Chapter Text
"What….wait….just, say what now? What are you saying?" Danny scowled. Kono gave his wrist a squeeze, causing him to take a breath, regroup. "I don't get what you're trying to make me understand. You come out here and all you have to say is, what? Who am I? What does that matter? He came in by ambulance, he gets priority treatment..."
"Danny, give her a chance to talk."
"English Doc," Chin smiled warmly. "Small words. Just say he's going to be fine, you ran tests, going to keep him overnight for observation, and he's good to go in the morning."
"Tests? What tests?" Danny turned in a circle, not sure who to address. "He came in here unconscious. I know that. I know that because I was with him. Because I didn't let him out of my sight until we got here and he hadn't woken up. No way did he agree to any tests. There better not have been any tests." His anxiety was building, he rubbed his chest with his palm, took a deep breath.
"There have been no tests, we would like to run some."
"Really Danny?" Arms over his chest, Chin slouched against the wall, amused smile playing with his lips. "That's your issue right now? Tests?"
"Yeah. Yes. Yeah Chin, yeah it is." Danny pinned his irritated stare on his task force teammate. "Yes. Cause I'm the one who's gonna hear about it. Hear the whining that he was touched and examined without his permission. And I let it happen. So it's my fault and why did I do that, and he'll bring it up every time we're in the car for a month."
Still grinning, Chin shrugged. He couldn't argue with that, 'cause Danny was dead on right. While either he or Kono would take Steve home with them or go home with him to keep him under the mandatory 24-hour observation period, Danny was their boss's partner, and the boss had accepted Danny the day they'd met and he'd let Danny get shot.
If Danny wasn't around, Steve would adapt to whoever was there to get him out of the hospital, but yeah, it would be Danny he wanted. Probably, Chin reasoned with a chuckle, because Danny had never in his police career been shot until….why, hello there Steve, nice to meet you, thanks for letting me get shot!
"What? What are you laughing at?" Danny demanded irritably. "Not a laughing matter here Chin. Don't laugh. Stop laughing."
"I'm sure all they did was take his vitals." Kono said soothingly. "He hasn't been here long enough for them to have done much more." She added at Danny's confused look. "And unless any of those raised flags, they're waiting for him to wake up or a family member to appear and sign for further tests."
"It's the reason she came to talk to you Danny." Chin gave him a comforting shoulder squeeze. "She was probably told you came in with him and they want his medical history."
"Fam….family? Mary?" He sounded horrified. "That's Mary, a sweet kid, but she's the reason why Steve made me….."
Impatient, the doctor shifted her weight, nodded. "Vitals are normal." She cut in. "His breathing is not restricted, his airway is clear, he is responsive to stimulation, reacts to pain, his pupils respond to light, and oxygen is not required."
"Then why are we here?" Convinced his emotions were displayed on his face for all to see, Danny faced the wall. "Just take me to him and we'll go. We'll get outta here."
"I don't know why you are all here. I don't know who you are." The dr said pointedly, waited but went ignored. "No, he cannot just go. Though responsive, he has not yet woken up and we are waiting for him to do so we can obtain his permission to run further tests."
"Ha." The entire ride in the ambulance had been spent begging and ordering Steve to wake up. Sitting and watching while the EMT's cleaned blood and dirt and dust from Steve's face and neck to see if there were serious injuries beneath. He'd been so relieved there'd been two closed eyes for the EMT to thumb up and reveal those hazel pupils, he'd cried. "Wake up? Ha."
Though Steve rolled his head in Danny's direction whenever he heard his partner's pleas, he hadn't woken up. And didn't that just panic poor Danny.
It had all happened so fast. Steve had been found, declared alive, dug out, picked up, put on a stretcher, and whisked away to a gurney where he was loaded into the ambulance with Danny by his side….there was no way in hell, he wasn't going to the hospital with his partner. Then, they'd arrived, the ER doors opened in greeting, and Steve had been wheeled away from him. He knew the routine. He'd let Steve go, called Chin and sat down to wait and here they were.
It felt like an entire day, night and day had passed but were he to look at a clock or simply ask, he'd be told they'd been at the hospital maybe 30 minutes. The cousins had arrived 10 minutes after Danny had called them.
"…why not?" Chin was asking some question or another Danny had missed while ruminating the subject of finding missing partners who never listened, ambulance rides and rude doctors with shitty attitudes.
"He didn't wake up during our courtesy examination."
"Because he was buried under a ceiling." Danny growled. "A ceiling that fell on his head. Surely you were told that? Tell me you know what that means?" He pooh-poohed her. "Yeah, he was knocked out."
She fumed at his sarcasm. "We found no evidence of a head injury. None at all. But he still requires monitoring and observation."
"Yeah, sure, okay, I'll do that, I've done that, but not here." Danny told the wall. "Trust me, I have practice, been through this before with him. He will not stay here."
The dr decided to try a different tactic. "He boasts a variety of scars."
"Eh," Danny waggled his hands dismissively. "Meh. Those? That? Them? They're old. Nothing you need concern yourself with."
"How would a man acquire such numerous injuries?" The dr waited. "Stab wounds, bullet wounds from various ammunition, surgical scars."
"He drives, flies and dives."
"Skydives."
"Deep sea dives."
"He runs, leaps, and jumps."
"Off buildings."
"Roof to roof."
"Trees? He ever jump trees?"
"He climbs, clambers and scrambles."
"Up cliffs."
"Sheer rock."
"Wait...scaffolding that one time, remember?"
The dr shifted her weight again, rolled her eyes when the trio exchanged a knowing, exasperated look. Really? She needed this now? And they just rambled on.
"Car crashes, chopper accidents, boat mishaps."
"Hard landings."
"He's, uh, very active." Kono offered. She saw the doctor wasn't impressed and added. "It's his job."
"So, what are you saying?" The dr asked impatiently. "How does any of this relate to previous injuries? The scrapes, cuts, scratches, abrasions, bruises? Some still in the state of healing? What kind of job does he have, that would account for injuries such as his?"
"Secret, Agent Man." Kono sang, Dr. Dauphin stared, so she sang the next line, "There's a man who leads a life of danger? "No? Oh."
"Scratches and abrasions? Cuts and scrapes?" Danny pooh-poohed. "Aren't they, like, the same thing in less fancy doctor speak?"
"Most are from tonight." Chin brought up. "Or was it last night? Yesterday? This morning? Huh. When was it? I can't even determine how much time has passed."
"I still fail to see how he acquired injuries such as..."
"Oh, I dunno." Danny drawled. "Maybe he got them 'cause, you know, he was trapped in a collapsed building."
"Scars from bullets. I don't see how any of your pointless jesting pertains to his injuries, past or present?"
"You brought it up." Danny pointed out with heavy sarcasm. "And our pointless jesting is the truth."
"He's very active." Kono waited but still, the dr stared. "Active? You know? In motion?" Her eyes widened. "Not idle."
"Moves. He. Moves." Chin said very slowly. "All. The. Time."
"Everywhere."
"He never stays where you put him."
"Hell, he never sits still."
"You take your eyes off him, he's not gonna be where he was before you blinked."
"Actually," Chin grinned, "You can be staring right at him and he'll just up and be gone."
Danny turned to him, pointing with a finger. "Right? I get that! You know, I get that! He's done that! And in the car!"
"Right." Kono agreed. "He was at his desk and I bent over to show him a report and by the time I let it go, he was out of the chair and around the desk and out the door and…..."
"His job is what?" the dr huffed impatiently.
"Uh? Hum…..ummmm…Police Officer? Maybe?" Chin said. "Why does it matter?"
"Navy Seal." Danny corrected. "Active."
"Reserves." Kono clarified. "But yes, active."
The dr held a hand up to halt the camaraderie. "Regardless, he is confined to bed…" she began.
"Good luck with that." Both Chin and Danny muttered.
"But not tied to it." Kono pointed out. "He won't stay unless you tie him to it."
The dr glared. "…..and medicated…."
"Trained to fight through the effects." Chin was enjoying this. HeeeHeeeHeee! "Less you gave him what would take down an elephant."
"He better not be," Danny muttered.
"…..and under my care. A dr. A doctor's care." She stated firmly. "I am treating him."
"You think you are."
"I guarantee you he didn't give you consent." Danny groused. "And no, you're not."
"He won't listen." Kono sighed.
"He doesn't hear you to begin with." Danny snarked. A major headache, the likes he'd never in his life experienced until moving to this aquarium and acquiring Steve, had begun to throb. He dug his thumbs into closed eyelids – nope, didn't help.
"I assure you, my staff is perfectly capable of…"
Danny was tired, outright exhausted, and dirty - very dirty - and if this stubborn doctor insisted Steve be admitted to the hospital for observation under her watch and she didn't want to listen to the three people who stood a chance in hell of making him obey….well, fine.
He'd spent hours tramping about a debris-littered floor with firefighters, searching, and digging, clinging to hope, looking for any sign Steve had been in the building. All he knew was his partner had either run out another door or was trapped, in agony, dying, dead in the fire-stricken warehouse whose ceiling had collapsed.
"Doc," Kono smiled gently. "You don't….."
"Doctor Dauphin." She stated firmly. "And I don't need to be told how to do my job or how to care for patients in this hospital. As I said, the staff here are well-trained professionals and will give him expert care."
Kono shrugged, she'd given it one last try.
"Destruction." Danny warned, "I go and leave him here, there will be destruction."
"He attracts…." Chin began.
"Women?" The dr waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, he's attractive, but I assure you, the staff will conduct their jobs without falling victim to his charms."
"Danger." Chin stared her down. "He attracts danger. Trouble. Chaos."
"Bullets." Kono added. "Fire. Explosions. You really don't know who he is, do you?"
"He attracts violence. Do you get that? Violence that produces vast quantities of blood. Broken bones. Necks. Missing limbs. Heads." Danny gestured. "Explosions!" His hands flapped, he shook them out like they were asleep and he was returning circulation. "BOOM! Shit blows up. Buildings collapse. That kind of violence. Do you get that? Tell me you get that?"
She stared.
Danny stared.
Chin and Kono stared.
"You don't get that," Danny felt dangerously close to tears, wailing, or whining. "She doesn't get it. She should get it. Why doesn't she get it?"
"He is a patient under my care." Her demeanor had shifted, her tone now held an edge, her patience fleeing. "Does he have a wife?" She eyed Kono who threw her hands up, shook her head, and stepped back.
Yes, the dr hadn't thought so.
She wasn't even sure why these people had shown up in her ER. How they'd known to come. Or who they were. Her staff was trying to locate her patient's next of kin, and she was dealing with these three hooligans. Oh wait, yes, she'd been told the blonde had come in the ambulance with her patient.
"Well," Chin hedged, trying to contain his mirth. "Danny here?"
"You…you're…" Danny shoved both hands through his hair, grimaced over the soot that shook loose. Great, he'd have to go home and shower before catching a nap. His toes twitched, curled in his ruined shoes. "You know what?" He blew his breath out. "You win. You want him, he's yours. I'll leave him here. You keep him until he wakes up. See if he grants you permission to treat him. See what the hell he does." He twired a finger in the air to silently notify the cousins he was leaving. "You got him and lady, hear me, do not call me. No matter what he does, whose feelings he hurts, what happens, what destruction he causes….Do. Not. Call. Me."
The dr forced her jaw to unclench. "I don't foresee any reason why I would need to contact you." If it came to it, if she couldn't locate next of kin and if she had to, if she encountered difficulty, she would simply contact the patient's emergency contact.
"Then you'd better not need to call his emergency contact." Chin and Kono exchanged smirks as the dr firmly, secure in her belief she had gotten her way, tilted her head towards the door and showed them the way out with her extended hand.
"Good night Dr." The pair fell in step behind Danny and followed him as he made his way gimping down the hallway.
"You okay? Limping a bit." Kono said softly. "Do you need a doctor?" She easily interpreted his grimace, added. "No, not her."
"My head's pounding so bad I can't see straight." Danny admitted, raised a hand to settle the cousins before they went and jumped to conclusions. "But it's Steve-related. And yes, I know that. I know that because I never had them before I moved here. Before He-Man entered my life and never went away." He rubbed sooty eyes with dirty knuckles. "And my feet are killing me. These shoes? Not made for navigating fallen hot timbers and smoldering ceiling debris looking for dumbass partners who never listen."
"We keep telling you, hiking boots."
"All Steve's fault."
"You sure he's going to stay?" The dr heard Chin ask Danny, she'd followed them to make sure they indeed left.
"Not my problem." But they all knew it was.
"He's going to wake up." Kono chirped. "And he won't be happy."
"Yes, he will." Danny agreed. "And no he won't. Is there ash in my hair?"
"Soot." Chin confirmed. "Your scalp is black. Gonna take some scrubbing."
"But…nothing singed?" He stopped to let the cousin's paw through his hair, sighing in relief when they both agreed no singed hair.
"You think he'll stay?" Chin asked again. "I say, Danny, you aren't looking too good…..you feeling okay?"
"I could sleep standing up." Danny joked with a lop-sided, tired grin. "I'm good guys. Don't kick up a fuss." He turned towards the door. "You heard her, her staff is perfectly capable of giving him expert care." He must have soot in his eyes, because dang, spots of shadows blurred his vision. "They're professionals."
"Yeah, but Danny, he wakes up, he's going to….." Chin shrugged. "Right, he's her problem now." But he cast a worried look at Kono who nodded. Oh, she agreed with him.
Danny stretched his arms behind his back, wondered if he'd have to nap in the car before driving home. He yawned.
"I left him a cell." He pushed through the exit door and turned his face up to greet….muggy, still air; nope, no Jersey cool night breeze greeted him to give him a wake-up call. Ugh. Not here. Never here. "She encounters trouble – and she will, cause he's gonna cause it….." digging his car keys out of his pocket, he stumbled, dropped them, managed to bend over and snag them without falling over, only to have Kono gently remove them from numb fingers that refused to work. "She can have her perfectly trained staff manage it."
"You left him a phone? When?" Kono clutched the keys. Junior boss was crashing. Adrenaline had fled and his back-up reserve was depleted. Concern and anger, worrying about Steve had drained all energy and now, relief knowing he was okay, had made him give in to his body's demands for rest.
Chin chuckled. Aaah, there it was! That was what was stuck up his ass…being dismissed when he was the one who usually reined Steve in and made him see reason. He didn't take kindly to being replaced by an obstinate dr's authoritative dictation.
"When I popped around the curtain before she yelled at me." Danny yawned. "Wanted to see if he was asleep or unconscious."
Chin blinked. There was a difference? And Danny could tell? What those two knew about each other never failed to amaze him.
"You don't have your car here Danny, let Chin drive you home."
"Chin has his bike."
"Nope, got the Chevy." Chin easily said. "Let's get you home, cleaned up and fed."
"Or you can call Lyft, a cab…." Kono was teasing, trying to confuse him and it was working but Danny just didn't care. He wanted to go home and didn't care how he got there. He followed his familiar routine and rounded the passenger side of Chin's car.
"I've got him." Chin said quietly to Kono. "Give me half an hour to make sure he doesn't drown in the shower, then swing by with something for him to eat."
"I'll stop by the diner, grab him his favorite sandwich."