New H50 Fic: A Time to Heal Part Four
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 Four
“Family of Danny Williams?”
Kono looked up from the shredded mess she had made with her vending coffee cup, unable to keep her hands still, from fidgeting while she waited.
She liked to think she was a woman of action, a real go getter, a jump before you look kinda girl, but waiting, unable to do anything, especially when it was someone you loved fighting for their life, not so much…well it seemed at least the wait part was over.
They all stood when the surgeon approached, but Kono hung back a bit with Chin as Steve shook the doctor’s hand. “I’m Steve McGarrett,” her boss said, “Danny’s my partner and this is Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua,” he inclined his head toward them, “Danny’s other team mates.”
“Doctor Hoy,” the man gave them each a firm handshake before explaining, “Detective Williams made it through the surgery and is being moved to the recovery unit now. The bullet nicked his bowel on entry, then traveled and ricocheted around his abdomen, injuring tissue and muscle, tearing a hole in his diaphragm before coming to rest in his spleen.”
Kono swallowed down a mouth full of saliva, remembering all the blood and choked off breaths and Danny dying right in front of them and not being able to do a damn thing about it.
“We were able to stop the bleeding by repairing his bowel and diaphragm, but we had to remove part of his spleen.
The vascular surgeon worked on him as well and there was some splintering of his two lower ribs on the left side, which caused the collapsed lung, but the lung itself looks good, as do his other organs.
There is swelling and so we’ve used a temporary closure and will have to go back in when the swelling goes down, inspect his other organs again and make sure the remainder of the spleen is healing before we suture him up.”
Kono heard a slight buzzing in her ears, but what the doctor was saying was more important, so when the sound persisted she pinched the inside of her arm, shook her head and then unlocked her jaw to stretch her ear drums and that seemed to work.
The doctor looked at her for a beat or two before going on, “he’s lost a lot of blood, so we’re transfusing him, supporting his breathing and other bodily functions until he’s able to do it on his own, but for the time being, his vitals are looking good.”
Kono asked, “So, he’s going to be okay,” because that’s what they all really wanted to know.
But Hoy’s face gave nothing away, “He’s body has experienced an extreme trauma and we’re worried about infection and other complications, which are likely. I don’t want to give false hope.”
The doctor took the time to look all three of them in the eye before continuing, “Danny’s in for a long recovery, but as of now his prognosis is good.”
And she and the other’s let go of a collective breath.
“Can we see him,” Steve asked and the doctor nodded.
“I’ll give you a few minutes, but then only one person every hour for ten minutes until he’s moved to SICU, then depending on his condition we can lighten the limit of visitation.”
The doctor turned and they followed him back down the hall he came from and through the double door to the surgical ward. “The unit nurse will explain the support equipment and answer any questions you might have. He’s not awake yet, but she’s about to give him the medicine to wake him. I’ll be back to check on him in a bit” Dr. Hoy shook their hands again before leaving them in the recovery ward.
There was a large nurse’s station in the center of about a dozen beds, divided by pulled curtains, but only one was occupied and as they got closer to Danny, Kono felt like she was going to be sick.
“Oh, Danny…” she said and then she stumbled to a halt, holding on to Steve’s arm and maybe Steve was holding onto her too, because Danny…Danny didn’t look like Danny and before she could wrap her head around what she was seeing, the ringing in her ears was back, and tiny black dots danced across her vision, and she pitched to the side.
Chin and Steve had to grab her before she hit the floor.
“Whoa, cuz…easy, it’s okay.” Chin guided her to a chair and pushed her head down, “Deep breaths, that’s it.”
She was horrified, embarrassed about her swan dive, because she was suppose to be strong for Danny and the other’s shouldn’t have to worry about her too.
She wasn’t the one so still, unmoving on the bed, and she wasn’t the one devoid of all color, an unnatural pallor to her skin, and she wasn’t the one hooked up to god knew how many machines, keeping her alive and she…oh, god…
“Here…drink,” the nurse pushed a small cup of juice in her shaking hands and she carefully straightened.
Steve gave her an understanding look and a pat on the shoulder before moving closer to Danny’s bed, taking up his best friend’s hand. “When’s the last time you ate,” the nurse asked and she shook her head, because she really didn’t know.
The day was a blur and all she really knew was that she needed to get up and get her act together. “I’m fine,” she tried, but Chin pushed the cup upward toward her mouth, so she sipped the juice.
“We’re all running on fumes,” Chin said. “And once we get done here, I’m dropping you at home…”
She shook her head, but Steve turned his gaze on her and said, “You both need to head home, get some rest so you can get back on the case first thing.”
“What about you,” she asked, because even though it was phrased like an order, there was no authority behind Steve’s words, just a tired sort of resonation and Steve had been favoring his side all night.
He needed to be resting too.
“I’m staying.”
“Steve,” Chin tried, “you need to get some sleep too…and maybe clean up a little.”
But Steve’s attention was back on Danny, as the nurse fiddled with the dials on some of the machines.
“I’m Janie, by the way,” she said, writing something down on a chart by Danny’s bed. “I’ll be with Danny until he’s moved to the surgical care unit.”
Kono stood, grateful to be steady on her feet now and moved up next to Steve. Chin headed to the other side of the bed and they all got their first good look at their friend.
She felt tears pressing at her eyes, but she wasn’t about to start bawling now, not after nearly passing out earlier.
“I know it looks scary,” Janie said, injecting something into one of the IV lines in Danny’s arm. Kono followed the lines with her eyes, up to the pole holding four bags of fluid. One was clearly blood, the other two were clear liquid, and one was a milky white color. “But all these machines are here to help him. Dr. Hoy should have explained his injuries.”
When they all nodded she continued. “He had a midline incision, extending from just below his sternum to the top of his pubic bone. The incision was closed with temporary mesh, because he’ll need to go back to surgery…maybe later today, but probably tomorrow morning to be sure the bleeding and swelling are under control and then he’ll have sutures.”
“This machine,” she said, pointing out the one hooked to the tube in Danny’s mouth, “is helping him breathe and hopefully they’ll be able to remove it sometime tomorrow so that Danny can be more mobile. We’ll be able to get him up once he’s off the ventilator and that’s good, because he’s at risk for pneumonia and blood clots, so the sooner we can move him around the better.”
Steve asked, “Is he in any pain,” his voice shaky with fatigue and worry and tears pressed at Kono’s eyes again, the tone of Steve’s voice tearing at her heart.
“He may have some discomfort when he wakes, but we’re controlling his pain with an Epidural analgesia and once he’s more cognitive he’ll be able to control the dose. He’s also hooked up to monitoring equipment, he has the chest tube and we’re looking at his heart rate and respiration and oxygen levels, checking his urine output, that’s what most of the rest of the machines are for.”
She touched Danny’s face, near the tube up his nose. “This goes to his stomach and removes any fluid and acids and he has a temporary colostomy stoma so his bowel can heal. Do you guys have any questions?”
Steve cleared his throat, and then asked, “What kind of complications are we talking?”
“Besides the pneumonia…he’s already on some strong antibiotics to stave off infection and we’re monitoring his body temperature, looking for signs of blood clot or pulmonary embolism. He has pressure devices on both legs to help prevent deep vein thrombosis and once he’s more stable, they’ll be replaced with pressure hose. The next twenty four to forty eight hours are critical and we’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”
Steve nodded and Chin moved around the bed, patting her arm, but before they could move away, Danny’s swollen eyes fluttered.
“Danny?” Steve asked and put his free hand on Danny’s forehead. “Hey…there you are.”
Kono watched as the bloodshot eyes roamed the room, ghosting over the nurse and then Chin and her before coming to rest on Steve. “You made it, babe…you’re in recovery, but you’re gonna be fine.”
And this time, Kono couldn’t help the tears that fell.
H50H50H50
Part Five
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 Four
“Family of Danny Williams?”
Kono looked up from the shredded mess she had made with her vending coffee cup, unable to keep her hands still, from fidgeting while she waited.
She liked to think she was a woman of action, a real go getter, a jump before you look kinda girl, but waiting, unable to do anything, especially when it was someone you loved fighting for their life, not so much…well it seemed at least the wait part was over.
They all stood when the surgeon approached, but Kono hung back a bit with Chin as Steve shook the doctor’s hand. “I’m Steve McGarrett,” her boss said, “Danny’s my partner and this is Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua,” he inclined his head toward them, “Danny’s other team mates.”
“Doctor Hoy,” the man gave them each a firm handshake before explaining, “Detective Williams made it through the surgery and is being moved to the recovery unit now. The bullet nicked his bowel on entry, then traveled and ricocheted around his abdomen, injuring tissue and muscle, tearing a hole in his diaphragm before coming to rest in his spleen.”
Kono swallowed down a mouth full of saliva, remembering all the blood and choked off breaths and Danny dying right in front of them and not being able to do a damn thing about it.
“We were able to stop the bleeding by repairing his bowel and diaphragm, but we had to remove part of his spleen.
The vascular surgeon worked on him as well and there was some splintering of his two lower ribs on the left side, which caused the collapsed lung, but the lung itself looks good, as do his other organs.
There is swelling and so we’ve used a temporary closure and will have to go back in when the swelling goes down, inspect his other organs again and make sure the remainder of the spleen is healing before we suture him up.”
Kono heard a slight buzzing in her ears, but what the doctor was saying was more important, so when the sound persisted she pinched the inside of her arm, shook her head and then unlocked her jaw to stretch her ear drums and that seemed to work.
The doctor looked at her for a beat or two before going on, “he’s lost a lot of blood, so we’re transfusing him, supporting his breathing and other bodily functions until he’s able to do it on his own, but for the time being, his vitals are looking good.”
Kono asked, “So, he’s going to be okay,” because that’s what they all really wanted to know.
But Hoy’s face gave nothing away, “He’s body has experienced an extreme trauma and we’re worried about infection and other complications, which are likely. I don’t want to give false hope.”
The doctor took the time to look all three of them in the eye before continuing, “Danny’s in for a long recovery, but as of now his prognosis is good.”
And she and the other’s let go of a collective breath.
“Can we see him,” Steve asked and the doctor nodded.
“I’ll give you a few minutes, but then only one person every hour for ten minutes until he’s moved to SICU, then depending on his condition we can lighten the limit of visitation.”
The doctor turned and they followed him back down the hall he came from and through the double door to the surgical ward. “The unit nurse will explain the support equipment and answer any questions you might have. He’s not awake yet, but she’s about to give him the medicine to wake him. I’ll be back to check on him in a bit” Dr. Hoy shook their hands again before leaving them in the recovery ward.
There was a large nurse’s station in the center of about a dozen beds, divided by pulled curtains, but only one was occupied and as they got closer to Danny, Kono felt like she was going to be sick.
“Oh, Danny…” she said and then she stumbled to a halt, holding on to Steve’s arm and maybe Steve was holding onto her too, because Danny…Danny didn’t look like Danny and before she could wrap her head around what she was seeing, the ringing in her ears was back, and tiny black dots danced across her vision, and she pitched to the side.
Chin and Steve had to grab her before she hit the floor.
“Whoa, cuz…easy, it’s okay.” Chin guided her to a chair and pushed her head down, “Deep breaths, that’s it.”
She was horrified, embarrassed about her swan dive, because she was suppose to be strong for Danny and the other’s shouldn’t have to worry about her too.
She wasn’t the one so still, unmoving on the bed, and she wasn’t the one devoid of all color, an unnatural pallor to her skin, and she wasn’t the one hooked up to god knew how many machines, keeping her alive and she…oh, god…
“Here…drink,” the nurse pushed a small cup of juice in her shaking hands and she carefully straightened.
Steve gave her an understanding look and a pat on the shoulder before moving closer to Danny’s bed, taking up his best friend’s hand. “When’s the last time you ate,” the nurse asked and she shook her head, because she really didn’t know.
The day was a blur and all she really knew was that she needed to get up and get her act together. “I’m fine,” she tried, but Chin pushed the cup upward toward her mouth, so she sipped the juice.
“We’re all running on fumes,” Chin said. “And once we get done here, I’m dropping you at home…”
She shook her head, but Steve turned his gaze on her and said, “You both need to head home, get some rest so you can get back on the case first thing.”
“What about you,” she asked, because even though it was phrased like an order, there was no authority behind Steve’s words, just a tired sort of resonation and Steve had been favoring his side all night.
He needed to be resting too.
“I’m staying.”
“Steve,” Chin tried, “you need to get some sleep too…and maybe clean up a little.”
But Steve’s attention was back on Danny, as the nurse fiddled with the dials on some of the machines.
“I’m Janie, by the way,” she said, writing something down on a chart by Danny’s bed. “I’ll be with Danny until he’s moved to the surgical care unit.”
Kono stood, grateful to be steady on her feet now and moved up next to Steve. Chin headed to the other side of the bed and they all got their first good look at their friend.
She felt tears pressing at her eyes, but she wasn’t about to start bawling now, not after nearly passing out earlier.
“I know it looks scary,” Janie said, injecting something into one of the IV lines in Danny’s arm. Kono followed the lines with her eyes, up to the pole holding four bags of fluid. One was clearly blood, the other two were clear liquid, and one was a milky white color. “But all these machines are here to help him. Dr. Hoy should have explained his injuries.”
When they all nodded she continued. “He had a midline incision, extending from just below his sternum to the top of his pubic bone. The incision was closed with temporary mesh, because he’ll need to go back to surgery…maybe later today, but probably tomorrow morning to be sure the bleeding and swelling are under control and then he’ll have sutures.”
“This machine,” she said, pointing out the one hooked to the tube in Danny’s mouth, “is helping him breathe and hopefully they’ll be able to remove it sometime tomorrow so that Danny can be more mobile. We’ll be able to get him up once he’s off the ventilator and that’s good, because he’s at risk for pneumonia and blood clots, so the sooner we can move him around the better.”
Steve asked, “Is he in any pain,” his voice shaky with fatigue and worry and tears pressed at Kono’s eyes again, the tone of Steve’s voice tearing at her heart.
“He may have some discomfort when he wakes, but we’re controlling his pain with an Epidural analgesia and once he’s more cognitive he’ll be able to control the dose. He’s also hooked up to monitoring equipment, he has the chest tube and we’re looking at his heart rate and respiration and oxygen levels, checking his urine output, that’s what most of the rest of the machines are for.”
She touched Danny’s face, near the tube up his nose. “This goes to his stomach and removes any fluid and acids and he has a temporary colostomy stoma so his bowel can heal. Do you guys have any questions?”
Steve cleared his throat, and then asked, “What kind of complications are we talking?”
“Besides the pneumonia…he’s already on some strong antibiotics to stave off infection and we’re monitoring his body temperature, looking for signs of blood clot or pulmonary embolism. He has pressure devices on both legs to help prevent deep vein thrombosis and once he’s more stable, they’ll be replaced with pressure hose. The next twenty four to forty eight hours are critical and we’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”
Steve nodded and Chin moved around the bed, patting her arm, but before they could move away, Danny’s swollen eyes fluttered.
“Danny?” Steve asked and put his free hand on Danny’s forehead. “Hey…there you are.”
Kono watched as the bloodshot eyes roamed the room, ghosting over the nurse and then Chin and her before coming to rest on Steve. “You made it, babe…you’re in recovery, but you’re gonna be fine.”
And this time, Kono couldn’t help the tears that fell.
H50H50H50
Part Five