Note: A big thanks to the guest reviews, sorry I can't reply to you personally.

Now let's find out what damage had been done to our heroes.

Chapter Eleven

"Do you mind if I join you?" A soft voice came from the doorway. Looking up the three men saw Dr. Pearce standing there. She was wearing a blue pair of scrubs, her clothes obviously ruined, and her left arm was in a blue material sling.

Steve immediately jumped up and guided her to one of the more comfortable chairs in the waiting room. "Of course not, how are you doing doc?"

"I'm fine." She patted Steve on the knee to reassure him what she was saying was true. "Shaken and sore, but Dr. Plyth, the head of the hospital, insisted on taking care of me. The bullet went clean through and didn't hit anything major. I got really lucky. A few weeks in a sling and I'll be good as knew, thanks to Danny." Tears started to well in the doctor's eyes.

"Do you feel up to telling us what happened?" Chin gently asked.

"It all happened so fast, really. I came back to check on Danny as I was worried about his lung contusion getting worse. His heart monitor was alarming on the nurse's desk, so I rushed into his room. There was that man stood over him, dressed as a doctor." Taking a few seconds to steady her nerve, she then continued. "He said he was going to kill Danny to make you all feel the pain he was feeling from losing his brother. He wanted to take me as a hostage to negotiate his way out, and free his other brother. I said I would go if he didn't kill Danny, but Danny refused to let me go."

"There was no way Danny would let you take that Noterisk." Steve stated.

"Anyway, the man got upset. He was shaking and distracted so I tried to use the nurse call button to get help, but he saw. He got really mad and pointed the gun straight at...at me." Steve put a protective arm around the doctor, seeing how upset she was becoming. She obviously felt partly responsible for Danny's situation, maybe if she hadn't tried to call for help things would have turned out differently.

"Andrea, none of this is your fault. You did really well in there. Danny is going to be so proud of you for slamming that chair over Abello's head. He went down like a sack of potatoes." Steve chose to use the doctor's first name, which he rarely did. Only Danny called her by her first name, but he wanted to comfort his shaken friend.

"Danny was amazing, despite his already serious injuries, he grabbed the gun and forced it away. If he hadn't have done that I'd have been hit in the chest for sure. He managed to get rid of the gun, but that man was too strong for him, and I could see he was having trouble breathing already. When he grabbed him by the throat I had to do something, had to help Danny."

"You sure did that. You must be Wonder Woman or something, a hole in your shoulder and you still manage to knock the man clean out. You go sister." Lou joked, and finally Dr. Pearce broke a small smile.

"Is...is he still here?"

"He's been transferred to a secure hospital wing. He needs monitoring for the concussion, but don't worry. He doesn't pose a threat to anyone else, and we will make sure he goes down for a very long time." Chin explained.

"In a separate prison to his brother, there's no way those two are going to be reunited, I'll see to that." Steve added.

Dr. Pearce nodded then seemed to remember herself. "I managed to get a brief update on Danny before I came here. His liver contusion had indeed worsened, so they are working on stopping the bleeding now. The bruising to his neck appears to be just that, no major damage. They are concerned about his lungs though, it looks like Danny has developed ARDS. I think it's unlikely they will be able to get him off the vent straight away. He's going to need a little help until the contusions start to recede."

"But he's going to be ok?" Steve didn't like the sound of how ill his friend was.

"If they can control the liver bleeding and there are no other complications. Given time, he should bounce back." Dr. Peace explained.

"Of course he will, Danny's tough, he always does." Steve smiled.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Two hours later Dr. Yokes arrived to fill them in, having settled Danny into the ICU. Enquiring after his colleague's health he got straight down to business. "Danny is currently doing as well as can be expected. I was able to stop the bleeding from his liver, he will be sore for a while, but he should make a full recovery. Unfortunately it's his chest that is causing us concern. As you know he already had a fractured sternum and ribs, and a lung contusion that was worsening. I'm afraid the wrestle to the ground worsened the contusion, and Danny has developed ARDS, acute respiratory distress syndrome. At the moment his lungs are extremely inflamed and weak, leaving him dependant on mechanical ventilation."

Dr. Pearce nodded in understanding, but Steve had questions, "how long do you think it will take for him to be able to breathe on his own?"

"It will depend on how long the contusions take to improve. I have started him on steroids, and I don't want him on the vent too long because of the risk of pneumonia. With the broken bones in his chest he is already high risk, and the longer he stays on the vent the more those chances increase, and his body will become dependant on the machine. I'd like to give him overnight for the drugs to have a chance to work. Then we can start easing off on the assistance and let Danny start doing some of the work for himself. I'd really like to see him off the vent within 48 hours."

"Will there be any permanent damage to his lungs?" Chin enquired.

"There shouldn't be, although it may take him some time to regain his usual level of fitness and stamina." Dr. Yokes explained.

"With the right respiratory exercises we can get him back to full fitness, guys. The main problem will be if he develops pneumonia, but Dr. Yokes and I will work closely together to manage Danny's care." Dr. Pearce tried to reassure the worried team.

"That we will," Dr. Yokes agreed, but then focus his attention on his colleague. "However, right now you are to go home and rest. I'll see you in the morning for rounds, and Dr. Plyth has insisted you are on restricted duties. But I managed to persuade him to let you continue to oversee Detective Williams care because of your close connection with the team."

"Thank you, Yuen. I promise now I know Danny is stable I'll go home and rest. Thank you for taking such good care of him." Dr. Pearce trusted her colleague to take good care of her friend. She also knew that he would bend the rules like she did to allow the team to best support Danny, and each other.

"Yeah, thanks Dr. Yokes. We really appreciate everything you have done for Danny. Can we see him now?"

"Of course, you can all see him now, but I'd prefer it if only one of you stayed the rest of the night."

The team quickly agreed, it didn't need to be spoken that Steve would be the one remaining by Danny's side. After a quick farewell to Dr. Pearce, who looked dead on her feet and desperately in need of a well earned rest, the team headed towards to ICU. After a brief visit with their friend, Chin and Lou left for the night. Chin promising to drive to Danny's house, first thing in to morning and gentle break the news of what had happened to Kono and Grace.

Steve settled into the chair beside his best friend and dozed off, lulled by the beeping, hissing, and clicks of the noisy ICU room.

TBC