How I think Kono gets rescued (:
Kono watches the dark shadow which was the boat disappear into the distance and her heart is hammering in her chest. She struggles, thrashes about and tugs at the ropes that are tied securely around her wrists and ankles.
They don't even loosen.
Her last frantic gulp of fresh air is growing stale in her lungs. The oxygen seeps out as quickly as the carbon dioxide fills her lungs. She blinks once, twice. Years of surfing has rendered her immune to the sting of salt water in her eyes. She kicks out again, desperate.
She can't breathe.
Please, she pleads. It is soft, a quiet sound that echoes in her head. On days where she felt particularly morbid, she decided that she would either die in the line of duty or of old age, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. All she feels now is the press of water on her skin. It drags her slowly down towards the ocean floor.
The ocean she loves so dearly is claiming her for her own.
She thinks of love and the people she's ever loved, thoughts flashing through her mind like lightning. She doesn't have time, no more time, because Chin isn't coming.
No one is coming.
She thinks of Chin big brother first. He was always there for her while she was growing up, a little lost girl in their large extended family, and now it's time to return the favor. She doesn't know why but she knows this drowning has got something to do with him and like him, she would do anything for ohana family.
Her oxygen is thinning and even though she's lived in near and in the water all her life, she isn't a fish. A few more seconds a minute maybe to say goodbye.
She thinks of her parents and then decides not to. It hurts too much.
She thinks of Steve and Danny, her Five-0 brothers who called her rookie but treated her like a proper cop. Steve gave her a chance and Danny gave her friendship. She always knew she could count on them to have her back, and she would cover them as fiercely as she covered Chin because they were family a team.
Dark spots invade her vision. It threatens to black out completely. She holds on to the final scrap of existence Adam because there are so many people she needs to say goodbye to but she has to choose.
He appears in her mind the way he appeared that first day. He sat at the bar in nothing but a pair of board shorts and nursed a beer, his gaze cast towards the ocean. His hair was wet, slicked back, and his surfboard leant against the counter beside him. She remembers his smile so uncertain and the look in his eyes so much sadness. They talked a lot that day well into the night and when she pulled up at her small house at three in the morning, she had his number in her cell and an invitation to call any time.
She keeps that image in her mind, that image of their first meeting as everything goes dark and suddenly, she doesn't know anything anymore.
She doesn't realize she's smiling.
She sputters as lights explode in her vision. She slams her eyes shut and coughs, sea water surging from within her. She is tilted to the side. There is a bright light somewhere in front and a noise that she can't quite place.
"It's okay, Kono, I gotcha."
She heaves in oxygen blissful oxygen, replenishes her starving lungs. She's soaked. She's lying on a hard surface wood? with a towel beneath her. She recognizes the roaring in her ears as the motor of a boat.
"Come on, baby, open your eyes."
She knows that voice. Her throat feels raw as she rolls back and cracks her alive eyelids open. She sees a shadowy figure hovering above her, backlit by the light.
Kono?
His voice sounds hollow, but she knows that voice. She reaches out please don't let me be dead and her hands are shaky. A warm hand grasps hers and holds it tight, bringing it to gentle lips that caress each knuckle.
"Kono, it's me. Come on, you're scaring me."
Kono winces at the naked fear in his voice and gathers her strength.
"Don't be, Adam," she whispers. Adam sucks in a breath as he presses her hand to his cheek.
"Thank God," he murmurs and kisses the back of her hand. "I was so worried when you didn't show up for our date. Then one of my old contacts called me and said they saw you tied up on a boat."
He shudders as he exhales. Kono realizes he's crying.
Kono brings her hand to wipe away the tears.
"I'm okay," she says. Her throat feels like sandpaper but she's okay.
"Don't do this to me again," he demands quietly, leaning down to gather her in his arms.
Kono smiles up at him and hums in response.
He is looking down at her with wet eyes, his handsome features twisted into a mixture of fear, anger, relief and so much love. His hair is wet slicked back and his shirt is clinging to his body like a second skin. His lips mouth her name and come down to join hers. He tastes salty, like the sea.
She commits this image to memory.
Thanks for reading! (: