I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: thank you ALL - and especially the generous Guest(s) who are SO supportive of my story and writing in general. Once this story took a sharp turn, I was doubting its substance. So a serious thank you from me to you! Poor betas who will eventually hate me (KQ - CinderH - a quick pinch-hit by Fifilla) .. I'm sure of it .. the breakfast bunny had new ideas this morning and because of that, I didn't actually ask for a repeat beta read before posting.
I was forced to revamp things. Seriously forced!
And a final heads up that (with luck and a violent thumping of dastardly rabbits), there should be one chapter left to go.
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
"Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time."
― Maya Angelou
Chapter Twenty-four: No Kau a Kau ~ For Eternity
On the heels of Kono's short speech, her cellphone blared for the umpteenth time. She didn't need to look to confirm who was calling because it could only be one person. Yet, her eyes dropped to the device as a clue to Devon to act. However, he was deflating at a rapidly anti-climactic pace. He slowly backed away, his hip eventually connecting with the side of the stove. With an odd grunt, he slid down to sit on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest.
"Devon?" In his own distress, Makoa mangled his son's name, startled to his feet at the clatter of the gun slipping from the younger man's fingers when it dropped to the floor near his thigh. He watched, dumbfounded, when Devon's head sank into his knees, his upper body wracked with a series of severe shudders.
"The phone. Answer it on speaker and open the door," Kono hissed softly to Makoa while she kept a prudent eye turned towards his son. Her shoulders were beginning to burn from the stress, not only caused by her position, but her strong will to move. "Quietly ... softly ... carefully. But do it!"
She might have been worried about the father being overly hasty and reckless, but he was as emotionally stunned as the son. Instead, he gave a curt nod and was nothing but cautious even for his overly large size. His hand shook as he tapped the speaker icon while shoving the phone closer towards Kono, before he was on the move to remove the heavy chair used to block the door. Then, he was opening it wide, flooding the room with sunlight and blinking back tears which he blamed on the change in brightness.
"Devon?" The sound of Danny's relieved voice was instantaneous, leaving Kono to interrupt his worried questions as she announced her own set of demands.
"It's over. Tell Steve to get in here before that changes; Makoa's already opened the door." Kono spoke quickly, though she continued to speak evenly to clearly indicate her desire that they all remain highly organized and very calm. She heard Danny's relieved acknowledgement and his orders to compound her own, but both Steve and Chin could hear her through the open communications links. When she looked up next, they were already in the doorway.
Kono watched as Steve appeared first with a shocking rapidity to practically toss the older Hayashi safely into Chin's waiting hands.
"Chin!" Kono whispered as another flood of relief made her tremble. She had to fight back a very real surge of emotion when she glimpsed her cousin. However, Makoa hesitated, pulling strongly away from Chin's hands to straddle the doorframe to his home, his eyes darkly black but his good hand nearly wringing the remaining fingers on his left.
"He ... I don't know ...," Makoa whispered, unsure of what to do or how to help, he was inexplicably concerned about Devon. He spun in place, grabbing for Chin's arm as Steve began to secure the scene. "I should stay ... I need to stay with him."
"Not now. We need room and you need to stay out here," Chin demanded, supplanting Makoa with his own body as a buffer should things change. However, based upon Devon's defeated posture and Steve's assertive stance, nothing more was going to occur that day.
Steve's eyes were unrelenting as he absorbed what was laid out before him. He catalogued Kono's cuffed hands but relatively stalwart demeanor despite the tears in her eyes, the distraught Devon who sat limply on the floor, and the weapon laying now so placidly on the hardwood floor. Within that next split second, he had retrieved the revolver, automatically removing it from the equation.
"He's got mine too," Kono stated more roughly than she intended. With her hands still trapped behind her, she was beginning to fight her emotions and she wound up using her chin to indicate the rear of Devon's jeans.
"Up, let's go," Steve said, as he hauled Devon to his feet, securing her police issued pistol and easily cuffing the unresisting younger Hayashi.
"We good in there?" Danny's voice echoed throughout the room. "Someone talk to me and let me know for sure what's going on. HPD's just arriving."
"It's all good, Danny," Chin confirmed as he circled around his cousin to unfasten her handcuffs. He glanced towards Steve first though, a brief frown flitting across his features when Steve raised a warning finger and pointed meaningfully to the phone. With a start, Chin suddenly realized the added purport of having had an ambulance requested on site. In fact, until that moment, he hadn't fully considered the true reason behind Danny remaining behind in Steve's truck even though it made sense that he manage the initial negotiations.
"Make sure he stays in the truck," Steve noted from over his shoulder as he left with Devon in hand, thrusting the cuffed young man in front of him and out the door.
"It's fine ... we're coming out. No need to come up here," Chin added more definitively. "I'm shutting down the phone; you got us on the comm, brah."
With that, he ended the connection on the wireless device and bent down to focus on Kono. "How're you doing, cuz?" Chin said, smiling softly to offset the nervous tension she was so loudly communicating.
"Get these things off me," Kono's voice was strained and it cracked unexpectedly as Chin's fingers connected with her wrists. Now that the standoff was over and only Chin was with her, she was near tears as first one link and then the other sprang free. As soon as she got to her feet, Chin didn't even ask as he swung her around and gathered her tightly into his arms. They were alone and he had guessed an understandable reaction above and beyond that of being held hostage.
"It's okay," she whispered into his chest. Yet her arms had gone around to his back and she was almost seeking to hide herself inside his body as a second skin. "I'm good, really. I am."
"I know," Chin answered just over Kono's muffled voice. In the safety of his arms, she trembled as she took the time to cry. "Blame it on me; I needed a good hug today from my favorite cousin," he whispered softly.
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After Chin terminated the connection, Danny rocked his head tiredly back into the deep cushion of the truck's driver's seat. He was both surprised and relieved that the standoff with Devon had been so easy. He could only assume that whatever he had said about Devon's protective stint in solitary confinement had opened a new advantageous door for Kono. That thoughtful respite only lasted a mere five seconds though, until the first of three HPD units pulled up to the front of the house, lights on and sirens dying as if perfectly planned.
Danny could just see the men beginning to convene from where he was sitting, including the silhouette of Makoa as he hung plaintively off to the side. Though he couldn't quite see everything, it was an easy assumption that the rest of his team would be handing Devon off to the HPD contingent for processing. Danny frowned unhappily as he rubbed the burn which sat squarely in the center of his chest. It was no lie that he didn't feel well. Because of that, he was well aware that he could have been seriously injured, or maybe even killed. Nonetheless, he wasn't entirely convinced that he wished more ill on Makoa's son; even if his feelings were just a bit misplaced based upon his respect for Makoa, himself.
That activity, coupled with finally seeing that Steve was now on a light jog back towards the workshop with a white uniformed medic on his heels, was enough for Danny to kill the truck's engine and use his left foot to help his hand toe-open the door. He slid out, grimacing as his feet hit the ground and he unexpectedly wound up sitting on the running board. No, he certainly didn't feel well but the concept of dealing with an ambulance that would drop him squarely in the emergency room and quite literally on young Doctor Lennon's doorstep, wasn't something he cared to consider.
"I'm fine," Danny lied to himself anyway, a weak glare aimed at Steve just for show as both he and the medic reached his side. "This is completely unnecessary," he complained. Though it certainly was as his jaw throbbed hotly in time to a pulse point in his throat.
"It's very necessary," Steve argued back with a stricter tone and Danny shook his head, a grimace of pain flitting across his eyes. Of course, his partner would have requested medical support in case the hostage situation had taken a turn for the worse. Danny knew better though; the medics had been prescribed first for him and then secondly, should something else go south during the altercation. But as the heavy-set medic dropped his case near where he braced himself on the running board, Danny couldn't help his personal affront. He was disgusted with himself and utterly resentful of being poked and prodded or needing another stay in the hospital with his trio of eager physicians.
"Then you won't mind if the man checks you out," Steve restated more definitively, nearly daring Danny to argue the point as he misread Danny's self-distress as a real refusal. "Meet Larry Keller, one of two esteemed EMT's who already know you were out of it for a good few minutes, Danno. You got knocked hard and I'm ordering you to cooperate."
"Fine," Danny groused as he met Larry's amused eye and wide grin. "Have at it." He didn't return the more pleasant expression as he acquiesced to the care. There was no apology either from Steve, as he backed up to give the medic room to work.
"Detective," Larry said cheerily before he hunkered down and focused on his latest patient. "I'm just going to do the basics to check you out ... with any luck, you'll be well on your way."
Though it caused his head to ache, Danny managed a nod as he offered Larry his arm. Within seconds, a blood pressure cuff was wrapped around his bicep and he was being subjected to queries about his aches, pains and general well-being. With nothing to do but allow the man to do his job, Danny leaned more heavily back into the side of the truck and closed his eyes. Without the benefits of the air-conditioning, sweat was trickling down his back and pooling low on his waist. He was uncomfortable and simply wished himself away, however he had limited choices in the matter.
When Chin appeared from the front of the house, Steve removed himself a few more feet away from where Danny was sitting. He stayed close and stoically watched every poke and prod which Larry subjected his stressed partner to while Chin quietly provided his update.
"Kono's with Makoa," Chin said, his eyes on Danny the entire time he brought Steve up-to-speed. "She wants to make sure that he and Devon have some support, regardless of what just went down. She's planning on accompanying them to the station." Chin shook his head, running his fingers through his hair as his only signs of frustration. He was silent for a moment, watching Larry cater to Danny's needs, but clearly searching for the right words.
"What happened?" Steve prompted. He wasn't overly pleased with Kono's decision, but he could understand her choice. However what Chin described next drove home the true source of his reasoning and Steve literally gasped out loud.
"It wasn't loaded," Chin murmured. He shrugged exaggeratedly when Steve peered incredulously at him, his hands flapping wildly as if to give more credence to his physical reaction. "Devon's gun ... it was completely empty. Not a single bullet in the chamber or on his body."
"You're kidding," Steve breathed out in surprise. "Empty?"
In a weird way, it made sense even though the fact was still surprising. Steve's forehead crinkled as a disapproving frown hardened the look to his face. Almost distractedly now, he stared blindly at Larry who was tracing his fingers gently over the sensitive skin on Danny's sternum where Devon's booted foot had sent him sprawling backwards. Danny was holding a chemical ice pack to his bruised jaw. But Steve's angry scowl increased when his friend winced away, nearly slapping at Larry's hand to forestall the gentle probing. The truth was an odd conundrum of violence and yet a fervent desire to just be heard.
"I'm not sure I even know what to do or recommend at this point," Chin softly admitted. Kono had explained Devon's devastation about learning of his mother's death; she had described Makoa's confusion of hostility, purported attempts at contacting his son, and then the ultimate emotional admissions of the two. Combined with what the Five-0 team had learned about Devon's arrest, trial and sentencing, the case was undeniably strange.
"This is messed up," Steve groaned under his breath. He could already make some assumptions of his own regarding how Kono or Danny might want to treat Devon Hayashi regardless of the day's much too recent experiences. However, Steve wasn't ready to consider any discussion about the handling of the younger Hayashi as Larry Keller placed both hands on Danny's shoulders as if insisting he remain seated.
"How is he?" Steve demanded as Larry joined him and Chin. He pointed in confusion from where Danny was sitting to Larry's partner who was not quite committing to bringing a gurney down the short stretch of yard. "He lost consciousness for a good five, maybe ten, minutes after he got punched. He's still recovering from other injuries. You're going to load him up aren't you?"
"I would, but he's declining further medical assistance," the medic replied, an apologetic smile making his lips twitch. "He answered most of the standard questions well enough until I got to one in particular. In case you weren't aware, the Detective doesn't quite know what day of the week it is. He's rather insistent that today is Tuesday."
It was apparent that Larry didn't entirely approve of his temporary charge's refusal, however if the patient declined help, he had little choice or say in the matter. His long-winded explanation requested Steve's direct intervention as he gestured towards his own partner and the empty gurney near the ambulance. "It's clear that the doesn't feel well and he's slightly concussed. Even if he seemed better than he was right now, based on his recent injuries, I'd strongly suggest that he go in to get checked out. But I can't force him to do that and his vitals are stable enough."
The tone was nearly a plea for someone of sounder mind to intercede and Steve nodded in agreement.
"Uh huh. Refusing? That's not going to work." Steve's not quite humorous rebuttal emanated far enough to reach Danny's ears, yet the dazed man refused to look up from where he studied the clods of dirt closest to his sneakers. The earlier sarcastic comment, stated well before Devon surrendered and about how they were spending a Tuesday afternoon, was telling indeed. Especially, as Keller so aptly noted, it wasn't Tuesday at all.
No, refusing medical care wasn't in Danny's cards on that Thursday afternoon. In truth though, his partner knew better and would never jeopardize his own healthy recovery. Therefore, Steve thoughtfully began to consider a new set of clues suddenly gaining a better handle on the emotional situation as he followed Danny's bleary gaze to the HPD units.
"Understood," Steve breathed out softly, completely changing gears, to not only Larry's chagrin, but to Chin's as well. "Thanks for coming out here Larry," he murmured dismissively. "You can pack it up."
"Steve?" Chin spoke at the same time as the baffled medic, the two nearly blurting their combined confusion simultaneously.. "He has to go in."
"Excuse me?" Larry hesitated, his entire demeanor full of an incomprehensible sense of disbelief. "Sir? You can't be serious?" He had wanted help and assumed he'd had it, not something which now sounded suspiciously like another refusal for proper care.
"I'll take him in to see Fratelli," Steve clarified his decision for each man because he thought that he did understand. Chin cocked his head quizzically, momentarily quieting as he considered the somewhat strange option. He listened closely as Steve peppered the medic with a new set of questions. "He's stable? Not in danger of anything being wrong? Broken for example ... anything with his ribs from that kick, or ... even his head?" Steve pushed more definitively to ensure his choice was sound enough.
"No. At least not obviously to me. " Keller was frowning in disapproval as he replied. His face contorted in an odd way that was both humorous and confused. "He should have a few x-rays to confirm ... I can only tell that he's bruised for sure. He's rattled but mostly with it, and his vitals are decent."
"Good," Steve murmured. He was sure that he understood now. At least mostly sure and maybe closer to the truth. Danny's denial was of a prideful nature or maybe he wasn't precisely on the mark either with that quick judgement. As Steve tried to figure out his partner's expression, he slowly settled on something else as Danny closed his eyes to lean tiredly back against the truck. Even though half his face was hidden by an ice pack, he was easily communicating something without actually speaking.
Disappointment? Frustration? Regardless of putting the right name to define it, Steve felt that he at least was choosing the right course of action.
"Yeah, I'll take him in myself," Steve repeated as he stared long and hard at his partner before he turned entirely towards Larry. "Thanks for checking him out; if he's relatively stable, I'll take him to see his physician right now."
He placed an appreciative hand on Keller's shoulder before communicating a silent command to Chin to manage the crime scene. What was left of it anyway in Makoa's small house. Danny's eyes were still closed as Steve walked back over to where he was sitting. He allowed his backlit shadow the job of forcing Danny's rueful murmur of acknowledgement. But before he could say more, Steve held his hand out to help his friend to his feet.
"We'll call Doctor Fratelli on the way," Steve stated plainly, a smile lurking below the surface of his tone. "Keller says you're good to go; but you have to see your primary doctor right away. If we don't get him for whatever reason, then we'll call Ramirez." There was no ignoring the immediate change in Danny's expression as Steve cupped his elbow to guide him around the front of the truck to the passenger seat. The decision was quite sound as Danny wordlessly settled himself back in the truck with an utterly relieved sigh.
The air conditioning was back on full, the vents positioned again to hit him directly in the face. His hair moved in the strong air current and it was almost too much to border on being uncomfortable, yet the temperature soothed his skin so he didn't completely object. Danny waited though to ask his question until they were on the highway. Then he waited even longer as Steve contacted Doctor Fratelli on his behalf to advise the newly concerned physician of their pending arrival.
"Steve?" He asked, his voice slightly slurred from the swelling and large ice pack rocked sturdily into the side of his face.
"Yeah?" Steve replied, a side-long questioning glance sent across the gap. "You okay?"
"So, if it's not Tuesday, then what day of the week is it?" Danny had one murky eye aimed his way. He was hurting and almost listless in the bucket seat. But he still had enough energy to purse his lips defensively as Steve's smile beamed with amusement across the short distance between them.
"What day?" He chuckled softly as he answered, the sound increasing in volume based on the heaviness of Danny's perturbed sigh. He waited a millisecond before patiently replying through a smile that wouldn't quit as he continued their drive to the hospital to meet Doctor Fratelli. "It's Thursday, buddy. All day."
~ to be continued ~