We would like to share a guest review with you from Chapter 4 that we thought was really interesting and a typical example for many people on FFnet lately. It is a negative review, but we don't have a problem with that, not at all because we like to hear from all of you.
Unfortunately this is a review that doesn't tell us anything, other than allowing us to look into the abyss that is this guest's character.
"From: Guest
: This has wandered off in the weeds and gotten totally lost, and did I mention tedious to read and boring?"
All right. Thank you for reviewing. But you know what would be cool? To know why this person thinks the story has lost its way. Does he or she already know where this is supposed to be going? I don't think so. But maybe he/she wanted to say that he/she is not interested in reading about the task force being formed, and just wants to jump into the action? Well, that might be, but I guess we will never know why this person thinks we have lost the way in chapter four.
This point really and completely took us by surprise, because quite frankly, chapter four is just two days into the story. We thought we were on a pretty straight and narrow path in forming this task force.
Tedious to read and boring. Well, if you only want action, I can understand that this is not fast-paced enough for you. On the other hand, if it was such a chore to read it, why bother? But, there will be action to come… we just need to set the stage before we get there.
See, we do really like to read reviews, and even like the negative ones. Constructive criticism is the phrase here. This review is just rude and uncalled for. It doesn't give us anything except the fact that this guest (a) doesn't like our work; (b) uses the guest status so that we can't have a dialog.
A Wrinkle in Time – Chapter 5
by Cokie and Sam
Friday Evening
McGarrett Home
Steve pulled to a stop in the driveway and noticed that his dad's truck wasn't at home. He looked at Cath and grinned. "Is this the third night this week Dad has missed curfew?"
"Steve, John really loves Kalani. I can see it every time he talks about her," Cath assured him. "And they are excited about finding a place together. Don't tease him about it."
"I'm not," he replied, "believe it or not, I'm good with it. It's just… well, different," he admitted while opening the door of the rental car he had rented for the weekend. There was only so many times he could ask for a ride from others. "Stay there," he told Cath as he rounded the front of the vehicle.
"What a gentleman," she said when he opened her door.
"Dad would bust my chops if I wasn't."
She slid off the seat and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for a wonderful dinner. I'm stuffed."
"Yeah, me, too," he agreed as they walked toward the front door. "Hey, there's something I've wanted to do ever since I got home and haven't had time."
"And what's that?"
"Swim." He ushered her into the house then reached for her hand, tugging her toward him. "Let's get changed and take a quick dip. It's your last chance before you have to leave in the morning."
"All right," Cath agreed, turning toward the stairs. "Race ya!"
They pounded up the stairs and managed to reach the bedroom without tripping each other. After a quick change, Steve found beach towels in the hall closet and ten minutes later the towels were on the chairs and they were in the water.
"Oh, this feels wonderful," Cath said, turning on her back and floating past Steve.
"I have forgotten how much I miss this," he said, swimming to intercept her. He reached out and held her upper arms, drawing her close to him. They bobbed in the water lazily kicking their legs to remain afloat in the calm waves.
"It's a beautiful night," Cath said, then laughed. "Remember that night—"
Steve's voice echoed hers. "Remember the night in—"
Steve leaned in and kissed her. They dropped below the water's surface, a slow wave rolling overhead. Catherine and Steve floated upward, laughing and splashing before floating next to each other, holding hands.
"The Philippines were beautiful, weren't they?" Cath said while staring at the stars above.
"It was a night kind of like this," Steve replied. "A sky full of stars, the warm ocean," he glanced toward the shore. "Not a soul in sight…"
Cath kicked to move upright in the water. "It was a wonderful night; one that I will treasure always. But if you think I'm going to have sand in places where sand does not belong when there is a nice, soft bed mere steps away, you are sorely mistaken."
Steve reached for her and pulled her close, kissing her earlobe then trailing his lips down her neck to her collarbone. "Did I hear a proposition somewhere in there, Lieutenant?"
Her breath caught in her throat. "There might have been a hint of one," she admitted, turning so that her mouth could find his. "But maybe we should dry off and… explore… our options."
"Mm," Steve agreed. "I like exploring." He kissed her once again, then pushed away, grinning at her. "Let's move it, Rollins!"
She began quickly swimming toward the shore. "You are such a romantic, McGarrett."
H50 – H50 – H50
They hadn't bothered drying off on their way to the bedroom. They were both too eager to start exploring.
Steve watch his lover race up the stairs and had to smile, they both were competitive but on occasion it was way more fun to just watch instead of participate.
"What, Commander, already exhausted?" Cath called from the door to their temporary bedroom.
Steve shook his head and slowly, almost leisurely made his way up the short flight of stairs. He enjoyed the slow build-up low in his belly which manifested in a growing hardness. He stroked his hand down his still wet boardies. Down boy, not yet, he mumbled and climbed the last steps.
"What's keeping you all of a sudden, Commander?" Catherine called from inside the door to the adjoining bathroom.
Steve smiled, seeing her half naked body still glistering with drops of water. "Just enjoying every minute of it," he told her as he closed the distance between them.
Gently touching her arms, he let his hands travel down to her hands. In a swift move he grabbed them, interlocking their fingers and pressed his body against hers, trapping her against the bathroom door. He followed his movement with a heated kiss that left them both breathless.
"Wow, Commander…"
"Have I… ever told… ya… that you… talk too much?" Steve asked between kisses.
Catherine gently pushed him away which elicit a growl from Steve. "Impatient much?" She whispered and tucked on his shorts, making them drop to his ankles.
"Who's impatient?" Steve laughed and kicked his wet swim attire across the tiles. "Your turn." Steve grinned and pulled Catherine back in, using her panty's waistband.
With the last piece of garment out of the way, Steve again eagerly pressed his body against Catherine which caused her to shiver in anticipation. For a second he debated whether they would have enough room in the shower, but Catherine took that decision out of his hands.
"Bed. Now."
Steve grinned, but of course followed her order without hesitation. He slowly walked backwards into the bedroom, keeping close contact with Cath who was pushing against him to make him move faster.
He laughed when she pushed him down onto the bed, with her knees left and right of his hips. Her hands were flat on his stomach, her gaze traveling up, locking eyes with him. "All mine," he heard her whisper.
"Never doubt it," Steve softly said. "I love you."
"Show me."
And he did. It was, contrary to their heated foreplay, gentle and slow. Both being aware that this was more than sex, more than expressing their love, this was also a good bye. Hopefully only for a few weeks, but Steve knew he was going to go on one last mission. He wanted this to be perfect. If this was their very last time, he wanted something special.
And special it was. It was their first time as a real couple, as two people who had decided to make a life together. Steve was seeing flashes of light again, but these were of the really good kind.
They were both breathless and totally spend. Their racing heartbeats only slowly returning to normal in the afterglow of mind-blowing sex.
Steve smiled and turned his head to his lover, best friend, partner and so much more. "You know, in a few weeks we can go to sleep together every night," Steve said and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
"Only to sleep?" Cath playfully asked.
Steve chuckled at her words. "I'm sure you will be the death of me, Rollins."
"Oh, is that so, McGarrett?"
"Uh huh," Steve smiled at her and leaned over, softly kissing her lips.
They lay quiet for a minute, until Cath turned and leaned on her elbow. "Steve?"
"Hmm," he answered lazily.
"Can I ask you something?"
Steve opened his eyes and looked at Catherine, a confused look on his face. "You can ask me anything."
"When Grover told you he accepted the job offer you were genuinely happy about it," Cath begun.
"Yeah, I really like him. He's a great guy. Where are you going with this? Cath, what's on your mind?"
"When Williams called, you were… I don't know, Steve, but I have the feeling you are not really sure about him. Do you have doubts that it was the right decision to ask him?"
Steve thought for a moment. "We worked really well together. And I like him. I think I do. He's loud and talks way too much. And his methods… I can't agree with them," Steve listed what came to his mind. "But I think he's a good homicide detective, I'm just not sure if a task force is the right field for him."
"You are worried that he will endanger the team?" Catherine asked the hard question.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am."
"Steve, you were always really good reading people…"
"I can't read him. He is all over the place. It's like he has a disorder or something," Steve said and had to laugh. "No, that's not it. I think he's unsure of himself and hides that behind his loud behavior. Even his shirts are loud," Steve said smiling, remembering his ugly shirt.
"I can't wait to meet him."
"You will soon enough. Too bad he didn't make it to the new office yesterday," Steve told her and couldn't keep a yawn in. "We have to be up early to get you to base," he said, sighing. "Now that it is here, I wish we didn't have to go back to duty."
"I know," she agreed, laying her head on his shoulder. "But it will be over quickly, right? I'm going to start my paperwork through on Monday."
"Yeah, me, too," Steve agreed. "I just hope it all goes smoothly. If they want to, they can be real pains in the asses."
"Think positive. We've both given the Navy almost half our lives. It's time for the next chapter."
Steve smiled in the dimness of the room. "Yeah," he agreed, placing his arm more protectively around her. "I like the sound of that."
The waves through the open window lulled them both to sleep, arms around each other.
H50 – H50 – H50
The smell of cordite and burning flesh filled his nostrils and he looked around the filth in search of his partner. Several bodies were littered along their path. He had a firm grip on Anton's collar and was not allowing the man to get away. He saw Freddy covering his six.
"Get him to the truck," Freddy yelled, laying down cover fire. "Now, Dog. I've got this."
Steve threw their prisoner into the truck and saw his friend go down hard. "No, no," he shouted, turning around to go back for Freddy.
"Go, I've got your back," Freddy assured him. "Not going anywhere," he said, moving his hand away from his gaping wound.
Steve laid down fire, trying to reach his friend, but was stopped by the spattering of bullets.
"Take Hesse and get out of here. Go!"
"Freddy! No!"
"Steve!" Catherine was immediately awake as soon as his body tensed and he jerked upright in bed. "Hey, Steve," she whispered, her hand resting over his heart. She could feel the racing thud of his heartbeat, could feel the clamminess of his skin, the hitch in his breath. "It was a nightmare, you're all right," she whispered, finally feeling his body relax beneath her.
He fell back onto the pillow. "Yeah, yeah, I'm OK," he assured her between pants of air. He shivered, chilled when the night air blew across his sweaty skin.
Catherine reached down and tugged on the sheet that was around their waists, bringing it up near his shoulders. "There," she whispered. "You want to talk about it?"
"I was… it was horrible. We were back in Korea but…" he paused, unable to say the words.
"What happened?"
"I'm not even sure," Steve admitted. "I just remember Freddy didn't make it," he finally admitted. "I started shouting his name."
"OK," Cath said, kissing his cheek. "It was a nightmare. Freddy is safe and he is healing."
"Yeah," Steve agreed. "Yeah, I know. It was just… so real."
"It felt real," she told him. "Hey, why don't you give Freddy and Kelly a call tomorrow."
"Yeah, I will." Steve rolled to his side and drew her closer to him. "Sorry I woke you," he said.
"Don't ever be sorry for that," she told him. "I'm right here if you need me. You've had to wake me on several occasions. I'm just glad I was here."
Steve snuggled against her and kissed her hair. "I'm glad you're here, too."
"Promise me one thing, Commander."
"Anything for you, Lieutenant."
"When you leave for duty on Sunday, be extra-extra careful. I want you back here in one piece as soon as possible."
"Roger that. Good night, Cath. Love you."
She smiled, realizing she was where she had always wanted to be. "Love you, too."
H50 - H50 - H50
Four Weeks Later...
Honolulu International Airport
"Catherine, over here!"
"Hey, John," she replied. "You didn't have to pick me up."
"I thought you might have checked bags and I wanted to give you a hand," he replied, giving her a quick hug.
"How'd you know my flight?" she asked. "Must've been in contact with Steve."
"Yeah, he called on Tuesday and said you would be in this afternoon. I'm a detective so I figured out the rest," he told her with a grin.
"Is he still arriving on Saturday?" she asked. "I haven't spoken with him since Monday night."
John grabbed a bag as it came off the carousel. "Yeah, but he was leaving early yesterday morning for a ‚quick in and out' as he called it. Said he would still be here Saturday evening. Is that one yours, too?" he asked, pointing to a large duffel.
"Yeah, I got that one. Thanks, John."
"The car isn't far," he assured her. "Did the Navy give you any problems?"
"No, not really," she replied as they walked out of the terminal. "Lots of paperwork, but that was expected. I hope Steve's resignation is easy."
"Yeah, he did say there was a lot of red tape, but that is expected."
"I can't believe we will both actually be in the same time zone, let alone in the same city," Cath said, smiling at the thought.
"How about the same house?" John asked.
"That too," she said with a smile.
"Then let's go get you settled in."
H50 – H50 – H50
John woke and checked his watch. It was 6:45 which was normal for him. But his internal clock wasn't what woke him this morning. It was... the smell. Coffee. And what? Cinnamon?
He followed his nose downstairs and into the kitchen and enjoyed the assault to his senses.
"Oh, John," Cath said when she saw him watching her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
John headed to the coffee pot. "You didn't wake me." He reached for a mug and poured a cup and held it up. "This did. Thank you."
Cath opened the oven. "There's homemade cinnamon rolls too. And..." she tossed the pot holder onto the counter. "I'm so sorry, John. When I'm stressed, cooking helps. I've been up since five."
John reached up and gave her a hug. "It's all right, Cath, I'm worried too. It is tough not hearing. He's ok."
"Yeah, I know. It's just that most times when I'm waiting to hear from Steve I'm keeping busy with my own duties. Now waiting... well, honestly it's driving me crazy. John, I just keep expecting him to call. It's been 5 days since we've heard anything. He was on a three day mission."
"And he will call. Now how about one of those rolls. They smell fantastic."
"Thanks. I'm sorry to be such a worrier."
John reached for a plate. "What's in the pot?"
"I hope you like lasagna. The sauce is already simmering."
"If my son doesn't get home soon, I'm going to be as big as the side of a barn."
Cath laughed. "I'll stop. I promise."
"Don't stop until you have made ragu. Steve says it is the best."
"It's a deal," she assured him. "What do we do on Monday? We are all supposed to begin work." Catherine worried about the upcoming new week.
"We worry about Monday when Monday gets here. Now let's have breakfast."
H50 – H50 – H50
Monday Morning
New Task Force Headquarters
"Hey, I smell coffee," Danny said as he entered the newly-furnished HQ. The others had already arrived and were checking out the new space while enjoying their coffee.
He helped himself to coffee and glanced around. "Where's the head honcho?" Danny asked. "Thought he would be chomping at the bit to get started."
"Let's all go into the conference room," John suggested. When they were all settled, he said, "Glad everyone made it in this morning, but we do have a slight snag. Steve has been held up with his work in the Navy and will be here as quickly as possible."
"Where is he?" Danny asked. "Can't believe something is more important than the first day of a new job."
Catherine almost choked to keep from snorting at his remark. "I'm sorry, but you just don't tell the United States Navy that you've got a better offer and won't be in today."
"Oh, yeah, you're Rollins, right? The other Navy transplant. I'm Danny Williams."
John, who was seated next to Catherine could see that it wouldn't take much before she would start cooking again. "I'm sorry," he said. "I guess we haven't all been introduced, have we? Danny, this is Lt. Catherine Rollins and she comes from Naval Intelligence. Cath, Detective Danny Williams from HPD, formerly from New Jersey."
"Danny," she said with a polite nod of her head.
"Yeah, hi," he replied. "So you must be the guy who came in for the SWAT job?" he asked, looking at Grover. "I guess this is the next best thing, huh?"
"Well, after talking to Steve and Captain Kelly, I withdrew my name from the running of the SWAT position. This one was too good to pass up."
"Yeah, I guess so," Danny replied. "Captain, I was totally shocked to find you made the jump."
Chin smiled. "What can I say? I craved a bit more action than my desk chair was giving me. I want to make a difference. And let's drop the 'captain', please. We're going to be working closely together – let's start on a first name basis."
"I agree," John replied. "Catherine, have you met Captain Lou Grover from Chicago?"
"No, I haven't," she said, reaching over the table to shake his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Hawaii."
"Aloha, everyone," Lou replied. "I've always wanted to say that."
"Is your family getting settled?" John asked.
"Well, for the time being, we have a house and beds. Since the cost to ship everything out here, we chose to sell much of what we had and buy new. Now we're just waiting for everything to arrive. As for the kids, they can't stop twitting and taking selfies of them with everything."
"I hope they- and your wife- love it," John replied.
"Oh, they better," Grover grumbled. "They sure better."
"I took the liberty of talking to the governor to tell him of Steve's delay," John related to the group. "He wants us to get settled in and get to know one another. He sent over some files for us to look through as possible cases. These three are cold cases that he would love to have solved. Please look them over and we can come together this afternoon or tomorrow to brainstorm. How does that sound?"
"Could I make a suggestion?" Chin asked.
"Of course. Please do."
"I know there are situations or occurrences on the islands that are hot topics for me. For an example, human trafficking. I thought maybe we could all list our "hot" points and we could come together and brainstorm those items. Maybe set up a tick sheet file on the server and when we have information that may pertain to one of those topics, we add it, we can build our own cases."
"That's excellent," Catherine agreed. "I know trafficking is high on my list, too, but I like having a common file where we can all pool our information." She smiled at him. "Good idea."
"I've been known to have a couple," he replied with a smile.
"I've got a question," Grover said. "Do we have assigned offices or do we fight over them?"
"Since we didn't configure our own space, but took it in an as-is condition, I guess we'll have to fight," John told him. He pointed through the glass wall. "Although that stand-alone-one is Steve's." He pointed to the one office that wasn't attached to any of the other rooms and sat in the corner.
"I chose the one across from it, if that's OK," Cath told them.
"And I took the one closest to the server," John told them. "There are four offices left and three of you. Good luck." He figured everyone would find a spot that suited them.
"I'd love to have the one closest to the door," Danny told them. "For a fast get-away, you know. And I don't have to traipse all over the office in the morning to get to my desk."
"Fine by me," Lou muttered. "I guess it is down to the two of us, Captain. Chin, what's your preference?"
"I have none," he replied. "Let's go see if we want to have that fight. Shall we?"
Catherine laughed. "Before you begin, let us know so we can watch, OK?"
"Oh, Sister, there's no contest who would win that battle," Lou told her. "I'd put a knot on his head faster than a speeding bullet."
"That's a fact?" Chin said with a grin. "Captain, I may have to take you down a notch or two."
"Oh, here it comes," Lou said. "Trouble already in Paradise."
H50 – H50 – H50
"John, you got a minute?" Catherine asked, standing in the open door to McGarrett senior's office.
"Of course, come in."
She entered his office and closed the door. "What do you think of Williams?"
"You don't like him, do you?"
Catherine looked at her friend's father. "I don't know, but he kinda irks me. Maybe it's just because I'm worried about Steve," Cath confessed.
"Let's not judge him just yet, I think he needs some time to adjust."
"We all do," Cath replied.
"What else is on your mind?"
"I… I just have a bad feeling about Steve's mission. He should have been here on Saturday; what's keeping him? And why didn't he call?"
"Catherine, this isn't the first time that he's not back on schedule, is it?"
"No, but it's different."
"How so?" John asked and watched Detective Williams coming their way.
"It's his last days in the Navy, and I can just feel something has happened," Catherine said, turning when there was a knock on the door frame.
"Am I interrupting something?" Danny asked after sticking his head inside.
"No, not all, Danny," John told him, motioning for him to join them. "What can we do for you?"
"Well, you see, I was just wondering if there was something you're not telling us?"
"What are you talking about?" Catherine wanted to know.
"About McGarrett. Why he's not here. I mean, I've only known him for a short time, but he struck me as a man who wouldn't miss his first day at work. So…"
"There is nothing we didn't tell you, Danny. Steve is still with the Navy, and he will be here as soon as he can," John assured him.
"You look worried. Both of you. Is he in any danger?"
Catherine sucked in a breath, trying to calm her nerves. "We don't know. He was supposed to be here on Saturday. We haven't heard from him since last week."
"Shit. I'm sorry, if I came off like a jerk earlier. It's just all new, and when I'm nervous…"
"It's OK, Danny, we understand. It's new for all of us," John assured him.
"Please let me know if there is anything I can do. Or if you hear from Steve."
"We will," Cath promised. "Thanks." OK, maybe he's not so bad, she thought to herself.
H50 – H50 – H50
Unknown location
unknown time
Steve McGarrett looked at his team-mates and had to smile; they had accomplished their mission. Not in the set time-frame, but the hostages were all safe and they were on their way back to their temporary base.
The mission had been under a bad star from the get-go. First their plane had an engine problem and they had to switch to a replacement, one that wasn't perfect for what they were supposed to do. It didn't delay their departure, but none of them had been happy to sit in a rather cramped space for long hours until they had reached their destination. Which was about five miles above their target.
And from there it all went downhill, and not just literally. Steve had a perfect fall through the night sky, until he opened his chute. He had known right away that something wasn't right. He couldn't steer at all. And the chute didn't fully open. To say that his descent was way too fast would be an understatement. With barely being able to steer, the wind mostly decided where he would touch down.
And touch down he did. It was nothing at all like the normal soft landings. Without being able to steer he couldn't slow his descent to almost zero velocity; instead he crashed with what felt like 30 mph into the dry bed of a river that now was full of big boulders, gravel and all kinds of obstacles. His left side took the brunt of the impact; he had been sure he had shattered his left hip. A gust of wind had picked up the flapping chute and pulled him forward. Unfortunately, his foot had been stuck and the pull resulted in an unimaginable pain in his hip and upper leg, and a loud popping noise. He knew right away that he had torn a muscle string.
After being dragged across the gravel, he had been stopped by another boulder which he hit with his arm and ribs. Resulting in more bruises and a seriously sprained left wrist. Any sailor would have blushed hearing him muttering curses.
After what felt like an eternity, Steve had been able to pull-in his malfunctioning chute and looked for his team mates. Standing up almost made him cry out in pain, but he pushed down on it and joined his team who had seen him going down fast and had been frantically looking for him.
It had been pure torture walking on the injured leg and hip, but he had managed to not hinder the mission and now after five days they were finally on their way back. At this point he could barely put any weight on his leg. His wrist was throbbing even in its make-shift bandage, it hurt to breathe, his hip was one big bruise and his upper leg pure agony. And not to forget his lower back which had started to hurt on the second day after his mishap. Probably caused by his unnatural posture he had due to his injury.
But now he sat in a helo, waiting to touch down on base, and actually looking forward to seeing a doctor with hopefully really good drugs.
All he needed now was a phone to call home. It was already Tuesday in Hawaii, he knew Cath and his dad would be worried sick by now.
H50 – H50 – H50
Tuesday Afternoon
The task force was seated at the conference table, once again going over files. They had decided to have lunch in the office since their discussions were going well and the sharing of ideas was fast paced and informative.
Danny reached over and picked up Cath's empty plate and added it to his before heading for the trash. "If anyone had told me a couple years ago that I would be eating... and loving... pineapple on my pizza, I would have escorted them to the loony bin. But, what can I say? That combination of ham, cheese and pineapple is totally the best."
"Huh?" Grover grunted. "I'm sorry, but I'm not just not there yet. That was an interesting flavor, but give me a big ole slice of thick-crust Chicago pizza any day. You can't beat it."
"I've lived here pretty much all my life," John added, "but in my book you still can't beat plain old pepperoni and cheese."
Catherine opened her mouth to argue with him when her phone buzzed... for about a second before the call disappeared. She reached for the phone and tried to see who the call was from, but there was no record of any call.
"Cath?" John spoke.
"Ah, nothing. I thought I had a call, but," she looked at the blank screen. "It's nothing." She set her phone back on the desk and glanced around the table. "Sorry," she whispered.
"Maybe there wasn't good service," John quietly told her. "Be patient."
She gave him a forced smile. "Yeah, you're right. OK, so about the growing meth problem. How do you think is the best way to track it?"
H50 – H50 – H50
Steve wearily looked at the doctor currently moving his left leg in different directions. Causing quite some pain, but not as much as standing on it had caused earlier.
"Commander, it seems that you have been lucky. Of course, we need an x-ray to be sure, but I think you got away with just bruises," the Army Captain told Steve.
"What about the muscle? Argh. Yeah, right there," Steve grunted when the doctor pressed on a very sensitive spot.
"There clearly is a tear in the groin muscle, maybe also in the inner thigh muscle. That must have been some force pulling on your leg," the doc mumbled.
Steve only nodded and gritted his teeth, hoping for the doctor to stop manhandling his hurting leg. Which he did, only to move to his ribs, which weren't faring any better.
"It would be good to get an MRI, especially for the torn muscles, but unfortunately, out here we only have an x-ray. They won't do us much good," Captain Jenkins said. "I think you are OK to be transported back to your station. Ah, I see you will go back to Hawaii," he said, looking at Steve's chart. "Perfect, you can go right to Tripler."
"Is that really necessary? I mean I've been walking on this leg for five days now. I guess, I would know if there was anything broken," Steve argued.
"That is very true. But a torn muscle can cause a lot of trouble in the long run, and they should do an MRI to see if they need to surgically repair the tears."
"What? Surgery?"
"Most of the time that is not necessary, but we need to make sure. You don't want to end up with a permanent limp, now, do you?"
"No, of course not," Steve agreed.
"I highly recommend you see a doctor at Tripler as soon as possible. As a doctor I could make it an order."
"That won't be necessary," Steve assured the captain. "I will get further treatment."
"Good. To make the trip home a little more comfortable and to give a bit more stability I will wrap your leg with a special bandage. We will also fit you with a brace or a cast for your wrist, depending on what the x-ray shows."
"Thank you," Steve replied, glad that the exam was finally over. He had to admit his leg and wrist did hurt, and he still waited for any kind of pain reliever.
Almost two hours later, Steve sported a brace on his badly sprained wrist and a very fancy bandage around his hip and thigh. He was still limping, a lot more than before he got bandaged like a mummy. The doctor had told him the bandage would help keep his hip and leg in-line which as a result would help with his back pain.
Steve sat in the uncomfortable seat of a cargo plane bound to Hawaii. It was the first plane he could catch, and he jumped at the opportunity to fly straight back home instead of via the continental US.
The cargo plane was back on its way from an aids mission into a natural disaster zone. Steve wondered why they flew to the islands instead the mainland which was a lot closer. But he thanked his lucky stars none the less.
He stretched out his leg and again hissed when the pain deep in his leg flared up again. So far, the shot he had received hadn't done much for his leg. Only his wrist and back had benefited from it. And the fancy bandage was nothing but annoying, it certainly wasn't helping. He knew it would come off as soon as possible.
"Hey, McGarrett," Lt. Pitz called from the row across his seat.
"Yeah?"
"You want a bottle of water or something, I'm going up front getting us all some."
"Yeah, thank you, water would be good," Steve answered and only now realized how thirsty and hungry he really was. Well, there certainly won't be any food service on this flight, Steve thought.
Twenty minutes later the drone of the engine had lolled him to sleep, despite the pain and hunger.
H50 – H50 – H50
Wednesday Afternoon
Chin was giving an impromptu computer course on the massive computer table that set in the center of the room. "Guys, one thing to remember is that it is just a computer. Yeah, it's big but it isn't really any different than your cellphone. Well, except that it can do a lot of really cool things, like..." he "threw" an image to the screens on the wall. "That," he ended with a smile. "Man, I love this thing."
His class was interrupted by a voice from the other side of the office.
H50 – H50 – H50
Steve stepped out of the cab that brought him from the airport to their new offices. He hissed when pain flaring up in his hip reminded him of his latest injury. A badly bruised hip with torn groin muscles was no fun. But when the 'incident' happened he had been sure his leg and hip had been shattered. Thankfully all he had to show for after the hard impact were painful, but minor injuries. He was a little banged-up, with a sprained wrist and torn muscles the worst of his aches. Steve tried not to limp too much when he entered the halls of their new headquarters. Something he wasn't really successful with after the long flight. And the shot of the good pain meds had worn off which resulted in some serious pain whenever he moved his leg or put any weight on it.
Steve leaned against the wall in the elevator and was glad that he would be able to sit down soon. That is, if there were any chairs in their office space. He had no idea if everything had been delivered by now, or if he would find total chaos. Although the last time he had spoken to him, his dad had assured him everything was going smoothly.
He had tried to call and let his dad and Catherine know that he was coming home, but before he boarded the plane last night, he couldn't get a signal. And when he arrived he thought it would be better to just get to HQ than bothering with a call.
Steve was sure they had been worried the last few days; after all, he was four days late. Wasn't the first time that a job took longer than predicted, but hopefully it would be the last.
The elevator doors slowly opened and he made the short trek down the hallway. He stopped at the glass doors and could see the team – his new team – gathered around a computer table, all in animated conversation. This is real, Steve thought to himself as he opened the door.
"Anybody working around here?" he asked, a wide grin on his bruised face.
H50 – H50 – H50