Note: a big thanks to those of you still reading and reviewing.

Chapter Thirteen

"Oh my god," A soft exclamation came from the doorway. Steve looked up from the newspaper he was attempting to read as a distraction from watching Danny's every move in anticipation of him waking, and saw Rachel stood staring at the bed.

"Rachel, hey," Steve beckoned her into the room.

"Hello. I just landed and came straight here. Kono informed me that Grace wanted to wait here."

Steve nodded, he had briefly switched places with Kono to go see his niece and fill her in on how Danny was doing. Kono had gladly sat with her friend, gently holding his hand and talking to him. Understanding Grace's need to be close, he had returned to Danny's side promising to tell him that Grace loved her Danno.

"She's upset that she can't see him, but I'm glad they haven't let her. He looks awful. How is he doing? Honestly."

"He's doing better. They have managed to dial down the sedation and he is initiating all the breaths now himself. He is still requiring a lot of support though at the moment."

"But he will be ok?"

"They are confident he will make a full recovery." Steve answered and could see the relief on Danny's ex-wife's face.

"Good. I've managed to persuade Grace to come home with me."

"Really?" Steve was surprised that Grace was willing to leave.

"It took some persuading I can tell you, but Danny wouldn't want her camping out here and worrying herself sick. The rest of your team have promised her they will keep us informed of his progress, and the second he is up to a visit I will bring her straight here. I appreciate that you have all taken care of her so well."

"Grace is family, we all love her. I'm just sorry that we weren't able to protect Danny from getting hurt." Steve looked sadly at his friend, seeing frown lines across his forehead he rubbed a hand along Danny's forearm and watched as Danny relaxed. With the sedation now lighter there had been moments where Steve felt Danny was more aware of his surroundings.

"It's all part of the job. I finally understand that, and understand why he does it. Grace is extremely proud of her father's job." Steve smiled. It was good to hear Rachel finally accepting the dangers of their work.

"Make sure you get some rest yourself, Steve. Danny wouldn't want you making yourself sick. Please keep me informed of how he's doing." Rachel then left the room to collect Grace.

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

No longer having to take care of Grace, Chin and Kono joined Steve in Danny's room. Dawn kept coming, and going, checking Danny's vitals and the settings on the ventilator, as well as the sedation levels. Steve sat close by watching Danny. Dawn had to manage a delicate balancing act. Too little sedation and Danny would start to move his head and become unsettled, most of the time Steve was able to calm his friend with the sound of his voice, but other times Dawn would be forced to increase the sedation. Unfortunately that had the less than desired affect on Danny's respiratory rate, sending him under too deep and depressing his body's drive to breathe for himself. So Dawn would have to reduce the sedation, and the cycle would start again. After an hour Chin excused himself, saying he was going to head to the office and help Lou finish up the last of the paperwork. Kono elected to stay to keep Steve company, and also so she could be closer to Danny. Now she didn't have Grace to take care of she felt the need to stay close to support Danny.

Alarms sounded across the ICU, which startled Steve and Kono. Nurses ran across the central space and disappeared into one of the rooms. Looking at each other they silently acknowledged the sadness that somebody was in trouble, hoping that the ICU team would be able to stabilise them. Kono sighed and looked back at Danny. Her heart skipped a beat when she realised that Danny's piercing blue eyes where starring at her.

"Steve, Danny's awake."

Steve snapped his head back to his friend just in time to see Danny raise his right hand and grab hold of the tube protruding from his mouth, as he gagged trying to expel the foreign body. Steve was able to grab hold of Danny's wrist just in time to stop him from yanking the tube out. Ever persistent, Danny's left hand started to rise in an attempt to dislodge the tube, and Steve was force to restrain that hand too.

"Kono, go get help."

Scared eyes locked with his own and Steve could feel the tension ready to explode from his friend's body.

"Danny, it's ok. Relax, let go of the tube buddy. It's there to help you. You're fine. Everything is fine." Danny continued to weakly gag around the tube, and alarms started to blare on the monitors alongside the bedside. Steve carefully managed to prise Danny's fingers away, and continued to gently talk to him as he fought to remove the uncomfortable tube.

Dr. Pearce ran into the room, Kono closely following, and she moved quickly to the pump that dispensed the sedation.

"Hey Danny, just relax for me. You're not ready for the tube to come out yet so I'm going to send you back off to sleep. Don't worry we got you, you're gonna be fine."

Steve saw Danny's lips break into a small smile around to tube at the sight of his friend. He obviously remembered what had happened, and was relieved to see his friend was alive. Seconds later Danny's eyes became heavy and Steve saw the drugs start to pull him back under. Eyes closed, Danny's arms went limp within his own and Steve carefully lowered them back down, careful not to disturb the arterial line in Danny's left wrist that was monitoring his blood pressure, and allowed the medical staff to monitor his blood gasses regularly to determine the vent settings.

Dawn came racing into the room, "what happened? I was helping with another patient."

"It's ok Dawn. Danny just decided it was time to wake up. I increased the sedation and he's settled now." Dr. Pearce explained.

"One minute he was sedated, the next he was awake." Kono said shocked.

"I was only gone a few minutes, Tom needed help in room three." Dawn felt awful that Danny had managed to fully wake, she had been keeping such a close eye on him all morning.

"I was reviewing his chart when Kono called for help. He is obviously rather sensitive to the drugs we are using." Dr. Pearce explained then instructed a new treatment plan. "I think we will dial back the Alfentanyl which is most likely depressing his respiratory system. Unfortunately it may mean he is more likely to be in pain, so I want him to have regular Acetaminophen and PR Diclofenac to help keep on top of his pain. With the damage to his chest, and the abdominal surgery, he is bound to be in a lot of pain."

She started prescribing the medication then looked at Danny's vitals, "he actually held his oxygen levels really well despite the panic. I think if we give him time to settle we should be able to reduce the ventilator support further. Hopefully by tomorrow morning we should have him extubated, and awake."

Steve and Kono looked shaken by the ordeal. "You did well, Steve, keeping him calm and stopping him pulling the tube out. Try not to worry too much. He is fine now and I doubt he will even remember what happened once we properly wake him."

"Will the reduced drugs keep him settled? Won't he wake again?"

"We can increase the sedation to keep him asleep enough to tolerate the tube, but hopefully with less Alfentanyl it won't knock off his respiratory drive." Dr. Pearce explained. Steve and Kono still looked nervous. "Hey guys. Since I can't do much with my arm in this sling I'm stuck doing paperwork. How about I set up camp in the corner, that way I'm here in case he decided to misbehave again."

"That sounds good, doc." Steve slumped back down in the chair beside his friend and took hold of his hand. Danny did look peaceful again, his lips slack around the tube, and his breaths had settled back down to a steady rhythm. Kono cautiously returned to her seat as Dawn started writing down Danny's vitals and documenting in his notes. Dr. Pearce made herself comfortable by the window, and pulled out her PDA.

TBC