Thanks again for reading and commenting everyone! It was a cold, rainy day here and so I curled up on the couch with my laptop and got two chapters banged out!
A little business to clear up...I know that surviving a gunshot wound to the chest sounds pretty far fetched, but I did my research and it is possible! I may not have written it accurately, but I didn't take as much literary license with the situation as you might think.
I'm sorry to tell you that you will have to wait one more chapter to learn Steve's fate because I had this fuzzy family scene bopping around in my brain and thought that the morning after the surgery was as good a place as any for it. The man is in recovery anyway, so he's not doing anything too interesting! I'm a sucker for daddy's and their girls so I had to include this chapter. I think strong, confident women tend to be products of strong families with good role models, so having Katie's family included gives us that extra little peek into who she is. Plus, it gives a little bit more background on her while still leaving more to be uncovered. I hope you enjoy...
Chapter Four – The Love We Give
"There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself."
~ John Gregory Brown
The next morning…
The early morning sun shone through the window as it's golden beams of light greeted the sleeping body curled up in the middle of a large convertible sofa. Katie's body was wrapped tightly in a coverlet of scarlet and gold, like a birthday present, and a mane of soft, chestnut hair could be seen through the opening at the top of the blanket. The soft tuneful call of a bird out for some breakfast could be heard from outside, while two other figures made their way into and out of the room in which she slept undisturbed.
The sound of the pattering of two sets of feet upon the bamboo wood floors could be heard from the adjoining kitchen as the pair flitted around while they accomplished their task. Katie rolled over in her sleep and tried to get comfortable, however she didn't think that sleep was the most appropriate word to describe her current physical state. She found herself floating somewhere in the region between sleep and awake, where you want nothing less than the sandman to hit you with all he's got and whisk you away to a more peaceful place. But she knew that it wasn't going to happen. The tired surgeon shifted onto her side and was rudely awoken by an abrupt clanging of pots against pans. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open and she blinked until her eyes had adapted to the bright light of her family room. Her hands attacked her eyes to rub away the sleep from them and when she tried to sit up, the confusion caused by her unfamiliar surroundings immediately caused her to flop her back into the sofa cushions.
"Sleep well?"
Katie's eyes flew open again but she was unwilling to move any of her limbs that had been rendered numb by their few hours of inactivity. The drapes had not been completely closed over the windows the evening before, and the bright light of dawn was filtering into the room as it illuminated the smirking face of her father, retired Marine Corps Major General Francis "Frank" James.
"Not really," she replied, returning his smirk when she saw that her tall, broad shouldered father was wearing her hot pink "I Love to Cook with Wine…Sometimes I Even Put it in the Food" apron and holding a spatula. "Nice outfit."
"I thought so," Frank replied smoothly, not missing a beat. "I'm guessing you were too tired to even drag yourself upstairs to your bedroom?"
"I barely made it to the sofa," Katie agreed, unwrapping herself from the twisted blanket.
"Sorry, mom," Matt piped up from somewhere on the other side of the kitchen, "We were trying not to wake you."
As her eyes adjusted to the light, Katie asked, "What time is it?"
"7:30."
"And you're awake?" the surgeon asked incredulously, gaping at her son, "And dressed?" Focusing her attention on her father, she asked, "How did you do that?"
"I've been a parent for a very long time," Frank told his disbelieving daughter, handing her a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
But Matt gave his grandfather up in no time flat as he informed his mother with a grin, "He gave me 5 bucks."
"Dad…"
"And now he's giving it back," Frank interrupted his daughter's protest while shooting an evil eye at his big mouthed grandson, "For disloyalty."
But Matt wasn't going to back down quite so easily. Shaking his head as he poured himself a glass of guava juice, the youngster argued, "No way, gramps. You said that if I could be up and dressed and ready for breakfast by 7:30, you'd give me the money." Grinning up at his grandfather, he pointed out logically, "Well, here I am…up, dressed, and ready for breakfast."
"Breakfast," Katie blurted out, biting back a curse word. Looking guiltily at her son, she admitted, "I didn't go to the grocery…"
But she had no sooner gotten the words out of her mouth before her son walked around the counter and presented her a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, Portuguese sausage, and fresh fruit. Beaming at his mother, Matty announced, "All taken care of."
"Did that come out of my kitchen?" Katie asked in surprise as she put down her coffee to accept the generous plate of food.
"We stopped by the market last night on the way home," her father informed her, popping a slice of pineapple into his mouth.
"What do I owe you?"
"Nonsense," Frank James scoffed as he managed to look supremely insulted. "I raised a stubborn, independent, career woman who doesn't really need her dear old dad anymore, so the least I can do is buy some milk and eggs."
"I'll always need my daddy," Katie reassured him with a quiet smile as she looked lovingly up at the most important man in her life. As the classic example of a "daddy's girl", she was extremely fond of her father and thought him the cleverest and handsomest and most celebrated of men. Frank James had well groomed, aristocratic good looks with piercing dark eyes under a patrician brow, a strong jaw, and dark hair with touches of silver weaving their way throughout. He was trim for a man in his late sixties, with a straight back and square shoulders. The career military man had a serious demeanor most of the time, but when amused…usually by his daughter…his engaging smile and deep throated chuckle were legendary.
Watching his daughter enjoy her breakfast, the General leaned against the counter in the attached kitchen as he asked, "Long night last night, huh?"
Katie nodded and after swallowing a chunk of mango she clarified, "Long surgery."
"Five-O's Commander McGarrett?"
Katie should have known. As the former commanding general of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, there wasn't much that happened on the island that her father didn't know about.
When she nodded again and sipped her coffee, Frank added, "I knew his father, Jack McGarrett." Shaking his head and frowning to himself, he continued, "Shame what happened to that family. They were good people."
As much as she wanted to, Katie didn't ask what he meant by that since it was probably a conversation not to be had in front of Matty. So instead she said, "Strong people, too. I don't believe much in miracles, but there isn't another explanation as to how that man survived a gunshot wound to the heart."
"He had a good surgeon," her father reminded her simply, smiling to himself in equal parts affection and bemusement. Where had his little girl gone and when had this lovely, strong, capable woman taken her place? Taking a sip of his own coffee, he asked, "McGarrett was a S.E.A.L., wasn't he?"
Katie suddenly knew where the conversation was headed and focused on her eggs as she replied, "That's what Malia said."
"Like dad?" Matty asked suddenly, reminding his mother and grandfather that the boy was still in the room.
"Different team, I'm sure."
"Do you think he knew dad?"
The pretty brunette smiled at her son as she quipped, "I didn't get a chance to ask him, sport. But I will, okay?"
As Matt returned his mother's smile before taking his plate into the kitchen, Frank studied his daughter's suddenly expressionless face as he asked, "Tough one?"
"I'm a big girl, dad," she replied testily, taking another bite of her eggs, "I don't go weak in the knees and pine for my late husband every time a wounded soldier ends up on the operating table."
Frank drew in a deep breath at his daughter's quick and ill-tempered response but didn't rise to the bait of arguing with her. Instead he simply said in an even voice, "I think you need some more sleep, Mary Katherine."
Katie bit back her irritable response when she heard the warning tone in her father's statement. He didn't deserve to be the target of her prickly mood when he was simply being a concerned parent, so she let out a lengthy sigh and answered, "I think you may be right."
Slipping easily into military mode, he commanded, "Go on upstairs, shower off the night and crawl into your bed. You'll feel better after a few hours of shut eye."
Katie was about to protest but Frank interrupted, "Don't worry, I'll take care of things down here." Turning away from her to talk to Matt, he asked, "Lunches still cost 65 cents at that school of yours?"
Matt smirked and informed his grandfather, "More like $2.50."
"Ouch," the General remarked as he reached into his wallet to pull out some lunch money for the kid. Looking over at Katie, who was still on the couch, he repeated, "Go on now, go get some sleep. I'm sure your mother will stop by later to check on you."
"I'm not the one who got shot, dad," she reminded him tiredly, getting up to take her empty breakfast plate into the kitchen, "I'm exhausted, not dying."
"Since when does your mother need an excuse to come over to your house, cook you a meal, and clean up after you?" Frank asked, taking the plate and mug from her to place in the dishwasher.
"Since never!" Matt exclaimed, excited at the prospect of have a grandma-cooked dinner, "Will she make her famous roast chicken and potatoes? I love that!"
"I'll put in your request as soon as I get home," his grandfather replied, "Now, go get your book bag and let's get ready to go."
"I don't have to take the bus?" the ten year old asked excitedly, "All right…two days in a row!"
As the father and daughter duo watched Matt run out of the room to find his book bag, Katie turned back to her father and apologized, "I'm sorry, dad. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"It's okay, Katie-did," Frank replied warmly, "I'm used to your moods by now."
Quietly she confessed, "I held his heart in my hands and massaged it until it started to beat again." Swallowing the sudden overwhelming emotion she felt, Katie looked up at her dad and joked, "It was pretty intense."
"He was lucky you were there…"
"Any other surgeon would have done the same thing," Katie protested, interrupting her father's compliment.
"But any other surgeon didn't," Frank reminded her, "You did." Kissing her quickly on the forehead as Matt came back into the kitchen, he said, "Now go get some sleep while I take this guy to school."
"I love you," Katie called as her two favorite guys headed out into the Hawaiian sunshine and then headed upstairs to follow the General's orders.
