Glancing across the small distance that separated them at Danny, Steve sighed. Although Danny had woken for just a few minutes earlier in the morning, he had slept the rest of the day, not even stirring despite the stream of steady visitors, including his family, both blood and Five 0, who had come through the room like clockwork every hour for the strictly regulated five minute visit.
The only exception to the rule had been Danny's mother, who had spent most of the day by Danny's side. Clara had left just minutes before after the surgeon had finally managed to convince her that Danny would probably not wake again until tomorrow morning and that she really should return to the motel to get some much-needed rest, herself.
Watching Danny sleep for a few minutes more, Steve sighed again before he turned back and looked up at the TV that the nurses had kindly set up in the room for him to watch. He had secretly hoped that the surgeon was wrong, and that Danny would wake up soon rather than tomorrow morning. Picking up the TV remote, he began to flick disinterestedly through the channels, occasionally pausing for a minute or two on a channel to see if he would enjoy the movie before flicking on to the next channel.
"Will you…pick a channel…already… and stay on...it, please! …Some …of us…are trying …to sleep here." A weak, muffled voice complained from the bed next to his.
Turning his head in surprise, he saw Danny's tired blue eyes watching him. There was a clarity in Danny's eyes that had been missing when Danny had first woken earlier in the day. "Danny! You're awake!" Steve grinned.
"Of course … I'm awake … you Neanderthal animal…" Danny continued to rant croakily as he reached up and tried to tug the oxygen mask free from his face, "Who can…sleep when…you're …playing with the TV… remote control."
"Hey, whoa there, Buddy," Steve said as he climbed out of bed and gingerly took a few wobbly steps across to the side of Danny's bed before grabbing Danny's hand and lowering it back down onto the bed and re-adjusting the oxygen mask over Danny's mouth and nose as he gently admonished his friend, "The doc wants that to stay right where it is."
Too tired to argue over with Steve over whether he should keep the oxygen mask in place or not, Danny allowed Steve to lower his hand back down onto the bed as he lifted his head and slowly looked around the room in confusion. He was certain that It was not the same room that he had been sharing with Steve after the liver transplant operation. "Where are … we?" he asked, wincing in pain as he shifted a little in the bed in an attempt to get a little more comfortable as he looked back at Steve.
'We're both back in the ICU, Danny," Steve answered, unsurprised that Danny didn't seem to remember that they had had almost the same conversation several hours before. He saw Danny wince before he asked worriedly, "Do you need something for the pain?" Quickly reaching across for the nurse call button, ignoring the sharp twinge of protest from his own stitches, he asked, "Do you want me to call for the nurse?"
"I'm okay," Danny breathed tiredly, grimacing a little as he placed his hand instinctively against the surgical dressing in an unconscious attempt to ward off the pain as he continued to shift around in the bed until he found a comfortable position that didn't hurt his oh –so-tender midriff and looked around again before he looked back at Steve in confusion, "Why are we …here?"
"I'll tell you why, Bruddah!" Lou's voice boomed from the doorway causing both men to jump in surprise before they turned and watched as Lou and Kono entered the temporarily-setup, shared ICU room. Lou pointed his finger accusingly first at Danny, "You're here because you decided to pull a McGarrett on us and ignored your own injuries which landed you back here in the ICU with sepsis!" Before pointing across at Steve, "And he's back here in the ICU, not because of any kind of complications, but because the nurses couldn't keep him in bed after you were admitted to the ICU. Every time they turned their backs, he would escape from his bed and would be sitting here with you.
So, in the end they decided the easiest thing to do was to have him share a room with you in the ICU, at least that way the nurses hoped that he would stay in bed." Looking across at Steve's pale, sweaty face, he hurried around the bed and firmly grabbed Steve's arm before helping him back into bed, Lou added, "And we can all see just how well that worked!"
"It's good to see you awake, Danny," Kono grinned with relief and surprise to find Danny awake for the first time in two tumultuous days.
"You've been hanging out with McGarrett for too long, Danny, and he's starting to rub off on you!" Lou growled, turning back to face Danny, ignoring Steve's soft protest of "Hey!"
"You really scared us, Brah," Kono scolded him lightly as she stepped across to the side of his bed and grabbed his hand, lightly squeezing it as she admonished him gently, "Don't you ever do that again!"
"How are you feeling, Danny?" Lou asked softly.
"Like I've been…hit by…a run-away … truck." Danny breathed, struggling to keep his eyes open as exhaustion caused just by talking began to take its toll. "But …maybe …you're right…" Danny whispered as his eyes slid shut on their own accord and he struggled to force them open again.
"Right about what, Danny?" Kono frowned.
"Maybe I …shouldn't hang…out with Steve …anymore." He sighed, losing his fight to keep his eyes open as he mumbled, "Maybe…I should go …home …to…Jersey."