The following morning, Steve showed up to the Mikaelson house expecting a semi-hostile reception from Myriam after the events of the last few weeks. He was hopeful that she would be a little friendlier to this unannounced visit after the previous day. The gate opened without any fuss, allowing him to pull into their driveway, but when he got to the door, he found himself just a bit more hesitant.
Nick stood waiting, watching the man as he kept an eye on the surrounding area. “I do believe my sister had mentioned something about showing up unannounced. You do understand the extent of the reason behind that request after last night, yes?”
Steve sighed and nodded. “I do, and I sincerely apologize but I just wanted to, I don’t know. See how she’s doing? I was going to the hospital to see how her team was doing and thought maybe she’d like to go for the ride. Maybe it’d do her some good?”
Her brother narrowed his eyes at him, debating on whether to go along with his idea or not. “I don’t know what is going on between you and my sister, but I do not want to see her hurt. I know she is difficult and complicated, but I know her well enough to know that she has no idea what the hell she is doing. She’s been through enough.”
“So has Tani,” Steve replied as he looked Nick in the eye.
Nick let out a breath and turned his gaze over to the gated wall around the property. “Fair enough. For what it is worth, I do care for Tani very much,” he shared. “Although I would not doubt that you and your partner will continue to have your doubts and suspicions of my intentions. I’ve come to learn that is a trait amongst those in your field and there had only ever been one person I’d gain the trust of. Comes with the territory of being a Mikaelson.”
Steve shoved his hands into his pockets and was quickly growing irritated. “Look, Nick, I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I don’t know what you want to know. I understand your family has history, and with that comes some issues. It’s not my first rodeo when it comes to working with former – ah questionable – people. Just give me the benefit of the doubt. You want that of me, right?”
“I swear if you hurt my little sister…”
“I’m not going to. Don’t hurt Tani.”
“I have no intention of it,” Nick replied as he stepped back and gave Steve access to their home. “She should be back down shortly. I sent her to shower after she came for coffee, though she wasn’t particularly happy with being instructed like a child.”
Steve shook his head as he glanced towards the staircase. “Why would we expect anything else?”
“After we returned home last night, Myriam was more awake and enraged. She spent much of the night in the gym to work out her issues, but I don’t think they will be resolved with physical exertion,” Nick subtly warned. “Cole and I can distract her so much, but she’s been trained like you. Raised, as far as I am aware by a Marine who is friends with the officer that helped us get away from our father.”
Steve nodded. “But sometimes training only gets you so far. Your sister has been through a lot, especially in the last few months, that’s what I could figure out as much. No amount of training can fight against that kind of anger and depression. Don’t worry; I’ll look after her while I’m out with her.”
Sighing, Nick moved to the stairs to listen for movement. “You did not hear this from me; you got it? If it comes back I will deny it to the ends of the Earth,” he warned. “While in my absence, I still kept track of my sister. So I know much of her habits, before and after. So, I know she has this – thing with you even if she is still in denial. But she likely won’t tell you about her abduction in New Orleans during her temporary assignment several months ago.”
“What?”
Nick nodded slowly. “The then Mayor, Taylor, used to be very low on the… dodgy totem pole. Slept with Cole a few times to boost her status but she never liked Myriam much. Taylor asked her brother to take her, and that was without knowing she was a federal agent. She killed someone out of self-defense, but she was extremely beaten up, bruised, likely a few broken ribs. Don’t think she’s dealt with that yet.”
Steve was quiet for a moment as he processed the new information and combined it with the information he already had. “How is she still functioning?”
“She’s a Mikaelson. We’re resilient. But it’s unhealthy,” Nick ran a hand through his hair. “If anything, I hope you can make a difference in her life, make her slow down, allow her to enjoy life more. And that’s why I don’t want you to hurt her. I don’t want you to screw this up.”
The Commander nodded, understanding them more now and the defensiveness that was always present. “I hear you,” he murmured. “I’ll do what I can to help but my partner, Danny? She’s gotten to be friendly with him. They have similar backgrounds with shady family. Only he lost his brother in the process.”
Nick shrugged as he lead Steve into the kitchen for a coffee. “I don’t see him as potential dating material for her, more like the goofy friend. No doubt he’ll be a great friend, but not… her rock.”
“Bro, what?”
“Relax,” Nick laughed. “Stuff like that takes time, especially with her.”
“But not with you and Tani.”
“I haven’t been distracted by work and other things like my sister, I’m in a better headspace than her,” Nick growled. “Between my little brother and my sister, I…” he sighed. “I’m not fully equipped to deal with them both.”
“You’re supposed to take care of each other, work together.”
“And we do, but my family can get to be overwhelming. Especially my sister! You have met her, yes? About 5’2″, brunette and an attitude that gives you whiplash? Feelings are not my forte, you know.”
Steve barked out a laugh. “And mine is? I’ve got Danny for that. It took him years to fix me.”
Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. “What are you doing here?” Myriam muttered. She was wearing shorts, and a cropped top and her hair was flowing loosely over her shoulders, quite the change from what Steve had normally seen her in.
“Uhh,” he failed at words again as he stared at her, only jerking out of his daze when he heard a low chuckle behind him. “I, uh, came to see if you wanted to head to the hospital with me to see Agent Sheppard and the other tech, your friend? Your brother was just keeping me company while we waited for you to finish.”
“Yeah, sure,” she nodded. “I’m wondering why they haven’t called me yet.”
“Maybe there’s nothing to say or they don’t want you to worry,” Steve suggested. “Either way, we can go and find out together. Then perhaps we can grab lunch after if crap doesn’t hit the fan again. There is this place in Waikiki that I think you’d like.”
“I’m not hungry though,” she said as she stuffed her keys and wallet in her pocket. “Nick, are you okay with him taking me out?”
Nick looked up from the paper he’d begun to read and glanced towards the Commander. “Why would I? Although I would not have expected you to leave without your weapon and badge. Isn’t that standard?”
“There’s no NCIS office anymore. My team is either dead or in the hospital. 5-0 is handling the case. I’m off the fucking clock.”
Steve shrugged and tried not to rattle her further. “It’s up to you. Technically, you’re still a federal agent. I have no issues with you keeping to protocol and tagging on, as I mentioned last night when invited or in a limited capacity. While you can’t run the case, you are still incredibly valuable to it and office notwithstanding, NCIS still exists on the island with you. You can work out of 5-0. Trust me when I say, we’ve lost our office a time or two since Governor Jameson started us up.”
She shook her head. “Vance told me to take a few days off because Gibbs asked him to order me.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you don’t particularly like to listen to them very well,” he smiled. “And considering that, I doubt they expect you to follow those orders without them being here to cuff to your brother or one of them. You’re with me, and I’m the one working. Remember?”
Myriam was quiet for a moment before pulling everything out of her pockets again. “I’ll go change.”
“Sure,” Steve nodded, a slight frown on his lips. “Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. At least not on my account.”
She pointed at herself. “This does not say Federal Agent. If I’m to wear my badge and gun, I need my clothes.”
“And this is Hawaii where my partner wears these ridiculous shirts sometimes. And a lot of female cops have bathing suits under their uniforms. If you have a bathing suit under that top and shorts, you’re good to go for Hawaii. I just recommend sneakers.”
She looked over to Nick, who merely shrugged with a smile on his face. Huffing, she decided to fuck it all and put her keys and wallet back into her pocket and headed to the safe to get her gun and badge. “Fine. If I end up feeling like a fool, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“You have to realize by now that here in Hawaii we do things differently,” Steve smiled at her. “As long as you’re dressed to the nines when your boss shows up, no one will be none the wiser.”
“I should take you to New Orleans and see how long you last,” she retorted as she headed for the front door. “And knowing Gibbs, he’d probably be on a plane here now. If not him then maybe Pride…oh shit…” she paused to turn to face Nick. “You don’t think he’d actually come out here? Do you think he found out?”
“From what I know, they’re both papa bears when it comes to you. My guess is you have about a day before they come knocking at our gate.”
“More like with a battering ram,” she sighed glumly. “Let’s go. This may be my only day of freedom left.”
They drove to the hospital to find Jon just being released. He had to stay the night due to smoke inhalation and some cuts and bruises along with a broken shoulder. “Hey! Sorry, I couldn’t call you. I uh… didn’t memorize your phone number. Our phones are toast. How are you doing?” Shep asked Myriam before realizing her outfit. “Woah, looking good, boss.”
Myriam tugged on her shirt, glaring at Steve. “Let’s not discuss my wardrobe. How are you doing? Commander McGarrett offered to let us borrow space at their office until we get sorted out again. When you’ve been cleared for field work again, I’ll have to get you a new weapon, but I can see about the phone the next time I talk to the Director.”
“Nah, it’s fine, it’s professional risk, isn’t it?” Shep shrugged before wincing. “Yeah, I’m fine. Auggie… well, let’s go to him,” he said as he motioned for her and Steve to follow him to Auggie’s room.
She narrowed her eyes as he didn’t elaborate further. “He’s alright? He didn’t seem to have life-threatening injuries when you two left in the ambulance.”
“He’s healthy as a horse,” Sheppard said as he lead them into a room. “Hey Auggie, look who’s stopped by to visit!”
“Funny, very funny,” Auggie remarked as he turned his head towards the voice as he’d normally do, his head was wrapped with bandages, and there were bandages over his eyes. “But since Joan would travel a long distance to get to me, I guess that it’s our boss. Hi Myr, how are you doing?”
She stopped frozen in the doorway at seeing him with the bandages the way he had. “I’m okay,” she offered a little timidly. “You – are you okay? What happened?”
“Oh! Well, I got hit in the head, and some debris came into my eyes.”
“Some, he says,” Sheppard shook his head.
“Long story short, the doctors don’t think I’ll ever be able to see your gorgeous face.”
Myriam blinked and shook her head, not knowing how to respond. “But, can’t they do surgery? You love your work. You won’t be able to work in the lab! Joan! She’ll kill me for letting you get hurt like this!”
Auggie sighed as he held out his hand for her to take, when she did, he pulled her onto the bed with him and put his arms around her. “I’d need new eyeballs, so that’s a bit of a deal breaker,” he whispered in her ear. “Joan won’t kill you because she knows that our job is dangerous. And thirdly… it’s going to take some work, but I can still do tech work when needed. Surveillance. I know my keyboards and programs like the back of my hand. But it’s going to take work and patience and… well, that’s going to be hard.”
“So the next bad guy we kill, I’ll rip his eyes out for you,” she muttered. “The CIA won’t be as friendly with the change.”
“Stop that,” he tapped her on her head. “This is not your fault.”
“Of course it is. If I weren’t such a bitch to fire everyone as I had, you wouldn’t have insisted on coming out here on loan to help me,” she argued, wrapping her arms around his sides as carefully as she could.
“And since when are you responsible for the actions of others?” he tapped her on her head again. “You need to stop that. Someone made the conscious decision to blow us up. I don’t care if it’s someone you fired, because you’re not responsible for their actions.”
Myriam sighed at the mention about the bomb. “About that… there is some information you may want to know. Your response might end up changing after you hear what 5-0 thinks is going on.”
After Myriam told Auggie and Shep everything they’d uncovered the previous night, both men let out a breath, but Auggie didn’t let go of her. “No, I’m sticking to my original assessment. Not your fault. I don’t blame you. Some people lose their limbs due to a gunfight. I lose my eyes because I got blown up. That’s something to brag about.”
“Stop saying that you got blown up,” she whined.
“Auggie and I got blown up,” Shep shrugged.
“So did Jasper and Aracely. Matt. They aren’t here to be able to brag about it,” she snapped.
“Hey,” Auggie tapped her on her head again. “You didn’t lose all of us. We’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere.”
“You’ll go back to Virginia.”
“Who says that?” Auggie replied with a frown, although you couldn’t see him frowning. “No, I’m staying here. They have excellent care here, and I’m sure that in no time I’ll be back on my feet and doing things my way. NCIS has lost good people. I know that. It’s the job. And it sucks. But we’re still here. You’re still here. And we can mourn them.”
“I should call Gibbs. Asshole wouldn’t say a damn word on the phone I bet but sip his bourbon, but somehow I think I need him,” she shrugged against him.
“Gibbs scares the hell out of me,” Auggie gently ran his fingers through her hair as she finally calmed down some. “Joan is a pussycat compared to him.”
She pressed her lips into his chest and smiled. “Gibbs is a teddy bear. All you have to do is not piss him off and come bearing coffee. That was your mistake, taking the last in the pot.”
“Rule 23,” Auggie sighed.
“Rule 23,” Myriam nodded. “Don’t mess with a marine’s coffee unless you have a death wish.”
“Or Myriam’s coffee,” Shep added. “I’ll never make that mistake again.”
“Uhh… I drink tea,” Steve piped up. “Mess with my coffee all you want.”
“Pussy,” all three replied together.
Steve let out a snort. It was good to see that Myriam had at least allowed Sheppard in, and her ex-boyfriend, despite his dramatic injuries, was doing all that he could to make her feel at ease, to make her feel better.
“Now, I’m willing to bet that all you have had since the explosion was a good amount of wine,” Auggie commented.
“Coffee this morning,” Myriam replied quickly. “Nick forced it upon me.”
“You need food. Why don’t you get something, enjoy the sun and water. Bring me back some poke for dinner. This shit they are trying to give me I wouldn’t feed to my dog.”
“How can I do that when you’re here? When there are so many dead and with a target on my back? No, I want to stay here. Keep you company.”
“You want me to starve?” Auggie pouted. “Myriam, come on. Feed me. You always find the best places for food.”
“Ah fuck,” Steve cried out as he whipped out his phone. “I forgot to feed and walk Eddie!”
Myriam lifted her head to look over at him. “You have a dog you completely forgot about? Over how many days?”
“I’ve been busy!”
“It’s your dog! I’d feel sorry if you had any children.”
“I’m asking Gracie to go and get him right now and pamper him,” he said as he held up his phone. “I’ll pay her for dog walking services later.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thank God Danny is her father and not you. At least he has a brain.”
Auggie let out a snort. “Hey,” he whispered as he gently tugged on her hair to get her attention. “I’ll be fine. Go have some relaxation and food with Mr. Muscles.”
“Excuse you?” she asked.
“Oh come on, I may be blind now, but I did get to see him before,” he smiled at her. “He’s a hottie, and Shep told me all the gossip so…”
She rolled her eyes. “There is no gossip to be said,” she muttered.
“Go and have some food, come back to me tonight, with some poke. Please, I’m begging you.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, crawling off the bed, being careful of his IV tubings. “I will make you suffer for this though. Making me have to get you poke? What the fuck is poke? Isn’t that some game or cartoon that people play?”
Steve shook his head, amused. “Poke is a raw fish bowl. Sushi essentially.”
“So you want a bowlful of salmonella poisoning. Fantastic. I’ll bring you back salmonella.”
“Yay,” Auggie smiled at her. “Have fun, kids!”
“Yeah, I’m uh… going home. I’ll swing by later, Auggie, but I need to get a hot shower and burn this stench off of me,” Sheppard said as he squeezed his leg. “Get some rest.”
“Ain’t much else to do but,” the man replied. “Just make sure someone comes back with poke. That’s all I ask.”
“We’ll bring you all the poke and a new cell phone,” Sheppard nodded. “See ya later,” he said as he left the room.
Myriam called out to him to wait as she scrambled to Steve, careful not to miss any vital parts on Auggie’s body. “Can one of your team come and drive him? I don’t trust my father not to do something to anyone that’s close to the family. And if this Tani means anything to Nick, it might be a good idea for her to keep a distance from him until he’s dealt with.”
Steve nodded as he dialed Danny’s number. “You know, we could drive him home ourselves and make sure someone’s watching his house. Get someone to watch Auggie, too.”
“Very well known officers that you trust. Hell, even outsource to the base for MPs if necessary because my dad did have a history of getting corrupt cops on his payroll in all the cities he’d done business in,” she shared.
“I fucking hate your dad,” Auggie groaned.
“You’re not alone in that club,” she smirked. “Nick is the president of it after all.”
Once someone Steve knew came over to watch over Auggie, they drove Jon to his home where Tani was waiting for them. “I get it, stay clear from the Mikaelsons for now, but doesn’t that include you, boss?”
“I’ll be fine,” Steve said with a nod. “Thanks for doing this, Tani.”
She nodded before helping Jon get inside his house and smiled as she closed the door behind them.
Myriam let out a breath. “What’s next?”
“Food,” Steve replied.
“Seriously? I thought that was just the excuse to get Auggie to rest.”
“Auggie wants his food, and he told you to eat. Are you not listening to your friend who’s in the hospital right now?”
She sighed as she pulled her seatbelt on. “I’m not eating raw fish, for the record.”
“Nah, I told you, I know this great place in Waikiki which I think you’ll love.”
“No seafood! Unless it’s fried.”
“I promise,” Steve laughed as he drove off.
She nodded and settled in for the drive. Along the way, she found herself biting on her lower lip as she tried to think of a way of broaching a subject that had been on her mind since they left her house. “Just what did you and my brother discuss before I came downstairs?” Myriam asked, avoiding looking at him as she spoke the words.
“We exerted typical Alpha male behavior towards each other. He told me not to hurt you; I told him not to do the same with Tani,” he replied. “And he told me what happened to you in New Orleans, although you didn’t hear that from me. He didn’t want to tell me, but he figured I should know.”
She fidgeted with the fabric of her shirt as she let that absorb. “Maybe he was right to say something to someone. I don’t know. I know I probably wouldn’t say anything for a while to anyone that wasn’t there if I didn’t have to,” she shrugged.
“I understand,” Steve said kindly. “Believe me, I know. I’ve been in pretty tough situations myself either of my own doing or because I got kidnapped myself. It’s difficult to talk about your experiences with someone who doesn’t know or can’t imagine what you’ve gone through.”
“I replay that night and always wonder how they got in. The abattoir’s security is top of the line. Just short of fingerprint or iris scanning for civilian access,” she muttered. “And I’d only been in town for a couple of days, using the servants’ entrance and I hadn’t let anyone know that someone was coming back so there was no one that should have known I was there.”
“No security cams?”
She looked over at him and nodded. “Sure we do, but it’s all internal unless Nick changed them out during the years I refused to go there if he was able to sneak in without being seen by the locals. Pride would have recognized him without a doubt. I mean, he was the one that helped them set up their deal and got me to DC.”
He let out a breath before nodding. “Sometimes it’s best not to wonder about things; it’ll just drive you crazy. They got in and grabbed you. Don’t think about the why. I mean… I think I have an experience like that of my own, thinking about it drove me nuts.”
Myriam shook her head. “I can’t help but to especially now. I mean, despite knowing that Taylor’s brother took me, what if it’s still connected? And that attempt only failed? I was put in a deathmatch cage where the other guy pulled a knife at the end, McGarrett. They did not want me to come out alive,” she insisted as she shifted her shirt and showed him her scar from that fight. She wasn’t ashamed of it, as she had many from her years working and training, but it was the one she questioned its motives.
“Would you like me to request the NCIS case files on that and see what I can find?”
“I can get them to you quicker if you want to see them,” she replied.
“I mean, we’re already deep in all of this, so maybe we can see a connection that they can’t,” hell, he wanted to give her a peace of mind and a second opinion. Because what if it was all connected? Everything?
She nodded, not doubting Pride and Chris, but they had their problems during her case. “I have a copy of the entire file at home.”
“Oh, right, on your emergency laptop.”
“Yep,” she nodded. “And the physical file as well. It always bothered me, so I made copies before leaving. In case I lost access to the system, but you didn’t hear that.”
He briefly looked over at her and blinked. “You’re afraid to lose your job? Who would want to get you to quit? Aside from your brothers.”
“I am too close to the lead on the team there that I was covering and he has some politician in DC on his ass. No one knows who and they are making their lives hell. I do have connections that can get around some red tape, legally, but there are times where you know you have to walk a fine line. Whoever has it out for Pride, could easily come for me if I showed too much support for his cause. I never intended to go back to New Orleans, but I was there, and I intended to do my job. That was it. He knew that I wouldn’t cross that line for him because in my eyes it would make me no better than my father,” she explained about the climate of NCIS New Orleans.
“When I take you home later, then you can show me or bring your laptop to the office when you feel up for it. I promise I will look into every angle that you can remember or may connect,” Steve assured. “The most difficult place is where you are at now. Trying to move forward is the hardest part. I can help you with some of those first steps with just what we’re doing. Go out and get some lunch as your friend suggested.”
Myriam let out a frustrated sigh. “I do take it that apart from Parsons, Isabella Cullen is your main suspect?”
“Myriam, let us do our job.”
“I am! But you’re not doing it. Instead you’re taking me out for food!”
He looked over at her. “I do have a very good team. Sometimes you need to remember to take a break to see the details of your case.”
She fidgeted with her shirt. “Sorry. It’s just…”
“I know,” Steve smiled at her. “Don’t worry, okay? We’re working on it,” he said as he parked the car in front of a restaurant. “But first, let’s have some food.”15