The seconds felt like hours to Catherine before the all-clear sounded.
"He's breathing again!"
Catherine was relieved at first. Now he just had to keep going.
Nothing happened on the further journey to the hospital.
Once there, Steve was taken away and Catherine once again had to sit in the waiting room. The others joined shortly after. No one said anything as everyone was lost in thought.
Especially Catherine. She couldn't get the moment out of her head when Steve had a cardiac arrest. Losing him always seemed a long way off. But because of this moment today, this thought wasn't so surreal anymore and that was frightening. She really wished Wo Fat was dead. Then they would no longer have to fear that he would harm them. Because Catherine definitely didn't want to sit here again in the near future.
After 3 hours, doctor Kahale came to them. Everyone looked at him curiously.
"Well, Commander McGarrett is stable so far. As you probably already know, he was tortured. He had water in his lungs and burns on his upper body. Otherwise he has many bruises and two of his already bruised ribs are broken. These led to a tension Pneumothorax, which is why we had to operate on him quickly. He has also received a not inconsiderable amount of various drugs. Hallucinogens, tranquilizers and truth serums, among others. All of this puts a significant strain on the body. Hence the cardiac arrest. But we have everything under control now so that I can give you the all-clear. He'll get through it and he'll be healthy again."
A great sense of relief went through the room.
"Can we go to him?"
"Yes, I'll take you there."
So they all followed doctor Kahale until he stopped in front of a room and let them in.
"I'll leave you alone now. But not so many are allowed to stay here. Best just 1 or 2 of you because he really needs to wake up in a quiet environment."
Then he left the room. Catherine sat down next to Steve and the others gathered around his bed.
Then Lou came along. He had helped put Wo Fat in prison.
"Hey guys, how is he?"
Danny answered him.
"Well, he's been through a lot. But he will be fine."
Lou was relieved too.
"Good. So the CIA arranged for Wo Fat to be put on a plane to the mainland tomorrow morning and taken to a maximum security prison there."
"It's good. As long as that bastard isn't on the island anymore."
It didn't take long for Chin, Kono and Lou to leave. Catherine and Danny stayed with Steve. Everyone would have liked to stay, but doctor Kahale told them explicitly that unfortunately this was not possible.
Catherine sat silently next to Steve and looked at him. Danny then broke the oppressive silence.
"How are you?"
"I don't know exactly. On the one hand, I'm relieved that Steve is doing better. On the other hand, I'm still concerned about Wo Fat. He will certainly not rest until he has what he wants."
"That may be true, but we will do our best to stop Wo Fat from his plans. We will also make sure that the safety precautions are increased again for him."
"Yes and Steve and I should probably try to avoid ending up in the hospital."
"That would be a measure. But with this Neanderthal here, it won't be long until next time, believe me."
"Well, maybe going to the hospital is just part of us."
"Might be. So, should I get us some from Kamekona? I think we'll be sitting here for a while."
"Yes that would be great."
So Danny got up and walked to the door.
"Hey Danny. Thank you for everything."
"My pleasure."
Now he went out of the room to his car.
After half an hour he came back with the food.
"Garlic shrimps."
"Great, I'm starving."
After the meal, Danny and Catherine talked about all sorts of things. Including the wedding. However, Catherine hadn't really thought about it yet. There wasn't much time for that either.
3 hours later they were snapped out of their thoughts. Steve moved. He opened his eyes, looked around in panic and sat up quickly. It was poison to his ribs, causing him to fall back in pain. In addition, the devices to which he was connected now beeped.
Danny reacted immediately.
"Hey Steve. Lie still. You are safe."
In fact, Steve relaxed a little. Then he looked at Danny, but had probably forgotten the conversation when he was rescued. Again he asked about his father.
"Detective Williams. Where is my father? I have to see him."
"Can't you remember how we saved you?"
But Steve only asked the counter question.
"Detective, where is my father?"
Danny looked at Catherine, not wanting to deliver that bad answer to his friend again. So Catherine took on this task.
"Steve, you know he died four years ago."
She put her hand on his shoulder. Immediately Steve winced and stared at Catherine.
"Catherine? What is going on here ? First of all, I want to see my father, I know for a fact that he is not dead. I even sat with him on the beach. Second, what are you doing here, Cath? You were in that Navy operation in Afghanistan. "
This shocked Catherine and Danny. Catherine went out of the room to get doctor Kahale. Steve turned to Danny again.
"She said my father died. That can't be the case and where does it come from all of a sudden? Detective, please enlighten me. All of this doesn't make any sense."
"Don't you remember anything?"
"I know that you and I questioned Victor Hesse. This led us to Wo Fat. There was an exchange of gunfire and I shot him. The last thing I remember is sitting on the beach with my dad. So tell me where is he?"
Before Danny could reply, doctor Kahale and Catherine enter.
"Hello Commander. How are you doing?"
"It doesn't matter. I want to see my father."
Doctor Kahale took a syringe out of his pocket and took it to Steve. He looked at him questioningly.
"What is that?"
"It will help you. Don't worry."
Then he stuck the syringe into Steve's arm. As a result, Steve slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
Danny now looked at him questioningly too.
"Do not worry. It's just a sedative. It also helps him sleep peacefully, which is important to get the drugs out of his body."
"Okay, Doc. Can you tell us why he thinks his father is alive?"
"That's what the hallucinogens do. It's like he's trapped in an wrong world. And with the amount given to him, this condition lasts a little longer. But that should have subsided in the next 12 hours. He just needs a lot of rest and sleep. Then he will be fine again."
"Okay thanks."
"Just call me if there's anything else."
Then he left the room.
Catherine turned to Danny.
"Hopefully his condition will improve soon."
"Definitely. Do you know why he thinks you're in Afghanistan?"
"Yes, because that's where I was on a mission when Steve's father was murdered. And if this wrong world is in the period, it kind of makes sense I guess. As long as Steve gets back to his old self, everything will be fine."
"Well, you have heard doctor Kahale, he'll be fine. Well, if you don't need anything else, I'd go and pick up Grace from Rachel now."
"No, I don't need anything. I'll call you if something happens."
"Okay, see you."
So Catherine was alone with Steve again. Because he would sleep for a while, Catherine took out her cell phone and read an e-book.
Around 8 o'clock in the evening doctor Kahale came in and checked Steve's stats. Then he turned to Catherine.
"You're going to stay the night, aren't you?"
"Yes, I intend to."
"Well, I'd better have a bed fetched for you then."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
After 10 minutes a nurse brought in a bed. And Catherine lay down shortly after. She was pretty exhausted and the sleep did her good.
The next morning, Catherine woke up around 9 a.m. She felt good and rested. She wasn't really hungry, so she just got herself a coffee and then took her place next to Steve's bed. Steve didn't wake up until 11am.
Catherine noticed this immediately. She moved closer to him.
"Steve?"
Steve opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Catherine."
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes I think so. I just have an unbelievable headache and my ribs really hurt."
"Can you remember everything?"
"Yes. I... wait, where's Wo Fat?!"
Suddenly Steve became restless and looked around.
"Steve, it's all good. He's on a plane to the mainland right now, where he's going to a high-security prison."
Steve relaxed.
"So, do you want to tell me about your time with Wo Fat?"
It was obviously difficult for Steve, but he then decided to tell her about it.
"Okay. So Wo Fat asked me where his father is. He didn't believe me that I didn't know. He repeatedly gave me drugs and tortured me. Then he threatened to kidnap you too and do something to you if I didn't talk. But I was able to break free, defeated his assistant and then fought Wo Fat. He gave me another injection. Then I don't know anything anymore, until now."
"I'm sorry you went through that. I should have been with you."
"No, Cath. It's a good thing, otherwise he might have kidnapped you right away and that's the last thing I want."
"Okay. So I'll get doctor Kahale."
Just as she was about to get up, he came into the room to check Steve's values, like every 2 hours.
"Oh, Commander, you're awake. That's very good. How do you feel?"
"Quite well. Except for the bad headache and my ribs."
"Yes, about that. We had to do emergency surgery on you as two of your already bruised ribs were broken. That caused a tension Pneumothorax. And the headaches are normal after all the drugs they've been on. If you want, I can give you painkillers."
"No, that's fine."
"And to tell you straight away, I know you don't want to, but you have to stay for a week or two now. Also, because of your broken ribs, you won't be able to exercise properly again for about 4 weeks. So you can only then go back to the real service."
"Perfect."
"I beg you, Commander. Take it seriously, otherwise the healing process will only take longer."
"All right."
"Good. I'll leave you alone now."
So he went back out of Steve's room.
"You're going to do what he says. Just for the record."
"Okay I got it."
"I'm glad you're with us again."
"Me too. During my time at Wo Fat, my biggest fear was that he would harm you or anyone else on the team, or that I would never see you again."
"I understand well. I was very worried about you because I suspected from the start that Wo Fat was behind your disappearance. So I'm just glad that everything turned out reasonably well."
Catherine also left the hospital for the next four days and already planned the wedding a bit with the help of Kono. Steve actually stayed in the hospital without protest. However, Catherine visited him two or three times a day to make sure he stayed there. Like this morning.
"Hey Steve. How are you ?"
"Good. Much better than four days ago. But you won't let me go earlier anyway."
"Exactly."
Catherine's cell phone rang.
"Lieutenant Rollins?" Steve just watched as Catherine suddenly paled and then hung up.
"Steve, I have to go."
"What happened ?"
But Catherine just ran out of the room...