Disclaimer: I don't own H50

Author's note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews and for all the favorites/watches. ^^ This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I have good things planned in the upcoming chapters!

Chapter Three

"Hi, my name is Claire."

"Hi, Claire," A chorus of voices responded.

Claire wrung her hands nervously as she gazed around the circle at all the women now watching her. They were a variety of ages, the oldest maybe in her late thirties, the youngest looking like she still belonged in high school. Two smartly dressed men were the only men in the group and each had a clip board resting on his lap.

Taking a steady breath, Claire continued, "I just moved here from New Jersey. My brother lives here and I thought if I came out here, he could help me. Jersey just didn't feel safe without him, you know."

One of the men, Clark was his name, made a note on his clip board, "How long were you a victim, Claire?"

Claire blinked, taken aback by the label she had never thought to put on herself, "I'm not a victim."

Dave, the other counselor, nodded, "That's right, Claire. We are all in control of our lives, we're all fighting to build ourselves up. We're not victims, we're fighters. What Clark meant was how long were you in the bad relationship?"

"Sorry," Claire mumbled. "Um, I was with Glen for five years. At first, he was charming. I thought I was so lucky to have him. He started saying things after the first year, like I was stupid or I couldn't do anything right. The first time he hit me, he told me I deserved it and I believed him. I let myself become dependent on him, let me tell me what I could or couldn't do, who I could see or talk to. My brother called after two years of not talking, just to tell me he loved me. That's when I decided to leave Glen. I didn't want him to control me anymore."

One of the women sitting next to me took hold of my hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. "That's very good," Dave said. "You've been through a lot but now you have the opportunity to take control of your life and be who you want to be."

Another woman raised her hand, "I found it helpful when I first left Lewis to express myself in how I dressed and what I looked like."

"Like a make-over?" Dave nodded, "That's a great idea, Hope. You ladies are strong, powerful women. It's time to unlock that part of yourself and not let anyone else rule your life. Take control. Be strong."

Claire pulled her ten year old, newly acquired and newly running – thanks to Danny and Steve – truck up to the Palace. 5-0 was between cases right now, only hanging around the office to finish a mountain of paperwork that needed to be completed. She had made plans to meet Leilah as soon as the work day ended so she opened the door, swung down from the cab and headed into the building. When she entered the 5-0 office, she was immediately swept up by Leilah who hugged her before taking her hand and pulling her further into the office to meet everyone.

"This is Chin Ho Kelly," Leilah introduced the Hawaiian, who smiled warmly and shook Claire's hand. Claire only flinched a little so she considered that a huge improvement and did a little happy dance in her mind. She was strong and she was in control. Take that, Glen. Next, Leilah was introduced to a Hawaiian woman, "Kono. She's going to accompany us on our little excursion today."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Claire shook Kono's hand.

"Nice to meet you, too," Kono grinned. "I hear you're our Haole's little sister; don't worry, I won't hold that against you."

They all laughed as Steve and Danny come out of Steve's office. Danny frowned, "Don't let her ruin your image of me as the perfect, saintly brother, Claire."

"She doesn't need Kono's help with that," Steve teased.

Danny flung his hands up, "Really? What is this? I knew you guys were all planning my early demise but bringing my innocent little sister into it is just low, even for you, Steve."

"Where are you guys going?" Steve asked as the girls turned to leave.

"Girl time, bro," Kono replied over her shoulder. "See you all at the boss's house later for a Bar-b-que!"

Steve gave her one of his classic looks, "Was I just volunteered for something?" Chin and Danny only laughed.

"Just don't stay out too late," Danny called after them only to be met with vague waves and whatevers.