CHAPTER FOURTEEN

HE WAITED. FOURTEEN-SECONDS. DIDN'T BREATHE.

HICKAM SKATE HANGAR - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM - O'AHU

Steve watched Danny disappear back into the skatebowl. There was some rumbling, a thud, then it stayed silent. Steve rushed to the edge of the bowl. His heart was trapped in his throat as his gaze traveled down to the bottom of the ramp. That's where Steve spotted his friend. Danny had landed on his right side. Lying there, with his cheek pressed against the wood, sprawled and motionless. Danny was completely still.

"Danny!" Steve said sharply as fear pulsed through his chest.

Nothing happened.

Danny didn't respond.

Didn't move either.

Steve vaulted into the skatebowl and skidded down the halfpipe. Reaching the bottom, Steve moved closer and crouched down over his partner. A minute ago, blood had been pouring down the front of Danny's chest, but now that he was lying on his side, a puddle had formed, spreading rapidly onto the timeworn wood. As Steve gently turned Danny on his back, Steve's eyes landed on his friend's face. His heart dropped instantly. He barely recognized him. Danny's face was a bloody mess too. His eyebrow was cracked open, and there was a deep laceration on his cheek. Bumps and bruises everywhere. His smashed nose misshaped his face, and his left eye was forced shut by swelling.

"Danny?" Steve breathed, getting more afraid as his gaze trailed from one injury to another, which was a hard thing to do considering blood was covering Danny everywhere. His face was covered in blood, and his midsection was covered in blood, and by now, he was lying in a lake of blood.

Steve located the actual bleeder and put his left hand on the leaking chest wound. The fluid felt warm to the touch, but Steve couldn't tell if that was a good sign. There was just some much blood. Old and dried up. Fresh and flowing. Usually, when there's more blood on the outside of the human body than on the inside, the person's death. Knowing that, Steve reached out and checked with his free hand for a pulse. He pressed two fingers on the side of Danny's neck; it was slick with blood too. With mortal fear, Steve kept his fingers in place. He waited. Fourteen-seconds. Didn't breathe. Pressed a little harder. Then he felt a faint but present heartbeat. Steve released a sigh of despair and briefly let his head down.

Danny was alive.

The feeling of relief didn't last long. Blood started seeping through the fingers of Steve's left hand, and a full blast of panic washed over him. Crimson fluid moved over his hand, and it was no longer warmer or cooler than his own skin. Steve quickly pulled a field dressing from a cargo pocket on his tactical vest and ripped the package open with his teeth. He worked fast, but red liquid gushed in a constant flow underneath his hand. Pumping out thick and strong in time with the beating of Danny's heart. Steve shoved the gauze pads under his hand and placed both his hands on his partner's chest wound to stem the blood flow. It was still bleeding heavily. The gauze soaked up the blood like a sponge. Steve pressed harder, more firmly. That's when Danny sucked in a ragged breath and his right eye flung open.

Danny groaned in pain and began writhing and weakly pushing Steve's hands away. Steve let go with one hand caught the offending hands of his partner.

"Hey-hey-hey, leave it, buddy."

At those words, Danny stopped fighting Steve's grip. Instead, he wrapped his arms around his purple-patched torso like he was holding himself together, and to be honest, he was beaten so bad that he could be. Danny seemed barely conscious, and his one blue eye darted confused before it fixed.

Danny's good eye narrowed. "Steve?" He asked with his voice all weak.

Their eyes locked, and Steve breathed out heavily. "Yeah, I'm here. I got you," he cupped Danny's face with one hand. "I got you."

"What— took you s—so long?" Danny stammered while he glanced with devastation at Steve.

The words were holding so much pain. It broke Steve's heart clean in two. "I know. We're going to get you out, and everything's gonna be fine, okay? You're gonna be fine."

Instead of an assuring answer, the pain-filled baby blue stared wearily at Steve. Danny heaved for a breath but contorted with pain. Danny tried to speak but he was having trouble getting the words out and enough air in. Steve saved his partner from the misery. No words were worth this big of a struggle.

"Shhh. It's all right. Don't talk," Steve comforted. "Just save it for later," he said, and to keep Danny focussed and most of all conscious, he added. "You'll be all right, you hear me?"

The message seemed received and sounded encouraging, but Steve wasn't sure it was true. Even through all the blood and bruises, Danny looked pale. Pale as in, passing out pale. Steve was right. Danny's strength took a nosedive, and the baby blue eye began to flutter.

"Hey? Buddy? You have to keep your eyes open, okay?" Steve demanded fearfully.

It worked. With considerable effort, Danny complied. He steadied his gaze back on Steve, and Steve let out a scared breath. For a second, he felt like he had the situation under control, but that vanished when his hand slipped away from Danny's chest. The pressure pack was completely soaked with blood. With his free hand, Steve searched the pockets of his tactical vest for another dressing to put on top. He didn't have one. Thinking fast, he shifted his grip and used both hands again to get a better hold. Danny went rigid and moaned from the intensity. His face was blasted with pain, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Stay with me, Danny," Steve said. "Stay with me."

It tore him to pieces to see his friend hurting, but there wasn't time for him to dwell on his own emotions. Not right now. Right now, Danny was losing blood, and Steve wasn't sure how much more there was to lose. It probably wasn't a good sign, but the blood pulses were now slower, weaker. Steve's fear grew stronger as he watched Danny's strength dwindle. He was fighting with the little to none remaining energy there was left. He was losing the battle. Hard.

That wasn't all he was losing. Danny's gaze went blank, and his head succumbed to the right. He was losing consciousness as well.

"Hey-hey!" Steve panicked. "Danny! C'mon, stay with me, buddy!" He begged and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm. Where was that goddamn ambulance? "Tani! I need a medic! Now!" Steve shouted loud, hoping she was still near enough to hear him. "Get those medics down here! I need 'em! Right now!"

From somewhere, Tani shouted back. "The ambulance's not here yet!"

Steve's heart started to race. Thumping with distress. Danny would die if help didn't arrive in the next few minutes. Fear enveloped Steve at the thought of losing his best friend. He couldn't lose Danny. Not like this. Not already. Steve had to do something, but what could he do. They were trapped inside the skatebowl. There was no way Steve would get Danny out of this while keeping pressure on the chest wound. Steve looked defeatedly around. This was even worst than when they were in quarantine. Back then, Steve had access to tools and medical equipment. Right now, he didn't have any of that.

To hell with that. Steve had seen people survive in the field without medical tools or without an ambulance on the way. He could do the same for Danny. Right here and right now with just the use of his hands. All he had to do was try to expel the air inside Danny's chest before it would be too late. That he could do. This time, it was slightly different as there was air trapped in Danny's chest and probably blood too. But he had done it before, so he could do it again. Adrenaline took over the fear that enveloped Steve, and his trained instincts kicked in.

Steve shook Danny at his shoulder to get him to open his eyes.

"Hey, Danny? Wake up, buddy," he said, and Danny slowly turned his head back. Steve let out a huge breath. "That's it," Steve locked eyes with his partner. "Listen to me, I know it's gonna hurt, but I need you to exhale on three, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Danny gave a weak nod.

"Good," Steve said, confided but doubted Danny had the strength. Still, he counted out loud till three, waited for Danny to exhale, which was a little later than on the count of three, and lifted his hand off the incision. Before Danny could inhale, Steve quickly covered the site again with both hands.

"All right, all right. That's it,"

Danny grunted and squeezed his eyes shut as he succumbed to the pain.

"Stay with me, Danny." Steve coached as he was afraid the pain would cause his friend to pass out for good. Steve knew the actual torture would only last for a couple of seconds, so he waited for Danny to come around. When he opened his right eye again, Steve leaned in.

"Buddy, I'm sorry, but I need you to do that one more time, okay?" He urged, and they repeated the steps. Steve pressed harder this time to really seal the wound. Danny's good eye went wide with pain. His breath hissed out, and a froth of blood gathered at the corners of his mouth. Shit, this was not good. Danny's eye rolled back, and the hand on his stomach went limp. It slipped off and fell lifelessly by his side.

"Danny?" Steve's eyes darted anxiously, scanning his friend for a sign of life.

There wasn't any.

"Danny!"

Panicked, Steve checked for a radial pulse. It felt irregular and thready, but at least there was a heartbeat.

HICKAM SKATE HANGAR - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM - O'AHU

Danny's gaze focused slowly, his consciousness hazy. It reported items out of place and out of time. At first, he was lying on the ground, and seconds later, he was lifted off the ground. He was moving, or actually, people did that for him. If it were up to him, he would be lying deathly still because the slightest movements rippled agonizing pain through his chest. Danny tried to take shallow breaths, but nothing seemed to be working. Not his lungs, his limbs, or his brain. He did hear someone talking to him in the distance, though not all that far away. He thought he saw faces he vaguely recognized. Steve was there too, wasn't he—no, there were some people, but not Steve. Steve wasn't even on the island, right? Danny wasn't sure. Everything was soft and vague except the burning pain in his body, particularly his chest. When Danny blinked his eyes, all were gone, and everything went black.

HICKAM SKATE HANGAR - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM - O'AHU

Merely two minutes after Danny passed out underneath Steve's hands, the entire cavalry arrived at the scene. Their flashing lights pulsed bright red and blue against the night sky. The sirens were blaring as the ambulance, multiple HPD vehicles, and the other Taskforce members showed up at the hangar.

"Get the medic's down here! Right now!" Steve panicked. "Bring 'em down here! Come on! Right now! Let's go!"

The EMTs immediately came down into the skatebowl and started stabilizing Danny. One EMT packed the wound, secured it with a chest seal, and hooked him on oxygen. While the other inserted an IV line and connected Danny to a cardiac monitor. Once connected, Danny's vital numbers flashed in red on the screen. Worried his friend would die before they could get to the hospital, Steve averted his eyes back on Danny.

"Hang in there, buddy." He spoke softly. He let go of the wound and took on to his partner's too cold hand. Steve squeezed gently. It earned him a groan from his partner, and he even opened his eye. Danny blinked a few times, but after seconds of confusion and pain, his eye closed again.

Prepping for transport, the EMT wrapped a stabilizing collar around Danny's neck. The cardiac machine suddenly began to beep erratically when he adjusted the oxygen mask over Danny's face. The female EMT studied the numbers on the screen.

"Vitals are dropping. We need to move," she announced, and together with her EMT partner, they rolled Danny onto a backboard, strapped his head secure, and they were ready to lift him out of the skatebowl. It took a lot of effort, but together and with the help of three HPD officers, Steve and Junior, they managed to get Danny up and out of the bowl. After carrying Danny down the stairs, the paramedic transferred the backboard onto a stretcher. Even though they had hurried, the monitor was still beeping alarmingly fast.

"Call in a code three for King's Medical Center." The EMT stated at her male coworker as she began to pack up all the equipment for transport.

In a rush, both EMTs swiftly pushed the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. Steve followed and climbed in. He didn't care whether it was past midnight or that the traffic would be less heavy at this time of night. If Danny didn't make it to the hospital, Steve would never forgive himself. So, he leaned back out and spotted the HPD sergeant in charge between his forlorn task force members.

"Duke, I need a hospital detail to King's Medical. I want every street cleared and shut down, now!"

Sergeant Lukela gave a firm nod. "You got it, Commander." He immediately grabbed his radio to execute the order.

Steve sat down next to his partner. Tani closed the doors of the rig. She pounded on the glass, saying they were good to go. The ambulance took off the same way it had arrived. Sirens blaring and in full speed.

AMBULANCE - ENROUTE - O'AHU

Next thing, Danny's good eye flicked open again. He didn't know how much time had passed, but his head was spinning as his vision slowly came back. A face blocked the bright lights above him. Who was she? He didn't recognize her face. The woman shook her head, saying something, except all Danny could hear was his heart pounding loudly in his ears. He opened his mouth to ask, but he was too breathless to sting a sentence together. Hands probed gently at Danny's chest. It didn't feel gentle at all. Instead, it caused Danny to grimace as pain radiated across his chest. Please make it stop. He suddenly wasn't sure if the woman was here to help him. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him again.

Danny tried to push the poking hands away, tried to get up, but he was too weak. Tormented by the last days, Danny ripped off whatever was on his face, turning away as the woman tried to get it back on. That's when a different but familiar voice popped up. One he could hear ever so clearly even amid the chaos. "Buddy, I got you." The words were followed by a strong squeeze in his hand. Danny tried turning his head toward the sound of the voice, but he couldn't. Something firm was wrapped around his neck. So instead, his eye searched for the voice. Relief flooded through him as he found what he was looking for. Steve. He was really here. Then exhaustion filled every part of him, and knowing his friend was with him, Danny let the exhaustion carry him away.

ER - KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - O'AHU

Arriving at the hospital, medical staff pulled the ambulance door open. Together with the EMTs, they loaded the stretcher out of the rig, and after the wheels hit the ground, they rolled the stretcher towards the entrance. Steve kept pace. Covered in his friend's blood, with his hand holding on tight to Danny's hand and no intention to leave his side.

The sliding door opened, and they entered the ER of King's Medical Center. Doctors and nurses swarmed Danny, getting to work even when they were still on the move. Dr. Layton was one of them. He wasn't wearing his white lab coat this time. Instead, he had a yellow disposable gown on top of his blue surgical scrubs. He seemed prepped and ready and grabbed the side of the stretcher to guide it toward an empty treatment bay.

"What've we got?" Dr. Layton asked as his eyes went from one injury to another. The question was meant for the EMTs, but he looked straight up at Steve. The doctor frowned, confused. "Commander McGarrett?" he said, and then his gaze flicked back on the new intake. That's when the doctor made the connection. "Detective?"

"That's right," the female EMT stated and shared Danny's medical status. "Detective Williams. Blunt force trauma to the head and torso. Open chest wound. Secured it with a Vented Chest Seal. Patient's hypotensive and in shock due to severe blood loss. Still tachycardic, after one liter of NS. He needs blood. Lots of it."

Walking along, Dr. Layton directly began to examine. He moved his stethoscope across Danny's bloodied chest. "Absent breath sounds on the right side," he concluded. "Set up for a portable chest X-ray."

The other doctor nodded understandingly, and they wheeled into the treatment bay. They turned the stretcher, and Steve let go of Danny's hand. He didn't want to, but he had to because he didn't want to lose his best friend, and he knew that the longer he would hold on, the bigger the risk of losing Danny would become a reality. Steve had to trust the doctors to give everything they had, and so far, doctor Layton proved worthy.

"Here we go, on my count, nice and easy," Dr. Layton instructed the EMTs and nurses. Then, on the count of three, they lifted Danny with the backboard off the stretcher and onto the gurney standing in the ER. Steve watched it all happen like a well-recited dance. The medical staff moved swiftly. Nurses helped Danny onto his side, and the EMTs pulled out the backboard from underneath him. All without getting entangled with the many wires inserted and attached to Danny.

While the dance moved on rhythmically, Doctor Layton turned to Steve. "Commander, you should get yourself checked out."

Steve kept his eyes glued on his friend, ignoring the doctor, and said. "Just help him."

Dr. Layton pointed at Steve's blood-stained shirt. "Is that his blood on your shirt or yours?"

"It's," Steve gazed down at his shirt and hands. Both were covered in his friend's blood. "It's his."

"Let's give him two units of O-negative on the rapid transfuser," the doctor ordered. The nurses worked even faster. One took over the EMT bagging, and the other hooked Danny to the rapid transfuser. Red fluid started sneaking all the way from the transfuser into the crook of Danny's left arm. Layton went on with the examination, pulled Danny's eyelids up one by one, and shined a small light into Danny's eyes. "Pupils are equal and reactive, but I can't rule out a head injury," the doctor said and tried for a verbal confirmation. "Detective, can you hear me?" He didn't get one.

The EMT explained the lack of response. "He's been in and out of consciousness."

"Did he get hit by a car?"

The EMT shook her head. "No, he was like this when we arrived on the scene, which was at the bottom of a skate bowl. In my opinion, the injuries are more consistent with a beating." With that said, the EMTs left the treatment room, and more nurses replaced their spot.

Dr. Layton focused shortly on Steve. "Commander, anything to add?"

Steve ran his hand over his face. "They, uh, they grabbed him the day before yesterday. Beat him up. The chest tube was pulled out like twenty minutes ago, I think. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Grabbed, as in, taken captive?" Layton checked, eyes wide with concern. Steve just nodded as he didn't want to say it out loud. However, the answer didn't throw the doctor off his game. He stayed focused and went on.

"All right, let's get a trauma series and a blood gas, STAT. Also, do a liver panel, prep for a head CT and somebody page Dr. Keller," the doctor urged towards the medical staff then he pointed at the flashing numbers on the cardiac monitor. "X-ray first. The pressure is building up in his chest." Danny's vital numbers were through the roof. Everyone took a few steps back, except for the man operating the X-ray machine. It was done within a minute, and everyone dove back in and continued their work. Dr. Layton extended his gloved hand and said.

"Ultrasound, please," a nurse handed the doctor the transducer and applied a dot of gel onto Danny's chest. Dr. Layton moved the probe back and forth and watched the recording displayed on a handheld device.

"No fluids around the heart, that's good," the doctor handed back the ultrasound.

A nurse took back the device and notified. "Films are up."

The X-ray popped up on the screen. Dr. Layton studied the new imaging. "He has a massive right Pneumohemothorax. Four broken ribs in total. Bleeding internally too," he concluded and started even working faster. Layton cut away the drenched dest seal, blood flowed out the incision, and the soaked dressing fell to the floor.

The nurse informed. "Blood pressure's dropping. SATs are down to 78."

Dr. Layton turned to the nurse. "Chest tube," he stated and was handed the equipment.

Another nurse rotated Danny's right arm away and put it over his head. With that done, the nurse splashed brownish liquid on the right side of Danny's chest. Dr. Layton pushed his finger inside the previously made incision and swept left to right. Steve knew what the doctor was doing. He had done it himself. Check for anything that might be blocking the pleural cavity. Blood gushed out as the doctor pulled his finger, and the monitors beeped erratically.

Steve felt a panicked thump through his own chest. His friend was dying. "Doc! He's bleeding out."

"He won't," Layton stated, adamant. "Hang another unit!"

The doctor mounted the chest tube on the clamp and quickly placed the clamped tube into the chest wound. He poked around, pressed hard, and more blood spilled out the side of Danny's chest. Then, after a second, he sighed, relieved, and announced. "All right, got it."

The heart monitor started beeping even faster. Dr. Layton's eyes shot up to check the status of his patient. "His BP's bottoming out. He's heading for congestive failure. Call the OR tell them we're on our way up," he unlocked the gurney's brakes. "And somebody call Keller, right now," he added. "We have to move. NOW! Let's go!"

A surgical team converged, ready to take Danny straight into surgery. The team of no less than four people moved as a unit, one pushing along the IV pole, another with a portable pulse oximeter, one carefully maneuvering a tank, and the lead one steering the gurney. Steve watched them rush out the treatment bay. The wheels rolled through the blood, leaving a trail behind.

"We will do everything we can." A nurse comforted quickly, and then she turned around, following the rest of the doctors and nurses through the double doors. Leaving Steve standing in the middle of the ER, his heart sunken into his chest, his mind shell shocked and stunned.

— TBC / HAWAIIFIVE0 —

A/N: Thank you for reading! Things are pretty dire but there's a lot more to come!

I appreciate all the kind reviews, because, I love learning what you're thinking of the story.

Mahalo!