"Steve wants me to bring you downtown."

"Wh-Why?" Sophia couldn't stop the shake in her voice. It was as if Dominick Mancini had taken away every bit of her courage so that the mere thought of him made her tremble. She'd never allowed herself to be intimidated by anyone, so she needed to pull herself together. Unfortunately, the pep talks she was giving herself weren't working.

"I'm not sure," Brian answered. "Let's go find out."

Once they got in the car and started the drive towards HQ, Sophia summoned the courage to ask the question plaguing her mind since she'd seen Brian and Steve walk out together at the hospital.

"What we talked about a little while ago…..about me not dealing with things…..You talked to Steve about it too, didn't you?"

Brian stole a glance at her before turning back to the road. "Yes."

"But why?" She couldn't hide the betrayal she felt at having her best friend go behind her back.

Brian knew it would happen and had been willing to risk having her angry with him for a while if it meant they could help her. Besides, if Steve was the man Brian believed him to be, he'd also figured Steve would already have concerns of his own about Sophia's behavior. He didn't believe Steve would be surprised….and his assumption was correct. Both men knew it was time for some 'tough love' which was never easy to do.

"I know you feel like I betrayed you," he looked over at her again and the worry she saw in his eyes took her breath away, "but I did it for your own good. Besides, I didn't tell Steve anything he didn't know already. He's known for a little while that you have a problem."

"But how did he know?"

Brian figured it was Steve's place to give her details if he wanted to do so. So he kept his answers somewhat vague. "You'll have to ask him that. All I can say for sure is that he loves you, Soph. You're not going to be able to fool him anymore than you can me."

Her lip quivered as she clasped her hands tightly in her lap. "I don't want to lose him, Bri."

"I don't think that's going to happen, honey. But you're going to have to be honest with him from here on out."

"I know," Sophia said sadly. She supposed Steve would stay with her forever if they made it through this. The last several months had been the worst of her life. Steve had been the only 'bright spot' and the only thing that kept her going. It was both comforting and frightening to realize how much he meant to her and how much she loved him.

Brian pulled into a parking spot at the Five-0 headquarters. "Okay, let's go see what's going on."

They walked into the building and were immediately given "Visitors" passes so they could go upstairs. They entered the doors to the Five-0 offices and found Steve, Danny, and Kono around the smart table. Jerry was there as well. Lou, Chin, and Abbie were all noticeably missing and Sophia wondered why.

Seeing them come in, Steve walked over and took Sophia's hand. She looked more relaxed after having a bath and getting on clean clothes, but there was no disguising the fear he could still see in her eyes. Mancini was going to pay for putting it there, he vowed.

He smiled at her, "Feel better?"

"A little," she answered.

Steve glanced at Brian briefly and the two men shared a look that told him Brian and Sophia must've broached the subject he'd flown to Hawaii to investigate. They would be dealing with that later and Steve planned on being in on the conversation…or intervention….or whatever it turned out to be.

Steve led her over to the table and Brian followed.

"SWAT apprehended Mancini a little while ago. They should be here soon."

Sophia stiffened.

Steve tried to calm her fears. "They'll take him directly to our interrogation room, so you don't need to worry, Okay?"

Her beautiful brown eyes were uncertain as she looked at Steve but didn't say anything. He wished he could take that look away from her and make sure she never had to worry again.

He was going to kill Mancini. Or at least make him wish he was dead.

"What happens when he's here in your interrogation room?" Brian asked. Sophia was obviously feeling frightened at the prospect of him being in the same building. Brian, however, sounded as if he could barely control the rage he felt towards the man who had terrorized her. Steve understood the feeling.

"When he gets here, he and I are going to have a little chat," Steve said. Everyone knew exactly what that meant: Dominick Mancini would most likely be in a world of hurt when Steve was finished with him and none of them cared to stop him. He deserved whatever was coming.

"So why did you need me here?" Sophia was afraid to ask but had to know.

Steve's expression turned sympathetic. "You're going to have to identify him as the one who kidnapped you."

"No! Are you kidding me? I can't….I won't…..Absolutely not!" Sophia's voice was insistent. She couldn't bear seeing that monster again. Jerking her hand out of Steve's she began running for the door.

"Sophia!" Steve called after her but she kept going.

Brian started to follow her but Steve put an arm on his shoulder. "I'll get her."

Steve met her just as she started to descend the steps taking her to the bottom floor. He grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Steve, please don't. You can't make me do this…..I can't believe you would even ask me to do this! I can't!"

Steve's voice remained calm. "Honey, listen to me. You know I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't necessary. And I know it sucks, but charges won't stick unless you 'officially' identify him as your kidnapper."

Her whole body started to tremble as he pulled her back up the steps to stand in the hallway just outside the HQ doors. Her breathing became erratic, her eyes were darting back and forth, and he worried she would fall into a full-blown panic attack.

He pulled her tightly against his chest and spoke soothingly to her. "Deep breaths, Soph….Take some deep breaths for me."

He felt her comply, "Good girl…..Now another…..Deep breath in and let it out slowly." He did it with her a few more times and felt the tremors began to cease. Once she calmed down, he pushed her back so he could look at her but never let go of his hold on her.

"He won't see you. I promise. He won't even know you're there, okay? Plus, he'll be handcuffed to a chair in our interrogation room and will have no way to even stand up. I just need for you to make an official identification for HPD. That's it. Then, I'll take it from there."

"Promise?" she asked weakly.

Steve tried to smile at her encouragingly and gave her a wink, "I promise."

"What are you going to do to him?"

His expression grew dark. "I don't want you to worry about it."

"But I don't want you to get into trouble…I mean…."

Steve put a finger up to her mouth to stop her. "Listen to me. Everything will be fine. We have 'full immunity and means'…..Meaning we aren't necessarily held to the same standards as other cops. If Dominick Mancini happens to fall and break an arm…..or get his face beat in by the wall…or has his balls handed to him on a platter…..They'll look the other way."

She knew he was trying to lighten the moment and she couldn't help but grin.

Steve returned it with one of his own. "There's the smile I love so much," he said before taking her face in his hands and kissing her. "Come on. Let's go back."

He led her back into the offices where everyone was relieved to see her back. Danny was on the phone and ended the call when they walked in.

"Chin and Abbie are taking him downstairs," he said.

He left Sophia with Brian and Kono as he and Danny made their way downstairs. It was time for that 'chat' with Dominick Mancini.

*****************h50*********************h50*******************h50

Steve unlocked the door and watched Mancini look up as he and Danny entered the room.

"Commander McGarrett. Fancy meeting you here." He had the audacity to smirk and he spoke confidently. "I want my lawyer."

Steve chuckled humorlessly and folded his arms in front of him. "We'll get to that eventually. First, I want to ask you some questions."

"You can't question me without an attorney present if that's what I request. I know my rights!"

"Oh but I can…" Steve answered. "In fact, I can keep you here strapped to that chair as long as I want without calling anyone. So the first question is whether or not you're going to make this easy or hard on yourself. Personally, I'm hoping you choose the difficult route."

"You're not getting anything from me," he growled.

"I'm going to get it from you one way or another." Steve moved closer and leaned down until he was inches in front of Dominick's face. "I want to know what's so important on the memory card that you would kidnap Sophia Manetti in order to get your hands on it."

Dominick grinned, "Maybe I just wanted her. She's very beautiful, don't you think?"

"Oh boy….." Danny whispered. This guy must be a special kind of stupid to taunt McGarrett.

"Okay…The 'hard way' it is." Steve said as he stood back up, took of his watch, and handed both the watch and his badge to Danny. "Give me a few minutes alone with him."

Dominick shifted uncomfortably in his chair as Danny looked at Steve. "Sure thing." Then he turned to Dominick, "Word of advice? Now might be a good time to strongly consider cooperating with him."

Once Danny closed the door behind him, Steve walked behind the chair and unlocked the cuffs holding Dominick to the chair. He wasted no time picking him up by his shirt collar, turning him around and trapping him against the wall. With his arms pulled behind him and McGarrett at his back, he couldn't move.

"Remember when I told you I would rip your heart out if you touched her?" Steve asked.

When he didn't answer, Steve twisted one arm higher on his back causing him to scream in pain. "DO YOU remember?!"

"Yes!" Dominick answered.

"You're about to find out that I am a man of my word." he spat.

Danny waited in the hallway and tried to ignore what he heard going on inside the room. After all, Steve had once given him the opportunity to beat the hell out of a child predator who had abducted girls and held them for years before murdering them. He felt he owed Steve the same courtesy given how Mancini had kidnapped and terrorized Sophia. He certainly deserved whatever Steve gave him, which from the sounds of it was a total and complete ass kicking.

Several very long minutes later, Steve opened the door and reached for his badge and watch as he motioned for Danny to join him in the interrogation room again. Danny handed them over and followed Steve back in to the room where he found Mancini cuffed to the chair again. His face had numerous lacerations and his nose appeared to be broken if the swelling around it was any indication. He was also wincing in pain at having his arms in such an uncomfortable position.

When he saw Danny come into the room, he tried to plead for help. "He broke my nose…..and my ARM!" he yelled. "I need medical help…..and I want to file charges!"

"Yeah…..we'll get right on that," Danny said sarcastically before looking over at Steve. "You okay?"

Steve wiped sweat from his forehead and tried to move his fingers that were already swelling from the exertion they'd just received. "I'm fine."

"Okay, so are you ready to talk or do I need to leave you with Steve a bit longer?" Danny asked Dominick.

***************h50***************h50*****************h50

Steve and Danny walked back in to HQ and all eyes turned to Steve. Sophia was sitting on the couch in Steve's office and stood up when she saw him before quickly walking out to join him.

Her eyes were full of worry. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Steve pulled her in for a hug as he looked at everyone else, including Brian, to secretly let them know Mancini had been 'dealt with'.

"I'm fine, babe."

"Mancini on the other hand? Not so much," Danny quipped.

Sophia pushed back and looked at Steve's face again to see for herself that he was okay. Then, she noticed the knuckles on his right hand and was startled to see how red they were. They'd also begun to swell. "Oh my gosh...Steve…...What did you…..."

"It's nothing," he assured her.

"Well, it doesn't look like 'nothing'." She frowned. "Brian, look at his hand. Do you think it's broken?"

"It's not broken….Trust me. Listen, I told you he wouldn't hurt you again and I meant it. He has been thoroughly convinced to stay away from you. This….." he said holding up his hand and looking at his knuckles, "….is nothing."

"You're gonna want to ice that soon," Brian confirmed but he was smiling at Steve as he did so. Steve smiled back and saw Brian mouth a silent "Thank you."

"Mancini's crying for a doctor, too….If you're interested." Danny said but he was smiling too.

Brian's smile turned to a frown "Not a chance."

"Okay, so we'll give it a few minutes and then I'll take Sophia down to make the identification. Sound good?" Steve said it as if he were just deciding on what to have for dinner. She couldn't help but feel relieved that this may be coming to an end.

****************h50*******************h50*******************h50

I just love bad-ass Steve, so this was fun to write. We'll have to revisit Sophia's other problem in the next chapter, and this time Steve will be involved.