Kokua
Disclaimer: Not mine.
An: Sorry it took so long to update. But here is the long awaited Chapter. I hope you all enjoy it and thank you so much for all the reviews.
Chapter 11
The SEAL was sitting stone-faced and silent looking completely focused in his tactical gear, his tactical weapon in his hands as a young child would clasp a favorite stuffed animal or security blanket as they rode in the helo. For Steve, Danny mused this was his security blanket, he had noticed it before after they had rescued him from the North Korea incident; and on that note Danny vowed that this next generation of McGarrett would have a plethora of normal stuffed animals. His gaze swung around to where Commander Parker, the admiral's son, had just boarded and was exchanging a tight-lipped handshake and squeeze on the shoulder with Steve, before he took a seat and nodded to the pilot. Kono had left an hour or so earlier in another helicopter to take surveillance photographs and confirm that the coordinates checked out. And now they had the green light, Danny mused as he felt the helo take to the air, and for the second time he was in jungle-camo attire. Closing his eyes briefly Danny uttered a prayer that they found Catherine and that their search and rescue mission did not become a search and recovery mission. Flicking his eyes back to Steve, he knew that the stoic SEAL would not be able to handle the loss of his ladylove and child. He had spoken with Mary briefly and had wired her the money for a ticket so she could be on the next flight out.
****H50****
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool metal of the craft behind him, the last 96 hours had been a nightmare for him; a constant state of something he did not want to ever experience again, the elevated heart rate, the headache and tightness in his chest, the feeling of hopelessness. If she was dead, he would know, Steve told himself over and over again. He knew in his heart that if she was dead he would know it, it was that glimmer of faith and hope which had him staggering on wobbly legs. Feeling someone squeeze his knee he opened his eyes and looked into the friendly face of Commander Travis Parker, they had gone through both Annapolis and BUDS together; they looked as if they could pass for brothers both tall and dark with extremely good looks, or so they had been told. Travis's eyes were a cool jade color as Steve's were a stormy ocean blue, they had been close friends since they were green and seventeen.
"We'll find her," Commander Parker said locking eyes with Steve and giving his knee another squeeze. "Follow my lead. And if she's done with all the explosions that follow you around and wants a quieter life, she is more than welcome to dump your sorry ass, and finally marry me."
The two shared an edgy grin as Steve said, "In case you haven't heard Parker, she's carrying my kid. Besides you had multiple chances when we were younger, and if memory serves me correct, she told you no, every single time."
"She told you no too, quite a few times," Commander Parker responded without missing a beat.
"And that's why they call me Smooth Dog…" Steve replied with a smirk of normalcy. Parker grinned and clapped McGarrett on the shoulders. "Lord help your child…"
****H50****
The closest that they had been able to touch down was five miles out and Danny cursed the punks for choosing such a remote location to stash Catherine and Lt. Sawyer. Steve however, seemed to be back to his normal SEAL on a mission attitude, whatever Commander Parker had said to him at seemed to kick him back into gear, and for that Danny was thankful. They were now trekking briskly and silently through the jungle with Kono guiding them from above with aerial surveillance. Chin had commented that they must have taken ATV's at one point because he had spied some fresh tracks in the mud from the recent rain.
Steve and Commander Parker were communicating via special SEAL hand signals which reminded Danny of when his younger sisters were growing up and had developed a secret language just to annoy and irritate him and his parents who thought that his younger sisters' secret language was cute. One thing that amazed Danny about this Island was how one moment he was trekking though a tropical jungle and the next a heavily wooded forest thick with mosses and filtered sunlight.
"You're about a mile out," Kono's voice came through Danny's earpiece. "All looks clear from up here, thermal scans show two warm bodies." Danny chuckled softly at that and said, "Thanks Kono, soon this madness will be over."
****H50****
The old structure, a dilapidated stilted wooden hut, in Danny's opinion, sat at the top of the hill one hundred yards in front of them. Danny shot a look to Steve. Commander Parker signaled for them to freeze where they are as their sharply trained eyes scanned the area. "Proceed with extreme caution," the Commander commanded as the four of them, fanned out and slowly started up the hill, weapon's out and steady in their hands. The forest was still and silent.
****H50****
Steve felt Danny's body slam into his knocking them to the ground as the structure in front of them erupted in a ball of flames and a cloud of smoke and dust. "No!" Steve cried out trying to wriggle out from underneath Danny, his cheek stung from where it had slammed into the earth.
"Everyone okay?" Commander Parker's voice called out as the smoke and debris was clearing.
"Kono what happened?" Chin's voice was barking.
"Low impact explosives from the thermal readings," Kono's voice crackled over their earpieces.
"Had to be a remote detonator," Commander Parker said, "Kono can you track it? Figure out how that explosion happened."
"Catherine!" Steve had thrown Danny off and was scrambling to his feet and charging up the hill to what remained of the hut. Danny, Chin and the Commander scrambling after him.
"Catherine!" he called out. "Kono I need a thermal image of this!"
"Twenty paces to your right boss!" Kono's voice directed as she studied the thermal imaging screen in front of her. Three warm bodies were visible, two still and unmoving, another upright.
"Catherine!" Steve called out again tossing the pieces of thatched roof and wall aside as he waded into the rubble.
"There should be two bodies, people, ten paces apart…" Kono guided.
Pushing away a piece of the mud-thatched wall Steve dropped to his knees as he uncovered the unconscious and pale body of one Lieutenant Catherine Rollins. "Cath…" Steve choked out as he quickly uncovered the rest of her body brushing away the rubble and debris. Blood seeped from a previously stitched gash along her hairline and from the cut on her cheek, her body covered in grit and grime, the slight swell of her belly and caught Steve's breath.
"We've got another body over here," Chin's voice called out. "Lt. Sawyer, he's got a pulse and seems to be coming around."
"MedEvac is on their way," Kono's voice came.
A snap of a knife brought Steve back to attention as he looked over to see Danny cutting away the ropes that bound Catherine's wrists. Lt. Sawyer was sitting up and sipping water as Commander Parker was giving him a head to toe field exam for any critical injuries and setting up an IV on the injured man.
"Come on Cath…" Steve murmured as he fumbled for a pulse, he eyes running a head to toe exam as he checked for signs of breathing and consciousness. "Come on baby…" he breathed, finding a slow and steady pulse, he gently rubbed her wrists careful to move her and cause any further injury. She was warm to the touch, feverish and chilled as a shiver ran through her otherwise still form.
"She's got a fever and concussion on my last check," came the weak and raspy voice of Lt. Sawyer. "A separation and partial to her shoulders, I was able to set both of them. Her right leg is swollen at the knee and ankle," Steve examined the injury sites as Sawyer talked him through them, his own advanced medical training kicking in. Checking for spinal injury, and finding none, Steve and Danny carefully rolled Catherine from her prone position on her side to her back as Steve set up an IV and handed it to Danny before moving back to check Catherine for breathing, frowning he tilted her head back slightly and breathed into her mouth twice. Counting to five Steve breathed again two breaths in and then felt for her pulse.
"I've still got a pulse but she's not breathing," Steve said. Commander Parked scooted over doing his own check and looking at Steve.
"Your breaths are going through?" he asked as Steve breathed again keeping in count with the rules of rescue breathing. Catherine's chest clearly rose and fell. "Two more," he said opening up his kit to assemble the bag-valve-mask.
Steve breathed twice more before he was greeted with a raspy cough and the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen. Kissing her forehead and lips, Steve gathered her into a hug. "Cath…" he breathed.
"I love you…" she breathed before her eyes fluttered closed, her hand tightly gripping Steve's as Commander Parker slipped an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.
"Med-Evac is here," Danny said squeezing his best friend's shoulder. "Let's get her home."
:)