CHAPTER THIRTY

Title: "Salvation: Forever and Always: Elusive Dreams – PART III"

Author: Michelle Heath

Rating: MA for adult situations and language

Summary: Story #9 in the Salvation series. The bonds of family bring the Five-0 ohana even closer.

Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!

Date Written: November 24, 2012

(Since Caroline is still on leave and Steve told Danny to take whatever time he needed, the Williams' decide to take Grace to school on Monday morning and then spend the day doing whatever they feel like. A Sunday afternoon phone call from Danny to Mike takes care of a surprise for Caroline, and, once they leave Grace's school, Danny heads for the marina. The delight that is evident on Caroline's face when Danny parks the Camaro in one of the spaces reserved for the Thrashers and tells her they're going to take the boat out pleases him no end. Telling Caroline to sit back and relax, Danny expertly maneuvers the sailboat out into open water. Once they've cleared the marina, Caroline jumps right in and starts rigging sails and they're soon flying across the beautiful blue water. When Caroline says she would love to go swimming but doesn't have her suit, Danny shoots her a little grin and tells her to go below and look in the master cabin. A few minutes later, Caroline comes back topside wearing a mint green bikini and gives her husband a serious kiss.)

"Danny Williams, you are absolutely the sweetest man alive!"

"Just now figuring that out, Gorgeous?"

"Stop! What I can't figure out is how you managed to get my swim suit down to the master cabin when we've both been topside since we got on the boat."

"Remember when you and Grace ran to the grocery store yesterday afternoon?"

"Yeah."

"Your dad came by and picked up an overnight bag for us and I asked him to leave your swim suit lying on the bed."

"An overnight bag? Danny, did you just tell me we're going to spend the night out here, just the two of us?"

"I did."

"Oh. My. God! I love you so much, Danny."

"Yeah, I know. Love you, too. Mike also said he was going to stock the galley for us and said to stay out as long as we liked. . . I thought we needed some time, just you and me, away from everybody and everything."

"Yeah, Romeo, we do."

"Hey, I didn't mean to put a damper on things, Caroline. You're not to, you know, cry or anything, are you?"

"No, Danny, I'm not; at least, not right now. It's kind of weird losing two months of your life. The last thing I remember until a couple of days ago is waking up in S.I.C.U. and you telling me I'd been in an accident and then realizing I'd lost the baby."

"Caroline, do you remember the actual accident itself?"

"Yes. This car came out of nowhere, Danny, and he was flying. He was behind a truck and I didn't see him until he was almost on top of me. Maybe if I'd realized he was going to hit me a split-second sooner. ."

"Hey, don't go there, Caroline. There was nothing you could have done to prevent the accident from happening."

"What about the other driver, Danny?"

"Caroline, do you really want to talk about this right now?"

"Yes, Danny, I do. Tell me. Please."

"The other driver was killed in the accident. It . . It was Edward Powell, III, Caroline; the same guy who hit Lana."

"And because of his family he had to pay a fine and do community service and then he got drunk again and hit me killing our child in the process?"

(Caroline's voice has been getting louder and louder as she's been talking and the expression of anger on her face scares Danny a little.)

"He wasn't drunk when he hit you, Caroline. Max ran the tests three times; there was no alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the accident. But, Max also believes that Powell was suffering from a brain disorder that's caused by constant ingestion of large amount of alcohol. . . . Caroline, your mom mentioned something to me that, at the time, I really didn't want to think about because you were . . . Well, anyway, I think she may be on to something."

"What'd she say?"

"That, because Powell died in the accident, we should file a civil suit against his estate and, if we win, use whatever financial award we receive to establish a foundation of some kind for victims of drunk drivers."

(Caroline thinks over what Danny has just said for several minutes but, finally looks at him with a determined expression.)

"I think Mom's right, Danny. As long as people like the Powells are allowed to get away with buying their way out of jail time, people are going to continue to be hurt. I think we should do it and I like the idea of establishing a fund for victims of drunk drivers."

"Okay, then, Gorgeous, we'll do it. It's not going to be easy, Caroline; some of the testimony is going to be hard to deal with."

"I know, but if we have a chance to do something that will bring the tragedy of what happened to us, and happens to thousands of other people, to the public's attention, maybe some laws providing for harsher punishments will be passed."

"You're an amazing person, Caroline, and I love you very much. We'll get through this together and, one day, we'll be able to move on with our lives."

"Do you want to try again, Danny? To have a baby?"

"Do you?"

"I . . I'm not sure what I'm feeling at the moment."

"Then let's postpone this discussion until you're. . We're both ready. Right now, it's just you and me in the middle of the ocean and we can stay out here as long as you want."

"I love you, Danny."