The conclusion to the Rendition fan fic by Peggy is finally here. It sure has been quite a ride and wait until you read the end!
It was last left off with Jerry and Chin finally breaking through to the rendition room and sending in the EMTs for Steve. But Danny had also been trying to jump start Steve’s heart with the defibrillator to no avail.
Was Steve able respond to the last ditch attempt Danny made. Find out in this final part of the story.
Part Eight- Conclusion
Danny looks down at the grave, his eyes wandering up to the stone. He shakes his head and wipes the loan tear from his face. He looks up into the faces of Chin and Jerry and they nod.
Chin places a hand on Danny’s shoulder, “We’ll wait for you by the truck. Take your time.” He squeezes the shorter man’s arm and walks away.
Danny looks down at the grave again and sighs.
“You’d promised. You laid there and promised me you would fight.” He looks at the headstone. “At least now, you can rest in peace.”
His mind goes back the four weeks to that fateful day.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
He’d kneeled there, staring at the wall as he listened to all the commotion around him. Chin had stood beside him, mumbling all kinds of platitudes to him while the EMT’s came in, wrapped Steve up and took him away. He’d continued to kneel there as if the blood were glue, rooting him to the ground. He couldn’t move. He could still see Steve’s body lying there and he felt the need to protect it. There were too many people in the small room and seeing his partner’s body there was the only thing keeping him sane. He hadn’t even noticed when the blanket was put around his bare shoulders and Chin’s strong arms going around him, trying to pull him to his feet. Unable to resist, he feels as his pants pull free from the sticky, gooey red puddle and the sucking, squelching sound as his pants freed themselves from the mass. He didn’t even register the movement as they unshackled Akua, dragging him to his feet and placing the chains tight around his arms and torso. Chin had turned Danny slightly, his arm still tight around his shoulder, waiting for them to get Akua out of the room.
“Guess I’ll just have to settle for seven.” He laughs as they move him out in the hall.
Danny snapped at those words. Throwing off the blanket, along with Chin’s arm, he moves with the speed of a cheetah, slamming Akua against the opposing wall, the muzzle of his gun just below Akua’s ear.
“You know you get just as much for six as you do for seven, don’t ya? Yeah, that would normally be life in prison with no chance of ever stepping foot outside those walls again. But add to it the murder or even attempted murder of a cop? Add to that the fact that this is the governor’s special task force and that just moved it from life to automatic death penalty. Yeah, you will die in prison, and if they’ll let me, I will be the one to press that button. I will gladly stand there and look you in the eye while I do.” He presses the muzzle tighter against Akua’s head. “I will be more than happy to provide that service for free. Right here, right now.” His finger hooks around the trigger.
“Danny…brah, don’t. You don’t wanna do it this way.” Chin says, his voice in his ear and hand on his shoulder.
“He doesn’t even deserve a trial, Chin. You saw what he did. It’s all been recorded. I should’ve put him down like the dog that he is.”
“I don’t disagree with you, Danny, but not now. He’s not going anywhere…he’s not getting away with anything. As you said, this situation adds special circumstances. Automatic death penalty. He’s done.”
Danny breathes heavy. Biting his lower lip, he draws back his hand, takes his finger off the trigger and flips on the safety.
“I knew you couldn’t do it. Can’t even exact revenge for your ‘partners’ death. No wonder he broke his promise.” Akua says, smiling big.
Before anyone can stop him, Danny brings his gun down on Akua’s face, splitting his cheek wide open, most likely breaking his nose and cracking his jaw.
“What the fuck? You all saw that! He can’t do that!” Akua yells, hoping to turn this into a negotiation…a hope to get the death penalty off the table.
“Saw what?” Chin replies, looking around.
“He hit me for no reason. I’m shackled. I’m no threat. He had no right to do that.”
“I didn’t see any such thing.” Chin says as he places the blanket back over Danny’s shoulders. “I saw you trip over your own big feet and run face first into the wall. What about you guys?”
The four HPD officers standing around all nod, agreeing with Chin.
“No, no. The cameras will show everything.”
Chin leans in close, “Brah, the cameras haven’t come online yet. They’re still rebooting.” He whispers before stepping back, an arm around Danny again and guides him to the elevator. “Let’s go. You need to get out of here and let the EMT’s upstairs check you out.”
Danny nods, his energy and will suddenly gone. He allows Chin to manhandle him into the elevator, not even noticing the small room and up to the ground floor. As the doors open, he can hear all the voices and noise of a large crowd of people and he pulls back.
“No. I can’t go out there, Chin. I can’t face all those people.”
“I got it, Danny. Let’s go this way and we can avoid them all. We’ll go out the back way. I requested a rig out back. I figured.”
Danny smiles at the Hawaiian, so glad he knows him so well.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“I sat there while they checked me over, looking for any wounds or injuries, but there were none. At least, none that were visible.” He kneels down, placing the lone flower he had in his hands between the two that Chin and Jerry had placed on the grave.
“Dammit, Steve, you gave up! You said to me you would fight but you gave up! You left me all alone in that hellhole with that psychopath. I lost it, Steve. When your heart stopped, I lost it. I tried. God, I tried. I used that damn defibrillator until it wouldn’t charge anymore. I tried CPR, mouth-to-mouth, everything I could think of the get that damn heart of yours beating again.” A sob leaves his throat. He stands back up again, backing away from the grave.
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you. I can’t see my future without you in it. I lost Mattie, Steve, and losing you? Well, it’s too much.”
Danny feels a hand take his and squeeze tight. “I guess you’ll never have to find out, will you?” A deep, smooth voice says from just behind him.
Danny turns to face the man sitting in the folding chair. “No, I guess I won’t.” He smiles down at his best friend. Steve smiles back, squeezing the hand one more time. He looks at the headstone and Danny follows his gaze.
“Caroline Stephens. Number six. At least she’s been given a proper burial.” Steve comments, reading the name on the stone. Akua had finally given her name and where she was buried last week in a last ditch attempt at a deal. The only thing this got him was to live like a king for his last days. The governor had fast-tracked his trial and he was found guilty. Adding the charges of attempted murder of two members of the governor’s task force, the death penalty had been automatic. His execution was scheduled for two months from today. That’s why they were here. She’d been ‘properly’ buried the day before but Steve hadn’t been released from the hospital until this morning. He’d been very vocal about coming here. He needed to see her laid to rest and the doctor had agreed it would be good for him. Danny needed it, too. They both needed to address what had happened, talk about all they hadn’t said and then try and move on.
Steve had fought against any kind of therapy after his last foray into that world but realized it was needed when he couldn’t put into words what he needed to say to Danny; what he wanted to say to Danny. So for the last two weeks, they’d been working with a very nice, very good therapist and this field trip had been warranted.
“You ready?” Danny asks, still looking down at the grave.
“Yeah. I think I am.” Steve lets go of his hand and grabs his crutches. He’d been VERY lucky. The bullet had lodged in his spine, but had not severed the cord. As if someone was looking out for him, when Danny had shocked him back to the land of the living, that small movement had shifted the bullet away from the cord and, in essence, gave Steve a chance to walk again. Oh, there had been days of fear, waiting for the swelling to subside, but when it had, the feeling started coming back and soon he was wiggling his toes. Danny had broken down the first time he saw Steve wiggle his toes and had been given a moderate sedative. Steve smiles as he stands, biting back the pain which has become a part of every day and thinks of the reaction Danny had to his big toe wiggling. He’d thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and he let everyone know.
Standing now, leaning on the crutches for support, he nods toward the truck and follows slowly over.
Chin and Jerry, already in the back seat, smile as they come over, the bond they now share stronger than ever. Steve waits as Danny opens the passenger door, his patience and acceptance of any and all help better than in the past. He can accept that he will need help for the foreseeable future and he’s more than willing to accept it from these three. After all, they’d saved his life.
Pausing for a moment before getting up into the seat, he looks Danny in the eye. “I promise, from now on, I will NEVER give up. Never again.” He’s sees the acceptance on Danny’s face and he sighs. “Thank you, Danny. I mean it.” He turns and climbs up into the cab. Holding the door for just another second, he looks down, “I love you, buddy.”
Danny clears his throat, those last few words meaning more to him than anything anyone has ever said to him.
A big grin crossing his face, he looks up into those beautiful hazel eyes and chuckles.
“And I hate you so much right now.”
THE END
Thanks to Peggy for a riveting imaginative story keeping us all on our seat throughout every part. So many people contacted us via our social media accounts saying they could not wait for the next part and that is a good sign of a good story.
Also MUCH thanks to Bryna who provided us some amazing and very relevant fanart to go along with each chapter.
It took a lot of work and dedication for both so again THANK YOU for sharing your creativity.
Hope everyone enjoyed the story.
Here are the previous parts of the story for anyone that might want to catch up or even just start it. Hope you are enjoying it!
Story by P_Street_7609
Fanart by Becoming_Bryna
That was excellent! I’m a fast reader & I couldn’t read fast enough! I wanted more!!
Yes Peggy is a good writer and knows how to keep people wanting more. She just might do another story…stay tuned.
Great fanfic! I could totally picture all the characters in this story:) and what a nerve wrecking conclusion…had to fight the urge to scroll forward to see if he truly made it! Kudos! ??
Yes it did have that affect on many..thanks for reading.
Brilliant story loved the suspense and was kept wondering how it would end and must admit the thought of Steve dying frightened me even knowing it would not happen but the thought was there. Thankyou
Glad you enjoyed it and yes it did keep you on edge!