Hello Readers! Thanks so much for the continued support you are showing this story. I was afraid I would lose a few people when I pulled a "back from the dead" plot out of my bag of tricks, but I'm glad to see so many of you still sticking with me!

I hope you enjoy this chapter...we have a little history, a little family reconcilliation, and a little bit of a happy ending. A happy ending to the chapter, that is. Not the fic! I still have a few more chapters up my sleeve!

Chapter 21 – Found

"I believe very strongly that when it comes to desire, when it comes to attraction, that things are never black and white, things are very much shades of grey."

~Brian Molko

Chicago, Illinois, ten years ago…

The most amazing thing Steven John McGarrett had ever seen was the naked semi-silhouette of Harper James' form in the early morning half-light.

He vaguely registered her slipping out of his arms and tiptoeing to the adjoining bathroom. Through his contented slumber, he hazily listened to the sound of the shower running and simply enjoyed the presence of someone getting ready for the day in the quiet stillness of the bedroom.

He drowsily wondered where she might be going, as his unconscious threw images at him of their previous night's love-making, causing his body to ache for her warm presence back in his arms. He'd only really started to awaken when he heard her creep back into the dimly lit bedroom, stopping every few steps to retrieve the clothes and possessions they had dispensed with so carelessly mere hours earlier. Steve stretched lazily as she made her way to the chair in the corner of the room and dropped his things in it with a barely audible sigh and then cracked his eyes open just in time to see her peel her towel from around her body and drop it to the floor.

And there she stood…like a masterpiece of ancient art, posed exclusively for him, and without her knowledge. She was flesh and blood artistry in his presence.

Harper leaned over to fish her bra out of the pile of clothes and wrapped it around herself, then fastened it deftly, and adjusted her generous flesh in the lacy red cups. Enjoying the show she was unknowingly putting on for him, Steve thought back to all that he had learned about the elusive Detective James when he'd had her flushed and naked in his bed. Like how truly beautiful she was, what a joyous and fun lover she was, and how a man could get so totally lost in beautiful green eyes that looked at him like they'd never seen another man that they'd liked quite so well. He'd learned all of that and more.

But, he thought with an inner grin, he didn't mind a little further study.

Harper continued dressing with her back to him, sleek and elegant, as she rifled through the nearby closet, looking for something to wear. He watched as she stepped into a pair of lacy red panties and pulled them up over her naked bottom and thighs and then repeated the motion with a pair of gray slacks. He kept his eyes almost closed as she turned and began searching for something to put on over that pretty red bra. He smiled internally as she found an emerald green camisole and slipped it over her head...the combination making him think of Christmas. And sex. Two of his very favorite things.

Moving over to the full length mirror standing near the window, she pulled a small hairbrush through her crimson wet locks and contemplated fastening it up into a ponytail with a band, but then decided against it.

"You know, you don't look like a Harper," he informed her in a crackly morning voice, suddenly aware that she was about to leave the room, "Where did your parents come up with that name?"

She turned and looked at him in surprise as she whispered, "I didn't want to wake you."

With a smile on her face, she stepped closer and sat down next to his long, lanky body on the bed. Leaning over him and bestowing on his lips a soft, sweet kiss she murmured, "Good morning."

"Morning," he rumbled happily and kissed her back, the sensation of his new lover making his belly burn. When they parted he asked again, "Seriously…the name?"

"My dad named me after his old partner…Stan Harper," she informed him seriously, "He died in a drug raid on the night I was born. Actually, he was covering for my dad so he could be at the hospital with my mom."

"Well, that's morbid," Steve remarked, never taking his eyes off of her beautiful face.

"He was a good cop," she answered defensively, "And a good man."

"But you're a beautiful woman," he reminded her and then added, "You should have a beautiful woman's name."

"If you say Bambi or Tiffani or anything else that ends in an 'i', I'm going to throttle you," his redheaded lover warned, cocking her head to the side and staring him down with those piercing green eyes of hers.

"What if I call you Jimmy?"

"That's your idea of a beautiful woman's name?"

"I like it," he protested, "Short for James. You'll be my Jimmy-girl…tough as any guy but sexy as hell."

"Jimmy girl," she said, trying the name out loud and then with a glint in her eye she told him, "I like it."

"And I like you."

Her small hand, smelling of lavender soap, stroked his cheek, then slipped slowly down to his chest as their tongues began to mate in the dance that they'd invented the night before. His body was immediately awake and instantly starved for her. One of his hands curled around the nape of her neck, anchoring her mouth to his, while the other slipped over her knee, fingers brushing the inside of her thigh and inching slowly upwards.

She pulled away from him, eyes closed and breath shallow. "Hold that thought…" she panted, dropping three perfect kisses on his chest before moving to disentangle herself from his wandering hands.

"Jimmy…" he whispered in place of begging her to stay with him on the bed.

She caught his unspoken plea without him having to utter it and shot him a smile as she answered, "Sorry, sexy. But I have to go to work."

"Can't the people of Chicago fend for themselves?" he questioned quietly, hoping that she held no regrets about their new involvement. "Just for one morning?"

Harper laughed at him as she rose up from the bed and moved back over to the closet to pull out the matching gray suit jacket and drape it over her arm. She paused and glanced over at him momentarily, looking every bit the cool and composed detective that everyone knew her to be by day. Only now Steve knew that the passionate and vivacious woman she became by night was always simmering just below the surface.

She was heading out the door when his arm snaked out from under the covers, grabbed her and pulled her back down to the bed, rolling her onto her back. She laughed at him, loud and belly-deep as he covered her body with his and began to attack her neck with eager lips and teeth. Her neck arched, as she put up a half hearted struggle, but he pinned her down easily and kissed down over her green camisole covered breasts.

"Don't..." he muttered. "...want..." kissing her all over. "...you..." pulling her closer. "...to..." breathing her in, "...go..."

He looked up at her, flushed and giggly under him, and suddenly her eyes sparkled – a momentary warning – before she grunted with effort and flipped him onto his back in one of the best self defense moves her older brothers had ever taught her.

What a woman.

Harper smiled down at him smugly and adjusted her seat on his hips, carefully. He hummed and reached for her, smoothing his hands up her cotton clad thighs and over her hips. She tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ears and leaned down to kiss him, her mouth taking control of his in an assertive kiss.

"Believe me, McGarrett…" she muttered, straightening slowly, "the last thing I want to do right now is go patrol the streets of Chicago…"

"Then don't," he grinned, pressing his hips up into her and letting her feel his naked arousal. He watched her eyes flutter closed fleetingly and her tongue come out to wet her lips.

"I have to," she huffed, unwillingly, as she bent over and nipped at his ear lobe with her teeth. They shared a smile and then he sighed deeply, resigning himself to her departure, but didn't let go of her hands as she reminded him, "And so do you, partner. But don't worry…after our shift, when we have this place to ourselves again, I will make it up to you."

"How are you gonna do that?" he wondered, already thinking up ideas to assist her. He felt her grin as she dragged her cheek along his, her warm breath coating his ear.

"I have my ways…" she whispered there, her voice over-flowing with mischief. She pulled back, tossed her long locks over her opposite shoulder and leaned down to his other ear as she whispered sexily, "Secret undercover ways…perfected by my years working as a vice cop. I learned a lot from those girls down on the corners in Washington Park."

She met his eyes with a naughty grin and he chuckled lowly. She knew him too well.

"I'm going to hold you to that," he warned her, hands sweeping over her back and pulling her down to his mouth once again.

"I'll look forward to it," she whispered against his lips.

Suddenly, she pulled back and hastily got off him, grinning slyly. He propped himself up on his elbows and watched with a smoldering gaze as she picked her jacket up off the floor and turned towards the door. Steve groaned a tortured groan and dropped his head back on the pillow, smelling her scent that was permanently trapped in the sheets and cast his mind forward in eagerness to when she returned to him…with a fervent body, open heart, and big smile.

'Let's get this show on the road', he thought, smiling to himself as he shucked off the sheets and got up from the bed, heading to the bathroom with a definite spring in his step.

Steve's head bobbed as he opened his tired eyes and realized that he had fallen asleep at his desk. Lifting his head, he blinked quickly and looked around his office in confusion. His team were all still here…each at their desks, just as tired as he was. The James men were still camped out in different corners of Five-0 headquarters doing what they could to help. Nobody rested. Nobody.

Forty eight hours.

It had been forty eight hours since Harper had been taken from her hotel room by a madman.

And in those forty eight hours, they had found nothing that brought them closer to finding her and saving her life.

Nothing.

Since starting the Five-0 taskforce nearly a year ago, Steve had prided himself on his team's ability to bring cases to a quick and efficient end. But now that it was one of their own in trouble, they were forty eight hours into a case with no leads, no suspects, and no way to get to Harper.

Kono and Chin were out canvassing all of the businesses that had been found to have ordered large quantities of Ketamine or benzodiazepines in recent months. Frankie, Mickey, and Danny were combing through the evidence from Detective Samuel Norval's murder and comparing it to what they knew about Kai Akino's death, hoping that something…anything…jumped out at them and could lead them in the right direction. But that was all they had. Wo Fat was the best they had come up against yet. He was smart. He didn't leave any identifiable evidence behind.

And Commander Steven John McGarrett was starting to get pissed.

Cool, calm, collected, and other "c" words had been used to describe him for most of his life…a guy with just as much brain as he had brawn. He had conducted clandestine missions behind enemy lines and captured enemy targets and intelligence against impossible odds. He could bring a threatening act of sea piracy to resolution in the blink of an eye. As part of the Navy SEALs he had been expertly trained to deliver highly specialized, intensely challenging warfare capabilities that were beyond the means of standard military forces. He had to go through what is widely considered to be the most physically and mentally demanding military training in existence. Then came the tough part: the job of essentially taking on any situation or foe that the world had to offer.

But neither his knowledge nor his athleticism had been enough too many times in his life. They weren't enough to make his father proud of him while he was still living and they certainly weren't enough to keep Jack McGarrett alive. They weren't enough to completely repair the broken relationship with his sister. They weren't enough to keep his marriage from falling apart. And now they weren't enough to find the love of his life who had walked back into his world and had him tied up and twisted inside…a woman who had begun to make him feel alive again.

Something was going to have to give with this case. Wo Fat was going to have to make a really stupid play. Something extraordinary was going to have to happen. And when it did…they were going to have to be ready.

Forty eight hours.

Forty eight hours since he had told her the truth that was always right there below the surface for them both…that he still loved her. That he had never really wanted to leave her behind.

Forty eight hours since she had been taken into Hell.

And he had no idea if he would ever see her again.

He knew the moment that he had laid eyes on Detective Harper Elizabeth James that he was in trouble. He couldn't help it - the woman was tough, smart, beautiful, and sexy. Steve had been completely fascinated by her - not obsessed, but fascinated. There was attraction. Electricity. Instantaneous and inexplicable, but ultimately there. Neither of them could convincingly deny it, because everyone else saw it. The teasing and the little jabs were there, whether declared loudly or muttered under someone's breath. And Steve knew the moment that he crossed the line and took her into his arms that first time that his life would never be the same…

"Detective Williams said you were asking for these."

Steve shook those thoughts out of his head and looked up to see Frankie James walk into the office and drop an evidence box on the table. Raising an eyebrow, he looked up at the detective questioningly and asked, "And what are these?"

"Some of Harper's case files from Chicago," Frank told him, taking the top off the box and leafing through one of the file folders. "She did some really thorough work."

"She usually does."

Steve nodded his thanks at his former brother in law, but Frank James didn't move.

"We practically had to restrain the guys from Chicago Homicide to keep them from coming down here to join in the search," Harper's brother said, shaking his head, "She's gonna hate the attention. She'll be pissed if those guys treat her any differently when she gets back..."

When she gets back…

Frank couldn't believe anything different. The over protective, big brother within him would not allow him to believe that his sister wasn't going to survive this. No matter what he had seen in all his years on the police force, no matter how many bodies they managed to tie to Wo Fat and the Yakuza…he couldn't believe it. Because Frankie James was personally involved this time. This time…it had hit too close to the very heart of who he was. The tough detective's heart was visibly been breaking underneath his calm and cool exterior as he uttered those words.

Quietly, Steve looked up at him and said, "I know this is hard, but…"

"You know this is hard?" Frank interrupted, suddenly angry. "Well, I guess that's why you carry the big gun, ain't it? Governor's personal task force, my ass…"

The Commander remained silent as he watched the emotions dance across the handsome man's face...

Anger.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

Sorrow.

Confusion.

They were all there. Buried just beneath the rugged surface.

For Steve, it was like looking in a mirror.

"She's my sister. The only one I've got," The eldest James brother admitted quietly, lowering his exhausted body down into one of the chairs across from Steve's desk. His voice became a little emotional as he went on, "It's my job...my God given right...as her brother to protect her. From everything, from everyone…the bullies on the playground to the guys that came sniffing around looking to score with her. That's how it's always been. But this time…this time we didn't see the bully coming. We were looking away, paying attention to other things. And we didn't protect her …"

His voice trailed off and the two men simply stared at each other. Frankie finally shook his head in disgust and stared at an empty coffee cup on Steve's desk as he said quietly, almost numbly, "This morning, my father came down to the lobby of the hotel and made himself a cup of coffee. Put in milk, sugar...then he went over to the sink and poured it down the drain."

The detective blinked quickly as he explained, "He didn't know what he was doing. And me…I was taking the highway to come here this morning, and I forgot to get off. I got to 95th street before I realized I didn't know where the hell I was going." Drawing in a long, ragged breath, he added sadly, "I used to have a sister, and then suddenly…"

"We're going to find her," Steve interrupted him stubbornly. "We're going to get a break in this case and then we are going to find her."

"Yeah," Frankie agreed, looking at the file box again, "I know. But what about the things that are happening to her in the meantime? Until you find her…there's no telling what that son of a bitch is doing to her. Or if she'll ever recover from it. She's tough, ya know. But she's not that tough. Nobody's that tough." Roughly wiping away tears that dared spring up in his eyes, the emotionally spent cop continued, "It can't end like this. Her story…it can't end like this. After all she's been through…"

His voice trailed off, as if he couldn't bear to finish the sentence. And, in all reality, Steve didn't know if he could bear to hear it.

But then, with strength and conviction that he didn't know he had, Steve McGarrett looked his former brother in law in the eye and said, "She's not dead. I would feel it if she were. I would feel different…empty…without her. She's not dead."

And before Frankie could agree, Mickey James ran into the office and pulled his son out of his chair in exhilaration.

"They've got her!"

Steve looked out his office windows and saw that chaos had erupted out in the bullpen. He looked back questioningly at Mickey as he explained, "In the river…they pulled a body out of the river in Akaka Falls State Park this afternoon. When they brought her to the hospital one of the doctors on duty recognized Harper from the Missing Persons alert you put out to all area medical facilities..."

"How is she?"

"She's alive," Mickey told them with a smile, heading back out the door, "And that's all that matters right now."