LORDS OF THE LAND
An Epilog to KING OF THE HILL
By B Huff
With editing by gm
“Zwar der
Tapfere nennt sich Herr der Lander Durch sein Eisen, durch sein Blut.”
(Translation - The brave man, indeed, calls himself
lord of the land, through his iron, through his blood.)
Ernst
Moritz Arndt
As his own heart rate slowly
dropped, Steve McGarrett began to absorb, in passing, other things about the
hospital treatment room, where he kneeled on the floor holding the now-limp
form of Corporal John T. Austin. The thick smell of sweat permeating the area…
the on-its-side gurney, blankets pushed to the side of the room… the light
glaze of dried blood smears which covered several square feet of the cool tile…
the HPD officer’s weapon and spare ammunition resting nearby.
He’ll make it. The young physician’s words about Dan Williams’ condition resounded in his head. It had been a harrowing hour and a
half – one in which his wounded second-in-command had laid in what was
undoubtedly complete misery as the armed Austin relived a terrifying ordeal
which happened in Vietnam a couple of months earlier.
The Marine corporal was – to McGarrett’s mild surprise – lifted suddenly from
his lap. A stream of police uniforms and medical personnel poured into the
room, which had been off limits during the dangerous standoff with the deranged
enlisted man. As the Five-0 chief’s line of sight to Williams became obscured
by other human forms, he shook off the shock of the dramatic finale to the
hostage standoff, and quickly slipped over to his unconscious friend’s side.
“We need a gurney!” came the
un-necessary observation / shout from Doctor Cutter even as one of the mobile
beds presented as the spear-head of Doctor Hansen’s approach. Kono Kalakaua and
Chin Ho Kelly tugged the gurney into position and wasted no time in lifting
their unconscious colleague onto the white sheeted mattress. The act
precipitated a weak, pained groan from the injured detective.
“Danno!” McGarrett rasped as he tugged the helmet from his
head. Touching his friend’s cool, damp cheek, he despaired to see no further response.
The lead detective released a single, ragged, near-tears laugh – only a couple
minutes earlier, he’d prayed that his second-in-command would not move as he
tried to convince
“I want ten units of A Positive
blood stat!” Bill Hansen barked authoritatively. Castle Memorial’s chief
surgeon, who also practiced at several of the island’s other hospitals, had
been the physician who removed Dan’s burst appendix not quite two years earlier
{FANFIC: TWO SIDES OF A COIN: TAILS}. It was clear that the medical man had
pulled Williams’ records in preparation for the impending surgical procedure.
“He doesn’t appear to have
lost much blood, Doctor,” the younger medical man responded as the team rolled
the bed down the hall toward the elevators.
“Cutter, you’re a first-year
resident – you should recognize the symptoms of internal bleeding!” The surgeon’s
tone was tense as he ripped Dan’s shirt open, causing buttons to leap into the
air like popcorn.
The younger physician’s brow
furled slightly as he lightly palpated the swollen area around the small,
almost-innocuous looking dark red hole in Williams’ lower left abdomen. “His
abdomen IS distended,” Cutter admitted, mild chagrin
flushing his complexion. “I thought perhaps the bullet did not hit any vital
organs.”
McGarrett pushed closer to
the moving gurney as a sense of alarm began to rise in his chest. “He’s gonna
be all right… Doc?” The Five-0 chief had to shake off
Kono and Chin, who had grabbed their boss’s arms to try and prevent him from
getting in the way. In the past hour and a half, the normally disciplined and
self-controlled head of the state police had revealed a near-maniacal side to
himself.
It was a public secret to
everyone in the island law enforcement community that
McGarrett was very fond of his young second-in-command, but until this day, the
demonstration of that attachment had never been so dramatically played out with
so many outside witnesses.
Hansen ignored the detective
as he helped guide the gurney into the waiting elevator and continued his
explanation to his protégé. “He’s bleeding into his abdomen – we’ve got to be ready
for the bottom to drop out of his blood pressure…”
The elevator doors began to
close on the medical team as McGarrett began to intercede.
“Steve –
no!” Chin and Kono called out in
tandem as their boss disregarded the command. Exchanging a very brief glance to
confirm the plan, Kono and Lieutenant Kealoha stepped forward and summarily
stopped the Five-0 chief.
“Steve! Let the docs help
Danny!” The Hawaiian HPD officer shouted as he placed his body between the
elevator doors and the determined head detective. “Steve!”
McGarrett stared at the
closed doors for several seconds trying to re-center himself.
The initial word from Doctor Cutter – a first-year something – what had Hansen
said? It didn’t matter – it was the first year part that now resonated with the
head of Five-0. He’d accepted the verdict on Danno’s prognosis from a
FIRST-YEAR medical person (Was he really even a doctor yet??).
Of course, the words of Doctor Hansen – an EXPERIENCED surgeon – made much more
sense to Steve. How could anyone – even a doctor – be certain of an unconscious
man’s condition with only a superficial look at the patient? The answer was
obvious now – there was no way to know that his friend would be fine until they
were able to inspect the damage done by the bullet, which had – by the accounts
of both the wounded HPD officer AND that medical upstart, Cutter – been fired
from very close range. Images of the round penetrating Williams’ viscera
brought bile to Steve’s throat. Any number of vital organs could have come into
harm’s path…
Finally, with no further
recourse, McGarrett swallowed and made resentful eye contact with his men and
then Kealoha. The concern and pity on their faces made him turn away as he
spoke. “I’m gonna go change.” He yanked away from the supportive hands, and,
apparently unwilling to wait for another elevator, made his way to the
stairwell with dozens of eyes trained on him until he vanished behind the fire
door.
The silence grew
uncomfortable before the HPD lieutenant barked an order for all HPD personnel
to get on with their business. The command revived the human witnesses, medical
personnel included, and everyone slowly turned back to their own business, with
low murmurs forming an undercurrent of noise. Kealoha breathed a sigh of relief.
It was apparent that the rounds with McGarrett had taken an emotional toll on
him as he nodded at the Five-0 detectives. “Lemme know how Danny’s doin’.”
Chin nodded and gave a
gentle slap to the man’s arm as the lieutenant moved to step into the newly
arrived elevator. “We will, bruddah –
mahalo for all da help.”
Kono followed the Chinese
detective a few feet out of the flow of human traffic to a nearby nurse’s
station before Chin turned and spoke. “That was scary.”
The big Hawaiian nodded.
“Yeah, and so was the whole thing with the Marine and Danny.”
Kelly’s lip quivered in an
atypically nervous smile while he reached into his pocket for his pipe. He knew
he couldn’t light it here in the hospital, but just being able to put it into his
mouth helped. “Yeah.” Chin could only agree.
With a quick glance around
to make sure there was nobody nearby, Kono lowered his voice. “You been workin’
with him longer than anybody else I know – you ever see Steve act like… like
that before?”
“Nope,”
Kelly responded simply. “And I hope I never do again, bruddah.”
*****
He
would pace for a few minutes, then pause by the window to study any changes which might have occurred in the parking lot since
his last inspection. After thirty seconds of that, he would wander over to a
chair and sit for a minute before he grew too antsy to remain in place. This
cycle went on for nearly three hours, with the occasional visitor to the hospital
atrium interrupting his attempt to focus on waiting without the anticipation of
bad news.
Kono
and Chin, he noted in passing, were present in the hallway, but for some
reason, did not venture into the garden-like room where he’d
been stuffed by the head surgical nurse. There was a surgical waiting
room one floor below, but the uncompromising caregiver assured him that he
would have more privacy here since there was a family
awaiting news on the outcome of a loved one’s surgery. He felt a bit
sequestered, but that was okay with him. His nerves were
frayed beyond anything in recent memory.
When
he received the call that his second-in-command was injured and trapped with a
mentally-ill Marine, panic and then desperation to bring the standoff to a
successful conclusion pushed out any sense of civility he might have had for
those trying to help.
Now,
as he replayed the events which had transpired before
he’d formulated his rescue plan, he made a mental note to thank Lieutenant
Kealoha for his assistance. Whether he thanked Hansen or not – right or wrong –
would depend on whether Danno’s life was spared. As
for apologies… well, he had been a little gruff with those obstructing the
process, but they – doctors and police alike – had not seemed to care like he
had that Danno was lying only fifty feet down the hall, bleeding to death! Steve
sniffed and shook his head at the thought. Danno’s life – couldn’t they see how
unbearable life – his – would become without it?
And the
room where his friend had been held… interesting… Danno’s .22 – the little
revolver he kept in an ankle holster – the only time Steve KNEW his second
would be without it was when he was surfing. It had been in
The
detective jumped slightly when he realized he was not alone. The atrium door
was still wafting shut as Bill Hansen – still in surgical scrubs – stepped into
the room with Kono and Chin on his heels. The man looked tired as he arched his
back slightly to stretch the muscles which had no
doubt been tensed in a single position for quite some time. What disturbed the
detective was the surgeon’s grave demeanor. McGarrett – a professional
interpreter of body language – called the posturing a brave face, which implied
that the individual wearing it was preparing to reveal
information which would not be taken well by one or more in the audience. Stiffening,
Steve steeled himself, and only glanced at his men
before he demanded to know his friend’s condition.
“Doc,
how is he?”
A
short, tired sigh preceded the physician’s cant of his head. “We had a time
getting the bleeding under control after we opened him up…”
The
Five-0 chief swallowed with the thought of his friend being
sliced open – even to repair damage – seemed so unpalatable to him.
Hansen continued. “As I suspected, Danny was bleeding into his abdominal cavity
– I know it sounds strange, but it was the blood applying pressure to the torn
artery -- albeit very uncomfortably -- which
kept him from bleeding out.”
“So,
you got it under control and he’s gonna pull through.” The question did not
come out as a question, but it was clear that the detective was desperately
seeking confirmation of his assertion. The intense blue eyes searched the
surgeon’s face with an intensity that might have been intimidating to less
forceful personalities, but Hansen didn’t waver. He gently placed his hand on
McGarrett’s arm.
“Barring
any complications, I feel somewhat comfortable telling you that he’s going to
be fine.”
The
relief which washed over the detectives was palpable,
but the doctor remained serious as he revealed what had happened in the
operating room. “I’ll tell you now that we lost him on the table twice – we
couldn’t push the blood back into him fast enough to keep his pressure up.” The
news paralyzed all three of the officers, but Hansen did not allow them time to
interrupt. “He’s in recovery now – after while, we’ll move him to the ICU,
where I expect him to remain for the next twenty four to forty eight hours.”
The
doctor’s eyes narrowed as he made almost-threatening visual contact with each
detective as he pressed on. “After that, my patient will be transferred to a
room here in this hospital, where he will REMAIN confined to his bed with no
chance of escaping to assist on investigations of ANY SORT until he is cleared
for duty by his physician!”
McGarrett
exchanged a slightly-chagrined, but determined look with Kono and Chin before
re-focusing on the surgeon. They all knew that the medical man was referring to
an incident a little less than two years previously when Dan had been stricken
with appendicitis. The then-very-new Five-0 detective had delayed medical
treatment – unwilling to stop work or inform his new boss of his condition -- until
his appendix burst. Doctor Hansen performed emergency surgery, but his patient
– operating on the fear that he would somehow disappoint McGarrett – left the hospital
and jumped into the thick of a high-profile kidnapping case. Both Doctors
Hansen and Bergman considered it a miracle that the stubborn detective survived
the ensuing post-surgical infection. {FANFIC: TWO SIDES OF A COIN: TAILS}
“Don’t
worry, Doc,” Steve assured with a thin smile. “Danno will be under lock and key
here until you give the okay for him to leave!”
“I
sincerely hope so, Steve,” Hansen returned. “That boy did a very brave thing
today – he nearly sacrificed his own life to save the people around him. Now,
he deserves to recover before he starts chasing criminals again.”
It
was true – Danno had jumped into the path of a speeding bullet to protect those
around him. AND Steve suspected that he had somehow
managed to figure out what was going on in
“You’ll
get no argument from me, Doc,” McGarrett confirmed, so relieved that he felt
weak. Noticing that Kono and Chin had stepped closer, he turned to them as the
surgeon backed away and reached for the door. “Oh, Doc!”
Steve called, and when Hansen’s bushy eye brows arched into a question, the
officer smiled. “Mahalo for saving Danno.”
The
medical man returned a crooked half smile. “I did everything I could – the rest
will be up to Danny.”
*****
First
annoyance entered his consciousness… somebody was trying to move him from his
very comfortable position. Then pain… his neck... a pulled muscle? He swallowed
and was greeted with the realization that his throat
felt cracking sore… Initially, his mind tried to focus on staying unaware of
outside stimulus, but then came more jostling, which could
not be ignored.
“Stop…”
he croaked barely able to get the words out around his dry tongue.
“Mister Williams, we’re moving you to another room.
I promise this won’t take long and we’ll be as gentle as we can.”
The
fuzzy female voice spoke softly, but authoritatively, and it returned to him a
marginal interest in his circumstance. His eyelids, however, did not seem to be
under his complete control.
“Okay, on three… one… two… THREE.”
The
distant words rang home as he felt his body being lifted – an act which alerted
him to a dull burn in his abdomen and a monster headache. All he could do was groan as he did not seem to have any measure of jurisdiction
over any of his appendages. The landing on the cool sheets a second later
seemed hard and racked his body with a wave a discomfort. A small whimper
escaped his lips, and he found all he really wanted to do was to return to that
contented mental place he’d been before the hands had disturbed him. More
words, but nothing stuck in his mind as worthy of response, so he drifted
gently back to sleep as a warm blanket settled over him.
*****
Beeps
and clicks seeped into his awareness, and slipped away periodically, only to
return each time with a greater degree of physical sensation. At one point, the
ache in his abdomen became uncomfortable enough that he forced his eye lids to
open. As he made a half-baked sweep of the area within a narrow angle of his
field of vision, he caught sight of a human form resting in a chair. With
effort, he blinked as he tried to bring the room into better focus.
It
happened, but frustratingly slowly. “Ste…Steve…” His voice did not sound like
his own, and further, it didn’t carry past the bed sheets. He tried one more
time to call to his friend before he closed his eyes again. As he lay there, he
attempted to recall recent events in his mind. He was in a hospital – what had
happened to land him here? Dan had no good feel for elapsed time, but over the
course of several minutes, he managed to replay snippets of scenes, but nothing
that directed him to the reason for his circumstance. His young baseball team
gathered around him… he’d wiped a runny nose, and tied five un-done shoe laces…
Kids… He liked dealing with them – their wants and needs were always simple… His
thoughts wandered off to the baseball diamond as he again slipped back into the
comfortable cottony world of unconsciousness.
*****
Annoyance
brushed across the chiseled features of the Five-0 chief as the one of the
bolder titles on the front of a three-day old local tabloid newspaper caught
his eye AGAIN.
McGarrett Goes Nuts!
“Nuts!”
He muttered. “Who makes up these things?” He continued his stride as Kono and
Chin, trailing only a pace behind him exchanged a fleeting glance. Neither of
these detectives believed the headline was even slightly off the mark, but the
Hawaiian detective offered a murmur of agreement as the trio made its way through
the main waiting room of
The
mid-day visit was precipitated by a call from the head
nurse, who promised to call the Palace as soon as her patient was awake. The
stern woman had negotiated a deal with the head of Five-0 – he would stop hovering
/ interfering with floor operations if she communicated any change in Williams’
condition or state of consciousness. Both participants in the agreement were as
good as their words, but McGarrett felt his end of the arrangement was more
difficult to execute. Nonetheless, he had followed through, and not made an
appearance at the hospital since the previous day.
Now,
the word that his friend was coming around came as the other Five-0 detectives
were returning in the same vehicle from a not-too-distant crime scene, McGarrett
decided a “casual” stop was in order.
“Mrs.
Grundy,” the lead detective offered a curt nod to the head nurse as he and his
detectives strode past her desk.
“Mister
McGarrett,” the middle-aged, firm-faced woman responded in kind. The pact had
been honored, and she was satisfied enough with the cop’s behavior to offer up
a measure of gratitude. “Mahalo for the extra security.”
“You’re
welcome,” the officer returned confidently. Williams’ popularity, and the fact
that everyone in Hawaii had been held hostage right along with the injured
officer, as the dramatic story unfolded live on all of the television and radio
stations, had precipitated a stream premature visits from friends and well
wishers. To protect his friend and keep the peace at the medical facility, McGarrett
had placed an HPD guard outside Williams’ room.
Seconds
later, the senior detective gingerly pushed open the door of the patient’s
room, and took in the scene before approaching the bed. Dan’s bed had been
propped into a slightly canted position. Two extra pillows on either side of
his torso provided a snug and secure resting place for the patient, whose eyes were closed. An expression of serious concentration rested
on his countenance, denoting to Steve that his friend was in a measure of
discomfort. Several wires trailed from beneath the sheets to the rhythmically-beating
heart monitor mounted above and to the right of the headboard.
Stepping
to the bedside, McGarrett started to offer a greeting but hesitated. Perhaps it
was unkind to rouse his officer from even a doze. Before he had time to ponder
further, Dan slowly opened his eyes, and looked dully at his visitors, who all
offered hopeful grins.
“Danno,”
the lead detective breathed gently.
After
a few-second delay, a brave half-smile flickered momentarily across Dan’s face
as he gave a soft, tentative greeting. “Hmm, Steve…”
Noting
the younger officer’s waxy pallor so typical to post-surgical patients, McGarrett
silently acknowledged that Williams was only a few days past the traumatic
event that led his hospital stay.
“How’s
it, aikane?” McGarrett moved his hand to rest on the pillow near the patient’s
head.
Dan
swallowed – it seemed painfully – and closed his eyes for a moment before
bringing his boss into dull focus again. “What… happened?”
The
three vertical detectives visually shared a round of mild concern before their
chief looked back down on their un-well colleague. “Danno, you’re in the
hospital—”
“Castle,”
Kono chimed in, and the other two officers nodded without taking their eyes
from Williams’ confused visage.
A
nearly-imperceptible ripple traversed Dan’s brow as he clearly struggled to
dredge up and organize his recollections of recent days. “Castle… ? I was working… the bank heist case…”
“Yes,
you were, Danno,” Steve confirmed. “But you took a break to get to baseball
practice.”
“Base…
ball… yeah…” Williams closed his eyes, and grew silent.
Several
seconds passed with only the sounds of hospital operations breaking the quiet.
McGarrett motioned with his head for his men to accompany him into the hallway,
but before any of them could take a step, the patient stirred again. “The Marine…”
“Yeah,
Danno, yeah – John Austin – a Marine corporal,” Steve encouraged with quiet
vigor.
Dan
winced slightly as the mental puzzle pieces sluggishly fell into place. “He
was… the gun…” The patient’s eye lids lifted and allowed his eyes to fix at a
spot high on the wall in front of him. “The gun – it went off.” With that pronouncement,
Williams moved his head slightly and focused on his boss. “I was shot?”
The
conclusion sounded like a question, so McGarrett, with a slight tremble in his
lips, corroborated, “Yeah.”
Chin
took a half step closer to the bed and clutched the railing. “Bruddah, you
jumped on the guy’s gun.”
Kono
moved to stand by the Chinese officer as he finished the thought. “To protect everyone else in the room.” The words were delivered with quiet reverence of the deed.
“We’re
lucky you’re still with us after that incredibly brave stunt,” the lead
detective added his own somber reflection as Dan digested the statements.
“
“No,
no, Danno,” McGarrett quickly reassured, but got no further as the other two
detectives animatedly described how the boss concocted and executed his daring
plan to end the standoff without killing the deranged Marine. Both men
pointedly avoided any discussion of the “nuts” behavior exhibited by the head
of the elite unit during the crisis.
“What
I did wasn’t THAT dangerous – on the other hand, my friend, shielding civilians
from a loaded firearm with your gut…” The Five-0 chief admonished with false
sternness.
“My
gut,” Dan’s nose crinkled as his hand slowly slipped down to cover the region
of his stomach. “How bad?”
“You’ll
live.” As a crooked grin slipped onto his face, McGarrett murmured. He
recognized the pronouncement was the same one made by that incompetent med
student as his friend lay there bleeding internally. This time though, Steve
was sure the words were true.
*****
“The Department of Defense
is already extremely grateful to you and your unit, Steve, but—”
“Colonel, I understand your
situation, but I don’t want to see my man traumatized any further over this
incident,” McGarrett said adamantly. Steve was gratified to see that his orders
with regard to visitors to his second-in-command were being
rigidly enforced. Otherwise, the Marine colonel would no doubt have just
barged in on Dan and pressed the issue in person.
“Corporal Austin is a true,
died-in-the-wool hero, and all the man is asking for is a short audience with
Detective Williams. It took him a couple of days, but now he remembers what
happened and what he did, and it’s eating him alive.” There was a silence
between the two men for ten seconds as each considered how best to deal with
the other. Finally, Cardell pressed on, “Steve, please, I implore you to
re-consider. If Williams’ doctor – what’s his name – Hansen—”
McGarrett interrupted, “Bergman.”
“Bergman,” the colonel
continued, not wanting to loose momentum, “If Doctor Bergman okays
it, AND Williams agrees, then can we agree to a short meeting? It might do your
man some good as well.”
The head of Five-0 ran his
hand over his mouth considering the best thing to do. Cardell was right. In
addition to helping the Marine, who’d been a victim in this circumstance as
well, a non-threatening visit might actually help Danno put to bed any residual
anxiety he might have.
“Okay, Colonel, okay. I’d
like to help Corporal Austin on his road to recovery, and I think you might be
right about Danny. I’ll run it by him and get back to you.”
*****
“McGarrett goes nuts,” Dan
read the newspaper article’s title out loud before he tossed the aging rag onto
the pile of other reading material at the foot of his bed. “Who makes up this
stuff?”
“Bruddah, I coulda wrote
that article,” Kono breathed as he collected the offending newspaper section,
folded it, and surreptitiously handed it to Chin.
“What are you talking about?”
The perplexed detective’s brow furled as he disinterestedly studied the tray of
unappetizing fare before him, failing to notice the Chinese detective stuffing
the article into his pocket.
“Everybody was runnin’ for
cover – and it wasn’t because of the Marine with the gun either!” The Hawaiian
detective’s eyes grew large as he described the violently emotional demeanor of
their normally level-headed, cool-under-fire boss, and re-iterated the
desperate measures he took to get to his youngest detective before the battle
on that hill in
Dan listened intently as the
story unfolded. He had a fuzzy recollection that he been told
before how Steve had risked his own life by dangling precariously from the HPD
helicopter ladder and then climbing into the window over jagged shards of glass
to get to him. But the behind-the-scenes tale of his
mentor’s emotional and near-violent – by the other Five-0 detectives’ accounts
– behavior had been a mystery to Dan until that moment. Touched that McGarrett
felt so strongly, and pained that he had put his friend through such a
traumatic event, a knot formed in the patient’s throat.
Typical to Dan Williams
though, in the space of a few seconds, somehow managed to find a way to blame
himself for an episode that was beyond the control of everyone involved.
“I should’ve just shot
“Danny—” Chin tried to stop
the floodgates of regret, but it didn’t work.
“It’s just that he was
trying so hard to save my life. I couldn’t focus – I was afraid I’d kill him. I
wasn’t thinking,” Dan intoned as he let his head drop
back onto the pillow.
“Possibly because one-third
of your blood volume was sloshing around loose in your gut.” Steve McGarrett
pushed through the door. He’d overheard Dan’s
self-recriminations, and knew that he’d better sternly put an end to that kind
of thinking.
Chin and Kono looked toward their
boss, relieved that he had arrived. If anyone could convince Dan that he’d been
a victim in this circumstance, it was Steve. The young man, his visage still
concerned, looked out the window.
“Not thinking, eh?” The head
of Five-0 continued, “Possibly because you were in shock? Or maybe it was the
concussion – the doc said you had quite a knot on the back of your head.” McGarrett
paused to gauge Dan’s reaction. The detective was listening, but not convinced,
so Steve plunged on, “Danno, you reacted perfectly to a bad situation. You did
your best to keep
Dan was relieved to accept
the perspective from his boss, but added, “Thanks to you. I’m just glad it’s
all over.”
“Actually, my friend, it’s
not over for everybody,” Steve replied, thinking the statement a perfect segway
into the next topic that needed to be addressed.
Williams frowned, “What do
you mean?”
“Corporal John T. Austin –
war hero to the tune of a Purple Heart and a Joint Services Meritorious Service
Medal to be awarded by the president of the
“He certainly deserves all
the praise they can heap on him,” Dan nodded.
His boss nodded in
agreement. It didn’t surprise him that Williams bore no ill will toward the Marine
– that was so typical of his friend. Forgiveness almost seemed a foregone
conclusion. Steve continued, “As it turns out, he’s remembered what happened
that day, and I guess it’s really doing a number on him.”
“I don’t understand.”
Another perplexed expression settled onto Dan’s face.
“He’s so full of remorse
over the shootings and the trouble he caused that his doctors aren’t sure
they’ll release him to receive the awards in person,” Steve knew answer before
he put forth the request, “Danno, Austin has requested an opportunity to meet
with you -- if only for a few minutes. He wants to see for himself that you’re
okay.”
The young officer seemed a
little taken aback at the request momentarily, but didn’t flinch in his
response, “If it will help
*****
The hospital’s atrium had been cleared of other patients for a short while to
facilitate a more comfortable meeting for the two men who’d been involved in a
life and death struggle only seven days earlier. Dan slouched casually in a
wheel chair gazing out the large, glass wall that separated him from the
tropical air. He admitted to himself that he was a little nervous about the
awkward meeting, and wished he could smoke. Steve had wheeled him down here and
then vanished, a fact which set Dan on edge. If he
re-lived those few moments of terror, he could actually feel the deranged man’s
hand as it pressed down on his mouth and nose. Admittedly, the entire scene was
fading rapidly, but pieces of it still seemed so real.
Stirred from his thoughts by
the loud creaking of a door, the detective turned to see several people filing
into the large room. Three physicians – he recognized Doctors Bergman and
Hansen. The third must have been
“I’m not armed,” he joked
with a nervous laugh.
Dan smiled the most
encouraging smile he could muster, and said, “Me neither.” When
With that, the man picked up
a ch
“I didn’t know you were a
police detective, Mister Williams—”
“Please call me Dan,” the
detective said reassuringly. ”And I didn’t know you were a war hero, Corporal.”
“John – call me John. I
don’t know about that hero stuff,” the corporal smiled slightly.
“Well, I do, John,” Dan admitted.
“I know from personal experience that the human mind can take you on trips
you’d swear weren’t possible. You were reliving a horrible day in your life.”
The Marine, his emotion on
the subject crystallizing, could hold back no more, “And you had the incredibly
bad luck to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, so that I had to drag you through
living Hell with me.” With that, the man almost fell out of his seat onto his
knees and grabbed Dan’s arm, which had been resting on the arm of the wheelch
With
“I can’t deny that it was a
scary, painful day. Almost the whole time we were in that room – on that hill –
I kept believing that if I could just hold on, reinforcements would be along to
rescue me – us. I saw that same faith in your face – faith that help would
arrive in time – and if it didn’t, then you would at least die with your
integrity intact. Let me tell you right now, after personally witnessing the
honor and bravery with which you served, when I drifted off for the last time
that day – and I don’t exactly remember when that was -- I was determined that
I would try my best to do the same. So, John, you see I can tell you with all
due sincerity that it was a privilege to be on that hill with you, and I think
it made me a better person.” Tears streamed freely down
“Thank you, Dan. Thank you.”
The corporal pulled back slightly and wiped his eyes on a corner of his shirt.
“You’re welcome.” Dan
changed the subject, “Would you like to help me walk to the lanai?”
By way of answer the man,
the man smiled as he stood, and cautiously helped an obviously weak patient to
rise from his wheelch
Unsteady at first, Dan was reassured
by John, “Don’t worry – I won’t let you fall, Dan.”
The detective looked up at
the man, “I know you won’t, John.”
The small group of witnesses
remained at a discrete distance from the p
“Danno has a natural knack
for knowing what to say,” the head of Five-0 responded distractedly as he
monitored
The man raised his eyebrows
and nodded, “Remarkable.”
With the alacrity of
pouncing lion, McGarrett suddenly sprang into action and rushed toward the two
patients. Steve perceived before it was apparent to any of the other observers
that Dan was rapidly losing his struggle to stay vertical. The young man began
leaning on the Marine, who glanced back at the doctors uncertainly. Before
“I – I’m okay – just a
little dizzy,” Dan said breathlessly. The doctors and Cardell also moved up to
offer assistance. Bergman pushed the wheelch
“Take it easy, Danno,” Steve
urged, the concern permeating his tone.
Hansen spoke, “I think
you’ve had enough for one day, Danny. You need to rest.”
The patient didn’t respond,
but his boss did, “Yeah, this is your first time out of bed – we don’t want to
push it.”
“Thank you, Danny, for all
of your help,”
Williams smiled tiredly and
called out. “John…”
The Marine moved quickly and
kneeled by the wheelch
“Send me a picture of you
shaking hands with the president.”
*****
Williams’ lips curled upward
as he pulled the photograph from the slightly-dog-eared envelope, which had
been lying in his IN box. Corporal John Austin stood proudly in his dress blues
next to the president of the
The officer handed the photo
to McGarrett, who leaned in the doorway of his office with a cup of steaming
coffee in one hand. The Five-0 chief studied the image for a few moments before
he looked back to his second-in-command, and hesitated for a few seconds before
finally giving in to the need to confess. “Danno, you might have caught wind of
a story or two about that day.”
“Steve, it’s okay – you
don’t need to—” Dan started, but his boss dismissed the offer quickly.
“Danno, I just want to let
you know that I was desperate to get you out of there—”
It was Williams’ turn to
interrupt. “Steve – please – if I’ve learned one thing in the past few weeks,
it’s that sometimes nuts translates into brave!”
The head of the unit winced
internally as his friend’s remark confirmed that he’d seen at least one of the
embarrassing articles, but the micro-trauma of the moment did not last as Dan’s
words sank in. In his experience, it was true – nuts and brave were often
synonymous – especially around the