DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hawaii Five-O or any of the characters, sadly.
Steve was pacing the small cell, the stone making sharp slapping sounds as soon as his boots touched the floor. He paused, and took in his surroundings. It was like a horrible hotel room: it was dirty, but sufficient for daily needs. The only thing that truly stood out was an ornately decorated mirror, hanging proudly on the stone wall. Its gilded frame was golden and polished to a glowing shine. The mirror itself had three scratches in it, but was otherwise unimpaired and free of dust.
Steve resumed his pacing.
Who was Lori? He had no idea, but he should know. The tone in his captor's voice made clear that she thought he knew. The name Lori didn't ring any bells, and that troubled him.
He couldn't remember his past. At night, he would dream of sitting with five other men, laughing, with heavy guns in their hands and his own. But as soon as he would wake, those memories were gone.
"Alone, I am lethal. As a team we dominate," Steve said quietly to himself. He vaguely remembered that it was a motto, but for what? He wanted to know so badly. Maybe if he remembered one thing, the rest of his memories would come flooding back to him. It would be overwhelming, but worth it.
People said that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. What if Steve couldn't remember his life? He would see nothing from his past, only now and the future that was in front of him, and it didn't look very good. Steve wanted to see good memories when he died.
Steve quickly shook the morbid thoughts out of his head.
Maybe Lori, whoever she was, was in trouble. Steve's captor had tried using her as bait, he could tell. But he didn't know who she was. His captor, who had introduced himself as Wo Fat, thought that Steve knew him.
Steve still couldn't remember anything.
Of course, there were probably things he wouldn't wanted to have remembered. Wo Fat said things about Steve's father and a person named Shelbourne, and had flown into a rage and stormed out of the room when he did not see the telltale flicker of recognition in Steve's eyes.
At least Steve was alive.
His senses sharpened when he heard the sounds of fighting and footsteps, and he jumped back when a woman was thrust into the room. She managed to land a punch on one of the guards, and Steve saw the mischievous glint in her green eyes as she smirked when she heard the crack of a broken nose.
The guards slammed the door hurriedly and the woman screamed in Japanese, "Watashi wa, kitanai buta o anata o korosou to surutsumori desu!"
Steve silently translated her statement into English: "I'm going to kill you, filthy pig!"
They stood there in awkward silence, and she ran a hand through her tangled dirty-blond hair.
"Hi, Steve," she said quietly.
"Hi."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"That's good."
"Hey, what's your name?" Steve asked. He crossed his arms and shifted into a wide-legged stance.
Her eyes widened, but she managed to mask her surprise and whisper, "Lori."
"So you're the person Wo Fat is always talking about," Steve said, relief flooding his features.
He couldn't remember anything.
ANYTHING. Everything except for his name.
That really bugged him.
He wanted to know why he was here, what the tattoos on his arms were for, why there were cuts and bruises all over him, and the identity of the woman sitting next to him in the cell. The extent of his knowledge was that they were kidnapped and thrown into this cell together.
They didn't talk at all after they were "introduced." They sat next to each other almost all day, only not sitting next to each other when the other was dragged out of the cell to be interrogated by an Asian-looking man that seemed to dress classily in suits even in the hot, humid weather.
Now they were sitting next to each other, hips touching. The woman leaned on his shoulder, resting her head on it, and Steve wrapped his arms around her without hesitation.
The woman started crying, her green eyes becoming clearer as she silently let the tears run down her face.
He wiped the tears from her face, and she looked up at him as he did so.
"We are going to be okay." The woman looked up hopefully when Steve said that.
"I want to go back to Hawaii," the woman said calmly. "You think your memory will ever come back?"
"I have no idea," Steve said, pain and exhaustion thick in his voice.
"I'm Lori," Lori said, tucking a piece of hair with blood on it behind her ear, "considering we'll need another introduction."
Steve swallowed hard. "You know who I am?"
"Yes," Lori whispered, looking up at him. "More than these people. They never will."
"Why we were kidnapped?"
"Wo Fat-the guy that's been running this whole thing-might've done it so he could try and get the whereabouts of one of your friends, but considering you've gotten a clean slate, that's going to be hard for him, fortunately."
Steve closed his eyes, sighing, wishing to be anywhere but here, but to have Lori with him. His arms remained fixed around Lori's shoulders, and she kept her arms wrapped around his waist.
"Lay down," Lori quietly commanded, a tiny bit of force in her voice. Steve did so, resting his head in her warm lap. Lori began unconsciously running her fingers through his hair, and Steve grunted.
"Oh my gosh, sorry, I'll stop," Lori said nervously, stopping.
"No, it feels good." He smiled up at her as she ran her fingers through his hair, and she looked down at him, worry still on her face.
"You sure?"
"Mm-hmm."
Lori continued running her hands through Steve's hair, and he smiled the tiniest bit and yawned.
"I'm going to fall asleep if you keep doing that, Lori," Steve said quietly, looking up at Lori with his intense blue gaze.
"You want me to stop?" Lori murmured, resting her hands on his shoulders.
"Nope." Lori chuckled and continued playing with Steve's hair, looking out the window with iron bars preventing their freedom. She looked outside, knowing the world was out there just within reach, but she couldn't. Lori unknowingly stopped toying with his hair as she gazed sadly outside.
Steve had grunted when Lori stopped, but looked up at her, worried, when he saw her stare so full of melancholy it made him sad too.
"This isn't unlike my childhood," Lori joked quietly, and carefully placed her hands on Steve's chest. The warmth that came from Lori's hands was intoxicating to Steve.
"I wish I knew more about you."
"You did, but Wo Fat, the charming man that he is, decided to undo all that."
"Mmm."
The door opened slowly and in walked Wo Fat.
"Hello," he said cooly, and Steve immediately felt anger rise in his chest. "Lori, please come with me."
Lori slowly got up, gently resting Steve's head on the cold floor and walking over to Wo Fat, and he tightly gripped her arm and dragged her out of the room.
Wo Fat suddenly threw her on the floor and screamed, "TELL ME!"
Lori's eyes remained calm-looking and she whispered, "I don't know who Shelbourne is. Steve didn't know me well enough or trust me enough to tell me because I had only recently been forced on the team."
"Forced?"
"Governor Denning."
There was a long, silent pause, and Lori's captor pulled a photo out of his pants pocket and tossed it onto the floor.
Lori picked it up, and panic and fear and infinitesimal amounts of anger filled her. "NO!" she screamed, her hands shaking.
It was a photo of Danny, shot in the shoulder.
"No, no, no, no. You...you. I'm going to KILL you," Lori stuttered.
Wo Fat smirked. "I see that you care for him," he said calmly.
"I care for all of them!" Lori cried. "They're a family, and I'm not part of that. Why couldn't you have just taken me, and left Steve?"
"It looks as if you've almost figured out our plan."
"What?" Lori whispered.
"We're returning Steve to Hawaii."
"And keeping me here."
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"Thank you?"
"I do not deserve to be a part of their family," Lori whispered. "You're hurting them by keeping him here."
"Sure," Wo Fat almost purred. He gripped her arm tightly, hauling her up, and dragged her down the hallway back to the cell where Steve was.
Wo Fat opened the door violently and threw Lori on the floor, then turning on his heel and walking out, shutting and locking the door.
"Hey," Steve whispered.
"Hey," Lori said wearily. She stretched out on the floor, extending her long legs and arms. She closed her eyes, aware of the pain and exhaustion radiating through her body. Worry flitted across her mind when she thought of Danny.
Steve scooted over and put his warm hand on Lori's. "Any news?"
"Yeah, actually, Wo Fat's letting you go. Thank goodness," Lori said, smiling. She left out the part about Danny.
"And you?"
Lori's face fell when he asked, tears glimmering in her eyes.
"I stay."
"No!" Steve whispered. "I don't know anyone else anymore."
Lori looked around the room, anywhere but Steve's eyes. When she looked up, she saw an open square in the ceiling.
Two crates.
"I may be able to escape, actually," Lori said, but grabbed Steve's hands and looked him square in the eye. "You can trust three people: Danny, Chin Ho, and Kono. They are your non-biological family. You don't need me."
"I trust YOU. Lori. You have to escape," Steve whispered urgently, gripping Lori's hand like a lifeline. "I don't know anyone else!"
Lori ignored his remarks and said quietly, "Repeat their names back to me," and tears leaked out of her eyes.
Steve wiped them away, part of him knowing that the probability of her escaping alive was small and hating it, and replied, "Danny, Chin Ho, and Kono."
Steve was taken out of the room, and Lori made sure she heard no footsteps before she stacked the crates up and climbed out her prison.
Fresh night air greeted her, and she welcomed it. She clambered onto the concrete roof, and walked quietly to the side, and jumped off onto the ground.
There was a guard on the ground, and he looked at her with wide eyes. Lori punched him hard enough to knock him out and took his gun and crushed his comms unit.
She ran into the forest, running alongside the road. She heard the rumbling of a motor and shied away from sight, fading into the trees. Lori's heart leapt into her chest when she saw Danny alive and well, unharmed, saw Chin and Kono. Breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Steve.
Lori ran faster, faster. She ran onto the road, in front of the ATV that was carrying them. Chin stopped it and smiled beatifically. Steve jumped out of the ATV and hugged her tightly. He kissed the top of her head, and kept his arms loosely wrapped around her neck.
"Thank goodness you're okay," he murmured into her ear.
"Let's roll, come on," Lori urged, grabbing Steve's hand and leading him to the vehicle.
They all drove off, back to home.