****** I am SO SORRY for the delay in posting but I had MAJOR computer issues for the past week. Here is a short chapter, and I'll do my best to post another one soon. I hope you enjoy! ******

Steve slept for six hours and he woke to find Danny watching him from the other bed.
Danny smiled, "Hey, you feeling better?"
"Yeah, thanks. How long was I out?"
"Six hours"
Steve grimaced slightly as he sat up in bed, "What are you working on?"
Danny glanced up from his laptop, "Nothing, I'm just playing some games" He grinned adding, "I tried watching television, but seeing The Godfather in Thai just isn't the same"

Steve laughed, "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be"
Danny stretched as he asked, "Are you hungry?"
"No, not really"
"I talked to Chin. Governor Denning sends his love"
"Yeah, I bet he does"
"Cut the guy some slack partner. Chin said he was very concerned about you and he said not to rush back. He wants you healthy. You're just supposed to call him when you get home"
"Okay. Anything new on Kono?"
"Nothing new, but no news is good news as far as they go. They're safe…..and Kono sends her love too"
Steve smiled, "Now THAT I believe"

Steve took a shower and then after Danny helped settle him into a chair on the balcony he ordered them room service.
Once the sandwiches and coffee arrived they sat quietly and ate. Steve was clearly deep in thought as he picked at the ham and swiss sandwich but eventually he spoke. "You know Danny….it was love at first sight for me with Cath but even after she and Billy broke up I kept my distance for a long time. I didn't want to come between them and I knew that she still loved him… in fact I didn't even make the first move, Catherine did. We talked about it for quite a while because neither one of us wanted to hurt him" Steve chuckled softly, "I flew to Saudi Arabia where Billy was stationed and I talked to him….I asked his permission before I started dating her….."

Danny said softly, "And he betrayed you like this…"
"I'm trying to put myself in his shoes Danny. He loved her too…hell he probably never stopped loving her. He was so messed up after that mission"

Danny didn't say anything, he simply waited. In the four years he had known Steve one thing he had learned was that the man held the missions he had led and the ramifications of them close to his chest. Steve had opened up to him about several of these missions but he never pushed him for details. He had learned that Steve would share what he could, but only when he was ready.

After several moments of silence, Steve continued softly "We were in Russia. It was February and it was brutally cold. The CIA had infiltrated a weapons ring and had come across evidence that the organization was working on obtaining the components needed to build a nuclear weapon. Billy was trained as a linguistic expert and we sent him in undercover as a German supplier and contact of the CIA Agent, Peter Davies. What we didn't know was that Davies identity had been compromised. As soon as Billy showed up with the plutonium he and Peter were beaten and then they were taken from the sight. My team had to stay to keep tabs on the plutonium and we were able to storm the building a short time later and stop the nuclear threat but it took us almost three hours to get to our boys. They had been taken to a remote mobile lab in the nearby Caucacus mountain region and to get to them unnoticed we had to approach on snowshoes after dark. The plan was for me, Freddy and three others to launch a rescue attempt with my final two men staying about two miles back in the van"

Danny watched as Steve's eyes closed and his jaw tensed as he recounted the rescue, "The lab was a small building in the middle of nowhere. They had built it in between a crevice and not only was there only one entrance but we had lost all cell service so we couldn't contact our drivers"

As Steve paused, Danny asked "How did you find them?"
Steve responded softly, "The CIA knew the identity of one of the scientists working with the organization. We had pictures of his wife and kids and we threatened to harm them if he didn't cooperate. He was soft and he caved quickly. He gave us the location and specifics of the building after we promised to protect his family and relocate them to the U.S… he also told us that the four men holding Billy and Peter had been instructed to torture them until the others arrived at the location. We wore night vision goggles and luckily they had only one man guarding the front door. I took him out with a sniper shot to the head….."

As he paused, Danny said "Hey you did what you had to do to save your men"
Steve grinned weakly, "It's not always that easy Danno….."
Danny again waited patiently and eventually Steve continued, "This was probably my greatest career failure Danny…and this mission will forever haunt me"

After several moments Danny inquired, "What? Did the scientist double cross you?"
"No….but he didn't know everything" Steve sat forward and placed his hands over his face…."I kept one of my guys, Randy outside and we broke down the door and stormed in. Our guys were off to the side only about fifty feet away. They were hanging by ropes from the ceiling and they were naked and covered in blood. One of the thugs had a eight-inch bloody knife in his hand and another was a few feet away at a table covered with torture equipment. The final man was near a hallway and as Freddy and I engaged in gunfire with the first two, the third man bolted down the hallway and my two guys followed. I took a round to the shoulder but we eliminated the two fairly quickly and cut down Billy and Peter. Just as we were getting them down we heard our guy, Greg hollering for us to evacuate. As we exited the building Randy ignored my orders to evacuate and he raced into the building to help Greg and TJ. We were only a few feet outside when the first explosion hit…..."

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Catherine was horribly shaken when she returned to The Enterprise to find Steve gone.
She stood in front of Ian asking, "Ian how could you let him go?"
"Catherine, how could I keep him? He's weakened physically, but mentally he's stable and he's no longer on active military status…..I can't force him to stay" Tears were flowing down her face as Ian added, "Is there something I should know?"

"No…..it's personal Ian….can you tell me where you took him?"
Ian hesitated, "I respect you Cath, but Steve's my patient and I don't think I should share that information with you. I'm sorry"

Catherine smiled softly, "That's okay Ian, I understand. I'll call him. I can't thank you enough for all you've done for him"

The friends embraced and as she walked away Ian Gerhart shook his head softly, hoping and praying for Steve McGarrett's recovery.

****** So I hope you liked it and I'll post more soon! I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts! ******