A/N: The journey continues...
I don't own anything related to Hawaii Five-0 or CBS. No copyright infringement is intended.
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The rest of their impromptu picnic was lighthearted as they traded jokes and stories. Kono was able to eat the majority of the shrimp plate, but was now starting to second-guess the rich food. She leaned back onto her elbows and took a deep breath.
"You okay, cuz?" Chin had seen her stretch out, and noticed the discomfort on her face.
"Yeah…the shrimp sounded good at the time, but I'm not so sure right this minute." She let the cool ocean breeze wash over her, and closed her eyes against the glare of the sun.
Kono missed the concerned looks of the three men, but heard Danny get up. "I think I've still got some of that crystallized ginger in my car. I'll be right back."
Steve and Chin both gave Danny a confused look, but he shook them off. "Turns out, Grace likes nibbling on the stuff. She saw it once in the car and wanted to try it. I have to keep some on hand for her now, too."
Chin just smiled. "That's actually kind of sweet, Danny."
Danny merely grinned as he jogged back towards his car. Steve and Chin sat back down next to Kono, placing themselves so that they were blocking the setting sun from her face. Tiredly, she opened her eyes.
"I'll be fine, guys. It's not like I've never dealt with nausea before."
Chin smiled fondly. "We know. We just worry – we're uncles. It's what we do."
Kono grinned at her cousin and then at Steve. "This baby will be so lucky to have you guys in his or her life."
She sat up and rubbed her hand absently over her baby bump. "I mean it…I really do. I hope you guys know how grateful I am for everything you've done for me. I'm not sure how I would have gotten through any of this without any of you."
Steve was the first to hug her, and by the time Danny got back with the ginger, Chin had wrapped her in his arms.
Danny tilted his head towards the pair while looking at Steve. "She okay?"
Steve nodded. "Just feeling thankful today."
Danny shrugged one shoulder. "Why not, right?" He knelt down next to Kono and handed her the crystallized cube of ginger.
"Thanks, Danny." Kono popped the spicy treat into her mouth and chewed slowly, letting the ginger settle into her system. She couldn't help but think that if ginger ever quit working for her, she'd be screwed, because there wasn't anything else that she'd tried that had managed to settle her churning stomach when she needed it to.
Once she had finished, she leaned back with her hands behind her, tipping her face towards the setting sun. "This was just what I needed, you guys…thanks for coming with me."
Danny gave her a gentle shoulder bump. "Thanks for following doctor's orders. Any ideas for what you want to do tomorrow?"
Kono shook her head. "No, but I promised I'd try to find something that was just for me. I meant it, Danny."
He made sure she was looking directly at him when he answered her. "You're doing great. Just don't get mad if we hold you to it, okay?"
She grinned at the three of them. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
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The next few weeks passed quickly; they had been slammed with case after case. Kono had taken herself off of the latest one, as it had been a pregnant teenage runaway that had been killed. The scene had hit all of them hard, but Kono, understandably, had taken it the worst.
Despite their initial rescue efforts, the teen had been dead for too long – there was nothing any of them could do for the baby. Max estimated that the fetus was approximately 21 weeks gestation – which would have made it too early for survival, even if they had gotten to the body sooner.
Chin had given her some time to herself once they had gotten back to the palace, waiting outside of the restroom, but as soon as she had come out with her eyes swollen and her face blotchy, he had wrapped her up in a tight hug and guided her into her office and onto her sofa.
"Here you go. Just sit a few minutes and breathe, okay? I'm going to go find some water."
By the time he had come back, she had managed to regain her composure somewhat. She sipped at the water he had handed her and leaned back against the couch cushions. "Why do people suck so hard, Chin? I don't get it sometimes."
Chin sat down next to her. "I wish I knew, cuz. I really wish I knew."
She shook her head. "What if I'm a horrible person for bringing a baby into this world? I mean, we see it daily – it's become a place full of people who do such vile things to other people!"
Chin turned to face her, knowing this was hormones talking. "Stop right there, Kono. Do not let yourself go there. Yeah, the world has some pretty crappy things happening to it. And there are people who just shouldn't even be on the face of the planet. But…the thing you need to remember is that the world isn't always like that. There are good things out there too – things that your child will love getting to know and experience."
She almost physically deflated with a heavy sigh, thinking of the girl who had decided that she knew more than her parents and taken off one night. "I know you're right…it's just so hard to imagine being Kelsey's parents right now, having Danny and Steve telling them that their only daughter will never come back home to them."
Chin couldn't do anything other than wrap his arm around her and tug so that her head rested on his shoulder. There weren't any words he could offer her – the entire situation sucked and well-intentioned platitudes weren't going to make things better. Not this time.
Almost an hour later, Danny and Steve made it back to the Palace, where the mood inside was as somber as theirs was after attempting to comfort the hysterical parents. Chin was at the smart table, but Kono was nowhere to be found. "She okay?" Steve couldn't hide his concern when he saw that Chin was alone.
Chin took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking towards Kono's office. "Not really? I know this one was hard on all of us. But Kono…damn it. It's made her doubt a lot of things, just when she was finding her footing again."
Chin dropped his head down for a few seconds before lifting it up slowly. "She finally crashed on her couch. I know she's exhausted…hell, we all are. But she's still restless, even asleep. I just worry about her."
Chin had no way of knowing that his worry was for good reason, completely unaware of the turmoil churning inside of Kono's mind as she slept.
Kono had just put the baby down for a nap when she heard a soft knock at the door. She could see through the small window the outline of Danny and Steve and she smiled to herself. She hadn't seen them in a couple of days. They had been handed a case – a serial murderer was loose on the island.
Kono wished that she could help them, but she wasn't due back at work for a couple of weeks. Giving birth had taken quite a bit out of her, and she was only now starting to get back up on her feet.
Placing her finger over her lips, she opened the door, motioning her friends inside. "Hey you two…come on it. I just got the baby to sleep, so we'll have to keep it down, okay?"
She noticed their confused hesitation and turned back to face them. "What's going on you guys? What's wrong?"
They shared a look, and immediately Kono could tell that the news wasn't good. This was no ordinary social call.
"You're starting to freak me out you guys. What happened? Is it Chin? Is he okay?"
Danny cleared his throat and audibly swallowed. There was no easy way to do this. "Kono…" He blew out a breath and glanced at Steve, who was just as anxious. "Kono…we got a call tonight, and when we got on scene, it was a mess. Evan Marshall – he's the suspect in the murder case we're working on..."
Danny's hands were starting to flail and Steve gently grasped his shoulder to steady him. He took over the story, as it was obvious that Danny was becoming distraught. "Marshall had left his latest kill for us to find. We had to make sure before we came here, but there is no doubt. Sweetheart, the victim was your baby. I'm so sorry…but your child is never going to come back home."
Kono stared at them, dumbfounded. Her face was frozen in fear for a few seconds before she trembled in agony. "No…you're wrong. The baby's napping. I just got…sleeping…we have to be quiet. Don't...you can't...wake the baby." With that, she took off towards the nursery, hoping that the pain that signaled her heart being torn from her chest was a false alarm. But seeing the empty crib and the curtains ruffling in the breeze slammed reality home for Kono…her baby was gone, and was never coming back home.
"Noooo!" She dropped to her knees and screamed with all of her might, barely feeling the strong arms encircling her and holding her close.
"Kono…wake up. It's just a dream, babe. Come on…wake up for me." Danny kept his voice low, not wanting to startle her, and yet needing her to wake up. The three had been talking quietly in the bullpen when Kono's screaming had them running.
As they rushed into her office, they could see her thrashing on the couch, clearly locked in some sort of nightmare. Steve had worked to unwrap the blanket from her legs, while Danny sat next to her and tried to contain her thrashing arms by holding her close.
It took a few moments before Kono jerked awake with a loud gasp and a shout. "No!" Her heart was visibly pounding against her throat, and she was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Chin had gone for some towels and quickly dampened them in the sink, while Steve and Danny tag-teamed the physical and emotional onslaught.
"Hey, hey, hey…you're all right, Kono. It was just a dream. Can you look at me? Are you back with us?" Danny felt the tremors start before Kono probably even realized what was happening. He shifted on the couch and quickly wrapped her back up in his arms, rocking gently from side to side.
"You're okay, babe. We're all here. Whatever was happening was just a dream. A horrible, shitty dream. See?" He gestured to where Chin was kneeling next to the couch and Steve was sitting on the arm at the end."
Kono tried to slow her breathing down, but she wasn't having much luck. The truth was, her head was pounding and the room was starting to spin.
Danny watched her eyes roll back and saw the color drain from her face and he hurried to get her lying back down again. "Shit. Just keep breathing deep, Kono. You've got this, sweetheart."
Steve pulled a couple of cushions down from the back of the couch and used them to prop her feet up, needing to get them above her heart to stave off a potential blackout situation.
Chin had tossed the cold towels to Danny before grabbing Kono's phone from her desk and searching for Dr. Lau's number. He was pretty sure this was just a reaction to stress, but he didn't want to take any chances with his younger cousin.
Danny worried as Kono's eyes kept fluttering shut – he hadn't heard two words out of her other than her screaming, and the frantic silence was unnerving, to say the least.
Steve watched as Chin was patched through to the doctor, and had his own phone out, ready to dial EMS if Dr. Lau wanted him to. Steve noted that Chin's voice was low, but his mannerisms weren't anxious, which seemed like a good sign. Danny was concentrating on getting Kono to come back to the present, and was wiping at her heated skin with the damp cloths.
"Okay…will do, Dr. Lau. Thanks so much." Chin thumbed his phone off and blew out a breath. "Dr. Lau said to keep an eye on her, and to bring her to Queens if she doesn't rally soon. She said that nightmares are very common during this point in pregnancy – something about hormone shifts. She also said that If there's any way to get Kono to share what it was about, it may take some of the power away from it."
Chin cast a worried gaze towards the couch, where Danny was still working to bring Kono out of it. "She's glad, Steve, that you have advanced medical training – you know what to look for in case of shock. Keeping her cool is important, as overheating can cause dizziness and headaches."
Kono's eyes were staying open longer and longer, signaling her sluggish journey back to the present. She was still shaky, though – but Danny got her to take a few sips of water before helping her to sit up.
Steve was ready should she start to go under again, but she at least had more color in her face. He hoped that it meant her blood pressure would stay up high enough to keep her upright.
"There you go…nice and easy." Danny had one arm around her shoulders, and felt her sag against his side.
Her eyes were watery as the adrenaline left her feeling like she had been put through the wringer. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get her hands to stop shaking. She clenched them into fists and released them, for some reason thinking it would help.
She flushed, embarrassed at her actions. The dream had felt so real! Unconsciously, she reached a hand towards her belly, convinced that she would find it flat – making her nightmare an actual disturbing reality.
"Kono? What is it?" Danny saw the despair on her face and couldn't figure out what was causing her distress.
"Is it still there?" Her voice was a tremulous whisper as her hand stopped inches away from her baby bump.
Danny watched as her eyes filled with tears. "Kono?" What did she mean, 'is it still there?'
Her hand fell limply to her side, and she shook her head in panicked alarm. She had taken his relative silence to mean her fear was correct. "No. Danny…no!" She was starting to get worked up again, so Danny grabbed her hands. He had done some quick sorting in his head, and took a gamble as to what her nightmare was about. He quickly placed them against her stomach, covering them warmly with his own.
"It's okay, Kono. See? Your baby sweet potato is just fine." Steve could not help the soft chuff of laughter that broke forth as he heard Danny's description, but whatever the case, it seemed to do the trick. Kono's eyes traveled to her hands, and saw the outline of her baby bump through her shirt. Only then was she able to exhale before attempting to push the dream from her mind as if nothing had happened.
Chin could tell what she was trying to do and pulled a chair to face her. He knew his cousin would try to stuff all of this down deep, thinking it would make her feel better to not talk about it. Chin knew better, though. The unspoken fear would fester until it manifested itself elsewhere, and they all knew that Kono would be the one to suffer when it all came to a head again.
"How are you doing, cuz?" Chin's eyes were warm as he took in her still-pale features.
Kono surprised them all with her honest next words. "It seemed so real. I couldn't get away from it."
Steve switched out the now-warmed cloths with cooler ones, trying to heed Dr. Lau's advice. "What was so real, sweetheart?"
Kono seemed almost shocked to see all three men in the office with her, but given how disoriented she had been, none of them were surprised. "He took the baby."
Danny was the first to ask. "Who did, babe?"
Kono shook her head, trying to shake the cobwebs off. "I know it sounds stupid, but it I was there…at least it felt like I was. You guys showed up – you had been working a brutal case – and you told me that your suspect had killed my baby. I ran into the nursery and it was empty. I remember kind of falling, and I couldn't stop screaming. I guess that's when you guys woke me up."
Danny placed a light kiss against the side of her head as Steve reached for her wrist to check her still-racing pulse.
Kono almost rolled her eyes, but knew that they needed to make sure that she was okay. She didn't really mind too much…that dream had really freaked her out. She shut her eyes and rested her head against the back of the couch. She was utterly exhausted, for some reason. Her head was still pounding and the walls had gone from spinning to merely wavering…but it was enough to keep her feeling like crap.
Steve shook his head as he calculated her heart rate. It was still a little too fast for his liking, but it was trending down to the high end of normal. "Kono?"
Blearily, she opened her eyes and focused on her boss. He gave her a fond smile. "Total honesty, okay? We talked with Dr. Lau, and she said she trusted you to know if you needed to make a hospital run, or if you just needed to go home." She had also told Chin in no uncertain terms that if they didn't agree with her assessment, they were to overrule Kono and bring her in regardless.
Kono rubbed at her belly and tried to steady her nerves. "My head is pounding and I'm still a little dizzy, but I think I just want to go home."
Steve and Chin both studied her intently, knowing they could pick up on a lie if one was there. But ultimately, they agreed that she was stable enough. She just needed some down time, away from the frantic nature of the office. Forging ahead on steam hadn't done any of the team any good – and Steve stood to place a call to the governor, standing Five-0 down for the next twenty-four hours, unless they caught a break in the case.
They were all running on fumes, and unless they got some rest, this kidnapping case was going to blow up in their faces. Duke would head up an HPD squad to canvas the neighborhood and knock on doors. It was a vital piece to their investigation, but Steve knew that they couldn't be the ones working that angle right now.
While Steve was on the phone, Danny was encouraging Kono to drink a little more water, while Chin grabbed a few things that he needed to take home with him. Even though they were off for the next little while, he felt that they still owed it to Kelsey to try to find her killer.
Danny left Kono on the couch, nursing her water, while he rummaged around and grabbed her things. Steve and Chin were still occupied, so once he had what he needed, he sat back down next to her. "Do you mind if I hang out tonight? I don't think I want you to be alone after all of that…we can just hang on the couch and watch movies or something?"
Kono nodded gratefully. She didn't want to ask Danny, but she hadn't been looking forward to a night at home alone.
Danny stood and held out a hand to pull her up. "Good. We'll get you some Tylenol and some comfy clothes, and just make it a movie marathon kind of night."
She reached her arms up and wrapped them tightly around his neck. "Thank you." Her words were a whisper, but Danny heard their meaning loud and clear. She would be okay tonight…he would make sure of it.
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