Title: Pillow Talk – Special Edition 4.19 (or how Sam and Cokie would do it)

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: We did check, but it seems that they still don't belong to us. So, we hope CBS and whoever own the rights doesn't mind us borrowing them for a little while.

Summary: The aftermath of 4.19

Author's Notes

Cokie goes first: After watching this episode I immediately started thinking about a Pillow Talk and I just knew Sam would want to write one, too. So, I issued a challenge to her... knowing that she can NEVER turn down a challenge. :)

The challenge was for each of us write our own version of what happened and then share with each other.

I have to say I caved and sent mine without an ending because I couldn't wait to see what she wrote. :)

I wanted to see if we had totally different ideas or were on the same wave length. I love what Sam came up with. I totally forget that aspect of the explosion until she mentioned it.

Hope you enjoy both of these stories...

And here's Sam: So, Cokie challenged me to write a Pillow Talk tie-in for 4.19, an episode we both really liked for various reasons. And yeah, she's right, I can't turn down a challenge.

I was really curious how alike our stories would end up to be. Well, take a look and decide for yourself.

I'm sorry that Steve's bad day is still not here, but it had to step back in favor of this one. I hope you don't mind too much.

More notes at the end of the story. Otherwise I would spoil the 'fun'

Pillow Talk – Special Edition 4.19 (or how Sam and Cokie would do it)

Chapter 1 - Cokie's Take

Steve slowly pulled the truck into the driveway and killed the engine. He was bone-weary and every inch of his body was screaming for attention. He sat with his hands still on the wheel, trying to get the energy to go into the house.

The evening… ok, the entire day, hadn't gone as planned. He had wanted answers and instead, in self defense, had ended up killing an ex-CIA operative. In the police aftermath of that, he had resolutely ignored all phone calls and texts while dealing with the mess, knowing that Catherine was worried about him, but he couldn't deal with another thing at the moment.

And for that reason, he wasn't sure what kind of reception he would receive inside. Catherine hadn't been at all pleased when he and Chin left the site of the explosion to gain more intel on Edward Cobb. She, along with Kono and Lou had been pretty adamant that he get checked out by the EMS crew, but he couldn't take the time. In an instant, the bombing had suddenly become very personal and the lives of all his friends were placed in jeopardy.

That was something Steve McGarrett did not take lightly.

At least Danny had been seen by a doctor. Steve was relieved by that and glad that his partner had come out of this without major damage. Steve had second-guessed himself about removing the rebar from Danny's side, but he knew that the longer it was in there, the more likelihood of infection. He also knew they were going to have to move and Danny wouldn't have been able to do so with an iron stake in his side. Steve was thankful that SEAL training had given him the medical knowledge to safely remove it.

While thinking about his partner, Steve had to admit that Danny's comments throughout their ordeal had stung. They were good and all, he knew that, but hearing Danny's continual rant about Steve's decisions had grated on his nerves. And if he were being totally honest, they hurt. But Steve knew that talking trash was the only way Danny knew how to handle a situation. And the more nervous or scared he was, the more he ranted. Steve shook it off, knowing that was Danny being Danny, but there were times it became most annoying.

Steve opened the cab door and slowly slid to the ground, groaning when a sore muscle pulled in his back. Just walk. His head was pounding a beat in his skull as if trying to escape. He concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other and neared the door, feeling twice his age. Before he reached the doorway he glanced up in surprise when the door opened.

Catherine was standing, silhouetted in the doorway waiting for him. She was wearing a red sundress and a welcoming… and loving smile.

In spite of his aches, Steve smiled back. It has been quite a day.

Before allowing him into the house, Catherine hugged him tightly. Perhaps a bit too tightly but he wasn't about to complain. Her touch forced away a lot of demons.

"I was concerned about where you were," she whispered. "But then Chin called. Is everything settled?"

Steve nodded and pulled away to look at her face, gently touching her bruised cheek. "Yeah, it was clearly self defense. Just a lot of other stuff to deal with. I'll probably be writing reports forever about it."

Catherine looked in his eyes and saw how the day had beaten him down. She took his hand, saying "Come with me," while pulling him along.

"Where?"

"You'll see."

The doors to the lanai were open and he could see candlelight outside.

"Cath… what's going on?"

The table had been set with small votives giving off a soft light as Catherine dimmed the porch lights.

"This is our sushi dinner," Cath explained. "I thought that going out tonight would be highly overrated. Besides, you can eat before taking your shower."

Steve sat down carefully just as his stomach rumbled. "This is… thank you," he finally said, glancing over as she sat down next to him.

"You're welcome. I thought this day needed something to make it more memorable than what we've had so far." She opened a food container and picked up a pair of chopsticks. Snaring a sushi roll, she held it out to Steve.

"What?" he asked with a grin. "You're gonna feed me, too?"

"Open up," she told him with a smile.

Steve complied and picked up the other set of chopsticks and shared the dinner with her. "I might get used to this," he said after enjoying several bites of the fish and rice.

"Sorry, Commander, this is a special celebration just for today."

"What are we celebrating?" Steve asked, offering her another piece of fish.

She hesitated, then took hold of his hand holding the chopsticks. "Life," she quietly admitted before taking the bite he offered her.

His eyes met hers across the table and he nodded. "Yeah. Life is good."

They finished their meal in near silence before Steve sat back in the chair. "No more. I'm stuffed. But it was wonderful."

"Glad you liked it," Catherine replied. "Now… how do you feel… truthfully?"

Steve gave her a half smile. "I'm OK, Cath. Really. I've got a headache and I'm sore as hell, but I'll make it." He slid forward and took her hand. "But I really… really, really, really need to take a shower."

Cath nodded and grinned. "Wasn't going to say anything, but you're right… you really, really do!"

Steve stood and reached for the sushi container.

"Hey," she said. "I'll get this. You go on and I'll meet you up there. Don't think you are getting out of a careful examination by me. I foresee some peroxide and antibiotic cream in your future."

"Cath…"

She quickly cleaned the table and blew out the candles, nodding her head for him to precede her into the house. "Don't argue with me, Steve."

H50 H50 H50

The shower brought both pleasure and pain. Pleasure to Steve's aching muscles, but pain to the open cuts on his face, hands and arms. Once the hot water hit the open wounds on his hands, they began to bleed again and parts of his body felt as if they were on fire.

Cath was going to love this.

Once he was clean, he turned around and let the hot water hit the muscles in his lower back. The explosion, rubble and concrete hitting him had been bad enough, but he thought he had pulled something while trying to get Danny out from beneath the beam. The longer he stood, the more his back ached.

"Hey, you still enjoying the shower or are you only prolonging letting me see your injuries?"

He reached around and turned off the water with a sigh. "Maybe some of both," he tiredly replied and reached for the white towel. "I'm done." He carefully blotted his face and grimaced as the towel came away tinged with red from the cut above his eye.

"I'm coming in," Catherine warned as she opened the door. She carried with her the big first aid kit that he kept in the garage. The one he used to stock what he kept in the house.

"Isn't that overkill?" he asked her.

"I don't know, but I plan to be prepared." She took the towel from him and gently dried his chest then turned him around to catch the droplets of water in his hair and from his back. Catherine blotted the water drops while checking for damage. His back was a mass of bruises from where he had landed on the concrete.

"What's it look like?" Steve asked her.

"Sore," she replied.

"No kidding?"

"Don't mock me. I wish you would just go get a once-over at the hospital."

Steve turned to her and took the towel, wrapping it around his waist. He then reached up and touched her face then dropped his hands to her shoulders. "Catherine, I promise you, I'm OK. I'm not gonna lie, I hurt… and tomorrow I'll probably hurt more, but it's all superficial stuff."

"OK. I believe you. Now have a seat and I'll start playing Florence Nightingale."

Steve sat quietly and allowed her to minister to him. The cuts on his face had clotted and she gently added some antiseptic cream to them before turning to his hands. His knuckles were bruised and cut and she added Bandaids to the two worst places and applied cream to the rest.

After checking the bruises, she held out three Tylenol for him to take.

"I know you're achy," she told him. "Please take these."

Steve didn't argue and accepted the bottle of water.

"Do you need anything before we go to bed?" she asked.

Steve stood up and held onto the sink as weariness overtook him. He discounted the slight dizziness as exhaustion. "No, just a soft place to lie down," he replied. "And you."

Catherine turned out the bathroom light and reached for her nightshirt. "I think that can be arranged."

Steve leaned over to put on a pair of shorts and couldn't help the groan that came out due to the action. He grabbed for the dresser to keep himself upright before pulling the band up around his waist.

"Steve?"

"I'm good," he replied, moving toward the bed. "My back's just sore." She pulled back the cover and moved to allow him to climb in before turning out the lamp and sliding next to him. He held out his arm for her to move in closer and she snuggled against his side.

They sighed in tandem and then chuckled at each other. After a few moments of silence, Catherine spoke.

"Steve?"

"Mmm hum…"

"I lied earlier. I really was worried."

Steve turned his head to kiss her forehead. "Yeah… me, too. But I knew you and the team were out there searching. I was worried, but I wasn't afraid."

"That's good," she whispered. "Did you find out anything tonight? What this vendetta is all about?"

"The Cliff Notes version is that Edward Cobb was an ex-operative who ordered a badly planned strike. Doris was the person who carried out the mission; she was cleared but he ended up pushed out of the CIA. Part of this, I think, was a grudge about that."

"That doesn't explain who was buried in Cambodia," she said.

"According to him, Wo Fat's mother. I can check the hair sample against Wo Fat's blood to verify a match and I plan to do so. The original target was Wo Fat's father. And then I learned that he is still alive."

"The father?"

"Yeah. Cobb said he would tell me where the old man was, told me to pull up a chair, and then he pulled a weapon from underneath his desk. That was as far as we got."

"Well, you added another piece to the puzzle."

"Yeah," Steve sighed. "But we're still not seeing the big picture. And that's what is bugging the hell outta me."

Catherine leaned over and kissed his cheek. "We can better sort out things tomorrow," she promised. "Let's go to sleep."

Steve smiled at her. "Sleep sounds really good."

H50 H50 H50

The hacking cough began around four. It wasn't enough to wake him up but it was persistent and growing steadier. Catherine heard it because she had been awakened an hour prior by Steve's raspy breathing. She lay there in the darkness watching him, listening and worrying while trying to decide whether to wake him or just be patient and allow him to sleep.

After lying there for another hour, she heard his cell phone buzz and she reached across him to pick it up from the side table, surprised to see Chin's number so early in the morning.

"Hello, Chin?"

"Cath, sorry to wake you, but how's Steve?"

"You didn't wake me; I'm lying here listening to him breathe. Chin, I'm worried; his breathing is all wheezy and he's beginning to have a dry cough."

"That's why I called. I just heard from Amber; EMS took Danny to Tripler around two. He's on moist oxygen to help clear his lungs and on IVs for dehydration. She told the doctor at Tripler that Steve was also in the explosion and he said to get him to the ER soon."

"Thank God," she breathed. "If I tried to tell him he needs to go, I was afraid he would just say it was my overactive imagination."

"No, apparently this can be very serious," Chin replied. "He needs to be checked out. Want me to call EMS or do you think the two of us can get him in the car?"

Catherine looked at the man sleeping on the bed. "Let me try to get him awake. Can I call you back?"

"How about I head on over. If he can go in the car, we'll do so. If not, I'll call EMS. I don't care if he gets mad at me."

"You're a good man, Chin Ho Kelly."

He chuckled and hung up the phone.

Catherine quickly dressed and then sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hey, Steve, wake up."

All the reply she got was another wheezy breath.

She gently shook his shoulder and spoke louder, "Steve! Can you hear me? Wake up."

He turned his head toward the sound of her voice, but still didn't open his eyes, which was beginning to alarm her.

"Commander! Up and at 'em," got her a grunt. Finally she held her hand against the side of his head and lightly slapped his jaw. "Steve, wake up!"

"What?" he bit out, barely opening his eyes. "Wha's wrong?"

"You need to wake up. Chin's coming to take us to the hospital. Danny's been admitted."

"Huh?" He finally opened his eyes. "Wha's wrong with—" The rest of his sentence was drowned in a louder, crackly cough. He quickly grabbed his head when it exploded in pain from the coughing. Finally he was able to get his breath.

"Shit, that hurt."

"Steve, we need to get you to the ER. There's no telling what all you and Danny breathed in down there. You need to have your lungs checked out – the doctor said so - so please don't argue with me."

Steve rolled to his side and lay there, eyes closed, trying to keep from losing his sushi. "Not arguing," he finally whispered.

"Good. I'll get you something to wear."

Catherine managed to get him into a tee shirt and board shorts before she heard Chin's car. "I'll be right back, don't get up," she told him and left him sitting on the side of the bed.

When she and Chin returned, he was lying down again, his bare feet still on the floor.

"Chin, I thought we could do this on our own. What do you think?"

"We'll see," he replied. "Hey, Steve, wake up."

" 'M'wake." He slowly got his elbow under him and pushed off the bed. "How's Danny?"

Chin reached down to help haul Steve to his feet, then Catherine steadied him from the other side when he swayed.

"Haven't heard anything else. Amber called Kono and Kono called me on her way to the hospital. She'll meet us there."

"Maybe it's nothin'," Steve said while continuing to cough.

"Yeah," Chin agreed. "Let's hope. But it's time to get you checked out anyway."

They walked to the bedroom doorway, Catherine in front of them.

"Anybody ever tell you that you're bossy, Chin Ho?" Steve griped.

"A time or two," Chin agreed with a grin.

H50 H50 H50

They sat in the drab, green waiting area of Tripler, all three worn down from the explosion the day before, lack of sleep and worry. Chin and Kono flanked Catherine who was busy chewing the side of her thumb.

"Steve seemed fairly OK last night, but I should've been more assertive and brought him earlier," she berated herself.

"Quit beating yourself up," Kono told her. "You do know who you're talking about, right?"

"Of course I do," Cath said and grinned. "And last night I would have had to knock him out and drag him here. I'm just glad Danny is OK. I bet Grace was really scared."

"Amber said she was really glad Grace was there because it helped Danny stay calm when he was having trouble breathing. I know he didn't want to scare Grace any more than she was," Kono added.

"I cannot believe Danny even allowed Amber to stay with Grace in the house," Chin commented.

"Brah, he didn't have a choice. Amber said she wasn't leaving. And they didn't know that Rachel would be delayed until sometime later today. But Grace seemed to be handling things well. I checked in before you and Chin arrived and all three of them were sleeping; Amber and Grace were both on the window seat."

"I'll go check on Grace in the morning," Catherine said and glanced at the clock, which she would swear had barely moved since they had been there. In actuality, it had been an hour and forty-five minutes.

They were rewarded mere seconds later when a harried, scrub-wearing physician came out to greet them. "Have a seat," he encouraged when they all three automatically stood up to meet him. "I'm Dr. Stinson and I treated both Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams tonight." He sat down in a seat across from them and pulled a pen from his pocket then looked at their worried faces.

"Commander McGarrett will be fine," he assured them. "But it is a good thing you got him in here. Like Detective Williams earlier tonight, he is suffering from dehydration and pulmonary trauma from breathing in the dust and debris after the explosion. The commander also shows signs of a mild concussion. I plan to keep both men here for 48 hours observation. Do you have any questions?"

"Can I see Steve?" Cath immediately asked.

"Are you Catherine?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I told him I would send you up as soon as he's settled in a room. He said he expected to hear 'I told you so' from you."

Catherine grinned. "I'll try to bite my tongue," she admitted.

"It's Room 528," the doctor told her.

"Thank you very much." She stood and looked at the others. "You guys coming?"

Chin and Kono exchanged glances and both shook their heads. "You go on," Kono told her. "Since Danny is sleeping and you will be with Steve, we'll go get some rest and come back later today."

"Besides," Chin grinned, "we're taking today off. Tomorrow is soon enough to start on the ton of paperwork left from yesterday. I'll call the governor's office and give him an update later this morning."

"Yeah, some of that has my name on it, too," Cath added.

"We've got you covered," Kono told her and gave her a hug. "You take care of your man."

"I'll do my best," she promised.

H50 H50 H50

There was only one light dimly lit in Steve's room. Catherine peered around the partially closed door to see a nurse on the opposite side of the bed adding something to the IV line. She was talking to Steve, so apparently he was awake, which Cath thought was a good sign. She pushed the door closed and waited there in the shadows until the nurse was finished.

The nurse glanced up and smiled, saying, "And there she is now," to Steve. To Cath, she said, "I really hope you're Catherine because he's been waiting to see you."

Cath walked toward the bed, smiling at Steve who in addition to tired was looking quite disgruntled. She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I got here just as soon as they let me."

Steve reached for her hand and said something she couldn't hear from beneath the oxygen rushing into the mask.

"Tell you what," the nurse said and unfastened the band holding the large mask to his face. "I'll give you a few minutes to talk to each other before making you wear this."

"Why can't I have just plain oxygen?" Steve asked before beginning to cough again.

"That's the reason," she replied. "You need the moisture this provides to help clear your lungs. I'll be back in ten minutes to hook you back up. You need to try and get some rest."

"How're you doing?" Cath asked after they were left alone.

"Been poked and prodded, had who knows how many images they took, and then they hooked me up to that torture device."

"They just want to make sure you'll be OK."

"They want to torment me," he disagreed. "So… just go ahead and say it."

Catherine shook her head. "I don't need to. You know I was right."

Steve yawned, then quickly squeezed his eyes shut. "Even that hurts," he admitted.

"How's your headache?" she asked.

"Nurse said she put something in the IV to help it."

"That's good." Cath began rubbing slow circles on his shoulder. "Hopefully you can get some sleep."

"You going home?"

"Not on your life. I'll be right over here on the window seat if you need anything."

"Hmmm, I'll share the bed."

"I'm good over here." She kissed him once again and watched him drift to sleep.

The nurse came back in just a few minutes later to find him asleep, Catherine still standing watch. She looked at the nurse and grinned. "You gave him ten minutes and he didn't even last five," she commented while watching the nurse place the mask back on his face. Steve never moved during the process.

"If you want to stretch out on the window seat, there's an extra pillow and sheets in the closet. Feel free to use what you need."

"Thank you," Cath replied and then yawned. "It was a long day and an even longer night."

"Don't worry about him; he should be fine. Please use the call button if you need anything."

"Yes, I will. Thank you." She waited until the nurse had closed the door once again, then leaned down for one more kiss. "Goodnight, Steve," she whispered, and then grinned. Leaning close to his ear, she said, "But I was right."

H50 H50 H50

4.17.14

Cokie