New Fic: A Time to Heal Part Twelve
Title: A Time to Heal
Author: Twilight
Summary: What the hell just happened? One minute he was holding his gun on Davis and the next he was on the ground with Danny bleeding all over him.
Rated: Pg 13
Feedback: Always welcome
Part One
Part Twelve
Steve laid as still as possible, the ground hard under his weight, but he didn't want to move just yet, was trying to decide if he was seriously injured or just in shock.
He shifted, his ears ringing loud and his head pounded to the erratic rhythm of his heart. He could feel funny little flutters in his chest and he hurt, felt like he had been sucker punched in the gut.
His eyes burned too, tears forming and running down his cheeks. He wiped at them with dirty hands until he could see the thick clouds of smoke and soot rising from the burning building in front of him, billowing toward him, covering his prone form. The sky was black with it, the hazy fumes from the fire blocking out the early morning sun.
Time to move.
So he shook off the dizziness as he pushed slowly to his feet, having trouble getting his legs under him, but he managed to finally get upright, the buzzing in his ears subsided and at first all he could hear was his own harsh breathing.
He reached out to find something to steady himself, leaning over to brace his hands on his knees, slowing his breathing and then sounds returned.
He could hear faint sirens in the distance, people shouting and managed to look around at the chaotic scene.
People, his fellow officers, were running to help the injured as best they could, while they waited for help to arrive.
Someone grabbed his arm hard, yanking him around and asking, "...you okay?”
Officer Dunham waited until he nodded, his brain working slow and feeling thick in his head and then he remembered he wasn't standing in front of the house alone.
He pulled his arm away, overbalancing but staying upright and Dunham moved to help another person.
Steve looked around for Kono, spotting her on the ground a few feet to his left, sprawled on her belly. Her face was pressed to the grass, her hair covering most of her features but Steve could see that her right ear was trickling blood.
Someone had already reached her, was grabbing her arms and hauling her up and away from the smoldering debris, the chunks of wood and twisted metal that littered the lawn around them.
Her eyes were open, but she didn’t look like she knew where she was or what had happened, so Steve took a hold of her, held her around the waist and dragged her back toward a cruiser, propping her up against his side.
He had to clear a gob of mucus from his throat, wincing as he swallowed it down before he could get the words out, “Kono…Are you hurt?”
It didn’t appear that she could clearly hear him. She watched his mouth as he spoke, but didn't respond and he worried she may have struck her head in the fall or a piece of junk that littered the yard around them had hit her in the explosion.
The fire trucks he had heard earlier screeched to a halt and firemen jumped from their rigs and hauled their equipment, pulling hoses lose and connecting them to the street hydrants, moving in to try to contain the blaze.
Kono winced and shuddered in his arms, slapping her hands up and over her ears. He gave her another little squeeze, and leaned her back against the patrol car.
Shouting and calls for help came from the back of the house, so he spoke louder to her, asking again, “Kono…will you be okay for a second, the ambulances are on the way…but I need…”
She nodded at him, still a little dazed, and Steve couldn’t tell if she really heard him or not, but he needed to go check on Chin…a knot of worry formed in his gut. Chin would have come to check on them if he could and he hadn't.
"Keep an eye on her?" he asked Dunham, who was still hovering near by and then gave her shoulder a pat , leaving her leaning against the car, taking off to the back of the house where most of the damage was.
More officers, people who were there for the hostage situation had scrambled to help, taking the walking wounded to the front of the house, but others leaned over fallen men and women, offering whatever triage they could.
Steve frantically scanned the back yard for Chin but he came up empty, wondering if maybe he had somehow missed him out front.
He started to turn, but Duke grabbed his arm as he ran passed.
The man’s face was smudged with soot and he had a little cut over his right eyebrow. Blood ran in rivets into his blinking eyes and onto his cheek and he kept wiping at it with a hanky, smearing it over his face.
“Chin is toward the shed,” he wheezed, “I got an officer with him until the ambulances gets here…we got a handful of serious…”
Steve grabbed Duke’s shoulders when he faltered and swayed. He looked like he might be the next to go down, “Easy…easy…I got this. Why don’t you go back out front and coordinate your uninjured, wait for the medics, direct them to the wounded when they get here.”
Duke nodded, stumbling a little as he pulled from Steve’s grip. “I’m gonna check in with the firemen and see where we are with Wilson and Davis…”
“Okay, keep me informed,” and Steve turned to the increasing chaos of the back yard.
People were running back and forth, yelling at each other to be heard over the roaring fire that still blazed, consuming the broken timber and plaster at the back of the house despite the high powered stream of water coming from the firemen’s hoses.
He spotted the shed in the far corner and a woman in uniform leaning over Chin’s still form, her hands pressing down at Chin’s left shoulder.
Steve ran, skidded to a stop by his downed team mate and went to his knees, yelling, “What do we got?”
He recognized her as Amy Chen…a good cop, but he had never seen her look so panicked in the past, not even when bullets were flying.
Chin’s eyes were opened to slits and his chest rose and fell in a labored fashion, he panted with each breath, but Steve didn’t know if it was because of his injuries or the pain he seemed to be in.
Amy didn’t answer, instead she carefully adjusted the material she was using to stem the flow of blood and that’s when Steve saw it, a chunk of broken and splintered wood poking from Chin’s shoulder and Amy seemed to be trying to steady the wood more than stop the flow of blood.
A surge of sickness swirled in Steve’s belly again and he felt dizzy.
Not again.
But he swallowed, trying to push down the nausea so he could concentrate on helping Chin.
He shifted to his ass and leaned over his friend, making sure that Chin could see him; resting his hand over Amy’s to hold the piece of broken two by four. “I gotcha, man…just stay still…ambulance is on the way.”
Chin nodded, eyes closing.
“Hey…open your eyes, Chin.”
Oh god…this can’t be happening…not again.
Chin slowly blinked at him.
Amy slipped her hand away, wiping Chin’s blood onto her pant leg before pushing to her feet. “I’m going to go check on Kono…”
He nodded, grateful, “Thanks, Chen…She was by the units when I left her…”
“Don’t worry…I’ll find her…”
Steve kept up the slight pressure, watching his friend try to keep his eyes open, “don’t worry, man…it’s not even that bad,” and Steve remembered saying those same words to Danny, praying this time it would be true.
Chin nodded, opening his mouth and licking his lips, trying to speak, but Steve shushed him, “Don’t try to talk…” because he was worried about Chin’s lungs, but he seemed to be breathing okay and that was good…would have to due for now.
“Malia…” Chin managed and Steve nodded, because he knew what Chin needed.
“I’ll call her as soon as you’re on your way to the hospital and when you see her, you can tell her yourself…You’re gonna be fine.”
A paramedic knelt by them and Steve showed her the injury.
She nodded, listening to Chin’s chest, taking his blood pressure and told him, “we’ll take him next, just keep holding that,” and she moved away to talk to her partner.
Steve could still hear approaching sirens and knew that more help was arriving.
The medic came back and opened a package of large gauze, grabbed at the balled wad of material Steve was using and replaced it with the bandages.
Her partner was leaning over Chin now, asking him questions, but he had to put his head down close to Chin’s mouth to hear the answers.
They worked quickly to get him ready for transport, slipping a stiff collar around Chin’s neck and an oxygen mask over his face, rolled him onto a back board and then onto the stretcher.
Steve kept holding the wood sticking from Chin’s shoulder and moved with the duo as they ran toward the waiting ambulance.
He spotted Kono sitting on the back of another bus, a paramedic looking her over, but when she saw them, she tried to stand.
Steve hollered, “Stay there,” and she nodded, sinking back down.
“You have room for her,” he asked as the medics wheeled Chin in to the back of the ambulance.
“If you’re staying, we’ll take her.”
Steve ran toward Kono, “Come on, your ride is here.”
And even though she was still looking at him, she didn’t acknowledge what he had told her.
The medic wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to her and she nodded, giving him a thumbs up and a tiny smile and Steve’s knees felt weak all over again…Kono couldn’t hear him…
The medics had loaded Chin in and yelled, “We’re ready...she coming?”
Steve tore his eyes from Kono and his spiraling thoughts, “Yes, she's coming,” and he carefully took her arm and helped her to her feet, guiding her toward the waiting ambulance. The medic that was checking her out handed some papers to the woman and she stowed the papers before helping Kono get in, buckling her to the jump seat.
“She’s stable,” the medic told him. “I’ll make sure she gets signed in to be seen at the ER.”
And before the doors slammed shut, Kono gave him one more thumbs up.
Steve watched as the ambulance pulled out, sirens blaring and then slumped over, bracing his hands on his knees again.
What the hell just happened?
He pushed himself up though, because there would be time later to think.
Now he needed to act…to help…
Ambulances lined the street. The seriously wounded were already on their way to the hospital and most of the fire was out, small flare ups being contained. And the forensic techs had arrived; Max was just pulling up with his van.
“Commander?” Max moved toward him, his eyes taking in the burnt shell of the house and all the emergency vehicles.
“Two inside,” Steve told him, walking toward Duke, who had been speaking with a fireman over by the patrol cars. “One should be our fugitive; the other was the occupant of the house, Lisa Wilson. Duke?”
Steve saw that he now had a bandage over his brow and his face had been cleaned. Duke nodded toward the man he was talking with, “This is Captain Kama.”
Steve shook the man’s offered hand, “Commander. It appears the fire was caused by a gas leak. We shut down the lines as a precaution and we’ll be able to determine more once the structure has been approved for reentry. The inspector will be arriving and when he gives the okay, we’ll let your people in.”
“Thanks Captain…were you able to recover the bodies?” Steve looked from Kama to Max, knowing the coroner would want to get started.
“We have them around the side…found the man near the front of the house, his…remains are in better shape then the other body…”
“Can you show me?” Max asked, already moving around the house, his bag in hand and the Captain followed.
“I’ve got this Steve,” Duke patted his shoulder, “go on to the hospital and look after your people. I’ll come by when I get anything.”
He blew out a breath, torn, but finally nodded, “Thanks Duke…”
His truck was blocked in, but the ambulance that was in front was getting ready to pull out, so he got behind the wheel and took a second to just breathe.
He needed to call the Governor, but before that he needed to call Malia.
His cell was in his pocket and he checked the display to see that he had missed a few calls from Danny’s cell.
His heart skipped a few beats as he dialed his voicemail and listened.
Danny’s dad’s recorded voice told him that Danny’s fever was getting worse and the doctor had some concerns, to call as soon as possible.
The display on his watch told him it was early afternoon, so he shouldn’t run into too much traffic on the way to the hospital, but as he started the truck, he flipped on his sirens and lights anyway.
He pulled away from the house in Pearl City and headed toward Queen’s, thumbing through his contacts until he found Malia’s cell.
He waited as a soothing voice invited him to listen to music while his party was being reached and when she didn’t pick up, he left a short message, “Malia, Steve…there’s been…Chin is on his way to the ER. Kono is with him…I’ll try your office…”
The phone beeped, but he opted not to redo his message. He tried her office and someone had told him that she was out to a late lunch, so he decided to leave a message with the person on the other end of the line too and then dialed Danny’s cell.
It went to voice mail too, meaning that the Williams’ were probably in the ICU with their son, and Steve would just have to wait until he got to the hospital to find out what was happening with Danny.
The last call was to Denning, and thankfully he was not available…Steve didn’t want to take the time, knowing the man would probably want to see him personally for a debriefing, so he left a short message with the man’s personal assistant, explaining the outcome of the case and a promise to call when he got more information.
He was just turning onto Vineyard, heading to the parking garage when his phone buzzed. He fumbled it, seeing it was Malia’s cell number on the display, “Malia?”
“Steve…what’s happened…I got your message and I’m on my way to the ER now.”
“I just got here too,” he pulled up to the barrier and pressed the button to get a ticket, pulling under the rising gate and too the designated emergency vehicle spots. “I’m on my way in now.”
He could hear her breathing on the other end of the line, but she didn’t say anything and Steve knew she was waiting to hear what had happened.
“Chin and Kono came in together,” he explained, dropping down from his truck and hitting the fob to lock it, jogging across to the steps that led down to the connecting tunnel. “There was a gas explosion…Chin was around the back and Kono and I were out front. He’s got a shoulder injury…Kono was having a problem hearing…”
He thought he lost her in the tunnel, looked at his display to see if the connection was lost, but he still had bars, so he asked, “Malia?”
“I’m here…I’m at the ER…I see Kono…You coming?”
“Yes, nearly there,” and he flashed his badge at the lobby security and headed down the hall to the emergency department. “I’m coming through the interior doors now,” and once he was through, he scanned the bank of chairs in the waiting room for them, spotting Kono slumped in her seat with Malia leaning over her.
He pocketed his phone and called for Kono, but only Malia looked his way.
He hurried over and knelt in front of her, “Kono…have you been seen yet?”
“She’s having trouble hearing, Steve.”
He squeezed Kono’s hand and stood to speak with Malia, “Have you…”
“No, I called down as soon as I got your voice mail. Dr. Miller has taken Chin into surgery; to repair damage…I’m going to see if I can get Kono into a room, I can check her out…” Malia left them and Steve turned back to his other injured team mate, wanting to make sure she was taken care of before heading up to see how Danny was doing.
“I’m okay,” she said, her voice too loud, drawing the attention of other’s waiting for loved ones or to be seen.
Malia came back, reaching for Kono. “They’re pretty busy, but I’m going to get her on a gurney in the hall, get her vitals and the testing started.”
Steve followed them back through the doors, waiting as Malia handed Kono a gown, a plastic bag for her clothes and a specimen cup, bodily pointing her in the direction of the bathroom just down the hall.
Kono nodded, reaching to her side to pull out her service weapon and then her back up from her ankle, handing them to Steve before turning to head to the bathroom.
Steve tucked them into his belt, asking, “Is she going to be okay?”
“I’m going to send her for a head CT, but you said there was an explosion, so she has probably damaged her ear drums. I have a friend in Otolaryngology…I’ll give her a call if the CT is clear. I suspect it will be…”
Kono came back down the hall, holding the bag in one hand and her gown closed in the back with the other. She handed her stuff to Malia and slid up and onto the gurney.
“Can you hear me?” Steve asked and was relieved when Kono nodded.
“A little,” her voice was still raised, but she went on, “It’s like bad reception on a cell…your voices sorta cut in and out.”
Malia tucked her bag of clothes up and under the gurney, patting Kono’s arm. “I’ve got a call into Imaging and as soon as they can fit you in, we’re gonna make sure you don’t have a head injury…if everything checks out we’ll get the ear doctor down here to look you over.”
“She had some sensitivity to noise too,” Steve told her about the sirens and how they seemed to hurt Kono.
“Loud noises with an inner ear injury can cause tinnitus, a ringing sound, that’s not unusual and in fact, it’s a good indication she has an ear injury and not a head injury.”
Steve nodded, smiled at Kono as she turned her head back and forth between him and Malia as they talked, trying to make out their conversation.
“How’s Chin,” Kono asked, shifting back on to the gurney and pulling the blankets up and under her chin. She shook a little, like maybe she was cold, but Steve thought that it was more like an adrenaline crash.
Malia flagged down a nurse and asked that an IV be started and then she told Kono, “Chin’s in surgery. As soon as I find out something, I’ll let you know.”
“Kay…I’m okay, boss…go see Danny.”
He nodded, wanting to get to Danny as soon as he could. Kono and Chin were both in good hands and Malia would come and get him if anything changed, but before he could tell them he was heading to Danny’s room, Malia grabbed his shoulder.
“Steve, are you hurt…your movements are stiff…”
His chest and belly hurt, but nothing seemed broken, so he shook his head, “I’m fine.”
Malia didn’t look convinced, but she let go of him and said, “Come back down here if anything changes and you should probably clean up a little, you’re covered in soot.”
He had a bag in the truck, so he patted Kono’s arm, giving her a little squeeze as the nurse came with the IV line, telling Malia to let him know as soon as she heard anything on either of them. “I’ll check back in a bit, after I make sure Danny’s doing okay.”
It didn’t take long to make it back to his truck and pull the duffle he kept stowed under the back bench. He put Kono’s and his weapons in the lockbox and headed back to the hospital to change.
The bathrooms off the main lobby were empty, so he picked a door and locked it behind him, sitting his bag on a closed toilet seat, checking his cell to see if maybe he missed a call from Danny’s folks, but no one had left him a recent message.
He got his shirt off, turning the tap to warm and used some paper towels to clean his dirty face, washed his hands and then dried off with some more paper towels.
His torso was covered in blackening bruises and he took a minute to press a few, to make sure that they were only skin deep.
It hurt like hell, but he didn’t think he had done any serious damage, so he smeared on some deodorant and pulled on a clean tee shirt.
Even with the fresh shirt, he could still smell smoke…in his hair and on his pants.
He didn’t want to take the time to yank off his boots and change his pants, they were dark in color and didn’t show the dirt as much, but he knew Danny would smell him and want to know what had happened and would worry.
Steve didn’t want Danny to worry, so he bent to unlace his boots, feeling his bruises pull. He was going to have to put something on them later, some ointment, but not yet, because Danny would smell that too and demand to know what had happened.
He got on a clean pair of pants, stuffed his dirty clothes back into the bag and worked on getting his boots laced.
When he looked into the mirror, he couldn’t see anything that would make Danny suspicious and the smell of smoke was nearly gone.
He ran some water over his hands and rubbed through his hair, patting it dry with a few more paper towels and unlocked the door, deciding not to take his bag back to the truck.
When he got to Danny’s floor, he spotted Tina at the nurse’s desk.
She looked up and gave him a little smile, “you can go on in, Steve…he’s not feeling too great, but he’ll be happy to see you.”
“Thanks, Tina,’ Steve hurried down the hall and found Danny laying on the bed, still, eyes closed, but they opened when Steve came into the room.
“Hey, babe” Danny said, his voice paper thin and breathy. He looked hot too, his face flushed and sweaty.
Steve dropped his bag and moved over to the bed, noting that Danny’s IV lines were now in his other arm and a new bag of something dripped into his veins. He slipped the safety railing down and slid onto the edge, leaning over to kiss Danny’s forehead. “You still feel hot, Danno…what’s the doctor saying?”
But Danny didn’t answer Steve’s question, asking one of his own instead, “why do you smell like smoke?”
Steve laughed, even if he felt like he could cry right about now, knowing that he was well into his own adrenaline crash, but he just kissed Danny’s head again, pulling away a little to say, “I asked first and where are your parents?”
Danny sighed, pushed at Steve’s chest a little until he straightened up. “They went to spend some time with Grace…”
“I thought Grace was coming for a visit today?” He couldn’t help but to tuck a blonde curl behind Danny’s ear, knowing now why his partner used so many products to keep his hair off his face. Steve used the tips of his fingers to rub at the delicate skin there.
Danny’s eyes were a little bright, but Steve wasn’t sure if that was because of the fever or if Danny was trying to hold back his own tears. “Dr. Hoy didn’t think it was a good idea…kids are germ carriers, so…”
And Steve understood, “It’ll be okay…I know you miss her…you can call her once you get to your new room.”
“About that…”
Steve sat up a little straighter, “What did Dr. Hoy say, Danny?”
“I’ve got an infection…somewhere…they’re testing my blood and urine now…seeing what grows…I got,” he looked down at his IV’s then up to the pole holding the bags, “new meds, antimicrobial something or the other…”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like a freakin pin cushion…sore...tired, like I’m gonna break my fifteen year streak, but better now that you’re hear.” and he pulled Steve down, dotting a tiny kiss to the corner of Steve’s mouth. “Now, you gonna tell me why you smell like smoke?”
Steve sat back again, running his fingers gently down Danny’s forearm, over the former sight of Danny’s IV’s, careful of the blooming bruises, but enjoying the feel of gooseflesh and Danny’s hair standing on end to meet his fingertips.
He spotted the bowl on the rolling table and checked his watch, “is that your lunch? You need to eat…”
“Don’t change the subject, Steven…”
Steve slid up and over Danny, careful to support his weight on his arms.
After he felt the bowl to determine the soup was stone cold, he snagged a stack of papers sitting there.
Danny pinched his side when he was sitting back up and he couldn’t help the yelp.
“What the hell,” Danny asked, pawing at the hem of Steve’s shirt. “Are you hurt?”
He slapped gently at the hands, shifting up and off the bed before Danny could get a good look at Steve’s stomach. “I’m fine….it’s fine, relax Danno.” He sunk into his usual seat, looking at the medical power of attorney and living will papers in his hands before looking toward Danny. “What’s all this?”
“Ah…” Danny looked down to his sheet covered lap and then he began to pick at a nail on one of his fingers. “My case manager came in today and talked with me a bit about those papers. My medical power of attorney is out of date, lists Rachel, so…”
“Oh, okay… so you gonna name you folks or…”
“No, no…” Danny lifted his head and met Steve’s eyes. “I talked to them about some other things they can take care of while they are here, but I was thinking you…you should be my medical power of attorney.”
Steve knew his eyes had widened in surprise and a tiny lump formed in his throat, but he nodded, a flush of happiness working its way up his chest and to his face. “I ah…I ah, sure…I can do that.”
“Yeah,” Danny looked up too, seeming unsure. “It’s just, you know, my parents are so far away and Rachel shouldn’t have to…”
“I get it, Danno,” Steve sat the papers aside and took Danny’s warm hand in his. “It makes sense…do we…what do we need to do?”
Danny’s shifted back on the bed, but kept a hold of Steve’s hand, his eyes bright and watery again, clearly not feeling well. “I just need to fill in the information, they have a notary here, so we can sign and they’ll put it in my file, but we need to talk about my living will…”
Steve’s heart did a little funny flutter, like right after the explosion, but he schooled his features and nodded, “yeah, babe…tell me what you want and I’ll do…I’ll do the same…I’m not even sure who’s listed as my…maybe still my dad or maybe Mary…” and he knew he was rambling, but this was not a small thing…Danny trusted him with his life, Steve knew that, but now…now Danny trusted him with his death too and that made Steve feel…well, he didn’t know how that made him feel…he didn’t want to think about Danny’s end, not when he and Danny just started whatever this thing was…
A relationship, a little voice whispered in his head.
Accountability, commitment…love.
“I ah…well, I don’t want to die, but I…” Danny’s blue eyes seemed clearer as he looked at Steve, looked right through him. “I don’t want to live if there’s no hope, Steve…I don’t want to be hooked up to machines, if there’s no hope…I…I need to know you’ll be strong enough to let me go when the time comes.”
Steve could feel the press of tears now, but he didn’t let them fall. He used his free hand to rub at his face and when he looked back up to Danny, he nodded, not trusting his own voice.
He loved Danny, knew that Danny felt the same even though neither of them had ever said the words out loud.
Sometimes, it was better to just show it, so he leaned in and kissed Danny’s mouth again, soft and gentle, teasing dry lips apart and running just the tip of his tongue over them lending Danny his own moisture.
When he pulled away, Danny shifted back, squeezed Steve’s hand and closed his eyes.
Steve thought he had drifted off until Danny whispered, “don’t think I’ve forgotten about the smoke…when I wake up, you’re gonna tell me everything.”
And Steve thought, yes…I’ll tell you everything, anything…whatever you want, Danno.
Whatever you want.
Part Thirteen
Author: Twilight
Summary: What the hell just happened? One minute he was holding his gun on Davis and the next he was on the ground with Danny bleeding all over him.
Rated: Pg 13
Feedback: Always welcome
Part One
Part Twelve
Steve laid as still as possible, the ground hard under his weight, but he didn't want to move just yet, was trying to decide if he was seriously injured or just in shock.
He shifted, his ears ringing loud and his head pounded to the erratic rhythm of his heart. He could feel funny little flutters in his chest and he hurt, felt like he had been sucker punched in the gut.
His eyes burned too, tears forming and running down his cheeks. He wiped at them with dirty hands until he could see the thick clouds of smoke and soot rising from the burning building in front of him, billowing toward him, covering his prone form. The sky was black with it, the hazy fumes from the fire blocking out the early morning sun.
Time to move.
So he shook off the dizziness as he pushed slowly to his feet, having trouble getting his legs under him, but he managed to finally get upright, the buzzing in his ears subsided and at first all he could hear was his own harsh breathing.
He reached out to find something to steady himself, leaning over to brace his hands on his knees, slowing his breathing and then sounds returned.
He could hear faint sirens in the distance, people shouting and managed to look around at the chaotic scene.
People, his fellow officers, were running to help the injured as best they could, while they waited for help to arrive.
Someone grabbed his arm hard, yanking him around and asking, "...you okay?”
Officer Dunham waited until he nodded, his brain working slow and feeling thick in his head and then he remembered he wasn't standing in front of the house alone.
He pulled his arm away, overbalancing but staying upright and Dunham moved to help another person.
Steve looked around for Kono, spotting her on the ground a few feet to his left, sprawled on her belly. Her face was pressed to the grass, her hair covering most of her features but Steve could see that her right ear was trickling blood.
Someone had already reached her, was grabbing her arms and hauling her up and away from the smoldering debris, the chunks of wood and twisted metal that littered the lawn around them.
Her eyes were open, but she didn’t look like she knew where she was or what had happened, so Steve took a hold of her, held her around the waist and dragged her back toward a cruiser, propping her up against his side.
He had to clear a gob of mucus from his throat, wincing as he swallowed it down before he could get the words out, “Kono…Are you hurt?”
It didn’t appear that she could clearly hear him. She watched his mouth as he spoke, but didn't respond and he worried she may have struck her head in the fall or a piece of junk that littered the yard around them had hit her in the explosion.
The fire trucks he had heard earlier screeched to a halt and firemen jumped from their rigs and hauled their equipment, pulling hoses lose and connecting them to the street hydrants, moving in to try to contain the blaze.
Kono winced and shuddered in his arms, slapping her hands up and over her ears. He gave her another little squeeze, and leaned her back against the patrol car.
Shouting and calls for help came from the back of the house, so he spoke louder to her, asking again, “Kono…will you be okay for a second, the ambulances are on the way…but I need…”
She nodded at him, still a little dazed, and Steve couldn’t tell if she really heard him or not, but he needed to go check on Chin…a knot of worry formed in his gut. Chin would have come to check on them if he could and he hadn't.
"Keep an eye on her?" he asked Dunham, who was still hovering near by and then gave her shoulder a pat , leaving her leaning against the car, taking off to the back of the house where most of the damage was.
More officers, people who were there for the hostage situation had scrambled to help, taking the walking wounded to the front of the house, but others leaned over fallen men and women, offering whatever triage they could.
Steve frantically scanned the back yard for Chin but he came up empty, wondering if maybe he had somehow missed him out front.
He started to turn, but Duke grabbed his arm as he ran passed.
The man’s face was smudged with soot and he had a little cut over his right eyebrow. Blood ran in rivets into his blinking eyes and onto his cheek and he kept wiping at it with a hanky, smearing it over his face.
“Chin is toward the shed,” he wheezed, “I got an officer with him until the ambulances gets here…we got a handful of serious…”
Steve grabbed Duke’s shoulders when he faltered and swayed. He looked like he might be the next to go down, “Easy…easy…I got this. Why don’t you go back out front and coordinate your uninjured, wait for the medics, direct them to the wounded when they get here.”
Duke nodded, stumbling a little as he pulled from Steve’s grip. “I’m gonna check in with the firemen and see where we are with Wilson and Davis…”
“Okay, keep me informed,” and Steve turned to the increasing chaos of the back yard.
People were running back and forth, yelling at each other to be heard over the roaring fire that still blazed, consuming the broken timber and plaster at the back of the house despite the high powered stream of water coming from the firemen’s hoses.
He spotted the shed in the far corner and a woman in uniform leaning over Chin’s still form, her hands pressing down at Chin’s left shoulder.
Steve ran, skidded to a stop by his downed team mate and went to his knees, yelling, “What do we got?”
He recognized her as Amy Chen…a good cop, but he had never seen her look so panicked in the past, not even when bullets were flying.
Chin’s eyes were opened to slits and his chest rose and fell in a labored fashion, he panted with each breath, but Steve didn’t know if it was because of his injuries or the pain he seemed to be in.
Amy didn’t answer, instead she carefully adjusted the material she was using to stem the flow of blood and that’s when Steve saw it, a chunk of broken and splintered wood poking from Chin’s shoulder and Amy seemed to be trying to steady the wood more than stop the flow of blood.
A surge of sickness swirled in Steve’s belly again and he felt dizzy.
Not again.
But he swallowed, trying to push down the nausea so he could concentrate on helping Chin.
He shifted to his ass and leaned over his friend, making sure that Chin could see him; resting his hand over Amy’s to hold the piece of broken two by four. “I gotcha, man…just stay still…ambulance is on the way.”
Chin nodded, eyes closing.
“Hey…open your eyes, Chin.”
Oh god…this can’t be happening…not again.
Chin slowly blinked at him.
Amy slipped her hand away, wiping Chin’s blood onto her pant leg before pushing to her feet. “I’m going to go check on Kono…”
He nodded, grateful, “Thanks, Chen…She was by the units when I left her…”
“Don’t worry…I’ll find her…”
Steve kept up the slight pressure, watching his friend try to keep his eyes open, “don’t worry, man…it’s not even that bad,” and Steve remembered saying those same words to Danny, praying this time it would be true.
Chin nodded, opening his mouth and licking his lips, trying to speak, but Steve shushed him, “Don’t try to talk…” because he was worried about Chin’s lungs, but he seemed to be breathing okay and that was good…would have to due for now.
“Malia…” Chin managed and Steve nodded, because he knew what Chin needed.
“I’ll call her as soon as you’re on your way to the hospital and when you see her, you can tell her yourself…You’re gonna be fine.”
A paramedic knelt by them and Steve showed her the injury.
She nodded, listening to Chin’s chest, taking his blood pressure and told him, “we’ll take him next, just keep holding that,” and she moved away to talk to her partner.
Steve could still hear approaching sirens and knew that more help was arriving.
The medic came back and opened a package of large gauze, grabbed at the balled wad of material Steve was using and replaced it with the bandages.
Her partner was leaning over Chin now, asking him questions, but he had to put his head down close to Chin’s mouth to hear the answers.
They worked quickly to get him ready for transport, slipping a stiff collar around Chin’s neck and an oxygen mask over his face, rolled him onto a back board and then onto the stretcher.
Steve kept holding the wood sticking from Chin’s shoulder and moved with the duo as they ran toward the waiting ambulance.
He spotted Kono sitting on the back of another bus, a paramedic looking her over, but when she saw them, she tried to stand.
Steve hollered, “Stay there,” and she nodded, sinking back down.
“You have room for her,” he asked as the medics wheeled Chin in to the back of the ambulance.
“If you’re staying, we’ll take her.”
Steve ran toward Kono, “Come on, your ride is here.”
And even though she was still looking at him, she didn’t acknowledge what he had told her.
The medic wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to her and she nodded, giving him a thumbs up and a tiny smile and Steve’s knees felt weak all over again…Kono couldn’t hear him…
The medics had loaded Chin in and yelled, “We’re ready...she coming?”
Steve tore his eyes from Kono and his spiraling thoughts, “Yes, she's coming,” and he carefully took her arm and helped her to her feet, guiding her toward the waiting ambulance. The medic that was checking her out handed some papers to the woman and she stowed the papers before helping Kono get in, buckling her to the jump seat.
“She’s stable,” the medic told him. “I’ll make sure she gets signed in to be seen at the ER.”
And before the doors slammed shut, Kono gave him one more thumbs up.
Steve watched as the ambulance pulled out, sirens blaring and then slumped over, bracing his hands on his knees again.
What the hell just happened?
He pushed himself up though, because there would be time later to think.
Now he needed to act…to help…
Ambulances lined the street. The seriously wounded were already on their way to the hospital and most of the fire was out, small flare ups being contained. And the forensic techs had arrived; Max was just pulling up with his van.
“Commander?” Max moved toward him, his eyes taking in the burnt shell of the house and all the emergency vehicles.
“Two inside,” Steve told him, walking toward Duke, who had been speaking with a fireman over by the patrol cars. “One should be our fugitive; the other was the occupant of the house, Lisa Wilson. Duke?”
Steve saw that he now had a bandage over his brow and his face had been cleaned. Duke nodded toward the man he was talking with, “This is Captain Kama.”
Steve shook the man’s offered hand, “Commander. It appears the fire was caused by a gas leak. We shut down the lines as a precaution and we’ll be able to determine more once the structure has been approved for reentry. The inspector will be arriving and when he gives the okay, we’ll let your people in.”
“Thanks Captain…were you able to recover the bodies?” Steve looked from Kama to Max, knowing the coroner would want to get started.
“We have them around the side…found the man near the front of the house, his…remains are in better shape then the other body…”
“Can you show me?” Max asked, already moving around the house, his bag in hand and the Captain followed.
“I’ve got this Steve,” Duke patted his shoulder, “go on to the hospital and look after your people. I’ll come by when I get anything.”
He blew out a breath, torn, but finally nodded, “Thanks Duke…”
His truck was blocked in, but the ambulance that was in front was getting ready to pull out, so he got behind the wheel and took a second to just breathe.
He needed to call the Governor, but before that he needed to call Malia.
His cell was in his pocket and he checked the display to see that he had missed a few calls from Danny’s cell.
His heart skipped a few beats as he dialed his voicemail and listened.
Danny’s dad’s recorded voice told him that Danny’s fever was getting worse and the doctor had some concerns, to call as soon as possible.
The display on his watch told him it was early afternoon, so he shouldn’t run into too much traffic on the way to the hospital, but as he started the truck, he flipped on his sirens and lights anyway.
He pulled away from the house in Pearl City and headed toward Queen’s, thumbing through his contacts until he found Malia’s cell.
He waited as a soothing voice invited him to listen to music while his party was being reached and when she didn’t pick up, he left a short message, “Malia, Steve…there’s been…Chin is on his way to the ER. Kono is with him…I’ll try your office…”
The phone beeped, but he opted not to redo his message. He tried her office and someone had told him that she was out to a late lunch, so he decided to leave a message with the person on the other end of the line too and then dialed Danny’s cell.
It went to voice mail too, meaning that the Williams’ were probably in the ICU with their son, and Steve would just have to wait until he got to the hospital to find out what was happening with Danny.
The last call was to Denning, and thankfully he was not available…Steve didn’t want to take the time, knowing the man would probably want to see him personally for a debriefing, so he left a short message with the man’s personal assistant, explaining the outcome of the case and a promise to call when he got more information.
He was just turning onto Vineyard, heading to the parking garage when his phone buzzed. He fumbled it, seeing it was Malia’s cell number on the display, “Malia?”
“Steve…what’s happened…I got your message and I’m on my way to the ER now.”
“I just got here too,” he pulled up to the barrier and pressed the button to get a ticket, pulling under the rising gate and too the designated emergency vehicle spots. “I’m on my way in now.”
He could hear her breathing on the other end of the line, but she didn’t say anything and Steve knew she was waiting to hear what had happened.
“Chin and Kono came in together,” he explained, dropping down from his truck and hitting the fob to lock it, jogging across to the steps that led down to the connecting tunnel. “There was a gas explosion…Chin was around the back and Kono and I were out front. He’s got a shoulder injury…Kono was having a problem hearing…”
He thought he lost her in the tunnel, looked at his display to see if the connection was lost, but he still had bars, so he asked, “Malia?”
“I’m here…I’m at the ER…I see Kono…You coming?”
“Yes, nearly there,” and he flashed his badge at the lobby security and headed down the hall to the emergency department. “I’m coming through the interior doors now,” and once he was through, he scanned the bank of chairs in the waiting room for them, spotting Kono slumped in her seat with Malia leaning over her.
He pocketed his phone and called for Kono, but only Malia looked his way.
He hurried over and knelt in front of her, “Kono…have you been seen yet?”
“She’s having trouble hearing, Steve.”
He squeezed Kono’s hand and stood to speak with Malia, “Have you…”
“No, I called down as soon as I got your voice mail. Dr. Miller has taken Chin into surgery; to repair damage…I’m going to see if I can get Kono into a room, I can check her out…” Malia left them and Steve turned back to his other injured team mate, wanting to make sure she was taken care of before heading up to see how Danny was doing.
“I’m okay,” she said, her voice too loud, drawing the attention of other’s waiting for loved ones or to be seen.
Malia came back, reaching for Kono. “They’re pretty busy, but I’m going to get her on a gurney in the hall, get her vitals and the testing started.”
Steve followed them back through the doors, waiting as Malia handed Kono a gown, a plastic bag for her clothes and a specimen cup, bodily pointing her in the direction of the bathroom just down the hall.
Kono nodded, reaching to her side to pull out her service weapon and then her back up from her ankle, handing them to Steve before turning to head to the bathroom.
Steve tucked them into his belt, asking, “Is she going to be okay?”
“I’m going to send her for a head CT, but you said there was an explosion, so she has probably damaged her ear drums. I have a friend in Otolaryngology…I’ll give her a call if the CT is clear. I suspect it will be…”
Kono came back down the hall, holding the bag in one hand and her gown closed in the back with the other. She handed her stuff to Malia and slid up and onto the gurney.
“Can you hear me?” Steve asked and was relieved when Kono nodded.
“A little,” her voice was still raised, but she went on, “It’s like bad reception on a cell…your voices sorta cut in and out.”
Malia tucked her bag of clothes up and under the gurney, patting Kono’s arm. “I’ve got a call into Imaging and as soon as they can fit you in, we’re gonna make sure you don’t have a head injury…if everything checks out we’ll get the ear doctor down here to look you over.”
“She had some sensitivity to noise too,” Steve told her about the sirens and how they seemed to hurt Kono.
“Loud noises with an inner ear injury can cause tinnitus, a ringing sound, that’s not unusual and in fact, it’s a good indication she has an ear injury and not a head injury.”
Steve nodded, smiled at Kono as she turned her head back and forth between him and Malia as they talked, trying to make out their conversation.
“How’s Chin,” Kono asked, shifting back on to the gurney and pulling the blankets up and under her chin. She shook a little, like maybe she was cold, but Steve thought that it was more like an adrenaline crash.
Malia flagged down a nurse and asked that an IV be started and then she told Kono, “Chin’s in surgery. As soon as I find out something, I’ll let you know.”
“Kay…I’m okay, boss…go see Danny.”
He nodded, wanting to get to Danny as soon as he could. Kono and Chin were both in good hands and Malia would come and get him if anything changed, but before he could tell them he was heading to Danny’s room, Malia grabbed his shoulder.
“Steve, are you hurt…your movements are stiff…”
His chest and belly hurt, but nothing seemed broken, so he shook his head, “I’m fine.”
Malia didn’t look convinced, but she let go of him and said, “Come back down here if anything changes and you should probably clean up a little, you’re covered in soot.”
He had a bag in the truck, so he patted Kono’s arm, giving her a little squeeze as the nurse came with the IV line, telling Malia to let him know as soon as she heard anything on either of them. “I’ll check back in a bit, after I make sure Danny’s doing okay.”
It didn’t take long to make it back to his truck and pull the duffle he kept stowed under the back bench. He put Kono’s and his weapons in the lockbox and headed back to the hospital to change.
The bathrooms off the main lobby were empty, so he picked a door and locked it behind him, sitting his bag on a closed toilet seat, checking his cell to see if maybe he missed a call from Danny’s folks, but no one had left him a recent message.
He got his shirt off, turning the tap to warm and used some paper towels to clean his dirty face, washed his hands and then dried off with some more paper towels.
His torso was covered in blackening bruises and he took a minute to press a few, to make sure that they were only skin deep.
It hurt like hell, but he didn’t think he had done any serious damage, so he smeared on some deodorant and pulled on a clean tee shirt.
Even with the fresh shirt, he could still smell smoke…in his hair and on his pants.
He didn’t want to take the time to yank off his boots and change his pants, they were dark in color and didn’t show the dirt as much, but he knew Danny would smell him and want to know what had happened and would worry.
Steve didn’t want Danny to worry, so he bent to unlace his boots, feeling his bruises pull. He was going to have to put something on them later, some ointment, but not yet, because Danny would smell that too and demand to know what had happened.
He got on a clean pair of pants, stuffed his dirty clothes back into the bag and worked on getting his boots laced.
When he looked into the mirror, he couldn’t see anything that would make Danny suspicious and the smell of smoke was nearly gone.
He ran some water over his hands and rubbed through his hair, patting it dry with a few more paper towels and unlocked the door, deciding not to take his bag back to the truck.
When he got to Danny’s floor, he spotted Tina at the nurse’s desk.
She looked up and gave him a little smile, “you can go on in, Steve…he’s not feeling too great, but he’ll be happy to see you.”
“Thanks, Tina,’ Steve hurried down the hall and found Danny laying on the bed, still, eyes closed, but they opened when Steve came into the room.
“Hey, babe” Danny said, his voice paper thin and breathy. He looked hot too, his face flushed and sweaty.
Steve dropped his bag and moved over to the bed, noting that Danny’s IV lines were now in his other arm and a new bag of something dripped into his veins. He slipped the safety railing down and slid onto the edge, leaning over to kiss Danny’s forehead. “You still feel hot, Danno…what’s the doctor saying?”
But Danny didn’t answer Steve’s question, asking one of his own instead, “why do you smell like smoke?”
Steve laughed, even if he felt like he could cry right about now, knowing that he was well into his own adrenaline crash, but he just kissed Danny’s head again, pulling away a little to say, “I asked first and where are your parents?”
Danny sighed, pushed at Steve’s chest a little until he straightened up. “They went to spend some time with Grace…”
“I thought Grace was coming for a visit today?” He couldn’t help but to tuck a blonde curl behind Danny’s ear, knowing now why his partner used so many products to keep his hair off his face. Steve used the tips of his fingers to rub at the delicate skin there.
Danny’s eyes were a little bright, but Steve wasn’t sure if that was because of the fever or if Danny was trying to hold back his own tears. “Dr. Hoy didn’t think it was a good idea…kids are germ carriers, so…”
And Steve understood, “It’ll be okay…I know you miss her…you can call her once you get to your new room.”
“About that…”
Steve sat up a little straighter, “What did Dr. Hoy say, Danny?”
“I’ve got an infection…somewhere…they’re testing my blood and urine now…seeing what grows…I got,” he looked down at his IV’s then up to the pole holding the bags, “new meds, antimicrobial something or the other…”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like a freakin pin cushion…sore...tired, like I’m gonna break my fifteen year streak, but better now that you’re hear.” and he pulled Steve down, dotting a tiny kiss to the corner of Steve’s mouth. “Now, you gonna tell me why you smell like smoke?”
Steve sat back again, running his fingers gently down Danny’s forearm, over the former sight of Danny’s IV’s, careful of the blooming bruises, but enjoying the feel of gooseflesh and Danny’s hair standing on end to meet his fingertips.
He spotted the bowl on the rolling table and checked his watch, “is that your lunch? You need to eat…”
“Don’t change the subject, Steven…”
Steve slid up and over Danny, careful to support his weight on his arms.
After he felt the bowl to determine the soup was stone cold, he snagged a stack of papers sitting there.
Danny pinched his side when he was sitting back up and he couldn’t help the yelp.
“What the hell,” Danny asked, pawing at the hem of Steve’s shirt. “Are you hurt?”
He slapped gently at the hands, shifting up and off the bed before Danny could get a good look at Steve’s stomach. “I’m fine….it’s fine, relax Danno.” He sunk into his usual seat, looking at the medical power of attorney and living will papers in his hands before looking toward Danny. “What’s all this?”
“Ah…” Danny looked down to his sheet covered lap and then he began to pick at a nail on one of his fingers. “My case manager came in today and talked with me a bit about those papers. My medical power of attorney is out of date, lists Rachel, so…”
“Oh, okay… so you gonna name you folks or…”
“No, no…” Danny lifted his head and met Steve’s eyes. “I talked to them about some other things they can take care of while they are here, but I was thinking you…you should be my medical power of attorney.”
Steve knew his eyes had widened in surprise and a tiny lump formed in his throat, but he nodded, a flush of happiness working its way up his chest and to his face. “I ah…I ah, sure…I can do that.”
“Yeah,” Danny looked up too, seeming unsure. “It’s just, you know, my parents are so far away and Rachel shouldn’t have to…”
“I get it, Danno,” Steve sat the papers aside and took Danny’s warm hand in his. “It makes sense…do we…what do we need to do?”
Danny’s shifted back on the bed, but kept a hold of Steve’s hand, his eyes bright and watery again, clearly not feeling well. “I just need to fill in the information, they have a notary here, so we can sign and they’ll put it in my file, but we need to talk about my living will…”
Steve’s heart did a little funny flutter, like right after the explosion, but he schooled his features and nodded, “yeah, babe…tell me what you want and I’ll do…I’ll do the same…I’m not even sure who’s listed as my…maybe still my dad or maybe Mary…” and he knew he was rambling, but this was not a small thing…Danny trusted him with his life, Steve knew that, but now…now Danny trusted him with his death too and that made Steve feel…well, he didn’t know how that made him feel…he didn’t want to think about Danny’s end, not when he and Danny just started whatever this thing was…
A relationship, a little voice whispered in his head.
Accountability, commitment…love.
“I ah…well, I don’t want to die, but I…” Danny’s blue eyes seemed clearer as he looked at Steve, looked right through him. “I don’t want to live if there’s no hope, Steve…I don’t want to be hooked up to machines, if there’s no hope…I…I need to know you’ll be strong enough to let me go when the time comes.”
Steve could feel the press of tears now, but he didn’t let them fall. He used his free hand to rub at his face and when he looked back up to Danny, he nodded, not trusting his own voice.
He loved Danny, knew that Danny felt the same even though neither of them had ever said the words out loud.
Sometimes, it was better to just show it, so he leaned in and kissed Danny’s mouth again, soft and gentle, teasing dry lips apart and running just the tip of his tongue over them lending Danny his own moisture.
When he pulled away, Danny shifted back, squeezed Steve’s hand and closed his eyes.
Steve thought he had drifted off until Danny whispered, “don’t think I’ve forgotten about the smoke…when I wake up, you’re gonna tell me everything.”
And Steve thought, yes…I’ll tell you everything, anything…whatever you want, Danno.
Whatever you want.
Part Thirteen