Here's chapter two! Thanks so much to all who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed! You guys rock. :3
I'm planning on updating this, well, daily hopefully, but if that isn't how it goes, I apologize in advance.
Anyway, on to the story!
Steve carried her down the front steps, and over to the camaro. He set her down gently on the hood of the car, then crouched in front of her.
"Are you ok?" He asked, searching her face. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"Does it hurt anywhere?"
"No." She murmured. "You're hurt though, Sealio." She reached out, hand hovering over a spot on his bicep, where blood was soaking the fabric of his shirt.
Steve glanced at his arm. "It's just a graze." He said, turning back to her. "I'm fine."
"Where's mommy?"
Steve turned his head to the side, pressing his mouth against his arm.
"She's not coming back, is she?" She asked, tears gathering in her eyes.
Steve met her gaze, his own eyes damp with unshed tears. "No, Jesse, she's not."
Jesse really started crying now, leaning into Steve and sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his arms as he turned and leaned against the hood of the car. He kissed her head, brushing her hair out of her face with one hand, and then resting his cheek on her head.
They stayed like that until Duke arrived, other patrol cars following.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Steve straightened. He carried Jesse around the car, to the passenger side. He set her down, on her own feet, and opened to car door. Moving the seat forward, he held it there for her to climb into the back, then moved it back into position.
"I'll be right back. I'm just going to go grab some of your things, and Danny, and then we'll head out, okay?"
She nodded, settling back in the seat.
He ran back to the house, hopping up the steps, and through the front door.
Danny stepped out of the master bedroom, holding a picture frame in his gloved hands. "Is this your girlfriend's house?" He asked, gesturing towards Steve with the picture.
"Ex-wife's." Steve said, heading into Jesse's room.
"You were married?" Danny asked, stepping back into the master bedroom and replacing the picture, before following Steve into Jesse's room.
"Yes, Danny. I was married." Steve said, grabbing a blue and black backpack and emptying it on the bed. "Is that so hard to believe?"
Danny was about to say 'yes', when he stopped. He thought about it for a moment, then replied, "No, actually. It's not so hard to believe, weirdly."
Steve nodded his head slightly, as if thanking Danny for admitting that. He opened the closet door and pulled out some clothes, folding them and putting them in the backpack. Then he grabbed a few things off the desk, including a sketchbook and a pencil case, and added them to the bag. Opening a drawer in the desk, he pulled out a smallish pouch, and tucked it into the pack, on top of the sketchbook. Zipping the bag closed, he slung it over his shoulder, then grabbed a stuffed bear off the bed.
"Come on." Steve murmured, slipping past Danny again, heading down the hall to the front door.
Danny followed Steve out, and was a little surprised when the SEAL walked around to the passenger side. "You're not driving?"
"No, you go ahead." Steve said, climbing into the car.
Danny leaned down into the window, looking at Steve worriedly.
"Are you gonna get in or not?" Steve asked, throwing a scowl at Danny.
"Yeah, yeah." Danny muttered, climbing into the driver's seat.
As they started driving, Jesse turned her head to stare out the window, hands clasped in her lap. Steve kept glancing back at her, occasionally asking how she was doing.
Danny, having noticed the blood on Steve's arm, took advantage of Steve not really paying attention to where they were going, and took them to the hospital. Pulling into a parking space, he turned the car off, pulling his keys out of the ignition. He had expected Steve to snap at him, asking why they were there, but that's not what happened. Instead, Steve climbed out of the car, pulling the seat forward and taking the girl's hand to help her out of the back.
Danny blinked, surprised, before climbing out, and following them into the hospital.
Danny stood beside the bed, his arms crossed, thinking. Steve was currently getting his arm stitched up, and he kept glancing over to where the girl was getting looked over.
"Wait..." Danny said, causing Steve's attention to focus on him. "So, if that was your ex-wife's place, then she," He nodded towards the girl.
"Is my daughter, Jesse." Steve replied.
"How old is she?" Danny asked.
"Seven and a half." Steve said.
Half a year older than Grace. Danny thought.
"What happened to her..." Danny asked, waving his hand in a 'you know' gesture.
"Arm? Leg?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at Danny.
"Yeah."
"She was born without them." Steve said. "It's called Amelia, or Meromelia. The absence, or partial absence, of limbs when a child is born."
"Doesn't that affect other things as well? Like, her organs and the like?" Danny asked.
"It can, but not with Jesse. She's lucky." Steve said. "She was born just missing her left arm, just above her elbow, and her left leg, just below her knee. She doesn't have any other symptoms or anomalies from it."
Danny released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "That's good."
"Yes, it is." Steve murmured.
"Alright, Commander McGarrett. I'm all finished with your stitches." The nurse said.
"Thanks." Steve said, pulling his sleeve back down, covering the new bandage. He stood up and wandered over to Jesse, who was sitting on a bed on the other side of the room. Danny followed him, hanging back a bit.
"Hey, kiddo." Steve said.
Jesse had her head down, her hands folded in her lap, and her legs swinging slightly.
"Mr. McGarrett, I'm finished with the examination." The doctor said.
Steve followed the woman a few steps away.
"Your daughter is only suffering from a mild case of shock, which is understandable. Although I would have thought her symptoms would have been a bit more severe, based on what you told me when you came in." She said, holding a chart, presumably Jesse's. "I recommend keeping a close eye on her, make sure she drinks lots. If she seems any worse than she is now, or she doesn't seem to recover, I want you to bring her back in. Okay?"
Steve nodded. "I can take her home now, though?"
"Yes, she can go home." The doctor said, smiling reassuringly.