This is my 1st try at writing and publishing and everything that goes with it. I don't have a beta yet and english is also my 3rd language so please excuse any grammatical and other errors.
Saturday dawns bright and sunny in the gorgeous state of Hawaii. It's still early so not many normal people are out and about yet. Emphasis on the normal. That means superSeal is just starting off on his weekend run. No cases to cover this weekend which means a whole weekend to be spent on restoring the old Marquis, a BBQ thrown into the mix and maybe a spot of fishing tomorrow with Chin.
As he sets off he notices a young girl sitting on the beach just staring into space. At least I'm not the only one up at this time of morning he thinks as he increases his stride. I should tell Danny that it's not just freakish superSeals up at this hour. Sure that it will lead to the mother of all rants he smiles to himself.
She does look a bit forlorn though, as if she could use a hug. O my word, where did that come from, he thinks. I've been hanging out with Mr Super Sensitive in touch with your Emotions Jersey to long. I'm going soft ! Losing my touch he thinks to himself.
If she is still there when I come back I'll go and see if she's ok but now i need to get rid of all these spasms after a week of chasing unsavoury characters all over the island he says to himself
Forty minutes later and he's ready to head back. The sun baking him from behind, relaxing him and making him look at things around him, less like a seal on a mission and more like a person just enjoying a day off.
He looks ahead trying to see if the young girl is still there or if she has gone in search of a nice breakfast like he plans to have when he gets back home. Not the normal woodbark and green tea that Danny likes to think he has every morning. He spots a fully clad figure wading into the water.
What the hell ... Why would she walk into the surf fully dressed ? Picking up his pace he races towards her. Before he goes in after her he pulls his cell from his pocket and phones his back-up. It's early, so it's likely that the haole is still in bed and he will not be happy to be woken this early but he will deal with the fall out and epic rant that is sure to follow from this early morning call at a later stage. Now he needs to get them all down here as quick as possible.
"Steven ! It's Saturday morning. It's not even 7 o clock ! We are not all freaks of nature who can get by on 4 hours sleep. This had better be good ! A spaceship from Pluto must have landed near the governors mansion ! Otherwise I see no reason for this early call before I have even had my coffee"
"Danny just shut up and listen" comes the terse answer from the man keeping his eye on the girl who is now waste deep in the water with waves coming towards her. She is not even attempting to try and get out of the way. "I need you to get a hold of Chin and Kono and come down to my house. If Malia is around bring her as well. We might need her expertise as well."
"Her expertise ! Steven what have you done? When we left HQ you were in one piece !" The blonde shouts at him over the phone with a face that Steve is sure could launch a 1000 ships.
"Danny just do it. I'll explain later." he throws down the phone and pulls off his t-shirt in one fluid motion never taking his eyes off the girl. Shoes and socks follow and then he sprints towards the water.
With strong strides he reaches her in a matter of seconds. Not wanting to scare her, because heaven knows she looks like she is far away in a world of her own, he quietly gets as close as possible to her without frightening her.
"Hi" he says softly "my name is Steve"."What's your name" he asks using the voice he normally reserves for when Grace needs some special love.
"That's not going to work" she says. "You are not really interested" "You are just trying to pretend that your care" "Go back to where you came from and let me do this" she says in a voice so emotionless and void of any feeling that it scares him.
"I can't do that sweetheart. My parents tought me never to walk away or in this case swim away from someone in obvious pain. I want to help you. Please let me."
"Why don't we get to shore and a nice warm towel" he says never taking his eyes off her. Slowly turning towards him she mutters quietly to him in a barely audible voice. "Go away!"
"Just leave me be. Why would you want to help me ? No one has ever bothered. Why would a complete stranger out on a early morning run bother ? Just swim back to where you came from and let me be."
Not one to ever give up, his seal training kicking in and his desire to help this young girl growing stronger with every tread of water, he gives it another try. He gets the feeling that she is really giving up and he needs to get through to her before she actually does what she threatens to do.
"I know what it's like to think that you are alone. That no one cares about you, how the whole world seems to gang up against and how you see no way out of the mess that has become your life. It doesn't have to be that way you know. There are people out there that are willing to help. If you would just come with me then we can talk about it and we will sort out everything together. Sometimes it helps to just talk to someone. A person not involved with whatever you are going through might give you an independant perspective on things."
Sounding a bit like a hypocrite there Steve, he tells himself. He knows the feeling of being alone but he never gave in to the needs to discuss it with anyone. Always just plowing through the problems with the determined resolve that came from being sent away from home at a young age and having to adjust to a new life without family. It must be his new life here in Hawaii surrounded by his Ohana that is making him so soft and thinking that he can deal with whatever is so obviously troubling this whiff of a girl.
"It won't help. I've got nobody to go home to. No one cares" and with those words she dives under.
"Noooo" Steve shouts. "Not on my watch you don't" Going after her he grabs her and they surface together.
She struggles trying to break free from his hold but he just holds on tighther and starts to swim towards shore. It's not easy as she keeps on kicking and screaming but he's got his determined look on his face and she soon realises that he is not going to let go and just gives up.
Going limp in his arms Steve worries that she might have lost consciousness and works harder at getting them to shore. Back up should be there by now he thinks to himself. Feeling the sand under him he stands up, carrying her to where he can see the rest of team staring at him.
Chin, the voice of reason and calm, rushes towards him wanting to take her from his arms seeing the exhaustion on the younger man's face. He allows Chin to help him carry her over to the towels spread out on the sand not wanting to give up complete control of the situation, never taking his eyes off her. She looks so young and vulnerable. His heart aches thinking of what must have happened in her short life for her to be so desperate.
"O Steven how do you manage to attract trouble on a Saturday morning when the sun is barely up" Danny asks without a hint of the usual sarcasm in his voice.
Steve feels a tug on his arm as Chin encourages him to let Malia take a look at the bundle on the towel. She rolls into a ball trying to make herself as small as possible, trying to escape from everyone and everything surrounding her.
Kono hands him a towel to dry himself. Never taking his eyes off her he kneels beside her, taking her hand in his, stroking it, whispering words of comfort, or what he hopes passes as words of comfort.
Danny is the emotional one in this team. He would probably know the exact right things to say to her. He hopes she realises that even if she thinks no one cares, he still does and that he won't leave her.
She suddenly sits up and with a desperate look on her face as she tries to get away from this strange group of people hovering over her.
"No no, sweetheart, you're not going anywhere" Steve whispers in her ears as he grabs a hold of her and holds her in a bear hug trying to making her feel protected. "Let Malia just take a look at you. You can trust her. Let us help you."
She's not accustomed to all this attention, people caring and it makes her nervous. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I'll have to find another way to get away from this big man she thinks to herself. Give in and pretend you will play along with their games she thinks. Like you have had to do your whole life so far. Yes, that sounds like a plan !
She looks up at him and whispers "Noelle. They named me Noelle."
Staring at her like she just spoke her first word he replies. "Well hello Noelle. You remember, I'm Steve ? Let's get you somewhere dry."
This is my chance she thinks. They are going to stand up, we are going to walk somewhere and I can make a run for the water again and finish what I came here for. Before this rock of a man decided to go for a run. Not taking into account that she was tired, weak and emotional from all the reality that is her life and this morning's drama.
She moves to get up when he lets go and the little group gives them some space to get up. She quickly sizes up everyone around her and mistakenly decides that her best bet would be to make a break for the water past the little blonde man looking at her with enough sympathy on his face to make her want to throw up. She never wants to see pitty or sympahty on anyones face again.
Before they realize what is happening she sets off for the water again. Evading Danny with a move that would make a line backer proud, she reaches the water but this time she is grabbed from behind by the little hoale. Bone tired from all the drama already and underestimating his low centre of gravity she is unable to push him off her.
"Come on babe we are not going through this again" he tells her in his father voice. The voice Grace hears when she has done something that she knew she shouldn't have. Not being used to someone speaking to her much at all, she doesn't listen and keeps on kicking and screaming begging them to just let her go.
"Not today sweetheart, not today" she hears Steve's strong voice trying to calm her.
"Hold her Danny" a female voice next to her says, catching her off guard. She keeps on struggling till she feels a prick in her arm and knows that the struggle is futile. "Why won't you just let me go" she asks before giving in to the darkness that follows.
Picking her up Steve starts to walk towards his house. His team following him. Doing what they do best. Ready to be the back up when need, guarding protecting their leader and the girl that has become their latest case. They will work together to find out what makes someone so young so desperate to end it all. They are not known for giving up until the case is solved and they will most certainly not start now.
Anybody seeing them would think that they are ready for war and would run in the opposite direction if they saw this group coming towards them. Hawaii was safe with the four of them in charge. On this Saturday morning their priority however was with this desperate, lonely girl in Steve's arms.
They make their way up the stairs to Mary's bedroom, recently vacated by Steve's sister. Gently putting her down on the bed Steve wasn't sure what to do now.
"Come brah, the girls have this and you need to get out of these wet clothes" comes the voice of reason from Chin.
"Mary left some of her stuff in the drawers, Noelle is the same size, I'm sure it will fit" Steve says as turns to leave the room.
We've got this brah" Kono answers. "We will look after her. Go and get changed and we will call you when we're ready."
Steve follows Danny and Chin to grab a quick shower and changing into his weekend cargo pants. The girl accross the passage never leaving his thoughts, resulting in him having a 2 minute shower instead of the usual 3 minute shower.
Joining Danny and Chin downstairs he grabs a juice from the fridge, pacing up and down, waiting for the call from upstairs. He needs to know that she's ok.
This standing around and not doing anything doesn't agree with him and it goes against everything he has learned over the years. You identify the problem, you come up with possible solutions, you evaluate potential hazards and then you go over to action. You don't stand around in the kitchen drinking juice waiting for someone else to come and tell you what is going on. He needs to do something about the situation. He needs to regain control again.
Taking the stairs two at a time he reaches his intended destination. Now what he thinks. Gently he knocks on the door waiting for the signal to enter. Kono opens the door and lets him in. Noelle is wrapped up in bed, covers drawn to under her chin.
Malia joins them at the door speaking in a soft clear voice. "She's going to sleep for a while. We got her changed and wrapped up. Her vitals are ok and her lungs sounds clear. We need to watch her though as I'm concerned about pneumonia after all the water she swallowed."
Steve closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales. They all know about the dangers of secondary drowning. Came close to losing one of their ohana that way. He will watch her like a hawk. He's not going to lose anyone to something that they can prevent.
"Has she said anything? Why did she do this ? What could possibly lead to someone this young wanting to end it all ?" he asks, not really expecting an answer.
"I don't know Steve. We see so many bad things in our everyday lives. All we can do is wait till she wakes up and then we can help her figure this out" Malia answers while rubbing a hand over his back. "You stay here with her, Kono and I are going downstairs to update the others. If she wakes up call me. I'll send Danny up with a cup of coffee."
Grabbing a chair he pulls up next to her waiting for her to wake up so that he can find out what led to her desperate attempt this morning and then on to finding the solution to this problem.
Standing in the doorway with the promised cup of coffee, Danny stares at his partner and he is sure he can see smoke coming from the man's ears. He can see the cogs working overtime in the Seal's brain trying to come up with a way to fix Noelle's problem.
His teammate never ceases to amaze him. Being rough and business like and then when he sees someone in need he goes into protective mode, not wanting the rest of the team to see the softer side of him. Noelle has definately brought out the softer side in him today. The man tends to take everything personally, as if he can carry the world and all its problems on his shoulders.
"Let's hope we can solve this problem without having to resort to handgrenades babe" he says as he hands the cup to Steve.
"What ?" comes the confused answer from Steve.
"I said I hope we can solve her problems without having to blow something or someone up. The last time we tried it, it took me a week to complete the paper work. I'm sure we can find a more civilized manner to solve this."
"Bite me" Steve answers. Not paying much attention to his partner. He needs to get back to thinking, finding a way to help her.
"You going to be ok babe?" Danny asks, pulling up another chair sitting next to him friend.
Without changing positions he quietly asks "Why Danny? What makes anyone feel so alone and desperate that she would want to take her life. She is so young, she should be at the mall with her friends, talking about boys and music. Worrying about what to wear to the home coming dance, who will be her date. She should not be thinking about death and all the dark things. There will be plenty of time for that when she is older. Where are her parents, why aren't they looking after her and picking up on the signs. Does teachers not know how to spot a teenager in trouble ?"
"I don't know babe" Danny answers. "Maybe her parents are busy, maybe she hides things from them. We will know more when she wakes up. All we can do now is wait and be ready to help her. She is going to be confused and sad and we will be there for her. I would like to think that, heaven forbid something like this ever happens Grace, that there will be someone there for her."
"You know we will look after her Danno. We won't let anything happen to her. Grace knows she has us looking out for her. You've raised her well and she will come to one of us if she feels like she can't speak to your or Rachel. We've got your back"
The two friends sat lost in thought. Each busy thinking of a solution to help Noelle out of this situation and help her face whatever prompted her to take the desperate measures she did that morning. They were so deep in thought that they nearly missed the groan coming from the bundle on the bed.
"Danny she's waking up" Steve shouts at his friend. Suddenly she bolts up, eyes wide and confused, trying to get away from the men standing by her bedside.
"Where am I? What is going on" comes the questions from the frigthened girl trying to get herself into a position that would make an escape easy.
"It's okay Noelle, you are safe. I'm Steve remember and this is Danny, my partner. Just relax we are not going to hurt you. We just want to help. You had a bit of a rough morning."
Realisation hit her and the morning's event come flooding back. Pulling her legs to her chest, hugging her knees she softly starts crying. Everything becoming to much for her.
Steve slowly moves towards the bed not wanting to scare her, sits down and pulls her into a gentle hug. Rubbing circles on her back he makes shushing noises, hoping it will calm her.
She stiffens under the hug but soon realises that the man is not a threat and wants nothing from her but to give her comfort. It is actually nice to have someone care. Maybe I can just close my eyes again for a bit and pretend that everything is ok with the world. That everyone are like these 2 men standing guard around her bed. Vaguely remembering three other people making up the team she doses off again. Causing Steve to panick as she goes limp in his arms.
"Danny call Malia, something is wrong!" comes the command from the Seal with the arms full of dozing girl.
"It's ok Steve, she's just sleeping" comes the soft answer from Malia. "The drugs and effort of this morning will make her sleepy for a while. She'll be ok. You can set her down and let her get some sleep."
Sighing he gently puts her down and covers her with the blankets. "We have to help her Danno" he says moving to stand in front of the window.
"We will babe, we will" comes the answer from detective on his way out of the door to fetch them some sandwiches. If they are going to wait for her to wake up then they might as well do it on a full stomach he decided.
Chin and Kono wonders in and out of the room checking on the 2 men sitting quietly trying to come up with solutions to Noelle's problems, whatever it might be.
She wakes up again with only Malia in the room checking on her. Steve and Danny stepped out to get some fresh air.
"Hey sweetheart. Feeling better ?" Malia asks as she puts her stethoscope away. "Your lungs sound clear and the rest of your vitals are good. You want a bite to eat or a drink ?" she asks smiling at the girl.
"Who are you and where am I?" her voice sounding hoarse after not using it for a while.
"My name is Malia and you are at Steve's house. He helped you out of the water this morning" she answers using her best bedside manner, not wanting to spook the girl. She seems calm enough and she wants to keep it that way.
"You remember what happened this morning?"
"Yeah i was trying to end it all. I was tired, couldn't take it anymore. Still think it will be the best solution and they'll be rid of me".
"Who are they and why do they make you feel like you do?" comes the question from the man standing in the door. He is wearing his aneurism face and if the situation wasn't so tense Danny would have made fun of it but even the Jersey native knows when to keep quiet.
Staring at him with big green eyes, threatening to glaze over with tears she answers "Everyone. They wanted a boy and have never let me forget that. Reminding me that there is no male heir to take over the business, that the family name is going to die with me. How I'm not good enough in school, not pretty enough, not thin enough, not popular enough. They forget my birthday, school plays. Leave me alone at him with only the cook and driver for company."
With hands curled into fists to keep from hitting something Steve moves to the bed and for the 3rd time that day embraces her, trying to shield her from the world and everything that is trying to hurt her. Rocking her back and forth he lets her cry herself out, till there is just soft sobs coming from the bundle in his arms.
"You're going to be ok, we will fix this" he tells her taking her by the arms and looking her in the eye. "Now how about some food ? I'm sure you are starving and judging by the growls coming from my partner's stomach I think he needs feeding as well."
"Watch it Steve ! I won't let you drive for a week if you keep that up" the man in question answers with a smile in voice.
Pulling the covers away she makes to get out of bed. Still a bit unsteady on her feet she nearly falls but is caught by strong arms.
"How about I help you downstairs and then after you had something to eat we try the walking thing again ?" Steve asks with a hint of a smile on his face. Things were looking up and he now has the necessary intel to deal with this situation.
Today they will spend time with her and listen to her. Then tomorrow ! Tomorrow they will fix this and help Noelle sort through the mess that is her life. They will find a way for her to carry on with her life without being scared, help her trust people again and let her enjoy her life. Life is for the living and to be enjoyed and she will find out first hand what it means to have people that care for you.