Breathing Water | Hawaii Five-0

Chapter 2

Steve grinned as he picked up the worn gold
plated frame, his hand running across the detailed edges as he eyed the picture. It must have been taken 13 years prior when Steve was was 15 years old and it was a picture taken on his Homecoming night and was a picture of himself and Quinn - who had been his date for the dance - neither had known it was being taken. In the picture, Steve held his - then - girlfriend close and the smiles on their faces were only natural.

Somehow the bad managed to outweigh the good in that particular year, it had been the year he had earned the lead scorer record and the year that he finally asked Quinn Anderson to be his girlfriend.  But it had also been the year that his younger sister Mary had been sent away after Doris McGarrett was tragically killed in a car accident, Steve had never got to say goodbye to his mother and that was a pain the Commander held close to this day.

The SEAL couldn't help but sigh as he placed the frame back on the mantelpiece making sure it was exactly where he found it, forgetting for a second that his dad was no longer there to tell him off for touching everything. With one last look at the photo, he couldn't help but feel a little put back about that time in his life. To everyone around them Quinn and Steve were just life long friends but there had been so much more behind that. He and Quinn may have been at their happiest in that time but things had changed and Steve knew they would never get back to that point again. Not where they were both happy. Steve had changed and Quinn was a different person now, she had a tough time and it had really shaped her.

Almost two years ago Quinn was caught up in an accident and ever since then she had become a different person, it had really shaped her. Steve had no doubt that she was masking some pain from him, after all, the coma she had found herself in had resulted in her suffering.

"Poor kid." Steve muttered as he remembered the time in the woman's life.

There were a collection of other photos around the house but all were suddenly forgotten when Steve stumbled upon discarded police tape, it was where his dad had been killed. Steve wasn't ashamed as he bit back a gasp, a hand covering his mouth slightly. His last conversation coming back to him.

Hey, Champ.

No matter how much training anyone went through, the loss of a loved one was a pain  that remained unbearable. Losing one parent had proven difficult to live with but losing a second was downright impossible.

As the McGarrett stood from his crouched position, looking around Steve noticed a post it note left on a lamp. 'Ask Quinn to bring the old photo albums. Lunch on Thursday @ 1PM' Steve felt his blood run cold. Quinn was supposed to be at the house. Why hadn't she told him? He knew she had caught the Crime Scene Investigators at work when she appeared at the family home but he hadn't known she was supposed to be with his father. Had she simply been running late? Had she cancelled last minute? He didn't know.

Who are these people Steve?

He moved towards the garage, his hand clenching in and out of a fist. When would he have come back if his Dad was alive? Why did Hesse have to be the thing that brought him home? He should've been here.

Dark and dated, the garage was covered in a thick layer of dust, it had been somewhere the senior McGarrett would wander to when he needed to think or just to occupy himself with something or other. As a kid, Steve would often find his dad down here, working or fixing something that probably didn't need fixing. A small smile formed as he remembered what his mom used to say. 'You know your dad, if it's broke, fix it and if it's not broken, he'll still find a way to fix it.'

He wondered when his father had been down here last.  Maybe he had been down here when Hesse arrived. Maybe that's why he was caught off guard. Steve wondered as he made his way around the small space, it wasn't that the room had occupied his fathers 1974 Mercury Marquis it was a load of junk in Steve's eyes but for some reason his father never gave up on the old beast.