Cornett, and a couple rescue personnel, trying to figure out how to release Danny's ankle from the chain. Steve petted Angel, who was a little tense and worried, but seemed happy, if entirely focused on Danny.
He stood to one side, and looked around Danny's prison. He noticed the notebook, and could not help but see what Danny had written. It broke his heart to realize that Danny had thought he would not make it out alive. Steve began to use his left hand to stroke the kitten who had so captured Danny's heart. She gave his hand a rub and began to purr tentatively before again super-focusing on her human.
.
H50 H50 H50
.
The relief Danny felt at being found, and now knowing he would be out of the box soon, was so deep and profound that all he could do was keep himself from crying. He didn't have the breath for that, or frankly the energy, so tears slid without help as he submitted with no complaint whatsoever to everything Dr. Cornett quietly asked of him. He kept looking around, especially at Steve and his doctor, but at the faces of his ohana, appearing regularly at the hole cut in the door. He would see his children soon, and it was Christmas Eve morning.
But something was missing. "Where's Angel?" he whispered, panicked. "Don't take her away from me!"
He was again relieved when he heard her much louder purr, and saw her cute face peering over the top of Steve's sling. He smiled brightly. "She saved me," he said, with almost no voice left at all. His eyes found Steve's and he nodded back to Danny's wordless plea.
"Don't you worry about this little lady," Steve said, petting the bundle of purr and softness that had decided his sling was the perfect watching post from which to guard her human. "She's got you under surveillance, and I've got her under my personal protection."
Danny smiled and then his brows furrowed. He pointed at Steve's sling and arm cast. "How?" then "Ow!", for Dr. Cornett was now giving his full attention to his injured, infected thumb. A male nurse had joined his doctor inside the now crowded box, and they were murmuring to one another in fluent medical-ese. While Danny had caught the words meaning 'pneumonia', he had no clue what they were saying about his thumb, but if the concentration of his doctor was any indication, it was probably a good thing he didn't understand. He looked pointedly at Steve's cast.
"This? Oh, it's nothing. I got it the day you vanished," he admitted, but was not about to say more than that. "And Gracie's arm is healing really well. She had her check-up on that yesterday, and she's healing so well, Becca thinks the cast can come off in three more weeks."
Danny felt like his face was set on permanent smile.
But finally there was some commotion around his chained ankle. "Half-inch tungsten carbide chain. Same metal in the lock," scowled one of the Search And Rescue men. "We can't cut through that without a diamond saw."
"What?" Steve was astonished. "That's overkill!"
"What about this isn't overkill?" mumbled someone, which, while true, was insensitive to Danny's overwrought nerves. He became very still, only trying to relax when Dr. Cornett very apologetically slipped the oxygen mask over his face and asked him to breath regularly and deeply. He obeyed, while his feelings flip-flopped towards hurt and depression that someone had used the hardest chain and lock made to see to it he would not escape the box.
"We'll have to send for a diamond saw. It will take time."
"But the tether chain is only hardened stainless. We can cut through that!"
"Do it. We can do the ankle chain at Tripler."
Earphones were handed to everyone, while a pair were placed over Danny's ears. He worried about Angel, and asked if he could hold her, rendered redundant when she leapt from Steve's sling to Danny's arms, and while she hurt his thumb when he caught her, he didn't mind at all. He wrapped himself around her as much as he could.
"Protect yourselves from sparks," warned the lead rescuer, who was going to cut the chain as close to Danny's ankle as was safe. "Blankets for all who must remain inside. Everyone else, out."
Danny was swathed in blanket-protected bodies, including Steve and Dr. Cornett, which pretty much guaranteed that Angel was protected too. Someone had made a harness for her out of Kevlar rope, so she would not be able to panic and run away. Danny held the rope in his left hand, and tried not to give in to claustrophobia in the press of people keeping him safe.
But amidst the loudness of the saw, he felt a sharp, burning prick on his ankle, and cried out in surprise and pain. Cornett swore, and he felt the protective blanket on his foot and ankle shift to cover the area. "Breath, Danny," ordered his doc, and Danny, tears forming, obeyed, even as he clutched Angel to him.
As soon as the saw stopped and he felt the chain's weight drop away, the rescuer in charge called, "Clear." Cornett, the nurse, and Steve were instantly bent over his ankle.
Danny wasn't even sure who said what, for all the words piled into a jumble. "Don't move your ankle, Danny." "Dammit, one spark found the one spot not covered." "Tweezers STAT!" That was Cornett, just managing to sound calm and confident, so Danny would not panic, which is what he actually felt like doing, except he knew he couldn't. "Hold his leg and ankle still." Danny thought that was Steve and another person.
Cornett said, soothingly. "A burning pin dot of steel landed on your skin, between the links, and embedded roughly 3 millimeters. I am going to do something similar to the game of Operation to remove the pin dot with tweezers. It will hurt, but not for long."
"Can't we do that in the chopper?" asked the chief of Search And Rescue.
"No. It's still burning hot and is continuing to further embed, and there is a vein right below it," stated Cornett in a clipped voice as the nurse handed him the surgical glasses with the super-magnifiers on them. "It is small enough to travel through that vein if it burns through it."
Danny wished he had never watched one of those western shows or movies where the hero got shot and someone had to dig out the bullet. On a much smaller scale, this was what he was going through. He set his teeth, did not move or make a sound, though he wanted to do both, until the doc finished. "Got it! Vein uncompromised," he stated sharply, then softened his voice. "Danny, breathe. Increase oxygen, and give me the lidocaine dropper."
Danny felt the instant the drop of pain killer was used, and at the same time felt Steve's hand on his left hand, which was holding Angel. "You okay, Buddy?"
Danny took the deepest breath he could and nodded, his exhausted blue eyes still glowing with gratitude. "Can we go home now?" he asked wistfully.
Cornett ordered in the litter. He patted Danny on the shoulder, and smiled at him. "You were brave. Now let's get you out of here, and back with the rest of your family."
.
((A/N: Cubit was right!))