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Deep Breaths

The Original Pancake House - 1221 Kapiolani Blvd

DJ and Michael entered the restroom of the restaurant to wash up before breakfast, both boys chatting excitedly about the game of UNO they'd played the previous evening where they'd beaten Michael's parents. "Next time you sleep over, we'll play again," Michael said as he dried his hands.

"Yeah, maybe we can teach your whole family Rummikub, I can bring it over."

"Awesome." He smiled at his best friend.

"I gotta go, I'll be right out." DJ indicated the door and Michael nodded.

"Meet you at the table."

Just as DJ was washing his hands, one of the stall doors opened and a boy of about six came out and stood at the next sink. Eyes downcast, he bumped into the nine year old, then looked up with a frightened expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump you, It was on accident," the child said. He was thin with dark hair and eyes and wore a grey tank top and board shorts.

"It's ok, you didn't mean it." DJ smiled, but something in the younger child's demeanor made him take notice. His tummy was suddenly alight with butterflies. He didn't know exactly how he knew but he just knew something was wrong. He turned to fully face the child and spotted marks that looked very much like bruises on his left forearm.

Taking a deep breath like his daddy always told him to do when he was feeling a little nervous about something, he smiled again and said, "I'm DJ."

"I'm Robbie."

"Robbie, um, I … are you okay?"

Before the younger boy had a chance to answer, a fist pounded on the outer door followed by a woman's voice. "Hurry the hell up in there, did you fall in?"

Robbie's body tensed visibly as he said, "I'm sorry there was a line I'll be right out."

"Well move your ass, I ordered your food."

DJ was convinced of what he was seeing and he stood taller and quietly said, "Robbie, I promise I'm a safe friend. Do you need help?"

The boy's eyes grew. He hadn't asked for help, he was always afraid it would make his situation worse, but something about the older boy with the kind eyes made him nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

DJ placed a comforting hand on Robbie's shoulder and pressed a call button on his watch.

Steve and Danny arrived minutes after DJ's call and while his partner dealt with the woman, Steve led both children into the restaurant manager's office.

Robbie's eyes watched every move and when Steve took a seat across from the kids, he looked between DJ and his father. "Your dad is Five-0?"

"Yeah, and he's going to make sure you're safe." His eyes were on Robbie's finger shaped bruises before meeting Steve's. "Right Daddy?"

"Right. Now Robbie, can you tell me what happened to your arm?"

"My mother got mad and grabbed me. She never did that before. She usually yells a lot but …" his eyes shone with unshed tears. "She's getting angrier and I'm scared a lot. Can you call my brother? I know his number. It's 808-555-4395. He'll come and get me."

"You give us a little while and we'll figure that out, okay?" He stood and moved towards the door. "I'm just going to step out and talk to Ms. Longo."

Robbie looked at the commander who was speaking in a quiet, calm tone. "Okay. Commander?"

Steve turned back.

"Thank you. DJ said you'd come real fast to help."

Steve swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. "You're welcome." He shared a look with his son whose eyes were glowing with absolute confidence in his ability to fix anything. "You're gonna be okay."

Pancake House vestibule

"You, come with me," Danny said to the angry woman, whose name was Debbie. "Don't make me cuff you in front of all these nice people."

"Cuff me? What the hell is wrong with you? Those people," she pointed towards Michael's parents who were across the restaurant with their children, "practically kidnapped my kid. He came out of the bathroom with the kid with the dark hair and went to their table and the guy literally stood between me and my son."

"That's because your son shows evidence of abuse. They were keeping him safe until we arrived."

"Abuse? What did the little bastard tell you? He lies all the time."

Just then the patrol officer, who happened to be Jadon, approached. "Evidence of drugs. In the purse and vehicle. Enough for intent to distribute," he said and looked over at DJ and Steve who were sitting with Robbie and the recently arrived Estella Longo.

"That stuff isn't mine."

"Shut up." Danny turned her and cuffed her wrists. "You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…"

"Ms. Longo's super nice," DJ encouraged as he and Robbie came out of the office to sit with her when Steve motioned for them. The younger boy nodded silently. "She can help you get to a safe place."

"I wanna go to my brother's." The boy searched Estella's face with wide eyes. "He's a grown up. Can I?"

"That's what we're trying to arrange right now," Estella said and motioned for Steve to step aside with her for a moment. "I just need to talk to Commander Mc… Steve for a minute and we'll be right back." She pointed to an area a few yards away. "DJ can stay with you if you'd like."

"Yeah. That'd be good."

"I'll stay right here," the nine year old promised. He placed an encouraging hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "When I feel nervous, taking a deep breath helps." He demonstrated. "It'll be okay, my daddy will make sure."

"Thanks." The younger boy followed his example and exhaled through his mouth.

"Do you like baseball?" DJ asked with a small smile.

"Yeah. My brother James took me to a game and it was great."

"My favorite team is the Cubs…"

"What's the deal with the brother?" Steve asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

Estella glanced at her tablet. "James Dwyer. Half brother. Twenty five. Clean record. Graduated UH summa cum laude, he's an accountant with Myaki Accounting. He's called CPS twice about Robbie in the last three months. The father's not in the picture. Says the stepmother is verbally abusive and James is petitioning for custody." She swiped to a second screen. "Looks like he's got all his paperwork in order. We can do a placement tonight and start the ball rolling."

Less than an hour later, James Dwyer had arrived and swept his little brother into an embrace. Checking him over he shook his head and told Estella and Steve, "I'm so sorry. I should have pressed harder. She never touched him before."

"You've done everything right. I'm going to expedite guardianship. You can take Robbie home with you and we'll proceed with making it permanent."

James kissed his brother's head and smiled. "You hear that buddy? You can come home with me."

"Really? For good?"

"For good. We'll make it official as soon as possible. Promise." After another hug he placed Robbie on his feet. "He's got plenty of stuff at my place, I've been hoping…"

"You can stop and get whatever he needs from the house tomorrow."

"I don't need anything. I just wanna live with James."

"We'll make that happen," Estella said and Robbie turned to DJ.

"Thank you. Thanks so much. And thank you, Commander Steve."

DJ smiled and hugged the younger boy. "You're welcome. I'm happy I was there. Ms. Longo helped me get official, too." He smiled at her, then looked up at his father. "Can Robbie have our phone number? In case he wants to talk?"

Steve smiled at his son's bottomless supply of compassion and kindness. "That's a great idea. James, is that okay with you?"

"Okay? It's great. Your son is an incredible kid." He turned to DJ. "You helped my little brother, I'll be grateful forever. I think exchanging numbers is a really good idea."

"I'm a big brother, too. My sister's five," DJ told James who nodded like that explained everything, and Steve thought maybe it did. "I'm gonna call you tomorrow and check in, and you can call me whenever you want," DJ said as James gathered the papers Estella was handing him. "What do you say we get going, Robbie?"

Robbie nodded and with another round of goodbyes, slipped his hand into his brother's and walked to the door.

Beach house that evening

Catherine leaned up to switch off the bedside lamp, then rolled over to face Steve who had read a text before placing his phone on his nightstand.

"Estella?"

"Yeah. Robbie is settling in at his brother's place. James apparently rented a two bedroom apartment as soon as he got his job. He's been trying to get custody for awhile. Estella said everything's in order, and with the drug arrest, which was her third, by the way, the mother wouldn't have much to stand on. She actually offered to relinquish rights." He sighed and shook his head. "If it wouldn't cost her anything."

"That's just, wow." Catherine couldn't believe how low some people could stoop, even after years of being exposed to the dregs of humanity. "I'm happy Robbie has his brother." She smiled softly. "And how wonderful is our son? Stepping up to ask if another kid needed help like that. Calling you, telling Nick so Robbie would be protected until you and Danny got there…"

"He's amazing every day but this, it just goes to show how amazing he is. He told me he had a feeling as soon as he saw Robbie that he needed help. Then on the way home, after Danny and I complimented him for about the hundredth time, he said you and I saved him, and he was happy James was there to save Robbie." Steve cleared his throat. "He's already making a difference helping people he's never met before today." He smiled and his tone lightened. "So yeah, I was pretty much ready to yell, 'My son is awesome,' from a bullhorn."

Catherine returned the smile. "We have pretty fantastic kids."

"Remember how he told Gracie that when he grows up he might find the kind of job where he matches people who need to be loved with people who have love to give?"

Catherine nodded, her smile growing. "Our sweet boy. He's already started."

# End Thanks for reading!

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