CHAPTER ELEVEN
Title: "Salvation: Forever and Always: Our Love, Our Legacy"
Author: Michelle Heath
Rating: MA for adult situations and language
Summary: Story #8 in the Salvation series. The Five-0 family face challenges that make them all re-evaluate their lives.
Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!
Date Written: September 16, 2011
(Sam has been working on reports all morning long and has just finished the last one, much to her vast relief. The Flight Ops building is fairly deserted as most of the pilots and RIOs are about seventy-five miles out in the Pacific flying training exercises with the U.S.S. Coral Sea, and the quietness is about to drive Sam batty. The sound of footsteps in the hall catches her attention, and she looks up toward her office door just as her husband steps across the threshold. One look at Steve's face is all it takes; she knows! Standing up slowly, Sam walks around her desk and meets Steve in the middle of her office. Searching his beautiful eyes, she sees anguish and is sure that her own are filled with dread. Wordlessly, she steps closer and feels his strong arms close around her as hers slide up and around his neck. Laying her head on his shoulder, she breathes deeply and forces herself to stay calm.)
"When?"
"Sometime in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours."
"Can you tell me where?"
"I'm not sure, yet. I'll know more tomorrow."
"Can you tell me why?"
"I haven't been ordered not to, yet, so yeah, Sam, I'm going to tell you. Let's sit down."
(And Steve proceeds to tell Sam everything he knows about the situation. Sam listens in silence and doesn't allow a tear to fall. When Steve is through, he looks at her with so much love in his eyes that Sam almost loses the battle, but she is determined that she's not going to fall apart.)
"I love you more than anything, Sam. I wouldn't hurt you for the world if I could help it."
"I know that, Steve. Two halves of a whole, remember? . . We both knew this was a possibility, and we both know that you have to go. Not because someone orders you to, but because you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you didn't. You are the bravest, most honorable man I know. In fact, I told McBaby that very thing just this morning. Am I happy about this? Absolutely not. Am I going to cry and scream and whine? Never. Remember when we were talking about this a few months ago, right around the time Eric was born, and I told you the thought of you being called up terrified me? Well, I'm terrified, but you told me that you knew I would make you proud because I would do what's expected of me as the wife of an Officer and a SEAL, and I will, Steve. I promise you that, no matter what, I'll hold my head up high and be a strong, positive example for the other wives. I will not let you down."
"I know you won't, Sweetheart, and I am proud of you, Sam. I won't let you down, either. I'm going on this op and I'm going to find Alexei Kasavitch and whoever is working with him and I'm going to eliminate the threat to the people I love, and then I'm coming home; to you and our baby."
"I think we need to call a family meeting, Steve; tonight."
"I agree. Our house, 1900 hours?"
"Sounds good. I'll tell Caroline when she gets back from the Coral Sea and I'll call Mom and Dad. You take care of Kono and Tony and Lana and Chin."
"On it, Beautiful. I love you, Sam, with all my heart."
"I love you, too, Steve. Forever and always."
(At seven o'clock that evening, everyone gathers at the McGarrett's although they have no idea why. Once Kono and Tony arrive with little Eric, they all move out to the back deck, and Steve, standing beside the chair in which Sam is sitting, explains the situation.)
"First of all, thank you all for coming. I know this was a last minute thing, but I promise you it's important. . . I'm being called back to active duty, and I'll be deploying within the next thirty-six to forty-eight hours."
(As he expected, this news is met with varying degrees of shock and there are stunned expressions on most everyone's face. Libby's horrified expression switches from Steve to Sam and back again, but neither Sam nor Steve appears the least bit upset; appears being the operative word.)
"I haven't yet been ordered not to discuss this op but what I'm about to tell you is, most likely, highly classified so I'm going to trust all of you to keep this to yourselves. But, since the whole reason I'm going on this op could directly affect you, I feel you have the right to know."
(Steve gives them all the information he has and, again, the reactions are varied. When he finishes, there is silence, punctuated only by the sounds of the waves breaking on the shore, for several minutes. Mike and Tony, thinking like the military men they are, are the first to regain their equilibrium, and Tony asks the first question.)
"Who's on your team, Boss?'
"Don't know, yet, but don't even think about volunteering, Lieutenant. I'll feel better knowing you're here handling things on this end."
"How good's the intel for this op, Son?"
"I honestly don't know, Mike. Guess I'll find out when I talk with Adm. Harte tomorrow. . . Are you all right, Libby?"
(At Steve's question, all eyes find the older woman whom they've all come to love and look upon as the matriarch of their family. Libby is pale and an expression of anguish is on her face. At the moment, she is torn; part of her is extremely proud of Steve; the other part, the mother and grandmother, is upset beyond words.)
"I just need a minute to absorb all of this. To be honest, while I'm concerned for your safety, dear, I'm worried about Sam, too. This is most distressing."
(Sam, who has remained quiet up until this point, calmly stands up and walks over to her mother's chair where she gracefully kneels down and takes her mother's hand in hers. Smiling up into the face she loves so much, Sam does her best to set her mother's fears to rest.)
"Mom, Steve was hand-picked for this op because Adm. Harte knows just how good a SEAL Steve is, he knows he can depend on him to accomplish his mission and prevent a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, and he knows Steve will do this as quickly and efficiently as possible. I'd be lying if I said this deployment isn't going to be hard for me because it will be, but it's going to be hard on Steve, too. He's going to be worried about me and our baby while he's gone, but I know he won't allow his concern for us to interfere with his ability to get the job done; he can't because any distraction could cost him his life or the lives of the men on his team. I trust Steve to complete this op and come home to me and the baby, and I know that he will do everything he possibly can to make that happen because I know he loves both of us. I am so in love with Steve and I am so proud of him, and there's no way I'm going to let him down. So, while Steve is taking care of his part of this deployment, I'm going to take care of mine, and I know I can count on you, on all of you, to do the same."
(Libby looks at her daughter in stunned amazement. Sam has just done for her mother exactly what Libby has done for so many SEAL wives over the years, and Libby actually feels a little ashamed of herself. Glancing around, she sees admiration and respect for Sam in the faces of every other person present, and there is no doubt as to the pride on Steve's face. Libby's expression changes to one of determination as she pats her daughter's hand.)
"Samantha, I have never been more proud of you than I am at this moment."