CHAPTER 41
"Steve?" an unfamiliar voice called out.
Steve sat up straight in the wheelchair. Something about the voice nagged at him, like he should know it. He turned his head slowly to see who the voice belonged to.
"Ari?"
Steve couldn't believe his eyes. There, standing behind him, was teenager. A young man, really. He was taller and more mature than Steve remembered, but he could still identify the small boy that had hugged him six years ago. The hair was shorter and well kept, but his eyes were still large and filled with the innocence of a child.
Steve stood on shaky legs, and ignoring Danny's attempt to help him stand, he walked unsteadily towards the young man.
"Ari?" he whispered, not daring to believe it. Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him.
The teenager smiled and his eyes twinkled as he nodded vigourously. "It's me, Steve."
Steve took another step forwards and his legs wobbled dangerously underneath him. Steve locked his knees to remain obstinately upright. There was no way he was going to let his weakened body let him down. Not now.
Seeing Steve's struggle, Ari ran forwards and grabbed Steve in a bear hug. Together, the two sank to the ground, enveloped in each other's arms. A nurse in the courtyard rushed over to help, but Danny waved her off. She hesitantly backed off, giving them some space.
Steve's entire body was trembling as he held Ari. He remained oblivious to it as he focused on the grown up boy he was currently holding in his arms. He closed his eyes, breathing in the Ari's scent as memories washed over him. Steve had thought that Ari was dead. Gone forever. Steve focused on the thudding in the teenager's chest that attested to a lively, beating heart.
Steve locked eyes with Danny over Ari's shoulder, his eyes moist with barely held emotion.
"Thank you," he mouthed to Danny.
Danny nodded his head towards the man standing next to him, Rodger Tillman. Steve nodded thankfully at his former commanding officer before turning his attention back to the boy currently stopping him from hitting the pavement completely.
Danny motioned to Tillman and the two men retreated back inside the hospital. They didn't stray too far from the door in case Steve needed them, but were far enough away to give Steve and Ari some semblance of privacy.
"Thanks for this," Danny said to Tillman.
Tillman glanced at Steve before flicking his eyes back to Danny. "You don't need to thank me."
"Yes, I do. Without you, we wouldn't be here. Instead, we would be burying his body," Danny said bluntly.
"Without me, he wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place," Tillman said angrily.
Danny frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I was the commanding officer on that operation. Those men were my responsibility," Tillman said softly.
"You're not to blame for any of that. Steve told us that you were compromised. That's not on you," Danny tried to reason.
"Except I'm the one that gave the intel to Walker!" Tillman announced.
Danny was silent for a moment. Everything was so complicated that it was hard to figure out who did what, where and when. If there was one thing Danny was certain of, it was that Steve and Rodger were not to blame. None of this was because of anything they did.
"You didn't know," Danny whispered.
"You're right. But I should have known. We knew there was someone leaking information. If I hadn't given Intelligence that information, Steve would never have been tortured and all those men would still be alive and with their families!"
"Rod, you have to look at the good side here. You see that?" Danny asked, pointing outside where Steve and Ari were still huddled on the ground. "That would never have happened without you. You gave that boy out there hope and refuge. If you hadn't acted when you did, he would probably be dead. In fact, they both would. This is not your fault."
Tillman squinted at Danny. "How much do you charge per hour?"
Danny huffed a laugh. "For you, nothing. But I really should consider charging for my services."
"You could make enough to buy a house instead of living in that death trap apartment of yours," Tillman said.
"What has Steve been telling you about my living arrangements?"
Tillman shrugged. "Not much. Just that he feels bad that you live in squalor…His words."
Danny thought about that for a moment. Steve had been on him for a while about finding an appropriate apartment, especially with Grace in mind. That brought him to Ari, the now fifteen year old boy.
"How did you keep everyone from finding out about Ari?" Danny asked.
Tillman looked at Danny thoughtfully. "That was surprisingly easy. When I found Steve, he had left a trail of bodies behind and destroyed the compound. Everyone just assumed that Nazeef and his sons were dead as a result of that. When we were rescued, Ari's presence raised a few questions, but I told everyone he was a boy from a neighbouring town that had come across the fallen American soldiers and tried to help. No one questioned it. I had promised Steve that I would keep Ari safe. I tried my best to keep my word."
"And you did," Danny stated.
"Yeah. I found a family in Afghanistan that adopted him. He grew up with a loving family, in his own country. When Steve had recovered from his ordeal, the first thing he asked me about was Ari. I told Steve about the family and Steve was happy, although a little sad." Tillman took a deep breath. "Then, I heard about Nazeef's organisation making moves. I couldn't risk anyone finding out one of Nazeef's sons was still alive, so I had the boy moved."
"Where to?" Danny asked.
"Illinois."
"He was here? In the states?"
Tillman nodded.
"Why didn't you tell Steve?" Danny asked.
"I'd heard it was Nazeef's organisation that wanted to win the auction. If Steve went looking for Ari…well, I was afraid Nazeef's men would find out and kill them both. I promised Steve that I would look after Ari. I am a man of my word. If that meant leaving Steve in the dark, well, that's something I was willing to do to keep a promise. I could live with the repercussions."
Danny understood. It was a hard choice; one he probably would have made himself given the circumstances. Danny looked outside, pleased to see that Steve was sitting back in the wheelchair, with Ari sitting next to him. It looked like they were having a one-sided conversation, with Ari being the one doing the talking. The one thing Danny noticed was that Steve's eyes were sparkling with life again, instead of the emptiness from the last few days.
"He'll be okay," Tillman stated.
Danny frowned and turned his attention back to Tillman. "How do you know?"
"Because he was before. And this time, he has his whole team in his corner," Tillman said with a smile.
"I'm sorry…"
The quiet apology roused Danny from his thoughts. He had been standing outside Steve's hospital room for the last hour, listening to the conversation between Steve and Ari. Ari had wheeled Steve back inside after it had become evident that Steve was exhausted from the events of the day.
Ari had sat by Steve's bedside as Steve dozed, not wanting to leave just yet. Danny and Tillman had given them space and instructed Chin and Kono to wait before coming to see Steve. It had been an extremely emotional day all around. Danny knew Steve wouldn't want anyone seeing his vulnerable side.
As soon as Steve had woken from his nap, Ari had started talking. He had told Steve all about everything that had happened since that fateful day in Afghanistan. Steve had listened with rapt attention. Ari had told Steve about the family he had lived with in Afghanistan and how he had two 'brothers'. He then told Steve about his new American family and how he wanted to stay there.
There had been a moment of silence as Ari had run out of things to talk about. After ten minutes of silence, save for the beeps of the heart monitor, Steve had spoken his first words since seeing Ari.
It was an apology.
"What for?" Ari asked, confusion lacing his voice.
"I'm sorry for taking your family from you…I k-killed them."
"Steve…you have nothing to be sorry for. Because of your actions and your bravery, I can live freely. So can many people in my country and over the world. In the last six years, I have been able to laugh, to play, to grow. All of that is because of you. Without your sacrifice, I would never have had a chance at a normal life. My family…they were bad people. I knew it then and I know it now. You never once lied to me. You told me the truth from the first day I met you and never treated me like a child. I am beyond thankful to be free of them…I am free because of you, Steve. You made me a promise, and you kept it. You made sure my father never hurt me again. You came back for me. Thank you for keeping your promise."
Danny heard all of this and wondered if he should leave, give the two some real privacy. There was silence once again and then the sound of sobbing. It started softly, then grew louder as Steve was overcome with emotions that had been threatening to spill over for a long time. Danny's heart clenched as he could hear the sadness and grief in those gut-wrenching sobs.
It took a while, but eventually the sobs died down.
"Steve…you are a good man. Please remember that," Ari said quietly.
Danny marvelled at the mature young man that was currently supporting Steve. After everything the boy had been through, it was amazing to see how he had grown into such a fine young man. Danny leaned his head back against the wall as he absorbed the words. It was something he had told Steve after Fuentes. He wondered if Steve would ever find it inside himself to believe it.
There was a quiet sniffle. "Do you think it would be okay if I came to visit you sometimes?"
"Of course," Ari replied. "I would love that, Steve."
"Illinois, right?" Steve asked.
"That's right."
"It snows there, right?"
"Uh huh. Why? Don't you like snow?" Ari jested.
"Not so much," Steve answered.
Danny walked into the room at that moment. "Hey! What's wrong with snow?" he asked.
Steve shrugged. "Nothing. It's just…cold."
Danny's eyebrows rose. "You make fun of me for not liking the sun and sand on this pineapple infested hellhole, and you don't like snow?"
"That's not what I said. I said it was cold, that's all," Steve defended.
"Next you will be telling me that you have a phobia of snowmen," Danny said.
Steve rolled his eyes at Ari, who smiled before breaking into laughter. That, in turn, caused Steve to laugh. Danny smiled at the two of them. Once the laughter died down, Danny got down to the reason he was in the room in the first place.
"Well, I hate to break this up, but Ari needs to get home before next year," Danny said.
The smiles were instantly wiped off their faces. They both knew the visit had to come to an end eventually. Ari's adopted family had let him come for two days. That time was now up and Ari had to go home.
"Promise you will visit?" Ari asked quietly.
"I promise," Steve whispered with a watery smile.
The two hugged and Danny escorted Ari outside, where Tillman was waiting to take Ari to the airport. He would travel with the boy back to Illinois, making sure he got home safe. Danny watched as Tillman and Ari walked down the hall towards the exit. Ari turned back and waved at Danny. Danny gave a small wave back. He knew this would not be the last he saw of the courageous young man.
Danny returned to Steve's room to find him sitting hunched over, his face buried in his hands.
"Steve?" Danny asked, worried.
Steve didn't reply. His body was shaking. It took Danny a moment to realise that Steve was laughing, not crying.
"Steve?" Danny asked again.
Steve's hands went from his face to the top of his head as he leaned back against his pillows. He exhaled loudly as he stared at the ceiling.
"Oh my God, Danny," Steve muttered.
Danny remained silent as he waited for Steve to gather his thoughts.
"It was worth it," Steve said. "It was really worth it."
Danny had no idea what Steve meant. What was worth it?
"I thought…I thought he was dead. I thought that I had failed to keep a promise," Steve elaborated. "I think I had a dream. Nazeef killed Ari because I told him what he wanted to know. But Ari…he's alive. He's…older, but he's still the same kid," Steve paused. "I can't believe it."
"Believe it, Steve. You kept your promise and saved a young boy from a terrible fate," Danny said. "You did good, buddy."
"Yeah," Steve said, his face impassive.
"Steve…"
"Danny, I'm sorry."
Danny almost groaned out load. It was inevitable that Steve would apologise at some point, even though he had no reason to.
"What for?" Danny asked, intrigued by Steve's answer.
"I'm sorry for getting you guys into this. It was something from my past that threatened all of your lives. I should have insisted that you all had protection…"
"Steve…you couldn't have predicted any of this. Besides, we chose to help you. There was no way we were going to let you do this on your own. Chin and Kono will tell you exactly the same thing."
"Nazeef was right," Steve whispered.
"Right about what?" Danny asked.
"About my weakness. He knew exactly which buttons to press. He threatened you because he knew that I couldn't bear it if any of you got hurt because of me. He knew it and he used it against me. He showed me pictures of the Palace. Then he threatened Grace…Grace!" Steve sat upright suddenly, breathing hard. "Grace! Is she okay?"
"Woah," Danny said, holding his hands up. "She's fine, Steve."
"But…Nazeef…he said…" Steve panted.
"Steve, calm down. I promise you, she is fine."
Steve tried to get his breathing back under control. He really didn't want a repeat of last time. The last thing he wanted to do was pass out in front of Danny.
"Are…you…sure?" Steve asked.
Danny nodded. "Positive…You told us about the school. By the time Chin got there, the school had been cleared out. They found a bomb in the gym locker room, set to go off the next morning."
Steve stared at Danny in disbelief, all colour having drained from his face.
"The bomb has been disarmed and no other devices were found. Steve…you saved not only Grace's life, but the lives of every other student at her school."
"But…she was targeted because of me," Steve said, his face still pale.
"What is it with everybody blaming themselves today? First Tillman, now you? Can't you army men see that none of this is your fault. The only person to blame here is Nazeef. The manipulative bastard tried to pull you apart by drugging you and threatening those you love. He might have seen that as a weakness, but he would have been wrong. Being capable of love is a strength. If Nazeef was even remotely able to demonstrate love, or remorse, he would still be alive right now. I, for one, am glad he is dead. He deserved what he got. It's because of people like you and Tillman that others can sleep safe at night. Because of your sacrifice, a young boy can live a full and happy life," Danny ranted. "Plus, we were able to dismantle Nazeef's entire network. That's a whole lot of bad guys put away for life."
"The Navy," Steve muttered.
"What?" Danny said, stopping mid-rant.
"You said army men. We were Navy."
"That's your take away from this? Did you listen to anything I just said?" Danny said in mock anger.
"Yeah, I heard you," Steve said with a small smile.
Danny shook his head at his insufferable partner. It was good to have him back. Even if he was extremely annoying.
The second hand on her watch completed yet another rotation of the clock face. Time was passing faster and faster. She grew more anxious as the minutes passed by. Those minutes progressed into hours and the hours turned into days. Every day, she had waited in the same spot for him and every day he had failed to make an appearance.
It had been weeks since she had last seen him. Something had to have happened.
Yes, that was the only explanation.
Or maybe…no. There had to be a reason. There just had to be.
At least, that's what she told herself. He wouldn't leave without saying anything, would he?
She couldn't help the nagging feeling in her bones that said otherwise. Maybe he didn't believe her. She had given him everything he needed. He had all the answers. So why couldn't he see it?
Perhaps she would just have to show him.
She stood from her spot on the beach. Her body had left an imprint in the pristine sand. She stood by as the salty water came and washed it away. It was like she was never there. That thought filled her with excitement as she walked away. She could hear the sound of the ocean rushing up behind her and felt exhilaration at knowing she was out of its reach.
Her watch chimed again, telling her that once again her time was up. She smiled as she looked behind her.
She was done waiting.
