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With two days of nonstop work and the cooperation of the DEA and Mexican law enforcement, the Five-0 Task Force created a plan to storm the massive central compound of the Diego drug cartel, arrest the top people in that organization, and rescue Chin Ho Kelly.
The other officers had completed their mission when the leaders of the cartel were killed in the raid or arrested and the victim was on an ambulance to a hospital to be treated for injuries he had sustained from the cartel. But for the Five-0 ohana gathered in the emergency waiting room, their mission had only just begun. Now, they needed to support their friend through his recovery.
Chin was currently in surgery from a bullet wound he had received to the thigh when the Five-0 team had been leading him out of the compound. Kono had quickly dispatched that assailant with a quick kill shot to the head, but Chin had been bleeding heavily from his wound, which was concerning. That was already on top of the other injuries he had received, which included a broken arm, bruised ribs, and several punches to the head, which he had informed the team about when they rescued him. Everyone in the waiting room felt solemn with the knowledge that Chin’s injuries could have been much worse. With the reputation of the Diego family, Chin had been fortunate to survive his kidnapping.
The doctor treating Chin had informed everyone that he would not sustain major brain damage, but she hadn’t finished the surgery on his leg yet. Kono’s leg bounced up and down as she stared at the clock on the opposite wall and waited for the doctor. Apart from Sara, who had been taken to the hospital by Jorge and Maria Morales when Kono had called to tell them that Chin had been rescued, she was the most vulnerable person in their group. Chin was family to all of them, but she had a particularly close bond with him. Chin was her cousin, and he had always been like an older brother to her.
Kono looked away from the clock when she heard Steve’s voice. “Coffee? I don’t think it will help with the jitters, but it will probably help you stay awake.”
Kono smiled weakly at him and took the coffee from his hands. “Thanks.”
“This some kind of routine you have?” Lou asked. “When you and Danny were in surgery for your liver, Chin told me this story about how you took him out for coffee after Malia died.”
“He did the same thing for me,” Danny said, frowning curiously at his partner as Steve sat down next to him. “After Matty died, and I came back from New Jersey.”
Kono heard a soft sniffling noise and saw that Sara was on the verge of crying. “Is Uncle Chin gonna die?”
Danny and Lou glanced at each other guiltily. They had been talking as they normally would, but they had evidently forgotten that Sara was in the room with them and that they needed to be more careful about the things they said.
Maria brushed a hand through Sara’s hair, attempting to soothe her niece, who was clutching her stuffed rabbit toy tightly. “No, sweetheart. Remember what the doctor said? Uncle Chin has a good chance of recovery.”
Maria and Jorge had been stunned when they learned that Chin had risked his life to save Sara. Kono had a feeling that their relationship with Chin might improve once Chin woke up from surgery. Kono hoped she was right. He and Sara had obviously developed a special bond, and it would be good for them both for Chin to be able to stay in Sara’s life.
Kono smiled reassuringly at Sara. “I was just tired, and Steve was being considerate.”
Steve nodded at her statement, and Sara seemed to relax a fraction.
After a few more tense moments, the doctor arrived to inform everyone that the surgery was a success. Luckily, the bullet had not hit any major arteries or any bones. She said that Chin should wake up within an hour.
Steve yawned and glanced at his watch. “Whoa, it’s four a.m.”
“It’s Christmas,” Danny added. “Pretty bad Christmas morning for him, spending it in a hospital.”
Lou shook his head. “Poor guy probably won’t get any presents until December 26th. And he didn’t even get to enjoy his birthday party.”
“Maybe we could try getting him something,” Kono suggested. “I saw a store selling some stuff for tourists when we were driving over here.”
Danny frowned. “I’m pretty sure he’s not going to want a souvenir of his stay in Mexico.” He glanced over at Jorge and Maria. “No offense.”
Jorge shrugged. “None taken. It wasn’t exactly like he was here on vacation.”
Sara looked pleadingly at Jorge and Maria. “I want to get something for Uncle Chin too. Can I?”
Maria and Jorge stood up, holding Sara’s hands between them. They had been very protective of the little girl since the kidnapping incident. “I think I saw a gift shop downstairs,” Maria said. She directed her gaze toward Danny. “You’re welcome to come along, since you didn’t seem too keen on the tourist store idea.”
Danny stood up, stretching as he moved out of the chair. “Sure.” He went with the Morales family to the gift shop while the rest of the team went to the store Kono had seen.
On Christmas morning, Chin Ho Kelly woke up in an unfamiliar hospital room in Juárez, Mexico. After a checkup from a doctor, the rest of the Five-0 task force was allowed to enter the room. Steve entered first and was followed by the others. He and Danny walked over to the left side of his bed, while Kono and Lou stood on his right. As they came into the room, Chin saw that most of them were carrying plastic shopping bags in their hands and that Danny had his arm wrapped around a vase with some kind of red flowers.
“Merry Christmas, pal,” Steve said. He opened the plastic shopping bag he was carrying and pulled out a magnet shaped like the country of Mexico and put it on the nightstand near Chin’s hospital bed. “We all wanted to get you something since it’s Christmas and you missed most of your birthday party.”
He smiled appreciatively at his friends. “Thanks, guys.” Steve’s magnet would definitely go on his refrigerator when he got home.
Lou handed Chin the keychain that he had gotten him. “I got you this keychain.”
He examined the metal keychain, which was engraved with the word “Juárez” and an etching of the city skyline. “Thanks, Lou.” He didn’t usually collect keychains, but this one was special considering the sentiment involved. He put the keychain on the nightstand near the left side of the bed.
Kono smiled and took out a t-shirt from her shopping bag. “It’s not an Aloha shirt, but it’s something. Merry Christmas, cuz.”
She unfolded the black shirt, showing him the sugar skull on the front and the words “Ciudad Juárez” emblazoned on the back.
Chin grinned. The t-shirt was similar to what he would have picked out if he had been visiting the town on vacation. “Merry Christmas, Kono.”
Kono smiled and folded the shirt, placing it on the nightstand next to Lou’s keychain. She looked across the hospital bed at Danny and smirked. “Now it’s your turn, Danny.”
Chin turned to face Danny, who sighed heavily. “I got you something from the hospital gift shop. They had a very limited selection, okay?”
Danny moved his arm so that it was no longer covering the vase of flowers. Chin’s eyes widened when he saw the bouquet of red roses interspersed with baby’s breath. The flowers looked more like something you would get a significant other on Valentine’s Day than something for a friend who was in the hospital.
Chin heard Kono and Lou laughing loudly behind him as Danny placed the flowers on the nightstand. Danny was looking more than a little humiliated. Chin smiled gently at his friend, hiding his amusement for Danny’s sake. “These are really nice flowers, Danny. Thank you.”
“Yeah, they are nice,” Steve said. Chin glanced up at the sullen tone in Steve’s voice and bit his lip to contain his chuckles when he saw Steve’s face. He was pouting at Danny. “You never gave me flowers.”
“Somebody’s jealous,” Kono said in a sing-song voice. Lou snickered at her statement, and Chin held his hand to his mouth to hide his own broad grin. Steve acting ridiculous and Kono and Lou teasing him for it made Chin feel like it was just another day in the office.
Danny turned to face Steve, arms waving wildly as he began to rant. “The last time you were in the hospital, I gave you half of my liver. My liver, Steven! But, apparently, that wasn’t good enough for you, was it?”
Steve opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a young girl spoke through the closed door. “Can I come in now?”
Chin’s heart thudded in his chest. It was Sara! “Come in, guys!” Kono yelled towards the door.
Jorge and Maria opened the door, and Sara ran forward in front of her guardians. “Uncle Chin!”
Chin felt ecstatic when he saw her. “Sara!”
Sara stopped in front of his hospital bed, staring at Chin for a few seconds before she hugged him gently. “I missed you so much!”
Chin smiled, feeling tears well up in his eyes. “I missed you too, Sara.”
Sara pulled back from the embrace and presented Chin with a stuffed bear. “I got you a present for Christmas.”
He took the small brown bear and gave Sara a huge grin. “I love my present, Sara. Thank you.” He kissed her temple and ran his fingers over her long brown hair. To Chin, getting to see Sara was the greatest gift of all. When he had said goodbye to her on that road, he had thought that he would never see her, or anyone else, ever again. Chin put his stuffed bear on the nightstand with Lou and Kono’s presents.
Maria smiled down at Sara and handed a greeting card to Chin. “Everyone got you a get well card.”
Chin opened the card and saw that everyone in the room had signed it. He glanced up at Maria and Jorge, who seemed genuinely happy to see him. “It’s from everybody,” Jorge said. “We want you to get better soon.”
“Thank you,” Chin responded. He put his card on the night stand on the right side of his bed.
Chin gazed back at Sara, who yawned and blinked her eyes sleepily. She looked absolutely exhausted. Chin frowned, glancing over the people gathering around his hospital bed and noticing that they all seemed to be almost as tired as Sarah was.
“What time is it?” he asked.
Danny pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and squinted at it. “About five a.m.”
Chin shook his head. “Did everyone stay up all night?”
Kono brushed her hand over his forehead. “We had to make sure you were okay.”
“You guys should get some sleep,” Chin replied. He gazed at Sara, who was barely managing to keep her eyes open. “I’ll be okay.” Sara’s eyes closed and Jorge supported her as she leaned against him.
“We’ll come back to visit later,” Jorge said. He gazed seriously into Chin’s eyes. “Sara will want to see you.”
Maria bit her lip. “And when you get back to Hawaii, we’ll make sure Sara gets time to talk with you regularly.”
Chin smiled at Maria’s statement. “I appreciate that.” He paused, recalling how Kono had given him a necessary wake up call about how the couple would view his attempts to dig into their lives over a week before he had left for Mexico. “I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I would really like it if we could start over.” He had been suspicious of them and concerned for Sara’s welfare, but he had no reason to suspect anything bad about Mr. and Mrs. Morales after this week. They clearly loved Sara just as much as he did, and Jorge’s explanations had convinced Chin that he was not involved in any criminal activity.
“We’d like that,” Jorge answered. He lifted Sara into his arms, carrying her princess style, and Maria followed him and Sara out of the room.
“Goodbye,” Chin told them. After the couple left with Sara, he raised his eyebrows at his ohana, who hadn’t left yet despite their fatigue. Kono had dark circles under her eyes, and Danny was leaning heavily against Steve’s shoulder. “You guys should get some rest too.”
Danny furrowed his eyebrows and squinted at Chin. “I’m not tired.” Chin wasn’t convinced by his statement.
Apparently, Steve wasn’t convinced either. He shook his head at Danny and grinned fondly. “Sure, you’re not.” Danny mumbled something inaudible as Steve pulled Danny out of the room gently by the arm.
Kono ruffled Chin’s hair as Lou began to walk out. “See ya later, cuz.”
“See ya.”
Kono left after Lou, shooting one last weary grin in Chin’s direction before she closed the door behind her. Once he was alone, Chin gazed at the presents everyone had given him today. His lips quirked up when he saw the bear from Sara and the card from everyone. Chin laid his head back on the pillow, feeling worn out from his ordeal. He hadn’t imagined spending his Christmas in a hospital in a foreign country, but it wasn’t so bad when he had his ohana and Sara with him. With that pleasant thought, Chin quickly drifted off to sleep.