Chapter 2
Hospital sheets sucked. They were itchy and rough and threadbare from overuse. Kono shifted in her bed, trying to get comfortable. The bright sunlight from the windows was making that somewhat impossible, though. Her body was still exhausted from the night before and craved more sleep. But sleep was proving to be elusive. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the light, and froze.
She definitely wasn't expecting to see that.
"Hey." Steve's rough was rough and tired, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He was wearing what Danny referred to as his uniform—khaki cargo pants, white v-neck shirt, and thick soled black boots. His clothes were rumbled and disheveled as if he had worn the same thing all night.
Kono slowly pushed herself up on one arm. Her brow creased as an errant thought came to her. "Have you been watching me sleep?"
With a wry smirk he rubbed a hand over his jaw. "I wanted to make sure you were OK."
"Yeah, I'm—" She stopped herself, suddenly remembering something important. The focus in her eyes sharpened. "Why are you here? Danny said you left the country to find Shelburne. Did you—"
"It's a long, complicated story better left for another day," he said softly, shaking his head. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "How are you feeling?" His blue eyes swept over her quickly before landing back on her gaze.
She winced as a sharp pain lanced through her head. "Been better," she admitted. She lifted a hand to her head and grimaced at the matted tangles she felt. "Ugh."
"I can get the doctor." Steve got to his feet quickly, towering over the bed.
"No," Kono said, shaking her head slightly. "Just a headache."
He slowly sank back into the chair, the plastic cushions creaking in protest under his weight. His expression was unreadable as he looked over her. After a beat he leaned back, jaw tight. "I'm sorry, Kono."
She frowned, puzzled. "For what?"
"I should've been there." He shook his head in disgust. "I should have been there to protect you."
She sighed softly. "Boss, it's not your fault. Unless you were planning on following me home, there was no way you could have stopped this."
He didn't look convinced. "You're part of my team. I should have been here for you. For Chin."
"How's Malia?" She tried changing the subject.
His face cleared a bit. "She's resting. Doctor's think she'll make a full recovery. Probably can go home the end of the week."
"And Chin?"
"I don't think he slept more than a few minutes last night, but he seems to be holding up OK. I saw him a few hours ago."
She nodded slowly. "Any idea when I can get out of here?"
"How quick can you get dressed?" Danny asked as he nudged the door open all the way. He smiled warmly at her, a sheaf of papers clutched in one hand. He waved them dramatically. "Your release papers."
Kono sighed, grateful, and swung her bare legs over the side of the bed.
"Whoa!" Danny protested, turning around. "Uh, Kono, the gown…" He huffed out a long breath as Steve fought back a smile.
Kono rolled her eyes, too excited about leaving to be embarrassed by the gaping back in her hospital gown. Yet another reason why she hated hospitals.
She hesitated on the edge of the bed. "Any idea where my clothes are?"
"Uh, I think the nurse took them and we bagged them as evidence," Danny answered, still turned around. "I'll see if they have a set of scrubs you can use or something." He hurried out of the room.
Shaking her head, Kono edged off the bed until her feet hit the cool tiles of the floor.
Steve eyed her warily. "What are you doing?"
"I need to go to the bathroom," she answered, giving him an odd look. She kept her hands braced on the bed, testing her legs. She grimaced at the slight wobble. The bathroom was less than ten feet away. She would be fine.
As if reading her mind, Steve quietly asked, "You need help?"
She snorted softly. "Boss, please. I've been doing this on my own for years." She got to her feet and made it two steps before her legs buckled under her.
Steve had stood as soon as he saw the slight tremors rack her body. He moved fast and caught her as she started to stumble, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her tight against his side.
"Shit," she muttered, her voice shaking slightly. She forced out and uneasy laugh as she glanced over, slightly unnerved to see Steve's face inches from her own.
"You OK?"
"Yeah," she replied stiffly. "I think—"
Steve swept her up into his arms as if she weighed no more than a pillow.
"What are you doing?" She winced at the high pitch of her voice. "I can walk!"
He scoffed and shook his head, opening the door to the bathroom and barely jostling her. He set her down next to the toilet.
Kono knew her cheeks were red. She could feel the crimson burn all the way to her neck. Having her boss carry her around while she was wearing next to nothing was humiliating. She could still feel the heat from where his hands and arms had cradled her bare skin.
As the only girl in a mostly boys-only club, she always felt like she needed to prove herself and never show weakness. Having Steve carry her around was like taking a giant step back.
But it wasn't entirely unpleasant.
To his credit, his gaze never wandered from her face, despite the fact she knew the ties to her gown had slipped even more, exposing more of her backside.
He grimaced slightly and looked away. "Are you—"
"Oh God, this I can handle alone," she cut in quickly, her hands clutching the sink beside the toilet. She wasn't sure who looked more relieved—her or Steve.
He flashed her a quick smile and ducked out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind himself as Danny came back into the room holding green scrubs and a pair of disposable flip flops.
Danny glanced around quickly. "Where's Kono?"
Steve hooked a thumb at the door behind him. He leaned against the wall beside it. "Bathroom."
Danny gave him an odd look. "And you're waiting for her to come out?"
"She got a little shaky and I helped her," Steve replied defensively.
"Yeah, doctor said the knock on her head might mess with her balance a little."
"Should she be leaving the hospital?" Steve demanded, his eyes narrowed with concern.
As if on cue, Kono opened the door and fixed him with a hard glare. "I'm not staying here another minute. I just want to go home and take a shower." She took the clothes from Danny.
"One small problem," Danny said softly, trying to smile. "Your house is still a crime scene, Kono. HPD didn't finish processing it. Might be another day or two."
She groaned and leaned against the door. "Fantastic," she muttered darkly.
"You got family you can stay with?" Danny asked. "I don't think you should stay by yourself right now.
Kono hesitated. Usually she would stay with Chin, but all things considered, her cousin needed to focus on his wife and not her. She could always stay with her aunt or another cousin, but the idea wasn't appealing. Aside from Chin, her family hadn't been very happy she had chosen a career in law enforcement. She could already imagine what they would say about her being attacked and thrown off a boat.
She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I guess I could call my cousin, Lani. I can crash on her couch." Out of all the available relatives, Lani was the best choice. She was an eccentric bartender that kept odd hours with even stranger company, but she knew Lani wouldn't hassle her or ask too many questions.
"Why don't you just stay with me?"
Kono's eyes flew to Steve's, amazed she had just heard him say that.
"Kono stay with you?" Danny sputtered, his eyebrows raising to his hairline.
Steve made a face. "You stayed with me."
"I was desperate and out of other options," Danny retorted. His gaze shifted to Kono. "Trust me, his couch isn't that comfortable."
"She can stay in Mary's old room." Steve shrugged with one shoulder.
Danny's mouth dropped open and he raked a hand through his hair. "When I was there you told me I had to sleep on the couch!"
"Because I don't want you sleeping so close to me," Steve replied with a grin. His blue eyes glittered as he glanced at Kono. "He snores."
"I do n—" Danny broke off with a hiss. He breathed out hard through his nose, rubbing his jaw. "You know what? You two do whatever you want." He looked hard at Kono. "But don't say I didn't warn you when he chases you off with his insane rules."
"They're not insane," Steve snapped. "You're just a slob."
"And you're a compulsive neat-freak!"
"Guys!" Kono said, holding up her hands. She looked at Steve and smiled slightly. "Thanks. I'll stay with you. Can we just swing by my place to get a few things?"
"Still a crime scene, babe," Danny reminded her as Steve said, "Sure."
They both looked hard at each other, neither flinching.
"We'll catalog everything she takes," Steve said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
Danny rolled his eyes. "You're the boss."
"That's right, I am," Steve returned with a smirk. He cocked his head to the side and smiled smugly at his partner.
Danny sighed loudly and checked his watch. "I have to get Grace. Rachel's out of town with Stan, and Gabby has a meeting."
"Why don't you and Grace come by for dinner?" Steve offered. "We'll do burgers or something."
Danny nodded, already headed for the door. "Sounds good." He glanced back at Kono as she started to shut the door. "Kono, try to take it easy today, OK?"
She smiled noncommittally and shut the door. She set the clothes on the small table by the shower stall and turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes widened at what she saw.
Dark circles blackened the skin under her eyes and her hair was a total mess. There was no hiding the ugly bruise that spread from her temple to her cheek. She vaguely remembered one of the men hitting her when she was on the boat and tried fighting back. She managed to catch one in the knees before they tied her ankles together.
Sliding the gown off revealed more bruises and some scratches from being dragged down the dock. She reached for the clothes Danny had found and slowly pulled them on. She tried to comb her hair as best as she could with her fingers, finally resigning herself to the fact that she looked like crap and just needed to deal with it.
She walked slowly to the door and pulled it open, surprised to see Steve standing beside a wheelchair. She lifted her chin a notch.
"I can walk out of here."
They both knew it was a lie. She was already exhausted from the last five minutes on her feet and she knew he could read it in her eyes and posture.
"Sure you can," he agreed easily, "but its hospital policy."
"And we both know what a stickler you are for policies," she murmured, moving to the chair. She couldn't help but notice how his eyes tracked her every step and she knew if she stumbled he would catch her. Thankfully she made it to the chair and sank into it without incident.
He waited for her to get situated before pushing her out of the room and down the hall.
"Can we stop and see Chin and Malia?" she asked softly.
He paused by the elevators and hit a button. "She's in ICU, so only family and one visitor at a time. But Chin said he'd be over for dinner tonight when visiting hours were over."
Kono nodded slowly. "Right."
Steve pushed her into the elevator and then to the entrance of the hospital. He watched her carefully as she stood on her own and walked out the door slowly.
She blinked against the brilliance of the Hawaiian sun and let her eyes adjust to the bright array of colors and the warmth of the sun against her skin.
"I'm over there," he pointed, putting his hand on the small of her back to guide her.
Kono laughed outright at seeing his truck double parked by the curb. Only Steve would be brazen enough to do that. She made it to the passenger side as he unlocked the doors. She pulled hers open and eyed the seat.
His truck was significantly higher than her car, and she was wondering how she would make it up when his hands closed around her waist and picked her up. He set her in the passenger seat and closed the door as if he did that on a daily basis.
Kono watched him move around the truck and, realizing she was staring, scrambled to click her seatbelt in place before he got in. The truck roared to life as he started it and pulled out to exit the hospital parking lot.
They drove in silence and Kono slowly started to relax. She didn't feel the need to fill the empty space with small talk about useless things. But at the same time she became acutely aware of the way his truck smelled like him—the soft scent of his soap and saltwater mixed together. And the way he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel to an old Metallica song as they drove.
It only took ten minutes to get to her small house and she grimaced at seeing the yellow police tape wrapped around the front door. He put the truck in park and fixed her with a calm stare.
"If you want I can just run in and grab a few things for you," he suggested gently.
She considered the idea for a moment before the image of Steve rifling through her underwear drawer popped into her mind. She choked for a second and coughed hard.
"I'm good," she assured him when worry crowded his eyes.
Without another word she opened the door and slid down to the ground. She met him at the front of the truck and they walked up together.
Kono hesitated in front of the door. She glanced over at him. "I don't know if it's locked," she admitted.
Steve tried the door and it didn't give. "I have a pick set in my truck."
She laughed and motioned to the flowerbed a foot away. "Or we can use the spare key I have inside the rock over there."
He smiled broadly. "Or we could do that." He retrieved the key and opened the door smoothly, holding the tape aside so she could duck under.
She sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the disaster that was her living room. A lamp was smashed, her coffee table toppled, and her couch shoved in a strange direction. Several pictures had fallen off the walls. A fight had clearly taken place here. There was just one problem:
"I don't remember any of this," she whispered, looking at the damage.
"Whoa," Steve said softly. His hand settled on her shoulder. "You fought back, Kono. That's good."
She couldn't help but smile at the pride in his voice. "Yeah, but I don't remember what happened. It's totally blank."
His hand settled briefly on her shoulder. "Don't force it. It'll come back when you're ready."
"I guess so," she murmured as she moved past the room and headed down the hall to her bedroom. She grabbed an overnight bag from her closet and started throwing clothes into it. She could hear Steve moving around down the hall, probably looking for clues.
She headed for her bathroom and grabbed all her toiletries. She came back into her room, tossing them into the bag as Steve came to her room. He leaned against the doorframe and looked around.
Kono shifted, watching as he surveyed her room. He had been inside her house, but never here. She felt oddly exposed watching his eyes detailing her room. She watched his eyes linger on the single photo on her dresser.
It was a photo of Five-O, Malia and Grace at a King's game from a month earlier.
"That was a good day," he said softly, moving into the room slowly and picking up the frame.
She looked over his shoulder and nodded. "Yeah."
He put it back and looked over at her. "Did you notice if anything was missing?"
She shook her head numbly. She reached for the small jewelry box behind the picture and checked. Nothing was missing. She owned very little jewelry, and what she did have was mostly inexpensive.
A thought struck her and she moved quickly around Steve, heading for the hall closet. She flung the door open and grabbed the lock box from the top shelf. She spun the dial quickly and opened the lid, relieved to see her service weapon and badge still inside. She sighed and leaned against the door.
"Where's your back up?"
"Glove compartment in my car," she replied. She watched him head for the door, grabbing her keys from the hook on the wall as he went. He was back minutes later with the small gun he had gifted her at her makeshift graduation ceremony.
She took the badge and gun in the box as well as the one he had and put them all in her bag. She glanced one last time around her room.
"Ready?" Steve asked, already shouldering her bag.
Kono nodded and followed him out the door.
