Chapter 9
It takes Chin under five minutes to trace Steve's credit card and Danny's anger boils over. The fifty bucks at a flower shop is the only thing that makes him smile even remotely. He's appalled at the rest. Two thousand dollars have been spent at various stores in the nearest mall. He curses and seethes in the car on his way there. Chin's tracking her with the security camera feed after hacking into the system and directs him right to where she is. He catches up to her as she's about to head into Victoria's Secret and just… no.
He speeds up and grabs her bicep from behind, hard. He's not her brother. Steve may tolerate her shit but he sure as hell doesn't have to.
"Five-0. You're under arrest," he snaps, all his anger showing through. Before she even has time to react, he has both her wrists secured behind her back with his handcuffs. He refuses to think what Steve will do to him when he finds out but this isn't about him. Or rather it is, but it's more about Mary Ann and Steve.
"Hey!" she cries, outraged.
"Mary Ann McGarrett, you're under arrest for petty larceny, credit card fraud and identity theft. You have the right to remain-"
"Danny what the hell!"
"You have the right to shut the hell up and I suggest you use it. 'Cause every word you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you. Do you understand these rights?" he growls as he marches her towards the exit, ignoring the wide-eyed looks lf the throngs of tourists and locals.
"Danny what the hell are you doing?!"
"I'm arresting you for stealing Steve's credit card and using it, Mary," he barks, facing her.
"My brother-"
"Isn't here right now," he cuts in. "He's in the ICU, fighting for his life while you, are out here, shopping, with his stolen credit card, acting like a friggin teenager!"
"I-"
"Don't wanna hear it. Get in the car." He ignores her protests and shoves her into the Camaro's passenger seat. He does however watch that she doesn't bump her head and ties her seatbelt.
The drive to HQ is silent, Mary sulking in her seat and Danny praying like hell he isn't making things worse but something's gotta give somewhere with Mary and Steve apparently can't give her the tough love she seems to need and for some reason, soft lug that he is, Danny's willing. Or maybe it's because he's a father, he understands better how seeing things through, seeing the consequences of your actions will help you grow up. He understands why Steve acts the way he does, or at least, he has a good idea. He's seen Mary's record. He knows how many times Steve's pulled her out of trouble, paid her bail, her fines, for her attorney, always kept her out of jail. Thing is, family's supposed to go both ways. She's supposed to be there for him too and that's why this is pissing him off so much. That's why he won't let her off easy.
He marches into HQ and past Chin's startled, puzzled eyes and dumps her into interrogation, shutting the door and locking it. 'Let her stew', he thinks. Then, he leans back against the door and bangs his head against it, letting his body slide down till he's sitting on the floor.
"You arrested her," Chin says.
"Yeah." He sounds weary as hell but he is, he really, really is.
"Steve's gonna be pissed."
"Steve's not gonna know," he says pointedly.
"Really?"
"You really think I'm gonna press charges, Chin? Really?"
"So why are you doing this?" Chin asks, sitting down beside him.
Danny runs a hand through his hair and stares at the floor. "I dunno. I just.. Her brother is in the hospital, seriously injured, maybe dying, maybe not and this is what she does? Does she not realize the seriousness of the situation?"
"I think she does. All too well, brah, and maybe she can't cope so she does something stupid. Something that makes the pain go away? Besides, you have little sisters too, don't you? What would you do if they were in trouble?"
"Yeah well that's still acting like a child and she's not a kid. Tough. But you have to face reality sometime. And what if Steve dies, huh? He's not gonna be there to get her out of trouble. She's gonna have to face up to what she gets herself into. And I'd move heaven and earth to help my sisters, just like I did my brother, including giving 'em tough love if I thought that's what they needed."
"Ah!" Chin says, looking, at least in Danny's mind, like an old Chinese wise man. "And you think now's the time to start?"
Danny sighs deeply, letting his head fall into his hands and rubbing furiously. "I dunno."
"Well, you better come up with something fast, brah. McGarrett called. He's been moved to his regular room. A-2323. I'm gonna go see him. Kono's meeting me there."
"Okay."
"Danny."
"What."
"Don't take this all onto yourself. Steve needs you in one piece and you're falling apart. Let this go, brah. Stop taking on the world's problems and give yourself time to cope, to heal. You're important too."
He can't say anything. He can't because his throat's suddenly too tight but he nods when he feels Chin's hand grab his shoulder and squeeze.
He feels Chin Ho leave and he rubs his hands over his hair and wipes his eyes, trying to find his vanished composure. He started something and now it's time to see it through. He rises and faces the door, squares his shoulders and goes in, grabbing the chair outside the door.
"What the-"
"Sit down, Mary," he says wearily and sits backward on the chair he brought in, crossing his arms over the top of the backrest.
She sits and for once, he's grateful she doesn't argue. "Thank you," he says and means it.
"You're arresting me. Like for real."
"Mary, do you have any clue why I called you, asked you to come?"
"Yeah, Cause Steve's in the hospital."
"No. I called you, asked you to come because your brother is sick and there was a good chance he wasn't going to pull through. Still is. I thought you'd want to be there for him. I thought he'd like having you by his side, having his sister there. And… and you? You steal from him? I'm his best friend, Mary and you think I'm just gonna stand here and do nothing?"
"I dunno why I did that okay?" she yells. "I don't… deal well with… stuff."
Danny sighs, covering his face with his hands. He rubs it a few times and looks up, rolling his lips between his teeth "I know. Steve told be about the bipolar thing."
"He what?! He told you?"
"I kinda guessed but yeah, Mary, he told me. Because he's worried about you and he wanted me to understand you, why you did this. Why you always do this." It doesn't really help her outrage, he can tell. Hell, he'd be pissed too if someone had revealed that kind of about him to someone else.
"I can't believe he told you. That… That's private!"
"Yeah, it is. But… he's only trying to protect you. Like all those times he bailed you out, paid for your lawyers... You have any clue how lucky you are? That he cares for you that much? Despite the distance between you two, he's never let you down. He's always been there for you, even if it was just to get you out of trouble."
Mary drops her eyes and she sighs. "I just… stupid disease… I just… Can't help it sometimes."
"That's a lie," he spits out viciously and the effect is instantaneous. She's on her feet, roaring in anger.
"Where do you get off… You and your fucking prejudice… I thought… of all people, a good cop and my brother's best friend wouldn't be a biased idiot. It's not a choice! It's a friggin mental illness dude!"
"I know that, okay?" he roars right back, shoving to his feet and getting in her space, into her face. "I know damn well what it is 'cause my mother has it!"
He stops and lets his head drop, hand on his hips, breathing hard. He closes his mouth and forces himself to take deep, even breaths through his nose, reining in the anger. Mary sits abruptly in silent shock and he sees her eyes darting around the room, looking for a way to escape.
"Look. I know it's a disease. I know all about it. Meaning I know you can control it, Mary Ann, I know you can stop letting it control you, stop using it as an excuse when you mess up."
"An excuse!"
"Yeah. Like now. Bipolar disorder is cyclic, Mary. You didn't just get into a high as your brother went into the hospital. Now I'm not saying it doesn't mess with impulse control because it does but you don't have to let it rule you!"
"It's not that simple, Danny!"
"It is simple. It's just not easy. Mary, my mom was like you, for a long, long time. Thin was, she wasn't as lucky as you so when she got in trouble, she got arrested. She was twenty and… The DA sent her for a pshych eval and she was diagnosed with type II bipolar disorder. Court ordered treatment. She got clean, she got help, meds… Turned her life around. She had five kids, raised us right, even though wasn't always easy. She had bad days, hell bad months but… she never let it control her life again. And you can too, Mary. You have to. Because one day, Steve won't be there to bail you out. And right now, today? He needs you to be there for him. He's the one who needs his family."
"It's not that bad, Danny."
"No? You think I'd have called you if this wasn't serious? He almost died, Mary. He still could. How could you not get that?"
"The doctor said he was gonna be fine! They're moving him back to a room this afternoon."
"Yeah. He's gonna be fine, barring any complications. Complications he's had like persistent fevers and a pulmonary embolism!"
He locks eyes with her and she caves, bright tears filling her eyes and spilling over her cheeks.
"I… he's all I have. What's gonna happen to me if…"
"You'll be okay, babe," he says, wrapping her in his arms. "You just gotta work at it a bit. Okay?"
She sniffs and nods. "I'm sorry about stealing his credit card."
"Take everything back and we're good on that but there's another thing I need you to promise me and I'll hold you to it, okay?"
"What."
He slips a hand in his shirt pocket and takes one of his business cards. He rummages in his back pocket for the pencil he always keeps there, an old cop's habit to always have something to take notes with. He writes something on the back of the card and hands it to Mary.
"My mom still lives in Newark so she's close to you back home. Call her. She knows what you're going through and she can help, set you on the right path. Okay? Promise?"
"I promise."
"She's waiting for your call."
"Okay."
"Now c'mon. Let's go see your brother."