Chapter 6
Author's Note: Hi everyone! Here is the update.
Disclaimer: Same as always, I personally find the repetition tedious but I am pedantic.
Danny had just made his way back to the office. He had stopped on the way to pick up some coffee and malasadas for the rest of the team. If he knew them half as well as he did, he would bet his bottom dollar that none of them had slept a wink the night before thinking about Steve. He called Rachel on his way in. She was still packing so she was not too upset that he had spent the night at Steve's. Danny had called her the night before and he was happy that their therapy was helping them understand each other's needs better and was definitely improving their communication skills. Tomorrow would be the day she, Danny and the kids would finally move in together and he couldn't be happier. He knew that things between him and Rachel were not always perfect before but now that they were older and wiser, with two kids and therapy to support them, Danny genuinely felt that he and Rachel were the real deal. He had seen her make an effort to become closer to Steve as well and that told him how much she loved him more than if she actually said those words to him (and she had, many times, as she had lain in his arms after they had made love).
Danny got off the elevator and literally could not take a step further as his way into the office was blocked by his anxious teammates. Kono looked at if she had her heart in her throat, Chin's brows were furrowed in concern, Jerry shuffled on his feet in anticipation and Grover looked like he was ready to water-board poor Danny for more information.
"How's our boy doing?" asked Jerry. He was not at the scene himself yesterday but just hearing that Steve could fall apart was enough to scare him beyond belief. Danny sighed at this. It was so easy for all of them to forget that Steve was human and not Superman.
"He was not good yesterday. I had to dope him with Valium so he could rest" said Danny regrettably.
Kono choked a sob.
"But is he alone now? How is his shoulder? Did he rest properly? Did he tell you anything?" asked Chin anxiously. Danny was less surprised by the torrent of questions and more shocked by the fact that it was Chin who led the interrogation. Danny could have sworn that in all the years he had known Chin Ho Kelly, this was literally the longest length of time he had ever spoken in one breath. It spoke volumes about how scared they all were for Steve.
Danny knew he could not tell them about Afghanistan and he knew they would understand if he didn't, but God knows they deserved an update.
"He opened up to me guys. I can understand him falling apart like that. But you guys don't need to worry. He knows he is not alone. He sent his love for you guys. He even said he trusts us all with his life. He knows we are there for him no matter what." Danny felt a deep sense of pride as he watched the others square their shoulders and lift themselves in determination. They were poised and ready to fight for Steve and rally to him and nothing could stop them from protecting their own.
"I didn't leave him alone by the way."Danny continued. "I dropped him off at the Tripler this morning. I didn't even have to force him into therapy; he called Sam and set up an appointment himself."
"We just need him to be okay" said Kono quietly.
Danny made himself a mental note to look up the good doctor Harris but the thought quickly evaporated from his mind as a mountain of work fell on their heads.
Danny had to take a breath. It was an hour after he had walked into the office and he was still giving out updates on Steve. He was happy that his partner had touched so many people but the constant calls were disrupting his focus. Kamekona called first, sending regards from Nahele and Flippa as well. Max, Charlie and Noalani were next. Then came Duke, Eric, Adam, Toast, Governor Denning, Odell, Mary and even Dawg. Danny had to calm Mary down though; she was so distraught after she heard about her brother that Danny had to reason with her not to take the first flight out. He knew that Steve and Mary were everything to each other but he wanted to ask Steve first whether he would be comfortable with Mary and Joanie around. He knew Steve would be uncomfortable breaking in front of Mary and Lord knows Mary was dealing with enough after Aunt Deb's recent passing.
Alicia Brown called as well; she gave Steve her love and offered to help out with whatever they needed. Danny himself was grateful for her offer. Alicia was amazing at her work and Five-0 and Steve needed all the support they could get. The only calls that did not come however, were from Doris and Catherine, but in their defence, they probably did not know what was going on. When Joe had called last, Danny had made sure to play up the fact that Steve was fine. He didn't know yet whether Steve wanted Joe and the Navy knowing that he needed to see a therapist.
Governor Denning had not only wished Steve the best for his recovery but had asked to see Danny later that day at his office. Danny's curiosity was peaked but he could not dwell on that, they had to get justice for Michael... For Steve...
Danny eventually thanked the stars when he was able to get back to work. "Hey Duke called, Holden is still at HPD if we want to question him" said Grover after he walked into Danny's office.
Chin and Danny decided to go question Holden while Grover and Kono decided to see Max and check whether Michael Shane's autopsy was complete and if it would reveal anything. Jerry decided to stay and liaise with Eric via web chat as they went through what little the crime lab had picked up at the scene.
HPD seemed still when Danny and Chin walked in. Danny knew that it was because they were all curious as to how Steve was doing but he refused to say anything. Steve's health was of no concern to anyone here except Duke who was family. Five-0 would never turn Steve's suffering into water-cooler gossip.
After updating Duke and perusing the case file, Danny and Chin went to question Holden. He was sitting in an interrogation room. The door itself was unlocked though, he was not being charged with anything... yet.
Another man with sharp features, slick grey hair and reptilian skin sat next to Holden. Danny knew the snake-like arrogant demeanour of a lawyer any day. Holden had come strapped and prepared but at least the baby-faced asshole was co-operating.
"I will tell you the same thing I have been telling Honolulu's finest here all night, I don't know where Michael had gotten the drugs from. The cops have already cased my office and Shane's room" sighed Holden in exasperation.
Danny and Chin had already read the report when they were by Duke. Apparently Michael's room window was open and the bars were removed. It looked like he had taken days to chip away at them without anyone else's knowledge. The room was swarming with DNA because a number of doctors and nurses would care for Michael. Apparently his room had a revolving door of people checking in on him.
"And why would you have other doctors checking in on your patient?" asked Chin, his face contorted in suspicion.
"Psychiatry is not an exact science officer" replied Holden, his voice dripping with a superior sense of disdain. "The human mind is tough to pin down, it is only natural and even encouraged for therapists to consult with each other and ask for a colleague to examine the patient and give a second opinion."
The case file that Chin and Danny had perused in Duke's office confirmed that Holden's senior had said that this was not uncommon in their field.
"Well a second opinion is not uncommon, but you have had not one, not two but three other therapists look in on your patient. I mean are you that thorough or are you that incompetent?" Huffed Danny. Wow Steve was right, the man is an idiot. He knows fuck-all about psychiatry and he thought he could evaluate Steve!
*At the same time at Max's office*
"What do we have Max?" asked Kono. Max had already called in the morning to ask after Steve so once he was satisfied that Steve was all right, he was able to focus and, with Noalani's help, they managed to complete Michael's autopsy.
"I have ruled that Lieutenant Shane's death was due to multiple gunshot wounds as you may have already guessed. Noalani and I have deduced that a gunshot that ripped directly into his heart was the ultimate cause of death. Since all the HPD officers who shot at him were doing so under proper authorisation and had followed proper police procedure, the report will be filed and no further action shall be taken. In terms of the drugs however, you see..."
Max droned on in his monotonous explanation.
"Lieutenant Shane had enough heroin pumped into him to paralyse a horse. The track marks and the angles of the track marks indicate that the heroin was injected using the left hand and were self-inflicted. Lieutenant Shane is left handed you see, and the fact that there was no sign of a struggle means that he had dosed himself. I did note however, that the levels of potassium in his body were elevated."
"Wait potassium? As in banana juice?" asked Grover.
"Well if by that you mean if it is the very same potassium that one can obtain by consuming a banana Captain Grover then yes I agree with you" said Max.
"It's not unusual for victims of long-term drug use to have internal tissue damage. When the internal organs begin to weaken, the body produces extra potassium in order to heal itself." Noalani supplied by way of explanation.
Max nodded his head at Noalani in the affirmative then continued. "I have made a special note of this, but I cannot conclude that there were any signs of foul play. I am thus forced to conclude our report here as Lieutenant Shane's family wish to make arrangements for him at the earliest."
"Thank you Max" said Lou as he and Kono prepared to leave.
Kono called Danny and Chin once they reached the car. "Danny, Max and Noalani have the autopsy report..." And Kono proceeded to fill Chin and Danny in on the autopsy.
Danny cut the call after thanking Kono for the update from Max. "Max ruled that the cause of death was a multiple gunshot wounds." He said to Chin.
"Well that would wrap up the investigation" said Chin matter-of-factly.
Chin was right. Five-0 jurisdiction did not include deaths due to police firing. Now that it had been concluded definitely that there was no foul play, the case would get kicked back to HPD who would wrap up.
Danny called Duke to inform him of such and to tell him about the autopsy report that was due to be filed in HPD.
"Thanks for the update Detective" said Duke kindly. "We just have some due diligence left. I will question the other doctors who had examined Shane and do a preliminary search of their offices for evidence. I can only do this tomorrow though because I am waiting on the warrants, but after that we will wrap it up if we don't find anything. I will keep you posted though and I wish to thank you and Five-0 for helping with this. I am... I am just so sorry that Steve had to pay such a heavy price for this." Sighed Duke regretfully.
Chin and Danny definitely concurred with him.
"Don't be sorry Duke." Chin tried to offer some comfort. "Steve would be proud knowing that at least, because of his involvement; Shane's family can bury him with proper closure. Sometimes that's all you need to be able to grieve properly and some people don't always get that when they lose a loved one tragically or to crime. As law officials we see that every day. At least Michael's family can say goodbye to him knowing what happened to him and knowing that we had done everything we could. Sometimes, we just have to take that as a win."
"I hear you Chin, mahalo brother" and then Duke was gone.
Danny dropped Chin off at the Palace before heading off to see Governor Denning. He called ahead to apologise that he was running late and Denning's secretary Stacy promised to relay the message. Danny did not miss her squeak of anticipation. She loved ogling at him and Steve whenever they came over. Well she was only getting one today... Danny hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed.
Danny was a full ten minutes late when he walked into Denning's waiting room. Stacy, bless her, stood immediately to attention.
"Ah Detective! How nice to see you" she said, her voice dropping an octave so that she could sound husky and sexual.
Danny could tell her face was freshly primed and powdered and her blonde hair was flipped and combed in anticipation. She gave Danny a mega-watt smile and subtly looked over for Steve. Her eyes flashed in disappointment but only for a fraction of a second before she had her game-face back on. She still got to see Danny and he was definitely no consolation prize. He was a prime catch all on his own.
"You can go on in Detective. Governor Denning understands your tardiness. He started the meeting without you and said you could join them whenever you came in."
Started without me? Them? Who else was supposed to be a part of this meeting? ...Wondered Danny in surprise. He had a bad feeling about this. Nothing good ever came out of a meeting with Governor Denning and a third party. Danny tried to shake off his negative thoughts. Sure they clung to him like a second skin but that didn't mean he had to show it or indulge these thoughts.
"Well thank you Stacy." Danny tried to turn on the charm. This poor girl went a long way to ensure he and Steve stayed in Denning's good graces.
Yes Stacy was busty, leggy and gorgeous but in Danny's eyes she couldn't hold a candle to Rachel. Sure there are always going to be beautiful women, for every gorgeous woman on this planet there was always someone more stunning then her, but for some men, the ultimate woman would always be the mother of their children. Danny was that type of a man.
Hmmm maybe I could talk Steve into dating her... thought Danny. After the ship-wreck (he smiled slightly at this) that was Steve and Catherine, his boy deserved a fresh start. With that final thought on Stacy, Danny knocked briefly to announce himself, opened the Governor's door and went in.
"Ah Detective Williams come in, so nice of you to join us." Denning was suspiciously pleasant but Danny did not miss the worry lines marring his forehead.
Denning was concerned about Steve's health, Danny could tell. Sure Denning was a ball-buster, but he genuinely cared about Five-0 and that's why he never hesitated to dole out the 'tough love' so to speak.
Denning was sitting behind his desk and in front of him, in the visitor's chair, sat a petite young woman with her back to Danny. She had a halo of rich golden locks. She seemed familiar to Danny somehow and he felt his right eye involuntarily twitch with a feeling of déjà vu. He didn't have to suffer his curiosity for long though. The seemingly pretty woman turned her head and Danny looked into the eyes of their former teammate and profiler... Lori Weston.
"Wow Lori! It is so nice to see you, when did you get back?" Danny asked politely. He was genuinely happy to see her. With all the trials ahead of Five-0, every familiar face was more than welcome.
"Hello Danny, it's good to see you too." Lori smiled genuinely before getting up and shaking his hand.
Denning smiled at this. Considering how averse Steve and Lori were to working together on their first go round, he was surprised to see the camaraderie between her and Danny. Sure he had forced Lori to resign once he had seen how attached she had become to the team, but now he wanted Steve to be well-rested. Denning knew it would ease Steve's mind to have Lori around.
"I called Agent Weston so that she can transfer back to Five-0. I want to make sure that Steve gets enough time to heal properly and that his worries are kept at bay" supplied Denning.
Lori's eyes widened as she swiftly turned her head from Danny to face the Governor. "Wait what do you mean Governor? What has happened to Steve? Oh my gosh is he all right?"
Denning was taken aback by Lori's strong reaction but Danny finally received confirmation of a hunch that he had a long time ago. Lori had feelings for Steve... Scratch that... Lori has feelings for Steve. Danny was somehow happy for this. Maybe Lori and Steve had a chance after all.
Lori saw the two men staring at her. Flustered at her sudden outburst, she suddenly became very self-conscious. She cleared her throat daintily and tried to reel herself in, trying to put the mask of professionalism firmly back onto her face.
"It's all right Agent Weston; I understand that you were very close to not only Steve but the entire team" said Governor Denning. He was graciously letting Lori off the hook. If he had any idea about Lori's feelings for Steve, he gave no inclination to the Agent or the Detective before him.
"Steve has suffered an unfortunate set back during a hostage situation. He is all right physically from what Detective Williams and the team has told me, but the incident has left him exhausted mentally and I insist that he needs to take it easy for a while" said Denning trying to fill Lori in.
Lori's eyes narrowed in scepticism. Unfortunate set back? Exhausted mentally? What was Denning not telling her? Was Steve really going to be okay?
Danny saw the pain in Lori's eyes. He could not stop looking at her.
Lori could feel Danny looking at her and locked eyes with him. Danny nodded slightly to her, offering silent comfort and his eyes made her a promise that he would fill her in on everything later once they left Denning and could talk freely.
"Well I wish you both everything of the best" said Denning, clearing his throat and forcing Danny and Lori's attention back to him. "Agent Weston I gave you the directions and keys to your new apartment. Should you or anyone else in Five-0 especially Steve need anything, and I mean anything, please do not hesitate to contact me."
"Thank you Governor" said Lori.
Danny followed up with a warm "thanks" and then they both excused themselves and left.
As they walked out of Denning's office, Danny waved goodbye warmly to Stacy. He was shocked to see her fix Lori with the iciest stare. Lori herself did not back down and glared right back. Women... Danny would never understand women or how they had such sharp instincts. They just knew when they were stepping into each other's territory and Danny was positive that if Rachel were here, she and Stacy would probably have a stare-down as well if not worse. His proper English Rose was fire when she felt someone moving in on what was hers. Rachel may be uppity but she definitely was not above staking her claim.
Oh well... Danny thought... Lori is better suited to Steve compared to Stacy anyway...
Once they were outside the building, Lori enveloped Danny in a warm but platonic hug. Danny returned her hug happily.
"It is so good to see you Lori" Danny smiled.
"I'm sorry Danny, I know the polite thing to do would be to ask after you and the team, but I am really worried about Steve" said Lori, her eyes twinkling precariously.
"Three years..."Smiled Danny."Three years and you still could not get over him huh."
Lori's eyes widened in surprise.
"I don't know what..." She started to say but Danny interrupted her.
"Steve is completely shattered Lori. He needs us all, now more than ever." He didn't think it was possible but he could actually see Lori's heart break for his partner.
"What happened Danny?"
And Danny told her what went down with Michael. He didn't tell her about Afghanistan, only that Michael's death had broken something in Steve.
Lori's breath hitched in her throat and she tried as hard as she could to school her features.
Danny could only think about Steve's welfare at this point. Catherine and her abandonment briefly came to his mind but looking at Lori and how she must have loved Steve, Danny could not help wondering if things between Steve and Catherine were really meant to be. He knew that Steve did not love Lori, not by a long shot and Danny was not going to give Lori false hope, but Lori was apparently here to stay, unlike Catherine. Danny knew that if she hadn't gotten over Steve after she was away for so long, her feelings would definitely not disappear now that she was back in their lives and in their ohana.
"Please don't deny it Lori, I had always suspected it and from the way you reacted in there, now I know for sure. Not only was I not off the mark but I hit the freaking bulls eye. I always thought you had feelings for Steve." Danny may have his doubts about Steve's feelings for Lori but he couldn't help feeling smug that his gut feeling about Lori's feelings was right all along.
Lori swallowed heavily.
Danny sighed at this. "I don't know how he feels about you, and I am definitely not going to make you any promises Lori, but Steve needs to know that we are all here for him."
"But Catherine..." whispered Lori. She remembered how her heart had cracked irreparably the first time she had seen Catherine with Steve. They were so happy. She had felt like a fool in that second, of course Steve had someone who loved him. It was impossible not to love a man like Steve. Lori hadn't wanted to give up on a chance at a relationship with him back then. She knew it was wrong to move in on another woman's man, but she had never felt this way about any man before Steve and she needed to know if there was a chance for them.
When Denning had forced Lori to resign, she confessed her feelings to Steve. He was being so good to her. He had offered to speak to Denning to try and convince him to let Lori stay. He refused to accept her resignation and his refusal to let her go fuelled her courage so she threw caution to the wind and went for it.
Steve's silence however, after her earth-shattering announcement was her undoing. He had hugged Lori as a friend in that moment and it was that hurt that gave her the courage to leave him and Five-0 behind that day. He had chosen Catherine over her. She may have left Hawaii then, but she had left her heart with Steve.
"Catherine is no longer a part of Steve's life" said Danny as a slight tinge of sadness crept into his tone. There, he said it. He put it out there, but even as he said it, his anger at Catherine and her lies seemed to flame anew. She had stood at his most sacred place on the island and had promised Danny that she would never abandon his friend. She straight-up lied to Danny but Danny knew regrettably that Catherine would probably never be completely out of the picture.
Lori however, suddenly felt her hopes being renewed. Steve was all alone. Steve was free. "I need to see him Danny" said Lori, her voice steeled with new determination.
"You will definitely meet him" Danny promised.
"But first we have to get you set up at Five-0. You have to meet our new members Lou Grover from SWAT and Jerry Ortega. He was a special consultant who has just earned his badge with Five-0. We are all family now Lori and you can meet Steve after you settle in with the rest of us."
Lori smiled gratefully. She may have grown up in Washington D.C but now, after arriving in Hawaii, she felt that this was her true home. She and Steve at Five-0 together, having the team as her family.
"I'll follow you in my car Danny." Lori smiled, her eyes alight with hope. She hopped into her Land Rover and followed the Camaro out of Denning's parking lot to meet her new family.
I thought I'd let you guys know what Five-0 would be doing while Steve was in therapy. I personally don't ship McWeston but I needed Lori back. You will see why later.
I am sorry if I have offended any attorneys. But as a lawyer I can tell you, some of us are scum:) And Danny hates them so his assessment of Holden's lawyer would naturally be negative so I had to make it look realistic. I am sorry once again.
So... Thoughts? Sorry for the lack of Steve in this chapter. Do you want to what is happening with him? Next update is ready but I will post a bit late because I have some other commitments. In the meantime, how about an early Christmas present? Please smash that like/favourite button and please leave a review:) It's free and it keeps me going:) - Az
