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"I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's
why."
― John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

Chapter Fourteen: No Kau a Kau ~ For Eternity

"Chin. Help me," Kono murmured while shifting slightly. Just enough to begin dropping her legs to the floor, but not enough to try to commit as her fatigue grew and rubbery muscles threatened to fail. She was ready now to be taken care of and wiling to allow her cousin to now manage everything on her behalf. With an approving nod, Chin neatly caught her upper body to make a smooth transition back to the wheelchair. The move was so easy, barely an imprint of Kono's body was left on the sheets. First she was there next to Danny and then she simply wasn't.

Chin saw the difference in her before they even left the intensive care unit. Gone was the anxiety from her shoulders, as well as the wide-eyed look of defensiveness which had bordered more on fear. Or, maybe that look had been entirely derived from fear. Either way, it didn't precisely matter because she was innately calmer. The few minutes with Danny had satisfied a desperate need which he fully understood and appreciated. He had no lingering doubts that Kono would be able to rest, at least when it came to being reassured of at least that one core worry.

But he still felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut, especially when Kono started to talk.

"Danny's so sick because of me," she unexpectedly said. "He could have died ... Topher really could have killed him." She was looking at her fingers where they lay folded in her lap. She was slowly becoming tense again. Her fingers flexed and then made tight fists, but Chin realized it was because she was physically trying to stop herself from trembling. With the amount of drugs Reid had forced on her though, the attempt was almost pitiful. "Why didn't I listen to Danny? I totally thought he was over-reacting and I just didn't listen."

Suddenly on edge, Chin rubbed his palms hard across the bars on the wheelchair. "I'm not much better," he whispered over her head as his own feelings of guilt percolated up. He levered a heavy sigh which made Kono try to turn enough to see his face. His attitude was immediately confusing to her so he tried to explain himself. "We found you because I remembered something from when you were competing. Something important when our case-related prospects failed right off the bat and we had no leads. I started to string together what Danny said about this photographer to what those damned anonymous gifts could mean. I went to your place and found the teddy bear. There was ankle bracelet inside a zippered section of the fake heart and then it all started to come together."

For a while, the two were silent when the elevator door opened. Chin was trying to figure out how to best explain such a critical lapse in his own personal judgement and Kono was attempting to wrap her head around what her cousin was actually saying. Her ability to think clearly though was still somewhat jeopardized but Chin's stilted words were slowly beginning to make sense as she recalled those things which Topher had bragged about. At the time, she had been much too worried about Danny to understand the implications or what Topher had really been saying.

"You knew him," she softly murmured as a certain realization dawned. "That's what he meant ... that's why he knew so much about me. He followed me along the circuit and that's where it all started. But Chin, you knew him?"

"Yeah. I knew him ... saw him ... and then, confronted him at one point, too," Chin replied, his voice finally betraying his guilty emotions. He felt entirely responsible for her abduction and wasn't sure he could find a way to forgive himself. His short explanation initiated the first few steps of that confession and he carefully found the right way to continue. "You were twelve when he showed up. He didn't fit - his looks, age, background - and it seemed to escalate over time. I thought I was protecting you and doing the right thing by not telling you; and maybe I was. At least while you were on the circuit and competing. Then, when he left the island after you were injured, I never thought he would come back. Regardless, I should have at least told you the man existed as you got older."

Kono sat quietly as he Chin slowly escorted her back to her room. She was experiencing a new type of turmoil and unsure of how to react. Cristo, the street kid, who had been enamored with her at such an early age, then had more than twelve years to foster his stalker-like tendencies. Her brain might be clouded by a haze yet she was stringing the clues along and filing in gaps which Chin didn't quite voice. Her cousin had been aware of the danger and had said ... nothing. Chin had said nothing, yet Topher had twelve years worth of denial and rejection. He'd used the time to not only redefine himself, but to also hone his hatred ... and obsession.

Kono clenched her fingers again, hard enough to made dents in her palms from her nails. There was a sparkle of anger about being kept in the dark, but then it was gone just as quickly. If Chin had told her about Cristo Reed along the way: what would it have mattered?

"Chin, it's okay," Kono said, though another spat of unwanted tears were filling her eyes. Only one constant truth would have been proven. "He would have come back anyway. All of this probably would have happened even if you had told me."

"I'm sorry, Kono," Chin stopped moving, swinging around to kneel in front of her. "I should have told you about Cristo Reed and the restraining order. I should have told you. But after your surfing accident, there never seemed to be a good time. Then, after you stopped competing and he left the island ... Reed was just a bad memory. Still, we ... no you ... would have been more prepared in the long run had you known." Crouched down by the wheelchair, Chin was at a loss of what more to say. He was as upset as she, though he lacked the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks.

"God, I hate crying already," Kono choked out a teary laugh, embarrassed about her emotional reactions. She shrugged about Chin's apology. Not to diminish his feelings, but because she couldn't see a way where telling her might have made sense.

"Chin, I'm not sure telling me would have done much." Kono finally just stated out loud what she was thinking as she put her hand on his, tugging his fingers into her own. "No matter when you might have told me, what was I supposed to have done? Looked over my shoulder every day for God knows how many years? Wondered if he might come back? Topher's a serial stalker and twelve years to him, is entirely different to what it means to us. And if I'd wound up in the same spot as I just did, what good would it have done me to actually know who he really was? Would either one of us have recognized him for the grown man he is today before it was too late?"

Kono was tired and not sure she was making sense, but she didn't fully believe that her cousin's argument was entirely sound. Frankly, she was too mentally fatigued to even want to be angry with someone she truly loved. Her disappointment with herself for not listening to Danny trumped her ability to comprehend how being told about a one-time stalker from her youth might have mattered now. She would never know if that knowledge might have made her pay more attention to Danny. No one would ever know and wondering about what might have been was simply too hard.

Using the back of her hand, she roughly wiped the tears away from her cheeks. "It's okay, cuz. Really."

"It's not," Chin argued gently. His voice dropped to a soft whisper, knowing that he was going to eventually lose the battle. He found himself chuffing a half-awed chuckle under his breath when Kono managed a genuine smile which clearly strived to remove his feelings of guilt. There was little doubt, actually, that he'd already lost the battle.

"Let's get you to bed," Chin smiled in kind. He resumed his position behind the wheelchair where he eventually laid a supportive hand on her shoulder. Her fingers came up to intertwine with his and they maintained a companionable silence the entire way.

"Thank you," Kono whispered, her eyes now barely open as she slid under the sheets with his help. She had meant to eat something, but now she wasn't even sure she cared to expend any more effort. A nurse was already there attaching a pulse oximeter to a finger and then the requisite fluids to the port left affixed to her hand. Through the drawn shade which covered the window, the brightness of dawn was slightly illuminating the room and she stared at the muted light with a look of relief.

"I'll be right here," Chin said, as her eyes automatically moved to the open door and then back towards his face. She blinked once, then twice. But on the third, her eyes simply remained closed and Chin made a soft, pleased sound. The nurse lingered briefly and then tapped her watch to clearly communicate that he could anticipate his cousin sleeping for a great many hours. The nurse left on a nearly silent footfall, squeezing by Steve who was suddenly in the doorway.

"Hey," Steve whispered as he entered the hospital room. He smiled as he caught Chin's eye, relieved by his friend's easier demeanor. "Besides exhausted, how's our girl? She okay after seeing Danny?"

"Much better," Chin replied. His look altered though as Steve joined him quietly by the window. Steve had rejoined the HPD team guarding their badly wounded suspect. Besides gaining a status on Topher Reid's condition, he had realized that Reid would eventually be moved to the surgical intensive care. The same section where Danny was recovering, and that fact hadn't been exactly comforting. Rightly knowing that additional plans would be required to keep Reid in custody, Steve had wanted to cut any issues off with hospital staff before they could rear their heads.

"So," Chin's upper lip now curled into a disgusted sneer at the thought of needing to ask. "What's going on with him? What did hospital administration have to say about our needs to maintain a presence?"

"They didn't have to say a word," Steve replied blandly. He was looking at Kono when he added softly, "We'll need to notify any next of kin on the island. If they want him, that is."

Chin shifted uncomfortably at the news. It shouldn't be unexpected for what they'd heard in the emergency room. Yet, learning that Reid had actually died while being operated on was momentarily disquieting. As if to compound that feeling, there was a small flicker of regret inside Chin's chest. However, that lasted no more than a heartbeat in duration when he followed Steve's gaze. His face hardened and his subsequent response was as equally succinct. "My report will be on your desk by tomorrow afternoon."

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Danny huffed impatiently as he shuffled diligently down the hall with one hand on the rail installed precisely for patients such as himself. His taller self-appointed shadow ambled along just as slowly on his right. He'd slept through to lunch, waking to find Steve camped out comfortably in a corner of his room with a placid expression plastered across his face. He'd been duly brought up to speed regarding the mission and Reid's fate, but he'd really only wanted to know about Kono.

"He walled off a wine cellar," Danny muttered again under his breath. His disgust about being so close to Kono while in Reid's house was nearly overwhelming and he panted breathlessly while trying to both talk and walk at the same time. "She was right there, Steve. Under our very noses!"

"I know," Steve repeated. While Danny harped on that one point, he'd had more time to reconcile himself to that nearly grievous fact. Even Chin had managed to somewhat accept what they'd eventually learned before implementing their successful late night rescue.

"The only thing that matters is that she's home, Danny. She's safe and probably going to sleep now for a very long time." When it came to being thankful, there was even more that he could add as he kept pace with his friend. With that thought in mind, Steve glanced down, his hand at the ready should Danny accidentally lose his balance or overdue what was his first short walk post surgery.

"Don't go too far," Steve cautioned. "Fratelli said to stretch your legs, Danno. Not run a marathon." He smiled fondly when Danny shook his head at the cautionary reminder. Steve was astounded though that Danny was even on his feet for any number of very valid reasons and couldn't entirely help himself for the softhearted comments, nor for the way he felt that he needed to hover.

"We should go back," Steve shrugged helplessly when Danny stared at him, another disbelieving shake of his head communicating his ongoing disapproval of the pestering. Yet, other than sharing a look, Danny didn't say a single word about it. Instead, Steve raised a quizzical eyebrow when he saw the brief glint of stubbornness as Danny gripped the rail and hesitated as if considering going farther.

Danny mumbled something as he obediently changed course to return the way they'd come and accepted the instantaneous help which Steve provided. On this return trip, he needed Steve's arm for balance as his slung right arm faced the wall and guide rail. While he could have easily crossed the hallway for the opposite side, he simply didn't feel like bothering and based on Steve's reaction, neither did he.

The two walked quietly together, their goal now Danny's hospital room which was indeed far enough away for the ailing man. "You good?" Steve asked as he took a firmer hold of Danny's left elbow.

"Yup," Danny said, a grin creeping across his face when he looked up and saw the dark bruises on Steve's cheekbone. The fat lip was more than obvious, too, where Kono's first not so wild punch had connected with his mouth. Doctor Ramirez had slipped earlier and innocently mentioned to Danny how Steve had gotten the darkly iridescent colors. The truth had at first rendered Danny speechless, but then he'd been quickly tickled by it. With their change of direction in the hallway, the bruised skin now faced Danny and it reminded him of his need to toy with Steve a bit.

"How does your face feel?" Danny asked, almost too benignly. "Must hurt ... looks pretty painful, babe. Fat lip ... pretty good punch there to your cheek. I'm surprised you don't have a black eye."

"It's not too bad," Steve replied, a slight hesitation in his tone. His fingers moved on Danny's elbow when he paused in the hallway as if needing to take a short break.

"You know," Danny started, a grin creeping across his face as he cocked his head and eyed the bruises. "When it comes to Five-0 and your team, you're now two for three."

Two for three? Steve scowled at the odd comment which almost sounded like a challenge. It was a ploy or a trick and he didn't trust it a bit as he stood next to his friend in the hallway. Steve searched his brain trying to figure out what Danny might be referring to and came up empty. Therefore, his gut instinct was not to reply.

"That's good. The silent treatment," Danny chuffed under his breath. He knew that Steve was clueless about what he'd just stated. Nonetheless,the truth behind how he got the bruises - compliments of Kono - was simply too much to write off. He smiled happily as he remembered the first day he met his one-time inglorious and baffling new partner.

A meeting that had included a well-placed fist of his own to Steve's arrogant jaw.

"You're seriously not going to bite?" Danny goaded with a mild tone. "Two ... for three of us?"

"Nope," Steve smirked, hoping Danny would drop whatever it was he seemed so deviously pleased about. His mind was racing though as he tried to get to the crux of whatever Danny's joke might be. A joke that would be entirely at his expense based solely upon Danny's gleeful look.

Danny stood stock still in the hallway, his elbow held tightly by his friend's unflagging grip. His grin deepened as he intentionally eyed Steve's multicolored cheek and sore, fat lip. With that one pointed look, Steve narrowed his eyes as 'two for three' finally made sense.

"Shut up, Danno," Steve muttered in disgust as Danny began to chuckle. He would be having a small heart-to-heart talk with one Doctor Ramirez for confessing how he'd truly hurt his face. He knew that Danny might have even painfully poked at his achy skin if not for the sling supporting his right arm.

"First me and now Kono, Steven," Danny began to explain his comment in more detail in case Steve might need the help. There was a distinct sense of humor lacing his voice but he winced when Steve's fingers dug a bit more sturdily into his elbow. Still, Danny clung tenaciously to his joke even when he felt himself now being propelled physically towards his hospital room.

"You don't find it funny? Out of the three of us, Chin's the only one who hasn't ..."

"Shut up and walk, Danno."

~ to be continued ~