Chapter 16: Is it Love?

Francois's Hideout

"Why are you back here?" Declan questioned his wife as she walked around the house which they were renting (under aliases, of course) for their stay in Hawaii.

It isn't a stay, it's Odette's way of spitting in Ali's face, Declan told himself. At least I slipped the flash drive on Ali's desk.

"I told you," she replied, a little viciously as she lugged an enormous case which held a rifle within it. "In an hour, Ali and her team are going to be at the scene of Professor DeBroglie's car crash. I needed to get my rifle because Francois forgot to think things through."

"Why are you dragging this out, Odette? Why are you even a part of this?" Declan asked angrily.

"What do you mean? I'm doing a job, Declan!" she shouted, putting the case down on the floor because of its heaviness.

"I am telling you this as your husband, Odette," Declan said, in the most serious tone he's ever used. "You're murdering your best friend for money-"

"Thirty eight million dollars!"

"I don't care how much it is!" he screamed and the look on Odette's face was one of shock and alarm. "You're acting like killing people is a game of Life. Well it's not, Odette, its not!"

Odette didn't reply, her eyes were vacant shells; where there once was emotion-love, joy and cheerfulness-there was now only lust for the money. It made Declan sick; he couldn't take lying to Ali, the girl who saved his life countless times, attended his wedding and was one of his best friends. That's why he went to talk with her earlier. He was planning on confessing to her, but then he thought of Odette and Francois and all he could do was complain about work, but he did put a flash drive on her desk with an outline of Odette's plan, pictures of her and Francois. Declan didn't know why handing her a flash drive was easier than simply telling her, but he had done something now. Hadn't he?

"At least answer me this," he tried again. "Why did you approach her? Why are you going to make that betrayal worse for her than it already is?"

"I had to talk to her, make her think we're best friends. I had to act normal, Declan, because she's still under the impression that we're friends!" Odette explained in a childish whine. "It would have been problematic if I didn't call!"

Odette lifted the giant case and walked into the kitchen where she placed the box on the kitchen island. Declan followed her with hope that if he said something to her, she would end the operation. Everything was against him, though. Nothing, nothing would convince her that she was wrong. Even with that knowledge that his wife would not listen to him, Declan had to hold on to that small hope, to that one percent chance, that something would click in her mind.

"You can't do this," he stated as the revolting stench of decaying corpses from the basement made its way to his nostrils. He was sick for still being in the house, for being in on the plot.

"Or what?" Odette scoffed. "You'll leave me?"

Declan's mind began to spin. Odette's stubbornness, the insane stress he was under and the stench… the disgusting stench which had been circulating his respiratory system for however long they had been there, all contributed to this nervous breakdown.

"I'm not helping you kill her or kidnap her," Declan informed.

"What are you talking about? Stop whining and help me put this in the car," Odette ignored him.

What Declan was planning to say next was going to be hard for him. He had finally lost that small hope that had kept him sticking around. The only thing that mattered now was making sure Ali didn't die.

"I miss who you used to be," he whispered and turned to leave.

"Where is that courage from? Huh?" Odette demanded.

Declan knew it was a shock to her that he actually was leaving, but the truth was that all that fear he had must have turned into anger. Anger was his motivation right now; this wasn't a choice made by being brave, it was the right thing. If Odette couldn't see that, he wasn't going to stick around and watch her ruin her life and their marriage.

H5-0

Scene of the Crash, Hawaii Pacific University Campus

"This isn't just a regular crash," Ali brought up as she and Steve stood near the back doors of an ambulance that had crashed through the walls of a building on the campus of HPU.

Steve immediately ordered his team to the scene of the crash because DeBroglie had helped them with the symbol and the tattoo. What if he had helped them too much and was killed for it? Francois killed him for helping the team.

"There's two males tied up in the front seat, there was a weight on the accelerator and he has a bullet hole through his head," Steve noted, focusing on the scene inside. "Maybe Danny and Chin are finding some clues inside DeBroglie's office."

This is really pissing me off, he thought heatedly.

DeBroglie was laying on a gurney, dead. There was a bullet hole in his forehead, but the blood had been cleaned off. When he inspected the front seats earlier, there were two men who had been stripped of their clothes and the assailant had placed a book, that Steve knew belonged to the professor because of an inscription on the inside, on the gas pedal.

Steve found it hard to believe that the Russian mercenary, Vlotkosvsky, was behind all this. He knew that the root of the problem was Francois, he knew that Francois hired Vlotkovsky, but he didn't think Vlotkovsky was still on Ali. It was taking too long, which was even more painful for Steve and he hated having to admit that. He hated not being by Ali all the time because he was afraid of what would happen to her. Francois was dragging this on, he was toying with her.

"I think Francois fired the Russian," Steve said as Ali's blue eyes focused on him.

Each time he looked into them he didn't think of Ali as an agent of the CIA, but as that teenage girl. She wasn't somebody who knew how to use a gun, fight almost as well as he could, and think objectively while under pressure. Ali was still the girl who became flustered when put in an awkward situation and practiced dancing in Krystyna's living room when she thought nobody was home. That's why he was so afraid for her life, he wasn't used to the fighter within her…

September 2001

"Man, I can't believe I survived a year in the Navy," Steve remarked to Max as they pulled up in front of Krystyna's house. "It's weird having a month off and going back next week in September."

The two friends were at a ceremony for Steve and Max asked to tag along to see Catherine, a girl Max was sweet on. Steve was wearing his milkman uniform, a white uniform that had no insignias or medals… yet.

"I can't believe I'm still living at home," Max sardonically replied making Steve laugh. "And working at the Chem lab at UH."

"You're a poor college kid," Steve said as the two friends got out of the old Mustang. "Be happy you've got a place to live."

"Yeah, it was either this or move into Josef's new house," Max nodded his head. "I don't want to be around Leah while she's planning the wedding."

"I heard they got engaged," Steve brought up.

"Yeah, my brother finally grew some balls and asked her," Max laughed as they jogged up the wooden, white steps of his home.

"Man everybody's getting old," Steve shook his head as his friend looked through the front window of the house.

"Everybody except her," Max remarked pointing at something that was on the other side of the window.

Steve leaned in to see what he was pointing at and saw the skinny, thirteen year old Sarna sibling moving around in a rhythmic pattern.

"Dancing?" he asked Max.

"Yeah, she wants to be on the dance team at Kukui," Max informed. "Our old neighbor in Detroit was this Russian lady from Moscow, ballet's big there I guess. She taught Vanilla Ice to dance."

"She's not just throwing random moves out there," Steve acknowledged as the girl spun around on her toe.

Max laughed when his sister fumbled. Steve knew it wasn't to be spiteful, it's just what older brother's did.

There was something about the teenage girl that was different. She didn't stress over boys, like Steve's own sister did, and she didn't treat clothes and makeup as if they were the most important things; although Max did complain about how insecure Alexandra was. Maybe that's why she was so different. She was a pretty, genuine girl who didn't throw it other's faces.

"She's a good person, Max," Steve told him. "You don't have to worry about her so much."

"I know," Max replied as he knocked on the window to annoy his little sister.

He saw the girl fall to the floor and glare at her brother through the glass.

"Come on," his companion urged as he opened the screen door and walked inside.

When Steve walked inside the house, he noticed that the living room had been slightly moved around by Alexandra. All the furniture had been shoved off to the sides, revealing the oak floor and giving her more room to dance.

"I was halfway done!" she accused in an angered tone.

"Chill, Vanilla Ice!" Max raised his hands up in defeat. "I've got company."

"You don't have any friends," Alexandra attacked, making Steve laugh as he stepped further inside.

He saw her eyes widen and her mouth fall open. He assumed that she must have been intimidated by Steve in his uniform. The kid had never seen military personnel in her house and so up close.

"Hey," he greeted, slightly waving at her.

"Hi," she mumbled as she stood up and left the living room.

"Hey!" Max shouted after her. "Clean up! We want to watch TV!"

The slamming of the back door was what Max received in reply and Steve couldn't help but express his amusement.

"Still think she's a good person?" Max began to laugh

"I think you just got burned by a high school freshman."

"Whatever."

….

"Steve?" Ali's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Sorry?" he asked, realizing he was still looking at her.

She's the same, but different, he decided. She's grown.

"I think you're right about Vlotkovsky," Ali said. "He's an assassin, he wouldn't be playing games with me. This has to be Francois himself."

"Ali, he's sending a message, I don't want you by yourself-"

"He's saying he'll kill anybody helping me," Ali countered. "I think I have the right to be more worried about you and the team and my brother's family."

"I'm not saying you don't, but he wants to kill you. Not us," Steve pointed out. "You have to promise that you won't run around guns blazi-

"Like you?" Ali interrupted.

"Babe," he whispered, realizing that he used a term of endearment for the first time. "Promise me."

Ali looked as if she wanted to say something important to him. Her lips were parted, but no words came from her mouth.

"Ali," he demanded.

"I promise," she agreed, turning to face the ambulance.

"Thank you," he sighed, and if he were allowed he would have kissed her cheek, but they were working and that was where he had to draw the line. "I'm gonna' go grab one of those evidence bags."

Ali nodded in agreement, "I'll check around the front again, maybe we missed something."

Steve turned to walk towards Kono's car. He had driven in his truck which had no evidence bags, but he knew Kono would have them in her Cruze.

"Kono!" he called to the rookie, who was questioning witnesses.

She quickly said something to the bystanders and parted ways with them.

"Excuse me!" he heard Danny's voice from the crowd that had gathered along the crime scene tape. "Clear the way! We're cops!"

I'll see what they found in the office, he instructed himself.

"Yeah, boss?" Kono asked when she finally reached him.

"Grab some bags from your car and help Ali tag-"

Steve didn't get to finish his statement. He was stopped by people screaming, Danny and Chin running from the crowd and Kono gasping. He turned around to see Ali on the ground. He felt his heart stop in his chest. His feet were moving before he had time to think and he on his knees beside Ali. Her light shirt was becoming stained with blood that was seeping from her body. Steve wasn't a super religious man, but he began to pray that whatever it was that hit her didn't pierce through the linings of her stomach. He couldn't let her die, not when she was the only thing that made sense in his life right now.

"Call an ambulance!" he shouted out to everybody as he lifted her shirt to see if he could stop the bleeding.

Ali's breathing was erratic even though she was trying to keep it steady. She wasn't crying or screaming, she was just trying to keep her breathing steady. This helped Steve tremendously because he wouldn't have been able look at the wound if she was freaking out, even though she had every right to be.

Steve saw that her entire front had been grazed by a bullet. It had been a sniper that shot her, Francois shot her, but he missed. He wouldn't try again, though. Ali fell to the ground, Francois had to think she was dead, but she wasn't and Steve thanked God, Jesus, the saints, the freaking angels that she wasn't dead.

He looked at the trajectory of the bullet; it scraped her right set of ribs and made its way diagonally across her abdomen. He couldn't tell if she would have scars because he didn't know how deep the grazing was. He needed to find a way to secure her, to keep her calm until the ambulance arrived.

"Just take even breaths," Kono assured.

Steve hadn't noticed Kono next to him. In fact he hadn't noticed that Danny was screaming away into his phone, that Chin was barking out orders to cops in uniforms or that Kono was talking to Ali, assuring her that she would live.

"It's only a graze, Ali," Steve explained as he felt rage beginning to overwhelm him.

He couldn't wait to find Francois and wrap his hands around the Frenchman's neck. He couldn't wait to allow hell to break loose when he found Francois.

"God, it feels," she let out, pausing to take a breath. "L-like t-the floating ribs are piercing my thoracic diaphragm."

"The nurse comes out when you're hurt," Steve slightly smiled as he held onto her hand and the blaring noise of an ambulance made itself audible.

"Just hold on," Kono encouraged, looking at Steve with a troubled look in her eyes.

H5-0

Queens Hospital

Steve sat in a chair in Queens Hospital with Little Max seated on his lap. The boy's head was buried in Steve's chest while his arms were wrapped around the SEAL's neck. He began bouncing Max on his knees; he pretended that he was only doing it to comfort Max, but he knew that he was doing it to relieve the pent up stress he had.

"My sister," he heard Leah whisper. The woman was trying to keep herself composed for her son, but Steve could tell that both she and Josef were having a hard time comprehending what was happening.

Steve hadn't realized that Ali didn't tell her family that Francois was after her ; when they came in they demanded to know everything. He explained to the couple some of the more bearable details, but excluded the ones of Ali's mission in Estonia and that she was being hunted (he told them the team was targeted).

"Ali!" Little Max wailed into Steve's chest.

Steve placed his hand on Max's head to comfort him, "Hey, Max."

"Uncle Steve," Max gazed up at Steve, teary-eyed. "I don't want Aunt Ali to die!"

"Ali isn't going to die, Max," Steve hugged him, not knowing what to say to the child. Steve remembered when he was a child, hearing that one of the adults in his life was hurt scared him and he didn't want Max to be afraid.

"Ali's just helping somebody get better because she's a nurse, son," Josef intervened as Max wiped his nose.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, baby," Leah lied. "Steve, we have to take him to get food. He hasn't eaten."

"You want me to-"

"We'll take him," Leah reassured.

"Max," Josef called as Max hopped off of Steve's lap and ran to his father's open hand.

"Do you want to come with us?" Leah questioned as Steve stood, intending to tag along.

"Steve!" Danny's voice echoed through the hall as the blonde detective nearly collided with a doctor.

"Can you just bring some coffees?" he asked, changing his plans and realizing how tired he really was.

"Steve," Danny breathily said as he neared Steve.

"Danny," he greeted, then slumping back down into his chair. "She's safe, Danny."

"That's good," Danny nodded his head, sitting in the chair beside Steve.

"Danny," he began, not knowing how to word his next statement. "She's different."

"I know, she's tough as nails –"

"I mean from the girls I dated before her," Steve revealed as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I knew you two were dating," Danny commented after a few seconds of silence. "It sounds like you two are in love."

Steve sighed. Was he in love? Was that what he felt towards Ali? Things definitely changed in the past few weeks because of her; hell, six years ago she changed his life. She may have not been the first woman he became nervous around, but she was the first that he could imagine himself being with in a substantial relationship.

He finally replied, "Sounds like it."

"What's going to happen?" Danny asked.

"We've been on dates-"

"No- again, you're a caveman- I meant with the case," Danny explained.

"I find Francois and kill him," Steve vowed.

"As your friend, I agree with killing him," Danny began. "But as a cop, I've got to say you have to use your head. Even you know that, Steven."

"He hurt her, Daniel. I'm not letting that slide just because she's okay."

I feel like this was very cliché, but who doesn't love a guy who goes crazy because his girlfriend was hurt? The next chapter will expound more on this new issue of the teams and I want to say thanks to everybody who has read and reviewed. You guys keep me writing with a smile!