Just an Old Fashioned Love Song 4/4
Author: Tari_Roo
Rating: PG13 (Gen)
Disclaimer: I own nothing, I profit from nothing. Although if I had my way Steve would be bare-chested even more than he is, we would actually 'see' Danny trying to surf and Kono would be a secret Cylon. That is all.
Summary: Danny took a CPR class when Gracie was born, just in case. Danny never once imagined that he'd have to do bastardised rescue breathing to keep 'I'm a Navy Seal, I can hold my breath for five hours' Steve McGarrett alive. Sick!Steve Worried!Danny
Spoilers: for season 1 of Hawaii 5-0
Chapter 3
Danny had had worse days. Life as a cop meant you got more than your fair share of crappy days with screaming parents, distraught spouses, cold hearted killers, dead kids. Throw in the average statistics on divorce, accidents, injuries and Murphy's law, and Daniel Williams was bound to have a load of crap days.
Today didn't even make the top twenty, even throwing in idiotic partners with the terminal need to act tough. The paramedics had rushed McGarrett off to Queen's but they had headed to HPD headquarters with Christine Mookini. It didn't take long for two HPD squad cars to arrive with Hank Nichols and Ashley Greer, screaming down from the other side of Round Top Drive.
And then Danny got the icing on the crap day cake. Ashley screaming for her father as the officers dragged him inside. She was old enough and smart enough to figure that the unusual and unplanned father daughter hike was out of the ordinary, but she was alone with strangers, and her Dad was being hauled away by policeman.
Christine was in booking already, but Ashley struggled and fought with the female police officer holding her, screaming bloody murder for her Daddy. Mom was still fighting traffic, even with a police escort and the girl was scared, terrified for herself and her father.
The officer was trying, she really was, probably had kids of her own, but damn if she wasn't making things worse. Kono was arguing on the phone with the hospital, Chin was dealing with the fallout of Five-Oh going off on their own again, and Danny? Danny was pissed off.
Walking away from the paramedic who was trying to examine his hand, Danny closed the distance between the ambulance and the squad car. Ashley was red faced, tears streaming down her cheeks, straining to get to her father. Danny signalled to the officers hauling Hank away and snapped at the female officer, "Let her go."
She was stunned enough to obey and Ashley took off like a shot, straight for her father. They met in the doorway to the station, and Hank tried to return her desperate hug as best he could with his hands cuffed behind him. Officer Ford scowled at him but Danny glared right back. "Her mom will be here in five minutes..."
"He kidnapped her!"
Danny waved her off and stalked back to his team. Sure enough, a police escort was soon demanding a path through the crowds and Julie Greer was running for the steps of the HPD Station towards her daughter. Danny didn't watch as Ashley left her Dad and he was taken inside, but he could hear her sobs and her mother's soothing replies.
Hank Nichols was a grade one jackass because who thought messing around with one dead kid and causing two families hours of grief and anxiety was worth a few hours with your daughter. Not when it was bound to end like this, and not when this meant he wouldn't see Ashley for years. Moron.
Speaking of morons. "Hospital says Steve is doing ok," Kono called out.
Danny nodded. Sure Steve was doing ok. Pulmonary edema was treatable, if you caught it in time. Hell, a lot of things were. Kono shoved her phone in her pocket and smiled shakily, "He's on a high oxygen treatment, will probably be in the hospital for 24 hours, maybe longer."
Danny nodded again, looking at his hand. The paramedic had barely cleared away the blood, and it stung like mad, a sharp throbbing ache.
"You coming?"
Looking up, straight at Kono's earnest, relieved face and Danny felt a silver of shame but it was drowned by the torrent of anger. "No."
"Danny..."
Kono was all 'be reasonable', 'don't be a hardass' but Williams shook his head. "Nah, we've got a tonne of paperwork to get to and right now I don't want to say something I'm going to regret." Chin walked over, his expression a mirror of Kono's and he smiled, "We set?"
"Call me if anything changes," Danny said, and headed over to the paramedic who was tapping her watch, waiting for him.
He ignored the shared look between the cousins. It might not have been the worst day and might not have ranked in the top twenty, but hell if he was going to end it by punching his partner in the face, even if he was in the hospital with first aid a buzzer away. No. Not today. Not when he'd saved his life. Twice. In one day.
Just no.
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Queen's Medical Centre was a pretty decent place to be sick in. Awesome gardens, modern amenities, efficient personnel. But it was still a hospital and while it wasn't a military MASH tent in the middle of a war zone, it wasn't somewhere Steve planned on being for very long.
Somehow he'd ended up in his own room, with a couple of IVs pumping in medication and a serious threat from the nurses to stay put. The ride in on the ambulance had been somewhat of a blur, but luckily the ER team hadn't had to resort to using a CPAP to help him breathe, the steady flow of oxygen enough to stave off the crushing pressure in his lungs.
The nurse though looking after him had given him a long lecture about seeking medical treatment after near drowning and Steve had sat through it in silence, figuring he both deserved it and was going to get one with a lot more swearing and personal insults from Danny.
He'd half expected to find his team waiting by the door to his room when the nurse left, but their absence was keenly felt. Only the occasional nurse or patient trundled past, no familiar face in sight. Lying back against the stiff starchy pillows, trying not to fidget against the never soft sheets, McGarrett wished someone would come and tell him what was happening.
But sure enough, after not too long, Kono slunk in, looking cool and polished. Her hair had somehow recovered from the rain still looking sleek and awesome and Steve smiled, sitting up straighter, oxygen cannula in place.
"Hey," she smiled, putting down a clipboard of documents on his bedside tray.
"Hey," Steve hissed, disliking how croaky he sounded. Kono wiped her forehead, and leant against the bed, "You're looking better."
"Thanks, I think." McGarrett looked past her, wondering where the others were.
"Feeling better?" There was an ounce of chastisement in her voice, and Steve refused to bite, refused to be embarrassed so he just nodded, "Yeah."
There was a beat of silence and Kono sighed, "So, HPD found Ashley with her father and brought them in. When we left HQ the Greers had arrived, and ..."
Nodding, pleased, Steve croaked, "And the Simms?"
Frowning, Kono sat down on the bed, barely denting the stiff mattress and shrugged, "They're pretty mad. Their daughter's face is a total mess and they were supposed to bury her tomorrow. Mookini and Nichols are looking at some serious charges and time."
"Good," Steve hissed, as he moved, feeling his chest spark in protest as he did so.
"You sure you're ok, Boss?"
Nodding, and smiling as best one could with a cannula on your face, McGarrett sighed, "I'm fine." Kono shook her head and handed Steve his phone. "The Governor called. Said good job, as usual. Not too impressed that you put yourself in the hospital though."
Still nodding and taking the phone, McGarrett smirked, "Yeah, I bet she's not the only one. Is Danny out there?"
Kono took a deep breath and smiled brightly, "Chin is... he's on the phone to Mary."
Sitting up sharply and almost yelping as the IV pulled, McGarrett hissed, "What? She's supposed to be off the grid, not getting phone calls from Hawaii!"
Reassuring her Boss, pushing him back into the pillows, Kono smiled a small sad sort of smile and said, "It's a secure line, Chin made sure. She should know you're in the hospital."
Not entirely convinced, but not really up to an argument, Steve lay back and growled, "Fine. I don't agree, but ok."
Kono laughed and Steve couldn't help asking, "So, no Danny?" She shook her head, half amused, half uneasy. Not really looking at him, more looking at the floor, Kono sighed, "He's pissed at you. Really, really pissed. Majorly pissed." She ended by meeting Steve's eyes, impressing the severity, but still smiling.
Rolling his eyes, Steve waved that off, smiling himself, "Fine, I get it."
Shaking her head and taking his hand nearest to her, Kono lost her smile, "No, really, Steve. He's angry as hell. Refused to come. Gave me a note just as we were leaving."
"What?" McGarrett snapped, stunned. A note? How third grade.
Kono pulled out the piece of paper, rumpled and dirty and read doing a fair imitation of Danny. "Tell that bastard I am not talking to him. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes of mouth to mouth. Fifteen minutes." Kono paused, looked down and then up at Steve. "You really had us worried, Boss. And there are a lot of exclamation marks in here." She handed the note over and Steve took it with a wince.
There were a crap load of exclamation marks.
Flummoxed, Steve stared at the note, "But we got Ashley back! Reunited her with her family!"
Kono nodded, perhaps puzzling out the complicated working of Williams, "Yes, but from her father who was desperate to see her, and sent back to a mother who refused to let him see her. I guess it's all a little too close to home and add you nearly dying to that and he's furious."
"I didn't nearly die!" Steve snapped, and the heart monitor next to him spiked, and his chest pulled and Kono's raised eyebrow of disagreement all combined in to one 'Oh really, Steve McGarrett?'
Waving Chin over who was striding down the corridor, Kono snorted, "Yeah, Boss, you did. First on the boat, underwater for who knows how long and then for fifteen minutes at Manoa. You gave us all a scare."
Refusing to back down though, Steve waved at Chin who walked through the door, "I know, I was awake through it all, I..."
Chin though picked up the tail end of the conversation and patted Kono's knees as he pulled the chair closer to bed. Sitting down, he said, "True but you're weren't the one doing mouth to mouth and didn't see a little girl screaming for her Dad. He's angry, Steve."
"And you ignored him, Boss," Kono sighed, "A lot."
Giving in, acknowledging that he'd pushed the limits, McGarrett leant back and sighed, "Shit."
"Yeah, Boss. Shit."
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It was late, close to midnight, long past visiting hours. Kono and Chin had stayed long enough to fill him in on any and all details he might want to know. They had left and returned with dinner, sneaking it past the nurses' station. Mary had called, given her brother an earful but made him laugh in the end. Even the Governor had called again, and Steve had gone bright red at her own brand of careful admonishment.
Eventually the nurses had shooed Kono and Chin off and they had left with promises to return in the morning with real coffee. The hospital had grown silent and still, a settled hush of careful anticipation, heading for sleep and dreams.
And no Danny Williams.
The note lay crumpled and ignored on Steve's beside tray, a white piece of angry condemnation.
Steve's dinner had been tasteless but nutritious mishmash of vegetables and chicken, with the cliché bowl of jello. McGarrett had wanted to point out the pineapple chunks in the jello and watch Danny's now clichéd eyeroll, but Kono and Chin hadn't got it. So instead, Steve had left the jello and argued with the nurse about leaving it on the tray.
Now, alone with his pineapple spotted green jello, Steve lay awake, listening to the wheeze of his own breathing, and the drip of medicated IV bags.
The light from the hallway dimmed slightly and McGarrett looked up slowly, half afraid to hope and kinda embarrassed that he was so keen. Danny's distinctive silhouette was slumped against the doorjamb, and McGarrett couldn't help the smile.
"Danny, I..."
"Shut up."
Williams stepped in and checked the hallway behind him and closed the distance to the bed. Steve sat up straighter, refusing to wince at the aches and pains. Danny slumped in the chair and propped his chin up with his left hand, glaring at Steve.
"Danny,..."
"I said, shut up."
So Steve shut up, and leant back, waiting for the inevitable tirade, relieved that Danny had come, forgiven him at least this far. It also boded well that he'd come this late, it meant he couldn't shout at William's volume number ten, but it also meant he had had time to brood, cool down.
"So, what? We just gonna sit here..."
"Can you not shut up for five minutes! Man, it's like you have verbal diarrhoea," Danny hissed.
Steve smiled in the dark, knowing Danny could see him and thought, 'Pot, Kettle, Williams.' But he shut up. And waited. As Danny's slumped figure became clearer in the gloom, Steve noticed the bandages, the stiff set to his shoulders, and how careful he was holding his right hand.
"What happened..."
"Shut up!"
Losing some of his patience, Steve opened his mouth to argue, to snap his partner out of this foul tempered funk when Williams grunted, "I know I go on a lot about your death wish, I get that."
"Danny."
But Williams steamrolled on. "I get that you're a grown man, a frigging Navy Seal and that you can take care of yourself. And usually it's me I'm worried about during your hairbrained antics."
Steve sighed, wanting to ask about the hand again. Danny snorted, derision mixed with exhaustion, "But shit if I expected to have to mother hen my own partner!"
"No one asked..."
Danny dragged the chair closer, the screech of the plastic on the floor cutting Steve off, and Williams hissed, "Not done, dumbass. I am not doing this again."
McGarrett's heart pounded, wondering if somehow he misjudged this, wondering if Danny was going to quit and strangely pissed about that. But Williams snarled, "There isn't going to be next time, but next time, McGarrett... I am punching you out and dragging you a hospital. Got it?"
It was difficult seeing Danny's expression clearly, difficult to judge his emotions beside anger, and that was perhaps why Danny had chosen the half gloom of night to do it. Tempted to wave it off, and make a joke about Williams not being able to punch him out, or something like that, Steve held his tongue. Instead Steve sighed and said, "I'm sorry I sacred you, Danny."
Chuffing, snorting, and running his hand through his hair, Danny sat back in the chair and laughed, "No, you're not."
"Yeah, I am. I am sorry."
Danny didn't say anything else, nothing about 'you nearly died', or about doing CPR, or about oxygen deprived Seal brains. Danny Williams was a loyal man, to a fault. He'd followed his daughter around the world, let his brother fly away on a plane, and stuck by a partner who frustrated and scared him. There was no easy way to express any of that, so Steve tried to catch Danny's eyes, difficult in the dark and he said, "Thanks for saving my life. Both times."
Dany grunted, "Not doing it again, just so you know. I've had my quota of CPR for the year."
"Kay."
"And you owe me a new suit."
"Fine."
"And a new tie."
"No."
Danny grunted again as he settled in the chair and waved what might have been a middle finger at Steve or what might have been a bunch of them. Feeling better, surprisingly so, McGarrett waited, counted it off in his head, and asked, "What happened to the hand?"
"I hit a tree."
Smiling, Steve laughed, "Why?"
Covering his mouth, Danny hmphed, "It was a pineapple tree."
"Oh. I have pineapple jello if you want."
"Go to sleep, McGarrett."
"Yes, Danno."
"What did I say about that?"
"Night, Danny."
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Fin.
AN: And we are done. I seem to like ending h/c stories in hospitals, late at night (ponders). Hope you enjoyed, even though it was short.
For those of you who might be interested, in 1.17, the long hill Danny and Steve were pushing Steve's car up looked a lot like Round Top Drive (from my meanderings on Google street maps). And then Danny said it was Pali highway, and I was sad. But still! edit: Ha! Vindicated. It was Round Top Drive. Ha!
Right back, to the AN. I have an idea for a longer fic, but I wanted to run it by you guys first. I don't read a lot of Hawaii Five-0 fic only because I am short on time at present and when it comes down to reading or writing, well the WIPs win. And, not knowing what fanon is doing, or writing, I wanted to check if this story has been done already.
Some good old boys from Jersey come over to Hawaii and grab Danny. He has intel on a snitch within their organisation and they want it. So I envision a hard metal chair, a straight razor and salt. Ole Steve is running around trying to find Danny and when the bad guys make a move on Gracie, in order to get leverage over Danny, Steve ends up looking after her and trying to find Danno, with the appropriate kick ass coolness of Kono and Chin at his side.
So, has it been done? And if so, tell me, tell me so I can go read it
Thanks