C S I (UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 13 - ʻo kaʻohana mua (family first)

Lauren's POV
The very next day, I bought a plane tickets for my parents, Greg, Stacey and Nick brought plane tickets for his parents, Sammy and Gracie. We also decided to video call the lab to let them know Kailani was born. I decided, just for it to be a surprise, to make sure Greg wasn't there when I did. I texted D.B beforehand to ask for him to sent Greg on a case pronto. Once he was gone, Nick and I called. "Hay guys!!" We greet, waving at the screen. "Hay!!" They all reply. "Meet Kailani Stokes everyone." I turn the camera to Nick who's holding Kailani in his arms. "Awwwww, she looks adorable Lauren!!" Catherine compliments. "Thanks Cath." I smile. "She's cute." Morgan and Lindsey giggle simultaneously. "Thanks, you guys." I chuckle. The rest of the lab offer compliments, ranging from she's cute to wish I could meet her. "She looks like Nick." D.B comments in his usual observant manner. "She does, it's like looking at a female Nick." I smile proudly. "How is she? I hear she's premature?" Catherine asks, concern in her voice clear. "Yeah, she's alright. The tests came back and she's slightly asthmatic and even that, Nick and I aren't worried. Asthma can be managed. The doctors even said it might go away as she grows. As far as anything bad, she's as healthy as can be." I explain. "That's good, I'm glad." She nods. "Has Greg called yet?" I ask. "Nope, enjoying his "case" too much." D.B sniggers. "I bet." I scoff. "Alright, well. I won't take up too much of your time guys. I'm sure you have assignments and paperwork piling up by the minute so I'll see you later." I state. "Okay, look after yourselves." Catherine reminds me. "I will, tell everyone I didn't get a chance to see I said hi." I nod. "Bye." We wave. "Talk later." They all wave before we end the video call. "When did Sammy and Gracie say they'll be able to come?" I ask Nick. "They said they're both kinda busy but they have a month off starting in roughly a week so they'll fly out then and my parents will fly out the next week after that." He explains. "Can't wait." I smile widely.

Time skip//

Lauren's POV
It's been a week or so since I've been dismissed from hospital along with Kailani and she's growing up beautifully. She's barely a year old but she's already beginning to crawl. However, the restless nights and lack of sleep don't change. I wake up from the sound of her crying in her crib. Sneaking a look at the time, I see its close to 2 in the morning. Since what happened with Gracie years ago, I decided I felt more at ease if she was in our room till she outgrew the crib. "Hay sweetie, you hungry?" I whisper sweetly as I pick her up. Nick's still soundly asleep in our bed. I sit back on the bed, leaning against the headboard and undo the top few buttons of my shirt but Kai doesn't seem to want to eat. "What's wrong baby?" I cuddle her. I finally figure it out. "Nicky, babe...wake up." I gently shake him awake. "Hmmm...what, what's up?" He mutters groggily, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Kai won't go to sleep, I think she wants you." I explain. "Hmm...okay." He nods, slipping out of bed and takes Kailani from my arms. "Hay sweet girl." He whispers gently, smiling at her widely. She begins to whimper, then sniffle, then yawn and proceed to doze off, her hand clutching Nick's shirt tightly with her little fingers. "You guys look so cute like that." I giggle silently. I quickly snap a picture of the sleepy father and daughter and send it to my parents, Greg, Sammy, Gracie and Nick's parents. "She's out like a light." Nick sniggers softly as he places her back in the crib. "And I'm about to be." I smirk. "But I also need my cuddly teddy." I giggle. Nicky slips back in bed, cuddling my close; my head buried in his chest and his hands caressing me softly. "Get some sleep babe, we're probably gonna get called in today." He whispers. "I don't know, I think it'll be a quiet day." I shrug. "Maybe." He nods. I wrap my arms around his torso, tangling my legs with his as I draw myself closer in his embrace. The last thing I remember before dozing off is Nicky's soft touch and his heartbeat against my ear.

Hours time skip//

The blaring sound of a phone call wakes me up. "Hmmm..." I grumble as I fumble for it. "Stokes." I mutter. "Hay cuz, sorry to wake you up but we got a pretty big case, all hands-on deck." Steve explains. "That's fine, we'll be there in half an hour." I state. "Sounds good, we'll see you guys then." He agrees before we hang up. "Case?" Nick yawns as he stretches. "Yup and apparently, it's a big one, all hands-on deck." I nod. "Are we bringing Kai?" He asks. "Yeah, both of us won't get sent off so she'll stay with one of us at the palace." I nod. "One more thing." He smirks as he pulls himself on top of me. "What's that?" I giggle. "I didn't tell you you're beautiful today..." He whispers in my ear, leaving a trail of kisses down my neck. "Okay, casanova, we gotta go." I snigger. We both get up and get ready. I wear a light, faded green almost blue-ish button up shirt with my army boots and faded riped jeans before going to get Kai ready. "Hay girlie." I smile as I pick her up. I put on "surfer dude" onesie from Steve and the denim overalls Nicky's ma sent us, finishing it off with a red headband with a bow. "You're all ready to go." I chuckle before laying her on her playmatt to play around till we get ready. I pack her bag and mine, also picking up my gun and badge on the way, slipping them on my waist. "Ready babe?" I call Nick. "Yup." He appears from the bathroom after a shower. He's ditched his usual polo shirt look in exchange for a nice grey, button up shirt and some faded jeans along with his army boots and badge and gun on his waist. "I'll get her bag." He offers. I pick up mine and Nick's bag and Kai before we head off. We usually take my car unless it's only one of us, then we take our own car. I slip Kai into her baby seat before jumping into the driver seat myself. "Coffee?" I ask. "You read my mind." Nick smirks. So, we drop by a StarBucks for coffee before heading to the palace. "Hay." Nick and I greet as we walk in, Kai in hand. "Hay." Everyone greets. "What's the case?" Nick asks as he places Kai in her baby carrier on the floor. "Governor called Danny and I this morning, hysterical that someone had taken his daughter during the night. HPD already sent a unit to sweep and all evidence has been sent to the lab and put a rush on. We have no other case but this until its solved." Steve explains thoroughly. "What's her name?" I ask as I look at her picture plastered on the big screen. "Malani Dennings." Steve answers. I can't help but see my daughters in her and I don't know how I would even be breathing if they were taken and I couldn't do anything to help get them back home. "What do we do?" Nick asks, as if reading my mind. "Chin and Lou, you guys head off and talk to Governor Dennings' family and friends, anyone who was there when it happened, it's a small crowd and they're all at Governor Dennings' office. Danny, you and Kono go to the lab get the results. Nick can go check the crime scene." Steve delagates. "I can come with you if you want." Steve offers him. "Nah, it's okay. If the CSIs have sweeped it already, I just need to go to see the crime scene, help us understand why they may have taken her." He declines. "Okay, go everyone. We haven't got much time." Steve states before everyone disperses. "I'll see you guys later." Nick turns to me. "Okay." I nod. "Hay, I love you lots." He hugs me. "We love you too." I giggle. He blows me a kiss before heading down. I take Kai in her baby carrier and head into my office while Steve heads into his office. I begin on some paperwork I've missed in the one week or so I've been off on maternity leave. Kai wakes up about an hour later, squirming in her baby carrier. "Hay sweet girl, you awake?" I giggle, picking her up. "Hay cuz, come here for a minute." Steve calls me to his office. "What's up?" I ask as I walk in with Kai in my arms. "I just got a call from the Governor saying he's been given a ransom demand in the mail. Lab's processing it but Danny sent me a picture. Wanna have a look?" He explains. "Sure." I nod. *We have your daughter, here's proof of life. Give us 20 million and you'll get her back. Don't and you'll get her corpse.* read the generic note along with a picture of a very terrified little girl. "Wow, how original." I roll my eyes. "I know...doesn't help much." He grumbles. I take another look at the picure and I feel my arms hold Kai a little tighter, as if she'll slip away if I don't. "Well, if it helps a gang or anyone big wouldn't send this kind of note so it's not some roughed up gang or some hired hitman or something, it must be some lone wolf holding a grudge." I state. "I guess but that girl is still in danger." He sighs. "On a completely unrelated note, how's the little bub?" He suddenly smiles. "She's great, started crawling already." I giggle. "Already?" He gasps. "What can I say? I breed geniuses." I smirk. "Hay." He chuckles as he takes Kai from my arms. "Uncle Steve hasn't seen you for too long." He starts talking to her. "She been keeping you up at night?" He asks. "How did you guess?" I scoff. "Ouch, sarcasm." He fakes hurt. "No matter how much makeup you plaster on, I think we can tell you've lost sleep." He sniggers. "But don't worry, you'll always look flawless no matter what because he loves you no matter what." He chuckles affectionately. "Thanks for your words of wisdom mother." I joke. "Very funny cuz." He chuckles. "Heard the family's coming down." He comments. "When?" He inquires. "In a few days, actually." I reveal. "Cool, pumped to meet the kids and your parents and brother." He chuckles. "Are you excited little boo?" he asks Kai. She flails her arms about, squealing with a toothless smile plastered on her face. "I think so." I giggle. She starts flustering and that's when I know she's hungry. "Okay baby girl, come to mama." I chuckle as he hands her back. "I'll be a few minutes, I gotta feed her." I state. "Kay, I'll check up on the rest." He nods. I sit on the recliner in my office before taking out her bottle from her bag and feeding her. Her eyes begin to close and she starts to drift off to sleep. "Sweet dreams baby." I kiss her forehead gently before placing her in the baby carrier to sleep. I finish my paperwork about an hour later and by that point, everyone's come back. "So what did you guys get from the family?" I ask Chin and Lou. "Enlightening info." They comment. "Spill." I prompt. "So, after talking to the parents, the girl's school and her friends, turns out that there's these older girls who've been pushing her around and the school tried to do something, suspended them for a while but I guess it didn't do the trick." Lou explains. "Wow..." I breathe. "Wow is right." Chin frowns. This case is hitting home for so many reasons for us all and not just because it's Governor Dennings. Chin, Lou, Steve, Danny and I all have daughter, of all ages and we are left with fear in the pit of our stomaches that what if this happened to them. "This is some twisted shit." I frown. "You got that right." Danny mutters grumpily. "Guys, I know this hits hard and it hits close but let's keep it professional." Steve prompts. "I'm sorry Steve, you know this is hard for us. Please don't tell me you're just going to ignore that." I argue. "I'm not." He counters. "Yes, you are, that's basically what you're asking. Don't tell me you don't see Loha every time you look at that picture." I frown. "Lauren, I do. I swear to go, it's taking every fibre in my body right now not to go crazy. All I'm saying is we need to keep our heads because that's the only way we can solve this and bring this little girl home." He states. "You're right..." I sigh. "I know this is hard but we gotta keep our heads and just solve it like any other case, it's the only way we can bring her back home." He states. "Okay, what do we need to do?" I ask. "We need to talk to those kids." Nick -who's been silent this whole time- prompts. "I doubt that would be easy." I comment. "Worth a try." He shrugs. "Nick, Lauren and Danny; I want you guys to go try and find the girls and talk to them. Chin; you, Lou and I are going back to talk to Governor Dennings and his family. Kono, you go to the lab and chase up some results. Jerry, keep digging. Call us if you find anything." Steve delegates quickly. "I'm driving." I pipe. "Oh yeah, story of my life." Danny grumbles. "Jerry, you'll keep and eye on Kai, won't you? You'll make sure she's okay?" I turn to Jerry. "I promise you she'll be safe and sound." He nods. "Okay..." I nod. "Her bag's in our office. Her bottle's in there if she gets hungry and there are some toys in there in case she start fussing. And there are spare clothes and diapers in there as well. Also, call us if something is up, we'll be here in seconds." I ramble. "Lauren, she'll be fine. Now go, Kai and I will continue to look for things and we'll call you guys if we get anything." He assures me. "Okay." I finally nod. "Bye sweet girl, we'll see you soon." Nick and I hug her. She makes incoherent baby noises, grabbing at Nick's nose. "We have to go bub." I giggle. "Okay, be good for uncle Jerry." Nick and I give her a kiss before heading off. As soon as we're driving off, I feel a sort of tightness and nausea overcome me.