Disclaimer – I don't own Hawaii Five-O and definitely don't own Steve in any way shape or form except for the fantasies I cook up for him. Well, that's more AOL, but you get the drift…
A/N – "Nightmare" has not been forgotten, I swear. But this idea is absolutely bugging the crap out of me and demanding to be put on "paper". I guess this is a preview of my next idea. Please let me know what you think.
The night was bleak and oddly chilly. Whether that was the result of the actual air temperature or the crushing, clammy queasiness that had taken control of his heart and chest since Duke's phone call, Danny Williams wasn't sure. He was standing on the front porch of Chin and Malia's home, desperately trying to recover some of the composure he'd lost minutes before at seeing his friend, his co-worker, his brother on his knees, clutching his wife's lifeless body in his arms. An agonized moan from deep within the house had Danny clinging to the porch railing, knuckles white, head down, fighting the need to retch into the bushes below.
He'd never felt more alone in his life, despite the odd assortment of HPD uniformed officers and detectives milling around the property out of support for Chin. Steve had run off to Japan, again. The Coast Guard and an HPD dive team were searching dark waters for Kono. He refused to let his mind finish that sentence by saying Kono's body. If anyone could survive being bound and thrown off a boat in the middle of the ocean, he knew it would be her.
He had nothing specific to do at the moment. Despite the multitude of HPD's finest assembled at Chin's, off-duty officers had rallied, many coming back into work on precious few hours of sleep to partner with their on-duty comrades to find Frank Delano. As much as Danny longed to put a bullet between Delano's beady eyes, he was here…for Chin. A gentle hand touched his elbow and he looked up to find Governor Denning standing beside him. "Detective, I am so unbelievably sorry for your loss," he said softly, extending a hand to Danny.
"Thank you," he replied weakly, taking the Governor's hand in his own.
"Any word on Officer Kalakaua?"
Danny shook his head. "Nothing yet."
The Governor nod once in understanding before turning away from Danny briefly; ushering another person into the conversation. "Detective Danny Williams, this is Dr. Peyton Childs. I have asked her to serve as Five-O's medical examiner until Dr. Bergman recovers from his injuries."
"Nice to meet you," Danny mumbled, extending his hand to her.
"Detective, I'm so sorry to be meeting you under these difficult circumstances," she said kindly.
"Yeah, me too," Danny managed with a weak smile, finally bringing his eyes up to meet hers. Peyton Childs was beautiful, but Danny found himself entirely too emotionally and physically drained to care. Her chin-length blonde hair fell in perfect ringlets around her face. Her sapphire blue eyes were warm and sympathetic.
"Sorry you had to leave your, uh, party," Danny said, taking in the doctor's dark blue dress and heels. He vaguely remembered reading in one of Rachel's magazines that the style of dress Peyton was wearing was called a bandage dress. Amazing what a man will stoop to reading for his laboring ex-wife.
She tugged the trench coat she wore over the dress tighter around her before answering, "This is vastly more important, Detective."
"Yeah," Danny agreed with a sad smile.
"I would like to go in and speak to Lieutenant Kelly…" she began.
Danny held up a hand to stop her. "He's not ready to let Malia go."
"I know," she answered gently. "I'm not asking him to. We have an ambulance waiting. No body bag and he can ride with us. Staff is clearing out a room in the back corner of the morgue, so there will be no prying eyes, no 'tools of the trade' visible to upset him further. He's a cop, he already knows what goes on in there – I see no reason to remind him. I will need to take some blood to check for drugs and toxins before they are absorbed by Dr. Waincroft's system."
"Thank you," Danny acknowledged with a surprised tone. "That is really incredibly thoughtful."
Dr. Childs shook her head and looked past Danny for a moment. He could have sworn he saw tears well up in her eyes momentarily. "Let's just say I've been there," she finally replied. "Could I ask you to go in with me? I think Lieutenant Kelly will accept my presence if you're there as well."
"Yeah," Danny answered. He crossed the porch and pulled the screen door open. He waved a hand to indicate she should enter first. She passed him with a soft "thank you". He held the door as it closed to prevent it from slamming and startling Chin. He crossed over and crouched down beside his friend and rested a gentle hand on his back.
"Chin, buddy, this is Dr. Childs," he said quietly. "She's subbing for Max."
Chin shook his head defiantly and pulled Malia closer to him. "No, no," he wailed, "I'm not letting her go."
"I know, but…" Danny swallowed hard and bit back a sob. The nausea was back, partnered now with dizziness, begging him to surrender to the dots materializing before his eyes into an abyss where feelings and emotions weren't required. Peyton seemed to sense this and mirrored Danny's position.
"Lieutenant Kelly," she said gently, "I know this is horrific and I'm so sorry for having to ask. I need to take some blood samples, but to preserve the evidence I can't do it here. I have an ambulance ready to take you and Malia. You will have as much time as you need; no rush. I'll draw blood, but nothing else until you're ready. But the sooner we leave, the sooner we'll have answers and we can nail the son of a bitch who did this."
Chin nodded weakly and Dr. Childs signaled to the paramedics to bring in the stretcher. They stepped into the kitchen and knelt. Danny took Chin's elbow in his hand and lifted his friend from his knees as the paramedics gently laid Malia's body on the stretcher.
Tears spilled from Danny's eyes as a new round of anguished sobs racked Chin's trembling form. Danny tightened his grip on his friend and fought to maintain his own breathing while holding on to Chin's elbow like a lifeline. Peyton placed a hand on Chin's shoulder and the other on his back, guiding both he and Danny out the front door to the waiting ambulance. Neither made eye contact with their fellow officers, Danny not wanting to see their drawn, tear-stained, sympathetic expressions. There would be time for sympathy later. Tonight was about nothing more than survival.
His arm was around Chin's waist, effectively holding him up, as they loaded Malia into the back of the ambulance. The male officer offered a hand to Peyton to assist her into the cab before climbing out to help Danny with Chin. Danny settled Chin onto the bench beside Peyton, who immediately took Chin's hand in hers.
"Chin, I'm gonna be right behind you, okay?" Danny said as the paramedic shut one of the back doors. He didn't respond, but Peyton looked over at Danny, smiled and nodded once. He closed his eyes and took a deep cleansing breath after the second door slammed closed before making his way over to his vehicle. He slid into the seat and realized as he reached for the door that his hands were shaking. He took another breath and wrenched the door closed before starting the ignition.
He stabbed the navigation display with his finger as he pulled out onto the street behind the ambulance. He touched Steve's name and waited for it to dial. The ringing reverberated in his ears, seemingly endlessly until Steve's message finally kicked in. "Steven, I need you to call me back. Now. I don't care what is going on in Japan, but it cannot possibly be more important than what has happened here. I don't…" he choked on the words and swiped at his forehead with his thumb, "I don't know if I can do this alone. I need…you need to come home."