The Hands of Time

Written by AS

If the hands of time were hands that I could hold,
I’d keep them warm and in my hands, They'd not turn cold.

Until the hands of time would choose to wave good-bye!
‘Brian’s Song (The Hands of Time)’ by Michael LeGrande and Alan & Marilyn Bergman

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Heading into the Palace, McGarrett couldn’t stop the sidelong glances he shot towards Williams. Relief? That was a mild word to describe how he felt. From the moment he had first realized that Dan was missing through to discovering that it was Wo Fat behind the disappearance, a sick sense of fear had filled McGarrett. Having previously been a guest of the master spy himself, he knew what the Oriental was capable of in the torture department. Concern for his second in command had made the disappearance a priority and McGarrett had easily shoved any other open investigations aside as he concentrated on the search. Tipped off on a possible hiding place, Steve had sped over to the vacant warehouse, barely taking the time to call HPD to provide back up. Pleased when he noticed that Sgt. Duke Lukela headed the backup team, he stormed the door and discovered a musty, deserted building. Hopelessness filling him at the thought that they had been outwitted by the spy, his mood soared when Duke yelled that he had found Danny.

Rushing to the room where he heard the voice, McGarrett thought that his heart had leaped from his chest when he saw the Hawaiian policeman kneeling next to what appeared to be an inert lump. He’d again experienced the palpable fear that he always did whenever something happened to his second in command. But the anxiety had turned to elation upon discovering that there was nothing seriously wrong with the detective. Temporarily unconscious when they had stormed the building, Dan had woken up at the rescue and adamantly insisted he was completely fine.

Duke helped the detective to rise and Steve was, at first, alarmed by how shaky his friend seemed. But then their eyes had met and his worry was washed away by the younger man’s expression – the way it so frequently was. Coming up next to his friend, Steve pointed out the dirty yet minor cut on his forehead but Williams had again asserted he was well.

Although in the back of Dan’s mind was a thought that he couldn’t find the words for, an impression that there was something he needed to warn McGarrett about but he just wasn’t sure. He put it out of his mind for the moment, knowing that he could ponder it more back at the Palace. He wouldn’t mention it to Steve just yet. Not until he was certain.

On the way out to the car, McGarrett voiced his wish that Danny go to the hospital. Dan’s persistent argument against the trip as well as Steve’s need to have everything normal in his world again allowed Williams to convince the boss that the trip was unneeded. McGarrett ended up closing the discussion with a vow that he was going to take a look at the cut once they were back at the office to make sure it really wasn’t serious. Dan’s only reply had been a sigh of surrender and a roll of his eyes, exasperated by the over protectiveness of his boss.

Moving next to him now as they practically jogged up the stairs to the Five-O offices, Steve knew he probably needed to take a moment to be grateful that the worst had been avoided. Yet the complete normalcy of what was currently happening made him nearly forget about the earlier scare.

After a quick summarization in McGarrett’s office of all that had happened that day, the team broke up, each member heading out with a specific task as the cases that had been pushed aside were now brought back to focus. Important duties were pushed aside while they had searched for the missing officer and all knew that they needed to solve their other cases expediently.

Steve turned to Dan, aware that he needed to get more details of Dan’s story of what had happened over the last several days. It was a subject they hadn’t dwelled on with the others in the office. Keeping any debriefings between the two of them was another of the little ways that McGarrett tried to protect his second in command whenever something happened. Although it wasn’t necessary or something that Williams even expected, Steve’s keeping of the information private was his way of making up for whatever failure he saw in his inability to have prevented whatever happened to his friend.

The phone buzzed loudly as McGarrett continued to stare at Williams. Somehow he kept thinking that he was missing something. That maybe there was something he should say. Some deep revelation or emotional breakthrough. He knew better. The chances of that happening…well, he knew it would have to be something completely horrifying that would rip every ounce of control he had away for that to happen. He hadn’t lost his control, lowered his walls completely, in years. He had once vowed to never get close to anyone again. Yet the younger detective in front of him had easily gotten under his skin. Even so, McGarrett knew that such a revelation was patently unnecessary. His second in command accepted him for the way he was, shortcomings and all, without asking for explanations. Frequently offering them whenever he thought the boss was plagued by a brief bout of self-doubt. It was one of the reasons why Steve had found their ever-developing friendship so comfortable and non-intrusive.

Spinning around he grabbed the handset. “McGarrett,” He barked in his usual authoritative tone.

“Steve, its Jenny. Don’t forget you’re supposed to be meeting with the governor and Manicote in a few minutes.”

“Ahhhh, yes, Jenny, thank you.”

He hung up the phone and as he turned to leave his office he caught sight of Dan rubbing his arm. Although not an uncommon motion, the gesture caused Steve to question whether or not Danny was feeling well.

“What?” Danny looked up, confused but unwilling to admit that he hadn’t heard his boss. The look he saw on the person who now rapidly approached him made his response easy. “Oh yeah, sorry, Steve, I’m fine. Just sore. Don’t worry about it.” Williams saw the apprehension on McGarrett’s face and sighed a little. “Believe me, Steve, I’m fine. Now you’re going to be late.”

Although it was a distinct possibility that there really was nothing wrong, McGarrett’s instinct told him to err on the side of caution. If he had the time, he probably would have bundled his detective over to either Bergman’s lab or Queens Medical Center. But, as it was, he was going to be late unless he ran over to the governor’s office. He reached out and grasped his detective’s arm, leading him towards the white couch against the wall. Before Danny could offer protest, Steve gripped his arm tighter.

“Look, humor me.” For a moment, his eyes bored into Dan’s as if to convey a thought, a message that he was unable to verbalize. “A lot has happened over the last couple of days but you’re right - I’m late. And even though we know who’s really the boss, I need to at least let Jameson think he is.” His smile was a little forced along with the humor. “So just stay here and rest for a bit, OK?”

Giving a short nod and not reacting at all to McGarrett’s unusual joke, Williams sank onto the couch as McGarrett turned and hurriedly left the office. Pausing by his secretary’s desk, he glanced back at his now closed door.

“Jenny, Danno’s in my office. See that he isn’t disturbed.”

“Sure, Boss. Everything OK?”

“Yeah, yeah. No need to worry. I’ll be with the governor.”

*****

Danny leaned his head against the back of the coach and sighed as he heard the outer office door shut. His outwardly stern boss could be so atypically overprotective at times! His own stubborn resolve would not let him admit to a confusing mix of events deep inside himself, yet somehow McGarrett had seemed to sense them. Even now Williams couldn’t quite banish a strange, tingling sensation that seemed to accompany flares of dizziness. Why couldn’t he remember the cause? Or when it had started? He knew the strange numbness in his arm had been present on the way back from the warehouse. Maybe he should have said something to McGarrett – not fought Steve’s inclination to pack him off to Bergman’s ministrations. Danny closed his eyes and willed the oddities to leave. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck again at Queens and he knew well that that was exactly what the coroner/Five-O physician would do. A disturbing image filled his sub-conscious…

He felt hands holding him still no matter how hard he fought. Saw the light as it blocked him from making out his surroundings or identifying anyone else in the room. Shivered as his skin chilled when he identified the sinister laugh of someone hiding behind the light. “Wo Fat!” He hissed as he struggled to catch his breath. “Too chicken to show yourself as always.” From out of nowhere a fist connected with his face and he was abruptly let go, crashing to the floor as the side of his head connected with something, a desk or chair, as he went down. Seconds passed before he was grabbed and dragged to his feet, this time to find himself directly in front of the Chinese spy.

“Mr. Williams, as always, your all too brief visits are such a delight. Although it appears as if you do not share that sentiment. Such a pity!”

Wo Fat appeared to nod at someone behind Dan before reaching into the light. Danny felt his arm grabbed and the sleeve of his dress shirt was pushed up and secured by a rope or some other kind of tight band. He struggled to free his arms but met with little success.

“I do believe though that my enjoyment of our time is about to come to an end – permanently. You see, the time has come for me to exact payment for all the trouble McGarrett has caused me. And I’ve decided that there is no better payment than your life where he is concerned.”

“You’ll never get away with any of your schemes. Steve’s better than you, Wo Fat!” Danny felt a prick in his arm. “Hey ouch! What…?”

Uncharacteristically wanting this moment for himself, Wo Fat had reached for a syringe and inserted the needle into Dan’s outstretched arm near the elbow. He plunged down on the pusher and injected the liquid into the vein then withdrew the needle in one fluid motion. His smooth voice was coldly calculating.

“Not this time, my young friend. You see by the time Steve realizes what is happening there will be little he can do to reverse the trend and you will be irreversibly on your way to a painful death.”

“What…?” Having felt the liquid flowing through his vein, Danny was surprised by the numbness that quickly filled his arm and moved up to his shoulder. He staggered a little as his legs felt weak. His body not responding to what his brain was telling it, he wondered at what devilment Wo Fat had tried this time.

“Poison, Mr. Williams. But this is a very unusual, even special kind of poison! Quick to initiate itself but slow to finish its task. It has no antidote, I assure you so McGarrett can search all he wants –as we know he will - but he won’t find it. Eventually though he will realize that all he can do is watch as you slowly succumb to it, as your body shuts down and you choke to death no matter what he does.”

Danny was horrified. This could not be happening!! He wanted to move but couldn’t. Never felt his body as those who had held him tight suddenly released him and he fell to the ground. He had to beat this! Not let what Wo Fat claimed happen. Somehow…his eyes closed and his world darkened.

Danny’s eyes opened and he fuzzily looked around the room, wondering where he was. Steve? Where was Steve? He had to warn him. Steve would know what to do. From out of the fog he heard a door open, saw a shadow bend over him and a voice that was higher than Wo Fat’s comment as to the warmth in the room. His vision blurred and his eyes closed again as the door was opened and then the room, except for the occasional noise from traffic below, grew quiet again.

*****

McGarrett strolled back from the governor’s office at a more leisurely pace than he had before. The meeting with Jameson had taken longer than expected but Steve hadn’t minded that much. All was well in his world again. Williams was back at the Palace and appeared to be in good health considering who had taken him. Although McGarrett still didn’t understand the reasoning behind snatching his second in command, he was almost willing to not worry about it as much as normal. He also wasn’t as upset at losing the fat, Chinese spy like he usually was whenever the slippery spy got away from him. Danno was back and that was the bottom line.

As far as he was aware there were no political or diplomatic visitors headed towards the islands, which might have prompted the spy’s visit. He knew he would need to investigate the motives soon but was willing to take at least a few minutes to not only acknowledge the beauty around him but also to be grateful for the satisfying end to a game with unknown rules. Then again, Wo Fat had never found it necessary to abide by standard rules.

As he walked through the Palace gardens and past the bandstand, he couldn’t help but think back on the seemingly easy rescue of Dan. The tip had been phoned in to HPD and they hadn’t been able to trace it. No one else had been in the building. He swallowed down the small knot of fear as he remembered how he’d thought it had been a ruse, preferring to concentrate on how he’d felt when Duke had found Danno. How relieved he had been to find that his officer was safe. How unlike Wo Fat to have the ability to strike at him with the worst blow imaginable and not take advantage of the opportunity. He stopped dead and stood still as several tourists were forced to make their way around him. How unlike Wo Fat indeed!!

He raised his head and eyed the building that was truly his home, easily finding the window of his office and the small lanai on the other side. The makings of a thought too awful to consider entered his mind. Suddenly minutes seemed to matter and he was desperate to reach the Palace. Steve broke into a jog maneuvering around the others on the sidewalk as they leisurely strolled along. He had to get to his office. The rescue of Dan had been too easy. The seemingly uneventful encounter with the Chinese spy…Or maybe…

He barely slowed as he burst through the door of the Palace and then ran up the stairs nearly three at a time. Heading down the hall towards the Five-O suite, Steve strode through the outer offices now anxious to check on his second in command. While with the governor, his mind had been partially focused back here at his office. As he now quickly reviewed details about Williams’ return he became concerned that all was not well when they had returned and he remembered that Danny hadn’t seemed to be acting right. Scenes replayed themselves in his mind and he finally realized that Dan had stumbled on his way up the stairs and then appeared to reach for the doorknob but missed it completely. Yet all had seemed normal when the team had gathered in McGarrett’s office for a briefing. Sure that his imagination had slipped into overdrive because of the extreme events, his mind was now singularly focused on getting inside his office.

“Steve!”

The exaggerated whisper made him pause and he turned to look in the secretary’s direction.

“He’s asleep. I just checked on him a little bit ago.”

McGarrett gave a brief nod. “Thanks, Jenny.”

Starting forward again, his progress was halted by his secretary.

“I opened the lanai door a little.” At McGarrett’s puzzled expression, she continued. “Your office was a bit stuffy. Danny was even sweating a little.”

Steve didn’t reply but nodded his head and moved towards the door.

Opening the office door, his eyes automatically sought out the figure that was still on the sofa. Head back, body still, eyes closed – Williams appeared to not have moved since Steve left the office. After his ordeal, McGarrett knew his friend had to be exhausted and he did not even know all the details of what had happened yet. He sighed in an effort to calm himself. All was well. Automatically nudging the door closed with his foot, McGarrett headed for his desk as the door slammed rather loudly behind him. The noise caused him to instantly glance towards his friend and he was relieved to see that it had not disturbed Dan.

Sitting down behind his desk, he started to open the first file but then stopped and slowly raised his head towards the couch. The slamming of the door should have woken Danno yet in fact he hadn’t even stirred. The hair began to stand up on the back of Steve’s neck. He stared at Williams. Was that blood he saw just under Dan’s nose? McGarrett shook his head. Couldn’t be. But…

Steve rose and moved over near Dan. Yeah, that looked like blood. It wasn’t left over from ill treatment by Wo Fat! It hadn’t been there earlier. McGarrett was positive he would have noticed if it had been. Its presence would have propelled him to pack his friend off to the hospital no matter who he had a meeting with. He reached out a finger and touched it, jerking away when he was able to smear it and then had a small drop dribble onto his finger. It was fresh blood! He gasped.

“Danno, wake up.” Steve spoke a little louder than normal although knowing that Williams was primarily a rather light sleeper; the lack of a response unnerved him. He reached out and placed a hand on Dan’s arm. Was Danno trembling? It felt that way to Steve. “Danno, you need to wake up!”

He heard Dan’s breath catch audibly in his throat but his friend’s eyes remained closed. Leaning close, practically nose to nose with Dan, he shook Williams none too gently this time and his voice strident and demanding, as on edge as he felt. “Danno, wake up! Come on, open your eyes and look at me, aikane!”

This time he was successful but, to McGarrett, the waking process seemed to take forever. Finally Dan’s blue eyes stared back at him but Steve was instantly concerned by the disorientation he saw there. The urgency he had originally felt outside as he stared at the Palace had now turned to a growing panic.

It took several minutes for Danny to realize that he was back in Steve’s office at the Palace, yet he brushed away the boss’ concern once he was aware of it. “Where…?…Oh yeah, the Palace. Steve, what’s wrong?” Williams’ voice slowly got stronger and Steve’s worry eased slightly.

“Danno, you are going to see Doc now!”

Danny instinctively rejected the idea. “I’m fine, Steve. You don’t have to worry.”

“Yeah, you’re fine. So why do you have a nosebleed? You should have gone to the hospital from the warehouse. I’m calling an ambulance.”

“Steve, I’m okay.” Dan’s voice had risen abruptly and then he paused, his voice quieter as he continued. “Look, if you let me get up I’ll even prove to you that I’m fine.”

McGarrett quickly dropped his hands from Dan’s arms and straightened. He desperately wanted Danny to be fine, for his concerns to be simply a product of his over stressed imagination. He couldn’t think much less voice the dread that he’d experienced over the last several days or acknowledge how lost he would be without his friend in his life. It was a subject he preferred to not deal with so he grabbed at the chance for a return to normalcy.

Williams slowly rose from the couch and McGarrett noticed that he seemed even steadier than he had earlier. Concern made him hover but he knew he had to do so in a way that didn’t nettle Dan’s fiercely independent nature.

“See - I told you I’m fine.”

Dan reached a hand up to his nose and when he pulled it away he noticed the dots of blood on a couple of his fingers. Where was this coming from and why? He knew he should remember, felt that there was something just beyond the reach of his memory. Trepidation taking hold, Danny glanced at McGarrett.

Fortunately he hadn’t noticed Dan’s movement otherwise Steve would have flipped. There was no other way to describe it. As self-contained and controlled as his friend was, it never ceased to amaze Dan how Steve seemed to simply lose it whenever anything happened to him. Now appeared to be no exception as he could tell that the McGarrett radar was intently focused on him.

From outside his office Steve heard the door slam. Probably Ben returning. The newest member of the team had a forceful strength about him that Steve hadn’t been able to contain it yet. It reminded him so much of his second in command when he’d first met Williams. A ball of youthful energy, Danny’s sometimes loud and forceful way of expressing his disagreement with his boss had led to a few intense encounters between them. Until McGarrett had been able to channel that energy and intelligence towards their work and had seen more of the similarities between them. Originally intending to only enter into a mentor/pupil relationship with his detective, the ever-growing friendship had thrown McGarrett’s ordered world into chaos until he accepted his developing feelings and the friendship.

McGarrett’s eyes were drawn to his friend and his forehead crinkled in concern. Abnormal hypersensitivity to his friend and his reactions at the moment allowed Steve to notice things that he might typically be a bit obtuse about. The expression on Dan’s face seemed tight as if he was desperately trying to control something or what he was doing was taking all of his concentration. Steve thought that was strange. All Dan was doing was standing there. He studied the expression and realized he should question it when Dan’s legs suddenly seemed to give out from under him. Steve’s hands reached out and grabbed Dan around his arms, supporting him and stopping him from sinking to the ground.

“Danno!” he hissed. Dan’s dead weight caused him to sink further inside Steve’s grasp. “Jenny! Jenny!”

Steve gently aided Dan in sinking to the floor. “Jenny!!”

The door opened but he was barely aware of the shadow that fell over the room. His complete attention was on the bluish tinge around Dan’s lips – something he hadn’t remembered from before or even when he was waking Dan up a few minutes ago. He kept his hand underneath Dan’s neck in support.

“Yes, Steve?…Oh MY!!! What happened?”

“Jenny, we need to get an –”

But he didn’t need to complete the thought because Jenny was already crossing over into the office to use the phone on McGarrett’s desk. Grateful for a secretary who could care for them as well as Jenny did, Steve turned his attention back to Danny. The blue around his lips seemed to have grown and now it appeared as if he was barely breathing. But Steve knew that mere seconds had passed since Dan’s collapse. What was going on? Fear now edged around the panic that had dominated since his return to the Palace. Steve’s hand moved from Dan’s neck to the side of his face. “Danno, stay with me!”

Gut reaction to what he saw pushed Steve to decide that he could get Dan the few blocks to Queens faster than waiting for an ambulance. “Jenny, call Bergman and tell him to meet us at Queens. BEN!”

Just about to request an ambulance, Jenny was familiar enough with her boss to easily switch gears and end the call, swiftly dialing the number to the coroner’s office. She waited impatiently for the ringing phone to be answered. Ben Kokua had stuck his head in the doorway to McGarrett’s office and Steve nearly barked at him to come help him.

“We’ve got to get Danno to the hospital.”

About to question whether or not it would be better to just get an ambulance, Ben caught the slight shake of Jenny’s head. He decided against a comment and assisted the boss. The two together got Dan up off the floor and started for the door.

“Doc, this is Jenny. Steve needs you to meet him at Queens right away. Something’s happened with Danny. No, I don’t know what, he collapsed. …No, Steve and Ben are taking him over. Steve doesn’t want to wait for an ambulance.” Jenny hurriedly hung up the phone and went to the door. Steve and Ben were nearly at the outer office door. “Bergman will meet you at Queens. Steve, don’t forget to call us!”

“Radio Chin and have him meet us there.” With that, they were gone from the office.

*****

Prowling the waiting room where Bergman had banished him to, Steve thought about the strangeness of everything that had happened. Williams had seemed fine after he’d regained consciousness in the warehouse. He’d had no trouble keeping up with McGarrett as they’d returned to the Palace. Granted they hadn’t spoken much. Even in the car on the drive back McGarrett had preferred to be quiet instead of getting Dan’s report of what had happened while he was Wo Fat’s guest. Instead he had assured his friend that they would talk back at the office. But then the meeting interrupted him. After Jenny reminded him. That was odd as well. He normally had a superb memory, frequently remembering not only his own schedule but Dan’s as well. Not this time. He wondered if his famous extra sense had known something was not right and he had ignored the warnings he had not recognized.

The slamming open of the emergency room door caught his attention and pulled his mind away from the depressing thoughts. Doc Bergman was striding towards him. Anxious for answers, McGarrett examined the crusty old doc’s expression and instantly knew that he did not want to hear what he was about to be told.

*****

McGarrett paced the empty warehouse like a caged tiger. Several hours had passed since the initial crisis in the Palace. It would be dark soon on the Island and the slippery spy would have an easier cover to make a getaway if he hadn’t already. They were almost out of time. He knew that even without checking his watch. Slipping a hand into his jacket pocket, his fingers grazed the metal of another watchband and reflexively tightened over it. Before he had left Queens, a nurse had handed him Dan’s watch informing McGarrett that they had taken it off his wrist but didn’t want to just leave it in the room with him.

Pulling the timepiece out of his pocket, he clenched it in his hand for a moment before looking down. Even in the poor light, his eyes automatically found the engraving on the back of the watch he had given his friend several Christmases ago. In his mind’s eye he saw again the pleased expression on Dan’s face as he had examined the gift. The memory was eclipsed by his last glimpse of Williams. The pallid, nearly lifeless expression made him shiver.

Bergman’s voice echoed in his thoughts as he told the Five-O detectives about the poison that Wo Fat had somehow introduced into Dan’s body – a poison that both Che Fong and Bergman could not identify. Steve hadn’t thought his panic could have risen higher than when he and Ben had finally reached the Mercury with Danny. Getting him into the car and driving to the medical center seemed to take forever. McGarrett wasn’t sure how much rubber he had pealed off his tires as he nearly floored the accelerator leaving the parking lot of the Palace. But then his panic had skyrocketed and now he couldn’t even think about what could be lost if they didn’t find something here to help.

His team and a large contingent of uniformed officers from HPD were once again combing the warehouse. Not long ago the lab team had also carefully examined the place – wearing gloves and masks since they hadn’t been sure what they were dealing with. The late discovery of the needle mark on Williams’ arm and subsequent transmission from Bergman of how the poison had definitely been introduced had eased the precautions a little as the team had removed their masks and allowed the police to join the search. Yet they had still insisted that everyone wear gloves. McGarrett had, of course, refused and no one was in the mood to argue with him.

“We’re running out of time, gentlemen. There has to be something in here that we’ve overlooked.”

“Place is clean, boss. Except for the dust, of course.”

“Not good enough! Danno’s life depends on our being able to figure out what he was given.”

Just then an officer that McGarrett did not know entered and spoke to Lukela. Duke nodded a response and called over to him.

“Steve! Your radio!”

Briefly nodding, McGarrett turned and hurried out the door to his car. He could vaguely hear the tinny voice coming through the speakers.

“Central to McGarrett.” The call was repeated several times before he reached the vehicle.

“This is McGarrett.” As he awaited a response, his eyes swept over the outdoor scene. Several officers were walking around the building and nearby Ben Kokua was issuing instructions to a team of newly arrived HPD officers.

“Central to McGarrett. We have a message from Queens Medical Center. They are requesting your immediate return.”

Startled, Steve was silent for several seconds then cued the microphone. “Was anything else said, Central?”

“10-4, you are to proceed directly to the Intensive Care Unit.”

A mix of fear and nausea filled him and he was barely able to acknowledge the message. The mic fell from his numb fingers. When he had left the hospital, Dan was still in the ER. What had happened that warranted being placed in ICU?

“Steve, is Danny…?”

McGarrett shook his head as the trepidation escalated. “I don’t know, Ben.”

Not turning, he opened the car door and jumped in. “I’ll be at Queens when you find something.”

Gunning the Mercury, he sped away before Kokua could offer a reply or any other comments. Ben watched the Mercury until it turned a corner then he moved to join the officers inside the warehouse. Duke approached him almost immediately.

“Where’s Steve?”

“Message was from Queens, requesting his immediate return.”

“Is Danny…”

“I don’t know. Steve didn’t say.”

Duke nodded gravely. “It’s where Steve belongs right now.”

*****

Driving nearly aimlessly, Steve found that his mind traveled nearly as quickly as the vehicle. Initially replaying the scene in his office over and over, Dan’s face soon melded to that of another – someone he hadn’t thought of in years.

“Danno even looks so much like Marty. I can’t let history repeat itself this time.” Gripping the steering wheel even tighter than before, Steve increased the pressure on the accelerator, desperate to get back to Queens as soon as possible. “History won’t repeat itself. What happened to Marty will not happen to Danno!”

The tires screeched as he slammed on the brakes and the vehicle came to an abrupt, rocking stop in front of the medical center. Stepping from the car, he slammed the door and hurriedly jogged inside, brushing past several visitors, patients and staff members. His mind was singularly focused now. He had to get upstairs to the ICU as fast as possible. Coming off the elevator, his eyes darted around as he attempted to quell his rising panic. This floor, this unit, could not mean anything good had happened. He hoped it wasn’t the worst, the event he ran from emotionally whenever it appeared to be a possibility with anyone he knew.

Moving through the doors that led into the unit his initial destination was the nurses’ station to obtain answers to his many questions. That goal was cast aside when a momentary glance towards one of the rooms brought him his ultimate goal – discovering where Williams was.

“Danno!” With a whispered cry, McGarrett turned and moved into the room, his burning need for information tossed aside at the sight of his detective.

Dan lay still, his eyes closed but McGarrett wasn’t sure if he was sleeping or unconscious. There was an IV inserted in an arm and an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. Yet Steve’s eyes were fixated on what hung above his other arm. Through a different IV line flowed blood and he couldn’t help but stare at it as he remembered the last bits of conversation he’d had with Bergman before leaving for the warehouse.

“Steve, we don’t know much right now. But we’ll run some tests and see if anything is obvious. I do need your guys to comb that warehouse again and see if there is anything there that might help us.”

“They’re on their way already.”

“Good. Make sure they and the lab boys at least wear gloves. I’m not sure what we are dealing with here.” Bergman eyed the cop, knowing what was playing in his mind. Bergman wanted to ease his worry a little and hoped to get McGarrett to concentrate more on discovering the poison and less on Dan’s condition. He had enough on his hands with trying to figure out what Dan was given as well as trying to treat him. The last thing Bergman wanted was the Five-O boss stalking through the hospital going on one of his infamous rampages. “There is one good thing, Steve. Danny isn’t bleeding from anywhere – externally or internally.”

Steve’s confused expression prompted the doctor to explain.

“At least we know that whatever this poison is, it isn’t affecting his blood. He’s not hemorrhaging or anything like that.”

McGarrett’s voice as he spoke was gruff. “Doc, he’s already had a nose bleed…at the Palace.”

Bergman froze for a few seconds and his non-response told McGarrett more than he wanted to know. Not waiting for a reply, he had turned and headed out of the hospital.

Moving next to the bed, McGarrett placed his hands on Danny’s arms, simultaneously squeezing them and shaking him.

“Danno?” He waited for a few brief seconds for a reply. “Danno?”

“Don’t jostle him too much, Steve. Movement escalates the negative effects of the poison.”

Momentarily startled, he had not noticed anyone see him enter the room, McGarrett recovered quickly and glanced around to the door confirming that it was Doc Bergman who had spoken to him.

“What do you mean?” he demanded. “Exactly what is going on inside of him?”

The man who, for the most part, functioned as the coroner except for his unofficial duty as personal physician to McGarrett's team, moved away from the door and into the room before answering.

“I don’t know.”

McGarrett turned, incredulity written on his face. “You don’t know?”

“Outside of what you were told earlier – that it seems he was given some kind of poison – we don’t know anything more except what appears to be happening to him. We can’t locate any injection marks but there are no other obvious ways of entry. Tests for ingestion and inhalation are negative. Absorption is possible, but there are no signs of discolored skin or other possible methods. If we could determine how he was poisoned, it might help figure out what. But as it stands now we are simply reacting as his body is affected. His symptoms are not consistent with any known poison that we tested for, so far.”

“But what you’re doing is working, right? It’s making him better.”

Bergman didn’t answer. He simply stared at McGarrett with an emotionless mask. He hated facing the Five-0 chief with news like this. Having seen how Steve reacted to minor occurrences throughout the years, he’d dreaded the possibility of ever voicing the words he now needed to speak.

“He’ll be all right!” Steve demanded, hunted for confirmation even as the ultimatum was made.

Bergman’s mask slipped and sympathy crossed his face. “Steve –“ He couldn’t say the words any more than McGarrett wanted to hear them.

“No! No…” Realization dawned, chilling Steve to the marrow of his bones. He knew the message that Doc was unable to utter. The physician’s emotionless look, the sympathy that was there because of the coroner’s long standing relationship with Five-O, the inability to verbalize the death sentence. “No, he can’t! You have to do something!!”

The final statement was more of a plea than Bergman had ever heard from the man before him. He grasped the arms wondering if anything he said would get through to McGarrett.

“Steve, without knowing what he was given…”

McGarrett yanked himself away. He stared momentarily at Bergman and then turned, moving back to the side of the bed. His hands nervously gripped the bed rail as he stared down at his friend. The image shifted between that of the face he knew so well to a face from his past that had been long buried. Would this have been the way he would have reacted back then? He had never had the opportunity to know beforehand with Marty. Didn’t think he could stand to hear it now with Danno. His voice was quaking as much as his insides -

“How long…before…before he…” Knowing his voice was close to breaking, he never finished the query.

Steve’s eyes were fixated on the bed’s occupant so he felt more than saw the other man come up next to him. For a few seconds both of them eyed the patient, unknown but undoubtedly similar thoughts running through their minds.

“I wish I knew, Steve. His condition is detoriating quickly. Too quickly. One of the reasons why I had you brought back here – in case…” The unfinished sentence, the unspoken thought – Bergman knew that if it even appeared that Danny was near death that McGarrett would want to be there.

“Isn’t there anything that can be done? To give us more time to find…something?”

“We’re treating his symptoms now. But what we do does not slow the spread to his other organs. His respirations are slowing and his blood gases are dropping, Steve. I haven’t ordered the test yet but I’d be willing to guess that his kidneys are slowing as well. I know that doesn’t mean anything to you but Steve think of it like this. Sooner or later his body is simply going to shut down.”

Bergman paused. He knew this was hurting McGarrett like nearly nothing else could. He wished it could be someone else, anyone else, who would be telling him what he was about to say. Yet he also knew that there really wasn’t anyone else who could in the way that he would. Even though there was little he could do to soften the blow he was about to deliver to a man that many believed was untouchable.

“Steve, Danny’s body is getting weaker. Listen to his breathing. It’s slower now than it was when you first brought him in. At some point I’m probably going to have to intubate him just to keep him breathing.”

A faint groan could barely be heard from the man in the bed. Both Bergman and McGarrett looked down, shocked to see Dan’s eyes barely open. His lips moved under the mask, as he appeared to try to speak. Bergman reached over and moved the mask off his face for a brief time. Dan’s lips parted a few times as he tried to speak.

“No…ma…chine.”

The words were barely understandable. The two men beside him knew what he was trying to say more because of their familiarity with him than because of the clarity with which he had spoken. Bergman moved the mask back over his patient’s face, shaking his head. He glanced over at McGarrett and realized that Steve was completely focused on watching Dan breathe.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” He moved away from the bed but paused by the door. “I’ll be down the hall if things…”

Allowing his voice to trail off, the crusty M.E. found he could not voice the dire future. The pathologist in him did not believe that Williams had much time left. The doctor inside was perplexed by the inability of the medical staff and lab personnel to discover any specific information regarding the poison. The man who considered himself to be an auxiliary member of the Five-O team was despondent over what was happening to the second in command and what he knew would be the boss’ reaction to the end events. Sitting down in a chair at the nurses’ station, Bergman first picked up Danny’s chart. He stared at the blank page for physician notes and then he finally raised his arm and stared at his watch, eyeing the second hand as it ticked by the passage of time.

*****

McGarrett remained next to the bed, not even acknowledging Bergman’s departure. His vision was focused on the patient as he listened to the gasping, shallow breathing underneath the mask. His hands twisted around the bed rail, aching to be wrapped around the neck of that slippery Chinaman. Somehow he had to stay focused on the anger at the spy. The anger fueled his energies and kept him going, refusing to concede to the growing hurt. If he acknowledged it, the pain would consume him. Before his mind could slip away to plotting revenge, he realized that Dan hadn’t taken another breath after the previous one.

“Danno!” He called and moved the bed slightly with a jerky movement of his body.

He instantly thought about heading to the door to call Bergman and then recognized that he was listening to Dan breathe again. Understanding that he had been able to somewhat startle his friend into breathing, McGarrett knew that his job was not at the warehouse or the Palace or anywhere else. For the time being, his place was in this room, sitting next to his second in command and friend, assuring that Dan continued to breathe.

Reaching down a hand he lowered the rail and then sank into a chair that was behind him, scooting it close to the bed as he did so. His eyes remain fixated on his friend’s face. “ Just keep breathing, aikane.” A whispered plea that couldn’t even begin to express any of the emotions surging inside him.

Time ceased to exist as Steve sat next to Danny. While a part of him was cognizant of and wished that he was outside, on the street, trying to find out what Wo Fat had given Williams, McGarrett knew that there was no way he was leaving this particular room for the foreseeable future. His hand covered Dan’s still one as it lay on the bed. Since that brief time when his friend’s eyes had opened, Steve had stared at him. But now the eyes remained closed. It was as if all of the body’s energy and will were concentrated on breathing.

Sitting in the mostly silent room, McGarrett couldn’t stop the memories from washing over him. He’d been able to somewhat avoid the similarities so far but the obviousness was too much for him. He had sworn then to never allow himself to get close enough to anyone to risk feeling the pain again. He’d kept that vow almost to the extreme until a certain, curly-haired detective had made it impossible. Now, as history threatened to repeat itself, he vowed to make sure that it didn’t. The pain this time would be more than he could bear.

For a brief moment, Steve looked down at Dan’s face and again saw Marty’s dark features in its place. He gasped at the memory’s intrusion. No, this could not be a memory. Outside of being nearby when the grenade had detonated and then promising the young soldier that he wouldn’t leave him, McGarrett had not been nearby then until after the death had occurred. He’d never seen the death bed expressions on his friend then. He’d been banished not even to the doorway but to the bitter cold outside the makeshift hospital. He’d paced in controlled anger then as a couple of the braver NI officers who had been traveling with him stood close but unwilling to disturb him. Shaking his head nearly violently, he concentrated on the patient until he again saw Danno in the bed. He brought a hand up to his jaw, knowing that he was about to face the most difficult trial in his life as his past melded with his present and threatened to destroy everything he saw as necessary for a future.

*****

No one paid any attention to the young Oriental man as he entered the hospital. He consulted a sign near the elevators that listed what floors the various units were on and then quickly entered an open car, careful to not look at anyone.

Getting off the elevator, he glanced around and then moved down the hall to peer in the waiting room, finding it empty. He approached the closed electric doors that led to the Intensive Care Unit and tried to come up with a way to get inside. He hurriedly turned towards the wall as the doors opened, unsure of who was coming. Spying two nurses leaving the unit, he followed them. Listening to their conversation, he rolled his eyes as it appeared they were simply discussing what they had brought for dinner. Then one made a statement that caught his attention.

“That cop they brought in earlier – I don’t know how much longer he can last.”

“The one that no one knows what’s wrong with him…yeah, too bad, he’s a cutie. Not sure why the coroner is here though.”

“Didn’t you recognize the patient? He’s with the state police unit - Five-O. I think he’s the second in command. Williams, I think his name is. Bergman is always here whenever something happens to one of them. I heard once that he’s the only one McGarrett trusts with his men.”

“He’s a bit odd, isn’t he?”

“Who?”

“McGarrett – I’ve always heard that he’s like steel or something. That no one can reach him.”

“Yeah, I know. But he hasn’t left that officer’s side. And Bergman doesn’t seem to mind.