CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
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: March 6, 2013
(Being second in command of the entire naval base awards Sam a good bit of power and she doesn't hesitate to use that power as she drives toward her destination. If there was ever an honest-to-God emergency situation on which the rest of her life depended, it is now. Surprisingly, she finds that she is extremely calm and in control once she complete her phone call and, if she's honest, she feels a certain sense of relief. Finally, after carrying around all the guilt she has been harboring for years, the truth is going to come out. The possibility that Steve, Libby, Mike, and Caroline are going to think much less of her after her revelations causes her pain, but she can no longer live with herself, let alone anyone else, if she doesn't get the truth out in the open. . .
Steve's admission that he's totally screwed up and is willing to do whatever it takes to get Sam to forgive him gives Mike hope that his daughter and son-in-law can work through this situation and get their relationship back on track. Of course, Sam has also got to be willing to work things out. Mike is just about to suggest that, since Steve has tried calling Sam's cellular phone numerous times without getting an answer, he try to reach her when Steve tells him he has a call waiting. Praying that it is his missing daughter, Mike waits patiently while Steve checks his caller I.D. The number, however, is not one Steve recognizes and he ignores it to return to his conversation with Mike. Then Mike tells Steve that he has a call waiting and he, too, finds he doesn't recognize the number. Libby's cellular phone rings and, when Mike glances down at the counter as sees the very same number on her phone, he realizes that the same someone, is trying to get in touch with all three of them.)
"Steve, Libby's getting a call on her cellular phone and it's the same number that popped up on mine. Let me see what's going on and I'll call you back in just a minute."
(But Libby has already figured out what is going on and grabs her cellular phone off the counter while handing Emily off to her grandfather. Three minutes and a rather cryptic conversation on Libby's end later, she looks up at Mike with a strange expression on her face. She is just about to tell him who the call was from when Steve calls back on Mike's cellular phone and Libby's rings again with Caroline's cellular number popping up on the caller I.D. Both Thrashers take the calls and, minutes later, look anxiously at one another. Five minutes later, they are in the car and headed to the naval base as are Steve and Caroline and Danny. They all get to the parking lot at the base hospital about the same time but not a one of them has any idea what specifically is happening. Emily spies her father and starts reaching for him as soon as Libby takes her out of her car seat, and Steve, fervently praying that whatever is about to happen will be for the good of everyone involved, takes his precious baby into his strong arms and cuddles her closely. A quick walk inside the building, an elevator ride upstairs, and the group is walking into Capt. Stewart's office where the psychiatrist is waiting. Sam, pale and trembling and obviously having been crying, is sitting in a chair on one end of the two sofas looking for all the world like a lost little girl. When Emily spies her mother, she starts saying, "Mommy, Mommy!", and Steve gently puts her down so she can run into Sam's waiting arms. Sam cuddles her daughter close and returns her kisses as fresh tears start sliding down her face. Capt. Stewart invites Steve, Libby and Mike, and Caroline and Danny to sit down on the two sofas and then sits in the chair opposite Sam explaining that he summoned them all to his office at Sam's request and that this is her meeting. The expressions on the faces of Sam's family are curious and concerned and they are all aware that something important is about to be revealed. Steve, his heart clenching at the obvious distress he sees in Sam's eyes, is doing his damnedest to tell her how very much he loves her and how very sorry he is for his earlier actions with only his eyes. If he and Sam can't work things out between them, it will kill him. Libby, motherly concern oozing from her every pore, is also gazing at Sam as if she wants to leave her seat on the sofa, grab her daughter to her and hold her close, and make whatever it is that has upset her daughter go far, far away, and Mike is right there with her. Caroline's expression is one of mixed confusion and worry and she's also upset that she doesn't know what's wrong with her sister. They've always been close and have always known what was bother each other but, this time, Caroline is drawing a blank and she doesn't like it one bit. Danny, having just been through the worst nightmare of his entire life, glances from Sam to Steve and back again and realizes that something is very, very wrong and his empathy for Steve grows by the second. Once all eyes are looking expectantly in her direction and Emily is pacified by simply being held by her mother, Sam takes a deep breath and begins.)