Chapter 6
"Alright, our best bet of winning the guardianship appeal is if we can prove that Jessa is better off staying in your custody." Odell Martin stated.
We had taken over the conference room and the entire table was covered in different laws and forms. We had been at this for two solid days and I felt yet another slow headache work it's way up just before settling behind my eyes. My fingers worked my temples as I tried to register what he had just told me.
"We need evidence, right, I can do that. I'm good at that." My words came out in a confused tumble and Martin met my gaze with a sad smile.
"That's right, buddy, dig up some evidence and we'll win this battle."
I nodded my head, "Right, yeah, okay. I'll dig up some evidence." I pushed through the glass door and was met by four expectant pairs of eyes; everyone, including Jerry, was waiting for some good news. "I've gotta dig up some evidence. Martin says if we can find some proof that Jessa is safer with me then we could win."
"Alright, perfect. Where should we start, boss?" Kono asked heading over to the computer table.
"What- no! You guys don't have to. We don't all need to be consumed by this." I shook my head and my hands rested on my hips, one hand firmly secured on the top of the gun that was forever stapled to my side.
They all gave me their best glares. "Listen, Steve, Jessa may be your daughter, but she's our niece. We're a family and we're doing this. The more eyes we have searching for proof, the better chance we have of finding more. We're going to win this fight together. We go in together, we come out together. That's our team, that's our family." Chin said pointedly.
I nodded my head and an easy smile spread across my face, "Alright. Kono, you think you can find all the case files from when Jes was taken away from the Wrights in the beginning? Danno, can you put together the files we have on their kidnap of her? Chin and Jerry, you guys mind digging up anything Susan Wright might be trying to hide?"
No one gave a confirmation, they all parted ways and began their tasks. A sigh of relief escaped me and I let my shoulders fall a little. We could do this and we would do this. That girl was the one thing that kept me sane and we all knew how bad it would be without her, for all of us. I squared my shoulders again and turned to leave.
"Hey, Steve, where you headed?" Danny questioned, case files in hand.
"Martin said that they're allowing Susan to have visiting privileges. He's been in contact with the governor and they made an arrangement with the judge for me to have the same." I smiled, "I am going to go see my daughter."
His smile matched my own and before heading out of the building I stopped in my office to grab the letter I had written to Jessa. I didn't know whether I would plan on giving it to her or not, but I decided to bring it with me anyways. I climbed into my truck and was on the road in no time.
The group home was fifteen minutes away from HQ and it felt like I was being stopped by every single red light. I grumbled to myself as I came to my fourth red light the place was supposed to be just ahead. I was so close. Finally the light turned green and the large truck lurched forward as I hit the gas.
My eyes stayed trained to the right as I searched for the sign. Morning-Side's Home for Teens. The pale yellow sign caught my attention and I pulled into the parking lot in front of the offices. I tucked the folded letter into my back pocket before making my way up to the glass door.
The inside of the home was void of any emotion. The walls were a stark white and didn't have any pictures or posters. I hated that Jessa was stuck in a place so depressing.
I walked into the offices and waited for the director to meet with me. My fingers drummed against my knees as I sat in the small chair just outside the office. My thoughts ran to the girl who had become my life and my daughter.
"Ah, yes, Commander McGarrett! Thank you for waiting for me! I hadn't gotten the chance to tell Jessa that you would be visiting her." The director was a portly man. He had a round face with bulging blue eyes. He held out his hand, "Sorry, Carson Hathaway."
I took his hand and firmly shook it, "I assume that Ms. Croft filled you in on the situation."
Carson Hathaway nodded, "Quite odd, really. I can't imagine why someone, let alone two people, would go to so much trouble to gain custody of a girl who will be eighteen in a short time."
"Jessa is an extraordinary girl." I said through clenched teeth.
"Right, of course. Let me take you to her." He led me out of the offices and towards a narrow hallway, "We really pride ourselves on our well-maintained home for the teens and we have some of the best supervisors in the state."
"Mhm." I stated, my eyes surveying the area as we walked down a bland hallway. We came to a stop just at the end; a lonely door secluded from the rest.
Hathaway smiled, but it was more of a grimace, "Here we are." He knocked on the door, but no one answered. "That's odd."
I stood alert, acutely aware that Hathaway thought Jessa should be answering the door. He turned the knob and the door opened to reveal a somewhat empty room. One of the two beds was perfectly made. The desks that separated them had countless papers strewn about, the only proof that someone lived here. I walked over, examining the writing. It was definitely Jessa's.
"You can wait here. I'll go talk to Lisa, she's the head supervisor for the girls. She's bound to know where Jessa has gone off to." With that he turned and left.
For a moment, I let myself take in the room. It was bland just like the rest of the group home. There were no pictures or awards on any of the walls. It was so I unlike her bedroom at home. Jessa wasn't very big on material things, but she loved to take pictures. She loved to hold on to memories and it was so odd to be in a place that she was staying where there were no evidence of any sort of memory.
My hand ran the length of her bed, stopping when it felt pointed edges. I lifted up the blankets and was surprised to find a picture frame. It was a photo of Jessa and me. The corners of my mouth turned up at the sneakiness of my daughter. That's when I thought about the letter that was stashed in my back pocket. I took it out and folded it into the back of the frame where I found two other pictures. I knew exactly what ones they were so I didn't bother with looking at them. I slid the frame back under the covers just as I heard footsteps growing closer.
I was sitting beneath my favorite oak tree, writing yet another letter to my dad. Honestly, I had no idea why I even did it, he would never be able to get them. Susan Wright made sure of that. I sighed and closed the journal; I would finish the letter later.
My head rested against the rough bark of the base of the tree and I closed my eyes. The Hawaiian sun was still blazing hot even though we were well into December. Some days I missed the snow of the Midwest, but Hawaii had become my home. Christmas was quickly approaching. A week's time and it would be upon us. I longed to spend it with my family, but I knew that it wouldn't be possible.
A shadow fell over me and my eyes popped open, it was Lisa, "Hey, Jessa. Mr. Hathaway has been looking for you. He wants to see us in your room."
"Okay..." I gave her a skeptical look and pushed myself off the ground. I followed behind her and all the way down to my lonely corner of the house.
"Sorry for the delay. She's right here." Lisa spoke, to what I assumed was Mr. Hathaway. I walked into my bedroom and almost had a heart attack. It wasn't Mr. Hathaway at all.
"Dad- what are- you can't-" I couldn't settle on a greeting, I was to shocked.
He smiled, "Hey, Jes."
"I'll leave you two alone." Lisa nodded and left.
"You shouldn't be here." I whispered.
"And why not?" Dad asked, walking towards me.
I sighed, "It's going to make matters worse. The kids here already think I'm some psychotic murderer. Now, I'm getting a visit from the leader of Five-O, that'll only confirm their suspicions. Let's not forget that we could get in so much trouble with the court."
His hands rested on my shoulders, squeezing gently, "I was given permission from the judge to visit you for two hours each day until our case was finally in court. Susan also has the same liberty."
"What?" My eyes grew wide, "You can come visit me? Really?!"
Dad's laugh filled the dull room, "That is what I am doing now."
Before I knew what I was doing, my arms wrapped around his strong frame and I felt the tension and fear release from me. The journal that was in my hand now laid on the floor. "I've missed you so much." I breathed in his rugged comforting scent.
"I've missed you too, kid." He placed a kiss to the top of my head.
Suddenly, I pulled back, "Susan Wright can visit too?"
"Yes, I'm surprised she hasn't tried to already." Dad said.
"She can't think I would possibly want to see her!" I exclaimed in frustration, my hands went up the my hair and I tugged at the roots.
"Jes-" he said cautiously.
"No!" I interrupted, "She honestly believes that after she'd ruined my life and torn me away from my family that I would want to see her?!"
Dad's hands laid on my tensed shoulders once again, "She hasn't ruined your life, she's just caused a problem. One that we're going to fix and it'll be gone from your mind in no time."
I looked at him with skepticism, "Do I have to meet with her?"
"I'm not sure if it will be enforced that you agree to her visitations. I'll check on that for you." He smiled easily.
"Okay, good." and then it hit me. The magnitude of the situation that was happening right now, "You came to see me?"
"Of course I did!" Dad laughed, shaking his head a little at my insane question, "You are my daughter after all."
"I am?" The question was out before I had time to suppress it. Dad looked taken aback by the question. He gently pulled me towards the bed and we sat down. For a long while there was nothing but silence as I felt him weighing those two words I had said as a inquiry. The void of speech left me in a slight panic and it brought out an unusual rambling from me.
"I didn't mean it like that. It was just one of those things that pops out accidentally and you don't really have time to stop it. I swear that's not what I meant. I'm not questioning our family. I was just surprised. I mean, I wasn't sure if the whole Susan Wright fighting for custody of me was actually a good thing or not." I paused for a moment and then realized what I had said, "Ugh, I meant, I didn't know if this was like your chance to re-evaluate your life because maybe you don't want a burden in it and wow, I'm just really messing things up now. Please say something."
"You are my daughter, Jes." He rubbed a hand over the shadow of his beard, "You'll always be my daughter. There's nothing to re-evaluate. You're my family, you're apart of a large weird family and I'm sorry if you haven't been comfortable with that. Do you need to re-evaluate our situation?"
"Oh gosh, no! Never! I love it, I do. I was just nervous that this whole situation was showing you a different path and I didn't know what that would mean for me. I don't want to be given to Susan."
He nodded his head, relief washing over his features, "You won't be. Like I said we're working on it. If we can find what we need we'll move up the court day as soon as possible."
"That's good. I can live with that." I whispered, "Dad? I love you."
A strong arm wound itself around me and I was pulled into his side, "I love you too, kid, more than you'll ever know."
We stayed like that for a few minutes: just father and daughter. It felt good to be with my dad again even if it were only for a short period. His phone rang and it jolted me from my thoughts.
"What's up, Danny?" Dad asked, his brows furrowed slightly. I could quite make out what Danny was saying on the other end so I was only left with Dad's side of the conversation. "Okay, you have to give some something more than that... Of course it's important to me, but I am with Jessa right now so... Okay, I'm on my way."
"Everything alright?" I asked as he quickly stood up.
"Yeah, Danno found some interesting information. I'm sorry that I have to cut this visit short, but I promise I'll be back tomorrow and we can do anything you want for two full hours." He smiled pleadingly.
I laughed, "It's okay! Go! I'll be okay now!"
Dad nodded as if to reassure himself of that. He brought me into a tight hug and kissed the top of my head, "Don't forget that you have my last name. Permanently. So that makes you my daughter. Permanently. I love you and be careful."
"I do." The smile worked its way onto my face, "I love you too and I promise, I'll try. Now, go! Whatever it is, it sounds important."
He walked towards the door and the Lester bound journal that laid on my floor caught my attention. "Oh wait! I have something for you." I tore out the few pages of the letter and folded them together, "Here, but please don't read it until after you've gone."
Dad nodded, dropped one last kiss to my forehead and was gone around the corner. I listened to the sound of his retreating footsteps and sighed. After awhile I went over to my bed and pulled back the covers to reveal my picture frame. I pulled it out and took the back off. Instead of finding the familiar photographs of my family I found a folded up piece of paper.
I made quick work of unfolding the paper and nearly choked on air when I realized it was my dad's handwriting and letterhead. He had found my secret stash and had left me a letter. I could only smiled at the thought of how easily he discovered this little secret and how he had simply tucked the note into the frame without even telling me.
I hope you enjoyed this somewhat longer chapter! Please review and let me know what you think! Thank you for your continued support and patience! I am officially done with school so I have a lot more time to focus on my writing! Chapter 7 is in the works! Usually I have some clue where I want to take my stories, but this one has continually thrown me for a loop! I am just as clueless about what happens next as you all are! :)
Later gators!
Theatrefreak10