Because I Love You, Steph: Chapter 6
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Janet Evonovich & the Hawaii Five-O TV Series.
Thank you so much for every review, comment and private message regarding this story. I am on a bit of a break and thoroughly enjoying getting back into my writing and this story. I am trying to write as much as possible and get as far as possible on this story, before school starts again. We have 3 weeks, so should be able to get a fair distance in. Enjoy!
Back in Hawaii:
Steph climbs off the bed and lets out a low groan as she attempts to straighten her body. Pain shoots through her body from her ribs, then from her ankle and finally from her collarbone. As she moves to relieve one pain, the next one hits even harder. Steph takes a few deep breathes and tries again to straighten herself before she can even begin moving to the kitchen. The pain is stabbing through her body and for a moment she sees black dots and little white stars. If it weren't for the strong hands that reached out and grabbed her around her waist, she would have face planted into the wooden floor boards.
Steve leans down, places his arms under her legs and picks her up into his arms. Steph lets out a loud scream as the searing pain from her ribs tears through her body from being bent with the motion of being carried. A runaway tear rolls down her cheek, followed by another and another; but Steph doesn't notice. She is focused on not waking the neighbourhood up with her screams. Steve carries her through to the kitchen and places her on a barstool next to the kitchen counter. The barstool is the perfect height for a bit of a medical touch-up, if Steph will allow him too.
Steph pulls her sleeve over her hands and wipes away the few runaway tears. She closes her eyes for a second and takes a few deep breathes. She tries to get her breathing and heart rate under control; as well as composure. Neither of these guys needed or would want a baby moaning in their kitchen.
When she opens her eyes, Steve is standing in front of her with his first aid kit, a bottle of wine and a bottle of beer. "Wine or beer, which would you prefer?"
"I can't. I have just taken two pain tablets," Steph pointed out.
"I wouldn't ordinarily condone drinking and painkillers, but I think these are exceptional circumstances. So, I'll ask again, wine or beer?" And Steve held out the two options for Steph to have a closer look.
"I've seen this wine in Ranger's fridge before, so I know it must be good. I'll take a glass of wine." To the untrained eye, they wouldn't have noticed how quickly the smile that Steph had on her face at the mention of Ranger's name, changed into sorrow and sadness; but Steve did. He immediately made a note to see where Ranger was, and what he was up to. Steve really hoped that somehow, something hadn't broken Ranger so bad, that he was the one that hurt Steph like this.
"Great, a glass of wine for Steph, a beer for me. Danno, what about you?"
"I'll take a glass of wine too. Don't want to give Steph the option of having the entire bottle to herself." Danny responded with a cheeky smile over his shoulder at Steph. That glimpse was the first time Steph noticed that Danny was busy with a huge pot of red sauce on the stove. She sat still and took a deep breath in. She could smell the beautiful scent of Italian herbs, garlic and tomatoes; but she could also feel the stabbing pain from her collarbone and ribs. Steve noticed the grimace and made a note to check her ribs, but first he poured and delivered the glass of wine to Danny and Steph. He went back to the fridge to get this cold beer and open it too.
Once Steve had his beer, he made his way passed Danny at the stove and while Danny wasn't looking snuck a spoon full of sauce. Danny caught him half way through, scolding Steve. Steve rushed to stick the spoon in his mouth before Danny could steal it back, but didn't realise that it was boiling hot, burning Steve's mouth. Danny and Steph burst out laughing at Steve's overly exaggerated hot dance around the kitchen. With his tongue stuck out of his mouth, he made his way over to the kitchen table. He took a seat on the opposite side to Steph and launched into the conversation he had prepped in his head, "Steph, look, I know that you don't really know me, but I feel like I have known you for forever. I think of you as an extension to my family here in Hawaii. Danny talks about you all the time and to your surprise, I know a lot about you." Steph's body language was starting to change – she was putting up walls, so Steve took a different approach, "Do you know that I'm an ex-Navy SEAL? I worked Naval Intelligence for many years and held the office of Lieutenant Commander."
"Damn! Nah, I didn't." A smile appeared on Steph's lips as she thought about her Military people back home.
"Rangeman, huh?" As Steve pointed at the embroidery on her hoodie. "I know Ranger, Tank, Lester, Bobby, Cal, and Hal all very well."
The smile on Steph's face grew even larger as Steve spoke about her Merrymen. She took her finger and ran it over the lettering of 'Rangeman'.
Steve explained, "I'm not asking you to tell me everything all at once right now. At some point soon, I do need to know what happened if you want us to protect you. I need to know who to protect you from. But Steph, right now, at this moment, I am just asking you to let me see and attend to your injuries. I can see you are in pain, so let me help with that. The last thing any of us want is one of these sores getting infected."
Steph knew that her injuries needed to be looked at. She had self-diagnosed a few of the more tender areas and knew that a trip to the Emergency Room was going to be needed at some point; but wanted to get a good night sleep and gather herself before having to deal with doctors and nurses. She looked over at Danny who was watching her carefully. Danny nodded his head and mouthed "Please!" to her.
Steph turned her attention back to Steve and nodded her head in agreement, before "Under one condition, when I say 'Stop' you stop. No questions asked. No 'just one more'. You stop and you move away." Steph was confident and adamant in her request. From the tone of her voice, Steve could hear that this condition was going to be non-negotiable for her. But at the same time, he could see the pain and hurt from where that statement was coming – Steph needed to feel like she had some degree of control in the situation, and his would give it to her.
Steve agreed and held out his pinky as a token of their promise. Steph laughed and said, "It must be a Navy thing because Cal and Hal do the same thing with me. First time they held out their pinky, I thought they were making fun of our situation, but nope, it has held true for every promise they have ever made me." The smile was plastered all over Steph's face, and Steve could clearly see how happy those Rangemen make her.
Steve stood up and made his way around the counter. He opened his first aid and laid everything that he thought he would need out on the table. This way, he was giving Steph time to come to terms with what he was about to do – it wouldn't be a surprise attack.
"Is there something you want me to start with? What hurts the most?" Steve wondered.
"Everything. It all hurts. But I think just start at the top and move down, maybe."
Steve rubbed his hands together so they wouldn't be cold when he touched her bare skin. He placed his index finger and thumb softly on her chin, moving her head to the side, so he could see her cheek and then her neck more clearly.
"Looks like you have a bruised cheek over here. No fracture. I've seen this before when the butt of a gun is used on the face…".
Steve continued examining the area a little more and muttering to himself, more than anyone else, "… it's quite long so not a small gun… I would guess probably a 9mm … which would probably be police issue" Steve stopped at his own realisation and looked up at Steph.
To his surprise, Steph had to her eyes tightly closed and nodding, "Yup. That would be quite correct."
Bang! "Fuck!" came barrelling from the other side of the room. Steph involuntarily jumped at the noise and her walls started going up. Danny had punched the table with both hands at Steph's answer. He immediately knew that that asshole, Joe Morelli, was a police officer and more than likely behind Steph's injuries.
Battling to control his anger, Danny grabbed onto the side of the kitchen counter and lowered his head, but the words still came out. He needed answers. "Was it Joe Morelli? Did Morelli do this to you? Did he hit you?"
Danny was furious. Fire was steaming off his body and spit was flying with his words as he asked Steph. Danny's knuckles were white from his grip on the counter top, but all he could think about was hitting something.
Steph didn't have time to formulate an answer before Steve stood up, put his arm around Danny's shoulders, and walked him out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Danny was marching back and forth, trying to calm down. "Danno, listen to me. This isn't helping. Take a moment to calm down. We need Steph to tell us what happened, but if you get this angry at each injury, she won't talk."
Danny knew what Steve was saying is correct, but he had no idea what to do. He had never felt anger, hatred and sadness mixed into one, like this before.
"Eddie needs to be walked. Take him for a walk." Danny nodded but Steve could see him looking over his shoulder, checking on Steph in the kitchen, "I have Steph. I promise, buddy, I've got her. You go."
Danny took a few deep breathes collecting himself. Steve turned around and went back into the kitchen. He walked over to the fridge and took out the wine, topping up Steph's glass. Danny put on his shoes and collected Eddies leash and collar, not that they were actually needed with Eddie. He made his way back into the kitchen and straight over to Steph. Danny put his arms lightly around Steph, trying really hard not to hurt her, but to give her a huge hug. Steph returned the hug and before pulling away, Danny whispered, "I love you, Stephie! I love you so much and I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at Morelli."
Danny stood back up and called Eddie. They headed out for a long walk along the beach. When Danny first arrived in Hawaii, he would call it a 'pineapple infested volano' but this island of pineapples has really grown on him and the water has become his happy place.
As Steph heard the back door close, she pulled her shelf over her hand and wiped away a few of the stray tears. Steve made sure her wine glass was topped to the brim before "Steph, I understand that this may be a difficult thing to talk about and I am sure what you are going through right now is life-changing and devasting, but I need you to open up and talk to me, or talk to Danny. Danny is my family, but he is also my partner, and I can see that he cares deeply about you, which means that this… this situation is going to be difficult and confusing for him too and the last thing I want is for him to be distracted in the field. So, please talk to me."
"I understand. I am so sorry. I shouldn't have come here. I just … well, I just didn't know where else to go…"
"No! Nope, that is not what I am saying at all. Damn it!" Steve turned put this hand through his hand and walked the length of the kitchen, trying to think of a better way to say this, because that is not what he meant at all. "Steph, that is not what I am saying at all. I want you here and I am glad that you are here. As I said earlier, this is family and you, you are apart of this family now. But I just want to be able to protect you and look after you and I don't know how to do that if I don't know what is happening."
"Ok. So, basically, you want to gather the intel for your next mission or op – 'Protect Stephanie Plum'." Steph smiled, trying to break the tension that had formed in the kitchen.
"Yeah, I suppose you could put it that way." Steve joked and smiled back. Liking how she responds better to the military references and work terms.
"Ok. I think I can do that. Shoot, what do you need to know?"
Steve walked back over and got to work on her cuts and bruises as they asked and answered questions about Steph's assault.
"So, was Danny right? Is the guy that did this to you a Trenton Police Officer?"
"Yes… Yes, he is a Detective with the TPD and my on-again-off-again boyfriend of too many years."
"Does he know that you have left Trenton? Does he know that you are in Hawaii?"
"Um, no… argh …" Steph let out a hiss as Steve put ointment over an open saw at her hairline. "I left in the middle of the day while he was at work. To be honest, no one knows where I am."
Steve was surprised and relieved by that answer. Surprised that the Rangemen guys wouldn't know – she seemed reasonably close to them, but also relieved that they would have a day or so before her police ex-boyfriend would come looking for her. "So not even Ranger or the Rangemen?"
"No." Steph could feel the lump in her throat forming and she had to focus on something before she broke down in absolute tears, snot and sobs. Steve noticed the change in body language and didn't want her to shut down, so he quickly diverted her thoughts.
"Can I take a look at your collarbone and ribs?" Steve asked, point for her to take the hoodie off.
Steph nodded reluctantly. She started on the right side, trying to pull her arm out of the sleeve without jarring or moving her left hand side. Steve eventually stepped in and helped her to remove the hoodie. He took the dirty hoodie towards the laundry machine, but Steph stopped him quickly, taking the hoodie back. "Sorry, but you can't wash that."
"Ok, no problem." Steve ran his eyes over Steph's body and the rage he had already been feeling was starting to build even stronger inside of him. Soon he would need to be the one running on the beach with Danny and Eddie.
Steph nodded her head, but kept her eyes trained on the scrunched up Rangeman hoodie now sitting in her lap. Anyone that knows Steve would know that his defence mechanism is sarcasm, "So, please tell me. What could have possibly inspired this fellow police officer to use you as his punching bag? And then please also give me 5 good reasons why Danny and I shouldn't get on the next flight back to Trenton to put him through the same attack, just with bigger, scarier, better trained guys like us"
Steph loved the new sarcasm and it immediately put a smile on her face. If she was being honest with herself, this is exactly what she was afraid of. She was afraid that Danny would want to get revenge, get on a plane back to Trenton and then I would be visiting him in jail, instead of Morelli. Steph knew that this was the moment that was going to define how her life turned out, so she needed to put on her big girl pants, take a really deep breathe and have an honest conversation with Steve. So, she did just that. Steph took a deep breath, brought her hand up to Ranger's dog tags that were underneath her t-shirt, around her neck and summons all the strength that she could.
"Steve, stop please" and he stopped immediately. He took a step back and waited. He wasn't expecting that response at all. Steph took another deep breathe, straightened herself up and continued, "Steve, we need to have a honest conversation, so I need you to listen for a few minutes, then you can continue with the injuries."
Steve relaxed and took a seat back in his chair opposite Steph at the table. This is exactly what he was hoping for."
"Last night … um… last night changed a lot of things for me. Morelli got home from work livered and he took that anger out on me. I just stood there like a weak housewife taking a beating … I never ever thought it was possible for a man to react so badly to an accident, but he did and … um, well… I think we can both see how that went. Last night … last night, I decided that enough was enough… and I realise that not all of this makes sense right now… but I am scared and I need to say this to make myself accountable for the change that I want to take place. Last night, I made a video. I made a video of all the injuries that Joseph Morelli inflicted on me. I was weak. I was scared. I was helpless. And I was vulnerable. I just stood there and took it. And I never, never, never want to feel like that again. Steve, I want to change. I want to become the person that I have always dreamt of becoming. The person that Ranger and Tank and Lester and Bobby tell me and believe that I am. I want to learn. I want to grow and I never want to feel helpless to a man again." Steph was proud of herself and from the look on Steve's face, so was he.
Danny made himself known at the doorway of the kitchen with a small cough. Steph turned around surprised as she hadn't heard him enter. Danny wrapped his arms around Steph and gave her a huge kiss on the forehead. "I am so incredibly proud of you. I never caught the beginning of that speech, but I heard the ending and I am so proud of the change that you want to make. It won't be easy and you can't do it alone, but you have Steve and myself and the Five-O Family to help you. You are already so amazing and with a little bit of training I think you could be awe-inspiring."
"Thank you, Danny!" Steph whispered in his ear.
"Now, let's eat. I'm starving. And not to be a downer, but I think Steph needs to show us the video and start from the beginning on how this all happened." Steve instructed in a non-negotiable, detective-like voice.