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Chapter Nine "Deviations"

"The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold."~Aristotle

Kono knew she was pregnant by early October, but she kept it to herself at first. She didn't exactly have a reason for this, except that she knew Danny was keeping something from her. That in itself was more an excuse than a reason.

She wasn't offended. She wasn't even very angry, except she was. The more overwhelming feeling was of loneliness.

It was never that way before. Danny would tell her anything of she asked, but now, he made excuses for his strange behavior and prolonged absences. At first, Kono credited it to losing Steve. Yet, Danny rarely spoke of his deceased partner, unless he had to. He had told Kono of his promise, though, that he would make sure McKenzie and her baby were taken care of. That was to be expected.

It was the times Danny wasn't with McKenzie that concerned Kono. It seemed like an awful lot of time to himself, if that's what it was. Kono suspected he was still investigating Wo Fat, even though they had been told not to. She understood that. But why wouldn't he tell her?

Things were getting out of hand. Kono wouldn't be able to hide her growing waistline for much longer. She had a feeling Danny already knew. Or strongly suspected.

So why didn't he say anything? Kono sometimes felt that he was becoming too much like Chin. It was thoughts like these that had her worried. In the past few months, she had hardly spoken to Chin except at work. That wasn't normal at all, but he was always evading her questions.

She wasn't sure why, but one afternoon, she got out Danny's notebook. She knew he had been writing, but she had no idea what. Until now, she had respected his privacy. But the need for some kind of answers drove her to open the book. What she read there shocked her

H-5-O

McKenzie glared at the computer screen. was not being helpful at all. There were several reasons this was the case. For one thing, she didn't like any of the family names except Anne, which wouldn't work for a first name for a variety of reasons. She had decided it would be the middle name, but that wasn't the problem.

The problem was, McKenzie liked certain name meanings, but not the names associated with them. Perhaps she was being too selective. Both Danny and Mary had told her to stop obsessing over it.

Deep down, McKenzie knew why she was, though. She had wanted a boy.

It wasn't that she loved the baby any less because she wasn't a boy. But she had imagined a little boy who looked like his father. Girls were different. Girls required more protection. The responsibility was more than McKenzie wanted to bear.

But she had no choice, and really she didn't want anything to be different than it was.

Well, she did want Steve to be alive.

H-5-O

Kono stared at the page, not sure what it meant. Danny had written it shortly after Victor Hesse had come back for Steve. It didn't make sense.

Steve was dead.

Kono heard the front door open and close. She was glad Grace wasn't there, because this was a perfect time to find some answers.

When Danny came into the living room, his expression was unreadable. That was new.

"What is this?" Kono held up the book.

"A journal," Danny answered, truthfully enough.

"Explain August 15th."

There was a long pause. "I can't."

"Stop lying to me!"

"It's the truth! I can't tell you. I can't explain."

"It said orders. Whose orders?"

"Kono, I can't answer your questions."

"What did you mean, you would bring him home? Danny, Steve is dead. You seem to be the only one that doesn't get that. Is this some kind of secret revenge mission?"

"No. Please believe me. Everything will be okay."

"How can you say that? You've been lying to me about something, but you won't tell me what. And you say everything will be okay? You're getting to be just like Chin, you know that?"

"Yeah. I know. Please... trust me."

"Is Steve dead? Really?"

Danny didn't answer.

H-5-O

In the months Steve had been hiding, they had come very little closer to catching Hesse. Frustration mounted for a variety of reasons. The impossibility of the circumstances made Danny and Steve suffer in in different ways, and in some ways, the same.

Because they watched each other. Over the course of their relationship, they had learned to read one another. They became empathic. So, when they were together, any pain was magnified exponentially.

Sometimes, when they were working, it felt like they were the same person because they were fixated on the same goal for basically the same motivation.

It made it that much harder when they were alone. Because they were alone anywhere else. Only the two of them fully grasped what was going on, if even they did.

It was late November when Danny couldn't keep quiet anymore. Steve was the only person he could be honest with in any capacity.

"Kono's pregnant," he said suddenly.

Steve turned form the computer screen where he had been checking surveillance cameras.

"What?" he said.

"You heard me."

"You don't sound happy."

"Well... she didn't exactly tell me. She has been for a while, but she hasn't said anything. She's... she's not talking to me. Not really."

"Why?"

"Because she knows something's going on. I don't know what she must think, but it can't be good. A while ago she found some stuff I'd written back in August. She asked me about it and I said I couldn't tell her anything. Ever since then... it's been quiet."

"What did you write?"

"Just thoughts. Nothing really specific, but anyone with half a brain could read between the lines. She doesn't know you're alive; I think she thinks I'm in denial or something."

"Have you asked her about...?"

"No. No, I can't because if she doesn't want to tell me, I have no right to."

"Danny, she's your wife."

"The same one I'm lying to. The one who knows I'm lying to her."

"So... I don't know. Give her something. Tell her enough that she'll trust you."

"What's that? You know her. She's never satisfied until she knows the whole story. And as it stands, she can't."

Steve sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know, Danny. I guess we just get back to work and pray this is over soon."

"What have we achieved so far? Really?"

"We have a strong case against Noshimuri, and he has no idea. Still, that's not what we wanted."

"I'm going to ask around and see if I can find out just why these guys wanted you dead."

"Around? You mean you're going to see my brother-in-law?"

"Well, now that he thinks you're dead, he might be more willing to share."

"Yeah. Maybe. I wouldn't put it past him to dance on my grave if he got the chance."

"Well, I can use that. If I can just get him talking, I can get what I want out of him because I have the advantage of knowing more than he does."

"Be careful, Danny."

"When am I not careful?"

"When people piss you off. And Kyle's good at that. You don't want to draw a target on your own back."

"He won't know what I'm after; I can be subtle."

"Really? I'd like to see this."

"Shut up."

"Yeah. Get going, Danno."

H-5-O

Danny entered the interrogation room at Halawa Correctional Facility looking impassive. Kyle Carpenter sat at the metal table, cuffed and not particularly happy.

"How's prison life treating you?" Danny asked, sitting across from Kyle.

Kyle shook his head. "What do you want, Jersey?"

"Well, I assume you've heard."

"That super cop is dead? Yeah, What of it?"

"You were instrumental in Victor Hesse's escape. That makes you an accessory. Now, maybe that makes you happy, but just because you're in prison doesn't mean you can't be prosecuted. You're never getting out of here."

"Does that make you feel better?"

"Yeah. It does. And I'll find Hesse; it's only a matter of time."

"No, you won't. You think you're so powerful 'cause you've got the governor behind you? These people don't play by your rules."

"Well, guess what, Kyle, I don't play by theirs."

"You don't get it, none of you. You have limits, standards. You won't kill an unarmed man, and you have to worry about protecting innocents. Hesse, Wo Fat, all of them, they don't have that problem."

"You know what they say; I have something worth fighting for, something your brother-in-law died for."

"And you're ready to die for it too, huh? Guess I knew that. You, my dad, my sister, your dead partner, you're all the same. Whatever happened to survival of the fittest?"

"I guess that depends on your definition of 'fittest.' Darwin was a quack anyway."

"So what's your definition."

Danny smirked. "Steve McGarrett."

H-5-O

"He gave me Wo Fat," Danny told Steve the next day.

"What?" Steve couldn't believe it.

"He said Hesse and Wo Fat have no problem killing innocents."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he realized what he was saying. It's enough to ask Wo Fat some questions."

Steve inhaled through his teeth." Danny, you'd better watch your back."

"I know. Kyle said something about me dying for the same thing you did. But this means I'm getting close."

"You need backup."

"Well, I'd love that, but who would you suggest?"

"I think it's about time we brought some people in on the secret. We can't get anything done on our own."

Danny nodded. "There aren't many we can trust, you know."

"Yeah. Just Chin, Kono, and Kaye."

"So, how am I gonna keep them from killing me when I tell them? And what about the governor?"

"Bring them here and don't tell them why. The governor doesn't need to know until it's over."

"And what about McKenzie?"

Steve hesitated. "No. As long as she thinks I'm dead, I have to stay away from her. Everyone's safer that way."