Looking up

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Steve McGarrett, John McGarrett, Mary McGarrett and Malia Waincroft belong to the creators of Five-O who are obviously not me. I am merely using them for fun and entertainment purposes.

The character of Nyla Leon, Max Leon, Alika Leon, Iolani Leon, Kai Leon and this particular version of Danni Williams do belong to me. Danni, while originally based on the concept of male Danny, had evolved into her own character with her own backstory as people who have read the story would know

Anyone else who you don't recognise from the TV show also belong to me so please don't use without asking permission first.

Author Note

Welcome to Part Three of the Main saga, this story comes after Family.

If you have not read The Beginning or Family before this then I would strongly recommend reading them as this is part of a saga. 'Thank You' the second one shot should be read after this one before proceeding onto Burn.

The Main Saga, also sometimes referred to as the Danni saga, is a saga where all the characters are explored in detail including Chin and Kono hence why she story is completely and utterly Chin based. I thought it was important to get his feelings on the taskforce and the change in his life and what it all means to him.

Nyla has always been in my mind as Chin's younger sibling from the very first time I watched the pilot episode all those years ago so it's nice to finally be able to flesh her out and give her, her own voice especially as both she and her name will pop up regularly during this saga.

I thought it was important to show that while the majority of Chin's family turned their back on him, there were others apart from Kono who had his back and never believe din the allegations made against him.

Anyway, please enjoy!

Story Summary

Chin doubted that Steve knew just how much his causal words offering Chin a place on his taskforce actually meant to the older man. It would probably be something that would never discuss but it meant the world to Chin and it was a chance that he was not going to let slip by. One way or another he would make sure this taskforce worked.

Romances

Mentions of past Chin Ho Kelly / Malia Waincroft (Chalia)

Nyla Lyon / Max Lyon (Mala)

Warning

This story features a female Danni Williams in place of a male Danny Williams. Although in some stories I write, Danny does exist, he does not exist in this one.

If this is not your cup of tea then please hit the back button.

Another note

I do not have a Beta so please forgive any mistakes which may creep in, I always do my best to edit the story and check it but sometimes mistakes do creep in.

The places I've mentioned in Hawaii are ones which come from google, including the addresses. I've never been to Hawaii myself in person so I apologise for any mistakes which I may make, these are not intentional.

Saturday 2nd October 2010

A Hui Ho Café

Haunama Bay

Oahu

Hawaii

Chin Ho Kelly glanced down at the watch on his wrist for the second time within a three minute period and frowned, breathing out a sigh before he leaned back in the booth chair, his eyes flickering around the busy café, focusing briefly on the faces of the other customers, all of whom were enjoying their food and chatting with each other, the sound of voices and laughter creating a pleasant hum.

He was due to meet his younger sister Nyla there at twelve thirty but she was clearly running late, something which wasn't like her and left him feeling concerned. His sister had the same trait as he did, both of them were either always on time or early to any pre planned event.

He shook his head, resisting the urge to check the time again, knowing that Nyla would have her reasons for being late. He pulled out his cell phone from his jean picket and glanced at the screen, biting the inside of his cheek when he saw that it was still blank which meant that his sister hadn't tried to contact him, there was three reasons for that which he could think of. She was either close enough to the café now that she couldn't see the point in ringing him to let him know or she had forgotten that they were due to meet or she had rearranged and told him and he had completely forgotten that she had.

Either option was likely, though she doubted knowing her to way he did that she would have just forgotten. Still she was a nurse at Kings hospital and always busy when she was there and was married with three young children so perhaps the meeting had slipped her mind, especially if she had been overwhelmed by the amount of work she had to do.

He placed his cell phone on the surface of the table and focused his attention on the open menu in front of him, trying to decide whether he wanted the chicken or the fish today. He would give Nyla five more minutes before he called her to find out what was going on, if she didn't pick up her cell than he would have to try her house phone and hope that either she or her husband Max were in.

"Hey Big Brother, I'm so sorry that I'm late and kept you waiting here. I was about to leave the house when Alik started getting upset and crying. He's got a bad cold at the moment so he's feeling whiney and clingy and doesn't want me or Max leaving his sight for longer than a couple of moments."

Chin looked up at the familiar voice, a wide smile coming to his face when he saw that Nyla had come to a stop beside the booth he had taken. She was dressed casually in a bright orange dress with white flowers at the bottom of it. Her long black hair caught back in a high, messy ponytail which spoke of someone who had little time to care about their appearance.

"I guess if that is your reason behind being late than I can forgive you for that." He responded as he came to his feet and leaned towards her, kissing her smooth cheek before he took his seat again, watching as she shrugged off her large white shoulder bag and threw it into the corner of the booth before following it into the booth, taking the space opposite him.

"Well that is good to know that you do. I was going to call you or drop you a text but by the time I realised how late it was, I was already nearly here so there didn't seem much point." She stated with a shake of her head as she lifted her sunglasses up and rested on the top of her head, she reached out and took the second menu and opened it with a sigh, scanning it for a second as she spoke. "Have you been waiting for me a long time? I'm guessing you've chosen what you're having already?" She asked him, her light brown eyes flickering up to look at him.

"I've been here about fifteen minutes but it's fine, I don't have any plans today other than this." He answered her honestly. "As for what I'm going to have this time, I'm feeling the fish tacos." He closed the menu, pushing it to one side of him, raising an eyebrow at her when she made a thoughtful sound at the back of her throat before she gave a decisive nod.

"I'm going to go for the chicken salad then, it looked really good the last time you had it." She remarked.

"So Alik has a cold then? Is he okay?" He asked her, reverting back to their previous conversation, an undertone of concern to his voice as he waited for her answer. His nephew Alika was ten years old and his sister's eldest child. He was normally a robust kid to the point that Chin couldn't remember the last time he had been sick with anything.

"He's fine Chin so don't worry about that, he literally just has a cold at the moment, nothing more and nothing less. Lots of kids in his school have been coming down with it so it was only a matter of time before he did as well." She assured him with an amused smile which quickly turned rueful as she continued speaking. "Of course, what this now means is that Iolani and Kai will now no doubt come down with it just as Alik is beginning to recover from it but that is one of the unfortunate one of the joyful perks of having kids as you may find out one day." She commented with a sigh before she tilted her head to one side, her eyes narrowing on him slightly as she searched her face, clearly searching for something. "That's enough about my family woes though, I want to know what's been going on with you. You said on your last voicemail that there was something which you wanted to tell me and that you could only tell me face to face so here I am. Tell me what the big news is." She asked him, resting her forearms on the table as she leaned towards him.

"I've got a job." He told her, tapping his fingertips against the table surface in a random beat as she blinked, a confused expression coming across her face as his words. He smiled at the look, being able to render his sister speechless even if it was only for a few seconds was always something which he savoured since it was so rare.

"I'm well aware that you have a job Chin." She said slowly. "You've had the same security job for the past four years. It's hardly the news of the century bro unless what you're actually telling me is that they have given you a promotion with them because if that is the case then its about time they did. You are clearly the most qualified guy they have working there; you should be running the place." She stated.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence" He replied, a fond note creeping into his voice.

"It's the truth" She countered instantly. "Of course, you might actually be talking about a brand new job though you didn't mention that you were looking for one when we last met up two weeks ago," She pointed out, giving him a stern look, clearly expecting him to explain to her what he meant by his statement., He took pity on her and spoke.

"It's a new job, not a promotion." He confirmed. "And the reason why I didn't mention it to you the last time we saw each other is because I wasn't actually looking for a new job two weeks ago." He smiled at her, turning his attention to the waitress who approached them. She wrote down their orders with a smile before she turned and left them. Chin looked back at Nyla as she spoke, picking the conversation back up as though they had never been interrupted.

"So, you weren't looking for a new job but somehow one found you regardless, a job which was good enough that you handed in your notice at your stable job?" She queried, leaning back against the back of the booth and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Actually, it's more the case that the new job found me." He said cryptically, smiling at the sudden peeved expression which came to her face. If there was one thing which his sister hated, it was people who beat around the bush in conversations rather than coming straight to the point which they were trying to make in the first place. "Do you remember a kid called Steve McGarrett when you were growing up Ny? I think that the two of you were in the same school around the same time as each other." He asked her. Nyla stared blankly at him for a moment before a sudden look of recognition came to her face.

"Steve McGarrett" She repeated thoughtfully before slowly nodding. "Now that you mention the name, I think I do remember him vaguely, wasn't he the son of your old partner on the force John McGarrett? We were in the same school but he was two years behind me so we never spoke or interacted with each other. I'm pretty sure the only reason I even know his name is because he was the quarterback on the team before he disappeared from the face of the planet mid semester. People said that his Dad shipped him and his sister off to the mainland to live with family there after their mother died because he couldn't cope with them."

"That is him" Chin confirmed with a nod of his head. "Steve went to the mainland when he was fifteen to live with his Uncle who was apparently John's younger brother though you wouldn't have known it considering the small fact that John never mentioned having any siblings at all. I had always assumed he was an only child but he was actually one of six. I do know that Steve did really well over there with his Uncle, he got into Annapolis and graduated the top of his class. He was a SEAL for six years before he ended up in the Navy Intelligent Unit."

"Right" Nyla replied, drawing the word out thoughtfully as the same waitress who had taken their order appeared at their table, placing their mugs of coffees in front of them with a smile before she moved away from them again. "So" Nyla said, attracting Chin's attention again. "I'm going to make the assumption that Steve McGarrett has something to do with this new job of yours and you're not taking the pair of us on a trip down memory lane because you're feeling old. I know you're going to be forty in a couple of weeks but that's not that old… well…" Her voice trailed off, a wide grin coming to her face as she reached out and grabbed one of the sugar packets from the pot beside them and ripped it open, pouring the contents into her milky coffee.

"Steve has come back to the island due to his father's death" Chin said softly, trying to ignore the sharp stab of pain his words brought. "The Governor offered him his own taskforce to run as he sees fit on her behalf and he agreed to the offer. I guess that with everything which had happened recently what with his Dad being murdered and all, he just feels the need to put some roots down and settle for a while. He looks drained so he's probably been working himself into the ground with no respite. His old man was the same, they both have the McGarrett laser focus which doesn't allow them to sit back or allow someone to help them with their problems."

"It was terrible what happened to John, I know how much his friendship meant to you Chin. It must be hard knowing he's gone." Nyla remarked sympathetically as she reached across the table and covered his hand with her own, briefly squeezing down on it in a show of support before she shifted the conversation back to the previous one. "So, Steve now has his own taskforce and is sticking around for the foreseeable future. I'm guessing he's offered you a place on it with him?"

"Yeah that's right" Chin answered as he wrapped his hand around his mug of coffee. "I accepted the job straight away and handed in my resignation on the same day. Solving his Dad's case was actually our first job though we've had a second one since then. Both were solved quickly which isn't too bad for a taskforce which has technically been active for nine days now." He commented, a hint of pride coming to his voice.

"That's not too shabby Chin" Nyla said, falling quiet as their meals were placed in front of them. He expected her to start talking once the waitress had gone but she remained quiet, her eyes lowered to her food as she clearly mulled something over in her mind. He raised an eyebrow at her but left her for the moment knowing she would speak when she was ready. Instead he picked up one of the tacos and took a large bite, chewing down on it and enjoying the taste of it.

He finally spoke, after finishing off one of the tacos after the silence had continued on.

"Ny? Is everything okay over there? You've been zoned out for ten minutes" He prompted her, meeting her eyes with a curious expression when they shot up to look at him.

"Yeah sorry, I'm just…" She hesitated for a moment, looking back down at her chicken salad before taking a deep breathe and speaking. "Does Steve know about the business that you went through with HPD and why you ended up leaving the first time around?" She asked him, keeping her voice low.

Chin tilted his head to the side, staring out of the window at the passing people as he waited for the familiar rush of anger and betrayal to go through him as his mind replayed flashes of his past and what he had gone through.

"He knows know about it all, the whole team do, I told them straight away, figured it was best to get it out at the beginning rather than it coming out at a later date." He answered her.

"And it doesn't bother him at all?" She pressed, sounding almost nervous for a second.

"Steve doesn't believe that I took the money, he believes me. It amazes me how someone who is pretty much a stranger to me can believe me when so many people who I considered myself friends with turned on me the instant they could."

"Hey" She said, gripping his hand again and squeezing down on it tightly, her nails digging into his skin. "I know that you didn't take a cent of that money regardless of what they said. You are a good man Chin Ho Kelly, the best man I know apart from Dad and Max. There is no way that someone like you would have stolen that money, you're not a dirty cop and I don't care what anyone else says." She told him, her voice quiet though it did nothing to hide her angry and frustration from him.

He couldn't help but smile at her as he squeezed her hand back. His sister had been one of his rocks during the whole IA witch-hint. The only one other than his parents, Kono and Nyla's husband who hadn't turned her back on him. Instead she had gone to war happily with the rest of their family, constantly proclaiming his innocence to them every time she had been forced to socialise with them during a family event. It was something which he had never forgotten and never would. He knew that his baby sister had received a lot of grief over her support of him and he was determined that one day he would find the perfect way to repay her for her unwavering loyalty to him.

"I know sis and I appreciate it; trust me I do." He told her, taking his hand back and starting on his second taco before it got too cold to enjoy.

"So, who else is on this new taskforce with you and Steve or is it just the two of you at the moment? What about the pay they are offering, is it better than your old job because no offence but your house could seriously do with some work." Nyla stated with a firm look at him.

"The pay is going to be the same as I was receiving from HPD but with an extra ten percent added on top of it. I'm guessing that because we're the Governor's personal taskforce we're considered elite which is why the wage is higher than HPD." He commented, watching the pleased smile which came to her face at his reply. "And as for my house, I'll have you know that it's fine as it is. All it needs is a lick of paint and the whole place will look brand new." He told her, rolling his eyes when she responded with a snort, a look of disbelief and pity on her face as though she thought he was being delusional. It was a look which he had seen countless of times in the past from her and a look which he had no doubt he would be seeing in the future as well.

"Well that is good to hear then" was all she said as she continued eating, clearly waiting for him to continue answering her previous question.

"There are two other members on the team at the moment, Danni William was a Detective with HPD before this but is now Steve's partner and the second in Command of the team, while the other member is…" his voice tailed off as he took another bite of the taco, smiling at her as he chewed slowly, watching as her frustration continued to build.

"You know you're not funny regardless of what you might think" She remarked primly. "Who is the last member on the team who you'll be working with?"

"The other member on the team is Kono" He told her, sitting back in the booth again and waiting for her reaction. A grin coming to his face when she didn't fail to disappoint him. For a moment she remained still, her fork frozen half way to her mouth, her eyes wide before she suddenly let out a resounding shriek.

"Kono? As in our cousin Kono Kalakaua?" She demanded loudly, clapping her free hand over her mouth when she realised, she had been shouting. She shot the nearby people to them an apologetic look before turning her attention back to Chin. "Seriously do not mess with me now Chin Ho, do you actually mean our Kono?" She demanded

"The very same one" Chin responded. "She helped us out on the John McGarrett case and managed to impress both Steve and Danni with her attitude and skills. Steve offered her a place on the team on the same day we wrapped the case up, not bad for a Rookie fresh out of the Academy, right?"

"How is that possible though?" Nyla demanded. "I know that Kono only graduated yesterday from the Academy because Max and I were meant to be going to the graduation dinner before it was cancelled. She never mentioned anything on the phone to me when she told me about the cancellation about a new job"

"Don't feel hurt by the fact she didn't mention it; from what I'm gathering she hasn't really told anyone. I think she believes that if she starts telling people about the job then her good luck will suddenly run out and Steve will retract his offer and hand her over to HPD and she wouldn't have a good time over there at all. We both know what tends to happen to the people in HPD who are related to me after all." He reminded her bitterly.

"What is happening to them is not your fault Chin" She said with a stubborn look.

"Yeah? Well try telling that to the cousins on the force who are suffering because of that connection to me. I'm pretty sure they would tell you that I am to blame for it all and in a way they would be right."

"And I would tell them exactly how wrong they were though that would mean talking to them and them talking to me. After my words with Syd at the last family get together things have been rather icy shall we say" She told him with a shrug of her slim shoulders. "Forget the lot of them though Chin, I want to hear more about the taskforce, Kono must be over the moon to be on it."

"She is" Chin agreed with a reluctant grin. "I'm not sure how it will work with her though because of her being so fresh out of the Academy. I'm assuming that for the majority of the time she'll be working cases with us but Steve may expect Kono to walk a beat with HPD every so often so she can get a feel for the street and what is required of a Rookie on the force. She doesn't have the experience that Danni and I have and she is going to need to get some and get it quickly, especially when you consider the sort of cases which are going to be coming our way to deal with. We're all going to have to be at the top of our game continuously to solve them, Kono included. I mean don't get me wrong Ny, she can learn from the rest of us easily enough but sometimes hands on experience is the best teacher, not someone telling you what to do."

Nyla considered what he said for a moment before nodded.

"I can understand that, its like in the hospital with the residents, books can teach them the basics but not how to rely on their instincts, they can only learn that on the job." She said

"Exactly" He agreed.

"So, tell me about the last member then, what did you call him? Danni Williams? Who is he then? What is he like?" She questioned him.

"She" Chin corrected her instantly. "Danni is a girl."

"A second girl on the team?" Nyla said sounding pleased by the news. "And you mentioned that she was Steve's second in command on the team."

"Second in Command and his partner. She's a good match for him from what I've seen so far, she's managed to keep him focused on the task at hand better than the rest of us have managed to yet."

"What does she look like? Is she pretty? Is she young or old?" Nyla questioned, grinning when Chin rolled his eyes at her, levelling his sister with his best unimpressed look. "What is that look for?" She queried as she placed her knife and fork down on her half empty plate and picked up her mug of coffee instead. "Am I not allowed to ask what she looks like?"

"Why would knowing if she was pretty of not be relevant to anything? I work with her, that is all." Chin responded.

"You're reading way too much into this Chin" She told him with a raised eyebrow. "Just because someone thinks that someone is pretty it doesn't mean that they are going to end up in bed together. Besides I'm your sister, I'm hardly going to run from here and scream from the mountains that you think that someone you work with is pretty. It's not that big a deal though if you refuse to tell me then I'll just keep going on about it until you do answer me, it's completely up to you." She said sweetly.

"Fine you win as usual" Chin said holding his hands up in the air in defeat, experience had taught him when he was beaten. "Danni is young and she is pretty, probably very pretty."

"What does she look like then? Dark hair and eyes?" Nyla pressed sounding curious.

"No, she's blond with grey eyes and is small, like the same size and Auntie Serena" He said watching her eyes widen.

"Definitely small then" She said. "Is she good at her job? Will she be a good role model for Kono because Kono will need one?"

"Danni is extremely good at her job and will be an extremely good role model for Kono so Kono is in the best hands, especially as Danni has taken her under her wing already." He replied softly. Nyla nodded looking relieved for a moment before she spoke.

"You know I'm really glad in a way that all of this has happened because you deserve this chance so much Chin. You took the fall for someone else and now you have the chance to show all the people who doubted you, just how good you are at what you do."

"I plan to" Chin replied, focusing on his meal as he kept an eye on his sister as she tapped her fingertips against the mug. She clearly had something else she wanted to say to him but she wasn't going to push her into telling him what it was. He already had an inkling from the awkward look on her face that he wasn't going to like it anyway.

"I know you don't want to hear this but Malia still asks about you." She burst out as Chin place the last mouthful of the taco in his mouth. "She is always asking me how you are and what you've been up to. I think… I think that she misses you Chin."

"Nyla" He said, an undercurrent of warning coming to her voice which she clearly didn't pick up on or chose to ignore.

"I know, I know" She said on a sigh. "You don't like speaking about her and I get that, I really do but it's not so easy for me to ignore her Chin. I work in the same hospital as her remember? Sometimes I'm the nurse who is assigned to work in her section and it's hard. I can't ignore her at work and I do still like her and I think she's a nice person. You forget that I'm the only one who knows apart from you and her that she wasn't the one who ended it between the two of you. It's hard to have to act coldly towards her and to refuse her offer of coffee and lunches when there's a part of me that wants to say yes to them." She said, reaching up and rubbing her hand over her forehead.

"I never asked you to do that Ny" He responded lowly.

"You didn't have to ask me to Chin" She countered, sounding frustrated for a moment. "The whole world knows that I am always in your corner and will defend you to anyone who even says your name wrong. Don't you think it would be weird if I was pleasant to the woman who everyone including our family thinks abandoned you when the going got tough for you? They would realise straight away that something was up" She pointed out, sighing at the look on his face. "This taskforce is a new beginning for you right? Maybe you and Malia can-"

"No Nyla" Chin interrupted her. "My only focus right now is on the taskforce and making sure that we succeed, everything else has to wait until that is certain. The truth is that I don't know if I would ever return to Malia, it was great between us but what we had is gone, she's part of the past which I'm trying desperate to move on from."

Nyla remained silent for a moment, searching his eyes closely before she spoke, sounding almost surprised by his answer.

"You honestly mean that" She said, blinking when he nodded at her. "This taskforce and a new start mean that much to you?"

"This taskforce is my last chance Ny, without it, I'll have to go back the security job I was doing and then I would be nothing more than a rubber gun again. Steve and Danni have trusted me, they've brought me into their team and they listened to me about Kono and brought her onto the team as well. That means more to me then even you will ever know. By the end of my days at HPD no one listened to me anymore. I was invisible to them all, my desk a ghost town. It got to the stage where they would look at me and see right through me. I spoke and they acted like I had said nothing to them but that doesn't happen with Steve and Danni. They listen to me and they see me. They brought me onto the team knowing about the IA investigation. Neither of them are fools, they would have known the reaction HPD would have at my appointment to the taskforce but they did it anyway because they saw something in me worth having. I can't let this chance go Nyla. I'll do everything in my power to make this taskforce work because I am not going back to the life that I had before. This is my chance and I won't waste it or anything or anyone."

Nyla nodded slowly.

"Okay" She said quietly. "I understand, no more talk of Malia or the past. You need to focus on your new job and the future."

"Thank you" he said feeling surprisingly drained. Nyla watched him for a moment before her face brightened.

"What have you got planned for the next two hours? I didn't imagine you saying earlier that you had nothing on, right?" She asked him.

"Nothing until seven this evening at least" He told her, raising an eyebrow when she suddenly grinned at him.

"Great, in that case you can come home with me and say hello to your healthy niece and nephew. I'll be nice and keep Alika away from you for the time being so you don't get sick. They are all constantly asking where Uncle Chin is so this way, they'll get to see you."

Chin smiled looking at her before he nodded.

"Yeah, sure why not, you ready?" He remarked, draining the rest of his coffee when she nodded at him before he came to his feet and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, flipping it open and pulling out a few bills which he left on the table surface to cover the cost of the meal and drinks. He waited until Nyla had gathered her belongings and drained her own drink before they both began moving towards the exit, one thought running through Chin's head as they did.

Things were finally looking up for him.

Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it.

I really appreciate it