Chapter 40 "Angel's Christmas Adventure"

A/N: (Valentine's Day 2017) HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! You all have been more than patient, waiting for the continuation of this story. I apologize for the delay's long duration. The story simply stopped talking to me for awhile, in part because it was beat to death by other ignored hobbies that needed a morsel of attention, mostly because there was something in this tale that [it said (harrumph snort)] I was doing wrong, and the story eventually bleeped, "&^#%%#^#^#" and shut up till I figured out what its problem was, while in fighting stance holding my shiny new real stunt lightsaber WHICH I know how to use. Sortof. But I digress. [I was never going to give up on this, since that is NOT how I do things, but sometimes ya gotta glare back awhile before resorting to crafting, and it blinked first. YESSSSS! Ha. Take that, Story.]

After 2 weeks of stand-off glaring and thinking, it yelled recently, "FINALLY!" and is again speaking to me. (And even tho it was being an [irrational … thing], I forgave it and am listening, because I seriously got mad at it for shutting up. Like, how dare it? Sure, it could have been crafted to the end, but that's not exactly honest, and stories get really mad if you do that. Silence must be respected. All aspiring writers, keep in mind that stories will do this just to show who is boss, and since they ARE, uh, there may be brief pauses while you wish your lightsaber was real – translation, who is it who holds the bleeping pen and does the typing and looks up the address of the medical examiner's building in Honolulu, complete with photo? A little respect, Story, huh?)

There were things that were in the story when conceived, yet never were brought out because the course of this 'river' changed [don't look at me, Story, it was YOUR IDEA, blasted temperamental….ahem, I digress again], and yet it wanted those things still in this. So, I figured it out! Seriously, a silent story is spooky. They don't go quiet like that unless it's 'serious matters', and this was, quite a few of them! But my brain does work, and we are communicating again. Stories always win, by the way, with histrionics. They glare at the author until things click, and then it's as if the glaring never exactly happened. (Tho authors never forget, and make lists.)

Two extremely special thanks must be noted, aside from the thanks to everyone for reading and writing reviews. This writer loves reviews, but understands that the percentage of reads to reviews is something like 1 review for 100-150 reads, or thereabouts. I appreciate all who do not leave reviews, and do a happy yippee! when there is a review – I can't help it!

Very special thanks to Shelly67 for being the 500th reviewer: she got to pick Danny's middle name, and she did well! It will come out in the story. NGM 322 (which sounds like a license plate) earns the gratitude for giving Becca a middle name. You both are owed gracious and warm thanks, and now everyone knows it! :-D Thank you both! Happy hugs!

CBS still dagnabbit owns Hawaii Five-0, and allows us to play with their shiny toy.

Chapter 40 "Angel's Christmas Adventure"

(Sunday, Christmas 2016, Noon)

Daniel Edward Williams (middle name in honor of his father's first name) lay quietly in his hospital bed, alone for the first time since breakfast, finding out about his house, getting engaged to Rebecca Ruth Cornett, and so many other things, like talking after the kissing after the proposal of marriage, and exchanging middle names, and starting to find their little special ways of communicating love to and for one another. Even his kitten had gone home with Becca because the hospital had finally pulled some regulation, but Danny knew she would be back, because Dr. Cornett was having Angel classified as a Therapy Animal, and they had visitation rights, especially when their area of expertise was sensing and helping ease anxiety in patients who needed their anxiety sensed and eased. Danny did.

The reason the hospital had done the stiff-arm finger-point "OUT" thing with Angel was because she had scared Danny to death with her rendition of producing her first hairball, which really hadn't made that much of a mess, just … well, Danny had never seen a cat do the truly appalling things they do to get one of those things out, and naturally Angel had done it on Danny's bed, while his own heart pounded as Angel's sides did their jerky OMGosh inward contractions, and he didn't even know how to describe the other physical (what does one call them?) her tiny little body did, and the unearthly, distressed, indescribable sounds she had made before seemingly commencing to turn inside out while from her apparently convulsing mouth came a projectile expulsion of a thing onto his chest that looked for all the world like a miniature, pale, boneless, limbless, headless, non-tailed, skinny, wet remains-of-the-outside-of-a-mouse in clearish sauce. Danny had panicked because he had thought Angel was dying, because that's what it looked and sounded like, despite Becca's reassurance that she wasn't.

Becca was still there when this happened, and one nurse had caught the finale because Danny was wailing in as much if not more distress than he felt his cat must be in. And then Becca had told him it was just a hairball, and normal, and that word had horrified Danny almost into forgetting to breathe until the alarm sounded. "She might do this again?" Angel had looked both upset and embarrassed, had squashed herself up under Danny's chin, and refused to look at the not-mouse, while the nurse had said the bedding and Santa pajamas had to be cleaned, and … and then there had been round two, which was not as spectacular, but still had earned the nurse one (and she was lucky it was only one) rather impressive scratch because she had dared to snatch up Angel mid hurch-gurch to deposit her on the floor, else she would have possibly put the next hairball on Danny's neck. Instead, Angel erupted into Instinctive Cat Self Defense Explosion Number 15B, while still hurching, and was tossed through the air to land on the floor, still gurching, and who somehow knew instinctively that revenge is sweet and put her newest (messier) kindof-hairball (heavy on the sauce, light on the hair) on the nurse's right shoe before slinking hastily under the bed and trying to disown the whole episode, which was impossible to do while the nurse kept alternating between EW and OW. Somewhere in here, Steve, Hannah, and Dr. Cornett barreled into the room.

Then they couldn't coax Angel, who they discovered could hiss and growl, out from under the bed because she got scared of hairballs and nurses and people yelling at nurses to NOT TOUCH THE CAT! (That had more come from Steve, who knew better than to touch a cat mid-production.) Whereupon the OUT thing had happened, which Dr. Cornett, alerted by the commotion, had countered with the declaration of "Therapy Animal," counter-countered by the nurse who simply snarled "Where does it say that in the records," while watching her scratched arm bleed, while cleaning her shoe with five tissues (two would have done) and a clean wipe held in the hand attached to the arm that wasn't bleeding.

Dr. Cornett had picked up the chart and written THERAPY ANIMAL: ANGEL, KITTEN, then continued to get into a respectable argument with the nurse, aided and abetted by Danny's protest that nobody could touch his kitten without his permission, even if she had scared him into not breathing for a moment there, and he was sorry for the scratch, "But seriously? Did that look like a good time to pick her up? What is your IQ?" This had reduced Becca to an epic gigglefit, which had offended the nurse, and which Danny, in the part of his mind not taken up by scolding the bleeding nurse, had felt delight at because he was going to get to listen to that musical, charming giggle for the rest of his life.

This was when Steve finally managed to pick Angel up by the scruff of her neck to get her out from under the bed. He had lifted her proudly onto the bed and back into Danny's protective arms, whereupon Danny had a fit that startled everyone else into silence, O's for mouths, and raised eyebrows. "O! MY! God! Steven, did you just try to strangle my (going into Daddy-baby-talk voice to comfort traumatized kitten) sweet widdo baby snookie wookums? She just had her first hairball, was womanhandled by a nurse with an IQ in the single digits when it comes to cats, and YOU had to go and STRANGLE her! You are a MEAN, MEAN MAN!"

Steve, startled, but realizing Danny had no previous experience with cats, defended himself mildly. "No, see, that's how it's supposed to be done when a cat or kitten is scared and has to be moved."

"NO FREAKING WAY, STEVEN! God did not invent cat strangulation as a way to move frightened kitties!"

"Danny, you just insulted God on Christmas."

"No I did NOT, you … We all saw what you just did to her!" (The kitten in question had settled down in Danny's protective embrace, rather enjoying the production number, now that her own tummy had settled down from what she kitten-vocabulary-approximation now thought of as an 'Adventure', especially since the bleeding woman had cleaned up the product of the Adventure while arguing with the Very Tall Man who cared for her Daddy.)

Becca slid her sweet voice into what could become a full-on argument by gently reminding Danny that mommy cats moved their kittens around by carrying them in their mouths by the extra fur and skin God had put on their necks so they could carry them that way without hurting them. "Even the vet will pick up a cat that way if necessary to not get clawed."

"Oh." Danny looked at Angel and carefully felt the extra skin and fur he had never really noticed before, and added, "Huh. I guess if God designed them that way…"

Becca almost whispered, "You might want to apologize to Steve."

Not about to argue with Becca, who he considered perfect, Danny turned to Steve. "I do apologize. I did not know, and therefore spoke in ignorance, and Thank you for rescuing Angel, which proves you care about her."

"And you, Danno," said Steve, with only mischief in his eyes. He leaned down and whispered, " 'Sweet widdo baby snookie wookums' is blackmail material I will use at the worst and most embarrassing moment possible."

Angel started to purr when Steve petted her.

.

A/N: Short, but just realized it is Valentine's Day, which kindof requires either mush or silliness, so here is my present to all of you! I hope none of you were eating during the, uh, hairball.