Hawaii Five-0 Imagines

Chapter 6

Steve watched the paramedics work feverishly as the ambulance raced toward the hospital. He did not need to see the paramedics' faces drawn in concern to know that things were not going well.

Alyssa's face had gone from being simply pale to almost gray. Her breathing was shallow and rapid and her face was bathed in sweat. The hand that had held him, was now limp in his grasp. Steve held that hand as if he could pass some of his strength to her.

Steve heard the paramedic reading Alyssa's vital signs. Breathing was labored, blood pressure was dropping. The paramedic continued his recitation into the radio, "Judging by the volume of blood, the Abdominal Aorta has been nicked. Please have Trauma One standing by along with at least ten pints of blood." Since Alyssa was a police officer, the hospital had her blood type.

Steve looked at the young woman on the gurney. How many times has he held the hand of a wounded or dying comrade during his time in the Navy? Why did this feel so different? Steve was brutally honest with himself. It was different because the blood that covered his shirt and his hands did not only belong to Alyssa. The hand he was holding belonged to his sister and this connection, however new, mattered to him more than he ever thought it could.

Steve felt his heart twist in his chest when Alyssa moaned in pain as the ambulance bounced around on the uneven road. "Hang on, Aly. Just hang on. We are almost there," Steve thought. He was not a demonstrative man, so he surprised himself when, without thinking, he reached out to gently brush away the sweat-soaked hair from Alyssa's face.

Steve was pulled out of his musings by the insistent beeping of the heart monitor. "What's our ETA?" yelled the paramedic.

"We are just about a minute out," replied the driver.

"Push it," yelled the man responsible for keeping Alyssa's alive. I'm losing her."

The trauma team was waiting for the ambulance and they immediately wheeled Alyssa toward the operating room. Steve ran along until they reached the doors where Alyssa's hand slipped from his as the team took her inside. Steve was left outside to wait.

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Danny, Chin, and Kono found Steve in the waiting were in what they called "Resting Soldier" pose. Sitting on a bench, head leaned back against the wall, eyes closed. This was the pose of a man who was used to grabbing any opportunity to rest not knowing when the nest opportunity would present itself. He looked like his was relaxing - except to people who knew him. They would see the hard set of his jaw, the tight lines around his closed eyes and the way his hands clutched the bench on either side which belied any appearance of rest or relaxation.

Steve heard his team walk up to him. He opened his eyes and surveyed the three of them. His blue eyes were hooded and full of emotions that the team struggled to identify. In an ice-cold voice, he said, "I am going to find the bastards who are responsible for this and I am going to make them pay."

The team was shocked at the vehemence and passion in his voice. They were all upset by the shooting, but Steve was taking it particularly hard.

"How is she?" Danny asked worriedly. He was not only concerned for Alyssa, but for his friend. He knew something else was going on, but could not see clearly what it could be

Steve shrugged. "Don't know." The doctor has not yet been out. I...they almost lost her on the way here." Danny noted the slip but did not think very much of it. "None of this makes any sense. Why would anybody want to hurt her? To kill her? It's hard to believe that her under-cover work is the reason she is being targeted?"

Danny saw that there was something else in Steve's eyes. He knew his friend was hiding something from the team. "There is something else, isn't there?" he asked.

Just then the doctor came out and the entire Five-O team looked at him expectantly. "I am Steve McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O," Steve said, "do you have an update of Officer Grant's condition?"

Under normal circumstances, the protocol would have been for the doctor to ask for some proof of a familial relationship, but there was something in Steve's eyes and the tone of his voice that did not encourage an argument. The doctor stared at Steve for a moment and gave himself a quick shake. "I won't lie. Her injuries are quite serious. The bullet was a Hollow Point, it's designed to inflict the maximum damage. Her internal injuries are extensive and she has lost a great deal of blood. However, she is young and strong and we have a fine team of surgeons. I believe she has a fair chance. We are going to be a few more hours if you would like to wait."

Steve nodded. "I'll wait. Doctor, I need to make a call. Is there a room or an office where I can get some privacy?"

"Of course," the doctor nodded. "This way, please. You can use my office as I will be in surgery and then doing my rounds for the next few hours."

Steve entered the office and shut the door. He pulled his phone out and dialed a number. "Hi. It's Steve. I need a favor. I know. I don't have time to go through channels. I just need five minutes. Secured line," a wait of a few minutes as Steve paced the office in agitation. "Thanks, man. I owe you."

Steve's phone appeared to dial on its own, and start to ring. After a minute, a person appears on the screen.

"Hi, Mom," Steve said.

Doris McGarrett looked shocked, but Steve cut her off. "I only have a few minutes and I need information. The date, October 11, 1988."

Doris visibly paled. "My God, Steve."

"Mom, I know. That was the date you gave birth to a baby girl and then abandoned her at the hospital," Steve's voice was full of sadness.

"How is she," Doris asked?

"Well right now, she is in surgery with a gunshot wound," it came out harsh, but Steve was trying to get a reaction. He failed. His mother did not appear perturbed.

"I hope she makes a full recovery," Doris said as if referring to an elderly aunt who had a cold.

"Mom, I need to know. Who...," Steve could not finish the question. "It may be important."

Doris took a deep breath. "When you were ten, do you remember, I took the year in the commune to" find myself." Steve nodded. "Actually I was on a mission. In Latin America. Brazil, specifically. A drug cartel run by a nasty, nasty man names Salvador Encinas. He liked blondes and I got close to him to get the info on the routes uses by his cartel. We stopped a lot of drug and weapons shipments that way. Then it happened. I was done with the mission and came back to Hawaii. It was too late to take care of it, so I stayed away from the until I had her." She was so mattered of fact, it shocked Steve who had thought that he was beyond being shocked by his mother.

"It would have been...complicated...to bring her back with me. She would be much happier with another family."

"Sure, she would, Mom," Steve mumbled, then looked at her and said, "OK. That helps. Thank you," he said. "I got to go. Take care of yourself."

"You too, Honey," Doris said somewhat distantly as they were disconnected.

Steve sat down in the chair behind the desk and rubbed his face with both hands. He loved his mother, but he found it difficult sometimes to like her.

After a few minutes of pulling himself together, Steve stepped out of the office and went to wait for word of Alyssa's condition with the rest of the team.