Fic:Things Always Happen for a Reason - Pt 2 / 4

[xenite99]

Title: Things Always Happen for a Reason  - Pt 2 / 4
Fandom: Hawaii Five-O
Pairing: none per se
Summary: the Five-O team learns to deal with interlopers on their little Ohana
Warnings: this was written before the events of Ep1.12 so I guess it would be considered AU.
Disclaimer: Anything recognizable is not mine….

Word Count: 5127

Reference: http://hawaiian-words.com http://www.e-hawaii.com/pidgin

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Applause and cheers fill the squad room of the HPD as Sgt. Kami Landers and Sr. Det. Ano Wei come through the main doors.  They have just come from their promotion ceremony as a reward for catching the serial killer that had been terrorizing Honolulu for months. But they alone couldn’t take all the credit. They shared that with the Governor’s elite task force Five-O.

Kami and Ano had been teamed up with Five-O since the 4th murder happened. They finally got the bastard before he was able to make it number 5. But not without incident. Com. Steve McGarrett was shot in the final battle with the scumbag and his cronies. Well it was actually after the battle, when they thought all the bad guys were down for the count.  But Kami had lost her gun in the ensuing fight and hadn’t secured it after she took the perp down. He had gotten hold of it and took one last shot. Into Steve’s chest from the side where his vest didn’t cover as well. Danny had finished him off before he was able to inflict more damage. Steve had almost died and it was all Kami’s fault.

These things were running through her head as she shook her colleague’s hands and accepted the congratulations. She was smiling on the outside but on the inside she was hiding the inner turmoil that was tearing her up.

“Wow! A hero’s welcome.” Ano smiled widely.

“If they only knew.” Kami muttered.

“You should be happy right now, Kami. Everything turned out ok. We got the bad guys! Steve is alive! We got promoted! What is the problem?” Ano asked his hoa hana.

“I don’t know Ano. I feel like something is changing. I am not sure what. Something is just a little off.”

“Please just relax and go with the flow sistah! Isn’t that what you are always tellin’ me?”

“Right, brah.” Kami sighed heavily. “ Go with the flow.”

~~~~~

After the squad room calmed back down, Kami and Ano were approached by a well dressed woman.

“Sgt.Landers, Det. Wei?” the woman asked.

“Yes.” They said in unison.

“I am Laura Hills, Liaison to the Governor. “ She smiled as she extends her hand to shake. “The Governor  is requesting your presence immediately.”

“Well this can’t be good.” Kami stated as they were led from the squad room by the liaison and her entourage of guards. As they were leaving they overheard some comments from the other detectives.

This can’t be a good thing at all. What could the Governor possibly want to discuss with her and Ano. Maybe she wanted to congratulate them on the case they had just finished with her Five-O team. That had to be it.

Kami’s mind was racing with anticipation as they made their way out of HPD. Thankfully they didn’t have far to go to meet with the Governor. She was waiting outside the HPD in her limo. She got out of the car as they approached. She was smiling broadly.

“Good morning Sgt. Landers, Det. Wei!” Gov. Jameson greeted them with her hand extended.

“Good Morning Ma’am! “ Kami shook her hand as did Ano.

“Let’s walk, shall we?” the governor gestured as she started away from the limo to the side of the building. “I wanted to thank you both personally for all your help on the Ramirez case. You both seem to work well with my Five-O team. I hear you both brought fresh ideas to the table. I admire the kind of drive and determination you both showed on this case.” she stated.

“You’re welcome ma’am. We are very grateful to have been able to close this case with the help of your team. They are a great ohana. Mahalo.” Kami said.

“I know it is not easy working with people you don’t know or trust. But you two slipped into that tight knit group with ease. So this may be easier than I expected.” The governor said.

“Ma’am?” Kami asked raising an eyebrow.

“I am here to offer the two of you the chance to join my Five-O team. On a permanent basis this time. If you are willing to take that challenge.” Gov. Jameson smiled at them.

Kami and Ano looked at each other with shock and awe on their faces.

“ You can take some time to think it over and discuss it if you wish. I don’t want to push you into this if you are not willing.”

Kami and Ano again shared a look. They knew each other well enough to know that this was one opportunity they couldn’t pass up. They always had each other’s backs no matter what.

“When do we start?” they said in unison with huge smiles on their faces.

“Right away if you want. I think your temp offices are still set up for you.” The governor smiled.

“So how does this work exactly? Are we back at the bottom of the totem pole again? I mean we were just promoted here at HPD.” Kami asked with trepidation.

“You will hold your new ranks on my team, that won’t change. Kami, you would be the 2nd in command on the team by rank. Ano would be next, then Det. Williams, Kelly and Kalakaua. But I am sure you all can work around that sort of thing. As you said, it is a tight family.” The governor stated.

“Oh boy! Danny isn’t gonna like this!” Ano joked.

Kami extended her hand to the governor. “Thank you Ma’am for inviting us to join your team. We would be honored.”

“If you are ok with everything then I can swear you in right now and you can get right to work. We can figure out the fine details later. “ the governor offered.

“Works for me. How about you Ano?”

“I’m good” Ano beamed.

“Raise your right hands and repeat after me.” The governor started.

After they finished being sworn in Kami and Ano were all smiles.

“Welcome aboard Sgt. and Det.”

~~~~~~~~

The Five-O team were gathered around Steve’s hospital bed as Kami and Ano knocked at the open door.

“Aloha! Pehea ‘oe?” Kami asked as they entered. Steve was still looking rather pale and drawn but he was more energetic then the last time Kami had seen him. That was a big relief to her. She was still carrying around the guilt of what happened even after Steve had already forgiven her.

“Hey guys! Glad you could make it!” Steve greeted them with a smile.

“Great the dynamic duo are back.” Griped Danny.

“Ha Ha! But I thought that title was taken already.” Kami grins as she glances from Danny and Steve.

“Oh boy! Here we go again.” Muttered Chin to Kono from across the room.

“Shut up all of you! Sheesh! I feel like I’m a kindergarten teacher with you lot.” Steve snapped.

“I wanted you all here at once to share something. First of all, I want to welcome our newest team members, Kami and Ano. A komo mai to de ohana.” Steve said with a flourish of his hands. The original team’s eyebrows all shot up at this news.

“Come again?” Danny frowned. “These two are now part of our team? When did this happen? And why were we never consulted?” Danny continued with an attitude and a flourish of his own hands.

“I requested them to be on our team. They were sworn in earlier by the governor after their promotion ceremony. Sgt. Landers and Sr. Det. Wei, congratulations to you both! I know you will be a great asset to our team.” Steve smiled as he shook their hands.

“So, hold on! She is a sergeant and he is a senior detective? So that means they out rank all of us and move to the head of the line? How is that fair? Seriously? Anyone else not liking this scenario here?” Danny asked with anger and confusion. “So I guess that also means she is second in command? And will be in charge while you are recuperating?”  Danny’s voice kept rising with each question.

“Relax Danno! Please! I don’t need you causing more stress then we already have going on! I need you all to work together as if I am right there with you.” Steve said tiredly. “Yes, Kami will be in charge in my absence. She is more than capable of handling herself and I know you all will be able to work with her and Ano like you did before. You are all a team. Please don’t kill each other while I am out. Ok?” Steve stated with finality.

“Ok gang, I think our fearless leader needs his rest. Let’s all head back to HQ and see what cases need our attention.” Kami gently nudged her team out of Steve’s room. “I will keep you informed of anything important, Kahuna. You rest up and heal quickly!” she said as she closed the door.

“I am not taking orders from the Warrior Princess!” Danny complained as they left the hospital. Danny had just gotten used to taking orders from Steve. That was bad enough, now Miss Hawaiian wanna-be gets herself assigned to Five-O and now out ranks him. I don’t think so! Danny seethes inside. Little Miss Thing has another thing coming if she thinks she can replace Steve!

~~~

Back at HQ bullpen, Kami addresses her new team with trepidation on the inside  but shows full confidence in her ability on the outside.

“Ok folks, I have a few ground rules I want to lay down before we begin.” Kami started with.

“Great, here we go. The rules to live by. Look, we are not children! We know how to do this job without you throwing more rules at us!.” Danny complained.

“I never said you couldn’t do your job, Danny! I just have a few things I want us to follow. Until Steve gets back that is. It really is for his sake that I do this.” Kami looked at each member in turn. She knows this will be tough for all of them. Especially Danny. he wasn’t taking any of this easily. Steve was right about him being a tough nut to crack.

“Rule #1 - no talking active cases over with Steve. He needs his rest and he can’t get that when he is involved in any cases. Doctor’s orders actually, so it isn’t just from me, so please remember that.” Kami glanced at Danny. He was trying really hard not to explode. His eyes rolled upwards and his hands were jammed in his pockets. Satisfied he wouldn’t interrupt her, she continued.

“Rule #2 - well the rest are more of suggestions. Guidelines if you will. You may not like me on a personal level and that is fine, but we have to work together regardless, so please let’s be professional and get the job done.

I am not afraid to park your ass behind a desk if need be, so do me a favor and don’t piss me off and we should get along just fine. I am open to suggestions and constructive criticism. I am willing to work with all of you. So let’s get started and see how this goes.” Kami finished.

“So as I am without a partner for the time being, I guess I can go it alone, right?” Danny asked with a silly smile.

“No! No one goes it alone here. We will partner you up with whoever is appropriate at the moment. Teams of 3 work just as well. We all work together on this team.” Kami stated with authority. Danny was going to be a thorn in her side until his partner was back on the scene. It is going to be a long few months!

Danny pouted and stormed off to his office. He was not going to work with this chick cooperatively. He didn’t know her really. Just because she worked the last case with them didn’t count. He didn’t trust her and he really didn’t think he wanted to. He wanted his partner back! As much as he hated half of Steve’s antics and his ways of doing things always collided with Danny’s, he was used to them by now. They annoyed each other to no end but they had each other’s backs. They started out as reluctant partners, well he did anyways, but now he doesn’t want to work with anyone else. He was not fond of change as a general rule. Now he was tossed into the shark tank with new people he had to follow orders from. This was such a big suck!

Kami let Danny go and sulk. He of all of them was going through the most changes right now. His partner almost dies and now 2 people join the team that out rank him. He was allowed some pity party time, but not too much.

~~~~

Later that day Kami calls the team together in the bullpen.

“Ok gang, we have a hot one just off the presses. Looks like HPD found a few dead bodies and a boat load of dead presidents. Time to get this party started!”  Kami claps her hands together while the team heads out to their first case together.

“This should be interesting.” Danny grumbles to himself on the way out.

The team hit the ground running with this case. Things were going like clockwork. They each pulled their own weight and were able to get the job done. But all didn’t end as well as planned.

“Ano! Brah! What have I told you about going off alone! We all need backup! I don’t care with whom, just make sure one of us has your back! I don’t want to lose you anyone on my team, let alone my partner!” Kami scolded Ano as  he lain down in the ambulance. She was pacing back and forth outside the rear door as the paramedics worked on Ano’s right arm. His shooting arm no less. Kami was just relieved he was alive and otherwise in one piece. Ano was like a brother to her and she couldn’t stand it if she lost him. That’s two down because of her. This was not building confidence in her team. She just hoped she still had a team after this. Steve wasn’t going to like to hear of this incident on their first case. So this would mean she was going to have to partner up with Danny now because Ano was going to be driving a desk for a bit.

“Danny’s gonna freak.” Kami muttered under her breath.

“Kami, I’m sorry! It was a dumb rookie move. I should have known better! Shit! The new boss is gonna toss my ass back to HPD after this.” Ano worried.

“Over my dead body, Brah! You are not going anywhere! And I am not mad at you. I should have made sure you had backup. We both might end up back at HPD at this rate!” Kami tried to reassure her partner.

“Kami! Ano!” Danny yelled as he and Chin ran over. “Are you two alright? What happened?” Danny asked with concern on his face.

“We’re fine, Danny. Well Kono and I are. Ano was smashed in the arm by a pipe, busted it up pretty bad. His wrist and forearm are all messed up. He is gonna be driving a desk for a little while but he will live. Thank the Gods!”  she reassured her teammates.

“It looks like you and I will be partners after all.” Kami smiled at Danny.

“You can’t be serious? What? Why? I think I will work with Kono or Chin. Yeah, one of them will work.” Danny stuttered.

“Nope! You and me babe! You are stuck with me for awhile.” Kami smirked.

Why did Danny feel like he was looking at Steve’s twin sister? This could not be good. At all! Danny was unable to form a sentence so he glared at Ano and turned and walked away. His hands flailed around him as he went. They said more than any words could. Danny was pissed and they were not looking forward to dealing with him like this.

~~~~

Kami forced a smile on her face as she walked up to Steve’s front door. She didn’t want to tell him what was going on with the team but as their boss he had a right to know. As it was she was having the team not talk to him about any cases. This was not going to go well no matter how she spun it. She could picture Steve’s reaction to the mess she has made of his team. She’s not sure what is worse, Danny or Steve’s bellowing. She took a deep breath as she knocked on his door.

“Aloha Kahuna!” Kami said through her fake smile as Steve answered the door.

“Hey Kami! How’s it Sistah?” Steve greeted her with a smirk on his face and gleam in his eye.

Danny got to him first! Kami thought. Oh great! I am gonna kill him!

“Well judging by your face I would say Danny has been chiding you with our escapades as of late. He is going to get a good talking to when I get back. I expressly told the team not to give you any info on work. You need your rest and you can’t do that with all that is going on.” Kami spat out.

“Oh really? So, you think I am a feeble old man that can’t handle bad news?” Steve asked seriously.

“You know how worked up you get when you know all the details of a case and can’t help. I was told by your doctor to limit your stress. That was the best way I knew to limit your stress!!” Kami defended herself. “And no, you’re not a feeble old man by any means, but a man recovering from a gunshot!”

Steve put his hands up to stop her from the tirade she was on.

“Ok! I get it! But my team doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo. I have been kept up to speed on your case to point. My partner misses me I guess. He just told me what happened to Ano and that the 2 of you will be working together. He says you are like my twin sister or something. He wasn’t very happy about it either.”

“Twin sister?” Kami’s eyebrows shot up in question.

“Yeah, I know. Pretty crazy, huh? You are gonna have your work cut out for you with that one.”

“Well maybe you could give me some pointers because I am gonna need ’em!” Kami smiled as she took the beer Steve offered as they sat down on the couch.

~~~~~

Kami is pacing the floor of the bullpen as the team strolls in for their morning briefing. She is not happy with the way the team has disobeyed her direct order. She spent the evening with her boss trying to figure out the best way to deal with the situation.

“Morning Kami!” Chin greeted her with a smile that quickly faded when he saw the intense look on her face. “Is everything alright? Steve ok?”

Kami frowned and glared at each member of her team in turn. Ano was the only one that hadn’t disobeyed her order but she had to treat them all the same on this one. She needed to gain their trust and respect and taking favorites was not the way to do that.

“NO! Everything is not alright! Don’t worry, Steve is fine. But if you all don’t STOP going behind my back and disobeying my order to NOT speak with him about cases, he may not be! He was all worked up when I spoke to him last night. I was none too pleased to find out that my team went running to him with all sorts of details he doesn’t need to be dealing with right now! I am the only one that should be debriefing him on any casework. His doctor doesn’t want him stressed! And you all going off to tell him every detail is very stressful!!” Kami chided her team. She felt like she was addressing unruly teenagers. The whole team hung their heads and averted their eyes from hers. “Eyes on me, please!” she commanded. “I want all you to promise me you will not speak to Steve about any cases, active or not, until he is cleared by his doctor. I don’t care if you talk to him about other stuff, like sports, the weather, the freaking lunar eclipse, hell anything but casework! ”

“You can’t be serious?” Danny blurted out.

“Do I look like I am joking Det. Williams?” Kami growled back. “Now all of, raise your right hand and promise me.”

In unison the team raised their hands and promised. Poor Ano had to raise his left hand as his right was in a cast and a sling. Kami knew he still meant his promise just the same, especially since he never disobeyed her to begin with.

Kami paced some more as she eyed the team. She hoped they would come to trust and respect her as part of the team as well as their temp leader.

~~~~

Leads, suspects, car chases, shootouts, raids; they all started to run together one right after the another. The team plowed through cases with intense determination. They wanted to prove to Steve that they could all get along while he was on the sidelines. Kami was impressed with their improvement; the only snag in the whole thing was Danny. He was still leery of working so closely with her. They still hadn’t gelled as partners yet. Danny seemed to be biding his time until Steve returned to active duty. This was not the way Kami preferred to work with a partner. She needed trust between them and so far it wasn’t there yet. They both were counting the days until Steve returned it seemed.

The team suited up for yet another bust. This time they were trying to get back a little girl kidnap victim. This was a tough on for Danny. He kept picturing Grace as the little girl. He was very affected by this and that was not good for anyone. He wasn’t able to focus all that well and that was what worried Kami the most.

“Danny, you ok? You look a little distracted.” Kami asked as Danny tried to disguise his emotions.

“Yeah, I’m ok! Stop asking me!” Danny growled as he finished suiting up. “I am not some rookie cop ya know! I can handle myself in this. Stop mothering me!”

“Ok. I just wanted to be sure your head is in the game before we go in. I don’t want to scrape your face off a wall in there because you can’t focus on the play.” Kami snapped as she headed to the warehouse they were about to storm.

The team split up to find entry points. They were stealthy and quick about things as always. They each took out a few bad guys on the way in as well. One circle of defenses taken down, they met back up inside the building. They located the office where the kidnappers were holding up. The team couldn’t tell if the girl was in there with them or not.

Danny had a gut feeling that the girl wasn’t in there. Kidnappers usually stashed the victim in another location, just in case. This building had plenty of places to hide a small girl. Danny couldn’t help but see Grace’s face as she called out to him. “Help me, Danno! Please Help Me!” Danny heard his little girl’s voice in his head.

“I am going to look for Victoria. She won’t be in there with them.” Danny whispered. Kami saw the determined look on his face and knew she couldn’t talk him out of it.

“Ok. Take Kono. Be careful!” Kami ordered.

“No. I go alone. You need 3 to take these fuckers out. I will keep you in the loop.” Danny said with a tap to his ear comm.

Kami nodded and turned her attention back to the office. It had 2 entrances which was unusual for a place to hide but better access for the team. Chin took his assault rifle to one door and Kami and Kono took the other. Kami crashed in the door with so much force it ripped the door off its hinges.

“FREEZE! FIVE-O!” Kami yelled as they stormed the office. As predicted the kidnappers were surprised but also stupid enough to try and shoot their way out. That got them riddled with bullets.

“Shit! We needed one of them alive! Now we have to comb this place looking for Victoria! Why is it never easy?” Kami was pissed.

Meanwhile, Danny was searching everywhere that looked like a potential hiding spot. There weren’t a lot of rooms in this place but it was full of boxes and crates big enough to shove a little girl. He felt like he was running out of time, so he picked up his pace. He had been searching for about 10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. He jumped behind a large crate when he heard the gunfire from the other side of the warehouse. His heart was in his throat. He knew his teammates where storming the office, so he had precious little time to find that little girl. If he heard that racket, he was sure whoever was guarding Victoria had as well. He was starting to panic. He hoped they didn’t hurt or kill her before they tried to get away.

Danny was frantic now! He kept hearing Grace’s voice calling to him in his head. He had to find her and kill the fuckers who took her! How dare they lay a hand on his little girl!!

“Danny! Sit-rep!” Kami commanded into her ear comm. No answer. Danny wasn’t able to answer her without giving away his position to the 2 goons he found in front of a locked door. He was trying to focus so he could take them out without putting bullets through the door. “He’s not responding. Let’s hope he is hiding and can’t answer me. Let’s go find him and Victoria and end this.” She said with worry in her voice.

The team made their way through the warehouse as Danny had just done. They didn’t take the time to search through it all as Danny took care of that. Kami stopped them short of the area where the 2 goons were. She could just make out a shorter shadow from the other side of the clearing. Kami exchanged glances with Chin and Kono. She was about to jump out and take these guys down when Danny busted out from his hiding spot shooting and yelling. He easily took out the goons with a few careful shots. The place fell into an eerie silence. They could now hear crying coming from behind the door. Danny wasted no time in busting down the door. He didn’t even notice as his teammates emerged from their hiding spot. He only had one thing on his mind, saving the little girl. It was his turn to have laser focus, and that was what almost got him killed.

The shot rang out over Danny’s head. He dove for the ground as he rolled and came up with his gun pointing at Kami, behind him. She had her smoking pistol pointed just beyond where Danny stood a moment ago. Danny looked around and saw another kidnapper splayed on the ground with blood pooling under him. He gulped and turned back to Kami.

“Thanks” he squeaked out. He quickly recovered and ran to the back of the room where the little girl was blindfolded and tied to a bed. Danny wasn’t seeing Victoria; he could only see his Grace. Danny spoke with a gentle and reassuring voice.

“Shh, Danno’s here baby. He is gonna take you home. Shh.” He cooed. The team didn’t say anything as Danny picked up Victoria and carried her outside. They all knew how hard this case has been on him. Kami called for an ambulance and the HPD to come in and clean up.

Back at HQ the team was finishing up with all the paper work for the case. Danny was just sitting at his desk with a blank look on his face. He was numb after the events of the day. He had gone to the hospital with Victoria and handed her off to her family. He snapped out of his fear induced stupor when he saw his own little girl for real. He had hugged her so hard she had to reassure him she was ok. Now he was exhausted. The adrenaline rush was over and he had crashed hard. Everything had happened so fast but he kept replaying it all in slow motion in his head.

“Hey, Danny, you ok?” Kami asked from his office door.

Danny snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his partner. “Ya, I just need to get some rest. This case wore me out.” He said exhaustedly.

“I know what you mean. Well the team has been invited over to Steve’s for pizza and beer! You game?” Kami smiled at him. She didn’t want to push him right now. He needed time to come back to reality.

“Ah, well that depends. Are we allowed to talk shop with him yet?” Danny asked.

“Nope. Not yet. He can know about past cases only, but not in great detail. He will get worked up over the littlest thing.”

“Great! Works for me. I am really not in the mood to talk about this case right now. Not even with Steve.”

“Ok then. I will get the others and meet you out front.”

“Kami?”

“Yeah?” Kami turned back to see the look in Danny’s eyes.

“Look, I’m sorry about my behavior on this one. You were right. I lost my focus on my job. I almost got killed; I almost got all of you killed. There was no excuse for that.” Danny had tears rolling down his cheeks. He swiped them away and raised his hands to stop her from interrupting him. “Thank you for saving my life, partner.” Danny let his eyes speak for him as he raised his hand to shake hers. Kami just pulled him into a quick hug and said all she needed with a look of her own.

Together the team strolled out of HQ to meet at Steve’s for a much needed break.

~~TBC~~

Things Always Happen for a Reason  - Pt 3/4