"Dying to Live"
Shakespeare's Lemonade
Rating: T
Genre: Family/Drama
Summary: Happily ever after seems to be in sight when an old enemy rears his ugly head. Steve makes an unthinkable sacrifice in order to protect his family and rid the world of Victor Hesse. Meanwhile Danny has to keep a huge secret from everyone and it threatens his relationship with Kono.
Pairings: Steve/OC, Danny/Kono, Chin/Malia
A/N: This is the sequel to "Bystander" and "Good Parenting." It would be best to read those first.
Prologue: Promises, Promises
August 15, 2011
I feel like I'm going to tear in half soon. I don't know how long I can keep this up; it's so wrong. I can't keep watching them, especially her. How can I stand here and watch them die inside while I can save them?
We've talked about it, over and over. We've contemplated subverting the governor.
I don't know which is worse. Lying to my wife, to his wife, to everyone. Or disobeying orders. It would have seemed like a no-brainer not long ago.
But then there's Hesse. Right now, we're both invested in seeing him dead. Chin was right. He is a cockroach.
Chin understands secrets. He knows, like everyone else, that I'm hiding something, but he doesn't ask. Kono never stops asking. And that has me worried. I don't want her to think I'm avoiding her. But I can't tell her the truth.
So, I work a lot. It's not like I don't have a lot to do.
McKenzie doesn't ask questions. She has too much to think about now. I can't imagine being in her place.
I made her a promise the first day Steve came back to work. I intend to keep it.
I'll bring him home. I promise, I always will.
Chapter One "The Overcompensation for Misery"
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery."~Adolus Huxley, Brave New World
Danny stood in the driveway with an exasperated look on his face. Steve was grinning as if he'd found some rare artifact.
The thing looked like a fossil, to be sure.
"What is this?" Danny asked.
"Can't you see?" Steve gestured at the monstrosity.
"I know what it is, I mean why?"
"You realize none of the vehicles we own could exactly be considered a family car?"
"Who's fault is that? And what's wrong with the Jetta?"
"It's small. And what if we wanted to take everyone on a picnic or something?"
"First of all, why would you ever want to do that? Second, we all have cars!"
"You seem to be missing the point. This thing is like a truck and an SUV put together. It's safe. I mean, unless you want me to get a tank."
"I have seen a Suburban before, Steven. Driven one, in fact. And yes, they are very safe, but this one looks about twenty years old."
"Twenty-five."
"Okay, you know what this is? Overcompensation. You and your dad were supposed to work on a car together, but you didn't. Now you have five. Do we see a pattern here?"
"Okay, I inherited the Mercury. I never would have taken the Jeep if Jim were still alive. And the truck is for work."
"So, you need a nine passenger gas guzzler? Let me ask you something, how many kids are you planning to have?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"I asked you a question."
"I have no plans in that regard."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Exactly."
"You know what? Never mind. Can we go now?"
"Yes."
"In my car?"
"Sure."
"What are the chances of me driving?"
"I couldn't tell you."
"That's what I thought."
H-5-O
"Really bad news," Kono said when Danny and Steve got to HQ. "The governor just called."
"That's always a sign of impending doom," Danny said.
"If history is to be believed."
"What's the really bad news," Steve asked.
"There was a riot last night at Halawa Correctional. Victor Hesse came up missing this morning."
Silence fell over the room. Steve cursed under his breath.
"Every available officer is searching for him," Chin said. "And we just got the security footage from the prison. We'll start going through it to see if we can find out how he escaped."
Steve still hadn't said anything. Danny started to ask him a question, but he held up his hand. Danny thought he might be about to say something, but then he turned and walked away. The sound of his office door closing echoed in the quiet room.
"Give him a minute," Kono said, as Danny stared after Steve. "It's the second time this guy's come back to haunt him."
Danny nodded and turned back to the other. "Okay, what can we do in the meantime?"
"Let's start checking the video," Chin said, bringing it up on the screen.
"Okay, we need to determine how it started," Danny said.
"And if Victor Hesse had something to do with it," Kono said. "If it was staged, someone might know where to look for him."
Danny looked back at Steve's door. "We should go over there and see if anyone knows anything."
"You know he doesn't deal with things when he's alone," Chin said quietly. "'A minute' might not be what he needs right now."
Danny wasn't sure if it was just him, but Chin and Kono seemed to be disagreeing more lately. He imagined it had something to do with the fact that Chin was seeing his ex-fiance again. Kono was obviously opposed to the whole thing and Danny tried to stay out of it. He didn't know enough to pass judgment.
He put it out of his mind. At the moment, Steve was on the other side of his door, not dealing with things, so Danny needed to get in there.
H-5-O
Chin and Kono were both sort of right. Steve felt like he needed a minute and then he would be fine. He wasn't dealing with anything.
When Danny let himself in, Steve was standing "at ease" with his back to the rest of the room. He turned when he heard the door close.
"Danny, I—"
"You don't have to say anything," Danny interrupted. "We're gonna catch this guy, and this time, he's not going to make it out alive because if you don't shoot him in the face, I will."
"This is all part of something else though," Steve said in an absent voice. "Hesse isn't the one calling the shots. Has anyone talked to Kaye?"
"Not that I know of."
"We need to get her in here. And we need a tail on Wo Fat. If Hesse tries to contact him, we need to know."
"You think he'd be that stupid?"
"No. But in the event. Of course, there's Sang Min, too."
"Yeah. This day just keeps getting better."
"I need to go home."
"Wait. Why?"
"McKenzie needs to know what's going on. If Hesse comes after anyone..."
"It'll be her. Okay, but we need to go over to the prison and start questioning inmates."
"Take Kono with you."
"Yeah, the short guy and the pretty girl should be very intimidating to murderers and the like."
"Okay, take Chin. He's intimidating."
"True. Fine. Just call when you're on your way back, okay?"
"Yeah."
H-5-O
It was late July and McKenzie was putting together lesson plans for the fall semester. She had been a little under the weather lately and thought she'd get a head start.
She was surprised when she heard Danny's car in the driveway. Steve had only left a little while ago. She got up from the couch and went to the window. Steve was the only one in the car and he walked slowly up to the house. The look on his face was the one he had when he talked about his father.
McKenzie wondered of Steve had found out something about the people who had Jack McGarrett killed. Still she wasn't sure why he would make a special trip home in the middle of the morning. But she had a feeling she was about to find out.
"Hey," Steve said as he came in the door.
"Hey," McKenzie replied. "Are you okay?"
Steve didn't respond, but went to sit on the couch. McKenzie moved her folders and sat next to him. She wrapped her hand around his arm and waited for him to tell her what was going on.
"No," he said. "No. I'm not okay. Victor Hesse. The man who killed my father... He escaped from prison last night." Steve turned so he could look McKenzie in the eye. "There's a lot I've never told you because it wasn't important then, but it is now. When Hesse resurfaced last time, he tried to kill Chin. I thought it was about revenge, but now we know he's working for Wo Fat, who actually ordered both my parents' deaths. I still can't figure out why. Hesse might try something again, so you needed to know."
McKenzie wasn't sure what to make of that. She had known there was a lot of Steve's life that he kept to himself and she was okay with that, but here it was coming back to him. She could see the pain in his eyes when he mentioned his parents, and it seemed almost like he blamed himself.
Of course, it probably didn't help that his sister wouldn't answer his calls.
"What do you need me to do?" McKenzie asked.
Steve leaned over and kissed her head. "Be careful," he said. "Keep you gun on you. I'm going to ask for a security detail around the house."
"Steve, is that necessary?"
"It's not just for you. I want to feel safe in my own home."
"Okay. You be careful too."
"I will."
