"Trouble In Paradise. Again."

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Title: "Trouble In Paradise. Again."

Author: Michelle Heath

Rating: MA for adult language and situations

Summary: Even paradise has its ups and downs. The Hawaii Five-0 family is about to discover more of each.

Date Written: February 16, 2011

Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately!

Honolulu, Hawaii

(In a matter of minutes, Steve, Danny, and Kono have reached the hospital and are walking into the waiting room between Surgery and S.I.C.U. Lana, is, of course, already there and Kono walks straight to the distraught woman and hugs her tightly. Over the past several weeks, Kono has come to realize that Lana is very good for her cousin and that she has become important to Chin.)

"What happened, Lana?"

"His blood pressure started dropping rapidly and his heart rate increased. Classic symptoms of shock from blood loss. Fortunately, the doctor was in the unit when he 'crashed' and decided to take him back to surgery. He's been in there for almost forty-five minutes now."

"He'll be all right."

"God, I hope so."

"He will be. My cousin's too stubborn to die."

(And just as Kono finishes speaking, Chin's doctor walks in with a grim expression on his face.)

"It was a small bleeder, but we've repaired it. I also check while I was in there and everything looks good. Now, it is simply a matter of waiting."

"Is . . Is my cousin going to be all right, Doctor?"

"He's young and he's strong, Mrs. Montgomery. I have every reason to believe he will be just fine."

"Thank God!"

(Steve excuses himself when his cellular phone rings and walks slightly away from the group to take the call. Mike Thrasher is calling to check in and see if Steve has any news. After a brief conversation, Steve ends the call and rejoins Danny, Kono, and Lana. A few minutes later, a nurse tells them they can all see Chin for just a few minutes and they take turns going in. Lana has just returned to the unit to sit with Chin, who is doing fairly well, all things considered, and Steve, Danny, and Kono are about to leave the hospital to return to their office when Mike and Libby Thrasher step into the waiting room. The looks on the Thrasher's faces leave not doubt something is very wrong. A feeling of dread takes control of Steve and he begins to feel real fear.)

"Who?"

"All three of them. Caroline sustained a serious head injury when she ejected, Tony was stabbed during a hand-to-hand with a band of renegades, and Sam was shot running to the helo to extract. They're on board the Reagan right now but they'll be transferring them to Ramstein soon."

"But they're alive?"

"Yes. At least, they were as of thirty minutes ago when my contact called me. I have a call in to the Pentagon right now, and I took the liberty of calling Gov. Jameson and bringing her up to date. Between her and my contacts, we should have no problem getting a transport to Ramstein very shortly."

(Steve, Danny, and Kono are all dealing with the grim news in different ways. Kono, surprisingly, is calm and seems to be holding her own in the emotions department. Steve is stoic and calm although he has paled somewhat and there is a dark frown on his face. Danny is the one, this time, who nearly loses it completely right then and there. Not only has he turned three shades of white, but there are tears in his eyes and a look of tortured pain on his face. Libby Thrasher calmly walks over to her future son-in-law and puts her arms around him. Ever so gently, she pulls his head down to her shoulder and gently rubs his back as his arms go around her for support. She knows exactly what is torturing Danny and attempts to alleviate some of his pain.)

"Caroline knows that you love her, Danny. No matter what happened between the two of you just before she was deployed, she knows."

"I can't believe I was such an ass!"

"Well, dear, just make sure that after you tell her you love her, the next words out of your mouth are ones of sincere apologies."

"It might be a good idea for you all to go home and pack so that we can be ready to leave as soon as they find us a transport plane."

"Yeah, Kono, you and Danny go ahead."

"What about you, Steve?"

"Somebody has to stay here and run this case."

"You can't be serious?"

"I'm very serious, Danny. Somebody's been playing us, somebody shot Chin, and one of us needs to stay here and find out who it is and stop them."

"Did you hear what Mike said? Your wife has been shot!"

"I heard him. If our places were reversed, Sam would do the same thing."

"The Hell she would! Sam needs you, Steve! How do you possibly expect to be able to think straight knowing your wife is half way around the world and in serious condition?"

"Danny . . ."

(None of them have seen Gov. Jameson silently walk up to join the group until she speaks.)

"Lt. Cmdr. McGarrett will be accompanying you to Germany, Det. Williams."

"Governor, like I just told . . ."

"Commander! Your place is in Germany with your wife. I have just spoken to Homeland Security. The C.I.A. has located Sahid Hakeem. He's in the Philippines and they're tracking him as we speak. He's responsible for what happened to Det. Kelly as well as the increased Taliban and Al Qaeda activity in Afghanistan which lead to your loved ones being injured. Malcolm Warner is being replaced as the Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu office of the F.B.I., and our old friend, Adm. Harte is going to personally take charge of this investigation while you're all in Germany."

"I appreciate that, Governor, but . . ."

"Steve, Samantha needs you and you need to be with her. Det. Williams is correct; you cannot possibly give this investigation your best when your mind, and heart, are halfway around the world. Go to Germany and be there for Sam."

"Yes, Ma'am."

(Although no one says anything, they all heave silent sighs of relief, including Steve. His sense of duty, finely honed after years of serving in the Navy, demanded that he stay in Hawaii and work the case, but his heart was driving him to say "To Hell With It All" and go to Sam. Gov. Jameson very neatly took the decision out of his hands, God bless her. Steve asks one of the S.I.C.U. nurses to get Lana to step into the waiting room for a moment so he can explain what's happening to her. As soon as she hears what's happened to Sam, Caroline, and Tony, Lana assures them that she will take the very best care of Chin and that they should all know he will understand why they had to leave. Promising to call them if there's any change in his condition, Lana hugs all of them and sends them on their way. Within an hour, they have all gone home, packed, and meet back at Pearl. A C-130 is sitting on the runway, warmed up and ready to go when the group arrives, and they waste no time in getting on board. The flight crew has arranged some bunks so that the passengers can try to get some sleep on the long flight although not a one of them is the least bit interested in sleep at the moment. Once they are in the air, Steve and Adm. Thrasher go forward to the flight deck to see if they can get any more information about their loved ones' conditions. It takes them some time, but the pilot is finally able to establish radio contact with the tower at Ramstein, A.F.B. by relay through several military assets. Although Ramstein doesn't have any information specific to Sam's, Caroline's, or Tony's conditions, they do report that the choppers from the carrier should be arriving at the base in Germany within the next forty-five minutes. Steve and Mike Thrasher return to the others and relay this information and then settle in for the remainder of the long flight. . . .