CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

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: March 18, 2013

A/N: I would like to give a huge "Thank You!" to Runner043 for the main idea for this chapter. Runner and I have been exchanging private messages and her idea was WAY, WAY, WAY, better than mine! Thank you very much, Ma'am; you are awesome! I hope I can do justice to your suggestion! Michelle

(Joe Monroe carries Emily toward the group of people standing near the graves of Anne and Jonathan Murdock and hands her off to Chin before moving to stand near the Chaplain. Emily is perfectly happy to be held by her Uncle Chin especially since her Aunt Lana leans over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Libby, standing slightly in front of Caroline, Danny, Grace, Kono, Tony, and the Kellys, grabs Mike's arm as she gazes worriedly toward the car. Sam and Steve have yet to get out and she's worried.)

"Why aren't they getting out of the car, Mike?"

"They will, Libby."

"I'm not so sure about that. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

"It will be fine, Libby. I'm sure the sight of us standing here when she thought we were all still in Hawaii was quite a shock for Sam. She just needs a few minutes to pull herself together."

"I just don't want her to be any more upset than she already is, Mike."

"Sam will be fine, Libby. Steve will see to that. Just give them a few minutes."

(In the car, Sam turns to gaze at the group standing on the green lawn of the cemetery and is, once again, amazed at what Steve has done for her. Mike and Tony are, like Steve and Joe Monroe wearing their service dress blues, but Caroline is, like Sam, wearing a black dress and the thought that this is almost exactly the way things were when her parents were killed flits through Sam's mind. Almost. This time, Steve, Emily, and the rest of her ohana are with her, and this time, she knows that the deaths of her mother and father were not her fault. Steve gets out of the car and walks around to open her door, reaching out to take her hand and help her out; his eyes and the small smile on his face encouraging. Sam lets him pull her out of the car and gifts him with a small smile of her own as she takes his arm and they walk toward their family. When they get closer, Sam realizes that there are folding chairs sitting before her parents' graves and everyone else is taking their seats. Once she and Steve are seated, Chin steps over to them and hands Emily to her mother. With Sam's arms around Emily and Steve's arm around Sam's shoulders, the Chaplain begins the service. When the man has read some passages of scripture that were among Anne Murdock's favorites, he calls on Mike who talks about the outstanding officer Jonathan Murdock was and how much he loved his wife and daughter. Then Libby speaks about what wonderful friends Anne and Jonathan were and how close she and Mike were to them. And then, her eyes focusing on Sam, she talks about how much both Anne and Jonathan loved their only child.)

"Anne and I shared something that, while it bonded to two of us closer together, it was also very difficult for us to accept. Although Anne and Jonathan and Mike and I wanted several children, they, and we, were only able to have one. Samantha, your parents loved you very much and they would be exceedingly proud of the young woman you've become. They would absolutely love the man you've chosen as your husband, and they would be completely delighted with their granddaughter. They would want you to be happy, Sweetheart."

(Tears have been escaping from Sam's eyes throughout Libby's and Mike's comments, and she has been steadily swiping them away with one hand. Emily, who knows her Mommy is sad, has been pressing sweet, little kisses on Sam's face and neck every so often and her little hand has been "catching" her mother's tears when Sam would miss one. When Libby finishes and sits back down next to Sam she leans over and kisses Sam's cheek. To Sam's surprise, Caroline stands up and turns to face the group but she is looking straight at her sister.)

"Anne and Jonathan Murdock were like another set of parents to me because Sam and I are so close. She was either at my house or I was at hers; we were inseparable. Not long ago, Sam apologized to me for 'forcing' me to share my parents with her. Sam, you couldn't have been more wrong. You didn't force me to do anything. You and I 'shared our parents' from the day we met. You've been my best friend since that day, too, and even though our folks have that little piece of paper somewhere that makes it legal, you know in your heart that we've always been and always will be sisters. 'Course, that doesn't mean that we haven't and won't fight like cats and dogs sometimes because we have and we will, but . . If we didn't care about each other so much, we wouldn't have those fights. I'm still so mad that Aunt Anne and Uncle Jonathan were taken away from all of us I don't know what to do! But, I love you Sam, very much."

(Caroline doesn't get a chance to say anything else because Sam has handed Emily to Steve and is on her feet in mere seconds. She and Caroline hug each other tightly and tears are flowing freely from the eyes of both young women as they have a quiet discussion between themselves for a few moments. When they have both regained their composure somewhat, the Chaplain quietly asks everyone to bow their heads for a closing prayer and Sam and Caroline don't move. Emily wiggles out of her father's lap and heads toward her mother and aunt and Steve lets her go. . .

When the prayer is concluded and everyone raises their heads, the sight that greets their eyes brings tears to even the most stoic of the group. Little Emily McGarrett didn't stop where Sam and Caroline were standing. Instead, both of the white roses in hand, she has made her way to the grassy area between the headstones of Anne and Jonathan Murdock, plopped down on her little bottom, and, while the Chaplain was praying, Emily has pulled the petals from the roses and dropped them on top of both markers. When she looks up and sees her mother looking down at her, she smiles ever so sweetly and says, "Love you, Mommy." Sam's intention had been to lay a rose on each of her parents' headstones, but Emily's efforts have decorated the markers beautifully, and Sam takes it as a sign that Emily, even at her young age, somehow knows how important the two people buried beneath the markers are to her mother. Sweeping her daughter up and into her arms, Sam holds her close and allows cleansing tears to fall. Wordlessly, Steve steps over and pulls Sam and Emily into his strong arms and lets Sam rid herself of the grief she's been keeping inside. Very quietly, everyone else moves back toward the cars and leaves the three of them alone. The last words Libby hears as she and Mike walk away are from Sam . . )

"Emily, I need to tell you about two very, very special people. Two people who I dearly wish you could have known . . . "