She awoke to the sound of her alarm and sluggishly rolled out of bed. She felt nauseous as she stood up. Once in the bathroom, she took the cold tap water that flowed from the faucet and splashed it onto her face. She was relieved when the sick feeling retreated. Once she had gotten ready, she hopped in her car, only to be revisited by the nausea. During the drive to work, it came and went in small waves: nothing she couldn't handle.
"Hello, Kono!" Steve greeted as she entered the station, the rhyming words pleasing his five-year-old mind. Danny and Chin nodded a salutation to her as well.
"Hello," She replied a bit weaker than she meant to. Steve, Chin and Danny paused for a moment, looking at her. Danny's facial expression became a bit paternal as he voiced his concern:
"You doing okay?" he asked. "You seem tired."
"Yeah, I just wasn't feeling well this morning," she replied honestly, placing her bag down at her desk.
"Well, you can go home and rest…" Steve trailed off.
"No, no. I'm okay now I think," She reassured them confidently.
"Alright, well, tell us if you need anything," Chin said.
"Thanks guys," She replied with a grateful smile as she took her seat.
For the rest of the morning, the nausea continued in its pattern of ebbing and flowing. It certainly wasn't unbearable and Kono had made a productive start on her paperwork.
Across the room, Steve hung up the phone.
"Guys," He called out, "We got a case, let's move." His three colleagues all packed up and headed out to the parking lot. Danny caught Kono by the arm as she tried to pass through the door.
"You good?" He asked simply.
"Yep," Kono replied with a small smile. Danny softly patted her on the back and she continued out of the building.
The team arrived on the scene of a suspected robbery in progress at a jewelry store. They entered the building, guns drawn and sweeping with a squad of HPD trailing behind. The storefront was empty and littered with the glass of shattered display cases. Danny kicked open the door to the back room to reveal the three robbers, adorned with black masks.
"On the ground!" He commanded as Steve and Chin arrived behind him, followed by Kono. Two of the criminals dropped to their knees, but the third made a break for the backdoor.
Kono silently thought to herself, ugh, I'm so not in the mood for this, as she darted through the side door to chase down the runner. Danny held the remaining two robbers at gunpoint while Steve and Chin cuffed them and handed them off to the HPD officers. They quickly exited the back of the store and saw Kono and the suspect just down the road. All three officers took off to assist her.
Kono could hear the sound of blood rushing through her ears as her feet pounded against the pavement. She fought back the rising nausea as a pain in her stomach vied for her attention. Her muscles felt weak and dizziness came over her. She was relieved to see she had chased the suspect into a dead-end alley because she wasn't sure if she could go any farther.
The suspect whipped around when he realized he was cornered. Kono had him trapped and he tried to make a move on her before she could unholster her weapon. Kono, even in her weakened state, easily blocked the man's punch and applied a quick knee into his stomach. She gave one kick to the side of his head as he buckled and that was all it took. He fell limply in front of her.
Kono could her 3 pairs of feet approaching behind her. She began to turn towards them. Now out of the life-threatening situation, her body decided to make her aware of its suffering. Her vision clouded as her stomach screamed. She stumbled back as her balance faded.
"Kono!" Steve called out to her. The team all picked up their speed as they saw her weaken. She tried to stay upright but found herself doubling over in an attempt to quiet the pain in her stomach.
"Ste-" she managed with a gag. Steve arrived to grab her shoulders. He bent his knees to get into her line of sight. He had to look her in the eye—to tell her he was there for her.
"Kono?" Steve repeated. Kono's gaze met his dusty blue eyes.
"Help m-" Kono tried to reply as she slipped toward the ground.
"Okay-" Steve said as he quickly took on her weight to help lower her onto the pavement. She attempted to speak.
"My- OWWW," She cried as Steve laid her down on her side, still curled in a ball. Chin arrived next to them.
"Shhh, you're alright honey," Steve reassured her quickly.
Aside, Danny radioed in urgently, "Officer down, send EMS, West and York Street,"
Kono took a much-needed breath once settled in an attempt to calm herself. Chin rubbed circles on her back.
"Kono, what's wrong? What hurts?" Steve asked, kneeling in front of her, with a firm but worried voice.
"My stomach," She replied with a whimper
"Did he hurt you?" Chin asked in reference to the criminal that Danny was now cuffing.
"No, it just started to- Auhhh" She gasped.
"Okay, okay, we have paramedics on the way, Kono," Steve soothed.
"'urts," Kono yelped. Steve gently pushed the hair from her face.
"I know, I know, just hang tight, okay?" Steve comforted, rubbing her arm.