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

Notes: once FF let me in, I was able to change two typos on chapter 7. Yes I did spell Patton wrong - thanks 4thofFive for pointing that out. :-) Thank you for the continued great reviews regardless of the FF challenges this week.

Chapter 8

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The lawyer advised Adrian Parker to stay mute because in all reality, they also had nothing to offer the officials except for supposed feelings and off-putting whispers of rumor. As a compromise, Parker demanded that his lawyer at least contact Five-0 and specifically Steve McGarrett, to express the Parker family concern for their missing doctor.

It was the right thing to do but a somewhat odd call, though again, because there was not much to put a finger on or lay claim to. The lawyer hinted at family dispute or at least an uncomfortable relationship between father and son related to the internal runnings of the clinic. Maybe a dissatisfaction about the state of affairs as it transitioned to another family member; possibly even a sense of competition between Mitchell and Parker. Regardless, Jasper Mitchell was a valued employee and the elder Parker, through the lawyer, expressed a genuine concern and desire to help.

The conversation was duly shared with Kono. To date, she had confirmed the elder Parker's philanthropic tendencies and was impressed by his reputation. The clinic was indeed operating just within acceptable standards and sub par to its original purpose and yet, it had no complaints or issues lodged against it or its current small staff of doctors and medical volunteers.

But the son, Alan, was definitely a sketchy character. While he had the grades, smarts and skills, he clearly lacked the drive and enthusiasm purported by his father and hinted at by the lawyer. Kono was having difficulty gaining access to or knowledge of the son's every day activities or dealings. Significantly less visible than his father had ever been, Alan Parker simply kept a lower profile and preferred to stay under the radar. Her basic inquiries revealed poor to very mediocre references and he had few long-term patients or professional associates.

So without solid proof of an abduction or foul play, and with only an abstract text message and even more innuendo, it remained as one man's word against another. There was nothing to be done except continue the search for Jasper Mitchell.

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Kono shielded her eyes from the early Saturday morning sun. The day was going to be a hot one. Bobbing up and down on her board just beyond the best breakers, only she and a few other experts sat patiently waiting in the pretty morning sunshine.

Turning around she edged more into the line up to wait as two others grabbed the next set before smiling smugly to herself. This coming set would be her last before running a necessary Saturday household errands. Then she would meet Danny just before lunch to continue their own private lessons. But for her part, she would be well off the waves and the beach before it was over run by the daily freak show and the high enthusiastic but possibly less-informed newbies.

"This set is epic, Kono." One of her friends hanging nearby gestured for her to take the choice and she greedily accepted.

"Aloha, Benj!' Then she was gone at the right moment and at the right time. Setting in comfortably she found herself in the pocket, reveling and totally missing her competitive days. She was fine until she caught the motion on her right as a black shape dropped in her.

"Get off!" Kono shouted as she pumped her board to gain speed and bypass the ignorant surfer who was dropping in on her wave.

"Hey. Get off!" It all happened too fast and her evasive maneuvers were too late though. Kono had no choice but to abandon her run and ditch her board.

Getting briefly spin cycled, her left knee cracked the bottom before she shot to the surface in a fury. Her board was already in the ripples and a few of her friends were on their way to get it for her. Limping out she only had one target: the lolo wack who had nearly gotten them both killed. She needn't have worried about that issue either because three of the locals had already rounded on him before he could get his feet on the sand. In fact, Benj was already there and by her side making sure she was okay.

"You cut your leg up, sistah." Her anger kept her moving though as she continued to aim for the wack who was now genuinely afraid for his life. Surrounded now by her angry friends, his hands were raised in sincere apology for what he'd done even though he was equally bruised and cut up.

Only when she got closer did she remember she couldn't school him as she wanted. "Damn idiot!" As an officer, even off-duty, she was limited now and she forced her fists to unfurl. But she could and would leave him to the wolves.

Benj smirked as he realized her hands were professionally tied at the same time she did. "Take care of that leg, wahine. We got this, sistah, unless you need help?"

"Nah. I got it. Looks worse than it is. Don't hurt him too much though, brah. I don't want to have to come back out here." Sharing a meaningful look for her friends to mind their communal manners, Kono changed direction to take her board before limping out to her car. She could trust Benj and a couple of others to scare the lolo straight and just enough to keep him off the bigger sets where he obviously had no sense of right or wrong. Some people just had to learn the hard way.

She got a better look at her leg after tossing on a long colorful cover-up by her car. Kono grimaced while wiping the blood off her knee with gauze from her first aid kit, only to have more quickly well up and stream down again.

"Great." She murmured in disgust at the stupidity of the senseless accident. Dabbing at the cut with a wad of gauze, she finally layered as much gauze as she had handy and then wrapped it all thickly with a large bandage. It was a decently sized gash and she wasn't sure if she could actually need stitches. Tossing her board on the roof, she was about to go to the emergency room when she remembered Ponch's clinic. Not sure of his hours, it was just about the same distance and if he were there, she'd like to see him. Besides not having yet ventured to the clinic out of curiosity, according to Steve, their friend was very upset about the continued missing status of Doctor Mitchell.

The APB was still active and an official missing person's report had been opened now. Upon begin interviewed by Steve and Danny at the clinic, Doctor Alan Parker seemed equally distressed by what had happened to his co-worker … and as he stressed so often, his good personal friend. It conflicted with what the lawyer had so nonchalantly shared. Plus, Ramirez was in an ugly mood about the truthfulness of those sentiments.

With nothing to go on and what was bordering on defamation of character as Parker so nastily challenged the ex-TAMC physician after an even uglier altercation, they had to leave him alone and watch from a distance. But they weren't sure what exactly they were watching for and assumed it to be the reported loss of supplies and drugs. Again, mostly rumored and an incomplete thread not quite tied to Mitchell's disappearance. Doubling her case-load, Kono was still investigating the Parker family though and quite discreetly. With Steve and Danny handling the in-person interviews, she had taken a back-seat at the offices to run in-depth background checks on Adrian Parker, Alan Parker and then the general state of the privately run clinic.

The son, Alan, was definitely a sketchy character. While he had the grades, smarts and skills, he clearly lacked the drive and enthusiasm purported by his father. Kono was having difficulty gaining access to or knowledge of the son's every day activities or dealings. Significantly less visible than his father had ever been, Alan Parker simply kept a lower profile and preferred to stay under the radar. Her basic inquiries revealed poor to very mediocre references and he had few long-term patients or associates. Without solid proof of an abduction or foul play, and with only an abstract text message, it remained as one man's word against another. There was nothing to be done but continue the search for Jasper Mitchell.

Since Mitchell had seemingly evaporated into thin air and for the remainder of that week, Parker suddenly stepped up to the plate. It was almost as if he knew his father had reached out to the police through the lawyer. It was an odd act for him to pull more hours, yet it coincided with the medical community who also generously began volunteering their time to keep the clinic door's open. The gestures were benevolent, but even the local clients were worried for their Doctor Jazz who had seemingly disappeared for no apparent reason.

After mulling over what she knew, the vast amount she still was missing, and once more failing at truly stopping the blood related to her current surfing-related injury, her decision was made. Kono winced as she slid behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb, making a right hand turn to travel up the coast towards the small clinic.

Twenty minutes later, she was limping in through the front door and approaching the main reception desk. It was early and only a few patients were waiting in the hard plastic chairs. Leaving her beach bag in the trunk of the car, she was only holding her keys, wallet and cell phone.

"Is Doctor Ramirez here yet?" She asked the receptionist who seemed pleasant enough if not a bit nervous.

"No. We have only morning hours on Saturdays. We close at Noon, so just Doctor Parker is here .. if it's not an emergency, would you like to come back on Monday?"

It was just eight in the morning and Kono shook her head. Her knee had picked up a steady throb and it felt thick and hot through the bandage she'd applied. Besides, she was still intrigued with meeting this doctor that had Ponch in such an uproar.

"I cut my knee surfing and don't think I should wait. Doctor Parker will be fine." Motioning to her knee, the receptionist leaned over the counter to see that Kono was carrying most of her weight on her right leg. The bandage on her opposite leg was already slightly pinked too as blood continued to ooze despite her best efforts.

The receptionist, Mrs. Bishop, was an older woman with her hair pulled up in tight bun. She oohed in sympathy for the state of the discolored bandage. "It's still bleeding and it might need stitches." Kono said with an annoyed sigh.

The woman nodded in agreement as she eyed the bright red blood staining through and then handed Kono a clipboard with a short questionnaire. "Can you fill this out quickly - just the top half is fine - and I will bring you right back?"

Moments later, Kono was sitting alone in a small but pristinely clean examination room. Taking in each and every nook and cranny, other than looking like the old renovated bedroom it once had been, there was fairly standard medical supplies neatly labeled and laid out on the short installed counter tops.

"Ms. Kalakaua? That looks painful. Let's see what we can do to make you feel better." A warm friendly voice broke through her reverie and Kono looked up to meet Doctor Alan Parker. Of medium height and sandy-haired, he seemed friendly enough as he introduced himself.

He was deft and gentle while she sat on the edge of the table. Carefully unwrapping her bandage and apologizing for the discomfort even as he flushed the wound to evaluate the ragged edges.

However, it was taking him an incredible personal effort to prevent himself from gazing into her beautiful eyes.

"Lovely." Parker whispered under his breath as unchecked plans began to churn in his head. Here sitting in front of him was an opportunity which he couldn't find the strength to pass up. Softly clearing his throat to stay on track and in the here and now, he spoke more naturally to his newest patient. "Yes. It does need a few stitches and you'll have to stay out of water until it heals."

"That's what I was afraid of." Kono griped unhappily because now she'd be limited in even giving Danny a proper lesson. The accident messed up her entire weekend plans for doing anything on the beach and she was clearly annoyed.

"I understand. Keeping you surfers out of the waves for an hour is like sheer torture and this is going to be at least a week. I'm sorry if this ruins your weekend but you know the drill." Kono grinned at the truth of the comment and Parker smiled in return.

"I have a lesson to teach at Noon." Thinking of Danny, she quickly checked the time on her cell phone, but it was still very early.

"This won't take more than fifteen minutes, but you're going to have to stick to dry sand." Doctor Parker stressed in warning. He seemed almost too friendly, and Kono found herself looking for the hidden temper or rudeness he'd been rumored to have. Other than not looking directly at her, she couldn't yet fault his care.

"Have you been here long?" She tried to prompt him cautiously to gauge his answer.

"My father founded the clinic." Parker shared the truth easily enough. "He's retired and I've taken it over now."

"It's nice. We sure need one here." Kono breathed out and then winced when he palpitated around the deepest section of the wound. "Is this the clinic where that other doctor used to work? The one that's missing in the news?"

There was a scant pause during his focused examination. "Yes, we are all very worried about Jasper." His answer was simple and left her little to pursue yet he seemed slightly ill at ease. Alan glanced briefly up to meet her eyes and Kono felt a faint pang of anxiety before it evaporated in his easy smile. "The police are doing all they can."

Patting the top of the gurney, Parker motioned to her knee. "Do me a favor and lean back here so I can see this better." He then had Kono scooting back and elevating her knee so he could bring over a light to better examine the area for the stitches.

"It's deep but give me just fifteen minutes and you'll be good as new." Efficient and business-like, Kono had no real complaints about the man as he readied his requisite supplies, needle and surgical thread. She was mulling over Ponch's evident disdain and her short bout of unease when Parker bent over with a small syringe and puckered the skin near the deepest section of the wound.

"This will sting just a bit." The medication was evidently a local anesthetic which he felt would be needed to numb the area before beginning.

"I don't need that for a just few stitches. I can tough it out, Doc." She said with a laugh but he had already begun the process with a short apology.

"You will still be able to drive, but you might as well be comfortable." Parker sighed out calmly, again without looking at her as Kono suddenly blinked her eyes. Her vision dimmed fleetingly and she made a face. Confused by the woozy feeling, she shakily wiped a hand across her eyes as Parker's white-coated shape blurred and then swam in front of her.

"Umm. What?" She whispered as the bed seemed to move and she lost her sense of balance. She knew she was leaning back on the gurney, but wavered dizzily anyway as things turned sideways on her.

Alan took a half-step back to calmly watch as the strong sedative began to take effect. "Ms. Kalakaua? Are you alright?"

His question was coy and meant to judge the sedation and not necessarily her true fears. His smile changed when Kono lost focus and then nearly her ability to speak. Avoiding her weakly seeking fingers, he leaned in again to empty the syringe into the skin just above her knee.

"What's .. happening?" Her voice was slurred and barely audible in the small room. Kono felt her eyes grow heavy despite her best attempts to keep them open. The small exam room blurred and she could barely make out the doctor's much too gentle smile.

"Shhh.. Everything's going to be fine. Just relax for me. You have lovely eyes .. such incredibly lovely eyes." Parker had an even stronger sedative ready in his pocket and he took it out for his final act.

As she lurched on the exam table, he placed his hands on her shoulders to prevent her from trying to swing her legs over the side. "No, no, no. You're only going to hurt yourself. I need you to stay exactly where you are. Right here. You're fine. Relax. Just relax."

His soothing words were barely above a melodic murmur. However, they got through enough to cause a trickle of fear to drop menacingly into the pit of her stomach. But she was too weak to resist as she dimly felt another sharp prick in her arm and a deeper lethargic warmth spread through her whole body. Kono remembered nothing as her vision dimmed to a pinpoint before fading entirely.

~ to be continued ~