"See You Again"

Shakespeare's Lemonade

Rating: T

Genre: Family/Drama

Summary: He promised they would see each other again. So when Steve is injured, Mary Ann immediately rushes back to Hawaii. She intends to hold him to his promise. So do Danny and Grace and pretty much everyone else.

A/N: This will probably be a few chapters, but not a very long story.

Chapter One "Too Many Promises"

She hadn't been able to put it out of her head since she left Hawaii. Steve had told Mary Ann that they would see each other again, but every day that passed reminded her of how dangerous his life was. She wondered on multiple occasions whether there was a way to statistically evaluate his chances of survival. Then she would remember that she didn't want to know.

The call came a few months after she'd returned to LA. It wasn't unexpected, but she found herself nearly hyperventilating as Danny informed her that her brother was in the hospital in serious condition.

"What happened?" she found herself asking.

There was silence on the other end of the line. "It's a long story," Danny finally said. "He's got several bullet wounds though."

"Okay, look, it's gonna take me a while to get there. I'll call you before I board the plane."

"Mary, I don't think Steve would want you to came all this way."

"Is he conscious? I didn't think so. He doesn't get a vote."

Danny agreed with her. She knew he did even though he didn't say it.

Mary drove like a maniac—like her brother—to LAX. She got the first available flight to Hawaii and in the short time she had before boarding, she called Danny back. He still didn't really explain what happened, but he told her that Steve was currently in surgery. Apparently the doctors were trying not to rearrange his vital organs in the process of removing bullets from his torso.

Mary wondered what ever happened to Kevlar, but she didn't ask. She hoped to lecture Steve about it when she got there. She tried to think of that rather than the alternative. She kept reminding herself that Steve promised they would see each other again, which meant he had to open his eyes and acknowledge her presence. He couldn't die until that had happened.

All through the long flight, Mary couldn't sleep or read or anything. She tried listening to music for a while, but it just made her more impatient. Finally, she turned to the passenger next to her, a middle aged man in a business suit.

"Hi," she said.

He nodded at her and turned back to his magazine.

"You traveling for work?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

Mary turned and faced forward again. Just because she was miserable didn't mean she had to make someone else so. But the man seemed to decide he should at least be polite, so he said,

"How about you? Going on vacation."

"Hardly," Mary said. "My brother's in the hospital."

"Oh." The man seemed genuinely sympathetic. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, it's his own damn fault for being such an idiot." She crossed her arms. "You'd think a former Navy SEAL would remember to put on his vest."

"I hope he gets better. I have a son in the Army, so I know what that's like."

"Thanks," Mary said. "And I'm sorry I bothered you."

"Don't mention it. Sometimes it helps to remember we're not just drifting along alone in our little bubbles."

Mary smiled and leaned back in her seat. "I'm gonna tell my brother that."

H-5-O

Danny wasn't sure whether he should plot Steve's demise or pray. He figured since the seven bullets in Steve's body were doing a good job of the former, he should focus on the latter. He didn't tell anyone that's what he was doing, but when Kono and Chin noticed his head down, eyes closed, and lips moving, they knew what was going on. And they had both been mentally doing the same thing.

The only person Danny could think of that was more powerful than Steve McGarrett had to be God. So who else could save him?

So Danny could only sit, and worry, and pray.

He was half glad, and half in dread that he had Grace the next day. Glad that he could tell her in person not too long after the fact, but dreading that he had to tell her anything. She had become attached to his team since he'd started working with them. Now Danny knew a little of how Rachel felt. He tried to imagine telling his daughter that she would never see her favorite "uncle" again. But at that thought he bowed his head again and tried not to let the tears fall. That couldn't happen. He remembered two weekends ago Steve had promised Grace he would see her two Saturdays from then. They were going with the whole team to a movie Grace had been dying to see. Probably something about princesses or talking animals or both. But they all liked going to movies with Grace. It was refreshing after everything they dealt with during the week.

However, now they would be spending the weekend in a hospital waiting room. Danny knew Grace wouldn't want to go anywhere else until she got to see "Uncle Steve." Danny still wasn't used to that name.

Late that night, Danny checked his watch. He realized he would have to leave to go pick up Mary from the airport. He rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm going to get Mary," he said, standing up.

Sitting across from him, both Chin and Kono nodded.

"You'll call me if they tell you anything?"

""Yeah," Kono said in a breathy voice. "Go ahead."

Danny reluctantly left the hospital and got into his car. The silence was deafening. Usually there was some noise coming from the radio, or Steve, or Danny himself. Steve wasn't there, Danny never talked to himself, and he couldn't bring himself to listen to Steve's stupid music, so the quiet continued on the long drive to the airport.

Mary was waiting outside with a smallish bag slung over one shoulder. She got in the car without a word and they headed back for the hospital. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Danny burst out,

"Please say something; the silence is killing me."

Mary looked over at him. "You want to tell me what happened?" she asked.

Danny ran a hand down his face. "Not particularly." He scratched the back of his head. "It was supposed to be a routine bust. Steve got a little excited and forgot that I was actually wearing my vest."

"Where was his?"

"It's in the backseat."

"So he jumped in front of you?"

"Yeah." There was a significant pause. "I mean, I might have got some minor injuries if he hadn't, but nothing like he did."

"You haven't heard anything new?"

"No. They're still working on him."

"What... I mean, how hopeful are they?"

"You know how doctors are. They don't like to give away much, plus they may not know what his chances are."

"He has to last a little while at least. He won't break his promise."

"Which one?"

"He said we would see each other again. He meant it."

Danny nodded. "He told Grace he would see her tomorrow... today now, I guess."

"So, he's going to live long enough to see us."

"He's never broken a promise has he?"

"Once."

"What was that?"

"He said he would play with me and he didn't. I was like five at the time and I was really upset. Then Mom made him swear he would never break a promise again."

"Then he's gonna have to live a lot longer than today because he's promised several people he would kill them."

This assurance wasn't very comforting because no matter how much they wanted to believe it, Danny and Mary knew Steve wasn't in control. He couldn't magically make the bullets disappear and fix all the damage inside his body.

He could try. He could fight. And that's what everyone was counting on.

Back at the hospital everyone sat in a sort of circle in the small waiting room. Kamekona showed up for a couple of hours, but by two AM, the four of them were the only ones in the room. No one was willing to go home and one by one, they drifted off to sleep.

Still, no word on Steve's condition came.