Chapter 17: Recovering Once Again

Chin Ho Kelly looked up from his laptop. The rustling on the couch caused him to smile. He quietly got up and moved across the room.

"Hey, Danny, you waking up?" he asked gently as he checked over his friend. Williams was wrinkling his nose and peering up through slitted eyelids.

"How can I? You keep doping me up," he grumbled. He'd been released after two nights in the hospital with a truck bed full of drugs designed to keep him relaxed and pliable. Dr. Lewis had been adamant: his bruised heart needed to heal and given the tendency for Danny to get all riled up he made sure his team mates would keep him that way.

"I know, but its for your own good," Chin said patiently. "How about a little lunch?"

"Eh, I could eat," Danny allowed. His friend carefully helped him up mindful of broken ribs. He slowly ambled over to his table and allowed Kelly to lower him on the chair. Soon a bowl of chicken soup and a sandwich were placed in front of him.

"What? You left the crusts on?" Danny said sarcastically as he picked up a piece of the carefully quartered sandwich. Chin snickered as he settled down to eat his own lunch. He was pleased his Haole was complaining yet accepting of all the help.

Still having to work to tie up all the loose ends of their case against the Ponos as well as help the FBI with their investigation the 5-0 team were taking turns staying with Williams. Oh, the feisty man had protested, loudly, but quickly capitulated when Lewis's alternative was a rehab bed in a skilled nursing facility.

Danny Williams was not dumb. He took his pills and let his ohana take care of him. Of course, this was only day two post hospital. McGarrett hadn't had the chance to annoy him yet!

Once Danny had finished soup and sandwich Chin pulled out a deep dish apple pie Kamekona had left earlier that morning. One of the Big Man's extended family had baked it expressly for the injured cop.

"You sure you checked that for bombs or poison or, I don't know, radiation?" Williams looked askance at the treat.

"He said Mama made it, you know, the little old lady that runs the coffee shop?" Kelly said as he sliced and dished up two pieces.

"Mama made this for me?" he said, surprised. He remembered the very first time Kamekona had dragged him into her small shop. She'd adopted him on sight and he visited her regularly for his morning coffee.

"Yes, she did," Chin replied and smiled to himself as his friend visibly relaxed, eyes softening.

"She made me one a couple months back, when we got back from Denver," he said. "She even framed a picture of the team from the event and hung it up in her shop."

"I didn't notice it," Chin mused as he took a bite. His eyes widened as he began to chew through the flaky, cinnamon-enhanced pie. "You had one of these two months back and you didn't share? You are in so much pilikia!" Danny smiled brightly as he savored his own slice.

"She said it was for me," he reasoned. "Kono and Grace helped me. Kamekona licked the plate." Chin snorted.

"Ok, If Kamekona was there then this sized pie wouldn't last long at all!" the older detective allowed. They finished dessert and more pills were doled out.

"So, how long do I make like sleeping Beauty?" Williams growled as he tossed the meds into his mouth and swallowed.

"Through the weekend," Kelly said. "You go for a check-up next Monday and Dr. Lewis said he'd re-evaluate the medication regime." He was pleased to note the Haole nodded in agreement before wandering to the bathroom.

Managing to stay awake for a little while Danny sifted through some of the paperwork and helped Chin filling out a couple forms. But when he started nodding off he was put back on the couch and soon was back asleep.

The week days blended together into one long nap punctuated with food. Friday afternoon came around and the scenery changed. The team had called it a day around 3. Steve was dispatched to collect Grace and her things for the weekend. That left Kono and Chin to pack up the sleepy Haole and get him over to McGarrett's house.

When Danny was once more aware he was on a lounge chair on a familiar lanai under an umbrella. He could hear his daughter shrieking and splashing in the distance alone with Kono's lilting laugh and Steve's teasing voice.

"Well, hey, Danny, you waking up?" Chin asked gently. He could tell the man wasn't quite all there, his eyes unfocussed as he lie there. So the cousin moved closer and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder continuing to speak in soft, gentle tones.

"Is that my monkey?" Williams finally asked after accepting a sip of cool water.

"Yep, she's here for the weekend," Chin said. "Remember? Steve told you earlier this week that we'd all come here for the weekend." A little more aware Williams pushed up and let his friend adjust the lounge.

"I couldn't decide if it were a dream or not," he allowed. "Everything's kind of jumbled."

"Well, it's not a dream," Chin assured him. There's Grace and Kono dunking our fearless leader." The two men shared a laugh as the female duo crashed into the Seal and toppling him over into the water. The man surged up plucking the little girl and tossed her into the waves before latching onto his other tormentor and throwing her after. Grace popped up and shrieked again.

"DANNO!" she could make out her father sitting up with Chin by him. She leapt passed her adult playmates and shot up the beach to the lanai. Without thinking she was quickly on top of her Danno pulling him into a very wet and sandy hug.

"OOOF!" the hurt man blew out all the air from his lungs and struggled not to move around too much. It hurt, but it was a good pain - holding his daughter.

Chin quickly helped support the squirming mass of Monkey so she didn't knee her father in any of his bruises. She settled down nearly immediately, realizing what she'd done. Carefully she slid off to the side of the lounge, still wrapped around Williams but no longer putting weight on his chest.

"Missed you, Danno," she said as she snuggled in tight. He gently kissed her head.

"Missed you too, Monkey," he replied. They relaxed together while Kono continued to tackle her boss and attempted to escape retaliation. Chin handed his lounging Haole a tall glass of ice tea. He gratefully sipped with his daughter's help and reclined once more.

"I'm gonna be kind of sleepy, sweetie, so you should go play a little more," he told Grace. She shrugged and burrowed in closer. His hand gently ran over her hair. After a few minutes her head popped up and she carefully inspected her father's face, slack in sleep once more.

"Why is Danno so tired?" she asked. Chin once again carefully explained his injuries and the need to keep him completely calm. She nodded and slipped off the chair. Bending she placed a kiss on the sleeping man's forehead then turned and shot back down to the water to rescue Kono from the Seal.

The next time Danny was aware he'd been moved indoors to the lounge. He had his daughter carefully wrapped around his 'good' side watching a movie on the tv. He sighed happily and nuzzled her hair before drifting.

Dinner was uncomplicated, broiled chicken and salad as the doctor wanted healthy for the patient. Danny bemoaned the lack of beer but rallied for dessert, cookies his daughter made with Chin's help.

By the time Monday rolled around Williams was thoroughly slept out and getting a bit snippy. He grumbled all the way in to the doctor's office and settled on the exam table with a glare. Lewis was pleased with the initial check and merrily sent him down for a couple scans to check the heart.

It was five long hours later that the nurse contacted 5-0 headquarters and reported they could pick up their colleague. He was well past snippy and into a major sulk when Steve showed up.

"How'd it go?" he hesitated to ask.

"Fine," the nurse replied. "Dr. Lewis will be in shortly." Danny growled.

"Shortly, she says. Shortly! That could be five minutes or forty-five!" he was nearly vibrating. "Hey, calm down, you don't want to hurt yourself!" Steve finally got a hand on his shoulder. His partner started taking deeper breaths.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," he muttered. "Just it took so long and they repeated half the tests! I'm not good at just lying around."

"Unless heavily medicated," McGarrett deadpanned. He felt Williams stiffen for a moment under his hand then relax.

"Yeah," he agreed sourly. There was a tap at the door and Lewis bustled in with lots of paperwork.

"Looking good, Danny," he said with a smile. "Ribs are healing nicely and your heart is strong. Had to repeat a couple of tests because we couldn't believe you healed so fast." He rooted through test results to recheck the figures.

"Which means?" Steve prompted. Lewis looked up sheepishly.

"Oops," he smirked. "Which means desk duty for the rest of the week. You can start a light exercise regime, meaning walking on flat ground then working up to a heavier cardio work-out. I've included a paper on what you'll need to do. Then come see me next Monday and I'll re-evaluate your heart.

"Oh, joy," Danny grumbled. Lewis and McGarrett laughed.

"Yes, joy," he retorted. "But I think you'll be able to go back on active duty if your heart continues to improve. Just don't push it! Any chest pain slow down!"

"I'll monitor him," Steve promised. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Great, the man that does a triathalon every morning and twice on Saturdays is gonna 'monitor' me!" he grumped.

"Be nice or I'll sic Kono on you!" he threatened. His friend shrugged his agreement and hopped off the table.

After filling two new prescriptions they headed back to Danny's place. The cousins were already there and had a celebratory dinner waiting them.

The rest of the week included testifying at Carl Washburn's trial. The original drug runner was less than pleased to see the entire 5-0 team, especially Williams and McGarrett. He'd hoped the Pono brothers would have at least eradicated one of the men as promised and mess up the team.

But here was the full comportment. Over the course of two days each added their own testimony to the increasingly broad body of evidence. The prosecution had done a thorough job and were looking towards at least 15 years for each count of drugging tourists and stealing from them. Given there were several dozen of attacks, Washburn would be put away for life at least.

In another section of jail the two Pono brothers sat awaiting their own trials. Bail had been denied and they spent their time both angry and rather despondent. Their own charges included attempted murder of a police officer during a drug deal. That did not bode well for either of them!

After suffering under McGarrett's watchful eye, abetted by Kono and Chin, Danny was given the green light to return to active duty. The team wasted no time in getting busy - a hostage situation at the Hawaiian Credit Union. As they sped down the highway, lights flashing and Danny ranting, Steve could only smile happily.

His Ohana was back and healthy!

Pau