A/N: I had a much longer epilogue written but it just didn't work, so I've dumped all that into the Deleted Scenes and I'm just posting my original epilogue instead. Deleted scenes will be posted over the next several days as I have time.

Much thanks to Cubit2 for her encouragement on several chapters. Also much thanks to my reviewers- especially those of you who consistently review week after week! You guys are awesome!

EDIT: Sorry, just added the missing Monday scene!

Monday morning:

Whatever Chin had expected to see when he and Kono arrived at the office, miles of police tape, bomb dogs, and a frightening amount of debris were not it. He had little to say as he and his cousin exited the car and stared in surprise at their beloved office building… or, rather, what seemed like the remains of it.

"You don't think Steve got bored and actually blew it up, do you?" Kono broke the silence, eyeing a large pile of destruction on the lawn. "Because I was kidding about it when we were on the beach."

"No…" but his tone remained doubtful. Chin didn't think Steve would blow up an iconic government landmark on purpose, but given his penchant for explosives and the boredom Danny had expressed over the phone, he felt like some kind of accident could be possible.

Following Kono inside and up the stairs, he was pleasantly surprised to note that much of the interior was intact. There was some scattered glass and piecemeal junk, but overall the damage wasn't bad.

The office, however, was a different story. Chin and Kono ducked under yet another round of police tape, opened the doors, and stopped in shock.

The place was in shambles. Glass, dirt, and dust littered the floor, along with the remnants of various electronics and office supplies. Some of it had been swept into little piles, and there were defined pathways leading from door to door, but the carnage was overwhelming. Papers and files and cabinets were scattered recklessly throughout the space, the large screen in the bullpen was broken and…

"Is that a bullet hole?" Kono bent over, examining the crater in the floor. "It is!" Startled, she looked around the office again with fresh eyes. "Is that blood?"

Chin, who had been assessing the damage to his own office, hurried over at these words. However, as he crossed the room, he noticed something else and gave Kono a sudden nudge. Holding a finger to his lips, he crept toward the boss's door and peered inside.

The office had been swept out and was cleaner than the rest of the place, but it was also obvious from the piles of trash outside (and the relative emptiness of the room inside) that his office had borne the brunt of the damage. But it wasn't the paneless windows or empty shelves that caught Chin's eye, but rather the two figures lying prone in dark green sleeping bags.

Tapping Kono's shoulder, he pointed to Steve, who was closest, and indicated the small bracelet around his wrist. 'Hospital,' he mouthed silently.

Kono, in turn, pointed to Danny. A similar piece of jewelry adorned his wrist and a pile of pill bottles sat on the desk behind them.

The cousins retreated.

"Camping?" Chin recalled quietly when they were safely out of earshot.

Kono snorted.

"Are they lying?" Chin asked, looking around, not quite believing what his eyes were seeing.

"Lying, definitely," Kono returned. Seizing a newspaper from the waste bin, she held up Sunday's headline. No words were necessary as the picture featured their very own Commander astride a white horse, galloping down the streets. The photo was obviously taken from a traffic or security camera in the vicinity, and Chin chuckled as he read the caption underneath. Mysterious Explosion at the Palace. And beneath it: Possible terrorist incident? HPD says 'No comment.'

"Never a dull moment, eh?" he said, but Kono had disappeared. A moment later, there was a snort and she emerged from the breakroom with a strange contraption in one hand.

"Um, cuz? What happened to the coffee pot?"

Epilogue:

Steve stared at the small, black thumb drive in his hand. So small, so innocuous… He had lied to Thule when the Colonel asked him whether he'd had a chance to view the files. "Not enough time," Steve had said, but that was a lie. He'd found the microSD hours ago when he first located the horse wandering through a grassy field southeast of Oahu, and he'd removed it and hidden it then. Upon returning to the office, he immediately copied it, and then, right after Danny left with the governor, he transferred both the original and the copy to his boots. One in the left; the other in the right.

Now at home and alone, he studied the small piece of plastic and metal that had caused so much destruction and havoc.

"Curiosity killed the cat," he muttered, turning it over between his fingers. But still…

He took it into the study and stared for a long time at his computer while an inner war waged over his next decision. He finally pushed the drive into the USB slot.

And immediately pulled it out again.

Danny would kill him. Danny would kill him if Danny ever actually saw him again, and that was unlikely considering the warning Thule had given him in the bunker under the grassy hill. If anyone had the power to make him disappear forever, it was likely Thule.

Sighing, he walked down to the beach and sat in the sand, the device still in his hand. He should never have made the copy. The temptation was almost overwhelming. He should just toss it into the ocean and be done with it. He could do it now, in fact- the vast waters of the Pacific washed against his backyard; it would certainly be easy enough.

But something stopped him.

A faint, nagging sensation. A small worry that, like his mother's microfiche, this could provide some form of protection in the future. A guarantee of safety from higher powers.

He tucked the thumb drive into his pocket and went back inside. He stared at the rug in the living room for a moment. Then he sighed.

Bending down, he lifted the rug and rolled it back. The boards underneath were old and worn with age, their finish faded and chipped after decades of use. Steve flicked his pocket knife open and gently prodded one board where a small scrape marred the edge. Doris had shown him this spot several years ago, not willingly, of course, and as far as Steve knew, only he and his mother were aware of it. He needed to fix and sand the small scrape- it was too obvious now- but that would be a good summer project.

The board popped free, and Steve shone his flashlight into the gap. The space under the boards was dark and musty, but relatively clean. No signs of rats or rodents to run off with his precious cargo. He carefully nestled the small device down in the crevice. The he dropped the board back into its spot, replaced the rug, and stepped back.

"Just in case," he muttered, studying his handiwork. "Just in case…"

A/N: I started a short story about Steve's week of community service. (Needless to say, it doesn't go as planned.) I've also got a short story involving cockroaches, and a possible sequel to the Bunker, plus a mystery story involving Chin. Haven't decided which one to do next, but going on a short hiatus for the moment.