CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Title: "Salvation: Forever and Always: Elusive Dreams – PART III"
Author: Michelle Heath
Rating: MA for adult situations and language
Summary: Story #9 in the Salvation series. The bonds of family bring the Five-0 ohana even closer.
Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!
Date Written: February 28, 2013
(Nearly two hours after returning to Capt. Stewart's office, Steve walks out of the base hospital feeling totally drained emotionally and the redness of his eyes is a testament to just how bad off he really is at the moment. Once the psychiatrist started asking questions about what, specifically, Sam had told him about her biological parents, Steve realized that she had told him very little. As he went all the way back to when he and Sam first met and really thought about every conversation they'd ever had about Anne and Jonathan Murdock, Steve became aware that Sam had never been very forthcoming about her biological parents and he now sees that she was almost defensive anytime they were brought up. He told Capt. Stewart how he had recently suggested that Sam was hiding something; that perhaps Anne and Jonathan weren't the wonderful, loving parents he had assumed they'd been and how Sam had reacted by slapping him. Now, after talking with the Captain, Steve is wondering just exactly how close he really was to the truth. One thing is certain; Sam is harboring guilty feelings about something connected to the Murdocks and Steve is determined to find out just what that something might be. Pulling out his cellular phone, he sees that it is nearly 1700 hours. He hits the speed dial for Sam but her voicemail picks up. He leaves a sweet, loving message asking her to call him when she has a chance and then hits the speed dial for Libby. After a brief conversation with his mother-in-law, Steve calls Rosa and asks her to keep an eye on Emily for a little while longer, and then drives to his in-law's beach house. Libby and Mike are sitting on their back deck when their son-in-law arrives and one look at him has them both on alert. Wordlessly, Mike steps inside the house and returns with a tumbler of whiskey he hands to Steve as soon as the younger man is seated across from him and Libby.)
"Here, Son, you look like you could use this."
"Thanks, Mike. . . I went back upstairs and had a long talk with Capt. Stewart after you left this afternoon. He's convinced, as am I, that whatever it is that's eating at Sam is connected to Anne and Jonathan; specifically, something to do with their deaths. Do either of you know of anything, anything at all, that was out of the ordinary, in any way, about Sam's relationship with them?"
"Anne and Jonathan were two of the nicest people I've ever known, Steve, and they both loved Sam very much. I can promise you that there was absolutely no possibility that either of them every abused Sam or behaved in any way that was inappropriate with her."
"They were your friends, Libby; your close friends. Are you absolutely sure that, because of your friendship with them, you didn't . . Overlook or miss something?"
"Yes, Steve, I'm absolutely positive. One of the reasons Anne and I were so close is because we shared a very painful bond; we both wanted a houseful of children, but we were both unable to have more than one. You see, Anne was unable to conceive after Sam was born. The doctors said it was a miracle that they had Sam to begin with because Anne's egg production was unusually low. She and Jonathan doted on Sam. Neither of them would have ever done anything to hurt her in any way. She was the only child they would ever have, so she was the center of their world."
"Just what are you getting at, Steve?"
"I'm not sure I know, Mike, but Capt. Stewart is convinced that the reason for Sam's behavior lately, the reason she's been acting so strangely, is directly related to Anne and Jonathan; specifically, to their deaths."
(Steve is becoming more emotional as he speaks and, after carefully placing the tumbler of whiskey on a table beside the loveseat on which he is sitting, Steve lifts tear-filled eyes to his in-laws and his voice breaks.)
"I need you both to think really hard and try to remember everything that happened when the Murdocks died, I need you both to try and remember if Sam said or did anything that might give me some idea of why she feels guilty about their deaths. I need you to help me help Sam because I'm scared to death that I'm losing her and that will kill me!"
(Libby moves quickly to enfold Steve in her motherly embrace and she understands just how deeply this young man she has come to think of as a son is hurting. Tears fill her eyes as she casts a desperate glance in her husband's direction.)
"You are not going to lose her, Steve! Sam loves you too much to ever deliberately hurt you. Surely you know that?"
"I thought I knew her, Libby, but . . . She's never hidden anything from me; at least, not until now."
"I don't think Sam's hiding anything from you now, Steve. I'm not convinced that there's anything for her to hide."
"Then what is wrong with her, Mike? I need my wife and Emily needs her mother. You can see how this is affecting me and it won't be long before Emily realizes that something's wrong with her Mommy. We need to get to the bottom of this now before it hurts our daughter!"
"What did Captain Stewart suggest?"
"He wants to talk to the two of you and to Sam just as he said when we were all in his office. I've already told him everything I know about Sam's biological parents, which isn't a Hell of a lot, and he said he needed more information. Maybe, when the two of you talk with him in the morning, something will come up that will at least give us a clue as to what's eating at Sam."
"Where's Sam right now, Steve?"
"She said she had a meeting with Adm. Henderson when she left the base hospital earlier. I tried calling her when I finally left Capt. Stewart's office but her phone went to voicemail and Rosa said she hadn't heard from her when I called to ask her to watch Emily for a little while longer. I'm assuming Sam's still at the base, Mike."
"Go home, pack an overnight bag for Emily, and bring her back here. I believe it's time that young lady spent a little time with her grandparents and you and Sam need to have a long talk. You need to tell her exactly how you feel, Son. You need to let her know how much you're hurting right now."