Back at the hospital Kono had convinced Danny to take a few minutes and grab a breath of fresh air as Chin would still be under for a while. Danny sat on a bench overlooking a man-made pond. People moved all around him….life…Steve was gone and yet the world moved on, people lived their lives. Eventually he pulled out his phone and called Denning.

"Governor, it's Williams"
"Hello Danny. Are you doing any better?"
"Honestly? No….no I'm not. Have they found anything at the site yet?"
"No, not yet. Danny I know you want to get Steve's body back here but you have to give it time. The search could take days"
"We can't get involved? Get the Military there at least? After everything he's done for this Country, we have to help Sir"
"Danny we will, I promise. We will get Steve back to Hawaii. This happened over Japanese airspace and we have to respect and abide by their terms"

Danny released a sigh of desperation that tugged at the Governor's heart. He hated lying to the man like this.
Danny responded softly, "I understand Sir"
"I was just about to go see the pilot's wife. I'll make sure she remains quiet and there's no need for her know that Steve was the passenger"
"Okay, good… thank you Sir. Please keep me updated"
"I will"

Gracie was in school so Danny decided it was the best time to contact Rachel.
"Hello Daniel. I haven't talked to you in a while"
"Rach…." The simple sound of her voice took him over the edge, "Oh God Rachel…"
"Danny? Danny what's wrong?"
She listened as he gasped and choked back tears. After several seconds the words left his lips, "Steve's dead Rachel…he's gone"
She cried out his name, "Danny…oh Danny I'm so sorry. Where are you?"
"I'm at the hospital"
"Let me get a sitter for Charles and I'll be right up"
"No….no…..I just need to wait for Chin to wake up. He doesn't know yet"
"Chin? Danny, tell me what happened"
Danny explained the last twenty four hours to his ex-wife. Stan was out of the country on business and it was decided that Rachel would arrange for the kids to stay with a friend overnight. Danny would spend the day with Chin and then head over to Rachel's around seven o'clock. They needed to talk and to figure out how they were going to break this horrific news to Gracie.

After hanging up, Danny sat quietly for several minutes before heading back up to Chin's room.

50505050505050505050505050

After injecting Steve, the thugs left the room. Matt watched as the drugs took hold of the SEAL and he fought against his restraints, cursing under his breath.
Matt spoke "Steve just relax man…..don't fight it. You'll be okay…...relax"
It only took a couple of minutes for Steve's beaten body to surrender to the sensation of the meth. His knowledge of the drug and the effect it had on the human body and more importantly the brain was vast, but he obviously had never actually experienced the 'rush' until now. It was everything he had heard, he felt his heart racing and he was sweating. His breathing was fast as he mumbled over and over again, "Shit…..shit, shit…"

His brain was racing and images flooded his mind. Images of Danny and Gracie…Chin and Kono…..Catherine….Mom, MaryAnn and Joe. Everyone was smiling, beautiful and happy. He could do this, he could make everything right again. He just had to handle these thugs. There were only six of them…he'd done this before….no problem. As Gracie would say, he is SuperSeal after all. His entire body tingled. He could feel the hairs on his arms, legs and the nape of his neck stand on end. He squirmed until his natural instincts to fight finally gave way and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Matt continued to watch the SEAL intently. There was very little that Danny Williams did not know about his kid brother, but one thing was his past drug use. Matt had begun taking cocaine when he was in college. It had started in his sophomore year. No one in his family understood why he decided to transfer to the University of Miami and as far as he knew, none of them ever knew about his two year addiction. Then there was Darah….beautiful Darah. God he had loved that girl. He had met her in Economics class and they became study partners. It didn't take long for her to invite him to join her co-ed beach volleyball team and they soon became a couple. Matt tried to quit…he loved Darah dearly and he tried to quit the coke, for her…..for them….but he couldn't. And he pulled her into his world. He hated himself for this and he would never be able to forgive himself….he had destroyed her. He killed her just if he had put a bullet into her brain. When he woke up in his apartment with her dead body next to his he knew he would never be the same.

50505050505050505050505050

Danny and Kono were standing next to each other at Chin's bedside as he woke.
Kono smiled lovingly and ran her soft hand gently across his forehead, "Hi cous' it's good to have you back with us"
Danny was holding onto one of his hands firmly and Chin brought his free hand up to his bandaged throat.
Kono grabbed the hand, pulling it down onto the man's chest. She spoke softly, "Don't touch" as she kept her hand on top of it, stroking lightly.

His eye's looked confused as they darted around the room. Danny spoke, "You were shot babe, but the Doc did a great job on you and you're going to be fine"

"Thhir…rss…tyy"
"Okay, let me go see if we can give you anything buddy" Danny turned and briskly left the room.
"Huurts K….kkono"
"I know. You were shot in the throat but they say it was all vascular damage and they were able to repair everything…..you're going to be fine"

Danny returned with the Nurse and after she took his vitals and asked him a few questions she had Danny lift and support his head slightly as she brought a straw to his lips and allowed him to take several small sips of water. The process was obviously very painful and once done Danny placed his head back gently onto the pillow. The Nurse, Connie then spoke to him softly, "Is there anything I can get for you Mr. Kelly. Do you need anything for the pain?"

"No….'m ggood"
She smiled down at him adding, "You're a very lucky man. The Doctor tells me if your Navy SEAL friend here hadn't have been there we would have lost you. You get some rest and call for me if you need anything"

As she left the room, Chin turned his gaze to Danny and Kono, "Where's SS…Stevvee?"
Danny responded quickly, "He's not here right now, but you need to rest okay. We'll talk later"
As his eye's fixed on Kono's she couldn't handle it and she broke down, turning away from the bed.

Danny's hand instinctively reached for her and as he touched her shoulder he heard Chin, "Danny….pplease….wwhat happened?"

The Jersey Detective grabbed Chin's hand and as tears again filled his eye's he said the horrible words, "Chin…there was an accident…...Steve's….Steve's dead Chin, he's gone"
Chin didn't speak, not a word. He closed his eyes tightly, unable to stop the tears that flowed down his cheeks. His nostrils flared and his breathing became labored as he processed the news.

Kono moved in close talking to him softly, "Chin, relax. Slow down your breathing baby"
He choked out the words, "Steve….oh God no, nnot SStevve"
"Sssshhhhhhhhh I know cous'…..I know"
Danny moved to the other side of the bed, taking Chin's hand in his, "Chin, do you need something for the pain?"
"No…I…..I ddon't want….drugs…..Danny what haap…pened?"

As Kono stroked his forehead and cheeks Danny told him all they knew at this point.
When he was done, Chin spoke softly, "This can't be true"
All three sat close, touching and hugging each other. Comforting each other as only families can do.

***** MUCH MORE TO COME, HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING *****