Work Text:
Steve stumbled into Chin, trying not to curse as he rested too much weight on his injured leg.
He hadn’t even been on a case. He had been shopping at the local surf shop with Chin, looking to get some wax for his board when a kid had walked in wearing a coat, which set off Steve’s radar straight away. He had gone instantly on alert, nodding to Chin and motioning that he should wait by the door, blocking the exits before positioning himself behind the punk as he went straight to the register- another bad sign.
When he had gone to reach for the gun, Steve was ready, taking him down with a tackle- grabbing the teen’s wrist and twisting it as they fell to the ground so he’d drop the weapon.
Only it hadn’t gone down quite as smoothly as he’d hoped. The kid had fast reflexes and he must’ve squeezed his hand in shock when Steve hit him, because just before they hit the floor the sound of a gunshot rang in his ears and there was a searing pain in his leg.
The trajectory of the bullet had been just right to graze the perp’s side and embed in the muscle of his upper thigh. Steve had subdued him, ignoring the ache of the wound and the blood stiffening his clothes as he got him in cuffs.
Luckily Chin had already called the HPD who arrived in time to take him away, and Steve had waved off their offers of calling a bus, asking Chin to drive him to the local hospital instead. He’d dealt with much, much worse and he didn’t want to deal with the hassle of being strapped down and transported.
He had never been gladder of his decision than when he met doctor who would be treating him.
~
Steve heard him before he saw him. The nurse had directed him to an empty exam room and told him that Doctor Williams would be with him shortly. Of course that meant it was another half hour before Steve heard muffled yelling as it came towards his door.
“-do not have time for this! Do you know how many patients I have, do you? No, you don’t, or else you obviously wouldn’t have given me this one. Gunshot wound, Jesus, it’s two in the afternoon! Who in the hell gets shot at two in the afternoon!”
Then his door swung open and a short man with blond hair entered, white coat taut around his wide shoulders and eyes piercingly blue as they glared at Steve, flickering down to take in his blood soaked pants before rolling as he turned to shut the door.
“Take off your pants.”
Steve stared, bemused.
“You really need to work on your bedside manner, you know that?”
The man, Daniel Williams, M.D. as his ID badge indicated sighed, raising a hand to run through his gelled hair then aborting the motion.
“Look, I’ve had a long day, okay? I do not want to deal with this-“
Steve opened his mouth to say something about he was a doctor in the ER and it was kind of his job to take emergency patients, but the man saw and waved his hand sharply before Steve could make a sound.
“No, shut up. My daughter has a play tonight buddy, my little girl, and she’s expecting her father to be there and I’m not going to miss it for anything, you understand? Your leg could be falling off and I wouldn’t care. So I’m going to deal with this, and you’re going to sit there quietly and then I’m gonna be on my way, understand?”
Steve was amused despite himself, laying back on the table as the doctor motioned for him stretch out his leg.
“How did you get through medical school without being kicked out, I mean, don’t you have to swear some sort of oath to be nice and all that?”
“No, I do not have to be nice. I just have to not let you die, which, for your information, you’re not in much danger of doing anyways. Any allergies to any type of medication? Yadda yadda, you’ve probably been in this situation before, you must know the drill.”
“Maybe, and no, no allergies. You know, you don’t look like a Daniel- hey, no pain meds, alright? I have to get back to work after this.”
“No pain meds? What is the matter with you! In case you haven’t noticed you were shot-“
“Oh really? How about that.”
“And people call me Danny for your information, not that you’ll ever make good use of that knowledge, pal, because I would hope you aren’t gonna need emergency medical attention again anytime soon.”
“Well if you think of it like that, we’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other, Danny.”
“Great, wonderful.”
As they had been talking Danny had been checking off various charts on his clipboard. Then he set it down on the table beside the exam bed, snapping on a pair of gloves and grabbing a pair of scissors as he began to cut the leg of Steve’s pant’s- gently, despite his irritation, being careful not to dislodge the saturated fabric.
They lapsed into silence as Danny finished taking off his pants, gingerly removing the last bit of cloth from his wound, handing Steve a roll of paper cloth for modesty before applying the same process to his boxers.
Just as he rolled a tray of tools towards him to start removing the bullet, he glanced up, serious and a not just a little disbelieving.
“You sure you don’t want anything for the pain?”
Steve nodded, smirking “I’m sure, just try not to mess me up too bad, Doc.”
Danny rolled his eyes, sighing as he got to work removing the bullet “You are crazy. No wonder you got shot.”
Steve, who had been trying not to wince, was grateful for the distraction, huffing out a laugh through his clenched teeth.
“Hey, I was doing a public service! I stopped a robbery I’ll have you know.”
“Oh yeah, what’re you, some type of cop?”
He noticed that Danny sounded curious, a little wistful as he asked.
“I’m a SEAL, but I’m heading up the task force for the island.” Danny’s eyes flicked up from his work, locking eyes with him, head tilted.
“Five-oh? I’ve heard about you guys, you take the specialty cases; what’re you doing working a robbery?”
Steve raised a hand to sheepishly run through his hair, grinning slightly as he noticed Danny’s breath catch fleetingly as the movement raised the hem of his shirt, revealing a hint of his stomach.
Interesting.
“Today was actually my day off- only now I have to go file a report of the incident.”
Danny had finished removing the bullet, placing it off to the side in a plastic tin as he removed his blood-stained gloves and put on a new pair, measuring out a piece of thread and picking up a needle to begin suturing the wound. Steve couldn’t control a slight flinch when the needle first pierced his skin and Danny glanced up at him, raising a hand to place it just above his knee, holding him still as he began talking.
“I almost became a cop, you know.”
“Yeah?”
“My Pop, he was a firefighter and I liked the thought of helping people, serving the public, keeping things safe, you know? But midway through college I blew out my knee playing baseball, it was my ACL and I had to have surgery. Most of the time it’s fine, but it can act up when I have to use it too much; I could never be a cop if I couldn’t chase down a suspect. So I became a doctor, it seemed close enough.”
Steve laughed, some of the tension easing out of his body.
“You would’ve been a good cop.”
Danny snorted, head bowed over his work as he finished stitching, tying a neat knot and snipping the thread.
“I know that, buddy, I would’ah been a great cop. But I’m curious as to how you came to that decision babe.”
Steve smirked at the nickname, stretching out his leg a bit to get a feel for how restricting the stitches would be. He felt the hand Danny had rested on his leg tighten briefly before pulling away, leaving the skin feeling cold and strangely light in its absence.
“You seem kind of tempermental-“
“Tempermental-“
“-but you didn’t let it affect your job. You stayed cool; that counts for a lot.”
Danny stared at him, eyes becoming a bit heavier, more intense. Then he turned back to began taping a bandage over the injury even as he shrugged.
“I’m cool, I’m calm- ask anyone.” But he seemed to sense the irony of his words and his fingers pressing briefly at the skin edging the bandage said thanks.
After he was done, Steve watched Danny walk over to a set of drawers, opening it and pulling out a set of hospital issue scrubs, shaking out a pair of pants and eyeing them for size. Then he tossed them over to Steve with a smirk.
“Get dressed, SuperSEAL, I got places to be.”
Steve pushed himself up, trying not to move his leg more than necessary as he slipped on the soft blue tissue. He saw Danny give him a long once-over as he was doing so, grabbing a pen out of his pocket and tearing a piece of paper out of his notepad, scribbling something on it. Steve started to rise, testing his weight when Danny rushed over, shoving under his arm and draping it over his shoulder as he wrapped a strong arm around his waist.
He was a shock of warmth against Steve’s side and under the sharp scent of the various chemicals, he smelled good, prompting Steve to lean a bit closer, rest more of his weight on him as he basked in the feel and the scent for a few moments. Then Danny began berating him.
“What is wrong with you, you Neanderthal. You don’t just get up, you’re gonna tear your stitches, Jesus.”
Steve suppressed a grin, turning his head to stare at the good doctor.
“I’m touched that you care, Doctor Williams.”
Danny scoffed, turning his head to glower at Steve and stopping short when he noticed how close their faces were, a hairsbreadth apart. Steve saw his eyes dilate- his breathing speed up a bit, and Steve, well, he had never been known for his patience.
Slowly, so Danny knew what he was doing and could pull away if he wanted to, Steve closed the space between them, tilting his head and pressing his mouth softly against Danny’s slightly parted lips, feeling him lean into the caress and flicking his tongue out to just catch inside his mouth before he pulled away.
Danny’s eyes had slipped close as Steve kissed him and they gradually opened as Steve watched. His gaze was heady and he took a deep breath before shaking his head, trying to clear his senses, but he didn’t move away.
“Christ, I am breaking so many policies, but- here.” Danny reached out, hand holding the note he had written, closing it in Steve’s fist as he moved them towards the door and the waiting room where Chin had said he would stick around to take him down to the station.
Steve looked at him questioningly as they hobbled down the corridor, doctors and nurses outright staring when they saw Danny half-carrying him.
Danny’s eyes flicked around, dismissing the stares with a hint of irritation as he said.
“It’s my number, in case you get shot again, or receive any other massive injuries that need tending to, which seems likely now that I’ve gotten to know you a bit. Just in case.”
Steve glanced at him, “Only if I get hurt, huh?”
Danny kept walking and didn’t respond for a few moments before he shrugged, small grin shaping his lips.
“Well, if you got any aches you need taken care of, I’m pretty good at it if I don’t say so myself.”
Steve snorted, leaning closer into Danny’s space, “Does that actually work for you?”
“Sometimes. How’s it going right about now?”
Steve stared down at the irritable blond doctor who returned his stare cockily, eyebrow raised.
“It’s working out fine, Danny. Just fine.”