I do NOT own anything, but the plot.

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As always, thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy what's to come!

Sorry for the delay!

Nalo a loaʻa

-loosely translate to "lost and found"-

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

"So, a baby boy, huh?"

Steve smiled, a small disbelieving laugh pushed from his lungs in one exhale, and he realised that although he'd spent time with Cath, seen the sonogram live and talked endlessly with Danny, it still didn't feel real.

"Yeah," Steve mustered and locked eyes with his colleague. "Think my dad would have been happy? With my choices that is."

"I think your old man would be more than happy, Brah."

Although Steve would never hear it from his father's mouth, having Chin's insight really made a difference. It was almost like Chin was one of the few strands he had left to his father, and he intended to keep that at all costs.

"That's good," Steve breathed, almost relieved. "That's really good."

Chin watched Steve with quiet contemplation. There was so much of John McGarrett's character in Steve, but Steve's heart was larger and far more forgiving than any he had witnessed before. Clearing his throat, Chin shifted in his seat catching Steve's attention.

"You do know how sorry we are, right?" Chin suddenly said, leaning forward in the plastic seat beside Steve's bedside.

"Chin, we've been over this."

"Collectively and quite quickly, yes… but we haven't had a chance to talk. I am sorry, Steve, for everything."

"Not your past or your actions that need apologising. Look what I brought to your door…"

"Thought we'd been over this," Chin said, just short of reiterating Steve's prior sentence word for word. "We all know the enemies we can make in this job."

"Seems like I made an island full of them compared to yours."

"With your job, we would have been stupid to think otherwise, but my boss picked a great team, and we fight for one another in the face of any and all problems. He taught us about Ohana … and although we lost sight of that, he showed us what our Ohana is really made of."

"Seems like a good guy," Steve heating, huffing a mirthless life.

"Believe me, he is," Chin agreed, grinning at his boss. "Now, we need to shake off that guilt train because there's a bright future to look forward to."

Steve had to agree the future was bright, but he had his own reservations. Ones that one session of therapy was not going to resolve.

"I sometimes feel like I don't deserve the good life," Steve uttered, his eyes looking at the newest sonogram. "Like how do I deserve a family when I've done some unthinkable things in my life."

"There would be a lot of miserable people if that were the life sentence given to everyone in our sorts of work." Chin gave a small grin Steve's way. "You know, you are allowed to be happy … granted it hasn't been easy for you but you are allowed to give in and accept this life."

"I did that before and woke up dead," Steve replied, his tone flat. "Guess I feel like I'm living on tenterhooks."

"You thought about talking to us about it?"

"That's why I have a therapist," Steve shot back wryly.

He couldn't say talking to a shrink didn't help because he didn't feel the crushing weight of guilt on him any more. It was there - part of him knew it always would be - lingering in the deep recesses of his brain waiting to pray upon his vulnerable moments, but he had power over it now. Steve now could tamper it down. "Ah, yes, Danny did mention you opened up to the idea of talking to someone," Chin observed, his tone showing his full agreement with this notion. "It was a long time coming … you've got a lot to work through that it's good you realise you can't do it alone."

"Wouldn't have been doing it alone, anyway …" Steve said, pausing briefly. "Got Ohana to help."

And Chin smiled at Steve's admission. After what Grace had said while they waited for news on Steve, Chin questioned the term and his hand in it. Being Hawaiian and proud, he felt he let every ancestor down when he failed to step up in the wake of Steve's return.

"You know, your Ohana's pissed the party got cut short."

"Yeah, I bet," Steve muttered, laughing dryly. "Looks like I won't be firing up the grill anytime soon."

He pointed to his leg in disgust and flexed back into the bed.

"Doc said how long you're in the brace?"

"Six weeks … minimum, and that's only based on whether or not I behave."

"So, six months minimum," Chin jested, grinning at his boss who shot him a death glare. "I've watched your antics."

"No. No, I'm doing this right," Steve said and pushed himself up, his left side stinging. "With a kid on the way in minimal time, I need to be fit and ready. I've been thinking a lot about the house. I might need your help, but I want to make it a home."

"It is a home," Chin rebuked.

"No, it's the house where my father died," Steve argued, the bile swirling in his stomach that after six year he still saw it more as a crime scene than anything else. "With a kid on the way, I want Cath to realise I'm all in. She needs to know I'm more than a hundred percent in on this."

Chin chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering how Cath could ignore the fact that Steve would do everything to make this mission his best yet.

"Okay… so what's the plan?"

"I'm going to need all hands-on deck, but I want to change Mary's room to a nursery, clear up the attic a bit more to create it back into a proper room." With a wistful smile, Steve let his future play out in front of his eyes. "Make the garden more child friendly."

"You've really thought about this, huh, Brah?"

"What else can I do when all I've done is stare at the same four walls for too long?"

"Let's hope my visit will change that," Doctor Keoni spoke from the doorway. "The nurses have commented you're getting restless."

"Is that what they call it?" Chin joked, cutting a glance at Steve.

"Tell me you've come with good news, Doc."

Keoni knew there were many stories all over the hospital about Commander McGarrett, and he had been pleasantly surprised not to deal with them, but he was sensing that his luck was running out.

"Let me check you over and we'll go from there. How does that sound?"

"Fine," Steve caved, sighing heavily. "Do your worst."

Steve leaned back, looking up at the ceiling as he wanted for Keoni to get to work. He tried to take his mind off what the good doctor had to say as the bandage was removed and the doctor inspected the bullet wound.

"This is looking good," doctor Keoni stated. "You're definitely on the right track."

Finally looking at the man before him, Steve failed to read his expression.

"So, does that mean I can finally go home?" Steve asked pleadingly. "Not that I don't appreciate the hospitality of this place, but I'd rather see my own house."

Keoni laughed.

"I want to run some tests, but your physiotherapist is happy with your steadiness on the crutches, and I'm happy with how you're healing."

"I'm sensing a but somewhere in there, Doc…"

Steve gulped, cutting a look over to Chin but tried to remain calm.

"Your kidney."

Steve groaned.

"Just a few tests to make sure it's functioning to the level it was before this incident, but provisionally speaking, I'm hoping to give Detective Williams your walking papers tomorrow."

"Don't make that sound so promising when you could rip it away from."

The doctor put his hand on Steve's shoulder and grin.

"Your urinary output has been improving, but I want to be sure you're on the right track before I discharge you." Dropping his hand, the doctor turned back into the profession. "I want to check your leg over and then I'll go and arrange those tests."

Trying not to allow disappointment to show, Steve let the doctor do what was necessarily while Chin watched on from the end of the bed - a place Danny usually claimed.

Steve glanced at his injured leg, and slowly looked up at the doctor's face, still struggling to read the expression.

"How can it be swollen still? I barely use it."

"You had an enormous amount of trauma and with the physio you've started by getting acquainted with your crutches, it'll bring out any residual swelling from the change of the angle your legs been at for the majority of your stay here."

"I'm still leaving in the morning," Steve deadpanned. "If not with papers, I'm going AMA. I'm not staying here for swelling if it's not life threatening."

"Don't worry, Commander, I won't keep you over residual swelling. It's something that can be managed at home just as easily as it can be here. But also, I'd like to hope the rumours aren't true, and you'd be stupid enough to leave against medical advice."

"Needs must."

"Steve," Chin warned, his tone softer than Danny's ever could.

"Let me go and arrange the tests, and we'll talk later," Keoni told Steve, the polite grin back on his face. "How's the headache? I noticed from your chart you're not asking for pain relief."

"I am, when I need it," Steve admitted, sighing. "Besides the dizziness, the headaches aren't all that bad."

"Unfortunately, with concussions you just need to ride them out, but you had quite a high grade one, so please do not hide symptoms from us. Or you might be here longer."

"Honestly, Doc, the headache and dizziness are the worst of it, and I know enough to know that I'm going to be like that for a while yet."

"Yes, your file was quite eye opening," Keoni joked, laughing slightly. "And having seen the support system around you, I know you'll be leaving here in good hands."

"Too right," Chin agreed. "There's an entire Ohana waiting for him to get out of here."

"I'll get those tests arranged, and we'll see where we're at with those papers," Keoni declared satfiised, and left the room.

"Freedom's nearly yours, Brah," Chin commented the moment Keoni disappeared. "Got to feel good to be closer to home than ever."

"Yeah, but I need to make a pitstop before I make it."

"Steve…"

Hardened eyes met the Hawaiian detective's across the small expanse of space between them.

"I'm going to see Franklin before going home."

Cocking a brow, Chin decided to bite.

"Do you think that's a good idea?"

"No, but I need to look him in the eye and just … I don't even know, Chin. I don't want an apology. I don't want to see him grovel."

"You want closure," Chin surmised casually. "He tore your world apart … the dust settling doesn't seem enough."

"Right, and I just need to hear it from him because I can't carry this with me."

"I just want to go home and start to rebuild my life. I have to call Mary, but I can't do that when I'm laying here feeling so fucking helpless."

As if to react, Steve started to push himself up, grunting at the overexertion on his body. It was still a struggle for him to move at his normal speed, but he was doing it the best he could when he could, so not to feel like an invalid.

"Steve, slow down."

"No, I can do it."

"Steve," Chin said, using his warning tone again.

"What's going on in here?"

Danny's voice broke into the room as Chin wrestled to get Steve to settle back down.

"We're going home, Danno!" Steve exclaimed, grinning wide.

"We are?"

Chin's light chuckle broke the atmosphere as Danny looked on perplexed.

"The doc didn't quite say that, Brah."

"We're going gone tomorrow, Danno," Steve corrected himself, giving Chin a smirk.

"He didn't quite say that, either."

Steve, regrettably, rolled his eyes, setting his world into a sickening motion, but pushed through.

"We're going home tomorrow, but we're paying Wright a visitor on the way."

"Steve," Chin groaned, rolling his eyes. "Doc wants to run some tests, but provisionally speaking, Steve could be out of here in the morning."

"That's what I said."

Danny, taking in the sight before him and the news he was just delivered, crossed his arms over his chest and inspected the scene before him. While Steve looked better than he had, there was still a weakness to his best friend that he couldn't unsee, and he knew that breaking free of this hospital was the cure for.

"I guess the real fun's about to begin…"