A/n: So, I know those of you who had this story on alert are probably confused by the fact that it's suddenly chapter two again. Last month I received an anonymous review that made me realize just how ridiculous Annie's character was actually becoming. She'd started out as an individual and suddenly devolved into something I didn't like. So I went back to the beginning and I'm rewriting the story. If you've read it before I sincerely hope you go back to the first chapter and read it again, but if you don't feel like bothering I understand. Most of the initial storyline will remain the same, but there will be some major changes down the road.
Thank you all! I appreciate reviews. ~Striped Leopard.
5-0 5-0
Steve gave up watching his partner after the first half hour and took to only glancing up occasionally when Danny paused every time a doctor passed the waiting room. It had been three hours and there was no word on Annie yet.
Kono had gone to sleep on her cousin's shoulder and the older man was flipping through a magazine that was four years old.
A doctor strode by the waiting room and Danny paused. When the doctor didn't stop, Danny sighed heavily for the hundredth time and caught Steve's eye as he turned to resume pacing. "Can you change your shirt or something?" He asked bitterly. Steve glanced down at the small smears of blood on his light blue T-shirt. He hadn't even noticed the transfer when he'd picked Annie up.
He raised his eyebrows at his partner. "What do you want me to do Danny? I don't have another shirt in your car."
Danny glared at him, but didn't argue. He shifted to start pacing again just as a doctor paused in the entry to the waiting room.
"Williams?" He asked.
Danny's face lost what little color it had and when he opened his mouth no sound came out. His partner stood, clapped him on the shoulder and said "Yes. How is she?"
"Well, she's been through a lot. At the moment she's resting comfortably, although there was some pretty extensive trauma."
Danny nodded, pulling a hand down his face before he found his voice. "So what are her injuries?"
"I suppose I'll start with her head and work my way down. It appears that Miss Williams was tortured. She has several lacerations, two of which required stitches. There were also several contusions around her face and head, and she has a mild concussion. We did an MRI and there's no sign of swelling. She also has several serious hematomas on her abdomen. We checked for internal bleeding as well, but it appears that, for the moment there isn't any. We'll keep an eye out for that. It also appears they attempted to drown her, repeatedly." Danny's legs folded under him in shock, and Steve gave him a little nudge so he sat heavily in a chair instead of dropping to the ground. The doctor continued. "She aspirated water into her lungs, and we confirmed with a chest X-ray that she still has fluid in her lungs which caused a mild pulmonary edema. We've got her on oxygen for the moment, and her lung function is steadily improving. She's a strong, healthy young woman, so I don't foresee any long-term physical complications."
The doctor hesitated then, pity and regret sliding smoothly over his face and then disappearing again. Steve frowned. "What else?" He asked, although he was pretty sure he knew what the man was going to say.
"When she was brought in, an officer requested a rape kit."
Steve hadn't thought Danny's face could lose any more color, and he'd been wrong. First the blood drained almost completely from the Jersey Native's face, and then he began to look green. Steve grabbed Danny's head and shoved it between his knees so he didn't pass out.
"Oh god" Danny breathed as Steve's gentle grip on his neck kept him in place. "Bastards."
Steve glanced up at Chin, who nodded and shook Kono gently awake. "Come on cuz" he said, helping the sleepy woman to her feet. "Let's go get some coffee." He steered Kono out of the waiting room, leaving Steve and Danny alone.
"Fucking bastards" Danny repeated, his voice hollow. Steve released the grip he had on Danny's neck and gently lay his hand on his partner's shoulder instead. Danny shifted and put his face in his hands, and he had barely moved a muscle when Chin and Kono returned about ten minutes later. Chin silently handed Steve two cups of coffee and then sat down next to Kono across the small aisle from the two younger men.
No one said a word, and Steve simply sat there with a steaming cup of coffee in each hand. He knew if he tried to say anything comforting, Danny would simply shrug off his words, and anything resembling their normal banter was simply out of the question.
So he just sat there, doing the only thing he could: be there.
5-0 5-0
A half an hour later a nurse came to tell them Annie was awake and could see visitors.
"There's one thing though" the nurse said seriously, holding up a plump hand as Danny got to his feet. "She's been awake for about twenty minutes. We tired to ask her some questions, but she hasn't said a single word."
Danny seemed to ignore the woman and stalked down the hall toward Annie's room. Sensing Danny's sudden anger and overwhelming worry, Steve stood and hurried after him, grabbing Danny's shoulder before he could use all his momentum to burst into Annie's room.
"Let me go" Danny snapped without looking back.
Steve didn't move his hand. "Danny, I know you don't want to hear this right now, but you need to take a breath and calm down. Bursting in there angry is not going to be helpful in any way if she's checked out, okay? I think the better approach would be not so much protective older brother and more a shoulder to lean on, okay?"
Danny closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. Steve felt some of the coiled tension leave his partner's shoulders, and he lifted his hand away. Danny threw him a grateful look and then opened the door and stepped through.
Just to make sure Danny didn't lose it, Steve stepped through the doorway and hovered just to the side of the open door.
Danny strode in, looking significantly more calm than he had since they'd arrived at the safe house the morning before.
"Hey squirt" he said, in exactly the same tone he usually reserved to say "hey Monkey" to his daughter. It left little doubt about just how much Danny fiercely loved his sister. "How's your head?" He asked as he sat down on the edge of her bead.
Her eyes searched his face for a moment, and then she looked down at the blankets covering her legs, and shrugged. Steve watched Danny's hand clench into a fist so hard his knuckles went white.
"You know, not talking to the doctors is one thing, but I think after four years of only hearing from you on my birthday and on Christmas, I deserve a little conversation here."
Annie refused to look her brother in the face and started fiddling with the edge of the blankets.
"Your doctor told me that, all things considered, you came out without some serious injuries."
Annie looked her brother in the face then with a clearly exasperated expression and tapped the nasal cannula that was hooked around her face.
"Yeah, yeah" Danny said, waving his hand. "You've got some water in your lungs. Not the first time you've nearly drowned." He was obviously teasing her, but her expression didn't change from the cautious uncertainty and she looked back down at her blanket. "Remember that summer camp we worked at? You were the lifeguard and one of my campers jumped on your shoulders and shoved you under?" Annie nodded without looking up. "Man, I had never been that terrified in my life." He leaned forward and slowly touched the side of his sister's face. "Nothing could ever have prepared me for the past two days."
Annie's eyes shut and she leaned forward until her head was resting in the crook of her brother's shoulder, a single tear making its solitary way down her cheek just before she was hidden from Steve's sight.
"I'm so glad you're okay" Danny murmured into his sister's hair. He looked helplessly up at Steve, who was only able to shrug as Annie started crying.
"I'm going to get some more coffee" he murmured, just loud enough for Danny to hear him. His partner nodded slowly and then put his arms around his sister, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
Steve left the two of them alone.
5-0 5-0
Steve cursed softly as the scalding coffee sloshed onto his hand as he pushed open the door with his shoulder. Danny stirred in the plastic chair next to Annie's bed and looked over his shoulder.
"Morning" Steve said simply, handing his partner the coffee. Danny scrubbed a hand over his face as he sat up straight. As soon as Danny had taken the coffee, Steve wiped his hand off on his pants with the slightest of winces.
"Thanks" Danny mumbled, taking a cautious sip. Annie was asleep with her back facing her brother, curled in on herself just slightly. She didn't move when he came in, or give any indication that her sleep had been disturbed.
"How's she doing?" Steve asked softly.
Danny sighed heavily and dragged a hand through his hair. "Well, she hasn't spoken a word since she got to the hospital" he replied, voice pitched lower than usual in an effort not to wake his sister. "I've tried everything, but she won't open her mouth."
With a sudden surge of movement from the bed, Annie whipped the pillow out from under her head, flung her arm backward and smacked her brother straight on the top of the head.
Danny managed to only splatter a little coffee on his leg and bit his lip before he could make a sound. With a sigh, he set his coffee down on the table next to Annie's bed and pulled his pants away from his leg.
"That is not to say she isn't communicating effectively" Danny added with an exasperated glance at his sister's back as she put the pillow back under her head.
"Nice aim" Steve said. Without turning over, Annie lifted a hand and waved in acknowledgment of his comment. "You need a shower man."
Danny's eyebrows went up and his attention moved from his sister to his partner. "Oh?"
"You have been in the same clothes for about thirty-six hours."
Danny folded his arms over his chest. "I'm not leaving. Sloane's son Kevan was supposedly on the island." Since Danny was looking at his partner, he missed the stiffening of Annie's shoulders. "He might come after her."
Steve gave his partner a mild look that clearly said he wasn't impressed by that reasoning. "I'll stay" informed his partner. "You need to at least go home and shower and probably take a nap."
"I'm not-" Danny cut himself off as Annie rolled over and fixed him with an even, serious look. They stared at each other for a few moments and then Danny sighed heavily, dragging a hand over his hair to smooth it down. "All right! I give up. You're sure you're okay with Steve staying?"
Annie glanced up at Steve, considered him for a brief moment and then nodded to her brother. Danny eyed her again and pulled a hand down his face and over the stubble on his chin. "You're sure?"
She rolled her eyes and turned over in the bed so her back was to her brother again. His lips pulled upward into a pale imitation of a smile, but Steve would take it. It was the closest he was likely to get out of his partner, with everything that Annie had been through in the past few days.
Danny shook his head, then got to his feet. He leaned over his sister on the bed and when she turned her head to look at him he silently dropped a kiss on the top of her head and then left the room without a word.
Steve settled down in the chair Danny had just vacated and picked up the newspaper Danny had abandoned on the table next to Annie's bed. As he read the paper Annie's breathing slowed, evening out as she fell asleep again.
It was almost two hours before anyone interrupted her sleep. Steve had long since finished the paper and had turned on the TV in the room, muted, so he wouldn't wake Annie up.
A sharp knock on the door made Annie nearly jump out of her skin and she whirled around to face the door, blue eyes wide. The door swung open to admit a very pale and exhausted Agent Rogers. His suit was even more rumpled than it had been when Steve had met him thirty-six hours before. There were deep bags under his eyes and his entire frame sagged when he caught sight of Annie's bruised face and the angry red burns peeking out from under the neckline of the hospital gown.
"Ann." Her name tumbled out in a gruff, exhausted tone. Steve shifted in the chair out of instinct, moving the hip with his gun on it further from the arm of the chair. Annie cast him a glance, eyes flickering down to his hip before she glanced back up at his face. Her eyebrows drew together slightly as she searched his face for something. Steve wasn't sure if she found it, so he lifted an eyebrow in a silent challenge for her to comment on his movement.
Instead, she ignored it and looked back at Rogers as the Agent walked slowly over to the opposite side of the bed from where Steve sat, back to the wall and facing the door.
"Annie, there are no words for how sorry I am about everything" the man said gruffly. His dark eyes settled on Annie, who looked down at her hands. "If I'd had any idea about Owens beforehand, I would have done something."
"I know" Annie's voice was soft and gravely, and she winced.
Steve's eyes flickered to her injuries and his fists tightened with the realization that she had probably severely injured her throat from screaming when she was tortured. He decided to keep that little tidbit of information to himself however; there was no sense in further riling up his partner.
"There's no excuse for me not knowing" Rogers continued, and Steve focused his attention back on Annie's boss. "I should've seen it."
Annie reached out and tentatively took a hold of Rogers' hand. The older man froze for a moment and then all the tension left his face. He seemed to crumple in on himself.
Annie looked over at Steve and jerked her head toward the door, one pale eyebrow rising.
Steve frowned slightly, then tossed out his empty coffee cup and got to his feet. "Five minutes" he said firmly. "Any more and your brother'll skin me alive."
That got a small twitch from her lips and he allowed himself to feel a small victory for eliciting it.
When he got back to the room with a cup of coffee and a book he'd bought from the gift shop next to the cafeteria, Rogers had left and Annie was staring up at the ceiling. She looked up sharply when he came in, then relaxed.
Her eyes trailed down to the hand he had behind his back and her eyebrow went up. Feeling a little foolish, Steve pulled the small plush dog from behind his back. It wasn't even as long as his forearm and it hadn't cost that much, but as she simply stared at him, he began to feel ridiculous.
"Danno said something about always having a dog as a kid, and this was next to the books."
She continued to stare at him in surprise for another long moment and then she slowly sat up straight, wincing as she did so. She lifted an arm and he handed her the dog.
She set the stuffed animal on the top of her raised knees and contemplated it for a long moment. He sat down and put his coffee to the side, intending to start reading his book.
"Thank you" she said, and he looked up at her sharply. Her lips were curved up into a smile made slightly lopsided by the huge purple bruise at the right corner of her mouth.
When Danny returned several hours later looking only slightly less ready to collapse, he found Steve reading his book and Annie curled up around a small plush dog.
Danny raised an eyebrow at his partner when Steve looked up from his book. "The dog?" He asked quietly.
Steve shrugged. "Rogers showed up and she needed a couple minutes. I was already getting a book."
Danny's other eyebrow went up. "A dog? Not a get well teddy bear?"
Steve shrugged again. "If she's anything like you, that might have gotten chucked at my face."
Danny smirked, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Anything happen?"
Steve nodded. "She wasn't talking because her throat is raw." A shadow passed over Danny's face, and Steve decided to ignore it. "Otherwise things have been pretty okay. You get any sleep?" He asked, deciding to change the focus from Annie to Danny.
Danny passed a hand over his hair, which looked like it might still be damp. "Couple hours" he replied with a sigh. "Thanks for staying. It helped, knowing she wasn't alone."
Steve nodded. "Any time man."
5-0 5-0
The scream that tore through the night had Danny bolting out of bed, gun in his hand before he'd even realized he had moved. He threw open his bedroom door and sprinted down the hall to burst into Grace's room. Since it wasn't a weekend, Grace was at Rachel's and Annie was occupying the room.
He found Annie halfway on the floor, her legs on the edge of the bed tangled in Grace's new favorite purple fuzzy blanket.
"Annie?" She twisted to look up at him with a scowl.
"I'm fine" she said, voice laced with annoyance. She kicked at the blanket violently several times and freed her legs. She rolled gracefully from her back to her feet and straightened. "It was just a nightmare" she added, with a glance at his gun.
Her brother let out a long breath as she picked up the blanket. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She gave him a dark look as she straightened the blanket on the bed. "Danny, I told you it was a nightmare. Go back to sleep."
Her brother rolled his eyes. "Yeah right" he muttered, turning to leave the room.
"And put some pants on!" She called as he shut the door behind him.
"Shut up!"
5-0 5-0
When Danny yawned for the fifth time in as many minutes, Steve glanced away from the road, eyebrows pulling together in concern. "You okay man?"
Danny nodded, sighing heavily as he said "Woke up about two-thirty." He stifled another yawn and continued "Couldn't get back to sleep." Steve looked back at the road as his partner continued. "Annie had another nightmare. Her screaming woke me up."
"After what she went through, that's pretty normal Danny."
"I know" Danny said with another yawn "But she's barely sleeping, and when she does she's barely out an hour before she wakes herself up from a nightmare."
Steve nodded as he pulled to a stop right in front of the crime scene tape. "Danno, I know a lot of guys who have been more messed up by less traumatic experiences. Annie's a strong person."
Danny nodded as he got out of the car. "Yeah, she is. I think she's also getting sick of being cooped up in the apartment." He shut the door behind him and both of them ducked under the tape.
"She still hasn't made a decision about what she wants to do now?" Steve asked as they strode toward the crime scene where Kono stood, hovering over Max and the body.
"No. The only thing I've gotten out of her in the past month is that she's not going back to organized crime. She's still not cleared for duty and she's on medical leave until after her appointment today. After this, who knows what she's going to do." He dragged a hand over his hair, and Steve glanced at him.
"You talked to her about it?"
Danny rolled his eyes. "No, I've just let her sit around and stew about being kidnapped and tortured. Of course I've tried to talk to her about it. Every time I say something, she clams up."
"Danny-"
"Can we focus on the dead woman please?" Danny cut Steve off and stepped over to Kono. "What've we got?"
"Victim is female, approximately thirty-five years of age. She appears to have been strangled by something roughly the size of a belt." Max reported without looking up at the two men.
"Victim's name is Janet Weston. Missing persons report was filed by her brother yesterday morning" Kono added.
"All right. We'll go see the brother. Run her cards and phone records, see if we can figure out where she's been since then."
5-0 5-0
Danny dragged a hand over his face as Steve rang the doorbell. "I hate this part" he murmured.
"I know" Steve replied, and Danny turned to face the door fully as it opened. "Trevor Weston?" Steve asked.
The man nodded, and then his eyes landed on the badges on their belts. "Oh god" he whispered as the color drained from his face. "She's dead, isn't she? You found her and she's dead."
Steve fought back a grimace as he gently said "I'm sorry to have to tell you yes. Her body was found in Waikiki this morning."
Trevor stepped back away from the door and gestured the two men inside. He lead them over to a small sitting room where he collapsed on one end of the couch.
"I know this is a terrible time, but we have some questions." Trevor looked up at Danny, who sat down on the other end of the couch. "You filed the missing persons report yesterday?"
Trevor nodded. "It was after she didn't come home. She'd been out with her new boyfriend. I didn't like him."
A small, knowing smile quirked up the side of Danny's mouth. "I understand. Anything in particular you didn't like about him?"
Trevor shook his head. "He was just a bad guy. He didn't treat her well, and it was almost like she was just arm candy. She told me he used to take her down to this gambling ring somewhere in Waikiki. I didn't approve, but she never listens to me." He swiped at his eyes.
"Do you know the name of her boyfriend?" Steve asked.
Trevor nodded. "Ikaia Iokua."
5-0 5-0
Ikaia proved quite easy to find. He had bought himself lunch at a restaurant in Ala Monana and was just exiting the building as Danny and Steve pulled to a stop. They jumped out of the car.
"Ikaia Iokua!" Steve shouted, heading for him. "Five-0!"
Ikaia stared at them for a split second and Danny cursed under his breath just before the guy took off running in the opposite direction. The two men sprinted after him, Steve outpacing his over-tired partner easily and tackling Ikaia.
"What's up with you?" Steve asked as he hauled the handcuffed islander to his feet.
"What's wrong with me? I'm sorry I'm not a super-SEAL like you. I get tired when I don't get sleep."
"So drop us back at HQ and go home. I'll let you know if anything major develops."
Danny paused as Steve shoved Ikaia into the back of the car. "Why are you being nice to me?" He asked. "You're never nice to me."
Steve sighed and looked at his partner over the top of the car. "Danno, the last five weeks have been hell for you. I know. Getting Annie back and everything associated with that has been a lot for you to handle. I'm trying to be supportive here."
"Hey!" They both ducked down and looked at their suspect in the back seat. "How long you two been married, eh?"
5-0 5-0
"Okay!" Ikaia exclaimed. "Okay! I didn't kill her, but I know who did!"
Steve folded his arms over his chest, one eyebrow going up as he looked over at Chin who was leaning against the door with a flat stare leveled at their suspect. "Okay then, who was it?"
"The boss of the club! The gambling club I took her to! He likes leggy blonde chicks and she turned him down! He doesn't like that! He told me if I talked her into seeing him, he'd erase my debt!"
"We need a name" Chin said flatly.
"Brandon! Brandon Kane!"