Unfortunately, Danny's suspicion turned out to be true. Steve slept about two hours and was woken by another nasty wave of nausea, forcing him to throw up even more bile – there wasn't anything left in his stomach other than that and some lonely sips of water. But that didn't make it any easier. After his partner was done up-choking, Danny had to sit with him for another 20 minutes until Steve was able to stand up again and get back to bed. His body temperature had fallen rapidly and even though his pale skin was sweaty like he did a 10-miles-run, Steve was trembling because of feeling cold and he burrowed himself under the blankets, convinced he would never get warm again. Danny stayed with him until he fell asleep again.
When he was sure Steve was out again, Danny decided to quickly do a load of laundry to get some fresh clothes and sheets – they might going to need them and honestly, during those last weeks neither of them had brought on enough time for things like cleaning or doing laundry. He went downstairs and while he was boiling some water for tea, Danny did a quick of laundry. It was 5:30pm when he heard the door, announcing their roommate's arrival.
Junior Reigns was another young man who had been lucky enough to cross paths with a man like Steve McGarrett. After Nahele, Steve's foster boy, Junior had appeared at their door a few months back. Fresh out of the Navy, the young man had found something in Steve the former SEAL might still deny until the current day. Junior was determined to work on Steve's taskforce and now, he was currently at the police academy to become a cop with the promise of Steve to get him on to the taskforce as soon he was graduated. Things got a little different the day Steve found out that Junior slept in a homeless bunker and without any hesitation, he offered the young man his own home. Well, his and Danny's. But the Detective wasn't really surprised when Steve told him one evening that they would get a roommate for a while and asked if that would be alright with him. Danny knew Steve had this kind of need to help people (especially kids) like Nahele or Junior and he was very okay with that. Hell, when he thought of Grace and her Uncle Steve there was not a chance Danny would deny a guy like Junior to share his home with. And truth to be honest, Junior was a very accommodate roommate. He was barely visible, helped with the cleaning and Steve and him shared their workout routine from time to time while Danny had some time alone during their excessive sports-doing (called "fun"). Sometimes, Danny couldn't believe himself living with two Navy-SEALs under one household as if one wasn't enough. Things changed, huh?
Danny was standing in the kitchen preparing the tea when Junior came in. "Oh, hi. I didn't know you would be home already, Sir.", the young man looked surprised and if Danny hadn't known it better, he would have thought Junior might even saluted him.
"Hey. Yeah, there was a change of plans. And please, stop with the Sir, you and I live together, you know?", Danny waved his hand between him and Junior.
"Uh, yeah… sorry about that – Danny.", Junior corrected himself quickly and put down his bag. "What change of plans?"
"Uh…", Danny paused to get a cup from the cupboard above and put the teabag in. Then he sighed and turned to Junior, leaning himself back against the kitchen counter. "Steve is suffering another spell and from what I can say by now, it seems to be a pretty bad one. He felt off this morning already but went to work until the early afternoon. We got home by 3pm maybe and since then he's been throwing up his guts. He is asleep now, though."
Junior's face fell while Danny told him what happened. Of course, this wasn't his first rodeo with Steve and his spells, but that didn't mean it was fun to him at all. "Oh. I really thought he was getting better.", he sounded genuinely disappointed.
"I know. He does, eventually, but I think these last weeks were particularly straining on him and that probably encouraged something like that, you know?"
Junior nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah. Should I even get Eddie when Steve is feeling that bad? I'm sure Mrs. Millstone would keep him a few more days without any hesitation."
Eddie. Danny could have slapped himself that he had forgotten about the dog. Due to their last case and Junior's absence of training weekend at the Navy base, they put Eddie in the care of their lovely neighbor; an elder lady whose husband died a year ago and always been happy to babysit the dog when Steve, Danny and Junior had a load of work on a case. Especially, when they knew they won't come home for many hours, maybe only for a short nap. And that wasn't something they wanted to put on Eddie who needed a lot of love and attention, so they gave him into Mrs. Millstone's care for the last five days.
"Crap, I totally forgot about Eddie.", Danny eventually admitted, rubbing the space above his nose with two fingers.
Junior smiled. "I think he's gonna forgive you for a couple treats."
"Yeah, probably.", Danny went on to rub his forehead, deep in thoughts. "No, I think we should get him. We already left him there for five days and as I'm not concerned about his well-being, I feel bad for leaving him for another couple of days. And I bet Steve's going to be okay with that. Although you might have to do the walking alone for the next few days."
"That's fine, I don't have any classes for the next three days."
"Great. Thanks, Junior, you're a great help."
"I try."
"Have you eaten yet?", Danny asked and as Junior shook his head, he went on. "You in for take-out? I don't feel about cooking with Steve upstairs and I bet you don't do either, you look tired."
"I can grab something after I got Eddie. Should I bring something for Steve as well?"
"Uh, no, I don't think that's a good idea. I'm happy if he's able to drink some water and I won't push it any further with food. If he's getting hungry at some point, we will find something appropriate for him."
"Got it. I'll be back in 30.", Junior grabbed his keys and left the house again. Danny had put the steaming tea into the cup and left it there to cool. He went upstairs to check on Steve, but fortunately his boyfriend was still asleep and Danny quietly backed off again to not disturb him. He was barely done with cleaning the kitchen when an exciting bark announced Junior and Eddie's coming. As Danny left the kitchen, a happy Labrador greeted him with a wagging tail, going at least a mile an hour.
"Hey, bud! How are you, huh?", Danny smiled and gave Eddie an appropriate pat on his shoulders and back. "How much pounds did you gain, 10? Mrs. Millstone might have overfed you a bit."
Junior grinned. "Yeah, I think so too. But he's been a very good boy and I'm positive we will be back in form in no time. Right, bud?", he also patted and stroked the dog who couldn't seem to decide how to great them both at the same time. When the first excitement calmed down, Eddie staggered around the living room, apparently searching for something – or someone. Nose flat on the carpet, sniffing, he seemed to know which particularly human smell he needed to follow to get to the third member of this house.
"Hey, boy, Steve's upstairs.", Danny knelt down to the dog, grabbing his face and massaging his ears. Eddie was panting happily into his face and his tail started to pick up speed at his master's name. "He is not feeling well, okay? You can't go in and jump on him like a maniac, do you understand? No jumping, no barking, no licking."
Junior grinned as he watched Danny lecturing the dog who seemed to be obliviate to everything the Detective said to him. "I'm not sure he is following you."
"Yeah, me neither.", Danny stood and grabbed Eddie by his collar. "We will eat first, okay? Then we will check on Steve."
Danny took Eddie to the kitchen where Junior prepared dinner he brought from that Chinese place around the corner. While Danny grabbed two beers from the fridge, Junior fed Eddie a generous portion of his favorite food. The dog happily dug into the bowl; Junior and Danny sat down and ate their dinner as well. Danny's appetite wasn't the best, his thoughts always wandered to Steve and his desperate need to check up on him. Fortunately, Junior offered to clean up the dishes and lock up the house, so Danny was able to get upstairs. They both wished each other a good night; Junior deciding to get an early good-nights-sleep tonight and Danny with Eddie in two to check up on his lover.
Holding Eddie's collar, Danny entered their bedroom and to his surprise he saw Steve's tired eyes looking back at him. "Hey, sleepyhead. I got a visitor who would like to see you, if you're up to it.", he smiled and was barely able to hold Eddie back who immediately recognized Steve the second he came into the bedroom and was more than eager to greet him.
"Hey, bud.", Steve's hoarse voice sounded like it hurt but he even gave a tired smile as the dog happily whined and started licking his arm that reached out for him to pet his head.
"Hey, what did I say about the licking, huh?", Danny playfully grabbed Eddies mouth and dove him away from his boyfriend to save him from the tons of dog salvia. After Eddie was sure he had greeted everyone in the most pleasant way, he snuggled himself into his own bed which had found its place in the corner of their bedroom after it turned out to be impossible trying to keep him out of here. Eddie circled around a few times, before he plopped down and turned on his back, preparing for a good-nights-sleep at his most happy place.
Danny sat down at the edge of the bed, stroking his hand through Steve's sweaty hair. "How do you feel?"
"Uh...", Steve grunted softly and his eyes slipped closed again. "Like crap. What time's it?"
"Almost 8:30. Junior is home, he didn't want to disturb you.", Danny told him and kept rubbing circles on his boyfriend's head.
"Mhm.", came the sound out of Steve's throat; the nausea still plaguing him and always threating to push him over the line if he said or did something to strenuous.
"I made you tea in case you need something to get rid of the nasty taste in your mouth. Also, I put a wet cloth on your bedside table and a glass of water. Do you need something else?"
Steve shook his head, barely noticeable. "Thanks.", he whispered, on the edge to fall asleep again. Falling asleep meant no throwing up for now, he would take this as a win-win-situation. Danny seemed to read his mind – again – and pressed a kiss onto his head.
"Go back to sleep.", he told him and Steve did exactly that.
Danny wasn't sure what had woken him the moment he opened his eyes. The pitch-dark room and the lighten numbers on the clock beside him reading 2:48am told him that it was still the middle of the night. Not entirely woken and feeling sleepy, Danny rolled himself over on his right side and was about to go back to sleep when he was suddenly wide awake. Steve was right beside him in bed, sitting up and heaving desperately into a bucket Danny had placed beside Steve's bedside just in case. His boyfriend was clinging onto the bucket in his lap, head hanging deep inside, so Danny wasn't even able to see his face. But he could see the man's body trembling and curling itself because of exhaustion and effort due to get rid of everything that might be left in his stomach. A nasty, wet coughing fit snapped Danny out of his trance and he quickly set up.
"Babe… Why didn't you wake me?", Danny whispered soothingly while he scooted over and put a hand onto his lover's back. Worried, he noticed the shirt was sticking with sweat to Steve's skin and his body didn't seem to stop any time convulsing – there wasn't even any bile left to throw up.
"Breathe, keep breathing…", Danny kept on like a mantra, desperate himself what to do. As Steve lifted his head slightly out of the bucket, sucking in some air, Danny was shocked as he got a look into his partner's face. Blood was running out Steve's nose and even his mouth, dripping freely onto his shirt and the bucket in his lap. Some of it didn't make it there and messed up the sheets that were still tangled around Steve's legs and lower body. If this hadn't happened before already, Danny was positive he would have had a heart attack right on the spot. The blood mixed with traces of vomit, salvia and probably some tears as well, Steve's face visualized the horror he had to endure with those spells. His mouth wide opened, trying to get in the much-needed oxygen, Steve moaned painfully and clenched his eyelids together as he would hope to miraculously being put out of his misery.
Danny had jumped out of bed as soon he saw the mess and before he did anything else, he opened their bedroom door and yelled for Junior. Then he ran for the bathroom and snagged the only towel hanging around, hurrying back at Steve's side. The Ex-SEAL had stopped throwing up but didn't lose his grip on the bucket; his nose and gums kept bleeding and soaking half of his face. The second Danny had knelt on the bed in front of him, Junior stormed into the bedroom, alarmed from Danny's calling.
"Junior, get me some fresh towels from the bathroom downstairs and a cold pack!", Danny didn't even turn around, he just heard Junior hurrying downstairs without questioning anything and the Detective sent another silent thank you for this special guy. While waiting for fresh towels, he took Steve's hand and placed the semi-fresh one into it, guiding his hand up to his face. "Here, put this over your nose and mouth. But don't forget to breathe, okay? Everything will be alright, I promise."
Danny wasn't sure if he was saying this to Steve or maybe himself. Probably a little from both.
Not even a minute later, Junior came back in with a load of towels and a cold pack. Danny turned his head enough to look at him. "Great. Can you help me getting him to the bathroom? I'm not sure how stable he is, I don't want to risk him falling."
Steve wasn't happy as he was heaved up on his feet, but he didn't protest either. With Danny's and Junior's help, he was able to stumble into the bathroom where he was placed onto the closed toilet lid. He was shivering badly and now Steve recognized how cold he felt. As to empathize his words, another more violent shiver went through his body. Danny told him to keep pressing the towel onto his face while he wrapped up the cold pack in a fresh one.
"Lean forward, put your head down… yeah, let it out.", Danny put the bucket from Steve's hand down to his feet and guided his upper body and neck with a gentle touch a little forward. "It's going to be a little cold, okay?", he warned his partner as he carefully placed the wrapped cold pack onto Steve's neck. Although he had been warned, Steve twitched as the ice was placed on his clammy skin. The shivering increased and Steve thought he would die of freezing right now. From out of nowhere a blanket appeared and was wrapped around his shoulders and upper body. Steve sighed and waited for the trembling to stop or at least to lessen.
The first towel that Steve was still pressing against his face was already a mess of blood and other bodily fluids, so Danny grabbed it and replaced it with a fresh one after he had noticed the nose was still bleeding. At least it seemed like the bleeding in his gums had lessened or even stopped, Danny couldn't say for sure.
Danny had sat down on the edge of the bathtub and kept his hand on Steve's thigh, rubbing it softly to provide him some comfort. There wasn't anything else they could than to wait for the bleeding to stop. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Junior was getting rid of the soiled sheets on their bed and put on some fresh ones. When he came into the bathroom and dumped them into bathtub for the moment being, Danny looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, Junior. You didn't have to."
Junior just gave him a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I, uh… I'll hop to this 24/7 shop around the corner and look for some Gatorade; we ran out."
"Thanks.", Danny nodded at him, appreciating the thought of getting something for Steve that might be considerable for his upset stomach and would help with the nasty taste of vomit and blood in his mouth. Also, he knew Junior wanted to give both men some privacy and that's something Danny appreciated even more.
His gaze turned back to Steve who sat on the closed toilet lid, being miserable and obviously exhausted down to his bones. At least the violent shivering came down a notch and on a second gaze, Danny had a feeling the nose bleeding might have stopped as well. He decided to have a look and stood.
"Let me see.", he talked softly, like he did when Grace had a bad dream and spilled her biggest monster-tears all over her innocent face. In this case, Danny slowly removed the blood-soaked towel and pleased to notice that there wasn't any fresh blooding coming down Steve's irritable nostrils. "I think it stopped.", he told his boyfriend who wasn't moving or saying anything. Only his shallow breathing told Danny he was still with him. Somehow.
Danny threw the mess of a towel into the bathtub to the already soiled sheets and grabbed a wet cloth. When he started to gently clean up Steve's face, removing the dried blood and snot from his cheeks, nose and chin, Steve's eyes opened. Danny looked at him and his heart shattered all over as he saw the pain, desperation and emotional exhaustion in his boyfriend's eyes. If he wouldn't know Steve any better, Danny might have thought he was about to give up instead of keep fighting.
"Hey… it's going to be alright, you know? I promised you.", Danny tilted his head slightly and put his hand on Steve's cheek, softly rubbing the rough skin with his thumb. Steve grabbed his hand there, not removing it, but rather clinging on it. Eventually, either the words or the touch from his boyfriend took him over the edge. His face crumbled and before he had any control over his body, tears started to spill out of his eyes. Exactly like they would for Grace and her bad dreams; Steve sometimes felt his whole life was a bad dream right now. "I can't… I can't do this anymore, Danny, I can't. I don't want to do this anymore", Steve pressed out between two particularly nasty sobs and for a second it felt good letting go of the thoughts and feelings he's been having for a while now. Maybe it was also the fatigue and exhaustion he was currently enduring. Either way, he was done with sucking everything up.
Danny thought he would have to lie if he was surprised by his boyfriend's reaction. Sooner or later, it was overdue. Still, it broke his heart into a thousand pieces seeing him like that and for a moment he considering crying with him. But then he put himself together and embraced Steve in a tight hug, pulling his head in to lean on his stomach the way he was still standing in front of a sitting Steve and put his own chin down on top of the Ex-SEALs head. "I know… I know, Babe.", he whispered on repeat, knowing that nothing he said now would relieve the pain Steve was suffering right now. Neither the physical, nor the mental one. And sometimes it might be better to let someone cry out their suffering instead of letting it eat themselves up on the inside. And that's what Steve was doing now.
It took a while until Steve had stopped crying and kept his position burrowed in his boyfriend, soaking up the comfort and warmth Danny was providing for him. Eventually, he moved slightly and Danny took this as a sign to loosen their embrace, only to sit back down on the edge of the bathtub and not breaking bodily contact. One hand rested intervened with Steve's, the other was placed on his arm. Danny waited for Steve to open his eyes again before he started talking. "I mean what I said. I know it doesn't seem like it right now… but everything will be alright. We will do this together, okay? You're not alone. If I could take anything of your shoulders, I would do it in a heartbeat.".
Steve sniffed loudly and a vaguely smile appeared on his dry lips. Another stray tear found its way down over his face, threating to drip from his chin down onto his shirt (not that it would have mattered at this point). Danny caught it with his thumb, though, and gently wiped it away. "You lost enough body fluids for the night, don't you think?"
Steve snorted slightly amused, always impressed how Danny managed to tickle a reaction like that out of him in such a situation. He thought it would be just awesome and it made him feel a bit better. And even though, he was so grateful about it, he couldn't form the words to transfer it. So, the only thing Steve said was a hoarsely "Thanks.".
Fortunately, Danny knew how it was meant and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He wiped away a few stray hairs that sticked to his partner's sweaty skin. "Don't mention it. Are you still nauseous?"
"No, it's ok now.", Steve replied, letting his eyes slip close for a moment. Gosh, he was tired. He was sure he would be able to fall asleep sitting upright on the closed toilet lid, but he had a slight suspicion that Danny wouldn't allow him that. Of course not.
"That's good. You think you can manage a glass of Gatorade? Junior went to get some, and you really need to hydrate. You haven't had anything to drink for hours now."
"Urgh… 'm gonna try.", Steve swallowed thickly. Honestly, right now it was the taste of blood in his mouth from his bleeding gums that gave him the urge to throw up again.
Danny, not doing his first rodeo with Steve and his spells, had stood and prepared his boyfriends toothbrush with only a small spot of toothpaste; just to get rid of the disgusting taste. He turned and held it out for Steve. "You think you can manage?"
"Yeah.", Steve nodded tiredly and set for brushing his teeth. That's when he realized how weak he felt, feeling even more drained as before after only a minute of cleaning his teeth. Something like this shouldn't be that exhausting. Deciding it would do its job, Steve called it a quit and leaned over to spit in the sink. Danny took the toothbrush from him and cleaned it up. Then he told him to stay seated while he went at got Steve a fresh shirt and a new pair of sweats. After getting him dressed, they both slowly made their way back to the bed. A slight knock on their bedroom door indicated Junior who was back from the store.
"Yeah, come in!", Danny called out as he got Steve settled at the edge of the bed. As Junior came in, four furry legs squeezed themselves between the young man and the door inside and a moment later, Steve and Danny were surrounded by Eddie who was confused that his people were doing things at this time of the night but also happy that they were doing things at this time of the night. It was only then Danny thought he hadn't noticed Junior getting the dog out of the bedroom during the incident. He made a silent note to thank him for this – again.
Eddie seemed to sense the uncomfortable air in this room and scooted himself between Steve's legs who was still seated at the edge of the bedside and laid down his head on his master's knees. The Ex-SEAL stroked him between his ears, grateful for the comfort the dog was providing for him.
"Sir, I got you some Gatorade, if you're up to it.", Junior came closer, holding spoken bottle and a glass in his hands.
Steve gave him a faint smile. "Thanks. But please, get rid of the Sir, you have seen me at my worst tonight. I must thank you."
"Not for that.", Junior replied without a pause.
"Can you do me a favor? I know you… don't have classes the next couple days and you probably planned on relaxing a bit, but I think I need you to head to headquarters in the morning and help Lou and Tani.", Steve rubbed his head and puffy eyes, sheer fatigue threatening to pull him under any minute. "I'm not sure I can work tomorrow."
"Excuse me?", Danny jumped in before Junior was even able to answer. "What do you mean I'm not sure I can work tomorrow? Of course, you won't work tomorrow, are you insane? You look like you are on your deathbed, not to mention you lost all your breakfasts of the last three weeks! I'm positive you won't even make it out of bed tomorrow aside from hitting the head, but I'm also happy to chain you to the bed, my friend!", he built up a rant, pointing at Steve like all the guilt of the world laid on his partner.
For a bunch of a second, Steve considered taking up their usual bickering, but he still felt like shit and he couldn't find the strength to. So, he looked at Junior and gave him a sloppy handwave. "Guess I'm not going to work for sure."
"That's what I thought.", Danny nodded.
Junior had to bite his lip and still couldn't hide a little smirk, deciding not to comment the situation. "That's not a problem, I'd love to help out."
"Now we discussed that, you take a sip and get some sleep.", Danny filled the glass half with the Gatorade and held it out to Steve who slowly sipped on the fluid. It was good to have a little something in his stomach again and it fairly helped getting rid of the foul taste in his mouth. Then he tried to get comfortable in bed again, wiggling as Danny pulled the sheets over his exhausted body. He didn't even notice the good-night-kiss from his boyfriend anymore.
Danny followed Junior downstairs after he had made sure Steve was back to sleep.
"I'm sorry I woke you up tonight, but this was a little out of my hands, I have to say.", Danny sighed and leaned himself against the kitchen counter, sipping on a glass of water.
Junior mirrored him on the other side. "I'm glad you did, at least there was something I could help him with."
"I hear you; I feel the same way. I already guessed it would be a bad one, but that wasn't exactly what I had expected.", he made a pause, getting lost in his thoughts. "It's taking a toll on him, you know?"
"Of course, it does. But he will be alright, so you said."
Danny smiled tiredly. "Yeah, I hope you're right.
When Danny got back to their bedroom, the clock showed him it was already past 4am. He was tired and exhausted as well, but he deeply hoped Steve would be able to sleep through the night. He needed it. After Danny had changed his shirt as well and crawled under the sheets next to his lover, his feet touched something furry. Puzzled, Danny lifted his head and his gaze met Eddie's innocent eyes, watching him from his spot at the end of the bed, halfway sprawled over Steve's legs. He wasn't moving as he seemed to hope Danny wouldn't notice him in that way. Nice try.
"Too late, buddy, I see you.", he whispered, trying to sound strict and certain. Eddie, though, didn't seem to be fazed at all by his tone and slowly started wagging his tail, making a dull patting sound on the sheets. Danny tried to stand the puppy eyes, but he knew it had been a lost cause from the very first moment on. He rolled his eyes and plopped back down on his pillow. "I guess you win. But don't think this is going to be a thing!".
His whispering voice seemed to soothe Eddie's worries to get kicked out of bed and the dog settled down as well, snoring softly after only a couple minutes. Danny laid awake and felt himself to finally calm down through Steve's regular breathing after this horrendous night. Maybe it was okay for Eddie to sleep with them in bed for tonight.
The rest of the night went quiet. When Danny woke again, the soft sunlight found its way through the drawn curtains and announced the upcoming morning. Carefully, Danny sat up and peeled himself out of the sheets, gladly noticing that Steve was still dead to the world. Deciding he would let him sleep as long as he needed to. Apparently, the same went for Eddie who was conked out as well. Sprawled on his back at Steve's feet the dog was snoring comfortably, his own legs sticking up in the air like he dreamt of getting a nice belly-rub. He didn't make any movement that would indicate he was ready to wake up. Danny pulled on his house slippers and made his way downstairs where Junior was already making some coffee.
When Danny entered the kitchen, he looked up. "Morning. You're up early.", he noticed, due the fact it was only 6:30am. He pulled Danny a cup of coffee and handed it over.
"Thanks.", the Detective accepted it, the smell of caffeine slowly waking his still sleepy mind. "Yeah, I've been awake a couple of times already, wasn't really able to shut my mind after that night."
"Yeah, I understand.", Junior took a sip from his own coffee. "Where is Eddie? I was surprised he didn't show when I got up."
"Uh, yeah, both are still snoring upstairs. I'm surprised I wasn't pushed out of bed during the night."
Junior laughed. "Well, he knows how to put up with you, that's for sure."
Danny smirked and lifted his eyebrows. "Who, Steve or the dog?"
"Both.", Junior grinned at him.
"Touché", Danny lifted his cup of coffee to indicate a toast and took another big sip. "Hey, I'm probably going to stay at home as well today; I don't like to leave Steve on his own by now. Might call the Governor and explain everything."
"Yeah, of course. As I told Steve, it's totally fine."
"I'll give Lou a call ahead, so he's in the loop."
Junior nodded. "You want me to take Eddie with me?"
Danny considered it for a second, but eventually shook his head. "No, I think he deserves a stay home after the last days. And he obviously won't leave Steve's side anyway, so that's fine with me."
"Good. I'll shower and head out.", Junior put his empty cup in the sink and was about to leave the kitchen when Danny stopped him.
"Hey. Thanks again and… uh, Steve did well with you, you will be a great addition to the team once you graduated. You already are.", the Detective smiled at him.
Junior almost stood at attention and his eyes sparkled with gratitude. "Thank you."
It was almost 7:30, when Danny picked up his cell and dialed Lou Grover's number, waiting for the line to connect.
"Morning, Jersey. Been waiting for your call, I have to say."
"Yeah, sorry about that. We, uh, had a tough situation here.", Danny described their last 18 hours in a very oblique way. "Listen, I will stay home with Steve today, he's not doing well and I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone. But Junior is on his way and he's gonna help you guys out for today; maybe I'm able to come in tomorrow for a few hours at least."
"Of course, no worries. What's up with Steve, was it a bad one?"
"Uh, yeah, it is a bad one… hasn't been that bad for months now. He couldn't keep anything down and on top of that he was bleeding like a pig during the night. If this has a repeat the upcoming night, I might have to call the medics."
"Jeez… Man, I'm sorry. He just can't catch a break."
Danny could hear the sincere empathy and he only confirmed it. "You say it. You guys think you can manage?"
"Sure. Tani and I finished all the reports yesterday and I already talked to Duke this morning, so far it seemed to be calm on the streets of Honolulu."
"Great, thanks Lou."
"Not for that. Hey, if Steve's up to it, we might come over for a short visit this evening."
"Yeah, I can text you later how he's doing and if he's up to it, but I hope so. I'm sure he would love to see you guys."
"Okay, see you later, Jersey."
After also informing the Governor about the current situation (who was surprisingly understanding when he heard about the taskforce leader's suffering due to the radiation poisoning), Danny made a light breakfast of porridge in case Steve was able to eat a little after he woke up. For his own, the Detective added some honey and fruits – honestly, he wasn't really a fruit-guy, but his relationship with Steve somehow had forced him into it and now he was at point where he could tolerate it… and sometimes, he even liked it.
Time was heading towards 10am already when Steve's body decided to join the world of living again. When he woke, he immediately recognized there was no lingering nausea anymore. Well, he still felt a little queasy, but this might also be due to the fact he hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday at lunch, and furthermore, he brought everything up again. Right now, he could feel himself relax a little without the urge to retch any second. Despite his stomach feeling better, his head was pounding painfully and Steve's body ached all over. Slowly, he rolled himself on his back and gently rubbed his tired face. His skin still felt a little clammy and sweaty, but at least there was no blood anymore. Although, a faint smell of blood and vomit was still flooding the sticky air in the bedroom.
As Steve was sure he got his bearings together he slowly sat up, scooting backwards to lean against the headboard. Even though he slept well the rest of the torturous prevent night, his body was screaming I'm exhausted at him and Steve considered the idea of getting back to sleep for the rest of the day. Something wet on his ankle brought him away from that idea and it was only now, Steve noticed Eddie slumbering at his feet. When he had felt his master waking up, the dog also came back to life and was now licking the Ex-SEALs raw skin, happily wagging his tail.
"Hey, bud. Does Danny know you're in bed, huh? I'm not gonna stand up for you.", Steve smiled tiredly and rubbed the dog's head between his ears; Eddie obviously not impressed by the threat of using his second master (or spare human at this point) against him.
"I knew, I just let him win this time.", a voice came from the door and Steve lifted his head. Danny was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed in front of his chest and smirking at him. As Steve noticed him, his boyfriend came over and sat beside him, not without giving Eddie a quick belly-rub who couldn't believe his luck this morning. Sleeping in the bed AND belly-scratches, it must be Christmas!
"You're finally awake, huh? I checked on you half an hour ago and you didn't move a finger."
"Yeah, I guess I slept well.", Steve had to say, yawning as to underline his statement.
"I'm glad you did. How are you feeling?", Danny looked at him, his gaze wandering up and down as to check if there was any sign of his partner feeling uncomfortable.
"Better, I think. Still… a bit queasy and aching and… just tired overall, you know?", Steve sighed. "But I'm not nauseous anymore."
Danny smiled at him. "We will take this as a win after last night."
"Yeah.", Steve frowned. "Hey, uh, about that… I'm sorry and thank you for everything, I… it feels like everything happened in a trance."
"Hey, what are you apologizing for? As if you decided to feel that bad. I'm just glad you are a little better now, I was worried."
Steve looked at his lover and he could see the sincere worries, knowing, how hard this had to be for him as well. He tucked at Danny's arm to get him down, pressing a sloppy kiss onto his lips. "I love you.", he whispered softly.
Danny looked at him and gave him the best smile he had to offer. "I love you too, you goof."
They both had to laugh when Eddie squeezed himself between the pair, obviously wanting to be included at every cost. Steve roughly gave him a few more scratches. "Yeah yeah, you are loved too, buddy."
Danny stood to escape the dog's wet kisses. "Are you feeling up to eat something?"
"Maybe, I guess that's why I still feel a little queasy. But I want to have shower first."
Danny frowned at him. "Are you sure you're strong enough? Maybe wait a little longer."
"No, I can do it. I just need to get rid of the smells and the sticky skin… I will be careful, I promise."
Danny wasn't convinced but decided to trust him on that. "Okay, but you call me if you need help with something, okay? No macho-doing!"
"Yes, Danno."
"Don't Danno me, I'm dead serious!"
"I know you are.", Steve smirked at him and scooted himself over to the edge of the bed. He allowed Danny to help him up and to the bedroom, since his first steps were still a little uncoordinated after last night.
While Steve was in the shower, Danny took Eddie downstairs and fed him a nice, big bowl of breakfast which was inhaled by the dog within only a few minutes and the Detective opened the backyard for him to do his business. "Don't poop on the beach, we will go for a walk later!", Danny yelled after him, but Eddie was already busy sniffing the bushes to find the perfect spot to leave a mark.
When Steve slowly made his way downstairs 20 minutes later, Danny was satisfied to see that his boyfriend obviously hadn't slipped in the shower and broke his neck. And if he did, he was hiding it perfectly. Shuffling towards the couch, Steve was exhausted after his quick shower and the walk downstairs and he plopped down on the cushions like he hadn't been able to sit down for 12 hours straight. Danny had picked up a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of his partner who scooped up a couple spoons, slowly testing the waters if his stomach would tolerate the food. Everything seemed fine, so Steve managed to eat half of the bowl, but called it a quit after that, not wanting to provoke anything. And he was fairly done, feeling hungry was not something he would have used to describe his feeling about food this morning.
After breakfast Steve made himself comfortable on the couch, settling down for a nap as he hadn't gotten up barely 30 minutes ago. But again, this wasn't his first rodeo and he got used to the aftermath of his spells which often resulted in him fighting the constant fatigue for days after and not being able do anything more strenuous than getting out of bet and lay down on the couch again. Still, Steve was rather sleeping the day away than keep throwing up his guts until nothing else than his inner organs were left inside him.
As predicted, Steve slept the day away while Danny used the time to do a bit of dusting, vacuuming and another load of laundry. Usually, they both equally did their domestic parts, but Steve wasn't in any shape to do anything like that right now, so Danny was totally fine with taking over his partner's part as well. As Steve woke again around lunchtime, he was able to finish the other half of his breakfast bowl and rehydrate with some tea and Gatorade. The rest of the afternoon, he half-hearted followed some documentary that was presented on the TV; constantly nodding off and waking up again. Danny let Eddie out again and around 4pm, he joined Steve on the couch and let his boyfriend snuggle up to him. Noticing, his usually stoic lover of an Ex-Navy-SEAL had turned into a softy during their relationship; even more when he felt sick or just off like he did now. Danny would mock him about it, but deep inside he was loving it by every second and Steve probably knew that – despite of the constant mocking.
Danny embraced him gently and enjoyed their comforting snuggling, listening to the documentation that still bubbled happily on the TV. Steve had woken from another nap and now he was straight invested what was going on there which made Danny smirk at him.
"Never took you for a hippo-guy."
Steve snorted, moving slightly to get more comfortable. "Hippos are the most underrated animals ever."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah. I was stationed in Africa once for a mission and we saw a lot of them. Fascinating animals. Even the crocodiles and alligators made a big circle around them, not getting any near them. I would rather be parted with a lion than a hippo."
"A lion?", Danny frowned. "Huh. I bet a months-worth portion of spam on the lion."
"You don't even like spam. And why the heck would you bet on the lion and not on me?"
"Well, I'm trying to be realistic and as much as I love you and envy your skills as Rambo, I still think you would end up as lunch."
Steve mumbled something incoherent and grabbed the remote to turn up the volume. Now Danny was the one to snort. "Oh, that's very major.", he stated, grinning behind Steve where he was snuggled up. Keeping on their love language, Danny leaned a little forward and pressed a kiss on his clothed upper arm. For that, Steve gifted him with one of the smiles Danny loved so much about him.
As dawn was slowly setting in, sounds of cars in the driveway announced the team's arrival. Danny had talked to Steve before if he felt up for a visit of their teammates and friends and his partner had agreed. Even though Danny implied to him that they would hold it short and Steve still had to get plenty of rest. The Ex-SEAL couldn't protest, all he could think of was his bed.
Junior was the first one in, followed by Tani and Lou. Eddie took his chance and went to get some strokes and scratches from everyone and while Tani stood back a little, Lou came forward to Steve who was reclining on the couch.
"Glad to see you up again.", he smiled at Steve und grabbed his shoulder. Steve looked back at him and patted the big man's arm. "Thanks, I appreciate it.
Junior gave him a handshake and smiled as well; left was Tani who didn't really seem to know where her place was. Steve decided to put her out of her misery and waved her towards him. "Thank you for coming.", he motioned her for a hug and she complied.
"I hope you feel better.", she said to him after they had loosened the hug. Smiling, she felt the first tension leave her body and she took her place on the couch next to him.
"We brought Dinner.", Lou wiggled the bag in his hand to empathize his point, turning to Steve. "We got some rice with chicken for you, easy for the stomach. But your partner here told me you need to eat and honestly, I didn't plan on compete against Jersey.
Steve laughed softly. "Yeah, I got you, man. Thanks."
Danny put his smudge face on. "Finally, you seemed to get a grip on how this works.", he motioned with his flaying hands between him and Grover.
Lou put on one of his best laughs, even Tani had to grin. "You guys are something, I have to say."
"Took you a while to recognize that, Rookie.", Danny commented, laying a hand on top of his boyfriend's head. "Anyway, who wants what to drink? We got nothing but beer and tap water, the Gatorade is saved for our sick boy here."
"Beer sounds great.
"I'll have a Longboard too."
"Count me in."
"Great, easy costumers.", Danny clapped his hands and went for the kitchen, followed by Junior. "I'll help."
Everyone found their place on the couch and the recliner, enjoying their foods and beers. Well, Steve stuck to his Gatorade and plain rice with chicken, but honestly, he was totally fine with it. He managed almost the whole portion, only a bit of rice was left at the end. With his stomach comfortably filled, Steve felt a deep exhaustion and sleepiness coming over him, wrapping him up like a big blanket. The ongoing conversations from his team around him lulled him in even more, he didn't even get their words straight, but it still felt like home somehow. Danny was sitting beside his head and eventually, Steve had reclined himself against his boyfriend, snuggling up to him. Now that Danny had started to gently rub his arm up and down with his fingers, Steve's eyes slipped closed and he lost the fight against sleep pulling him under.
"He's really exhausted.", Tani was the first one to notice, despite the fact he had already watched her boss struggling to keep awake for the last 15 minutes.
Danny looked down at his peacefully slumbering partner and kept rubbing his arm. "Yeah, he pretty much slept the whole day and his body still hasn't got the rest it needs."
"We were already exhausted from the last case, so was Steve. That spell didn't play him into his cards.", Lou reminded them as well and Danny nodded.
"I was already thinking of how I would be able to force him into taking a few days off, but that wasn't the way how I planned to do it."
Tank tired her head slightly and smiled. „Aw, look at them. I really think you should fear a possible opponent in your relationship. ", she was speaking to Danny, referring to Eddie who had found his space between Steve's legs, sprawled like he owned the place. From time to time a slight snore came out of the dog 's nose, being completely oblivious to everything that happened around him.
„Tell me about it. Even though I have to say, he gives good kisses as well. ", Danny smirked and everyone had to laugh with him. Everyone, except Steve and Eddie who peacefully slept on.
It was around 9pm when the team left to get home and Junior helped Danny to clean up the rests of their dinner. Steve came awake again, being plagued by a nasty headache and he was concerned of it turning into a migraine. Steve was used to them, he was getting migraines since a particularly nasty head injury when he had been still with the SEALs, but right now he couldn't think of anything worse than getting a migraine. They often came with nausea as well and Steve was done with that for the next years. Danny was the one who persuaded him into taking his meds to catch it early enough, so that it wouldn't even get to blown out at its fullest.
When Steve went to bed, he was already feeling fuzzy from the meds. The moment he laid his head down onto the pillow, he was positive there was no migraine incoming. The headache was bothering him, yeah, but he could deal with that one. With that last thought he slipped into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Steve was feeling a lot better. The headache was almost gone and he hadn't thrown up anymore or experienced any nausea for that sake. Yes, he still felt a little weak and achy around the edges, but all in all he didn't feel like he was on his deathbed anymore. He ate and was even able to do a short walk with Eddie who was particularly happy to have Steve back on his feet. A day after both went for a little swim, not without Danny ranting about him being sick as a dog (yes, ironic) just a couple days ago. Admittingly, it took another two days before Steve was back at work. That had been the longest period after a spell for Steve, being out of work. And for Danny's sake, he went to the doctor afterwards and got another check-up, but fortunately, everything was fine. Steve had feared this particularly horrible spell had been a kind of sign of something bad – like long-term-suffering. But his doctor had assured him it wasn't and it was still too early to say anything about possible long-term-effects, but so far there was nothing to be concerned and these horrific days could have been just a result of the exhausting weeks before.
Truth to be told, this was the last spell Steve had endured so far and by now he was counting almost 5 months. Yes, he felt tired sometimes – more tired than usual, but that was the worst happening. Nothing to stop him from doing hikes with Danny (who complained about it at least half of the hike, but secretly; Steve knew; he was enjoying it) and doing lifting figures from Dirty Dancing with Grace in the ocean at his backyard. Life was good for now and who would Steve be, if not enjoying that?
The end.
Hope you enjoyed it a little!