I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: super duper long chapter - but so much has been going on.

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Chapter Twenty-three

Chin met them in the hallway just as Kono was wheeling Steve back to his own room in the ICU. He had just spent time with the still comatose Michael Jameson and the badly injured man's fiancée. The jury was still out on if he would live, let alone recover but his fiancée was determined to stay by his side. Her gesture and dedication were lovingly touching and he was in a quiet, melancholy mood.

He wanted to bring them up to speed on that sad news. However he and Kono had to wait to discuss not only that, but the latest on the case. The nurse who Ramirez sent was hot on their heels with a look of severe dissatisfaction laced permanently across her face.

"Please wait outside." She requested cooly as she took over Steve's wheelchair. The Jameson case was also the last thing that Kono wanted to talk about as she and Chin were pushed out of the room until permitted to return.

Steve didn't bother smiling at the nurse as she helped him stand and transfer to the bed. She was stern about his readings and clearly picking up on Doctor Ramirez's annoyance. Plus he was admittedly tired now and feeling weak as a coughing spasm took his breath away. He was sweating and feeling nauseous by the time it stopped and he got his breathing back under control. The nurse's expression was kind but also mixed with a wise and subtle "we told you so" smirk as he knuckled his aching sternum.

"Please ask for help next time." She cautioned without too much a worse reprimand which Steve appreciated since she obviously saw his pale, greenish hue as he tiredly nodded in agreement. Then she was gone to leave Steve to rest and get his physical woes under control.

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In the hallway after the nurse shooed them away, Kono took Chin by the arm to walk further away from the rooms to a private corner. "Doctor Ramirez is with Danny."

"I see that Steve was, too, by the looks of things?" The wryly sniffed observation indicated that Chin clearly picked up on the tension between Steve, the nurse and even his cousin who seemed more upset than she should be. He rightly assumed that Steve likely shouldn't have been out of bed. Something else was wrong though. Since he could tell that Steve was generally fine based on the nurse's basic actions to get him hooked up to the right machines once more, it had to be Danny.

"Ramirez is with Danny? What's wrong with him? He's not .. more sick .. is he?" Suddenly worried that he'd misread the clues, Chin didn't know which way to turn between the overly rooms in the ICU.

"I don't know. Doctor Ramirez pretty much demanded that we leave and then he sent the nurse after us." Kono admitted softly. She only knew that he was in the same physical position and that Steve and he had been discussing something that sounded suspiciously like their old problem. Her face was an open book which Chin easily read to wonder if that problem had sadly come to the fore yet again.

"I didn't have time to ask and Doc was truthfully angry that Steve was out of bed without help." Her whisper was low as another busy nurse walked by them.

"Actually, I should say without permission and I guess he disconnected everything, too." She smirked ruefully to amend her words. That at least made sense. "But Steve and Danny were arguing when I got here. They were arguing about changes and mistakes."

She took a deep breath as she began to share what she thought she had heard. "I think it's over, Chin. Before I could ask, Ramirez showed up and just now the nurse interrupted us. But Steve only mentioned the case and Michael Jameson just before you got here; we had no time to talk about what happened at Vernon Fields between the two of them. If anything."

"I was afraid of that." Chin tentatively admitted. "Steve at least seems okay though he hasn't said anything really one way or another. We've been too worried about him and now Danny. No one has been in any condition to talk about what happened out there."

He rubbed both hands over his face tiredly. He couldn't offer any comforting words because he didn't know one way or another. Danny had confided in him early on and anything could be possible. While Steve was acting normally, that had been prior to the two partners being able to talk alone. Now Kono's uncertain belief about what she had possibly over-heard was very concerning.

"We'll ask Steve." Chin whispered. "He should be strong enough now." Extremely worried, the two were forced to wait in the hallway between the two rooms where both friends were being cared for. They nearly bolted into Steve's room once the nurse allowed them back in for their visit. With oxygen and monitors correctly in place, Steve rolled his eyes dramatically at the ceiling with a grin for their benefit. But he looked tired and drawn, too.

"Are you feeling alright?" Kono questioned softly. He smiled and nodded with a raspy sigh.

"That was awkward. I can't wait for round two." Meaning Doctor Ramirez, Steve expressed it as a joke around a cough and a measured inhale of clean oxygen. The nurse had been annoyed about his blood pressure and the pulse oxymeter had declared his oxygen levels lower than she wanted to see. If she didn't verbally report it to him first, regardless the doctor would see it in his files.

"Ramirez will be in here, soon. I'm sure. Until then, how's Michael Jameson? Have you found out anything else between these two and the men that tried to take us down?" Steve looked from one to the other and then frowned as neither cousin answered him. "Well. What's up?" The room was completely silent until Kono couldn't help herself any longer.

"Are you two .. okay?" Kono blurted abruptly. "I mean .. you have to tell us if you aren't. We have a right to know."

"Excuse me ... uh, what?" Muffled under the oxygen mask, Steve was utterly confused by the spontaneous question. "Who?"

"Danny." Glancing to Kono's tight posture, Chin shrugged before chiming in to clarify because Steve's face remained blankly confused. Knowing that Ponch had cautioned them about stress, Chin went slowly and kept an eye out for Steve's reaction.

"You and Danny. Kono and I are worried that you two are calling it quits after this. Just like we both did when it happened, he took your accident pretty badly. You almost died and he went to this weird place and now all of this happened."

With his confusion growing at what was beginning to sound almost like an attack, Steve gave out with a garbled sound under the oxygen mask as Chin took over the conversation. His tone was subdued and careful as he tried to avoid any emotional outbursts. "Just a few days ago, things were getting better. But now ... with this Jameson case and what happened at the apartment building."

Chin's voice trailed off as he worriedly shrugged again for lack of anything else to do. "You both got hurt badly and we don't know what happened out there, Steve. So, like Kono just asked ... are you two okay? Or do we have to get ready for a bigger problem ... and significant changes?"

During the recitation, Steve's eyes had gotten bigger in an honest surprise about their questions and concern. He stuttered, coughed and then frowned as he seriously looked from one to the other. What came out was a statement of fact as he drew one particular, negative conclusion.

"You think I did something. I don't believe this." He said it plainly as the realization sank into his brain and Chin had the grace to shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Kono stood ramrod straight with her arms hugged tightly to her sides as she never took her eyes from his face. She was afraid but also almost daring him to lie about it.

"You think that I did something that got me or god forbid ... both of us ... hurt? Or, at least did something that might have rubbed Danny the wrong way?" Steve wasn't sure if he should be furious, insulted or amused as he digested their ongoing silence. His anger flared as he hoarsely coughed words that were almost a warning. "Have you two totally lost your minds?"

"No, Steve. Don't get upset." Chin's hand went up fearfully as Steve's face reddened and his voice rose more harshly. "It's not what either of us meant. Take it easy!" He started talking at the same time Kono also attempted to correct and calm Steve's unexpected response.

"Wait .. no." He had hit the mark but possibly gone too far because Kono was suddenly shaking her head as if mortified and her mouth fell open in shock. Steve wasn't sure he cared as he watched the young woman fumble for words.

"No. Not exactly all of that .. no. That's not really what I meant!"

"What exactly do you both mean then?" Even muffled under the mask, the anger in his voice was unmistakable. Kono wasn't sure how to explain it after he'd gone down such an extreme path. None of them would ever put another in danger, he'd assumed the wrong thing and was growing angry at what had begun to sound like an interrogation process.

His breathing was ragged to end on a harsh cough. Alarmed now, Chin insisted on resting his hand on Steve's shoulder. "No, brah. That's not what either of us meant. Let Kono explain."

His cousin was upset but determined to clear the air as she repeated herself. "No! That's not it! But ...well .. sort of!" Kono stammered briefly, pleaded with Chin quietly for help, and then threw her hands up in the air in frustration. Her voice rose too, as she pointed in the direction of the hallway and Danny's room. With an effort, she dropped her voice to a whisper when a nurse lingered suddenly in the hallway to see if something was wrong.

"No, I'm sorry! I just heard Danny say that he couldn't take it anymore because it was impossible. You said something about changes and things being a mistake." Eyes still worried and wide, Kono stared at him sadly and hoped she'd done a better job explaining herself. Chin was close to offer support since Kono had to explain what she herself, had overheard before asking Steve again.

"Are they? Are things .. impossible? Has it gotten that bad between you two?"

Still straddling the fence on being extremely angry, Steve's jaw was firmly set as he stared at Kono without answering. But his anger faded as quickly as it had begun to rise. He hadn't realized that Kono had been in the doorway and had overheard parts of their conversation which had then been entirely misconstrued. Allowing his temper to fall away, Steve's answer was newly patient but he omitted a great deal of sensitive, personal information. There would be no easy way to describe it anyway; no way to really explain Danny's desperation for him to do exactly what he had finally done. The point now was that he and Danny were okay. Steve committed to memory another important tidbit that concerned the caring personalities of both cousins who were worriedly awaiting for both his reaction and answer.

"Oh." Steve breathed it out as a knowing sigh. He opted to finally go with a calm amusement as he relaxed to tell them the absolute truth by stressing each and every critical word.

"We're good. Nothing happened at the apartment building except we got shanghaied by these bozos. Nothing happened. Danny and I are fine and things are .. well ... fine." He almost laughed at the relief that lightened their dual expressions nearly immediately. With a blithe wave of his hand to stop Kono's apology, Steve smiled and chuckled before coughing and grimacing at the continued tightness in his throat and chest.

"It's okay. You heard Danny telling me how uncomfortable and miserable he's feeling." Steve moderated his tone because his partner had truly been in pain before the doctor arrived. Idly, he rubbed his own chest as another cough bubbled up. He was officially talking too much and his throat was sore and growing more dry with every passing moment. Pausing to move the mask for a drink of water, Steve finished calming the cousin's worst fears.

"He was saying that he couldn't lay there like that any more and I was telling him he had to relax. You heard me arguing with him that I couldn't take the risk of making a mistake in moving him or the bed." Kono blinked at him oddly before coloring self-consciously in comparison to Chin's calmer stance.

"It's Danny." Steve grinned as if that were explanation enough. "It's Danny flat on his back and being prevented from moving. I rest my case!"

Chin chuckled at that and soothingly poked Kono in relief. To change the subject and save them all from continued embarrassment, Steve almost smirked under the oxygen mask. "Now tell me about Michael Jameson ... and what you've found out about Danny's case."

"Good." The warm grin that grew across Chin's face was tantamount to both his relief and agreement about the Jameson case really being Danny's project. Beside him, Kono was still upset though feeling more self-conscious than worried at that point. She allowed the thrum of the conversation to focus on the case and where they were now as they stayed together.

Chin was already waltzing down that path as he pulled up a chair to fill Steve in on their latest findings. "You're right. Danny did about ninety percent of the work on this. He's going to be surprised at the back-story though."

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Steve was well tucked back into his own bed by the time Doctor Ramirez ambled into his room. He was content to listen to both Chin and Kono describe what they had learned from Al Harris about Eric Jameson. Steve was also remorseful by what he then learned about Michael Jameson and his stalwart fiancée. Ramirez allowed them to finish the few last words of their conversation, admittedly interested in the remnants he was hearing.

"Michael's mother died when he was ten. In a house fire that was blamed on faulty wiring." Steve shook his head sadly because it was blatantly obvious that the elder Jameson had set the fire. He waited patently for Chin to fill in the blanks.

"She had filed for divorce and he'd lost custody of his son. It was ugly based on the old files. So to get back at her, Jameson set the fire and intentionally killed Melissa Jameson." Chin continued quietly. "Michael knew but he was just a kid and no one listened. He waited until he was old enough to do something about it. He was investigating it for years and finally found the proof he needed."

"How did you find this out?" Steve asked. "The man's in a coma right down the hall."

"His fiancée, Natalie McGrath." Kono explained. "She showed up at HPD and filed a missing person's report. Once she showed the photograph, Duke knew of course who Michael Jameson was and so he called us and we met with her. She knew all about what Michael was working on and trying to prove. What she couldn't tell us, she showed us on his computer. He really wanted his father to confess and own up to what he'd done. She was petrified that Eric Jameson had hurt him ... just like he really had."

Steve was both impressed and saddened by the news, but it left other things unanswered. Such as the group surrounding the elder Jameson. "What about these armed men? This Al Harris? They certainly were professional and much too well-armed."

"It's a second and very large unrelated issue." Kono added. "Michael knew that his father was responsible for killing that man down on the docks sixteen months ago. There was no evidence and Michael himself was exonerated after being pulled in for questioning. The HPD case went cold but Michael started to poke around and ask even more questions. One thing led to another and we believe that Michael uncovered a smuggling ring that his father ran with these mercenaries. They've been stealing and smuggling nearly every type of contraband you could imagine through a rather complex network on the dock."

"But the son isn't involved?" Steve wanted to confirm this since Danny had found a rather lengthy rap sheet there, as well. Chin was already reconfirming that fact.

"No. He wasn't involved at all and Natalie is vouching for his character. What he wanted is very personal. In fact, he kept this other smuggling issue from Natalie so she wouldn't be put in any more danger." Chin sighed and then grimaced at what he was about to share.

"He tried to use it though to get his father to confess. This is really all he ever wanted to do. Michael Jameson wanted to blackmail his father into a confession about murdering his mother and he thought he finally had the last silver bullet."

"Wow." Steve didn't know what to say about that portion of the complex puzzle. "And the men? What do we know about them?"

"Necessary collateral damage. It seems that everyone wanted a piece of either Eric Jameson or his very lucrative pie. The two men were part of a small faction - an offshoot of his smuggling ring - and they also intended to blackmail him, but for entirely different reasons." Kono had pulled her tablet out to review notes and photographs.

"The man on the dock and the two in the apartment were part of the smuggling ring and the grass-roots to this new faction. They were growing off as a subset to get more business and were skimming. Basically, stealing from their own group for their own personal profit. They knew their buddy had been killed by Jameson but I guess they misinterpreted his power ... and reach. He had a lesson or message that he sent loud and clear through their deaths."

"They misjudged him as well as the depth of other loyalties." Chin explained. "According to Harris, the faction threatened Eric Jameson and he'd had them killed. At that point, he'd had enough of his son too. His mouth, attitude and whining threats ... Harris said Jameson wanted him gone and used the mess down at the docks as a cover. They decided that they were going to get rid of Vernon Fields and all of their problems in one fell swoop before relocating their operations."

"Good god." Steve complained under his breath. "This is insane."

"It almost worked." Kono added. "He was close to making it happen. If you and Danny hadn't shown up on his doorstep that day, he very well may have gotten away with all of it. He was insane but almost brilliant."

"Most pyromaniacs are. A bit crazy, that is." Doctor Ramirez suddenly added from the corner of the room. "Now you are coupling that with the brains of a murdering psychopath."

"How's Danny?" Steve asked as the conversation came to a close. "You were with him a long time."

"He's much more comfortable now and sleeping." Ramirez shared, perhaps almost too sweetly as he supplanted the cousins with his own imposing body. Not liking the newly roughened sound of Steve's voice or short whistling breaths, he motioned for the cousins to kindly leave. To Steve, he informed his patient of a pending conversation. "You and I though? We need to talk. Or maybe, you will listen while I do the talking."

With that, Kono got to her feet with an almost apologetic smile. She was lighter and much happier though as she walked to the doorway. "We'll go get some coffee and come back later." Nearly dragging Chin by the arm, they disappeared in mere seconds much to Steve's consternation.

"It was just a few minutes." Steve began as way of explanation to the doctor who was now looming directly over head. He was uncertain about how to continue though, when it was clear the doctor didn't feel like hearing excuses.

"Oxygen. Fluids. You're pale and sound terrible." Ramirez glowered at the dark-haired man with a growing irritation. "Not to mention removing the leads to a few necessary monitors. You do realize that my staff is responsible for your actions? You could have fallen or any other number of things could have occurred in your state."

He knew very well that Steve would have also turned the monitors completely off to hide their alarms or else his own team would have come running. He also knew that Steve's drive to visit his partner would over-ride any type of common sense. Ramirez would always have his hands full with whichever man was more mobile than the other.

Studying the recent readings, Ramirez was disgusted. "Heart rate is elevated, blood pressure too high and this ... your oxygen level was and still is only barely in the moderate range."

Ramirez was annoyed on a few levels as he glared at the bedridden man. The fact remained that he had not only jeopardized himself, but also quite seriously put the medical team at a severe disadvantage. The continued expression on Steve's face gave credence to that intentional misuse of that knowledge. Ramirez also knew better than to reiterate those things which Steve already knew quite well, so he got to the point.

"Chest pains? Arrhythmia?" Though the doctor would be able to tell from some test results and readings, Steve sobered as he shook his head to negate the questions. Other than a passing nausea and dizziness, he was already feeling better after being in bed and on oxygen once more. Though he would admit that the long and emotional conversation with his team had drawn on the last of his energy reserves. He was wrung out and struggling to stay awake.

He was about to dictate another demand when Ramirez got the shock of his life as Steve's face altered considerably to one of distinct remorse .. but not entirely for his actions in the ICU. "Listen, Ponch. I know ...I do. I definitely know."

He stopped and then shook his head before running his fingers tiredly through his hair. "Listen .. last month or so, I screwed up and really got turned on my ear by my team. But especially by Danny and I know you will disagree because I went around it the wrong way, but I had to make sure he was okay .. that we were okay."

Steve didn't quite know how to explain the long, complicated process from the time he'd been released to the somewhat tenuous recent relationship. He wasn't even sure that Ponch needed to hear the entire explanation.

He dismally shook his head again as he waved his hand towards the door where Kono and Chin had gone. "Danny and I are good .. it's good .. we worked it out. But I hadn't realized until just a few minutes ago that Chin and Kono thought we were on the outs. My team was becoming splintered and so broken, that we'd lose everything that we've become."

Not actually believing what he heard about the close team, Ramirez stayed quiet as Steve purged what had become half explanation and half confusing, long-winded confession.

"I guess I take a lot for granted sometimes." Steve shrugged because he took Ramirez's friendship and good will for granted as well. Case in point, what had just happened.

"I had to see him; to make sure." However, not once did Steve ever intend to put anyone at a disadvantage. Running out of words, energy and air, his added sincere comment was then for Ponch. "On top of it then, I'm apologizing if you let me. It won't happen again."

There was a long silence as the doctor crunched through what Steve had said and how he'd found the two partners conversing. Danny had been very stressed and very obviously frustrated based upon his rising blood pressure and erratic respiration. There was no doubt Steve had likely kept him calmer than he would have been otherwise. Ramirez knew he didn't have the whole story, but also knew what he had been told was honest and enough for his needs. His long drawn out sigh ended abruptly with an agreeable shrug.

"Alright. Agreed." Internally though, Doctor Ramirez was completely dissembled at that point as he lost his train of thought. His intended reprimands and warnings were forgotten as he took shelter in his profession by focusing on Steve's health. Perhaps his patient was indeed a bit pale and looking fatigued, so he repositioned the oxygen mask and checked the flow. His parting words were simple and brief to leave Steve with a calmer mind.

"We're all on the same page here. Keep the oxygen on and do us all a favor by staying put. Get some rest, Commander. You need it and that's an order." On his way out, Ponch heard the murmur of thanks which was spoken softly to his back.

~ to be continued ~