Hello dear readers! here is the fourth chapter of this story, and I really hope you will appreciate it. There will be two other chapters; the last one will be the epilogue and will be shorter than the five previous chapter. It will also link with the beginning of the episode following Steve's rescue, season 5 episode 8.

I also did my best to improve my writing and make shorter paragraphs, because I know that big paragraphs are sometimes boring and as a reader just like you, we often zap them and start over a shorter one or where there are dialogues.

Please, as usual, leave me some reviews about your thoughts on this chapter ^^

Enjoy!

"I can't thank you enough for telling me everything about Steve's story and Wo Fat. But, as his next of kin, I will ask you not to come close to him. Not until he feels good again."

Joe accepted the decision made by Danny not without difficulty. But he too knew that meeting him today would not be a good idea. Now that this whole story with Wo Fat was over, he realized how bad he had been wrong all along. Steve was the strongest man he knew, the soldier he trained and trusted most. And most importantly, he could probably have faced all this information without flinching, without being shaken. He was the best physically and mentally to endure everything, and for the first time in his life, the newly retired Commander White regretted what he had done. Even though he had no choice but to lie to the man he considered his own son, he hardly dared to imagine the pain that Steve had endured all those years as he learned how the man he saw as his mentor had lied to him from the beginning.

Treason. It was the only word that came to his mind. Having lied to the person he trusted most, hiding from him that his mother never died in that car accident for nearly twenty years, keeping secret the connection between Shelburne and Doris, then between Wo Fat, Doris and him. All this was too much. Steve was right to be mad at him, and he couldn't blame him. There would come a day when he would have to face the Commander for further explanations, where he would also face his mother for these same clarifications. But today was not a good time, far from it. McGarrett had to focus on his healing and had to sort through what he had learned, pull himself together and move on. From what the detective had just told him, it wouldn't be all sunshine and roses, but he never doubted that he would be there for his best friend.

"You are right, Detective Williams. Steve is not in any mood to face me right now. He will need time to process."

"Thank you. But before we get out of this room, let's summarize what we have, shall we? Because I'm not sure to have understood everything."

"Tell me what you think is right, and I'll tell you", Joe assured.

"Alright. Wo Fat knew from day one that Shelburne killed his father. Although it appeared that his mom died instead and his father became a prisoner. Right?"

"Indeed."

"So he tracked down Shelburne when he was old enough, I guess? Trained as a secret Chinese Agent to have all the necessary abilities, the contacts and all? He made an alliance with the Yakuza."

"You're totally right for now."

"Okay. After some time, he was close of discovering who Shelburne was, and as Doris knew that he would kill everyone in his path, she faked her own death in order to protect her husband and their two children, Steve and Mary. That sounds suspicious for me."

"She raised Wo Fat, she knew that he would have stopped his vendetta in order to mourn her. He considered Doris as his own mother."

"So she thought... What... That she would have time to kill or stop Wo Fat before he could have a chance to discover who Shelburne was or kill her family?"

"That was the plan, yes. It was to gather enough information about Wo Fat to put him in jail. But as you can guess, he was pretty clever and thorough."

"Alright. As he was... Mourning Doris, he discovers that her husband is one of the best cops in Hawaii and decided to ask him for an investigation about Shelburne? Is that it?"

"I don't know. I think so. That would fit the whole story. There's no way John would have found this name on his own. I didn't give it to him, I am sure Doris didn't either because otherwise, he would have known that his wife was Shelburne. Wo Fat was the only one able to give this name to him."

"Okay, so he starts investigating, probably finding some dirty cops at the same time. As Wo Fat was a friend of Governor Jameson and John was a friend too, they met several times. I guess after some time, John suspected Wo Fat and Jameson to be dirty as well?"

"Probably, maybe that's why Wo Fat wanted him dead."

"But John had information about Shelburne, Wo Fat needed him, so what changed his mind?"

"The Hesse's brother", Joe firmly assured.

"What about them?" Danny asked, frowning because he didn't know what Joe meant.

"Steve, John's son was after them, and they were close to the Yakuza and Wo Fat. I guess the latter hired them for his dirty task. I am pretty sure Wo Fat organized everything from now on. Steve was deployed somewhere, tracking down some terrorists I guess, and they asked him on a black op in North Korea in order to capture Anton Hesse. I am confident that Wo Fat knew it would happen and asked Viktor to fly in Oahu and interrogate John about Shelburne. He knew that Viktor would do everything to free his brother and that Steve would also do everything in order to free his father.

"Okay, so maybe the deal was: you release Anton and I release your father?"

"Yes, but it didn't go as planned, as you can guess. Viktor tracked down Steve's signal in order to free his brother. What he surely didn't expect was that Steve was resourceful and he accidentally killed Anton in the process."

"And that accident killed Stev's father. I am sure Wo Fat didn't expect that one."

"I don't think so. After that event, Steve inherited John's investigation about Shelburne and his wife's death."

"So he was the only one able to answer Wo Fat's question. That's why he captured him in North Korea."

"Yes."

"But he didn't know anything at the time, right?"

"I know I should have told him everything, but against Wo Fat, I had no choice in order to save his life. If he knew something, Wo Fat would have known and we would have never found Steve after that."

"Okay, stop. Uh... If Steve knew who was Shelburne, you are really sure that Wo Fat would have done everything to have this information?"

"For sure. Instead of killing him. He is Doris' son, he surely wouldn't have killed him, he respected Doris too much for that."

"That crazy. Let's say it is true, okay? Steve capture him in Japan, sent him back to Hawaii and met Shelburne, who appeared to be his mother."

"You're 100% right."

"They came back together in Hawaii but Wo Fat escaped. Delano informed him that Shelburne is in Oahu and went to the safe house. He faced Shelburne for the first time with the intention of killing her but realized that it was Doris. Why he didn't kill her?"

"As I told you sooner, he had too much respect for her. He couldn't harm her. I guess he didn't expect that. He realized that she surely felt guilty about the operation that had killed both his parents and that was why she raised him? Seeking for forgiveness?"

"So he ran away, and Doris covered him. He got informed that his father was still alive, so he captured Steve, again, for information?"

"That's my best guess, indeed. He probably asked Doris when she visited him back in Colorado and she said she didn't know. Steve became the only one able to answer his new questions."

"So he abducted him, tortured and drugged him in order to have that information Steve surely didn't have?"

"That's what I think, yes."

"So Steve managed to free himself, they fought and they tried to kill each other. Steve did, but Wo Fat just grazed him."

"I think you have the entire story, detective. I gave you everything I have, and that's not another lie."

Danny wondered if Wo Fat was indeed a terrible shooter or if he didn't it on purpose. Maybe he needed to be killed by the man seeking revenge for his father's death and Doris' attempted murder? Or it was pure luck for Steve?

"I promise you one thing though. I never meant to endanger Steve, that's why I said nothing for a long time. I only wanted to protect him and his family. Now that Wo Fat is dead, I am sure that he will ask numerous questions and he will be in need of answers. But please, do not answer them. Doris and I should be the ones answering his questions, no offense. When he will be ready."

"Alright. I will tell him nothing. I guess he will ask if Wo Fat was telling the truth about Doris, so what should I tell him about it? He'll know for sure that I am lying, you know?"

"Then, tell him the truth about that. That Wo Fat was indeed raised by her mother before she retired and met his father and had the life he knew."

Danny thought about it for a long time. He never liked lying to Steve, because he was the kind of guy seeking for the truth no matter what. He would know that he lied to him and he would be angry with him for that.

"Okay. But if he asks anything else and I know the answer, I won't be able to hide the truth, you do realize this?"

"Do your best, detective. We need to give him these answers."

They parted like this, separating in the emergency room. Joe White was leaving the building to go to his car and leave for the umpteenth time while Danny had to sort out what he had just heard. He sighed; his sweaty hands were still shaking because of the anger that had invaded him as soon as the retired NavySEAL appeared in his field of vision. A black anger he had not managed to contain. He was happy to have put his fist on the face of this man he had never trusted. But de facto, Steve was willing to put his life at risk for him so he had no choice but to follow him, reluctantly of course. All kinds of images came to mind; images he had memorized, moments he was trying to imagine. Blackness visions ready to freeze one's blood.

Hardly, one step after another despite his jelly legs, he walked to the coffee machine. He searched in his pockets a piece or two, at least enough to have a moment of relaxation before coming back to his friend. He needed to stay out of the way to sort out all of this. Finally finding a dollar, he tried to insert it in the space provided for this purpose, in vain. His hands were shaking so much that he couldn't keep it and it fell to the ground, slamming on the tiles. Smothering a groan and a swore, he knelt down to bring it back to his right hand. He was on the nerves, ready to break down. After two unsuccessful attempts, he finally ordered a coffee, which he would probably find miserable and disgusting, like all the coffees coming from any hospital, but he needed it.

He sat down in a corner, away from everyone, his empty gaze resting somewhere in the gaping and noisy room. He didn't know what to think, or what to do with his best friend. He didn't know how to comfort him, which words to choose in order to appease him. He was lost. Swallowing a lot of the hot liquid, the images of Steve's release came back to him; the two simultaneous gunshots that all thought of being one, the door opening and the horror vision when he saw his soul brother lying on the soiled ground completely inert with a gun landing in his right hand. The only words he could utter at that time were a repetition of "you're alright". Nothing was alright. Steve had been tortured, drugged, tormented by Wo Fat, his worst enemy, for information he didn't and probably would never have. How had he dared to say to the man who had nearly died that everything was fine, that he was alright? He wasn't, far from it.

Steve woke up for the third time in a few hours, this time more calmly. At least, that was what he thought in the first place. A calm, steady noise was singing in the depths of his ears. A fresh and more than welcomed wind was running through his nostrils and airways, dancing down into his bruised lungs. A bracelet came to disturb his right arm, tightening his grip regularly to the point of having ticklings in his fingers before releasing its pressure. He felt something clipped on his finger, something he could not determine. The top of his right hand was also bothering him, especially what was attached to it. He didn't know what, but terrible images came back to him.

Surpassing his massive headache and cold sensation settling in him, he let them invade his mind. This woman who had shot him in his own car and drugged him to take him he-didn't-know-where. His awakening in this blank and macabre room, watching videos of him younger with his family, his father, mother and sister, taking a misunderstanding look on this video of a report made during his mother's car accident. His fight against this orange fluid that had been injected into him and that had very quickly made him fall into blackness. Wo Fat. The torture. The water dripping on the towel slammed violently on his face and entering his mouth and lungs as he tried to breathe. The needle entering his flesh in his neck. And another one. The incessant electric shocks to make him say a vital information for his enemy, information that he had never heard of. He didn't even know that Wo Fat's father was still alive. Or maybe he believed he was?

But he never stopped. And without his warrior temperament, he would not be here today. Wo Fat had said he didn't want to kill him, he had not hesitated for a second to stick a bullet in his head. Maybe it was to protect himself from him, maybe he was scared of Steve and at that moment, his only way to possibly stay alive was to fire? The only way he had found to stay alive had been to fight. Even if it would have cost him his life, he had given everything he had so that this would never happen... Not without difficulty, he had managed to beat this woman before she could inject him anything. He had made up his death by strangulation before Wo Fat came back and discovered the trick. He knew from the start that it would surely be his last fight against him, against the one who called him his brother, who called Doris his mother. He had no right to call her that way. Doris was not his mother. She had raised him, it stopped there. End of the story.

Despite all these hard-to-live pictures, something made him come out of his inner world. Something, someone had touched him. A hand. Fingers touching his skin and giving him chills. He, who hadn't dared to move for many minutes now, made a movement; he frowned, turning his head slightly towards the source of this unwanted touch. But in no case did he open his eyes. Passively, he let this hand go through him, waiting for it to make a mistake in order to surprise it. He didn't really know where he was. He remembered his conversation with Danny but in his condition, he wasn't sure if it was the reality or if he was still in this moldy and damp room. He didn't know where he was. And suddenly, he felt the mistake happen. This hand of a gentleness that he found repulsive committed the irreparable.

He had foreseen it, premeditated it. He had seen it make a mistake but not this one. He did not expect that; a simple approach to his left temple had sent him such a strong pain signal that he had decided to open his eyes suddenly to face the person who had just touched him without authorization. And he didn't like that, that made him horny. In a gesture of self-defense, he gripped that hand by the wrist, squeezing his grip tightly. A sudden cry of fear and surprise caught the person's throat in front of Steve. Their eyes met: it was Nurse Kala, who had come to change the bandages of his patient. She quite didn't expect the Commander to have such strength and even less the ability to fight against her. It was her mistake; apart from the IV replacing his fluids and giving him nutrients, Steve had no drugs in his bloodstream, not even a trace of sedative. Some residues of truth serum and hallucinogen but insufficient to knock him out. But he didn't see her as a nurse; rather like an intruder coming to invade his private life. And most importantly, she looked almost exactly like that woman. And that sight brought him back into this room, enough to make him lose all contact with reality.

"Commander, you're alright. You're al-"

She never had time to finish her sentence, she found herself thrown to the ground violently. Without realizing it, Steve had lost his mind, tirelessly reliving the scene that had caused him so much pain; this woman having lent allegiance to Wo Fat who had injected him, again and again, a substance he knew too well and he remembered the ill effects. He couldn't control himself. Especially in the absence of the only thing that allowed him to keep his feet on the ground, his anchor on the present. He had stood up, ready to fight for his survival, as if in the middle of a trance. Again. He was ready to kill, as a good soldier he was. The nurse, Kala had turned to him immediately, her eyes lost and frightened. She too was a soldier in the army, but she had never seen a soldier so mentally touched. He must have had lived some very bad things, she thought. She didn't even dare to straighten, she didn't even try to move any of her muscles. She had even stopped breathing as fear paralyzed her. And finally, a voice. A cry of terror that tore his soul, a voice which swept all these images in his head in a split second. A lament he couldn't deny.

After about twenty minutes without moving from where he was seated, drinking his infamous coffee and thinking back to everything that had happened, Danny cleared his mind, getting rid of all the negative thoughts and all those horrible images that jazzed up in his mind. He inhaled for a long time and exhaled for four seconds, something Steve had taught him in order to control his fears and keep a calm breath. It was not easy, but he did it. He stood up, tossing his plastic cup into the trash, and headed back to his friend's room. His legs had at least stopped shaking, it was a good thing. He stopped in front of the door, taking a breath of fresh air before knocking lightly on the door. No answer. Maybe Steve was still sleeping? It wouldn't have been surprising after the physical and mental shocks he had just received; his body needed rest. He placed his hand on the handle and opened the door. He tried to smile, in case his best friend was awake and entered the room.

His fake smile broke down in a split second. His eyes grew as fast as his smile faded. Before him, a vision of horror. The nurse taking care of Steve since his admission was on the ground, shaking all over. The NavySEAL was almost on her, slowly moving towards Kala, his eyes black and empty. What had happened? He himself was paralyzed, unable to utter a single word, his voice completely cut off. Steve's look said a lot. Danny knew that he was ready for everything now, even to kill. He had been disturbed, he was out of his mind. He had to do something and quickly before he could commit the irreparable. He opened his mouth, trying to expel the air he had accumulated in his lungs to form a word. Only one came out.

"Steve!"

This single word stopped him, this voice filled with fright seemingly transfixing his best friend's brain. His look changed suddenly, from pure hatred to that of a child completely lost. His lips parted, an unsteady breath coming out of his mouth. From where Danny was, he could see drops of cold sweat running down his face as he frowned. The excess of adrenaline that his body had just injected into his bloodstream to respond to the false attack quickly dissipated. The fatigue and surprise of seeing himself in this hospital room, safe and sound, hit him hard. His legs, trembling after these sudden movements, gave way.

"Steve!" he repeated, rushing over him.

Soon, he grabbed his arm, not to scare him but to keep him from falling to the ground with an unpleasant thud while the nurse was stuck to the floor, still unable to move. Not without difficulty, he helped him to sit on the bed, his eyes still unfocused, his breathing still laborious, as if he had just woken up when he was in the middle of a nightmare.

"You alright?"

This time, his gaze focused on something. On someone. The gray of Steve's eyes met the blue of his, and they both understood each other. Without a verbal exchange, Danny knew that he had just relived a painful experience, and Steve had assimilated the fact that he had nothing to fear. What he was living now was real, he could feel it from the depths of his being. He had indeed killed Wo Fat and this woman whose name he didn't even know, his team had really come to save him and get him out of this Hell. Everything was really over now.

"Yeah", he managed to utter, sighing.

Hesitant, he stared at Steve's for a few seconds before returning his attention to Kala, still frozen on the floor. The detective knelt before her, taking her slightly by surprise as he saw her jump.

"You are fine?" he asked, extending his hand to her in order to help her up.

She didn't dare to answer, moving her left hand towards Danny's so that she could take a stand to get back on her feet.

"Yes, a little shaken, but I'm okay," she said with her most beautiful smile.

Danny immediately noticed that it was fake. This mania in the military and marine to lie like that when everything was not okay...

"What happened?" the police officer whispered, trying to figure out what could have put Steve in this state.

"I... I really don't know", the nurse hesitated. "I was changing his bandages when he grabbed my wrist and... He threw me to the ground."

Danny straightened slightly, taking a deep breath; he thought he understood. Steve didn't like being approached or touched, let alone when he was not in his normal state. The dressing change could very well have bothered him? No, it was not just that; the nurse had already changed the bandages while he was asleep, so what could have changed?

"What dressing were you changing?"

"Well... It only remained the bandage on his temple. I think."

Danny had just discovered the cause of this whole story. The gunshot wound. It had been powerful enough to make him suffer and trigger this excess of madness, even in someone as in control as Steve.

"I did something wrong?"

"You must understand that he was shot to the head, by someone who killed his father and almost killed his mother, his sister, and himself. So that pain in his temple because of the shot... "

"I understood, it triggered his anger."

"It was not against you, it could have happened to anyone, even to me", he tried to reassure her, still muttering.

"But I should have known; I'm a soldier. I know all this."

"Don't blame yourself, okay? I'm sure Steve is as bad as you about this misfortune", he finally assured. "I'll talk to him, he'll let you change the dressings after that."

Danny smiled, leaving the nurse alone when he turned around to face Steve. The conversation lasted a few minutes, during which Danny managed to convince Steve to let the nurse change the last bandage. The detective assured him that Kala would do her best to not hurt him, but obviously, he had some apprehensions after what had happened. She approached him, delicately removing the bandage from his temple, exposing the future scar and stitches. Danny could count them easily as they were visible. There were eight sutures, including three on the scalp. She carefully cleaned the area, applying a local antiseptic before placing a new gauze on the area, gently tapped to secure it. She faked a new smile, checking all Steve's vitals again and writing them down the files at the end of the bed. She then left the two friends alone.

"You weren't there...", Steve suddenly said after a long silence, startling Danny.

"Yeah, I was, uh... Out for a coffee. I was there for hours, I needed to stretch my legs."

It wasn't a real lie. He did get out of the room to grab a coffee and to stretch his legs. But Steve had immediately noticed this lie.

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. I really got out of there to have a coffee, to the vending machine. It is disgusting by the way."

"Your nostrils are flaring when you lie. And they did when you talked about the stretching legs."

"Really?"

Steve suddenly laughed when Danny tried to see if his best friend was messing with him or if he was telling the truth to figure out whether he was indeed lying or not.

"You were lying, weren't you?"

"Fine. I'll tell you, but please. Don't be mad at me."

"You would have to something really, really stupid for me to be mad at you", Steve assured.

Both Danny and Steve knew the temperament of the latter, which was the main concern of this half-a-lie.

"Alright", the detective surrendered. "I... I talked to Joe."

Uh oh, he shouldn't have said that. Steve gave him THE look, a black eye filled with anger.

"What?!"

"See? You're mad at me."

"It would be stupid to not be mad at you right now, Danny! Joe lied to me enough!"

"And that's the reason why I wanted to talk to him."

The NavySEAL stared at his partner attentively, finding the least clue leading to whether he was lying or not.

"I know you don't like when someone lies to you. That's why I will tell you about this."

Danny took a deep breath, trying to find the words he should use to calm his partner while explaining the situation.

"I punched him. In the face", he admitted, almost proud of himself.

Soon, Steve frowned, surprised.

"What? Why did you do this?"

"Because he lied to you all these years, Steve. And because I wanted to from the first time I saw him", he explained with a smile. "You have to tell me how you managed to not punch him."

"So, you asked him to talk to you, but instead you punched him?"

"No. That, that was the first part. After that, I asked for answers. I promised that if there was any more lie, I would kill him, so..."

Steve sighed, closing his eyes.

"You do realize that you talked to a heavily-trained NavySEAL, right?"

"A retired heavily-trained NavySEAL", Danny corrected. "Besides, you know me enough; my word is my bond."

Of course. Steve knew Danny too well. He knew he would do it without an ounce of hesitation if he felt betrayed.

"What was that talk about then?"

"I uh... I wanted to know why Wo Fat did this."

"You really think he would tell you everything? He lied to me about this for years and you think you can make him talk?"

"Well, IF he didn't lie to me, then I know the whole truth."

"Unbelievable..."

Steve couldn't believe what he just heard. He tried for years to have answers, only to have more questions and no answers anyway. But Danny had everything he wanted with just a chat?

"He sais that I would be the only one able to help you. That's why he gave me everything I wanted. Everything you wanted to know."

Danny took a deep breath, trying to gather all the words he needed to face Steve and give him answers.

"Wo Fat never lied to you", he first said, catching Steve's attention. "Doris raised him until the CIA discovers the whole thing and forced her to abandon him. That's why he ordered his men to kill your father, why he tried to kill you and your sister."

Steve had always feared this answer. Deep down, he knew everything about this; it should have had some kind of connexion with his mother and her job as a CIA agent. Of course, he knew. But he wished it wasn't true.

"That's also why your mother faked her own death. Her gesture put her family in jeopardy, and she had to protect all of you from Wo Fat. She flew out to Japan and took the name of Shelburne. When Wo Fat got you in North Korea, it was to confirm or deny his theory. He thought Shelburne was Doris, and he needed a confirmation. As you inherited your father's investigation, he thought you were his best shot."

Steve pulled the pieces together. That's why her mother cried sometimes. He said nothing at the time, but he saw her many times wiping her tears away. It was because of Wo Fat. And with North Korea? It was to know whether or not his mother was Shelburne. But he didn't have a clue back there. And he lied to Wo Fat about Joe not knowing either. God, he was so wrong.

"Question. Why Wo Fat kidnapped you this time?"

"He... He wanted to know where his father was. I didn't know he was still alive."

"Joe's theory was right then."

Surprised, Steve raised his head, looking Danny straight in the eyes.

"Which is?"

"He thought that this abduction was in order to know where his father was. He thought you knew."

"I don't."

"I know. I know you don't. Relax. If Joe is telling the truth, he's held in a highly-secured CIA prison, but he doesn't know where. Classified apparently, and he doesn't have any access to that information."

"Okay. Let's say that Joe didn't lie for once. Why he lied to me about all this."

"He said he wanted to protect you and he promised Doris to not talk to you about this."

"So, technically, she lied to me too."

He was so tired of this. So tired. Why people always lied to him? He was a grown-up man, he could deal with such information.

"I asked him something else", Danny admitted after a few seconds.

"About what?" he asked, surprised and concerned.

"I asked him if he knew... Well. You have to understand, I've never seen you in such a physical and mental weakness, alright? I thought he knew something about this."

Steve's eyes changed in a second from a questioning look to a serious one.

"What did he say to you?"

"He remained vague. He just told me a story, but he never said when or where it was, nor the name of the operation. He said that it was up to you to tell me."

Steve knew it was another lie, as his nostrils flared again. But this time, he didn't mind. Because as hard as it was for him to talk about it, Danny found it hard too. He knew him too well; it was classified, something he shouldn't know about. But what he liked the most was the fact that Danny was probably never going to push him in order to explain to him a second time what was his process to face this kind of situation.

"Thanks for lying to me on that one", he said, smiling.

"You know, I won't push you to tell me about it. Never. But I want you to know that no matter what, I will be at your side, ready to listen to your story. And whenever you need to talk, day or night, I will be there."

No flaring nostrils from Danny. Steve knew; it wasn't a lie.