A/N: I know at the end of last chapter, I sad I was going to post on Thursday...but I'm going to post now :) Mahalo to the kind people that reviewed, followed, and/or favorited! Y'all are amazing.
Danny gets the first half of this chapter, and then the rest of the team gets the second half.
Warnings for language!
Hope you have a goodtime reading!
Disclaimer: Let it be 'duly noted' that I neither own nor claim to own any part, person, or plot line of the Hawaii Five-0 franchise.
Chapter Ten
Danny woke up and realized that everything was wrong.
First of all, he was in a bed.
A comfy, soft bed, with a mattress and pillows and sheets and a light blue duvet cover that reminded him of a cloudless blue sky.
Through a nearby window, moonlight filtered into the room, and Danny saw several pieces of furniture around that he was pretty sure he didn't own: a nightstand, a towering bookcase...and his walls weren't tan. Why were the walls tan?
Someone stirred beside him, and Danny nearly leapt out of the bed in shock.
He was not alone.
Cautiously, he reached out and flicked on the bedside lamp...wait.
How did he know there was a lamp there?
Light flooded the room, illuminating the delicate, porcelain face of a woman tucked serenely into the neighboring pillow. Her wavy brown hair was glossy and shiny, the perfect brows quirked in sleep and full lips partly open.
"Rachel?" Danny gasped in disbelief.
Moaning softly, his ex-wife stirred in her sleep, reaching out for him. Her fingers found his arm, and Danny jerked away in fear and confusion.
This wasn't right.
Hadn't he just been in a dungeon-like room, being tortured by a crazy band of brothers? Wasn't he on non-speaking terms with Rachel? Why was he in bed with her? Where was he?
As if sensing his rising panic, Rachel woke up. Her chocolate eyes squinting in the lamplight, she sat up. "What's wrong, Daniel?" she asked confusedly. "Did something wake you?"
"Rachel..." said Danny slowly, as if the name tasted strange on his tongue. "Where...where am I?"
"You're at home, Danny," answered Rachel. "You're at home, in bed."
"Where's Gracie?" he demanded, suddenly worried about his daughter. "Where is she?"
"In her room, sleeping...Daniel, what's gotten into you?"
He didn't answer, instead sliding out of bed to find himself in sweatpants and a grey tee.
That was strange, cuz last he remembered, he'd been wearing a dress shirt and slacks.
Shaking his head in wonder, Danny padded out of the room, not even turning around when he heard Rachel slide out of bed and follow him.
"Which door?" he whispered.
"What kind of question is that?" his ex demanded. "It's your house, Daniel! How could you not know where Grace's room is?"
Danny took a deep breath and, trying his best to ignore Rachel's very good questions, relied on instinct, grabbing a random door handle and twisting it slowly.
Silently, the door swung open.
In her bed, Grace lay on her left side, facing her parents. Her tiny form was curled up under the blankets, and she cuddled a stuffed rabbit by her cheek. Light snores rose from her open mouth.
Eyes filling up with tears, Danny swallowed hard, his body shaking with tremors as he stared at his sleeping daughter.
"I haven't see her in forever," he breathed to himself, his throat tight. "Oh, Monkey."
"Daniel," hissed Rachel worriedly, "you just had a daddy-daughter day yesterday! Don't you remember? You went to the beach at ten in the morning and didn't come back until eight at night! What do you mean you haven't seen her in ages?"
His attention solely on Grace, Danny didn't answer, taking a stunned step towards the bed, hand outstretched.
"Gracie..." he whispered.
Another step forward.
"I've missed you so much, Monkey...so, so much..."
He forgot all about Rachel, the strange house, and the feeling of not belonging. All of it faded away, and there was only Grace, only his beloved daughter that he had missed for so long.
"Gracie," he whispered again, taking another step closer. "Danno's here, Monkey."
Another step.
He lowered his hand to lay on her hair...
And pitched forward, falling suddenly into a black hole, filled with nothing but darkness.
"Danno!" Grace's shriek echoed in the dark. "Danno! Help me, I'm falling!"
Oh no. Grace couldn't be here, Grace could not be here in this horrifying blackness, plummeting to her demise...
"Grace!" Danny screamed. "Gracie, baby!"
He couldn't ask where she was.
He couldn't see her.
"Danno!" Her voice sounded further away now, more distant, and Danny's heart pounded with such force that his chest ached with a fiery intensity.
"Grace!" he shouted desperately again. "Grace!"
"Danno!" She cried once more, before a horrible thud reverberated in the pitch black.
The horrible pain in his chest ratcheted up about ten notches, and he bellowed in pure agony as he realized that Grace had hit the ground. The scream that tore from his throat was so full of grief that it did not sound human.
Grace was gone. His Baby was dead.
Because of him. He had let her fall.
He had let her fall...
Hard, firm ground solidified underneath him, and suddenly, he was lying on his back and he felt wet and everything hurt with a fierce, aching pain. Barely aware, he shuddered and trembled as tremors wracked his beaten body. A face appeared above him, but it was so blurred and unfocused that Danny couldn't tell who it was, or even if it was a man or a woman.
"Steve..." he managed in a shattered whisper. "Grace..."
"Welcome back, buddy," he heard a voice say. A voice that was definitely not Steve, or Chin, or anyone that he'd been hoping to hear.
Even though his body was in immense torment, he still recognized the male tone as Ricky Genovese.
Hopeless tears slid down Danny's face. The dream about Rachel and Grace had shaken him to the core, and after witnessing his sweet daughter die, even if it had only been a nightmare, left him emotionally drained.
Weakly, he attempted to lift his arm to smack Ricky in the face, but he only managed a slight twitch before laying still again.
Ricky chuckled. "Wouldn't try so hard to move if I were you," he said, amused. "Joe had a little too much fun holding your head underwater; we just got done resuscitating you. Might've pounded a little too hard on your chest, but...oh well! You gotta do what you gotta do...speaking of doing things, Joe! Al! It's five-fifty, get a move on!"
"I would," replied Joe sullenly, "if Al would give me my beretta."
"No! Use the .45! It's perfectly fine!"
"I don't wanna use the .45. Plus, the beretta is mine! M-I-N-E!"
"Oh for God's sake," groaned Ricky. "Just take the goddam .45, Joseph, and quit being such a fucking baby! Now get going! You're not going to be late for your own hostage-cash exchange!"
Without another word but obviously pouting, the twins left.
Affliction crippling his body and drowning out most coherent thoughts, Danny lay limply on the floor, letting waves of wailing agony crash over him. He was on the verge of letting go. He knew that Al and Joe were just going to kill Steve and the team, and even if Five-0 managed to escape, how would they find him?
And when?
Danny wasn't sure how long he could hold on.
5-0-5-0-5-0
The cars zipped along the road in quick succession: first, the Chrysler; then, the Silverado, catching up; and last, the Impala, slowly but steadily gaining.
Each driver was intent on a unanimous purpose: going faster.
In the Impala, Chin grit his teeth and shoved his foot all the way down, flooring the accelerator. With a sudden burst of speed, the Impala shot forward, jolting him and Kono in their seats. They both gasped.
Chin watched as Steve attempted to force the kidnappers off the road, but the Chrysler zoomed forward and avoided the accident. Shaking his head, Chin addressed his cousin. "Kono, I need you to pull up a map of these roads. Find me a spot where we can intercept these sons of bitches!"
"On it," Kono replied immediately. Quick to act, the rookie punched buttons on her phone and, in seconds, had an answer.
"Turn left here!" she urged suddenly. "You'll be able to cut them off at the second right, if you catch up to them! If not, we'll end up behind Steve just like we are now."
Setting his jaw in determination, Chin leaned forward, pressing all his weight onto the accelerator.
Beside him, Kono braced herself stiffly and stared straight ahead, focusing on the road. Though she trusted her cousin to refrain from ending up in a car accident, she couldn't help but feel nervous by the fast pace.
The landscape was whizzing by in a swirl of green, brown, and blue, but Chin didn't even notice. The only thing that existed was the road. The only purpose: to save his friend.
A sharp corner approached, and Chin screeched around it with a skilled twist of the wheel. Kono couldn't help a started scream, clinging tightly to the sides of her seat. "Dammit Chin!" she yelled.
"I have to do this!" Chin shouted back.
"Just keep in mind that we're no use to Danny if we get killed in this car!"
Chin grit his teeth and swerved again to wind around another turn. His cousin was right, and yet he could not bring himself to slow down. The car was speeding along so fast now, it would take more than a few seconds to stop.
And Chin knew what he had to do.
"Kono, do you trust me?" he demanded. They were nearing the final turn, ready to head off the kidnappers.
"Do you trust me?" he yelled again when his cousin hesitated to answer.
"Yes, yes I do!" she cried. "You've always had my back, brah!"
"And you, mine," Chin said.
The turn was getting closer.
He readied himself, preparing to yank the wheel harshly in order to swerve.
Ten seconds to interception.
"Hold on, cuz!"
Five seconds.
With a forceful tug, he pulled the wheel sharply to the right, and the tires squealed against the dirt road; quickly, the car straightened out and Chin slammed forward on the accelerator with all his might.
His vision zeroed in on the blue Chrysler, and he smiled. "Gotcha."
With a yell, he shot forward, smashing into the Chrysler with enough force to shove it backwards a number of feet.
There was a mighty crash, the sound of glass shattering, the ear-grating screech of metal scraping on metal. The hissing of the damaged engines, the groan of destroyed metal, the harsh smell of burning tires.
Behind the collision, the Silverado skidded to a halt, its driver sitting shell-shocked.
"No," Steve whispered hoarsely. "No, no, this can't be happening."
Because there was no movement from
Chin and Kono's car.
There was no movement at all.
To Be Continued...
P.S. Did Chin and Kono pay the price for stopping the twins? Will Steve ever find Danny?
Hmmm...
More soon! Thanks so much for reading!