Finally getting back to this story! It's been so long now, that you may want to start at the beginning and catch up with me again. I promise it will be moving a bit faster now that I've figured out where I want to take things.
Also, be note I'm putting a TRIGGER WARNING for the end of this chapter where we will begin to hear more of what is involved with the girls being abducted. Sexual assault is implied, so please be forewarned if this is something you are sensitive to.
I look forward to your thoughts & reviews!
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After a mostly unsuccessful interrogation with a college student who knew more than he was willing to talk about, Steve and Danny made their back upstairs to the HQ offices and left him to have a "think about it" to decide when he was ready to talk. It was only a matter of time; The kid was no criminal, but he clearly had knowledge of what was going on with the girls at the University. Steve was determined to get the info out of him one way or another no matter how long it took or what he had to do.
He and Danny walked in to find Lou and his wife, Renee, in a conversation that seemed to be somewhat heated.
Lou caught the gazes of Steve and Danny and offered a sympathetic look even as Renee turned towards them and put a hand on her hip.
They knew that look. She was definitely unhappy about something.
"Renee," Steve began as he offered his most charming smile. "It's good to see you. What brings you our way today? You and the big guy going on a lunch date?"
Renee gave him a quick hug before crossing her arms over her chest and fixing him with a 'cut the bullshit' look that he read all too clearly.
Steve's confused expression caused Lou to put his hands up in defense, "This one's not on me McGarrett. I haven't said a word."
Steve opened his mouth to speak, but Renee cut him off with a finger pointed right at him. "Hush!"
His eyebrows shot up in surprise…..
Danny grinned in disbelief that anyone would 'shush' Super SEAL…
And Lou wisely kept his expression completely unreadable.
Steve turned back to Renee in confusion.
"He's right, Steve. Lou didn't say anything to me. HOWEVER…" Renee stopped and looked towards Steve's office where Maddie was engrossed in her book before discreetly pointing towards the office, "THAT girl has had her world turned upside down."
She paused as they all automatically looked towards Maddie.
"I understand that you want to keep her safe until you all can figure this out….but bringing her into the office and making her sit here all day while you work on the case is NOT what she needs."
"Okay, first of all, can I ask…..How do you even know about her or anything that's going on with this case?" Steve asked.
Renee lowered her voice a bit unnecessarily considering Madison still had air pods in and seemed to be engrossed in whatever she was reading.
Her expression also softened. "Because Grace and Samantha still talk and text every day. Grace apparently texted Samantha last night about what's been going on with some of the female athletes on campus. Then, she said she'd heard a rumor that the latest 'victim' had shared with a couple of her teammates that her father was on a special Task Force on the island…but that they'd never met. When Lou shared a little bit about the case you caught yesterday, it didn't take me long to put the pieces together."
Everyone stood silent not knowing what to say.
"So I have to ask the obvious question. Steve, is she your daughter?" she asked softly.
Steve ran his palm down his face. "Yes."
Everyone remained silent letting Steve take this wherever he wanted to go.
"Listen, Renee….It's a long story that I don't even have all the details to just yet. And before you ask, NO….I didn't know anything about her until yesterday."
Renee reached out to put a supportive hand on him. "Okay. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to take her home with ME….so you all can continue working on this case."
When Steve didn't look convinced, she continued. "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."
"Trust me, McGarrett," Lou quipped. "You will not win this argument."
Renee smirked at her husband before continuing, "Think about what's best for her right now. She doesn't need to be in the middle of all of this….stuck in your office. You remember how long it took Samantha to recover from what happened with Ian Wright, don't you?"
Steve nodded in agreement but couldn't speak due to the lump in his throat.
"Let me take her home until you're ready to pick her up. We'll be fine…..and I'll take care of her. Eddie can come along too if that would make her more comfortable."
Steve knew she was right. The last thing Madison needed was to be in the office all day with nothing to do.
"Okay….." he agreed as he offered Renee a soft smile. "But let me talk to her first."
"Of course," Renee agreed.
Steve walked into his office and smiled at Maddie who immediately took out her air pod and sat up straighter. He sat down on the couch beside her.
"Hey…..You doing okay? Do you need anything?"
"I'm okay," she answered quietly. "Did you find anything out? From this guy you brought in, I mean?" Steve sensed her nervousness which was the last thing he wanted her to feel right now. The need to make her feel safe was his biggest priority.
"We're working on that," Steve said, "But I don't want you to worry about that." He looked out at his team and Renee congregating around the smart table before turning back to Maddie. He reached out to grab her hand. "So Maddie, I know this is all scary….and above all else, I want to keep you safe."
He let out a reluctant sigh and squeezed her hand. "But I also realize that the last thing you need right now is to be stuck in my office all day. While we try to figure out what's going on and….."
Maddie looked a little panicked as she interrupted him. "No….but I'm fine. Really. I don't want to go back to our apartment by myself and….."
"Shhhh…" Steve said as Eddie came up to rest his chin on her thighs.
"I'm not asking you to do that," he said softly. "But I DO want you to go somewhere where I know you'll be safe…and I promise you it will be better than sitting here all day with me."
Maddie looked at him uncertainly.
"See that pretty lady out there?" Steve said as he pointed towards Renee. "That's Lou's wife, Renee. She's offered to save you from spending the day in this stuffy office…..and I think it's a great idea."
"Seriously? You're getting me a babysitter. I'm in college." Maddie scoffed and folded her arms in defiance, and Steve had to contain his smirk. It gave him a glimpse of the little girl she must've been not so long ago. If she was like most McGarrett's, she'd probably been a handful. And yes, she was in college….but she was also still only 17.
"I didn't say you needed a babysitter, Maddie," he answered softly. "But I think it would be better for you to go somewhere else for a few hours. Eddie can go with you. Right, boy?" Eddie barked in agreement and wagged his tail making Maddie smile.
"Would you do it for me, honey? Please? I would feel better if I knew you were there….And I promise you, Renee is great. You'll love her. " Steve offered her his most charming smile.
Maddie knew she wasn't going to win the argument. She also had to begrudgingly admit that she would rather be somewhere else for a while. Besides, being in the beginning stages of finally getting to know her father, she didn't want to disappoint him.
One hour later….
Renee and Maddie pulled up to Kamekona's shrimp truck. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Renee had already enlisted Samantha and Grace to help with the transition Maddie was going through. If her teammates/roommates were gone for the weekend on a tournament, having other girls around who were her age would be good for her.
Arriving at Kamekona's, Renee was happy to see that Samantha and Grace had already arrived and gotten a table for them.
"Oh, I love this place!" Maddie said.
"You've been here before?"
"Sure! He has the best spicy shrimp on the island….Hands down."
"Why am I not surprised? That's a McGarrett favorite," she smiled at Maddie. "Come on. I have two special people I want you to meet."
Renee made introductions to Samantha and Grace and the girls quickly put Maddie at ease while she stepped away to place their food orders.
Kamekona was already watching them as Renee approached. "So that's McGarrett's keiki?"
"Word travels quickly," Renee mused.
"News that big doesn't take long to get around. She's been here before, too. I knew there was a reason she looked familiar, but could never put my finger on why. Now I see it: There's no question she's McGarrett's blood." His expression grew serious, "So how is she doing?"
"Considering she was assaulted and met her father for the first time yesterday, I think she's doing remarkably well. She's incredibly smart and mature for her age, but still a girl who seems to feel very alone in the world."
Kame smiled looking towards the girls as they chatted. "She has Ohana now. We will always have her back."
Back at the Grover house…..
The girls spent the remainder of the afternoon by the pool. As Renee prepped for dinner and watched them through the kitchen window, she couldn't help but wonder how this was inevitably going to turn Steve's world upside down….albeit in a good way. It was a shame he'd missed so much time with his daughter, but she had no doubt he would make up for lost time with Maddie. She was a sweet girl but there was a fire in her that Renee recognized as well.
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Steve and Danny followed Lou home after a mostly unsuccessful and frustrating day. They still had no leads and the clock was ticking. Steve's patience was wearing thin especially considering his daughter's safety weighed in the balance.
The men walked into the Grover kitchen to find Renee and the girls putting finishing touches on dinner. They'd been too busy to eat and had been grateful when Lou said Renee insisted they come for dinner.
"Perfect timing," Renee said as Lou walked to embrace her for a quick kiss.
She handed platters of prepared food to Grace and Samantha to take to the lanai. Madison was taking something out of the oven, so Steve walked over to peek over her shoulder. One glance and he knew exactly what it was.
"Peach cobbler…" he said softly as she turned to smile at him and shake her head.
"Your grandma would make it for me every Sunday when I came over for dinner. She knew it was my favorite."
"Momma did the same for me….It's my favorite too and she said Nana's cobbler was worth the splurge."
"She was right," Steve winked at her. "And by the looks of that cobbler, it seems you inherited the Tomlin women's talent for making the best."
Maddie blushed adorably at the compliment.
Renee called them all out to the lanai where the table was set and everyone gathered around for dinner. They feasted on blackened salmon, rice, and roasted veggies before finishing off with Maddie's peach cobbler.
Steve had two big servings of the cobbler before pushing himself back from the table and swearing he couldn't possibly take another bite. Maddie certainly had the family recipe as it tasted just like the one he remembered as a kid.
"It was all delicious, ladies. Thank you!" Steve said looking at each of them before noticing how tired Maddie looked. She had pulled her knees to her chest as she sat in her chair and was very close to dozing off. "So….," he clapped his hands together and lowered his voice a bit. "Where I come from, the cooks don't clean up, so Danny, Lou, and I got this…and then Maddie, Eddie and I probably need to get home."
Renee shewed him off. "Nonsense. It's been a long day and I know she's tired. Take Maddie home. Lou, Samantha and I can handle the clean-up."
Steve lowered his voice, "Okay, but can you and I talk first?"
"Of course."
Steve followed Renee back into the kitchen.
He stole a glance towards his daughter once again before turning to Renee.
"Listen, I just want to thank you for bringing her home with you today. I know it was better than having her at HQ. I just…." He sighed. "Honestly, Renee, I feel a little out of my element right now. We need to close this case, but I'm worried about her."
"Welcome to parenthood," She smiled at him encouragingly as she reached out to squeeze his forearm. "You're going to be fine, Steve. She's a great girl."
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Steve pulled into his driveway and looked over at his sleeping daughter. He allowed himself the indulgence to just look at her as he considered the weight of what had happened and how his life was changing. She looked so peaceful that he hated to disturb her.
He reached over and gently squeezed her arm. "Maddie, wake up, sweetheart. We're home."
Before long, they were inside and Maddie was fast asleep with Eddie laying beside her on the bed. Steve normally didn't allow Eddie on the bed, but he was making an exception since he seemed to make Maddie feel more secure.
He pulled a beer out of the fridge and settled on the couch to open his laptop and go over the minimal information they had so far. The case was frustrating him because he knew time was ticking.
Seventy-two hours had passed since the first two girls had been abducted. They were still missing and they had absolutely no leads to go on. A third girl, Keilani, had been abducted walking back to her on-campus apartment after a late night work-out and had been found dead twelve hours later. A preliminary tox screen had shown ketamine in her system, but she had died from blunt force trauma after putting up one hell of a fight if the defensive wounds on her were any indication. Evidence had also been found of sexual assault and Max had confirmed more than one male genetic profile. Steve didn't want to think about what that meant because no scenario was good.
He pulled up one of the statements they'd taken from a student on campus who had been with Keilani the night she disappeared.
He heard a noise upstairs that sounded as if it was Maddie. Eddie came to the top of the stairs and looked down at Steve giving a soft bark.
"Everything okay, boy?"
Eddie gave another soft bark and looked back towards the room where Maddie was sleeping and whined.
Steve closed his laptop and started to make his way upstairs to see what was going on.
Already started on Chapter 6 and hope to have it posted in the next couple of days. I apologize again for being gone so long!