CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Title: "Forever and Always: For Eternity"

Author: Michelle Heath

Rating: MA for adult situations and language

Summary: Story #6 in the Salvation, Forever and Always Series. The honor of your presence is requested at the wedding of Lana Palea and Chin Ho Kelly.

Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the sole property of the author!

Date Written: June 10, 2011

(Knowing that Libby Thrasher is sitting with Lana and figuring that Libby is just what Lana needs at the moment, Chin decides to do exactly as Lana asked him to and get some sleep and some solid food before returning to the hospital. He also decides to stop by the Five-0 offices on his way back to the hospital to see what, if any, new developments have come up. When he gets there, he finds Steve, Danny, and Kono in her office having a discussion about something; irritated expressions on their faces. Kono is sitting behind her desk absently rubbing slow, gentle circles over her baby bump, Danny is sitting back in one of the comfortable chairs near her desk, and Steve is leaning against her desk with his arms and legs crossed at the ankles. Steve's frown disappears as Chin enters his cousin's office and Kono and Danny put on more pleasant expressions, as well.)

"Hey, Cuz, how's Lana doing today?"

"A little better than she was last night. Libby came sailing through the door of Lana's room at seven o'clock this morning and they both ordered me to go home, take a nap, get some decent food, and take a little break. I'm on my way back up to the hospital right now, but thought I'd stop by and see what's going on."

"Nothing much. We've run background and financials on Edward Powell, III and his immediate family, but they're clean as whistles."

"Yeah, Danny, I figured they probably would be. . . Steve, I was so upset last night that I wasn't really thinking straight. I wanted to ask you, . . What ever happened to the guy who hit Sam's parents?"

(Steve's frown returns and he glances uneasily at Kono and Danny before returning his attention to Chin. Steve knows his answer is going to upset Chin, but what choice does he have? Sooner or later, Chin will find out, and Steve decides it would be better coming from him now rather than Chin running across it down the road and becoming even angrier than he is already.)

"You remember Sam saying the guy who hit her parents was an aide to a sitting United States Senator at the time of the accident, right?"

"Yeah. Please don't tell me the guy got off."

"The Senator pulled some strings and, well, the guy basically got five hundred hours of community service."

"He caused the deaths of two innocent people because he was driving drunk and all he got was community service?"

"Yeah. His record was spotless up until the accident, so the judge basically let him off with a slap on the hand. He's now married to the Senator's daughter and is a very successful attorney with a prestigious law firm in Baltimore."

"Let me get this straight. This guy gets drunk at a party, gets behind the wheel of a car, hits Sam's folks head on and kills them, and, because he works for a high-powered politician who pulled some strings for him, he gets to walk away with basically no punishment? He gets to get married, have kids, get a great job, and lives happily ever after while two innocent people died and their daughter has to live with the horror of what happened to them every, single day?"

"Come on, Chin, you know as well as I do that things like this happen every day. No, it's not fair, but that's the way the criminal justice system in this country works sometimes."

"Well, that's not going to happen in this case! Edward Powell, III is going to pay for what he's done to Lana if I have to take care of it myself!"

"Hey, the last thing Lana needs right now is for you to go off on some vigilante quest! Danny, Kono, and I are going to keep a close eye on the investigation, but the Governor has give me a direct order that Five-0 is to stay out of it; at least, for now."

"And you're just going to do it?"

"For now, but I promise you that we're going to be watching H.P.D.'s investigators carefully. If they screw up or don't actively pursue filing charges against Powell, we'll step in and take over the investigation."

"Steve's right, Chin. The very last thing Lana needs right now is for you to start acting like a jerk. You need to stay calm and be there for her and let us worry about Powell."

"I will be there for Lana, Danny, but Powell needs to be behind bars. If you all can't make that happen; I will."

(Before Steve, Danny, or Kono can respond, Chin turns on his heel and walks rapidly out of Kono's office.)

"That went well."

"What'd you expect, Danny? Chin's angry and scared. He wants to strike out at someone, and I don't blame him."

"Nor do I, Kono, but he can't do Lana any good if he's in jail!"

(Chin's anger is simmering just below the surface and his is having a difficult time keeping it together. The urge to go straight to Powell's house and put his fist through the guy's face is nearly overwhelming, but both Steve's and Danny's words come back to him and he reluctantly admits they're right. By the time he reaches the hospital and is in the elevator on the way up the S.I.C.U., he has managed to rein in his anger and frustration and put a somewhat passable smile on his face. Stepping into Lana's room, he immediately realizes that she and Libby have come to some kind of understanding because Lana's expression is slightly more relaxed than it was when he left earlier.

A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing; I can't begin to tell you how much your kind words mean to me! I'm sorry I haven't been posting as frequently as I usually do, but I've been a bit under the weather for the past few days. Feeling a little better now, so, hopefully, I'll be able to post a little quicker. Again, thank you all so much for reading my work! Michelle