Author's note: Thanks for your reviews. Appreciate that very much - that's the elixir of life for authors :).
I am going to update every monday. If I finish the story sooner, I will post more often. But I still have a few chapters left to write.

Chapter 4

Thankfully, Danny hadn't had to answer the question since Steve had passed out again soon after he had asked.

The SEAL got treated in the ER while Danny had to wait anxiously outside of it.
He hated waiting. Hated, hated, hated it.
But in situations like this it got even worse. He knew from former experience that bothering the nurses at the desk would be counterproductive.
He alternated between pacing and sitting. It would be hours until the rest of team would return from the crime scene. Until then he would be alone. He had already considered calling someone – anyone – just to busy himself but he didn't want anyone to know until he had all the facts.
The facts. He knew Steve's foot was in bad shape – hell, even Steve knew it although only half conscious and confused. Danny also knew that there was more damage than "just" the foot. He wasn't a doctor but he wasn't stupid either. He had seen that the leg had been lying in an unnatural angle. He also knew that Steve had been running fast. Being stopped abruptly at full speed…he could only imagine how that must have felt and what that could do to a human body.
He had also seen Max's look. He had just been afraid to ask.

Not that Danny noticed but the ER doctor came out much earlier than expected.
What Danny did notice though was the stern look the doctor had on.
This definitely wasn't "the good news is" look.
"Detective William," the doctor came straight to the point. "You are listed as commander McGarrett's next of kin. Is that still the case?"
'Not good,' he thought.
"Yes," he answered with a lump in his throat.
"Then I need to talk to you – in private. We can use that office." He pointed behind a little room close to the nurse's desk.

After closing the door, the doctor said "Have a seat."
"I prefer to stand," Danny answered getting even more nervous than he already was – if that was even possible.
"It's gonna take a while. Please have a seat."
Danny did.
"Since you were in the helicopter when it arrived, I assume you know what had happened."
"I…I was there, yes."
"As I can imagine your main focus was on his foot. Unfortunately, though there is damage to the whole leg – from ankle to hip."
"How bad?" Danny asked afraid of the answer.
"Two major concerns. The first is his foot, the second his lower leg.
The rest is not to take lightly but also nothing we have to really worry about and therefore nothing we will take care of today."
The doctor gave Danny some time to work with the news.
"Does…does that mean Steve will need another surgery tomorrow?"
"Yes, maybe even more and it is possible that it is not tomorrow. We have to see how he pulls through the one today."
Before Danny could say anything the doctor continued "Do you know what a compartment syndrome is?"
"Yes. Something with pressure, blood flow…no…I don't…it needs surgery," Danny was confused and couldn't think straight.
"You are right. Don't want to bore you with details but you were right with both parts.
There is an increase in tissue pressure and decrease in blood flow. We have to treat it surgically to prevent long-term damage to nerves and vessels. Since it is kind of urgent, he is already getting prepped for it."
"What…else?" Danny could barely speak but he knew there was coming more, probably much more. First, because the doctor wouldn't have wanted to speak to him in private and second, he had said two major concerns. The whatever it was called syndrome was just one.
"While we are doing this, we will also set his shin and fibula back in place. They are broken in two places. We'll see if we can do it with screws and plates or an external fixator.
The reason why I wanted to talk to you is a different one though.
There is a lot of damage to his ankle: muscles, tissue, ligaments, tendons, bones. We can fix that with plates and screws as well but the problem is an infection. The doctor on scene did a good job with "sealing" the wound but the steel jaws have seemed to be rusty and most likely full of dirt and bacteria which means they had already been in his ankle.
We have to do some scraping and probably cut away some bone parts and hopefully – combine with some strong antibiotics we'll get it under control.
If not…we need to amputate."
"No!" Danny called out. "He…he doesn't want that."
"Nobody wants that, detective…"
"No. I mean on the helicopter he begged me to not let that happen. He wanted me to promise."
"Did you do it?"
"No."
"Good. I know it is bad news, especially since you have to make the decision. But that's part of being the medical proxy of someone. It's a tough decision to make but the commander can't do that himself at the moment. I am sure he trusts you with that."
"He…he is a Navy SEAL – reserve, but still."
"We are aware of that."
"If you amputate, he can't be that anymore."
"We are aware of that too, detective.
Trust me, we don't amputate anything for fun. If we do it, it is for pure medical reasons.
So, you don't have to decide yet. I know you need time. I just wanted you to be prepared.
Because if we decide to do it, we need to act fast."
"What…what if you wait?"
"We wait detective. The problem is we can't wait "forever". If we can't get the infected tissue and bone out and the antibiotics don't work the infection is going to spread. It works fast and that means we have to act fast. If we wait too long commander McGarrett will most likely lose his whole lower leg - not only the foot."
The doctor waited a few seconds but Danny didn't say anything.
"I need to leave for the surgery now detective. You can stay here as long as you want. A nurse will come check on you, maybe bring you a coffee and a sandwich if you want.
Do you want to talk to someone? Is there anyone we can call for you?"
"What? No…no. Thanks doc. I am good."
"Okay. Just tell the nurse if you decide otherwise. And if you want a second opinion, tell the nurse too. She'll send someone."
"No, it's fine. Thanks."
"The surgery is going to take a few hours. I'll come out and talk to you as soon as we are done."