Rewrite
AvalonReeseFanFics
A/N: It's another glorious Wednesday my wonderful readers. Is it snowing where you are? Cause it's snowing here. This chapter is a lot of talking and not a lot of action, next chapter is going to be the action, I promise. Don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you guys next week!
Chapter 438
With Wo Fat back in the states, it had been up to Jian to pack up their life. It didn't help that all he really cared about what his suits. Everything else they had bought together he didn't really care about. Nothing had sentimental value to him.
Except for a few things that he had gotten from his sister and his brother.
Everything else he just shrugged his shoulders at and said they could buy new ones.
Jian didn't understand how he could think that. But then again, the man hadn't had a home in a very long time. As a criminal, a very well-known one, at that, he had always had to be ready to run at a moment's notice.
That didn't mean that it didn't hurt.
She wanted her fiancé to want to keep the things they had bought together, she wanted him to want to keep things that reminded him of her.
That was silly though, because he was keeping the things that reminded him of her. The cufflinks she had bought him for his birthday last year had made it into the pile of things he wanted to keep. But the mug Rowan had bought him once, the glasses and whiskey decanter from Con, those were things he wanted packed.
None of the plates, the glasses, cutlery, bedding or décor they had bought together he felt attached to. Granted, since they were going to be renting the place out so they could have a third income, they were leaving most of the furniture because it was advertised as fully furnished. But she wanted him to want to want these things and it was strange to her that he didn't.
It was the pregnancy hormones, she knew it. She should be happy that her fiancé wanted to rent their apartment out so that they could have another source of income so it would be easier for them to save money for their child's college fund. He had heard horror stories about how expensive college could be in the states, and he didn't want to have to rely on Rowan for everything.
She was getting sad packing everything up. To her she was packing up a chapter of her life, yes it was to start a new one, but it was still sad. Then Wo had sent her a text asking her to be ready in case something came up, but then wouldn't respond to her questioning what he thought was coming.
He had been oddly unresponsive since that text, but that wasn't uncommon, especially if he was helping to interrogate someone or drawing up battle plans. Didn't stop her from being worried though.
What if something was wrong? What if he had gotten hurt? How would she know?
The door behind her, that led to their washroom slammed open and when she turned she found Rowan standing there.
Immediately she was worried, if Rowan was coming to get her it couldn't be good. Either she was in danger or Wo Fat was really, really hurt.
That worry was sucked right out of her though, the second Rowan cried: "What is your problem? Why are you so mad at him you're willing to break up? What the hell did he do?"
Jian blinked her eyes in surprise. She was unaware her and Wo Fat were in the middle of an argument. She definitely wasn't mad at him, and mentally she began to tally up all of their communications that day, which had been limited, to see if there was something she might have sent that might have been misconstrued by him.
She couldn't think of anything though.
But then her fiancé's face popped up behind Rowan's shoulder and she knew that he had been unresponsive because he had been with his sister. However, Wo Fat's face was oddly more animated then it normally was, and she quickly realized that he wanted her to be mad at him.
The something he had texted her about was this moment. The something involved making up a problem in their relationship for Rowan to solve, and for some reason he couldn't even think of something himself. It was all up to her.
She scowled at him and his wince but if she wanted to marry him she would have to learn to be on his side, to back him even when she had no idea what was going on. And she knew, if she did this, she could convince him to do something for her.
"Uh… he knows what he did?!" she cried. Cause honestly, she couldn't think of something to be mad at him about.
He had been very, very good as of late.
"That's stupid!" Rowan cried stepping into the apartment. "And it's not fair. He's literally got no idea what's going on, just that you're mad and calling off the move and the possible engagement and… judging by the packing you're doing that's all just emotional manipulation!"
WOW!
She was right, of course, but Jian was not used to people calling her out like that. It was also hurtful because she didn't normally do that to Wo Fat.
She turned that dry glare back on him and that wince got deeper. He was still behind her so Rowan couldn't see his facial expression and when she turned around he quickly hid it.
Jesus, what the hell was going on?
"I… ugh… fine you're right, but it's also very embarrassing to be the only one understanding why they're upset, cause he doesn't get it at all!"
"Course not, he has the emotional maturity of a rock," Rowan snapped. Jian tried to not snort when Wo Fat's unamused glare hit the back of Rowan's head. He looked so insulted that she had said that about him, but he clearly couldn't call her out at that moment. "Explain it to me and I'll explain it to him."
Uh-oh.
She had been hoping to stall so she could think of something to be mad at. She had been hoping that would start an argument, but nope. Rowan got it, and she was ready to translate.
"Alright," she said and then glanced around, her eyes finding the bracelet Rowan had given him once. It was literally a tourist bracelet made of beads with a little hand charm. Wo Fat usually wore it, but it was getting worn and he was afraid it was going to break so he had taken it off. It was currently sitting in the jewelry dish that she had planned to sort through. See what she wanted to keep and what she wanted to give away, she already knew that bracelet was in his keep pile.
It also gave her an idea.
"The only things he wants to keep are gifts from you. Everything else we've bought together is replaceable, except for things from you."
At that Wo Fat's eyes narrowed, and his head tilted to the side as if he couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. And that might have been because she was being mostly serious
"What do you mean?" Rowan asked. "I'm sure there's…"
"But there isn't. We bought a whole life here together and he doesn't want to keep anything of it. He just wants the things that you gave him and that… that hurts. That things from you are irreplaceable but the things we bought together to start our life together mean nothing to him."
She was crying, not full tears, but they were welling up in her eyes and one or two had escaped. It was stupid that she was crying, she couldn't blame her pregnancy hormones on all of it either, it was definitely making her more emotional, but she had no idea that she was actually more upset then she thought until she started talking about it.
Rowan made an aww kind of noise at her and then made her way over to the couch. She had literally just started showing but she was still pretty mobile, no waddle yet. Something Wo had told her Steve was literally very annoyed about because he had been looking forward to when Rowan wouldn't be able to move as much and therefore could stay more out of trouble.
Wo followed her that confused look on his face. She realized that he had seemingly figured out that she wasn't acting, she was actually serious about it. Or at least the idea had hit him.
"Wait… wait… is that something you're really mad at me about?"
"Yes really," she snapped to him.
"Fucking hell," he cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why didn't you tell me that?"
"I tried, you don't listen! For someone who's willing to spend so much money on his objects, you'd think you'd want to keep them!"
It was the biggest contradiction about him. The man wanted to be surrounded by the best of the best, everything had to be brand name, the high end ones, but apparently none of that is what important enough to keep.
"I thought I explained that to you," Wo said coming to sit on the other side. "Should I try again?"
"Yeah, I wanna hear what stupid shit you said to her," Rowan said for her.
Jian nodded to back her up and Wo Fat sighed at them both.
"Material things don't matter to me. Do I want them to be expensive, yes, but that's more to show my station and less because I want material things," he said.
"Wo," Rowan said quickly. "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."
Wo Fat glared at her while Jian smiled. "There, see, that's what I said."
"Is this about how you grew up?" Rowan suddenly asked and Wo Fat nodded.
"What do you mean?" Jian asked.
Rowan opened her mouth to tell her but then stopped. She turned to her brother. "Why don't you try telling her? In your own words, and be as descriptive as possible."
"Can't you do it, you're better at it then me."
But Rowan shook her head. "Nope. This is your relationship. You have to learn how to communicate effectively. So you try, and if she needs some translating, I will help after," she said.
Jian had to commend Rowan, that was actually a very smart thing to have Wo Fat start doing. She was right, she would have to learn how to decode him eventually, without having to go to Rowan all the time. They should have started long before this.
Jian turned to him expectantly while he stared back at them. Eventually he sighed heavily and snapped: "Fine, but when I mess this up, it's on you."
He was quiet a moment, clearly thinking about what he wanted to say before starting.
"So… I grew up in a government orphanage, right? Nothing I had was mine, what I did have was cast offs, donations and held over my head. I grew up watching kids get brand new toys, while I got whatever got donated to the orphanage. And what did get donated, I was expected to share with everyone there. When I was of age, I was basically kicked out, I had nothing to my name, and no other option so I joined the army, and my disposition made me… well… well suited for spying. From then on in I… just… my life wasn't stable. I was on mission, after mission, after mission. Home was a one bedroom apartment in whatever city they put me in, where it didn't matter what I had because I was leaving it behind. When I got promoted, not only was I finally a bit more stable but I was finally making decent money. Only then did I start surrounding myself with expensive things, to fill that void I had been missing, but then I got bored and I wanted more than what the Chinese government was willing to pay. So I started dabbling in exporting weapons. And that grew. And with it came the very real reality of having to pick up and leave if something went wrong. Which I had to do and I have continued to have to do up until now."
Both women exchanged glances. They knew his backstory was tragic, but not this much.
"So yes, I do want to surround myself with expensive things because I never had them growing up and they're a sign of prosperity where I come from. And yes, despite wanting expensive things, I'm fine with leaving them behind if I have to run, because I may have wanted them but that doesn't mean they meant something to me. They were just props I used to elevate my image."
Rowan turned to Jian. "When he puts it like that, it makes sense."
She was right it did.
"And I don't like the accusation that I'm only keeping things from my sister. I'm taking things with us to Hawaii that are meaningful to me from a lot of people, you included."
Rowan turned to her and Jian sighed. "Yes, that is true," she admitted. "He's keeping his gifts from me. The ties, the cufflinks and the like."
"See, so he is taking things."
"No I know, and I know I'm being silly, but we bought all of this together, and… well… I'm sad to have to leave so much behind or give away and I don't understand how he just doesn't seem to care or simply calls it silly glassware."
"This is about the mug," Wo Fat snapped and she turned to him. Yes it was the mug that started this.
"Mug?"
"The one you gave me, our twins-ies mug," he said, putting the word twins-ies in quotes. That was because he hated that word, but Rowan called it that and that was how she would identify it.
And she did right away because she perked up right away with a: "Oh!"
"Yes, that mug. All of our other glassware is replaceable but not the mug."
"I told you, it's a matching set," Wo Fat snapped. "I have one, and Ro has the other one. We never got a matching set of mugs, and if we did I'd keep it."
"The set of six mugs we purchased together is our matching set."
Wo Fat's eyebrows furrowed in his frustration and she tried not to giggle at him. "You know that's not what I meant and you know it!" he cried. "And as I said before, if you want to keep our set of mugs, keep them! I don't care!"
"Yes, and that's the problem!"
Wo Fat huffed again and Rowan put a hand out to Jian's so she turn back to her.
"I can see both sides of this. I think… I think you're taking this personally because it's hard for you and you don't understand how this can't be hard for him. But Jian, he moves all the time. By his admission he's been constantly on the move all his early teens. Plus he's rarely here. So a lot of the things in the place aren't as sentimental to him as they would be to you. But the things that are sentimental to him are going. Right? And some of those things are from you."
"I know you're right, but…"
"And if you think about it, for this move, he's taking the most important thing of all, which is you."
Aw she just had to go and get all sappy with her. Tears were coming again, her cheeks were colouring with her embarrassment.
"Again , I know…"
"Jian, sooner or later you're going to accept him for what he is. He's not ever going to be that over emotional guy you want him to be…"
"He is for you."
Now it's was Rowan's turn to frown. "What? No he's not?"
"Yes… I've seen him. Almost all the things he's keeping are from you…"
"Course, I'm the one that's given him the most," Rowan cried. "Jian, I strongly assumed that he did not get gifts before me…" "—That is accurate." "… there are a lot of things that he didn't get before me, like love and care and… and… well I try to give him all of that so he doesn't have to miss out anymore. That doesn't mean he's more emotional for me…"
"No?"
"No! Jian, I'm serious, we moved a lot during the Year of Deceit, and he had one bag. And it was a carry on sized suitcase…"
"That's all he's travelling with now…"
"Yes that's how he always travels. It's easier, minimizes the wait time at the airport, he can just get out. Not that it worked during the Year of Deceit because I had 2 massive suitcases we had to check. The point is, this is how he is, it doesn't mean he feels any less about you, he just doesn't care about stuff. Stuff can be replaceable."
"Besides, we're moving, we can buy new stuff. New stuff that fits our new family and house."
"Yes, him buying a house is a big deal too, that's putting down major roots! He's never done that before."
"He bought you a safe house," Jian reminded her and Rowan snorted.
Her turned to Wo and said: "You told her you bought the safe house."
Wo Fat shook his head and Jian hesitated a moment. "Well, no he didn't but I thought… since he was… you know in charge that year that the safe house was his idea?"
"Nope, I bought the safe house," Rowan said. "I wanted a home, one that couldn't be tied to us, somewhere where we could be safe."
"And because she planned to steal Nahele from Steve so she needed somewhere that couldn't be traced to her so she could hide them."
"Oh," Jian said softly. "That makes more sense."
Wo Fat rolled his eyes but Rowan just smiled. "So, do you feel better about everything now?"
"Yes, I do," she said and then she turned to Wo Fat. "We're buying a matching pair of mugs, the second you come back to Hawaii. Me and You. Matching pair."
"Yes, you're not the only one who's requested that," Wo said bitterly. Jian just had to narrow her eyes at him and he sighed. "Con. He's upset that we don't have matching mugs too. Though I think he might have been more upset that he didn't have a pair with Ro."
"Not that that matters now," Rowan said bitterly and Jian shot a bit of a glance to Wo.
Rowan and Con were evidently not talking still. She knew Wo was stressed about it too because he had no idea how to fix the schism between his siblings, and he didn't want to have to pick a side, though none had asked him to do so yet.
"Right, so our new set is not going to be a matching set, but a set of pairs and one offs," Jian said brightly. "And I am fine with this."
"We can get a guest set," Wo Fat offered. "Pick a pattern… I'm told couples do that."
"For weddings," Rowan said and Wo Fat nodded.
"Well, maybe we don't buy wedding mugs but like… we own a house mug set? Or a particular fancy set to give guests we want to impress… or make jealous."
"Yes, the rub my wealth in your face set. I like that idea," Jian said and then before Wo Fat could say anything she threw her arms around his neck. "I like that compromise."
"Good," he said softly as his own arms wrapped around her, his nose dipping into her shoulder.
"You owe me for this," she hissed into his ear, hopefully quietly enough so Rowan couldn't hear.
"You were actually mad at me about something and didn't tell me," he hissed back. "We're going to talk about this when I'm done babysitting her."
She didn't even care. She was just glad that he was there and that in the process of helping him with whatever was going with his Sister, their relationship got just a little more solid.
H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O
It had now been four hours and sixteen minutes.
Still no news on getting an antidote and now all of them were starting to feel the symptoms.
They had all convened on the bow, on a raised up area. They had gathered cushions, towels and decorative blankets to lean against as they all sat in the sun trying to combat the chills that came with their fever.
Danny was sitting as far away from Steve as he could manage, and in between him was Tani and Junior. Steve hadn't fully sat back yet, he was crouched beside Junior rubbing the back of his head and trying so very fucking hard not to panic.
And it was getting harder and harder.
The fact of the matter was, he wanted his wife. He wanted her to open up a portal to him, he wanted her in his arms, he wanted her to find that antidote and get it to him. But he also didn't want any of that.
He wanted his wife and their baby safe.
However, the more his symptoms got worse, the more his mind began to spiral. The more he thought about all the ways this could end, and not the happy ones either.
The fact of the matter was this could very well end in him dying. There was a strong possibility that Rowan would end up raising his sons without him which led to him thinking about everything he was going to miss.
The new baby's birth, his first steps, his first words, his first… well… everything. He was going to miss him growing up, seeing what he ends up being. He was going to miss Nahele graduating, getting into college, his first car, getting married and… and… that was just so much to miss.
One son was going to grow up missing him and the other was going to grow up not knowing him. He didn't know which was worse.
Would Rowan remarry?
Which one of her brothers was going to swoop in the second he died?
He wanted to think it would be Wo Fat who swept in and got Rowan off the island like he said he would, but he had just bought a house on their street and his girlfriend was pregnant. There was no way he was going to move now, even if it was get Rowan off the island.
He was going to guess, if it was going to be any brother, it would be Con. But if it was Con, it wouldn't be to move Rowan and their two sons off the island. If Con was making the move it would be take Steve's place.
How long was Con going to wait for him to be dead before he made a move on Rowan?
That didn't matter though. Even if it wasn't one of her brothers swooping in on her, someone was going to chase after her. He wasn't blind, he knew his wife was gorgeous. She was kind, patient, thoughtful, beautiful inside and out. Who wouldn't want his wife? She was the total package.
Fuck he should have appreciated her more while he had her.
"Come join Five-0!" Tani said, mimicking the welcome speech Steve had given her when he was first trying to recruit her to join. Her sarcasm breaking the silence that had fallen on them and interrupting Steve's burgeoning panic attack. "It's a great experience. Help a lot of people, make a difference, you can get hemorrhagic flu two months into the job, you die. Good idea."
"Well, at least you got the job," Junior said. He shot her a glance and a bit of a smirk and she just glared at him.
"Hey, you know what the silver lining is?" Danny asked interrupting their staring match. "That you haven't had to deal with this… this lunatic for the last seven years. Stuff like this happens all the time."
Steve bit back the groan that climbed up his throat and refused to comment on Danny's bullshit. He literally had bigger things to worry about right now.
"Right. Okay. Are you saying that it's a good thing that I'm dying today?" Tani shot back.
"No, I'm just saying you saved yourself a lot of stress over the last seven years, you know what I mean? Job ages you. Look at me. I used to be gorgeous."
"You know what? You guys can sit around planning your funerals, but there's an antidote out there and Grover and Jerry are gonna find it," Steve told them.
He had to believe that though, because if he didn't he'd start spiraling down the rabbit hole of who's going to help raise his sons and who's going to end up fucking his wife once he was gone. And the fact that his mind kept going to her brothers for BOTH of those questions was not helping.
"Since we're probably dying… do either of you want to explain the whole… Ro is psychic thing? Or how she keeps being able to do things that don't… make sense?" Tani asked.
Steve sighed.
No. no he did not.
Steve sat there for a moment, looked up to the sun for another forlorn sigh and then said: "My wife's psychic. There explained."
Danny turned a bleak glare onto him. "Kinda wish she'd told us about this though."
"She's got pregnancy brain and it's blocking the visions… she hasn't been getting anything unless she really looks and she's not dreaming right… oh… she says you're going to get shot at some point though. That's been coming through loud and clear," Steve said and Danny lifted his hand up as if to wave it off or give him a thumbs up but he was too achy to finish the gesture.
"Well, I guess that means… if she's right… I at least survive this to get… to get shot… so I guess that's good?"
"Or she thinks you're going to shoot yourself here," Tani said.
"Naw, she said gets shot, not shoots himself," Steve said.
"Maybe you're going to shoot him for him," Junior offered and Steve shot him a bit of a confused look.
"I feel like she'd've mentioned it if it was me who did it."
Tani, however, was not having any of this. "You guys really think she's psychic? Like… for real? You, two men of science, believe that Ro can see the future? And… Con believes this too?"
"It's a proven fact," Danny said. "Rowan Pierce is never wrong."
"So, because she said it's going to happen, you're 100% going to get shot?" Junior asked.
"I'd like to think she'll intervene to make sure that doesn't happen, but uh… who knows."
Junior and Tani exchanged glances and Steve and Danny just flat out ignored them.
"Does she normally intervene?"
"Yes, or she'll send one of her brothers to do it," he said. "It's why they always show up right when we need them, before we know to call them."
"So you're saying, when the robbers were fleeing the Palace and you were probably going to get hit by a car, Con knew to be on that roof because Rowan sent him there? Why didn't she just tell you what was going to happen?"
"Steve doesn't listen to her," Danny said and Steve scowled at him.
"I've been listening… it's just…"
"She dreamed for a whole month about this shmuck in a plane crash, we got to the plane, to the very moment, and he knew that if he got in that plane he'd probably crash and he got in anyway," Danny said. "And that is why she doesn't tell him shit and just sends people she thinks are capable."
"Wait, so Ro told you you'd die in a small aircraft crash…" "—described the course, the pylon he'd hit, and how he'd die too," Danny added. "… and you still got in that plane?" Tani cried.
"And she fixed it," Steve said. "I was fine, wasn't I?"
Tani shook her head, while Danny half gestured at him as if to say: "See?"
Junior raised his hand. "So if she's psychic… wouldn't you want her to know about this? So that she can… I unno… find the antidote?"
"Yeah, except she's not going to dream up the answer and call the cops. She's gonna dream up the answer and go get it herself. Then come here to personally deliver it to him and that's what he's trying to avoid," Danny said.
"I mean, we saw her in that bank heist… so I can guess that she's, you know, impetuous. But in that situation she could hide behind her brothers, right? But I mean, she can't now, so… she wouldn't possibly…"
"Even before Wo Fat was backing her, she walked into stupid situations she had no business being in trying to help," Danny said and Tani sighed.
"So she's been doing this a while," Junior said. "Kinda feels like you should put her on the payroll."
"Tried, Governor wouldn't let me put a psychic on the payroll, especially one that was one click away from every criminal and criminal organization on the island… and apparently the world," Steve told them and they all tried to hide their amused grins.
"I'm just amazed that someone like Fat likes her in the first place. Doesn't seem like the man likes anyone," Junior said.
"He's got a resting villain face," Danny said. "He's like that with everyone."
"Not with her," Tani pointed out.
"Yes and that was a major problem between her and Steve, in fact he's probably still bitter about it," Danny said with a bit of a smirk.
Steve sighed a little more aggressively. "We're changing the topic now," Steve said. "Something other than my wife please."
The phone in his hand rang and Steve let out his breath. Yes, an update, hopefully it was good news.
"Thank god," Steve sighed and then quickly answered the phone.
But it wasn't good news.
Monique Sims, the only person alive who could point them to the cure, was gone.