Chapter 7

By now, two of the paramedics and the emergency room doctor had rushed over and briskly joined Steve and Mel.

Danny walked over to Steve, grabbed him by the arm, pulled him up and back a bit from Mel.

"Come on Steve, let the men do their job."

Trembling, Steve obeyed, but when Danny tried to lead him out of the room, he stopped.

"But Mel."

"We'll bring them right along," Markus assured him.

And carefully, Danny continued to pull the distraught Steve toward the exit. Outside, Danny first took Steve to the second ambulance, where the paramedics gave the commander something to calm him down. Danny had never seen his best friend like this before. Normally Steve was the steady, sometimes unapproachable Seal, always in control of everything and especially himself.

Again and again Steves eyes wandered to the entrance of the catacombs, but Markus, the emergency doctor and the paramedics did not appear. Then finally they saw a movement in the door and Markus and the two paramedics stepped out into the courtyard with a stretcher covered with a shiny foil, which they immediately took to the other ambulance. The emergency physician got in after them as well. A moment later, Markus stepped up to Steve and Danny. Steve's eyes stared at the other ambulance, still standing there with the doors open. Markus grabbed Steve's shoulder and tried to get his attention.

"Steve? Steve!"

"Yes?"

"Steve, Mel is alive, but she's in very bad shape. You should go with her."

Markus pulled Steve up from the ambulance step and walked him over to the other car. After Steve got in, the doors closed and the car drove away with its lights flashing.

Markus, Mattes, Danny and the others stayed behind and watched the ambulance until it was out of sight. Then Danny looked at Markus.

"How is she really doing?"

"Not good. She is severely hypothermic and dehydrated. There is no palpable pulse, a heartbeat could only be detected by ultrasonic, and she was intubated so they could insert a breathing tube. They are taking Mel to the University Hospital."

"Let's go then."

"Wait Danny, you go to Steve and Mel's. We just got a report that Rico was stopped and arrested in France during a general traffic stop. Colleagues are about to take him to the border and I would go there with Chris and pick the man up."

Danny nodded.

"Okay. Thanks."

The men thanked the other emergency forces, especially the dog squad, and then split up.

In the ER, Danny encountered Steve pacing like a restless tiger outside the door to the treatment room.

Danny stepped toward him.

"Is there anything new yet?"

Steve shook his head.

"No."

"Then come sit down, the info won't come any faster if you break the linoleum."

After about half an hour, a doctor came out of the door behind which Mel had disappeared and joined Steve.

"Commander McGarrett, right?"

Steve nodded.

"You found Dr. Kinsella just in time, yet her condition is critical. Her body temperature was below 31°C when she was admitted and she was additionally dehydrated. We are currently using various treatment methods to slowly bring her body temperature back to normal. In addition, she is receiving supportive ventilation. We are then transferring Dr. Kinsella to the intensive care unit now, where she will receive further care."

"Thanks Doc. May I see her?"

The doctor shook his head.

"Unfortunately, not yet. Hyperthermia patients, especially those who are very hypothermic like her friend, must be kept away from any excitement to avoid cardiac arrhythmias. The best thing to do is to go home and get some rest."

Steve shook his head.

"I'm staying here."

"As you wish. I'll let you know as soon as Dr. Kinsella's condition improves and you can see her."

Then the doctor said goodbye. Steve dropped back into one of the chairs. Danny settled down next to him and briefly squeezed his shoulder. He was so glad they had found Mel, now she just had to get better.

When Danny looked up, he noticed Cillian looking around searchingly. He was about to call Steve's attention to Cillian when Mel's brother was already heading for the men.

"Steve. How is she?"

"Not so good. She's severely hypothermic and they just took her to the ICU."

Cillian ran a hand through his face, then sat down with the others. Steve looked at him. "I'm sorry, Cillian. I shouldn't have let them fly alone."

"Are you out of your mind, Steve, it's not your fault at all. On the contrary, you flew thousands of miles to look for her, and you found her."

He squeezed Steve's arm, but Steve barely noticed the touch. The men sat together in silence and thought. Steve was still working, only slowly recovering from the shock of the cold and the impalpable pulse, which had already made him think he had lost his Mel.

A few hours later, the doctor joined them again.

"Commander?"

"Yes?"

"If they want, they can go see her."

"Is she awake?"

"Unfortunately, not yet."

Steve stood up and was about to follow the doctor when he looked back at Danny and Cillian.

"Go to her Steve, we'll wait here."

Steve nodded and followed the doctor. He entered the room where Mel was lying. She was wrapped in several blankets and different IVs were hanging from a rack. A machine stood next to her, apparently pumping her blood out of her body and back into it. The room itself also seemed warmer than normal.

Steve pulled a chair up to her bedside. Before he sat down, however, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and stroked the curl behind her ear. He would gladly take her hand, but she was wrapped top to bottom in the blankets. Carefully he slid his hand under the blanket and took her hand in his. Lightly, he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and watched the sine wave on the monitor.

Mel was no longer cold. That was the first thing she noticed. It was warm and the thirst was also within limits. Although she was afraid that she was only dreaming, she opened her eyes. She was lying in a darkened room, wrapped thickly in several blankets. A device monitored her vital signs, but was turned down so that no beeping reached her ear. When she moved her left arm, she felt a tugging sensation and then also saw the hemodialysis machine pumping out her blood, warming it up and then returning it to her body. In addition, she saw several IVs hanging from the stand. Then she saw something else. Two blue eyes that looked at her steadfastly.

"Hey Commander, where did you come from?"

Overwhelmed by his feelings, Steve could not answer, instead he stood up, leaned over her and gave her a loving kiss on the mouth. When he tried to release it, her hand grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him back down.

"I was so scared for you and thought I had lost you forever. Don't ever do that to me again, you hear? I love you!" he whispered on her lips.

"Me too."