I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: Ka Lilo Keiki (The Lost Child).

As always, CinderH and JazzieG - involved once again to help beta. Thank you. This is a bit of a struggle, and while it is essentially completed .. posting will likely be weekly versus daily. The plot became a bit more complicated and I'm taking my time to ensure the drafts make sense before finalizing and posting them.

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Chapter One

Sergeant First Class Amy Wilkerson-Ramirez survived the near-daily bombings in Iraq. She managed the blood, the death and the daily horrors. She successfully (most of the time) pushed down the nausea as she rummaged through the pockets of a dead soldier or local inhabitant, searching for any type of identification. What she couldn't get through, it turns out, was a trip to her daughter's school back home in Virginia. And a place as mundane as the supermarket was completely out of the question.

At the age of thirty-nine, Amy was honorably discharged from the National Guard after her second and most emotional tour of duty overseas. Not only separated from her young daughter, she had simply seen too much and been through too much. Her breaking point had been reached and then surpassed. However if you asked, she would say with absolute conviction that she felt fine and was absolutely, perfectly fine.

But that was far from the truth. Within days of arriving home, Amy began to experience extreme anxiety. She couldn't handle walking out her front door, let alone the most basic relations with her husband or her young child, Rebecca.

Less than a year after leaving the military, Amy was no longer and Joanna Pearce had taken her place. This new woman was half creation of Amy's traumatized personality and partly based in an old reality. The persona of Joanna was strongly founded in the well-respected remembered friendship of her fallen best friend of the same name; an important friend whom Amy loved, respected and missed dearly on a daily basis. This same someone who could cope with people and stress much better than Amy herself ever could. So in order to get through certain situations, Amy began channeling Joanna and making assumptions on how to be until one day, the real Amy Wilkerson-Ramirez was all but gone.

And when Amy apparently left for good, so did her ten-year marriage to Mike Ramirez and the mother-daughter relationship she had with her now six-year old daughter. Mike was granted full custody and a confused Amy - now Joanna - built a resentment so deep, it knew no bounds.

On Rebecca's seventh birthday, Joanna waited patiently outside her elementary school. There was a birthday present in the back of the rental car with two bright balloons that shouted "Birthday Girl" in a riot of bouncing colors. But in the trunk were two suitcase ... one neatly packed for each of them.

Joanna would protect Amy forever and to do that, she also needed to restore the precious relationship with her daughter, Becca.

Alone.

And as far away from Mike, the National Guard, uncaring therapists, know-it-all lawyers and the State of Virginia as humanly possible.

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She was following them as closely as she dared. Or to be more precise, she was following 'him'. It put him on edge and Steve groaned just loud enough for Danny to hear. But his personal agony and determination to stay in a bad mood was merely met with a comical chuckle.

"You have a fan club. I have to admit though. She is a little young, even for you."

"Shut up." Steve couldn't decide if he was amused or annoyed by the unwanted attention. She was about a half block back and trying to secretly follow them as they ambled down the open air shopping mall looking for a convenient place to have lunch. Besides having to work on a Saturday morning, the day was hot and tempers were just as high as the temperature. So Steve settled on annoyed as she stopped when they did and then ducked into a store as soon as he intentionally turned to confront her. Seconds later, their eyes met as she peered around the corner of the door frame. Hers widened in surprise while his narrowed in an undisguised displeasure. Behind him, Danny had the gall to laugh out loud.

"Keep walking." He ground his jaw angrily as Danny thumbed his t-shirt sleeve to pull him forward. "Just ignore her, she'll get bored and go away. Eventually. I doubt we could catch her .. she's a fast little thing."

Fast and slippery. Steve rubbed his still aching elbow where he had accidentally stumbled into a brick wall in the alley. He'd missed her by a scant inch, lost his balance and then she'd disappeared seemingly into thin air. Steve pointed towards one of the many open air café's where a table or two seemed to be available in the shade.

"Let's go there." As they sat down to order lunch and began to compare notes on their latest case, the two were immediately distracted and soon forgot about their little shadow. But Steve caught the sneaky movement out of the corner of his eye just as Danny was taking a bite out of his sandwich. His partner noticed the change in his expression right away and the twinkle in Danny's eye was unmistakable as he glanced in her direction. Attempting to hide behind an over-sized flower-pot, they could just make out her striped blouse. However if possible, Steve was possibly now in a worse mood than he was previously.

"She's rather .. persistent .. for one so young." Danny chuckled as he watched her idly examine the dessert cart. His voice quieted more as he realized something else that was very important.

"Maybe you should invite her over for lunch. We can find out where she belongs if she cooperates .. food is always a good motivator. And you wouldn't have to risk hurting yourself again."

"Shut up, Danny." As his partner snorted in laughter, Steve drummed the table in annoyance as he checked out the fairly large bruise growing on his funny bone. It still stung down to his pinky finger and their new friend was indeed slippery, but Danny had softened long ago. And that feeling only deepened in sympathy as her large brown eyes ogled a plate of food that was being delivered to a nearby table. The waitress and the hostess were equally unhappy about her presence. She didn't seem to be welcome anywhere and Danny scowled at the lack of patience or empathy.

"She's starving, Steve." He shrugged finally in defeat and put down his sandwich while Steve almost glared at him. "I'm done. I can't eat if she's hungry."

Wordlessly, Steve surged to his feet in one smooth motion and tossed his napkin down. His small follower squeaked in surprise when his hand settled on her shoulder to spin her around and then aim her towards the spare chair at their café table.

"Sit. Order something. And then we're taking you home. What's your name anyway?" He couldn't help the brusque nature of his voice or the fact that he refused to smile down at her large and not so innocent, doe-eyes. But neither thing seemed to bother her as she happily skipped over to the chair between him and Danny.

She leveled a pert and honest smile at Danny who returned it warmly and tossed a napkin into her lap. She blushed and looked down shyly as her stomach rumbled loudly but she was still ready to bolt at a moment's notice should the two men try something. The hostess rocked to a shocked halt as the unwanted guest carefully spread the white napkin across her lap before recovering her composure and moving on. Their new lunch guest's big brown eyes though were all for Steve as he reluctantly returned to his seat and sighed in disgust.

"So? Name."

"Kasey." She pointed to the biggest picture of a hamburger and fries in the menu as the waitress came back over. "Soda too?"

"Fine." Steve nodded to finalize the order and the waitress glanced just once over her shoulder to be sure before moving on.

"Kasey. Kasey .. what?" Turning back to her, Steve continued his blunt interrogation.

"Kasey Pearce."

"How old are you?"

"Ten."

"Why are you alone?" He grimaced disapprovingly at the off-hand shrug and much too casual reply. "Where are your parents?"

"Because." Danny's eyebrows raised humorously at the sly, almost snippy answer to the first part of Steve's question. But Kasey made a face as Steve persisted and then provided another plainly evasive reply.

"They're out."

"Do they know that you are stealing from people?" Her face became distant as she fiddled with the napkin in her lap and began to think her agreement to sit with them was a poor idea. She had been hungry before and the dumpster behind the restaurant would be full on a Saturday night. And when she had no answer for that particular question, Steve chuffed a clearly displeased sound as he got back to her where her parents might be.

"Okay then. Out where?"

With his chin resting in his palm, Danny was watching the stilted interaction with an amused interest as Steve peppered the young girl as if he were grilling a murder suspect. He wouldn't have been surprised if a barked demand for rank and serial number had made it out of his perturbed partner's mouth. And yet, this little Kasey was taking it all in stride. And while she wasn't too free with the information, she had yet to balk entirely at a single question.

"Dunno. Just out."

"That's not a very good answer." She shrugged again and stared blatantly back at him to meet his challenge head on. Steve pursed his lips and then glanced at Danny unhappily. But he wasn't so surprised to see the merry amusement plastered across his face.

In fact, Danny had been more than amused from the very first meeting with the dear little ruffian. This adorable, pint-sized pick-pocket that was much too adept at accessing the slimmest of tourists pockets for wallets and spare change. And then she was inordinately slippery. But her luck had hit a stumbling block of sorts that morning. After successfully lifting the wallet of a tourist in the mall area, Kasey had run full tilt around a corner and smack into Steve. She had rebounded off his chest only to fall heavily to her knees skinning both quite badly in the process. The stolen wallet had tumbled from her fingers with money fluttering to the gutter.

Her startled gasp had become pained tears and then she'd found herself snapped up into strong, sturdy arms only to come face to face with the man she'd accidentally barreled into. At the time, she hadn't realized he was a police officer. And the tourist had been inconceivably kind and happy to only get his wallet and money returned so very quickly. So Kasey had thought she was getting off scot-free until the dark-haired man carried her back to the Camaro and gently cleaned and bandaged both dirty knees. That was when she noticed the badges and heard the police radio thrumming softly in the background. Terrified by the concept of being caught by police who should have worn real HPD uniforms, Kasey had unexpectedly bolted away in tears when she heard them discussing CPS and finding her parents.

Her knees had miraculously healed from their hurts as she lurched awkwardly off the trunk of the car, eluded Danny's grasping fingers and then far too easily ducked under Steve's arm to disappear down a side alley. But then she hadn't gone too far. Intrigued by Steve and his initial kindness, she had lingered to watch them after they gave up their search.

Kasey was small enough to hide in the tiniest of places and she knew where they all were located up and down the streets. In fact, Steve had walked right past where she sat hidden with her knees painfully but tightly drawn up to her chest. When he finally gave up in his search, she had smoothed the big bandages back down around the edges of her scraped knees so the tape would stay in place. And then she had tried to discreetly follow them down the street, past the cafes and restaurants knowing they were now only looking for a place to eat.

"Thank you." Kasey automatically thanked the waitress when the burger was placed in front of her. The blonde cop made a pleased sound and stared meaningfully at the dark-haired one who sighed and tossed a defeated hand in the air. She looked up quickly and smiled too, before grabbing the burger with both hands. And then she dropped it just as fast as the blonde one put his hand over hers.

"Maybe we should wash up first?" Kasey nodded as she swallowed hard nervously before allowing him to take her filthy hand. He was nice and he promised they would come right back and only eat lunch. And he waited for her outside the ladies restroom and then escorted her back to the table, noticing with approval her attempts at cleaning up. With limited resources, she had done a fairly good job of washing dirt-encrusted fingers and then had tried to tidy her hair by wetting it likely from the sink and tucking it firmly behind her ears.

They sat in silence, but she was more than half-way through eating when she gazed at each of them. "What are your names?"

Her question came out more shyly than she anticipated but she filed their names away as she took a big sip of her soda. She grinned at Steve because the one time she went to school back in Seattle, one of her friend's had the same name too. And even though this Steve was old and grumpy, Kasey really liked him best.

He had picked her up so easily; just like her father used to before he and mommy began to fight and argue. The fighting had started when mommy came back from the bad war. It went on for days and then for months. Other people she never met got involved and Kasey bounced between an apartment with her father and then her usual house where only she and her mother lived.

One day after school, her father told her that she would live with him all the time until mommy got better. But then on her seventh birthday, her mother had surprised her at the end of the school day and she had looked absolutely beautiful in a bright yellow dress that flowed lightly in the spring breeze. Kasey remembered that scene vividly because she hadn't seen her mother in what felt like too many months. Her mother had picked her up in a new car with a very special birthday present and balloons.

She also remembered it because it was the last day she had seen her father. They had driven for a long time. Hours and then days, through all kinds of bad weather and Kasey had become very frightened. Her mother filled her head with stories about her father having been taken away by bad men who were now after them and they needed to run far away to escape. On the first night they had stopped, her mother said that they needed to change their names to be safe. And to protect Kasey, she had dyed her hair blonde and then cut it very short. Only recently had she been allowed to let it go back to its natural raven-black color and it had finally grown past her shoulders again. But after that first desperate week, they had moved frequently taking a haphazard route across the United States. Going as far North as Seattle, Washington, then back down to Nevada, then to Arizona and finally settling for a longer time in California.

Their stay in Los Angeles had been the longest and possibly the happiest until her mother panicked again and insisted that they leave for Hawaii. And as she'd done for so many years now, Kasey only silently nodded as she shed just a few tears and willingly followed along. The bad men were getting too close and the little girl had no choice. Kasey could barely remember her father now. Her mother had taken her away from that elementary school in Virginia almost three years earlier. They had lived in too many different States, towns and hovels for her to even try to remember. Her real name and identity were much too distant memories now and she was firmly Kasey Pearce.

She still had one tiny photograph of her father in her back pocket though. And the way Steve had swooped her up and then so gently taken care of her scraped up knees brought back the happy memory of her father much too clearly and it unexpectedly took her breath away. Kasey stared at Steve again as he used his cell phone to read and then send a message. He didn't look at all like the picture she had of her father, but still he had made her feel safe and the tears pricked at her eyes. When he looked up to catch her staring, she quickly looked down to finish her meal.

"Where do you live?" Steve tapped her wrist to get her attention and she dropped her hand quickly into her lap. She paused to swirl her fries through the thick layer of ketchup on her plate. She was embarrassed to answer and rubbed at her nose to vainly make the rising sting of new tears go away.

Kasey's voice failed her when Danny once again put his hand over her own and he smiled at her when she didn't pull away. "It's okay. You aren't in trouble .. we just want to make sure you get home safely."

Safe was a nice word. Kasey liked it but home was far from being a safe place so she took a shuddered inhale before shrugging. She was looking down at her fingers now as they wrung the napkin in her lap and becoming more withdrawn by the second.

"Dunno." She breathed out the too quiet word knowing that it would spell trouble and she began looking for her best escape route from the café. CPS. The threat of foster homes. Stealing because she was hungry. Her mother had been gone for a few days now, but when she got back she would beat her. She'd be in trouble that she could barely explain and the cops would never understand. And then the bad men would come and make her disappear like they made her father disappear.

A startled tremor shook her shoulders when Steve noisily pushed his chair back from the table to settle more comfortably. He frowned in thought as he studied her from head to foot.

"You don't know where you live." He said it as a stern statement and Kasey bit her lip nervously as she began to get restless.

Danny sighed in exasperation and rapped the table with his fingers. "Ice cream? Chocolate cake maybe? You seem like a chocolate girl to me."

He had seen her tears welling up again and then the uncomfortable fidgets that spelled her desire to run away. And as Steve leaned back with his arms crossed, Danny bent forward in an attempt to soothe her uncertainty before sending his partner another silent, but pointed warning. She had one leg cocked to the ground as she sat on her hip on the edge of the chair. Plus she had no idea that Steve had placed a call to CPS while they'd made their trip to the ladies restroom. It was a circumspect phone call, followed by a text message and Danny knew that the social worker may or may not be waiting for them. Regardless, Kasey was fast and would no doubt run at the first hint of trouble.

His quick suggestion was met with a tentative smile from the little girl and a tolerant sniff from Steve. "Chocolate cake, please."

Her soft agreeable murmur made Danny smile too, and even Steve ordered a slice that Danny rudely took half of when it arrived. The stunned look on Steve's face made Kasey giggle and he finally grinned back at her before pointing his fork threateningly at Danny.

"Is there a reason why you just didn't order your own dessert?" She forgot about home as she listened to them argue over the cake. She liked Steve's smile and he was suddenly completely different as he put a kind hand on the top of her head.

Kasey was nearly done with her own slice when she saw her and she froze in place. Dropping her fork in alarm, she struggled to her feet but Steve already had a firm hold of her arm.

"It's okay. We just want to help." Her betrayed eyes focused on Steve's face and as her hot tears came hard, he mentally stumbled and then automatically scooped her up into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Kasey. I promise we only want to help." But she didn't want to hear him shushing her or telling her that she would be alright because those were all lies. She had made a terrible mistake and she would be in too much trouble when her mother finally came home. Steve carried her to Mrs. Watson, the social worker that had been to her house so many times in the past. It wasn't that Mrs. Watson wasn't nice because she definitely was … but Kasey knew that being caught this time would be very, very bad.

"Kasey Pearce. She's being raised by a single mom; Joanna Pearce. Kasey is very smart and self-sufficient for her age. I've been working with them for nine months now. They used to live in Los Angeles and Kasey was in school regularly at first. But some things seemed to have changed and I was contacted to help out."

She had her arms wrapped around Steve's neck but refused to look at the social worker who was rubbing her back in small soothing circles. There was no hope of escape now as Steve tightened his hold on her small, trembling body. Mrs. Watson was skilled at keeping her dislike for Kasey's mother clearly out of her voice as she spoke to Steve and Danny. What she shared now was simply matter-of-fact and held no judgement whatsoever.

"Where's your mother this time, dear?" Kasey refused to answer as she clung to Steve and cried harder.

"How long has she been gone, Kasey?" She could answer that, but she didn't exactly want to because these last four days were the longest her mother had ever been away. With her face buried in Steve's neck, she missed the concerned looks shared between Mrs. Watson and the officers.

"I think a long time this time?" Said very softly, Mrs. Watson circled around Steve to smooth back Kasey's dark hair and get a glimpse of her tear-streaked face.

"A few days maybe?" Kasey nodded with her eyes closed and she sensed an unhappy rumble in Steve's chest on her behalf.

"She was very hungry." Steve quietly offered the information to the social worker. He was thoroughly thawed by now as her arms almost strangled him and her tears soaked his t-shirt. He was easily as disturbed as Danny while Mrs. Watson explained a brief history of where the child lived and what her mother seemed to be like on a regular basis.

"I'm not sure it's worth taking her back. It's going to be more traumatic if Ms. Pearce still isn't there yet." Mrs. Watson placed her hands on Kasey's shoulders to pry her from Steve.

"You need to let me help you now Kasey until we find your mom." Danny was pacing in tight circles near Steve and the sobbing child. They needed to do the right thing for her and that was to get her to a safe place. He was beside himself at the blatant neglect, while Steve couldn't hide his mortified expression as Kasey tightened her hold and literally attached herself to his body like a second skin.

"We can go together." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them while he thrust Danny's own car keys into his hand.

"You drive. Follow Mrs. Watson and we all go together."

Turning on his heel, he carried Kasey to the Camaro and eased into the passenger seat. All the time keeping her safely in his arms and whispering words that only she could hear.

~ to be continued ~