"Salvation: Forever and Always: Our Ohana"
CHAPTER TWO
Title: "Salvation: Forever and Always: Our Ohana"
Author: Michelle Heath
Rating: MA for adult situations and language
Summary: Story #7 in the Salvation series. Mr. and Mrs. Tony Montgomery announce the birth of their son.
Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!
Date Written: August 5, 2011=
(Kono isn't at all surprised to see Libby walk into her office. She's well aware that everyone is worried about her and, if she's honest, she's worried, too. In the three weeks since Tony deployed, she hasn't been able to sleep very well, she's had to force herself to eat, and she's exhausted. What's got her the most annoyed, though, is the fact that she can't get a grip on her emotions. Of course, everyone's assured her it's just due to the hormonal changes from the pregnancy, but she hates feeling so out of control. She may not want to admit it, but she's glad to see Libby and manages a real smile for the older woman.)
"Hey, Libby."
"Hello, dear, I understand you aren't sleeping very well."
"I'm not. . I can't, Libby, every time I manage to drift off, I have these dreams. . I see Tony. . He's . .He's in enemy territory, and. . . He always, always . . Dies."
"Oh, Sweetie."
"Steve told me that, where SEALs on an op are concerned, no news is good news, but . . I can't help but worry about him."
"Well, of course, you can't, dear, but you have that precious baby to think about, too. You're not doing either one of you any good by letting your imagination run wild. . . Mike was called up on ops all five times I was pregnant, and he was on an op when I had three out of the four miscarriages; he didn't get back until it was all over. He was called up twice when I was pregnant with Caroline, but, thank God, he was there when she was born. The point is, dear, that I worried so much about Mike, that I neglected myself and the baby I was carrying. Now, the doctors all assured us that I did nothing to cause my miscarriages, but I will always wonder if my frame of mind and, consequently not eating and sleeping properly when Mike was away, didn't somehow contribute to losing those babies."
"You had Caroline, Libby, and you and she were both fine."
"Yes, dear, but, by the time I was pregnant with Caroline, I had learned that I had to concentrate on taking care of the baby by taking care of myself. Oh, I still worried about Mike, but I also realized that he wouldn't want me to allow anything to happen to his child, our child, so, every time my thoughts would start drifting to Mike and where he might be and what he might be doing, I'd think about our baby. It was hard at first, but, eventually, I had trained myself to turn negative thoughts into positive ones."
(Steve, Danny, and Chin, on the pretense of looking over some information at the smart table, keep casting concerned glances in the direction of Kono's office while she and Libby are talking. All three men know that Kono will give them Hell if she catches them acting like protective big brothers, but, well, they can't help being worried about her, and they all know three women who will kill them if they don't take care of Kono. Since none of them want to find themselves sleeping on the couch for an undetermined amount of time, they've decided to keep a close eye on Kono whether she likes it or not. Finally, Chin, who's standing where he can see into Kono's office without being too obvious, tells Steve and Danny that the two ladies are hugging one another and Kono actually has a real smile on her face. The three men quickly "get serious" about the information they're supposedly looking at as the two women join them.)
"Kono and I are going out to the Officer's Club for lunch; we're meeting Sam and Caroline. I'd invite all of you to go with us, but it looks like you're terribly busy. After lunch, this sweet girl and I are going shopping, so don't expect her back for awhile. In fact, Steve, dear, Kono's taking the rest of the day off. Oh, and Mike and I will expect all of you for dinner tonight at our house; come over whenever you want to, but dinner will be ready around seven-thirty. That will give Lana plenty of time to get home and change, won't it, Chin?"
"Um, yeah, Libby that should be fine."
"Okay, then. See you all later."
(And before Steve, Danny, or Chin can say a word, Libby has "swept" Kono out of the Five-0 offices. Chin, who had been watching the two women with his mouth hanging open, turns around to find Steve and Danny wearing identical grins on their faces.)
"Your mother-in-law doesn't mess around, does she?"
"No, Chin, she doesn't."
"At least she got a real smile out of our girl."
"I just hope Tony gets back here before Kono goes into labor. It's not going to be pretty if he doesn't."
"Which reminds me, I told Kono I'd call some of SEAL buddies and see if I could find out anything about Tony's team. I'm going to do that right now."
(True to his word, Steve heads into his office and starts making phone calls. Danny and Chin, having actually found something that needs to be dealt with report-wise, get started and also check Kono's desk for anything that may need their attention. Half an hour later, Steve finds them in Chin's office and they stop their conversation as soon as they take one look at the dark frown on his face.)
"First, we never had this conversation. Secondly, Tony's team is in the Middle East and they're on a major op; one that's going to take them some time to execute. And, before you ask, I don't know where they are specifically, and I don't have any more details on the op. Guys, I think we need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that Tony's not going to be here when the baby's born."
"Damn."
"Kono's going to go ballistic."
"We're not telling Kono, Chin. I'm not supposed to know anything I just told you two, so we cannot tell her."
"Can we tell our wives?"
"Danny, you moron, what did I just say?"
"You said we're not telling Kono, you didn't say anything about Sam or Caroline or Lana, Steven."
"No, you cannot tell anyone else what I just told you!"
"Fine, you don't have to get all huffy about it."
" 'Huffy', Danny, really?"
"Just saying . . . "
"Just don't say anything, Danno."
"Really? The Danno thing again?"
"Yeah, I think it's catchy."
