H50: "Aftermath" (4/4)
Title: "Aftermath"
Author: trekkingalong
Characters/Pairings: Steve, Danny
Word Count: 585
Prompt: Wave (originally)
Rating: PG (For a tiny bit of language.)
Genre: Gen
Warnings: Not beta'd. All mistakes are mine.
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Danny wakes up after being rescued.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. No money made.
Author's Notes: The final part to the "Adrift" series. If you can call it that. I think I could write a whole post just on criticism for this last part but my grandfather is always telling me "Never point out your mistakes. Let somebody else do that." So... Enjoy.
Warmth was the first sensation Danny registered upon his gradual return to consciousness. It not only encompassed him. It radiated from within. The two combined were intoxicating. Part of him didn’t want to wake up. His cocoon drove away all worldly woes. There was an absence of pain or uncertainty. Here he was completely safe. Alongside warmth came stillness and silence. The silence however was short lived. The sound of his own breathing filtered in. It was followed by slow, rhythmic beeping. A far away but familiar voice was distinguishable over them both. It was that voice that caused Danny to finally open his eyes.
His world had been rotated. It took him a moment of staring blankly to comprehend that it was only his perception that was skewed. He was lying on his left side in a fetal position. Without searching, Danny found the owner of the voice.
With one hand, Steve McGarrett held the cell phone to his ear. With the other spread wide, he massaged his forehead. He purposefully kept his volume as low as he could. It did nothing to detract from the tone of authority conveyed. “Call me as soon as you have him in custody,” he ordered. “Yeah, I’ll be up.”
He pocketed the phone and dropped heavily into the vacant chair. His posture slumped. His gaze dropped. Wearily, he crossed his arms over a shirt that looked like it had been worn for days. It was difficult to read his expression in profile at an odd angle. Danny guessed it was somewhere between worried and anxious. It was the look Steve got when something wasn’t right.
Steve looked up and found a pair of open eyes staring at him. Immediately he was on his feet again, closing the short distance between them. There was energy in his step that had been lacking only moments before. “Welcome back, partner.”
There was a pause as Danny gathered enough brain power to formulate a simple response. “You… look like shit,” he muttered.
Steve smiled and looked away for a brief second. The tension vanished from his shoulders and neck. “Look who’s talking. You’re not going to win any beauty contests yourself.”
It was Danny’s turn to offer a weak smile.
“How you feeling?”
It was a good and honest question. One he was sure he had an answer to. One he ought to have an answer to. His brain though refused to produce anything coherent. Wading through molasses was frustrating at best. Steve sensed the struggle and saved him the expenditure.
“Relax, Danny. It’ll come.”
It did almost a full minute later. “Tired,” he finally answered. It was a million different emotions boiled down to an over simplification but it would work for the time being.
Steve nodded, understanding at some level the broader sense of the term. “Why don’t you get some more sleep?”
It somehow seemed wrong to give into it so soon after waking. Danny had a feeling sleep would imminently reclaim whether he desired it or not. Regardless, he fought it.
“You’re stubborn, you know that, right?” There was a distinct lack of exasperation in his voice.
“Look who’s talking,” he whispered back, using Steve’s own words against him. His smile and what was left of his will to remain awake faded together.
Steve waited until he was sure Danny was asleep. Then he pulled the chair over closer to the bed. He’d waited six hours. Without so much as a second thought, he’d wait many more.
Author: trekkingalong
Characters/Pairings: Steve, Danny
Word Count: 585
Prompt: Wave (originally)
Rating: PG (For a tiny bit of language.)
Genre: Gen
Warnings: Not beta'd. All mistakes are mine.
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Danny wakes up after being rescued.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. No money made.
Author's Notes: The final part to the "Adrift" series. If you can call it that. I think I could write a whole post just on criticism for this last part but my grandfather is always telling me "Never point out your mistakes. Let somebody else do that." So... Enjoy.
Warmth was the first sensation Danny registered upon his gradual return to consciousness. It not only encompassed him. It radiated from within. The two combined were intoxicating. Part of him didn’t want to wake up. His cocoon drove away all worldly woes. There was an absence of pain or uncertainty. Here he was completely safe. Alongside warmth came stillness and silence. The silence however was short lived. The sound of his own breathing filtered in. It was followed by slow, rhythmic beeping. A far away but familiar voice was distinguishable over them both. It was that voice that caused Danny to finally open his eyes.
His world had been rotated. It took him a moment of staring blankly to comprehend that it was only his perception that was skewed. He was lying on his left side in a fetal position. Without searching, Danny found the owner of the voice.
With one hand, Steve McGarrett held the cell phone to his ear. With the other spread wide, he massaged his forehead. He purposefully kept his volume as low as he could. It did nothing to detract from the tone of authority conveyed. “Call me as soon as you have him in custody,” he ordered. “Yeah, I’ll be up.”
He pocketed the phone and dropped heavily into the vacant chair. His posture slumped. His gaze dropped. Wearily, he crossed his arms over a shirt that looked like it had been worn for days. It was difficult to read his expression in profile at an odd angle. Danny guessed it was somewhere between worried and anxious. It was the look Steve got when something wasn’t right.
Steve looked up and found a pair of open eyes staring at him. Immediately he was on his feet again, closing the short distance between them. There was energy in his step that had been lacking only moments before. “Welcome back, partner.”
There was a pause as Danny gathered enough brain power to formulate a simple response. “You… look like shit,” he muttered.
Steve smiled and looked away for a brief second. The tension vanished from his shoulders and neck. “Look who’s talking. You’re not going to win any beauty contests yourself.”
It was Danny’s turn to offer a weak smile.
“How you feeling?”
It was a good and honest question. One he was sure he had an answer to. One he ought to have an answer to. His brain though refused to produce anything coherent. Wading through molasses was frustrating at best. Steve sensed the struggle and saved him the expenditure.
“Relax, Danny. It’ll come.”
It did almost a full minute later. “Tired,” he finally answered. It was a million different emotions boiled down to an over simplification but it would work for the time being.
Steve nodded, understanding at some level the broader sense of the term. “Why don’t you get some more sleep?”
It somehow seemed wrong to give into it so soon after waking. Danny had a feeling sleep would imminently reclaim whether he desired it or not. Regardless, he fought it.
“You’re stubborn, you know that, right?” There was a distinct lack of exasperation in his voice.
“Look who’s talking,” he whispered back, using Steve’s own words against him. His smile and what was left of his will to remain awake faded together.
Steve waited until he was sure Danny was asleep. Then he pulled the chair over closer to the bed. He’d waited six hours. Without so much as a second thought, he’d wait many more.