Rewrite

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Okay guys! After this, the chapters are going to focus less on Steve and more on Wo Fat and Rowan. I promise to make it interesting. They're also going to go back to their normal 7-9 pages long. So I have a Christmas idea, please tell me if any of you would want a Christmas Five-0 fic where a lucky reader would get to pick what happens? If so tell me!. Kay! See you on Friday!

Chapter 31

Steve took the phone that Kono was offering him. It had taken some time to reel in the emotional turmoil. It had taken his mother and Danny stroking his back until he could breathe again, until he could straighten his back up and act like the strong man he usually was.

His hands shook as he accepted the phone, luckily no one commented on it or anything else they had just witnessed. They avoided his eyes as much as he was avoiding theirs. He didn't want to see the pity on their faces. He didn't want them to see how weak he was, though after that display it was clear as day just how weak Rowan Pierce and this whole situation had made him.

"McGarrett," he said trying to keep his voice level and steady.

"It's Fong. I got the results of the DNA test on the second sample," he said quickly.

"Okay," Steve answered. Short and curt. Why did this matter? Why had he been blowing up all of their phones over that?

"It's Rowan's."

That's why.

All the air he had carefully cultivated left him and immediately he was doubled over again trying to calm his racing heart. Danny and his mother went right back to stroking his back Rowan was at the shooting? Rowan had been across the street from him?

He had felt it too. This stirring in his blood. He thought he was imagining it. He thought it was wishful thinking or an echo of familiarity, something that reminded him of her, which was everything, that brought the feeling back. But he had been wrong. She had been there, just across the street. That bullet had narrowly missed him. He hadn't seen it coming, and Stoner's aim had never been off before. It had been off because he had been distracted during that shot.

And Steve could guess what had distracted him.

"I've done some other tests on the blood, and I've determined from the mucus I've found in the sample that it's most likely from her mouth. Hence the low velocity spatter, she coughed it up," Fong said.

So Rowan had been hit in the mouth. Blood would have sprayed out. Stoner must have tried to kill her, and if Rowan was there Wo Fat couldn't have been far behind. That explained how Stoner got clipped. Because neither Danny nor Steve's attempts to get him had been close.

"Thank you," he said and then hung up the phone. He turned to his team and saw them staring at him concern on all their faces.

There was a wildness in his eyes that none of his team had never seen before. Cracks in that otherwise guarded exterior. He was falling apart in front of them and he didn't know how to put himself back together again.

"I want the security tapes from that building and around it. If Rowan was there with Wo Fat I want to see how they got out," he said.

They nodded. He could see that they assumed he meant in the morning. He wanted to contradict them, tell them the meant right this second but he couldn't. They were all tired, it was past one in the morning. He should let them got home to their beds. He should go home to his bed.

He let his mother lead him to his Silverado. He let them all murmur words of encouragement to him before they left. And while his mother talked about what plan she wanted to enact now, Steve drove and remained quiet.

Rowan's injury was so severe Wo Fat took her to a hospital. It couldn't have been just a hit to the mouth then. Her injury had to be worse. What could have happened to her to have her coughing up blood though?

The hospital.

Rowan was smart. Rowan would have known that Wo Fat never would have taken her to the hospital unless she could secure a doctor that wouldn't talk. But Rowan didn't know a doctor.

She knew a nurse.

Steve flicked on his siren and lights and immediately turned the car around. Screw the illegal U-Turn he just made. He had a hospital to get to.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Alex had waited. Counted down the minutes it took. Steve should have come by now, he figured, after at least two hours into waiting. But Steve didn't show up until eight hours after he had released Rowan.

And boy did Steve make a scene.

He showed up while Alex was cleaning up the mess of vomit his last patient had left. He flashed his badge and then grabbed Alex by the shoulder and forced him to turn around.

"Rowan was here, wasn't she?" he asked getting up into Alex's face.

Alex shoved Steve away from him. Usually he was intimidated by Steve, who looked like he could tear a truck in two on a good day, but at that moment he was so angry about the situation he didn't care if Steve tried to tear him apart or not. "Yes, she was. Took you long enough to track her down. Would have thought you'd have figured it out quicker seeing how obsessed you usually are."

"You should have called me," Steve growled. True, Alex could have done that, but he wanted Steve to worry. Wanted Steve to feel as powerless as Alex had felt over the last two weeks.

"Like you should have when you found her two days ago?" Alex snapped. "Besides the man she was with was pretty clear that if I called the cops, specifically you, he'd kill me and kill her.

"… she was here with some one?" Steve replied.

"Yep. Oz. Your nemesis. Ring a bell?" Alex snarled and Steve flinched. "I'm guessing you have no idea what happened?"

"No. I know some of it. I know who took her and I'm working on getting her back. Unlike you who let her leave with him," Steve growled.

Alex actually laughed. "Yeah, because he had a gun. And you know what else? He's taking care of her better then you eve—!"

Steve had hit him before Alex even finished the sentence. The punch connecting with his jaw and sending him sprawling back against the hospital bed behind him. Alex saw spots in front of his eyes but he forced himself to stand like the force of the punch hadn't knocked him into a star-eyed state. Doris appeared and pulled him away from Alex before Steve could throw another punch. Alex took a good hard look at Steve after that. Took into account the way the older man was shaking, the way his breathing seemed to come out in laboured pants that hitched as if he were about to cry, the way his eyes burned holes into Alex's chest.

"Alex didn't mean it," Doris was saying to him. "He doesn't understand…"

"No I do understand," Alex snapped. "Rowan has been in and out of this hospital more than anyone else trying to help and save you and your friends. She spent a fucking week of her life homeless cause you kicked her out when she had nowhere else to go and now she's a fucking hostage to your nemesis and it took you eight hours to figure out she stopped a crazed sniper from shooting you!"

Steve's lower lip quivered. It was like each accusation was a stab to his chest. He seemed smaller, less threatening now. He actually looked like he might cry. If Alex wasn't so angry he would have picked up on that.

"I didn't… want… I didn't mean…" he stammered. "I didn't know she was there. She was with… what did you call him? Oz? She was supposed to be with him, far away from where we were. I didn't know she was there. I wouldn't have left her if I knew."

Alex found himself glaring at Steve who seemed so dejected that he was shrinking on the spot. He looked nothing like the usual brave brash man that he was. They were silently regarding one another when Doris spoke up.

"Why did… Oz… bring her here? She couldn't have been badly injured if she wasn't kept here," she asked. Steve's eyes drifted away from the floor and up to Alex. He seemed to be holding his breath.

Alex sighed. "She fractured her larynx," he answered. "Not bad enough to need surgery but bad enough that she was coughing up a lot of blood."

Doris looked from Alex to Steve confused. "How would that have happened?" she wondered. Alex's eyes stayed on Steve's but Steve avoided his eyes like he already knew.

"Steve's shooter had prosthetic hands. I'm assuming the mechanic grip was strong enough to crunch bones?" he asked Steve. When Steve nodded he turned back to Doris and continued: "She interrupted the shot to save Steve and the guy tried to choke the life out of her. Would have broken her neck if Oz hadn't stopped him."

Everyone in the room fell quiet. Alex tried not remember the way Oz had stood there taking in each and every order that he gave him. He didn't act like he knew better. He didn't act like Alex was beneath him. He didn't even act like a kidnapper. He took everything seriously, taking notes on what he should do to keep Rowan alive, to keep her comfortable until she was better. Alex had gotten the feeling that, despite being her captor, Oz was going to actually make sure she got better. Not just stick her in a room and keep her there until he and Steve found the time to go through with the exchange.

"Was it so bad that he couldn't have moved her?" Doris asked.

Alex shook his head. "I mean, she wasn't really conscious when she left. I gave her something for the pain and she was pretty out of it. But he carried her out of here without any issue," he replied. "Why?"

"Because he didn't show up at the drop to exchange her," Doris replied. "We were worried it might have been because of her injuries."

"Well maybe he figured she wouldn't heal if he handed her back to you. Maybe he figured she's better off with him," Alex snapped liking the way Steve flinched.

Steve had had enough of him though as he got up and turned away. He was leaving. But Alex wasn't about to let him leave just yet.

"Don't you want to know what she told me?" Alex taunted and Steve came to a stop. He turned to him a glare on his face.

"What? That she's happier with Oz?" he growled.

Alex shook his head, a smirk dawning on his features. "She told me where he's holding her."

Steve's mouth fell open only to be replaced by a dark glare. He approached Alex quickly shoving him the way Alex had done earlier.

"You knew where they were and you didn't tell me?" Steve snapped. "Why didn't you open with that?"

"You didn't ask," Alex replied with a haughty sniff. "Are you sure you even want to know?"

"YES!" Steve shouted and Alex had to fight to hide his smile.

"He's got her in some compound on the other end of a cemetery. It over looks Keoki. I don't know what that means but Rowan said you would," Alex replied.

Steve didn't even say thank you, he just turned and rushed for the door again. But Alex still wasn't done.

"You know, if she survives this, I'm going to make sure you never see her again," he called out, stopping Steve in his tracks. "I'm going to move her in with me, get her a job, and cut you out of her life. You don't deserve her. You don't want her. And at this point a villain's better for her than you. If she comes back. If you manage to get her back alive. I'll do whatever I have to, to make sure she's safe from you."

Steve stared at him but he said nothing. He just took it all in and walked away. Maybe Steve didn't believe him. But he meant it. Every word. When this was done he was going to win Rowan. Come hell or high water.

And then he was going to rub in Steven McGarrett's face.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Steve and Five-0 burst into the abandoned compound on the hill. It was only a stone's throw away from where Keoki had been shot. Steve wondered if Rowan had been up there when he had been down on the highway. Was this going to be a case of missed connections? Because he wasn't sure he could take it if it was.

Rowan wasn't there. But there was evidence of her being there. Evidence of Wo Fat having done business here. But they had been gone for hours.

His mother found him sitting on the bed Rowan had slept in. There was nothing in the room that said she was being mistreated. No cuffs. No chains. No instruments of torture. But he felt pain radiating through him. His head was splitting from the lack of sleep. His throat was burning from the screaming. His heart was wrenched in two from everything else.

What if Alex was right? What if Rowan was better off away from him?

"You need to snap out of it," his mother said. He looked up and found her standing over him, her arms crossed over her chest. "This won't help Rowan."

He looked around the dark dismal room. Trying not to remember how Rowan didn't like being left alone. Didn't like being bored. Didn't like not being able to escape or run free.

"What does he want with her mom?" Steve asked. "Why won't he go through with the exchange?"

"This is why, Steven," she snapped gesturing to him. "Because he knows it's going to hurt you more if he keeps her. So stop letting him win."

Steve looked up at her. She didn't understand this kind of pain. No one was taken from her. She willingly walked away from the people she loved. But he didn't say that to her, he just looked back to his hands and tried to make himself stronger. Because she had been right about at least one thing. Wo Fat was hurting him more by doing this. And he was letting him do it.

"Fine," he snapped. He forced himself to stand. Forced himself to put that armour back on. To be the leader his team needed him to be. "What do you propose I do?"

"You go on with your life," his mother said as if he could just forget the predicament Rowan was stuck in because of him. "And I'll continue to search."

Steve stared at her. "Keep the BOLO out on her, obviously. Have HPD still working her case, but you can't let this bother you. Make it seem like you couldn't care less, that you're not actively searching. He'll get sloppy, Rowan will continue to rebel and that's how we'll get them."

It was a smart plan. He liked that plan a lot. But it meant trying live without Rowan. To live with the guilt of knowing that she was in this situation because of him. To live wishing he could see her, hug her, hold her close. Kiss her. Patience wasn't his strong suit, but he'd try to bear through it seeing as he had no other option.

"Alright," he replied. "But you have to keep me updated, mom."

She nodded and so did he. His mother put an awkward hand to his shoulder and pet him lightly. "We'll get her back Steve. Rowan's resilient. She'll be okay. I promise."

It was a promise she couldn't keep but he appreciated the attempt to encourage him. He didn't trust himself to saying anything so he just nodded again and walked away.

Could this situation get any worse?

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Could this situation get any worse?

Probably.

Yes.

With each day that Trevor Pierce failed to tell his father that he attempted to pull a living being through the void the angrier his father would be when he found out. But he was so excited about this whole expedition that Trevor couldn't bring himself to tell his father that he was searching for a missing girl who may or may not have drowned because she landed in the ocean and not a skating trophy like he said he had been thinking about. He figured he could do it himself. Search while his father was distracted.

But for the first time since Trevor was five his father wanted to do something with him. He wanted to include Trevor in the experiment. Trevor was introduced to colleagues who wanted to ask his theory on his father's theories. Asked over and over what the void looked like. It was the most attention he had gotten in years.

And he didn't want it to stop.

So he didn't try to sneak away.

"We'll have to look into hiring a boat and a dive team. The university is funding us but we still have a budget," Trenton was tell him. "You rented a boat the last time you were here for a skate final, didn't you?"

Trevor was surprised that his father knew that he had been to Hawaii before let alone that it was for a skating competition. "Yes. But it was a pleasure boat, not the kind you'd take out for a deep-sea dive."

"It wouldn't be that deep that far out," Trenton said. "We could always send a robot down. We'll have to talk to one of the other research facilities out here, see if we can borrow one."

Trevor wanted to ask if these people would actually help him. He didn't know if his father was that well known in the science world. Or if they just knew him as the crack-pot scientist trying to find an alternate reality. But it turned out that, eccentric or not, his father was so well known for his theories, so well known as being a respected expert in his field that everyone was willing to help.

With his dad getting more and more support and their deep dive seeming more and more real by the second Trevor was getting a bit frantic.

So that night, after having dinner with yet another colleague who wanted to know all about his father's research and the particles he was tracking that proved to be residue from the void, Trevor sat his father down for a nightcap.

"Dad, uhm, I was wondering if I could ask a few questions," Trevor had started once his father was sipping on the cheap hotel whiskey.

"You don't need to worry about the science, boy," he said immediately and Trevor felt a little slighted. Like his father didn't feel like was smart enough to understand. That maybe have been true but he didn't need to say it.

"That's not it, it's about your experiment," he said interrupting his father before he could tear him down any further. Intentionally or not. "Why haven't you tried to pull a person through?"

Trenton frowned. "Because it would kill them."

Trevor felt the air leave his body. "Kill them? How?"

"Well the void is just that, a void. It's a vacuum. The space between space. Going through there a person would suffocate. And you saw the hook, covered in ice. The person would freeze. No, they'd need a special suit to travel through," he said with the shake of his head.

Trevor felt his stomach sink. He couldn't tell his father now. He couldn't tell him that he tried to pull his sister through.

"Of course, there is the displacement theory," Trenton continued.

"The what?" Trevor asked with a sigh.

"Well, the theory that pulling a person into a timeline in which they already exist would displace them. So the version that came here would stay in their body and in their time line and the person who was here originally would be shunted to the next free version, which is usually the one that was left behind," he explained.

"So like someone taking over someone else's brain?" Trevor asked. Because that's what it sounded like. Not that it helped, there wasn't a version of Rowan here for her to take over.

"Sort of, not really, more like wearing someone else like a suit and taking over their lives," Trenton said with a shrug. "Why do you ask?"

What was Trevor going to tell him? Definitely not the truth. "Oh, I was just wondering. That's all. It'd be pretty cool if we could do it though," he said trying to act as naturally as possible.

If he had actually succeeded in pulling Rowan through then he had killed her. He wasn't looking for a missing person or a girl who washed up on shore. He was looking for a body.