As they sat through a flight that felt like an eternity, Steve finally had the ability to tell Catherine how everything unfolded. It might have been that his sister had survived and things didn't seem so final, or it might have been because he didn't have to call Mary and tell her that Azucena had died. Whatever it was, he finally had the events of the morning off of his chest and Catherine was up to speed.
They sent out text messages to friends and family telling them the wedding was being rescheduled due to a family emergency. They would explain when things calmed down shortly and were sorry to everyone for the last minute change in plans.
Steve started thinking about how life would go back to normal when Azucena pulled through the surgery. Not if, but when. He wasn't going to entertain the thought of her not surviving and he would be there every step of the way while she recovered. He would hold her hand through whatever form of rehabilitation she might require. He would hold her and rub her back through the inevitable nightmares that would feature WoFat. He would walk with her in the mornings until she was able to run again. He wanted his sister back in his life and he would do everything in his power to make it happen.
With WoFat captured, Azucena and Doris could come back home. Mary would be thrilled to have both of them back, but she had missed Doris fiercely. Steve really hadn't missed their mother that much, and he was almost ashamed to admit it. His life was much less complicated without Doris in it. He would have to ask the Marshalls when they could expect Doris to be told of WoFat's capture and exit from the program.
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Steve and Catherine descended the stairs of the private jet and met a tall, lanky blond man, "Steve McGarrett?"
"Yes." Confirmed Steve, turning to introduce Catherine to the man, "My fiancée, Catherine Rollins."
"Ma'am." The man nodded, "I'm Marshall Mann, my partner is your sister's case manager. She's currently at the hospital with your sister, I'm here to take you there."
"Thank you." They both answered, as they followed Marshall to the SUV. They all climbed into the vehicle and as Marshall took off down the road, Steve started to quiz him, "Marshall Stone didn't give me many details on the phone, he just said she might not survive the surgery. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Honestly, we aren't certain how he found her, it is currently being researched, but your sister followed all WitSec protocols. She didn't do anything wrong. Truthfully, she's the ideal witness and she rarely needed anything. The few things she wanted to do, we couldn't allow because it would have been easier for WoFat to find her."
Marshall took a deep breath to share the next bit of news, it was going to be rough for these two to hear of the torture the young woman endured. "When we found her, I think it was thanks to your team's help, she was strung up by chains around her wrists in an old silver mine."
Steve nodded, the chains around the wrist sounded like normal operating procedure for WoFat. That didn't surprise him at all, but what came next made him sick to his stomach.
"He had hit her quite a few times, she had two swollen black eyes, and bruises all over her body. The doctor's say he cracked a few of her ribs and broke two of them." Marshall paused, this was tough. "Her body was covered in cuts from a hunting knife. From what the doctor said, they were created to cause the maximum amount of pain without her losing consciousness. She lost a lot of blood and the gunshot wound didn't help. However, it was one of the broken ribs that saved her life, because the bullet hit the bone and no organs."
Steve was processing everything Marshall was sharing. This viciousness sounded exactly like WoFat and as sickening as it all sounded, Steve wasn't surprised at all.
Catherine spoke up from the backseat of the SUV, "She survived the surgery, is she still considered critical?"
"She's currently in ICU and the doctor says he is cautiously optimistic, but there are no guarantees. Additionally, she was unconscious when we found her, but the doctor says she's in a coma and he isn't certain if or when she will wake up."
"Jesus." Whispered Catherine from the back seat. She knew WoFat was vicious, but the brutal attack Marshall had described sickened her.
The rest of the drive to the hospital was quiet, everyone in their own brains coming to terms with the information provided.
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Marshall guided the couple through the hospital and eventually the ICU ward. Steve recognized the hospital was similar to Queen's Hospital, back on Oahu. He had spent plenty of time in the ICU ward of Queen's with 'Cena. However, spying her unconscious form through the sliding glass door still shocked him.
The tall, blond woman standing in the room, nodded at their arrival, but didn't say anything. Steve was almost too shocked at his sister's appearance to notice the woman, except his SEAL training always scanned every room. This woman wasn't a threat. He knew she was 'Cena's case worker.
He stood just inside the door and the tears formed in his eyes, he barely recognized her. It might have been that her once long, red hair was now a medium length brown, or the subtle tan that surfaced between all the bruises and cuts. Those would have been fine, but it was the black and blue marks covering all of her exposed skin that shattered him. The random bandages on her face and arms, he assumed, covering knife wounds. The sterile, white gauze wrapped around half of her head, telling him that she had suffered some form of severe head wound. All of these wounds were like a knife to his gut.
Both of her eyes were swollen shut. Her wrists were wrapped in gauze, and he knew underneath the pure white, cotton wrappings was torn skin and dried blood. His sister would have fought with all her strength to escape those chains. As she knew WoFat and how vicious he was, she wouldn't have gone down without a fight.
He knew underneath the white hospital sheet and pale purple gown, she was covered in wounds. Wounds that required stitches to keep her from bleeding and promote healing. Wounds that had been inflicted to cause her terrible pain, while WoFat asked the same question over and over again, "Who is Shelbourne?"
Steve reflected on the fact that she never gave up Doris, he couldn't understand it. He would have been able to endure the torture and kept his mouth shut. He had been trained to endure torture of all kinds, but not 'Cena. The fact that she had survived such an ordeal and didn't crack was a mystery to him. Did she love Doris and want to have a relationship with her now? Or was there something else? What had happened for those five months she was gone?
Steve sat down in the chair next to her bed, and gently took her hand into his. He softly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, like he had all those nights ago in the ICU ward of Queen's hospital. He hadn't noticed that the blond woman had left the room to give them privacy, but he wouldn't have changed what he did, this was his sister, "Hey you, I wish I were seeing you under better circumstances, but I'm just so thankful you are alive. Catherine and I are here, and we aren't going anywhere. So you just rest and heal. When you are ready to wake up, we will go home. We are so ready for you to come home."
He got choked up at the thought of her being able to come home with them. The night at the airport hangar had seemed like ages ago. His world had felt shattered that night and that feeling was repeated again, earlier today. Now he was just thankful she had survived and he prayed she would recover. He needed her to recover, he needed her back in his life.
Steve was pulled out of his brain by the sound of a soft knocking on the door, the doctor stood at the doorway, a look of grave concern on his face, "Are you this young woman's family?"
"Yes, she's my sister." Responded Steve softly, still holding Azucena's hand.
"She's a tough young lady." The doctor replied, as he walked further into the room.
"Yeah, she is."
"She's in very serious condition." The doctor started, "She lost a lot of blood, and we had to transfuse about three bags into her. Additionally, she's in a coma, due to massive head trauma. It appears she suffered a strong blow to the back of the head, and then received multiple blows to the face afterwards. This caused her brain to swell. During the surgery, we did everything we could to relieve the pressure. She should wake up in the next few days, but we will be monitoring her to ensure the swelling does not return."
Steve put his free arm around Catherine and pulled her closer, hearing the additional information made him realize how severe the situation actually was.
"Is she going to have brain damage?" Catherine asked, knowing Steve was still processing the information and coming to grips with it.
"Unfortunately, we won't know until she wakes up." The doctored answered, and then continued. "We are giving her IV antibiotics to counteract any infection that might have infiltrated her system with all the cuts. Those cuts are going to take some time to heal and they were strategically placed to cause her quite a bit of pain."
"Aside from the coma and the possibility of brain damage, what is her recovery time looking like?" Steve questioned.
"The broken and cracked ribs will take about 6 weeks to heal, if the stitches don't get infected, they will take about two weeks. The swelling on her face will take a week to go down. She's in really tough shape, so we want her to rest and heal as much as possible. As scary as the coma is, it's also giving her body a chance to rest and recover."
"Thanks doc." Steve offered, not knowing what else to say or ask.
"I'll be in off and on to check on her. You guys need anything, the nurses will be more than happy to help." With that, the little old man disappeared. The blond woman and Marshall entered the room, "Hi, I'm Marshall Mary Shannon, your sister was my responsibility. I'm so sorry this happened and you have to see her in this condition."
Steve reached out to shake the woman's hand, "I gotta be honest, I'm just thankful she is alive. Do we have any idea on how this happened?"
"Unfortunately we do not know how he found her. However, your sister followed all the rules of the Program."
"Do you think it could have been the pictures?" Questioned Catherine.
"What pictures?" Asked Mary, confused by the woman's question.
Steve spoke up, "My team found pictures of 'Cena posted on a corner of the dark web called Tor. The pictures said delivery of her or knowledge of her location would be rewarded."
Mary's eyes went wide as she looked to Marshall and back to Steve, "When did this happen?"
"A few months back," Steve replied, "but the pictures were removed after one of my team members found it. We thought the Marshalls service removed the pictures."
"If the Marshalls Services removed anything related to one of our Witnesses, we are supposed to be advised of it and take necessary precautions. This is the first I have heard of it, but I'm going to go ask some questions." Answered Mary, anger and frustration evident in her voice. She took pride in her job and worked hard to protect her witnesses.
Steve put his hand out, asking her to wait, "I know you aren't our mother's case manager, but with WoFat locked up, would you be able to find out when she will be advised and released from the Program?"
"Of course." Mary answered, nodding her head. It was the least she could do for this family after everything her witness has survived.
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To those that read, thank you! To those that leave notes, you're fabulous!
Shamrocker - Your messages encourage me. Thank you so much!
Elle - You'll get Azucena's point of view eventually, but you'll understand why in a few chapters. Thank you for your notes. They mean so much to me!