Saving Five-0

Zebraboymom

Disclaimer: I don't care that I don't own them. I'm just happy I get to keep watching them.

Author Notes: I am writing this story to celebrate. Big thanks to Denese925 and several others for taking the time to email me and tell me to watch the extended preview for the finale. It's the governor's liaison and not Kono. Hooray! So after watching the preview and in celebration that Kono won't die, here is my take on how the finale should go. Of course, it won't.

Wo Fat watched as the governor's liaison, Laura Hills, walked towards her car. He had enjoyed their little tryst and seducing her had been relatively easy. He had milked her for enough information to hang Commander Steve McGarrett and his whole team. Now she was just a liability and could possibly hurt him if she let it be known that she was seeing him. He couldn't have that, not when he was so close to getting McGarrett. She would still prove useful in his little plan. Laura climbed in her car and put the key in the ignition. Wo watched long enough to see the blast and then backed quickly out into traffic and was gone before all the pieces of what was left ever hit the ground. He smirked to himself. Try to find a way out of this one Stevie Boy.

The Five-0 team was all gathered in the task room when the glass shattered into the room and they felt the concussion from the blast. Steve spun towards Kono as it happened and shoved her to the floor covering her body with his own. A look passed between them as he rolled off her and reached down to pull her back up.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks for having my back."

Steve smiled softly at her.

Always."

He quickly ran to the window along with the rest of the team. They stood in shock at the scene below them. Kono covered her mouth with the back of her hand as her eyes went wide.

"That's Laura's car!"

They all sprinted downstairs, even Jenna.

The governor came down in the elevator as they exited the stairs. Steve caught her by the arm and pushed her back gently.

"Governor, I think it's best you wait here, okay?"

He could feel her trembling under his hands.

"You don't want to see this."

She looked Steve in the eyes and just nodded her head.

"Jenna, stay with the governor will you?"

"Sure."

Chin was already on the phone with 911. Steve, Danny and Kono tried to get close to the burning car, but the flames were too intense. They stepped back and waited for the fire department to arrive.

"It has to be Wo Fat. We are getting too close and he's running scared, but why target Laura?"

"Maybe he's warning you to back off the investigation."

"Yeah, or maybe Laura knew something that could hurt him. We'll never know now."

"Kono looked over at the car. She had to quickly look away from the burning body inside."

"I can't believe she's gone. We had lunch just the other day and she was all excited about this new relationship she had with a mystery man. She told me she couldn't tell me his name. I thought it was weird at the time, but there has to be a connection here somewhere."

"Kono, I think you're right. Let's talk to the governor and see what she knows."

Steve held Kono's eyes for a second. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. His tenderness towards her feelings made her eyes fill up with tears.

"You going to be okay? I know she was your friend."

Kono wiped her eyes and broke eye contact with him, wrapping her arms around herself and looking at the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, sure Boss."

Steve lifted her chin with his finger and looked into her sad eyes.

"You are not okay. Come here."

Kono went willingly into his warm embrace. He just stood there holding her while Danny and Chin looked on. The fire department arrived and after Kono pulled herself together, they moved back into the building to regroup.

"Commander, I want you to find out who did this. Do you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am."

The governor took the elevator and left the five of them standing in the lobby.

"Where should we start?"

"I think we go through everything in Laura's office."

"If we all pitch in it will go faster."

"Let's go."

They climbed in the second elevator and Steve watched Kono as she hesitated, looking back at the burned out car. He gently reached for her arm and pulled her into the elevator as the doors closed. Kono stood close to Steve and he put his hand protectively on her lower back. She leaned into him gathering strength from his touch.

The five of them walked quietly past the governor's closed doors and entered Laura's office. It was simple and neat. They put on latex gloves and opened several evidence boxes Danny had brought up for them to use. It took about an hour to sift through everything. The most important thing they found was Laura's appointment book. She had several lunch and dinner dates marked with the name of the restaurant, just not with whom. Steve watched as Kono ran her fingers reverently over the book. He hadn't realized the two women were such good friends until he spotted the pictures of the two of them hiking and surfing hanging on the wall.

They took the evidence back downstairs to their offices, which were already being cleaned up. New windows were on the way.

"Chin, you and Jenna sift through all this and see if you can find anything else. Danny, you go take the book and hit as many restaurants as you can. Show them Wo Fat's picture and see if you can find out if he is who she was meeting at some of these. Kono, you and I will go to talk to her family and her roommate. The governor texted me and said she would like it if we followed up on her calls to them."

Kono just nodded her head and kept staring at the floor. She fell into step with him as they headed out of the building. This was going to be a hard one for her. He knew it. Kono loved her family and friends deeply. She was very loyal. He knew that about her from watching her grief over her aunt's death recently and all that had happened with Chin. She was one who took everyone's problems on her own shoulders as well. He wished he could take that responsibility away from her now, but he knew the best thing he could do was just be there for her. His heart hurt for his pretty, but tough rookie. She had a lion's heart that was for sure. They climbed in his jeep and headed down the highway to Laura's parent's house. Kono was silent and sat gazing out at the beach. Steve knew she was in pain, but he knew she was trying to hold it all in for the visits. He made a note to help her do just that until they were done. When they arrived at the house he watched in admiration as Kono got out of the jeep and set her shoulders straight. She walked up the steps ahead of him and pressed the doorbell.

Laura's parents opened the door and fell into Kono's arms in tears. Kono wrapped her arms around both of them and looked up at Steve. He gazed fondly at her in hopes of giving her the strength of his support. Kono gently urged the husband and wife back inside the house and they followed them in. Kono sat on the couch.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hills this is my boss Commander Steve McGarrett. Boss, these are Laura's parents."

Steve stood briefly and reached out to shake their hands before he sat close beside Kono on the couch. She was sitting on the edge of it with her hands clasped together on her lap. Steve slipped his hand behind her to rest it on her back. He patted her gently to let her know he was there.

"What happened?'

"It was a car bomb. We don't know why or who yet, but Laura was killed instantly."

"Oh my God! The governor said she had been killed, but she wouldn't give any details. She said you would be by to explain. We've been going crazy trying to understand why anyone would want to hurt our daughter."

"We aren't sure either at this point. Laura was a good friend and I promise you Mr. and Mrs. Hill, we will find who did this and bring them in. They are going to pay for what they did."

"Will…will we be able to see her?"

"You won't want to. It's best you don't, you wouldn't recognize her."

Kono picked up a picture of Laura that was sitting on the end table beside her. She handed it to Mrs. Hill.

"Remember her like this, okay? This was the Laura we loved."

They stayed for another half hour letting her parents talk about their daughter fondly. It was obvious it hadn't set in yet. As they walked back out to the car, Steve could tell Kono was trying to hold it together with all she had. He slipped his arm around her waist and walked her to the car.

"One more stop. You can do this."

Kono looked gratefully up at him and whispered.

"I'm glad you're here, Steve."

She rarely used his first name and it touched him deeply.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else, Kono. I promise you."

When they got out of their car at Laura's duplex, her roommate was waiting on the front porch. She ran into Kono's arms and sobbed. Kono wrapped her arms around her and held the woman as she cried. Kono locked eyes with Steve across the top of her head. He held her gaze and stood there supporting her as the young woman fell apart in her arms. Once the girl had cried herself out they went inside. Steve could tell it was hard for Kono. She had been here a lot. He could tell the three women were great friends. There were pictures scattered around of them at surfing competitions, camping and traveling. There was one photo Steve particularly liked where they were all standing on a log up in the mountains with their arms around each other's shoulders. It was sweet. He was now beginning to understand why this was hitting Kono so hard.

"I can't believe she's gone."

The two friends sat on the couch together and Steve sat in a chair across from them. His eyes never left Kono's.

"I know. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd have a hard time too."

"Tell me what happened…"

As Kono explained, the girl's eyes got bigger and bigger. She screamed when Kono told her about the explosion. Kono looked lost as to how to comfort her. She took her in her arms again and just held her. Steve could see tears forming in Kono's eyes and knew she was right on the edge of losing it herself. Steve knew she couldn't talk at that moment so he stepped in. He could see her relax as he started speaking.

"We are going to do everything we can to find out who did this. I know it doesn't make you feel any better right now, but bringing this person in will mean a lot later, so anything you can tell us would help."

"She was working on a couple of hush hush projects for the governor, so she was working long hours. She had a new boyfriend and she really liked him. He was older, but he treated her like a queen according to her. I didn't even know his name. I feel terrible. I even met him one time when he picked Laura up for a date after we went for drinks."

Kono and Steve exchanged looks. Steve pulled out the picture he had of Wo Fat.

"Was this him?"

"Yeah, yeah. That's him. Why?"

"We need to take a look at Laura's stuff, but I'm going to send some forensics people over to do that. Will you be careful not to touch anything until they get here?"

"I can't even bring myself to go in there yet."

The doorbell rang and Laura got up to answer it. It was her boyfriend Ken and she fell into his arms.

"I'm so glad you're here."

Kono and Steve took the opportunity to excuse themselves. Kono raced down the stairs ahead of him and started pacing the lawn talking to herself.

"That sorry son of a…first Steve's dad and maybe his mom. Now Laura…"

"You coming?"

Steve stood by the jeep waiting. Kono climbed in and slammed the door. He had never seen her this angry before ever. She was always so controlled. As he drove he would look over at her. A million emotions were running across her face and he knew she was about to come apart at the seams. Just as a choking sob fell from her lips, he pulled over into an empty parking lot facing the beach. He put the jeep in park and reached a kind hand over to touch her shoulder lightly.

"Kono…"

Before he could say anything else, she launched herself into his arms curling into his lap like a small child and burying her head under his chin. The dam finally burst and she was racked with sobs. Steve laid his cheek on top of her head and wrapped his arms around her. They sat there for almost half an hour while the grief settled around her. Steve patted her back, caressed her cheek and stroked her hair all the while whispering words of comfort. Eventually she took some deep breaths and began to calm down. He knew she had worn herself out as she leaned heavily against him. He began to talk as he ran his fingers hypnotically through her hair soothing her as he spoke.

"I know this has been a hard day for you Kono. A damn hard day, but I'm so proud of you. You are one hell of a cop and you did everything right today. The most important thing you did was being there for those people."

Kono mumbled something into his chest.

"What?"

Kono pulled back and looked at him. They were barely inches away from each other's face.

"I said you were there for me. Thank you Steve. I don't think I could have done it without you."

Steve smiled tenderly at her.

"I didn't want you to do it by yourself. Once I knew how close you and Laura were I wouldn't have let you out of my sight today for anything. You know that, right?"

Kono mustered up the first smile she had made all day. It didn't make it to her dimples, but it was a start.

"I do now."

They sat there on the beach staring into each other's eyes. They both knew something had shifted between them, but they weren't sure what that meant. Kono suddenly felt very self-conscious in her present nearness to Steve. He brushed her hair back and tried to catch her eyes as she looked away from him in embarrassment.

"Hey, you okay for now?"

"Yeah."

Steve surprised her by stroking the back of his fingers across her cheek and wiping her tears away with his thumb. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"Then let's go get Wo Fat."