Flying Solo
Flying Solo
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters; too bad, so sad.
Pairings/Characters: Gen; Kono-centric team-fic
Spoilers: Through 2.02, “Ua Lawe Wale”.
Word Count: ~850
Summary: Kono spends her time surfing.
A/N: Written for the
hc_bingo prompt, “arrest”
She screens her phone calls for the first hour after the press conference, but then she turns her cell phone off. There’s no one she wants to talk to right now, not even Chin, who might understand how she feels, at least a little bit.
Kono knows they’re all busy right now. Steve’s arrest and escape, placating the new governor, the recent kidnapping of Jenn Hassley-it’s kept the team on their toes, kept them moving, and it’s all important work. She knows that.
Looking back, she’s not even sure she’d have done anything differently. What she’d done-it had been to save Chin’s life, and she can’t imagine making another choice. But there’s a small, petty part of her that hates the fact that she’s taking the fall for a crime the whole team had planned and executed.
And she hates that it had been necessary, that the governor had refused to negotiate, terrorists be damned.
There’s a part of Kono that wants to hide out in her little rental house and not show her face outside of the door. Anybody who watched the news might recognize her as the disgraced officer who’d stolen money from evidence lock-up, the officer who might end up going to jail.
Funny how no one had asked why she’d done it. She hates that, too, how no one asks that question, which is the most important one.
But the walls seem to be closing in on her, and her cup of tea isn’t at all comforting, and she grabs her board and heads to her favorite beach.
It’s the middle of the week, and the middle of the day, and Kono’s relieved that there aren’t more than a few scattered surfers in her line of sight.
The blue sky stretches out above her, the ocean before her, and Kono throws herself on her board, paddling out with sure, practiced movements. She straddles her board, just floating there, not looking for a wave, just wanting to let the hot sun soak into her skin, to feel the salt water under her.
Kono wonders what her life might have looked like if she hadn’t been injured, if she’d made pro. She’s not sure it would have been a better life-she loves being a cop, after all-but she thinks it might have been easier.
Right now, she wants easy.
Eventually, she scopes a wave and rides it in, her board solid under her feet. She’s grateful for it, since the whole world seems to have gone pear-shaped around her.
She wonders if it’s wrong to be jealous of Steve, since his name has been cleared and he’s back at work, little the worse for wear, while Kono is stuck out in the cold, flying solo. She wonders if it’s wrong to feel resentful of her team.
No, not her team anymore. Kono has to wrap her brain around that fact.
The sun is setting, turning the water orange, when Kono rides her last wave in. She’s not anxious to go home, but she’s not sure what else to do. She figures she’ll go home and sleep, and then wake up tomorrow only to head back to the beach.
When Kono reaches her car, however, she finds Chin leaning against the driver’s door. “I’m driving,” he insists, holding out his hand for her keys, his tone implacable.
Kono knows better than to argue with Chin when he’s like this, and after a moment’s hesitation, she hands them over. “What are you doing here?”
His lips quirk into an enigmatic half-smile. “What do you think? I’m kidnapping you.”
Kono snorts. “Be careful. The governor has a zero tolerance policy for corruption, remember?” Her tone is bitterer than she means it to be.
“Hey, cuz,” Chin says softly. “Get in the damn car.”
He helps her secure her board to the roof, and then Kono climbs in, resting her forehead against the window, grateful to let Chin take the reins for a little while.
She’s half-dozing when Chin pulls up in front of Steve’s house, and Kono sits up straight. “Chin-”
“Come on,” Chin replies, not giving her a chance to argue.
Kono trails him into the house, feeling awkward and uncertain. She doesn’t belong here now.
And then Steve greets her with one of his bear hugs, holding her tightly. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you,” Steve murmurs into her ear. “There are steaks on the grill.”
He gives her a curiously gentle smile and turns to head out onto the lanai. Danny is next, his hug just as hard, just as intense. “I’m glad Chin found you,” he says. “We’re having a team night.”
When Danny releases her, Kono feels Chin’s hands on her shoulders. “You heard Steve,” he murmurs. “Steaks and beer out on the lanai.”
“Yeah,” Kono says, leaning back into Chin’s chest just for a moment.
“We’re going to get you through this,” Chin promises.
Kono isn’t sure she believes him, but she’s grateful for the promise just the same.