Reaching the doorway, Steve suddenly grabbed the wheelchair's wheels, bringing the chair to a sudden halt as he looked up at the nurse and pleaded softly, "Please, let me have another just a couple more minutes with him."
Biting her bottom lip, she looked down at the desperation in Steve's face before she looked back over her shoulder who had stopped his examination and now was watching closely. She hesitated, uncertain of what to do.
Looking back down at his patient, who slowly turned his head and was now watching his partner's sudden halted egress out of the room, before he looked back at the nurse and McGarrett. He wasn't sure what was going on between his two patients, but he sensed whatever was going on, neither would rest until they talked. Giving a single curt nod at the nurse, Dr Mullins looked at Steve as the nurse turned the wheelchair back around before he ordered firmly, "You can have two more minutes, Commander, and not one second more! And when those two minutes are up, there will be no arguments, you will be returning back to your room, understand?"
"Understood Doc!" Steve nodded distractedly, watching Danny warily watching him as he was wheeled back to the side of the bed before he looked back up the nurse and the surgeon and asked, "Can you give us a couple of minutes Doc?"
Mullins nodded again before he looked at the nurse and tilted his head towards the door in a silent order to follow.
Taking a quick, furtive glance back at Steve as he grabbed the bedrails and pulled himself, shakily, back onto his feet, she turned and followed the surgeon from the room, wheeling the empty wheelchair in front of her.
Steve waited until he heard the two medical staff leave the room before he reached for Danny's arm again as Danny turned his face away, ignoring Danny's weak attempts to pull away. "Listen Danny, we need to talk," he began.
"Noth…nothing left…to talk…about…" Danny rasped softly, as his eyes began to drift closed.
"You're wrong, Babe, there's-"
"Don't …wanna…talk," Danny mumbled, tiredly.
Squeezing Danny's arm, Steve bit his lip as he stared down at the back of his partner's head. Drawing a deep breathe, he announced determinedly, "That's okay, you don't have to talk, Buddy, you can just listen while I do all the talking." Steve paused, but when Danny did not protest or pull further away, he continued, "You know, Buddy, sometimes I'm not always very good at sharing my feelings. And you were probably right when you said that I was probably never hugged enough as a baby."
He smiled, encouraged, when he thought he heard a soft snort from Danny as he went on, "Well Danny, I know I really, really messed up and I'm truly, truly sorry. I never ever meant to hurt you, Gracie or Charlie but I did. I guess I really screwed up, I honestly thought that I was doing the right thing by giving you, Gracie and Charlie some time together, especially after everything that happened but I was wrong. I never meant to make you feel like I was pushing you away because I wasn't, Danny, I would never do that. You, Gracie and Charlie my ohana and no matter what happens that will never change."
Steve swallowed hard, his voice cracking a little as Danny turned his head back towards him, silently listening to what he was saying. Steve licked his lips as Clara's words screamed in his head,' I'm not sure what has happened between you and Daniel or between Daniel and the rest of the team but what I do know is when Daniel is well enough, the two of you really need to talk about whatever has happened and sort it out, if you want Daniel to stay.' Taking a deep breath, Steve rushed on, "I guess when it comes to talking about my feelings, I really am just a Neanderthal animal." Releasing Danny's arm before running his hand over his hair, Steve looked down at Danny as Danny stared up at him before he took the chance and admitted his true feelings not only to Danny, but also to himself, "I love you, Buddy, and I honestly don't know what I would do if you decided to leave."
He jumped as he heard the surgeon enter the room and announce, "Okay Commander, I'm sorry but time is up. I need to examine your partner and you need to return to your room."
Steve turned and nodded as the nurse entered the room pushing a wheelchair. Turning back to Danny, Steve reached for his arm again and gave it a light squeeze as he whispered, "I love you, Babe."