Chapter Four "Supernatural"

I just looked at the Hawaii Five-0 page and there are lots of new and updated stories, yay!

This chapter is a bit longer and has a lot more of Danny and Kono, but we all love them, right? Thanks again for all the reviews and favorites and stuff. It's great to know people like my story.

Danny had decided before entering the hotel suite that he was not going to take anything the victims' wives said at face value. The case was beginning to get weirder. Maybe the wives knew something, maybe they didn't. It was more likely that they did.

Danny decided to start with Jenny Lee.

"A cult?" she replied to his first question.

"This is surprising?" Danny already knew the answer she would give, but thus far, she hadn't been very convincing.

"Of course," Jenny said. "I mean, Chis was a spiritual person, they all were, but never anything so drastic."

"Can you be sure of that?"

"You think I don't know my own husband? I worked with him and the others every day."

"We find that people often don't know those closest to them as well as they think."

"I knew my husband." Jenny crossed her arms.

"Well, then I have to ask. Did you have any knowledge of these?" Danny handed Jenny some of the e-mails.

She flipped through them and quickly replied, "No."

"Then maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought."

She resented that. Danny was beyond caring. Something about Jenny Lee rubbed him wrong.

According to Kono the other wives were equally clueless, but not so resistant.

"I think Mrs. Lee knows something," Danny said as they headed for the car.

"You think?" Kono asked, opening the passenger door of the Camaro.

"She goes on about how well she knows her husband and all that crap and then takes a millisecond look at the e-mails and says she knows nothing. It doesn't add up."

They started down the road back to the office.

"That is odd, because the others actually read them. They acted shocked."

"So, Jenny Lee is a creepy widow, what else do we know?"

"Well, if she's as paranoid as they were, it makes sense she wouldn't want to say anything."

"So we need to find out if she had any contact with the vics about this cult thing."

"And figure out who actually wanted them dead."

"Yeah, there's the little matter of that."

"You really miss Steve don't you?"

"What? No! Why would you say that?"

"Because you're more stressed than usual."

"Oh, more than usual?"

"Yeah, usually you're stressing about your daughter, your ex, Steve's crap..."

"Okay, what's your point?"

"Steve's not here."

"What does that mean?"

"You have to stress about something else."

"And what's that?"

"Steve not being here. You're not used to making all the decisions."

"Where is all this coming from?" Danny looked across the car at Kono.

"I just think you should know that we're all a little on edge because of this."

"Okay, so can we get back to the case now?"

"No," Kono insisted.

"What?"

"I had something else in mind."

H-5-O

That evening was spent in far too domestic a fashion for Steve's tastes. McKenzie made grilled cheese after which the two of them sat on opposite ends of the couch, reading in silence. To his credit, Steve was actually trying to be interested in the adventures of Digory and Polly. Trying with little success. When he got to the part where Polly suddenly disappeared, his eyebrows shot up. The snapping sound of a quickly turned page made McKenzie look up.

"Don't make that face," Steve said without looking up.

McKenzie pressed her lips together and didn't say a word.

The pages began flipping faster until Steve finally closed the book. McKenzie had long since fallen asleep in her corner. He smirked, set the book on the coffee table, and covered McKenzie with a blanket. Then he rubbed his eyes and realized he'd been reading too long. So, he turned off the lights, checked that the house was secure, and went to bed.

It was four AM before McKenzie started screaming again. Steve was becoming used to it, but it still gave him a chilled feeling as he automatically leaped out of bed and rushed to her. This time was different though. She was wide awake on the couch. He could see her wide eyes in the dark and hear her panting breath. He set his gun on the coffee table, next to the big, black book.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I saw it; I remember," she said, seeming to be on the verge of tears.

"What do you remember?" Steve asked, reaching out and holding her forearms.

"Everything. Everything."

"Okay, just calm down. Breathe."

McKenzie took several deep breaths. "I'm sorry," she said.

"What? Why?"

"I... I just..."

"Look, McKenzie, there's nothing to be sorry for. Just try to be calm. There's no hurry."

McKenzie nodded several times and tried the breathing again. As her respiration slowed, she seemed to relax.

"Go back to sleep," Steve whispered, and smoothed back the hair sticking to McKenzie's sweaty forehead.

"But..." she started.

"Shh, go to sleep. You can tell me in the morning."

Steve helped McKenzie lay back down and covered her up again. If she hadn't been so tired, she might have resisted. As it was, she closed her eyes and fell asleep within minutes.

Steve stood beside the couch for several minutes after McKenzie's breathing became regular. Then he decided it was about time he checked in with the team. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that at four AM.

H-5-O

"I'm not sure if I've explained this to you," Danny said as Kono parked the Camaro. "I hate the beach."

"I know." Kono smirked. "But you need a break."

Danny inhaled through his teeth. "I'm thinking not."

"Hey, I got you this far." Kono shrugged and got out of the car. "You don't even have to get wet. Just sit there and relax."

"Yeah, like I can relax thinking about all the places I'm going to find sand for the next year." Danny closed his own door and glared at the vicious waves.

"Stop being such a drama queen." Kono tossed Danny a towel and turned and walked down the path to a large beach.

There weren't many people there because it was the middle of the week so Kono chose a nice spot and laid out her towel on the sand.

"Have I also mentioned what an incredible waste of time this is?" Danny asked, gingerly laying his towel next to hers.

"Once or twice," Kono said. "Don't worry about it. Chin is looking for more information on the creepy cult thing. We can get a fresh start in the morning."

"So, we're just supposed to waste the entire afternoon?"

Kono sighed and laid down on her towel. Danny sat down because he didn't know what else to do. There really wasn't anything he could do and he would be just as useless at the office as on the beach. It was just that being in the office made him feel a little less useless.

After a few minutes, Kono turned over and looked up at Danny.

"You should put on some sunscreen," she said, and reached into her bag for it.

Danny stared at her for a second. He couldn't argue.

H-5-O

Steve found that going back to sleep would not be feasible. He thought it ironic that he was losing more sleep than McKenzie. He sat in the chair at the foot of the couch and turned on a small lamp. He picked up the book and found his place. He had finished book one and began book two. The idea of walking trough a closet into a world full of nasty witches and animate trees was sort of creepy in the darkness of a strange living room, but Steve read several chapters before the sun rose. He wasn't sure if it was just him, but every time Edmund snapped at someone he was reminded of Danny.

Closing the book, Steve thought of McKenzie's strange vision of Danny lying on the floor. By this time, he couldn't deny that he was worried about his team. And he had a good reason. If McKenzie was worried about them, it might be saying something about the murderer. It might be a rational fear that she simply couldn't express.

So, Steve stared at the clock, waiting for the time he could call and make sure everyone was okay.

H-5-O

Danny woke up with the sun in his eyes. Why was the sun in his eyes? He found himself laying on the beach. The sun was going down. Then he remembered where he was. He still didn't know why. Kono was just coming back from surfing. Something about her looked more natural when she was wet, Danny thought.

She grinned at his confused expression as she lay down her board and sat down.

"Did you have a nice rest?" she asked.

"Yeah," Danny replied. He decided not to make any sarcastic comments.

"Chin called earlier. He said he found some connections to the weird cult thing in Chicago and he'd make some calls. It's going to be sort of difficult to piece this together if the murderer followed them from there."

"I guess we can hope Steve's making headway with the witness, though that seems unlikely."

"Why?"

"From what the psychologist said when I was there, I don't think she's going to be very helpful."

"Well, leave it to Steve McGarrett to defy all odds."

Danny nodded. For a while neither of them said anything.

"I think you were right," Danny finally said, staring out at the ocean.

"What about?" Kono asked, looking over at him.

"It is kind of weird without him."

"We're doing okay, though, right?"

"Yeah, we're all right." Danny finally looked at Kono. There was something more to the question and the answer than either of them meant. But even then, they knew it.

"You know," Kono said, "there's been something I've been meaning to say for a long time, but I haven't got the chance."

Danny didn't reply, but waited for her to continue. However, she didn't get a chance, because just then a shrill voice called out,

"Daddy!"

Danny's head snapped in the direction of his daughter's voice. He scrambled to his feet and rushed over to her, much to his knee's annoyance.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, picking her up and hugging her.

"Mommy and Stan wanted to go for a walk," Grace replied, pointing to her mother and step-father a little way off. Then she wiggled out of Danny's arms and went to ask Rachel something. Danny waited, not making eye contact with Rachel or Stan. Soon, Grace came back with a big grin on her face.

"Mommy says I can stay with you till we go home."

"That's great, Monkey," Danny said, leading her back over to where Kono was sitting. "You remember Kono, right?"

"Sure." Grace sat down next to Kono. "Daddy, can we build a sandcastle?"

"Hey," Kono said, "why don't I help you build a castle and your daddy can supervise?"

"Okay." Grace grinned and moved off the towel.

Danny sat down to watch them, grateful that Kono alleviated his stress over the idea of actually touching the sand. It wasn't as if he didn't have some on him already.

They didn't have any buckets or shovels, so the two girls just built up towers with their hands. Grace would periodically ask Danny if they were doing it right. He would say things like their architectural genius was astounding. Grace and Kono would laugh and keep building. It was almost dark by the time Grace had to leave. Danny and Kono watched her go in silence. The beach was nearly empty.

"What was it you wanted to say?" Danny asked as they began shaking the sand out of their towels.

"Oh, it can wait," Kono said, pulling her clothes on over her swimsuit.

Danny gave her a confused look, but she seemed to be purposefully avoiding eye contact. He wondered if he should press.

"Well," he said, "if you've been waiting so long..." He left it at that. If she wanted to say anything she would.

Kono folded her towel and put it in her bag. "It's sort of embarrassing," she said, glad of the dim light. "But for a while now, I've kind of liked you."

"What? Liked me? You mean...?"

"Yes, what else could I mean?"

"Well, it's just surprising is all."

"Well, do you like me?"

"Oh, I thought that was pretty obvious."

"It wasn't. Chin said you did, but I couldn't tell."

"Chin?"

"Yeah, I told him because I wanted his opinion."

"What did he say?"

"He said he was sure you liked me and he thought you were a good choice."

Danny felt very warm. Not only did Kono like him, but Chin approved. Both unexpected happenings.

"So, uh." Danny rubbed the back of his head. "What now?"

Kono laughed nervously. "Maybe we should go have dinner?"

H-5-O

Steve called Danny at seven AM. McKenzie was still asleep, which was good because he wasn't supposed to be using the phone.

Danny's phone rang a few times before he answered.

"Whoever you are, go away."

"Hey, Danno. Good morning," Steve said.

"What? Why are you calling me?"

"Well, I guess I assumed you'd be up, since you're usually at work by eight."

"Oh, yeah, work... Well, what do you want?"

"I was just checking to see if everyone was okay."

"If everyone was okay?"

"Yes, why are you repeating me?"

"I don't know, you don't usually call me to see if everyone's okay. Is something wrong?"

"No, I've just been gone a while and I wanted to be sure things were going well."

"Everything's fine. The victims—"

"I don't want to know about the case," Steve interrupted. "I just want to know about all of you."

"We're fine. Why are you asking?"

"Just making sure. Hopefully we'll have something for you soon."

"Oh, the shrink is working?"

"No, I just have a knack for bringing back bad memories."

"Yeah, I know how that feels. Well, I'd love to chat, but as you've reminded me, I'm usually at work by eight."

"Yeah, I'll call you later. Oh, and don't call this number. It's supposed to be for emergencies."

"Emergencies." Danny hung up, and wondered if his life could get any weirder.