CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Title: "Salvation: Forever and Always: Elusive Dreams"

Author: Michelle Heath

Rating: MA for adult situations and language

Summary: Story #9 in the Salvation series. The bonds of family bring the Five-0 ohana even closer.

Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!

Date Written: July 11, 2012

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I had received some requests for, and I quite, "some serious Libby and Mike time", so I decided to experiment and put a little something out there for those readers. If this is what you guys had in mind, please let me know and I'll add to it from time to time. As one reader put it, "just because they have grown children and grandchildren doesn't mean their love life came to a grinding halt!" Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank FicreaderT for some simply marvelous suggestions for this, and other, stories. You've got a great head on your shoulders, Ma'am, and I pray I can do justice to your ideas! Michelle

(The next week passes in relative calm and Caroline seems to have gotten over whatever it is that had a hold of her, much to the relief of the rest of her family, especially her husband. She and Sam are, once again, back in sync while on duty, and even Senior Chief Evans and the other pilots and RIOs in their flight are happy. Danny has exactly what he wanted; his sweet, loving wife back and they are happier than they've been in months. Not one word is spoken between them about Caroline's failure to conceive and Danny is praying that she's put it out of her mind and can relax so that it might actually happen. . .

Libby and Mike, who are acting like newlyweds, much to the delight and amusement of their children, have decided to throw a cook-out at their house for everyone and make it an all day affair. Sam and Steve, Caroline and Danny, and Kono and Tony, along with Emily and Eric, arrive at the Thrasher's house around seven in the morning to help get everything set-up, and are a little surprised that the house is very quiet and Libby and Mike don't appear to be up yet. That fact is particularly puzzling because the Thrashers are both known to be early risers. The three couples all look at one another questioningly and Danny pulls out his cellular phone and hits the speed dial for his father-in-law. Mike doesn't answer until the fourth ring, again, something that is very unusual, and, when he does, he sounds a little, well, breathless.)

"Danny!"

"Hey, Mike, everything okay?"

" 'Course everything's okay. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you do know that it's, like, ten after seven and you did ask us to come over and help set-up for the cookout, so we were all wondering where you and Libby were."

"Oh, um, we . . Overslept, Danny."

"Overslept?"

"Yes, we, uh, stayed up rather late last night watching a, uh, a movie. We'll be right down."

(Danny is having a really difficult time controlling his mirth while he's on the phone with his father-in-law and, when he ends the call, he can't help but snicker. The rest of them have caught on as well, and, Caroline is all but laughing out right with the rest of them not far behind.)

"Oh my God! We just 'caught' our parents!"

"This is wrong on so many levels!"

"What, Sam, that our parents were, . . You know, or that we actually caught them?"

" 'You know', Caroline? Really?"

"Well, what do you want me to say, Sam?"

"You know what? Nothing. I think we all get the picture!"

(And the two young women dissolve into laughter and are joined by everyone else standing on the Thrasher's back deck. Upstairs in the master bedroom, Libby and Mike are also finding it difficult not to laugh out loud at the situation in which they find themselves.)

"You realize that we're never going to live this down, don't you?"

"Why should that bother us, Mike? I would think that the children would appreciate knowing that their parents still love each other after all these years."

"I'm pretty sure they already know that, Libby,"

"Well, now they just have that much more proof."

(A couple of minutes later, Mike sprints down the stairs and unlocks the kitchen door for the group waiting on the back deck with a slightly red face. However, not a one of the six younger people on the deck says a word and pile into the house setting down baby carriers, diaper bags, and bowls of salad and baked beans they brought for the cookout.)

"You know, you all have a key to this house, why didn't you just unlock the door and come on in?"

(At that comment, everyone pretty much stops in their tracks, and Mike realizes why them using their keys would not have been a very good idea. Glances are exchanged and that's it. All of them, including Mike, start laughing. Without saying another word, Mike heads back upstairs to grab a shower and get ready for the day while Sam, Caroline, and Kono start working in the kitchen and Steve, Danny, and Tony start getting the grill and deck ready for company. Caroline heads outside for a minute and Kono takes the opportunity to talk with Sam.)

"I'm glad Caroline and Danny got it together; he can be a real bear to work with otherwise."

"So can my sister, but, yeah, I don't know what was going on with Caroline, but I'm glad she's worked through it; for all our sakes. . I worry about her, Kono."

"I know you do, Sam, and, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little worried about her, too. I mean, when you consider that it didn't take either one of us long to get pregnant, and poor Caroline . . . Well, it has to be hard for her."

"Yes, it does, but she's a strong person and she has all of us. Besides, I think that, when any of us least expect it, she's going to find that she is, indeed, pregnant."

(By the time Tony's SEALs and their families and Lana and Chin have arrived and Danny has picked up Grace from Rachel's and Stan's and Rosa has also arrived, everything's ready except the chicken and ribs which are on the grill. With help from Mike and Libby, Rosa has not only bought a small but very nice house not far from them, purchased a car and renewed her long-expired driver's license, but she has also made several investments which seem to be doing quite well. She is settling into life in Hawaii very well and has fit right in to the family. Rosa volunteers to stay at the house with Emily and Eric while everyone else heads down to the beach for a while. Everything seems to be fine for a while, but Danny notices that Caroline's enthusiasm has dimmed a little and he wants to know why. She's sitting on the beach watching Steve and Tony chase their wives in and out of the surf and being very quiet so Danny sits down next to her.)

"Hey, Gorgeous, what's up?"

"Just thought I'd take a little break. . . . Did you know that Casey Landry is pregnant?"

(Casey Landry is the wife of one of the SEALs on Tony's team and a very sweet young woman. Danny is beginning to get a bad feeling.)

"She doesn't look pregnant."

"They just found out. She's due in about seven months."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"I said I'm fine, Danny. Do you think I'm going to go off the deep end every time someone we know announces they're expecting a baby?"

"Of course not, I just. . . I love you, Caroline; I don't want to see you hurt."