A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews and story alerts. They are greatly appreciated. This chapter was fun to write. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12: Certifiable

Lori heard Kono's voice in her ear. "I see one in the driver's seat and one at the back of the vehicle. He's got an automatic. That makes six. You were right, Boss."

Steve surveyed the scene silently, Chin and Danny on his flank. WoFat stood across from him, hands folded in front of his belt. There was ocean behind WoFat's black SUV and a wall of rusty shipping containers to the left where Kono sat, hidden from view. Steve had parked his truck to the right among the scattered containers and rusty equipment. The only way out was straight through him and his team. Lori hunkered down behind one of the old containers. With her back to a wall of metal, all she could see was ocean as it stretched out for miles before her. She knew she should check in, but the gravity of the situation had her in a choke hold. She peaked around the container and saw Claire on her knees, much closer than she had anticipated. Two slender Asian men stood at her sides. One had a gun aimed at Claire's left temple. Lori pulled back, unable to breath. She heard a woman's quiet sob and realized, as tears ran down her cheeks, that the crying woman was, in fact, her. She fell forward onto her knees, dropping her weapon and clutching at sand. Her vision blurred under the onslaught of tears. It had been so long since she had allowed herself to feel. She remembered why. It hurt. It hurt like hell. Claire was probably going to die. She chided herself for believing that this could have ended any other way. She had always assumed that her sister was the exception to the rule. Time, distance and tragedy had made Claire a non-factor in her life. That should have protected her. How wrong she had been. There were no exceptions to the rule and now her sister was going to die just like every one else she cared about. Guilt and overwhelming sadness paralyzed her. She sat back on her heels in the sand, lost in regret until Steve's voice beckoned her back. "Shelburne was the code name used for assassination missions by Naval Commander Lewis Milton. He was presumed dead fifteen years ago, but classified records prove otherwise. You'll find his marker in the National Memorial Cemetery not far from where my father was buried. He was a highly trained long range assassin and he reported directly to the Secretary of the Navy. He eliminated high profile targets... dignitaries, government officials, mob leaders, anyone the government deemed dangerous enough to warrant elimination... no questions asked. Three days ago, Joe White told me your father was one of those targets. Six weeks ago, Joe helped Milton take out Hero Noshimuri."

WoFat studied the man standing in front of him, searching for a tell. "How do I know you are telling me the truth?"

"The fact that you have my girlfriend on her knees at gunpoint ought to reassure you."

WoFat took three calculated steps forward. "If you are telling me the truth, our business has concluded. However, if I discover that you are lying... let us just say that you and I will meet again." He motioned to one of the men holding Claire. He lifted her from her knees and shoved her toward Steve. She lost her footing and fell hard on the sand. Danny moved swiftly forward and pulled her up and into his embrace. He ushered her quickly to the truck and secured her in the back seat. WoFat turned confidently toward his SUV and was escorted by his men, guns at the ready, safely inside. Chin and Steve moved toward Danny and the truck, and watched as WoFat disappeared down the access road.

"Kono, are we clear?"

"Clear," she reported and appeared from her hiding place to the left.

"Lori?"

No answer

"Lori!" Steve called and instinctively turned toward the abandoned shipping containers on his right.

"Clear," he heard but she didn't appear from her hiding place. Steve pulled his com from his ear and trotted toward where Lori should be. He found her on her knees staring at the ocean. He approached her cautiously and squatted down next to her, eyes also on the ocean. "How you doin'?" he asked softly.

"Is Claire hurt?"

"No, she's fine. Danny has her in the truck. She's a little shook up, but she's tough, like her sister. She'll be fine."

"You lied to him."

"I had to."

She drug her eyes from the ocean and turned her head to face him. "And when he figures it out?"

"He won't."

"You can't be sure of that."

"Everything I told him is true. I just added his father to the hit list."

"You're still in danger."

"No more so than usual," he said lightly, trying to ease Lori's concern. She frowned and turned back to the ocean. "Come on," he said as he stood and offered her a hand up. "We'll worry about that later. Claire's waiting."

Lori took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She swiped at the sand clinging to her jeans. As she stood up straight, the wind caught her hair and whipped it around her head. It echoed how she felt. Steve cupped her cheek and gave her a reassuring smile. He slipped his arm around her shoulder and walked her back toward the truck and an uncertain reception. Chin, Danny, and Kono were gathered at the back of the truck. Danny pushed off of the bumper and met the two remaining members of the team half way.

"How is she," Lori asked.

Danny's eyebrows shot up as he contemplated the best word to describe Claire's state of mind. His head bobbed back and forth in thought. "She's pissed," was the most accurate description he could conjure.

The three of them walked together to the truck. Lori left the others at the bumper and approached the back door with trepidation. Claire was in the middle of the back seat bench.

"Claire?" Claire jumped at the sudden intrusion. "Are you..."

"Please don't ask me if I'm okay," she snipped.

"I was on the other side of one of the shipping units. I could see you the whole time."

"That's reassuring."

"Are you ok?"

"No, I am definitely not ok. How can you even ask me that? I've been kidnapped, held at gunpoint, my purse and everything in it went up in flames. I lost a shoe... a brand new pair of Jimmy Choos, Lorali. Those don't just grow on trees, you know. They put a bag over my head... a filthy, who knows where it's been black sack, and duck tape over my mouth. I thought I was going to die." Her voice cracked on the last word and she turned away from Lori to stare out of the window. "They thought I was you... Did you know that," she whispered before clearing her throat and turning back to her sister. "These people that you work with, they're dangerous. You're a profiler, not a mercenary. It's time to come home, Lorali... I"

"Lori"

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Lori. You're the only person on the planet who calls me Lorali."

"Mother called you Lorali."

"Mom is gone, Claire. That makes you the only one."

"I can't believe you want to argue about this right now. I almost died today, Lorali... I almost died," she squeaked.

"You didn't almost die. I know you were terrified, but you don't have a scratch on you, thanks to Steve."

"Thanks to Steve! He's the reason that awful man took me in the first place. Do you really expect me to be grateful?"

"Claire, you don't have a clue what really happened here today or what Steve risked to rescue you. Now I'm asking you nicely, please keep your mouth shut on the way back to your hotel. You and I will finish this conversation there". Lori punctuated her request with a hard stare. Stepping back from the truck she signaled to the others that they were ready to roll.

Three quarters of the way up the access road, Steve hit the breaks hard. "Everybody out. Get out now!" Three doors flew open and the team filed out, Claire in tow. Chin, who had been sitting in the bed of the truck stood up and looked over the roof. He saw it too and dove over the side, landing hard at Kono's heels. Lori and Danny drug Claire to the shallow culvert that edged the road while Chin and Kono took cover on the opposite side. Steve threw the truck in reverse and back tracked down the access road squeeling the tires as he rounded the curve. Still moving in reverse, he reached for the heater and turned the dial to its highest setting. He prayed that the heat from the engine combined with the ninety degree interior would be enough to keep the infrared heat seeker aimed at him. By his calculations, he had roughly four seconds before hell's fire rained down on him. He checked his rearview mirror. The oversized silver metal container sat dead center in his path… three… He checked the driver's side mirror. The old orange container sat six feet in front and to the left of his target… two… Steve white knuckled the steering wheel and sent up one word in prayer… please… one. He jerked the wheel hard to the left. The right side tires flew off the road sending Steve into a tail spin. Had his eyes been open, he could have read the fine print on the side of the silver container as the cab of the truck flew by, missing it by mere inches. The passenger side slammed hard into the broad bulk of the rusted orange container. The truck folded in on itself as metal smashed against metal. An explosion to Steve's left again lifted the truck from the ground. Shattered glass peppered Steve's face and arm. The heat was overwhelming as it filled the blistery cab of the truck. Steve shook his head and glass flew in every direction. He released the seatbelt and pulled himself through the window and onto the roof of the truck. Lunging into a runner's starting positio, he needed only one stride to launch himself into the air just high enough to catch the side of the container. His bloody left hand slipped and he nearly went careening back down to the roof of the truck. Thrusting his weight to the left, he hefted first his elbow and then his leg onto the roof of the container. With one final push, he rolled onto the black roof. He allowed himself a moment to breath before standing and searching for his team. He saw the black SUV speeding away and three figures, balanced and squared in shooting position firing their weapons in its direction. One body lay balled in the culvert. A fifth was moving in his direction at a high rate of speed. Running into the sun, Lori couldn't see Steve perched on the roof. All she could see was fire. She ran until the heat from the explosion physically pushed her back from the scene. Through the flames she could see Steve's truck pancaked into the side of the orange container. The fire burned her eyes as she tried to stare through the flames willing Steve to come forth unscathed. She stumbled backward, dizzy from the reality in front of her and wretched. Her vision blurred and tears streaked her cheeks. Hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and pulled her hair back from her face. Strong arms caught her as she swayed. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry for what? Everybody's okay, right?"

Lori stiffened and jerked out of the hold. She whipped around and found a bloody Steve staring at her with concern. "You're alive!"

"Judging by the way I hurt, I would say yes, there's a very good chance I'm alive."

Lori launched herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck, gripping at his back and shoulders, trying to pull him in as close as humanly possible. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her easily against him. She leaned back to see his face and Steve let her slip gently to the ground. He wiped her tears with his thumbs and lowered his forehead to hers. Her hands landed on his chest and they stood quietly steadying each other. Lori pulled back to survey the damage and cupped his jaw in her palms. She kissed him hard on the mouth but pulled back quickly when she heard him grunt. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "You're hurt."

"I'm fine."

"You're bleeding."

"I do that a lot in case you haven't noticed."

A nervous trill escaped her throat and she shook her head. Rising to her toes, she kissed him gently again and again and again.

The sound of footsteps on gravel echoed in the distance, but it wasn't until Kono cleared her throat that they broke apart. "That was amazing, Boss… truly."

Danny shook his head in disbelief. "Do not encourage him! That was not amazing… it was stupid! Any normal, rational human being dives out of the truck with the rest of the sane people. He doesn't throw it in reverse and try to outrun a heat seeking missile!"

"For your information, Danno, I wasn't trying to outrun it. I was trying to redirect it," he explained, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Redirect it," Danny nodded. "Redirect it? And how, prey tell, do you redirect a heat seeking missile?" His vibrato rose as he threw the question at Steve.

"You let it chase you until you reach something hotter like, say, a silver metal shipping container that's been setting in the hot Hawaiian sun all day, and then you bail at the last second."

"You're certifiable. You know that?" He turned to Kono at her obvious amusement with his assessment. "Don't encourage him. You just enable him when you do that."

Steve squeezed Lori's shoulder and nodded at the two figures approaching the group. Chin and Claire were slowly making their way down the gravel road.

H5OH5OH5OH5O

Two days later, Claire was on her way back to the mainland. Lori dropped her at the airport on better terms than they had been on in, well, forever, Lori surmised. Long heartfelt talks tend to do that, she decided. Claire still pushed for her to come home, but she used much less vim and vigor than ususal.

After a long and exhausting meeting with the leutenant governonr, Lori pulled into the FiveO parking lot full from lunch and more than ready to get back to work. A brand new blue metallic, four door Chevy Silverado parked conspicuously by the front door caught her attention. She found a spot to park and called Steve from her cell phone.

"McGarrett"

"Hey, are you at the office?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I just pulled in. You better get down here, there's something you need to see." Smiling wide, she hung up with Steve and dialed her sister's number.

"Hello?" Claire sing-songed in greeting.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was up. Everything okay?"

"You tell me..."

"I'm sure I don't know," Claire said unconvincingly.

"Uhuh. The big silver bow gave you away, sis. He's on his way down so I'll have to call you later. It's beautiful by the way. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Call me tomorrow"

Lori hung up the phone and headed toward the new truck. She chukled when Steve exploded out of the front door as only Steve can, followed closely by the rest of the team. He pulled up short at the sight of the new truck and the team fanned out around him to get a closer look. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve caught sight of Lori coming up the sidewalk. He pointed to her and then to the truck and then back to her, wordlessly asking if she had done this. Lori shook her head no.

"Hey Steve," Danny shouted. "There's a note under the wiper. It has your name on it in fancy script."

Steve eyed Lori suspiciously and went to retrieve the note.

Commander McGarrett,

Please accept this token of my appreciation, not simply

for saving my life, as what is one life compared to that of many,

but for all the lives that you have had a hand in saving. I have

always been selfish, Commander, but not so much so that I can't

see the difference that you and your team make in the lives that

you so diligently protect. I want to thank you for your

dedication to this country and to the people that enjoy your

beautiful islands safely because of you and your team. In the glove box,

you will find an envelope with Danny's name on it containing a set of

keys and an address. Tell him I said "thank you and welcomehome".

There should also be an envelope for Kono and one for Chin and Malia.

I would appreciate it if you would distribute them accordingly. Now,

concerning my sister, she's a handful, no doubt. Don't allow her to push

you away. She is healing, and I'm quite sure that I owe that to you as well.

She's unique and quite special, Commander. She has a great capacity to

love as I am sure anyone who charges through life as you do, does as well.

Take care of her, even when she refuses to allow it. I have high hopes for

the two of you and, as I'm sure you have noticed, I am not accustomed to

disappointment.

Sincerely,

Claire

Steve opened the truck door and found the keys lying in the driver's seat. He leaned across to the glove compartment and pulled out the envelopes. Holding them above his head, he called the team together and passed them out. While the others ripped into their thank you's, Steve sauntered over to Lori. She followed him with her eyes and stuffed her hands into her back pockets. "Did you know about this?"

"Nope," she said quite honestly.

"But you're not surprised."

"Nope"

Steve chuckled at her response. "You know what I want to do tomorrow?"

"What," she said and tilted her chin up toward him.

"I want to go on that hike I told you about. You game?"

"I could be persuaded."

He gently wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her into a quick soft kiss. They both jumped when Kono let out a little scream from the other side of the truck. Steve sat Lori back on the ground and grinned. "What do you think Claire gave her?"

"No idea, but judging by Kono's reaction, she likes it."

Steve took Lori's hand and pulled her to the other side of the truck. Danny hollered over at Lori. "Rent's paid for one year! I think I love your sister… Do you have a problem with that?"

TBC

A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated. My friends and family know that I like to write, but I won't let them read any of my work. (Just not quite ready to take that plunge) So you see, comments and reviews are my only validation, therefore they mean a great deal.

Here's hoping for a great new episode!

RCS