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

Notes: the muses are a bit wishy washy in these last few chapters. I am insisting that they stick to the plan now and behave themselves. So, I have put my proverbial foot down on any more "chapter massaging" at the moment! Puppy Koa (Brave) shows up very very soon. Thank you for playing along in the polls - it was fun.

Chapter 17

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

One week after being released and just a few days after Kylie Yeun had been found, Jasper Mitchell still hadn't returned to the clinic. He hadn't verbally mentioned it but in all reality, it wasn't very far from his thoughts. He just wasn't sure those thoughts were dwelled upon in a good way. On the plus side, he was still on the island despite his initial statement vowing to leave and never return.

More often than not, he would move from small bedroom to his equally small but comfortable sofa where he would lay for hours staring blindly at the ceiling. The envelope that Adrian Parker had given to Doctor Ramirez for him to read sat practically forgotten and unopened on top of the dusty refrigerator. General would follow him patiently from room to room. At first happy that his master was home every waking hour, the dog eventually became confused by the lack of activity and usual play. Their free time was always spent hiking or beach walking or even going to the dog park because General liked to be kept busy.

Disgruntled and becoming annoyingly bored, General stared at his owner in utter disgust and then rolled playfully on his back. Even upside down he could stare at the closed-off face. But nothing he did could entice Jasper out of his doldrums, though he knew that his presence was at least needed as a source of company.

"Not now." Jasper muttered half-heartedly to his playful dog. He was laying sprawled on the sofa when he heard the truck pull up. It jolted General to his feet in a smooth motion and he stood perfectly still, just listening. The sound of its engine being shut off and then a car door slamming made Jazz groan in annoyance and he flung one arm resentfully over his eyes. His other hugged a pillow to his chest as he scrunched his shoulders down into the cushions of the sofa, he knew he was right when General half-whiffled and then half-barked a happy odd sound.

"Stupid, bad bad dog." He bemoaned quietly as the door opened without preamble and he heard Ramirez's booming welcome for General's exuberant greeting. He was going to be subjected yet to another round of one Doctor Alphonse Ramirez's school of tough love where even his own pet was against him.

Jazz winced under his arm as the large shape entered the room and the creaks and groans of his old lazy-boy side chair gave testament to its use. He mentally counted to ten and then wasn't disappointed as the questions started.

"Are you ever going to get up and leave this house?" Ramirez asked. General gazed happily at the big doctor as he spoke and then swung his head in anticipation towards Jasper as if waiting for the reply. He fidgeted on his hip when his master finally opened his mouth, but he didn't say any of the words that General recognized and his ears dropped in disappointment.

"No. Maybe." The muffled response was spoken into his arm as their typical gyrations began as they always did.

"People are asking for you."

"That's nice." Jasper retorted in a mild temper. Half his house was filled with food from well-meaning neighbors, his best patients from the clinic, and even people he had never heard of.

From the few televised reports that had mentioned the doctor's dog, General even had his own set of virtually unknown groupies. He was making out quite nicely in the kibble, treat and toy arenas himself. General didn't quite understand the spectacular smells that wafted around the kitchen, but he certainly benefited from the bounty. Then of course, was his growing chest of dog toys where he had latched onto a stuffed duck as his latest favorite.

Refusing to look at his guest, Jazz didn't see the true concern reflecting so deeply within Ponch's eyes. After days of this, he was running out of words and reasons which always failed at coaxing the young doctor back to life. The newscasts were full of Parker family intrigue and debates around if Alan Parker would truly be declared incompetent to stand trial. At first that incompetence had been assumed, but that had been prior to the results of a psychological evaluation which were soon to be duly discussed during a pending competency hearing. Rumor on the street was that Alan Parker would be fully tried and brought to justice on numerous counts of abduction, the illegal practice of medicine, theft, attempted murder, kidnapping a police officer with intent to harm, and a current count of eight individual murder charges. In fact, the laundry list of charges continued to pile up so deeply upon the man, any one of which would sentence him to multiple life terms.

"I want you to come to the clinic tomorrow." Ponch had no business asking. He was essentially a non-employee serving a probationary term by order of the court. But the clinic was still open and operating and its denizens had turned to the older man for help and guidance. In reality, they wanted their Doctor Mitchell back in their fold because they cared so very much.

"You need to at least poke your head in for a few hours." Softening a bit, Ponch tried a small compromise and yet still got no real reaction.

The television was humming along very softly in the background and Ponch was disgusted to see the afternoon news highlights focusing on Parker. The dislike quickly turned to shock because Five-0 had finally located what was perceived as the final victim. The body had actually been discovered a few days earlier and the information withheld from the media until the medical examiner had confirmed the woman's identity.

He was both relieved and saddened to read the scrolled words and hear the faint bits of information while photographs of Kylie Yeun were flashed across the screen. The clinic was called out again and Alan Parker's face was shown standing on its steps in an old photograph from supposedly happier times.

"Damn it." Ponch muttered under his breath. It was a stunningly new revelation that Ponch didn't even know of until that very moment and he glanced worriedly over to Jazz. The man was still hiding under his arm though and hadn't noticed even one short second of the report. To forestall an unfortunate reaction, he simply palmed the remote from the coffee table and turned the TV off. Part of him also worried that the identification of Yeun's body was the only reason keeping Jasper from leaving Hawaii. Once she had been found as it was now being reported, Ponch wondered if Jasper would make good on those plans.

"Did you at least open the envelope yet?" For that, Jasper sunk further into the sofa and set his lips in a thin white line to prove that he hadn't; in fact, he'd completely forgotten about it.

Attempting to stifle his own rising temper, Ponch got to his feet and without asking, began a search of the small house. He was partly surprised when Jazz still refused to move or ask what he was doing as he rummaged first through the small living room and then moved to the kitchen. It didn't take long for him to spy it on top of the refrigerator. Using his temper more productively, Ponch tossed the envelope firmly to Jazz's chest.

Next to him, General's head swiveled with interest at the motion and he waited to see what would happen next. "Here. Open it now."

A multitude of things crossed Jazz's mind but never made it out of his mouth. He thought of every nasty comment in the book and he even envisioned himself ripping the envelope in half. Instead, his fingers opened to crinkle the thick paper and find where it was so neatly sealed.

"Open it, Jasper. Get it over with." This time Ponch stood over him and refused to move. He sensed that the doctor would stay this time until he did something, so with a heavy heart Jasper resentfully tugged the thing apart and then forced his eyes to focus on the writing. He read the first paragraph without trying to actually understand it, but then his eyes darted back up to the top.

"What?" Ponch demanded. Squirming to a more seated position, Jazz read the entire first page and then the second. He stood up and brushed by the big doctor and directly for the kitchen where he paused by the table. Excited now, General almost tripped his feet up as the atmosphere in the room changed. In the sunlight from the window, Jazz slowly re-read the documents once more and muttered something completely unintelligible under his breath.

"Jasper, what is it?" Already exasperated, Ponch followed on his heels. Jazz couldn't answer with his mouth hanging open as he went back to the first page and started over again much more slowly and deliberately. Even on his third time through, he wasn't sure he got it right.

"Umm. Well .. it's about the clinic." Jazz's mouth stuttered along with his brain. He missed Ponch's disgusted look because he could have at least guessed that much with the documents coming from old man Parker.

"What's wrong?" Reacting to the choked gasps and the disbelieving expression, Ponch finally snatched the top page out of his fingers. Frowning in advance of reading the words because he was certain that he would not like it, he too got just so far before his own stunned sound echoed in the room.

They stared at each other without a word before Ponch focused enough to finish reading both formal pages.

"So." Ramirez started and then stopped. He glanced at his stunned friend who was aimlessly walking back to the living room, and then huffed a confusing congratulatory snort of approval. Adrian Parker's near cryptic words that day in the hospital had meaning. A very determined and significant meaning. The result of which would also put a definite kink in Jazz's continued promise to leave Hawaii. He was still here too, and now a stunning opportunity had presented itself.

"So. You now own the Medical Mission Free Clinic and all the land it sits on, Doctor Jasper Mitchell." Ramirez began to smile because it made sense in every way imaginable. He was laughing heartily by the time Jazz weakly sank back onto the sofa to hold his head in both hands. Still excited, General was running in circles and playfully trying to shove his new best duck toy into Jasper's covered face.

Happier than he had been in a long time because what had just happened was ultimately perfect in its design, Ponch continued to laugh. "Congratulations, Dr. Mitchell!"

~ to be continued ~