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A/N: Guys this chapter is 12 pages long. I forgot that all the chapters around this drama are a bit longer. SORRY! Hope it's still okay. Things are gonna get hella angsty after this... and kinda strange. Whoever voted for Wo Fat being super possessive as a future problem was RIGHT! Okay! Hope you guys enjoy, don't forget to tell me which parts are your favourite and what you think it going to happen next. And I'll see you on Tuesday!

Chapter 30

It started with a simple request.

Can I listen to some music?

What could be the harm? She had been very well behaved up until that point. Wo Fat had no reason to think that this wouldn't have gone as smoothly as everything else had.

He had managed to drive all the way downtown with her handcuffed to him. They had managed to get up into the office space that he knew was being renovated and would therefore be good cover until the new base was ready to have Rowan there. She had sat placidly beside him scribbling on scraps of paper while he talked business with Armando. He even uncuffed her so he and Armando could talk somewhere quietly without Rowan hearing of their plans and while they were gone she didn't even try to escape.

She did, however, end up right beside Juan Carlos, the two of them had their heads pressed together listening to music on his iPod, she with one ear bud he with the other. Shoulder to Shoulder. Within kissing distance. Wo Fat put a stop to that immediately. There would be no romance or canoodling during the imprisonment. He'd make sure of that.

So, when she asked if she could listen to music he figured she'd put some music on a radio or something. You know normal music, the stuff the young kids listened to these days, all beat and no tune. He was not expecting country. He hated country.

Wo Fat made the mistake of telling her that. Anything but country. But that made her play the music louder. Once the radio was shattered he thought that would be enough. He didn't realize Juan Carlos had brought his guitar until Rowan was instructing him to play it. Didn't know Rowan could sing until she was belting out a tune.

Cue to her running around a small office space, breathlessly singing a country song, the epitome of all country songs, while Wo Fat chased her trying to get her to shut up.

And I can take you for a ride on my big green tractor.

Wo Fat threw himself at her. Rowan dodged. Damn she was good at evading. Wo Fat landed on his stomach and pounded the floor with frustration.

We can go slow or make it go faster. Down through the woods and out to the pasture, as long as I'm with you it really don't matter.

Wo Fat got up. He spotted Armando and Juan Carlos just watching. Juan was smiling, finding it hilarious, playing the guitar for her while Armando was frowning at him. He didn't need another lecture from the older man about his conflicting behaviour with his prisoner. He knew it was a problem, he didn't need Armando Dias, the gun running family man, to tell him that. Rowan was still singing eyes closed and dancing to the song a big loping grin on her face. Other than that phone call to McGarrett she hadn't smiled at all since he had met her.

Climb up in my lap and drive if you want, girl you know you got me to hold on to. We can go to town, but baby if you'd rather, I'll take you for a ride on my big green trac—.

He roared, he was sick of this song, he was sick of her. She would not weaken him. He was stronger than her baby blue eyes and infectious kindness.

So he tackled her. Cut her off right at the end of the refrain. Before she could finish the last word. The song was done. Rowan was under him groaning, her hands on his shoulders pushing him off. So, he rolled off of her. He was groaning too, he hadn't expected that take down to hurt as much but she was skin and bones so he had managed to absorb the impact even though she hit the ground first.

"Really?" she breathed out, she slowly raised her arm and smacked his chest. It did no damage to him, a bunny might as well as hopped on his chest, but he didn't like that she thought she could do that to him. He didn't like that it felt nice to have someone to play fight with. No matter how inappropriate it was.

"I told you to shut up," Wo Fat growled slapping her hand away.

"This all could have been avoided if you just shot her," Armando said from where he was leaning.

Juan Carlos was laughing, so much so he was collapsed on the floor holding his ribs and wheezing. He clapped his hands. "That was the best! Do it again!"

Rowan groaned again. "I don't think I can take another tackle like that," she said.

"If you start singing country again I will shoot you," he growled.

"If you're gonna tackle me every time I annoy you I'd rather you just shot me," Rowan shot back. Wo Fat forced himself to sit up. He was in the process of getting her up when Juan Carlos decided to get up too. Wo Fat glared at him, he really hopped that the kid stayed away from Rowan he had enough to deal with without having to worry about that kid being romantic with her.

Instead the kid went to the window to look out. "Is there anything good to eat around here?" he asked. "Whoa, a silver Camaro."

Wo Fat was still holding Rowan's hands, he hadn't had a chance to let go. But the second Juan Carlos said silver Camaro Rowan went stiff in his grip. Wo Fat turned back to her. Her eyes were wide, not shocked, not in fear, but blankly. Like he had lost her in her own head.

"Yeah, right there by that gun shop," Juan Carlos said. "It's a nice model. Oh a burrito place, can we go there?"

Wo Fat didn't hear any of that. When the words gun shop fell from his lips, Rowan shuddered, her eyes rolled back in her skull and then collapsed to her knees.

An electrical shock ran up Wo Fat's arms so strong and surprising that he dropped his hold on her immediately.

He stared down at the girl at his feet. He went into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He tossed a few bills at Juan Carlos. "Bring back something for her to eat," he ordered and then crouched down in front of Rowan.

"What was that?" Armando asked once his nephew had left the room. Rowan was groaning again, her head in her hands.

"I don't know," Wo Fat replied. Was this from her head injury? Was she ill before he got her? Was seizures a thing she had? Because that would explain why McGarrett was so frantic to get her back. "Are you okay?"

Rowan looked up to him, her eyes squinted as if she didn't understand what had happened. She looked around and then her eyes focused on him again.

"I… uh… I think I'm going to throw up," she said. "Can… can I go to the washroom?"

"Yes of course," he said, helping her up to her feet and ushering her out into the hallway and watching the door shut behind her. He turned his back on the door to where Armando was blocking the doorway and staring at him. He had a look on his face, one that Wo Fat recognized.

"Don't say it," he snapped. "I'm sick of hearing it and I wouldn't think twice about shooting you to shut you up."

"Oh, so you'll shoot me? Are you sure because you've yet to shoot the most annoying thing in your life," he snarled.

"She's my ticket to Five-0 doing anything I ask for. She's my meal ticket. I'm not going to shoot my meal ticket," he reminded him.

"Then slap her around a bit," Armando growled. "You're too soft on her. Which is ridiculous. Everyone said you were ruthless. Where is that ruthlessness with her?"

Wo Fat wanted to argue. He really did but the man had a point. Ever since he found her bedraggled and half drowned outside the office he had been using to inventory his newest arms shipment he had been unable to harness that ruthlessness. Something about her had softened him. Maybe it was the patheticness of her. Or maybe it was the fact that underneath that annoying exterior he saw himself in her. Driven and alone. She had no one, and she needed someone right now. He had been in that position before and it occurred to him that he wanted to save her from it the way no one had saved him.

"I can't be ruthless. The man I stole her from has a laser focus and right now it's on her. His desire to keep her safe is borderline obsessive. If he thinks for even a second I'll cause her any sort of bodily harm he'll double his reserves to find us and get her back. The only thing stopping him right now is that I have her and he doesn't want me to hurt her. He'll play along as long as he thinks she'll be safer this way," he told Armando. It was a lie of course, but a necessary lie. And it wasn't really that much of a lie.

He wasn't sure what Steve would do. All of this was assumption. But Wo Fat knew that Steve would do anything for Rowan. He had proved that by agreeing to the hostage demands.

"And you're that afraid of him?" Armando growled.

"No. But I'm trying to rebuild and the man can be quite annoying when it comes to chasing down people. He has the ability to eliminate my resources and I'd rather not have him try until I'm fully up and running again," Wo Fat argued, because that much was true. It was why he had endeavoured to keep himself hidden from Five-0. He knew Steve would come for him when he was a threat to his mother, in his quest to find out who he was to her. But he was now under the impression that Steve would be a bit more dedicated to ruining Wo Fat's lively hood and putting him back into jail if something were to happen to Rowan.

He turned away from the man to hide his discomfort. He wasn't afraid of McGarrett. Not fully. He was more afraid of the way Rowan made him feel. Regardless, during their argument neither noticed the door to the washroom open and close. No one noticed the small body sneak away from them. And by the time they did notice, it was too late.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Rowan wasn't escaping. She was searching.

She had this terrible vision. It wasn't from the episode. It was a version of the episode. Steve being shot by a sniper. She couldn't tell if it was a kill shot. She could only tell that he was distracted and therefore didn't notice on time, like he would have in the episode. Which meant she would have to do something.

She knew she was in the right building. Somehow, she even knew where to go. Down the floor, three rooms over. There was already a dead body. A painter. She knew that much. She also knew she didn't have much time left to save Steve.

She found the right door and slowly pushed it open, quietly and quickly getting into the room while the man crouched on the floor concentrated on his shot. Rowan rushed forward, she didn't care about being soundless now, she had no plan in mind, she only knew she had to stop him.

So she kicked the gun's tripod out from under it just as he pulled the trigger. The kick sent the poor man flying and Rowan found herself, not running away like she should have, but staring out the window. Please God let it have worked.

Seconds later she spotted Danny rushing out of the gun store, followed by a completely fine Steve. But Rowan was not okay. The man with no hands stood and Rowan took a step back. He lunged at her, and luckily she managed to evade him, dodging to the side avoiding those prosthetics that she knew would be able to crush bone if they got a hold of her.

But her luck had run out or that man's rage was more potent than her fear. He slammed into her, shoving her up against the wall. Her feet tripping over the body of the painter slumped against it. He forced her to turn, she struggled to keep his hands away from her neck. But he got them there regardless.

There was only one squeeze and spots formed in front of her eyes. The pain was almost unbearable but she couldn't do anything but gasp. There was no air in her lungs, in fact it felt like he was squeezing her throat shut. She was going to die. Who would take care of Steve then? He'd blame himself, she knew he would.

She never even got to tell him how she felt about him.

What felt like eons was actually only seconds. It was enough to do damage, she felt it in her throat but at this rate it wasn't going to matter because Rowan was going to die. At least, she thought she was.

In fact, just as she was on the edge of losing consciousness, someone tackled the man off of her. There was a scuffle, she could hear it, but there was a blackness around her vision and all she could do was cough. She was coughing so hard she still couldn't breathe. Her mouth was filled with a sick metallic taste.

She was coughing up blood.

She collapsed to the ground, coughing into her hands, covering them in her blood. Gunshots rang out and she ignored them. The man got clipped in the shoulder and decided to run but she didn't see it. All she saw was black spots and red splatters.

"Rowan, Rowan, what the fuck?" Wo Fat cried, his hands on her shoulders shaking her lightly.

"He… was… going… to shoot… Steve…" she gasped out between coughs.

"Did he shoot you? Where is that blood coming from?" he asked. He pulled her up. She could feel him looking her over, she must have looked a dreadful fright.

She coughed some more. Air was slowly returning to her, she was regaining her vision. Which was how she knew that with that last cough blood had sprayed all over Wo Fat's face. And he looked horrified. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she had coughed blood up all over him or if it was because she had been that badly injured.

"Holy fuck," was all that came out of him. And then he paused. "Wait did you say Steve?"

"He's… probably… chasing… the shooter," she gasped out but that didn't seem to appease Wo Fat.

He started to drag her down the corridor. She stumbled after him still trying to clear her vision and breathe but she couldn't seem to get enough air into her.

"We need to get you to a doctor," he was telling her. Rowan was barely listening. He must have pulled out his phone to talk call Armando as he pushed her into the elevator.

"No, I found her. She's injured. We'll need to take her to a hospital. We'll meet you in the back," he said before hanging up his phone and turning back to her.

"What were you thinking?" he growled to her. "How did you even know he was there, let alone what he was going to do?"

"I… had a… vision," she gasped and coughed again sending more blood onto her hands. She was starting to panic. This couldn't be a good sign. "I… I… I can't breathe."

Wo Fat was looking at her again. His fingers probing at her neck which caused her to wince in pain. "You'll be okay. We'll get this fixed. I promise."

They were quiet except for Rowan's gasps for the rest of the ride down. He had an arm around her waist, she was pressed firmly to his side as if helping her to walk. She let him think that was what he was doing. In reality her breathing was still shaky, but her vision had returned fully.

She could make a break for it. If she got across the street to the gun store, the one that Steve had been in, she could stay there. He could call Steve. He was going to lose the shooter anyway, he could come get her. Or at least send someone else, like Chin or Kono. She could finally go home.

He led her through the lobby and out through to the back where a town car was waiting for them. He let her go propping her up on the car while he got the door open and she took her chance then. She turned and bolted for the mouth of the alleyway.

"Oh no you don't," she heard Wo Fat growl and then he had her again, arms wrapped up around her waist, hoisting her up so her feet were off the ground.

"No. Let me go!" she cried trying to twist out of his grasp. When that didn't work she kicked back, her leg tangling up in his and taking him down. They hit the pavement hard, the asphalt burning her hands and arms. She was up before he could recover, she took two steps away and heard the cocking of a gun.

She froze but forced herself to turn. Armando was out of the driver's seat. Gun trained on her. And Rowan couldn't breathe again. He wouldn't actually shoot her, would he?

Wo Fat lurched to his feet, grabbing Armando by the arm and twisting it down just as the explosive pop rang out. Rowan jumped and cringed. He would have shot her? He would have actually shot her?

Wo Fat was shouting something. She wasn't sure if it was at her or at someone else. She was too busy coughing. Each cough like a punch to her throat. She felt the thick sticky metal climb up her throat and fly out of her mouth. She tried to cover it up but it was too much, so much she was practically throwing it up.

Wo Fat's hands were on her back. She wanted to lie down on the ground. Lying down had always woked before but she knew it wouldn't work this time. She wanted the pain to go away. She wanted Steve. Whatever it was he was saying to her was lost in the coughing and when she didn't respond or move he lifted her up in his arms and took her back to the car.

"Take me to Honolulu MC. Alex… Alex will help…" she told him between coughs.

"Who the hell is Alex?" Wo Fat thundered as if that was the hot issue of the day.

Rowan lay back in his arms, too weak to keep fighting. She was scared. So, despite her aversions she found herself clinging to the crisp fabric of his suit, and tucking her head close to his shoulder as if trying to hide from the pain. When she started coughing again he pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to her mouth. Probably to save his suit.

For a second she swore the pain blinded her, because for those few seconds it felt like she was in the protective embrace of her brother. And she had thought she would never feel that again.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

The first thing Chin had noticed was the blood. So much blood. Too much blood for the scene in front of him. Splatters of it against the wall by the lifeless body of the painter. Bullet holes with flecks of blood by the door. A trail of blood leading to a stairwell. Splatters of blood along the hallway, and coating surfaces of the middle elevator, all in spray patterns.

There was another victim. There was another shooter. And they had their shooter's DNA.

The bullets recovered from the wall were from a hand gun. Not the same caliber as the shooter's rifle.

Steve had recovered a prosthetic hand and evidence of blood in the car the shooter had crashed into the water. This confirmed why the shooter never left any finger prints he had no hands. It also confirmed that it was the shooter who had been shot.

And the robotic hands had crushed the neck and windpipe of the painter who had surprised him. So who did the blood belong to? And who was the second shooter?

Max came up to investigate the body and the blood splatters. As Chin had surmised the splatters by the door were high velocity, meaning the shooter had been clipped, probably around the shoulder. The ones by the body were low velocity.

Probably coughed up. And seeing that the first victim had no blood around his mouth it probably wasn't him. Which meant there was someone else with a severely injured windpipe out there somewhere. Probably the same someone who had the pistol. Chin tried to tell Steve, except their fearless leader's mind was anywhere but on this second victim.

But Steve's priority wasn't the second victim with the pistol. It was the shooter they were looking for. And with the DNA plus a tip Rowan had snuck in when Steve had managed to talk to her on that proof of life call they found their guy. Curt Stoner. Who had been arrested by Keoki, Ookala, Duke and Steve's father during a bank heist, in which an explosion had blown Stoner's hands off.

That was why he was killing these men, that was why he had been after Steve. He couldn't get revenge on John McGarrett so he was going to settle with making Steve pay for what his father had done to him.

They had found his apartment with that information. But Curt was ready. He waited for Steve to be at window level to try and shoot him but Steve had figured it out. Then it was just about baiting Curt so Kono could get a shot in.

And Kono delivered. Kono got him in one shot. Then he was dead on the pavement, having fallen off the building he had been perched on and one of Steve's nightmares ended.

Steve had wanted this case dealt with. He had to talk to his mother. They had to have a plan ready for when midnight came. He didn't want to hand his mother over, but he knew, if his back was against the wall he would.

Anything to have Rowan back in his arms again.

Steve got home to his mother already planning out the op. She had a map of the area and little markers for where they were going to put Danny, Chin and Kono. She wanted HPD waiting at the highway ready to swarm in upon her mark.

It was impressive. But it made Steve nervous. He didn't want to chance it. He knew Wo Fat would have a plan. Probably one that ended with Rowan getting shot just to spite him. He didn't want that.

He had been living with a worry in his stomach since the shooting at the gun shop. It wasn't that someone had tried to shoot him, someone was always trying to shoot him. It wasn't he hadn't even been aware that he was in the cross hairs, had been so out of it over Rowan that he didn't hear Danny when he confirmed the shop owner hadn't placed the call that had brought them to this spot. It wasn't because he knew the Stoner would never have missed so there had to be a reason for him missed such an easy target as Steve had been in that window. No, this pit of worry that at wormed its way into his stomach was something else.

It was the same feeling he got when Rowan was in trouble. The feeling he got before she started flickering. But Rowan was with Wo Fat, being held somewhere, there was no way for her to be in harm's way unless Wo Fat was causing her harm.

"Don't worry," Doris said putting an arm around his shoulder. "We'll get her back."

Steve smiled up to his mother, ignored a call from Fong and dialed Danny instead. They had an op to pull off. He had a girl to rescue.

And if things went right, by tomorrow he'd have a new girlfriend and dead nemesis.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

It had been a week since Alex Lockman had last seen Rowan and he'd be lying if he said he didn't worry. He had this irrational fear that the next time he did see her again it would be on a triage table with Steve hovering in the waiting room. Best case scenario she'd show up at his apartment and throw herself at him telling him that she and Steve were done with their toxic whatever it was they had and she was his alone.

He didn't think he'd find her in an examination room coughing up blood while an angry Korean man pointed a gun at his face.

He had walked in, seen Rowan on the table and had rushed to her side. He had hugged her, held her for all of two seconds and then felt the cool of the metal behind his ear.

"Let her go," came a growl. "And step away."

Alex put his hands up in surrender but Rowan just groaned. The man behind him was dressed in an impeccable light blue suit. The white of his shirt was crisp which made the blood splattered across his chest and lapels all the more bright. His pointed Asian features were angular and angry. The gun in his hand didn't waver, the coldness in his eyes betrayed a calculated mind. He wasn't running scared. He was very much in control.

"Can you stop, please," she said, her voice scratchy a low.

He had been under the impression that this man was using her to get treatment for himself, he did have blood spatters across his face and the shoulders and neck of the white shirt of his suit, but he didn't look like he was in any sort of pain. Then Rowan talked and he realized that she was the problem.

"What's going on?" he asked eyeing her. She had big purple welts around her neck. He was officially worried.

"Is this him?" the man asked.

"Yes. Alex this is Oz, Oz this is Alex," she said. "Put the gun down, Oz."

As soon as her sentence was finished she started coughing, the rattling wet kind. Alex pulled her hand from her mouth and found it covered in blood.

"What the fuck, Ro?" he cried immediately going for her neck. It looked like someone had tried to crush her windpipe.

"A guy with fake hands tried to strangle me," she told him in that low raspy voice and then immediately began to cough again like she was clearing her throat. Like she was trying to stifle it.

"Shit," he muttered. He then glanced back at Oz who had since then hidden the gun but kept staring at Alex with the same untrusting eyes that Steve had.

"She'll need x-rays," he told him.

Oz shook his head. "No. We don't have time and we're not leaving this room."

"I need to see if she's fractured her spine or if she has internal bleeding," Alex argued. Oz's lips twitched. They were set in a firm frown and they seemed to be getting deeper.

His eyes glanced to Rowan who was coughing again and then back to Alex. "Fine, but we all go together," he warned.

"I'm not taking her anywhere until you tell me what's going on," Alex snapped causing Oz to frown again.

"It's none of your business…" Oz started but Rowan was already talking. "He's Steve's arch nemesis. I'm kidnapped until further notice."

"Rowan!" Oz snapped but she just shrugged.

"He was going to find out. And so will Steve. My blood is all over the room where the shooter was shooting from," she reminded him. Alex was just struggling to keep up. She had just been missing for a week. He had tried to put out a missing person's report but was told that Five-0 already had a case out on her. Now she was kidnapped? There was a shooter? Some dude with fake hands had tried to squeeze the life out of her… literally? What the fuck was happening?!

Rowan continued on as if all of this was fucking normal. "Plus, he really wouldn't help me if we didn't tell him."

"And if he calls McGarrett?" Oz argued. "I'd rather he finds out later rather than sooner."

"He's not going to call Steve, they don't like each other," Rowan said.

"Of course I don't like him, he broke us up," Alex muttered.

Rowan opened her mouth to defend Steve like she always did but Oz beat her to it. "Wait, you used to date this man?" he asked pointing at Alex, he was now looking Alex up and down in an appraising manner as if this information changed things. "You didn't tell me that."

"Why does your kidnapper care about your love life?" Alex shot back.

Rowan's eyebrows were drawn together in confusion. "Uh… I don't know," she said. Then a cocky smirk dawned on her face. "Hey, Oz, why do you care about my love life?"

"I don't care. It matters because people who care about someone will do desperate things to save them. Had I known that he was a love interest I would have taken you somewhere else," he snapped. Rowan just grinned at him a strange sort of grin she used when she was teasing people.

It must have really bugged Oz for he went a shade of red he had never seen on an Asian man before. "I'm going to wait outside," he snapped. "Give me your phone."

Alex handed over his phone and the hospital walkie. He watched Oz leave the room, the door shutting behind him softly and then he looked back up to Rowan. "Rowan…"

"Don't start, okay?" she said. "I keep coughing up blood, that's more important right now."

"If you get out of this I swear to god I'm moving you out of Steve's, you hear me?" he snarled to her. He was between her legs and really close to her. His examination of her was done all he really needed was to see how bad the damage was and see if she needed surgery or just pain meds.

Her arms wound around his neck pulling him closer. He hated it when she did that. He'd lose himself in her eyes and forget to be angry with her. "I'd kiss you but I taste like blood," she murmured to him.

"I don't give a shit," he mumbled and then pressed his lips to hers. But realized quickly that he lied, because she really tasted of blood, overpoweringly so, and it did bother him.

He had missed her. He had missed this. And it felt great to have what Steve didn't. She didn't go to Steve she had come for him. Though, to be fair, Steve knew nothing about first aid.

"Now tell me what happened and where he's holding you so I can tell Steve and he can kick that guy's ass," Alex whispered once he pulled away. "And once that's done I'm going to take you to get that x-ray."

Rowan dropped her head so her forehead rested against his and quietly began to talk.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Midnight hit.

Everyone was in place.

Steve stood with his mother at the drop point.

Jumping at every noise. Gun on his hip itching to be drawn. He had his own plan. Shoot Wo Fat the second he had a clear shot. Kill Wo Fat. Save Rowan. Kiss her until the worry left his body. Demand that she became his girlfriend. Go home. Cuddle. Rowan makes pancakes in the morning. That was his plan.

But it was ten past midnight and no one had showed up.

Steve was starting to get antsy.

By the time the phone rang at 12:38 he had paced a groove into the patch of grass he and his mother had been waiting on.

"Where is she?" he shouted in the phone. "Why aren't you here?"

There was silence on the other end before he heard: "There were… complications."

"Complications?" Steve echoed and that pit of worry blossomed into a climbing ivy of icy dread. "I did as you asked. I'm here. I brought my mother. What could have gone wrong?"

"You also brought Five-0 and HPD," Wo Fat reminded him and his breath left his body. He knew. "But that wasn't the complication. It seems Rowan suffered a bit of an incident."

That was worse.

"Incident? What happened? Is she okay?" Steve asked but he was met with silence. "Look, if she needs a hospital, take her there. Hell, leave her in a ditch for all I care just tell me where she is, I'll send Doris to you. I promise. Just please. Please give her back to me."

He was begging. His voice had hitched and cracked. He had bared all his cards. Not that it mattered, Wo Fat knew. He knew their plan and he'd known that Rowan was worth everything to him.

"She's already been to the hospital," Wo Fat told him his voice quiet and strange. Unreadable. What the hell did he want then?

For a second Steve was confused. Nothing else was added. Nothing about whether or not she was okay. And when the silence grew too heavy Steve asked again: "Then give her to me. Tell me where to meet. I'll go anywhere. Any day or time. Just tell me where she is. Please. Please give her back to me."

The silent stretch continued. So long that Steve actually checked his phone to see if he lost the call. He hadn't. So what was happening? Why wasn't Wo Fat answering him? What had happened to Rowan?

"No." Wo Fat whispered so softly Steve almost missed it. "No, I don't think I will,"

"What?" Steve cried. "Wait? No! No! You can't keep her!"

But Wo Fat had hung up the phone. Steve stared down at the blank screen horror dawning on his face. He heard his mother's voice, straining to be reassuring but the shock had overwhelmed him. Rowan was so injured Wo Fat felt that he had to take her to the hospital? And now he wanted to keep her? Why? Why would he want to do that? Just to spite Steve?

This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't how that night was supposed to end. Rowan was supposed to be in his arms. Rowan was supposed to be here. He hadn't even tried to plan for any other outcome because he didn't think he could handle another outcome and he was right.

The frustrated angry scream ripped from him before he knew what had happened. And he kept screaming until his throat was raw and his mother wrapped him up in a hug he didn't want.

He didn't hear his team come up. He didn't hear them tell him that Fong had information for him. Something important he needed to hear. He was lost in his rage, in his frustration and fear.

He needed Rowan. He needed Rowan.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Wo Fat hung up the phone absently and placed it beside him.

Rowan was asleep on his lap again. Her head resting against his thigh, her arms wrapped around one of his legs. He had draped his arm casually across her shoulders, his fingers twisting the ends of a lock of her hair. Every now and then she'd cough like she was clearing her throat. He'd brush the handkerchief lightly across her lips and it would come back stained in red every time. He could feel the blood seeping onto his pant leg but he still didn't bother to move her.

It would be like that for a while. Maybe the next couple of days. Then she'd stop coughing up blood and start healing. That was what to expect when one's larynx had been fractured. He had been told to keep her from talking and singing, she was to rest, and to be observed to make sure she was breathing right. He also had to keep her head elevated. This was as elevated as he could get her at that moment, but he could move her once it was time for him to leave.

He wasn't sure why he was doing this. He wasn't sure why he cared. He had never cared about anyone or anything else like this before. Was this love? No, he doubted it. He didn't feel any sort of lust for her. He didn't want to fuck her, or kiss her or anything he usually felt when he was sexual attracted to someone.

He just wanted to take care of her.

Rowan shifted, groaning lightly. Making noises that might have been words had she been awake at the time. His grip shifted with her, his arm staying over her holding her tightly in place so she didn't roll off of him and onto the floor.

He could make this work. He could make her want to stay. He could make her into something like him. He just needed to get her loyalties to switch. He needed her to want to stay with him.

He needed to keep her away from Steven McGarrett.