I'm actually kinda nervous about posting this chapter because as mentioned in the last chapter, this is the last one. I hope the ending doesn't give the impression that it was written in a rush because it wasn't. All the chapters were fully written before I posted the first one and re-written inside out and upside down. I hope four chapters aren't too short :X

Chin, being the model patient that he was, was actually discharged after six days instead of the expected one week. To celebrate, Steve had invited the team to a small party he was throwing at his house. Chin had just settled comfortably in a deckchair on the lanai when a small figure shot out of the house and landed in his lap, sending a spike of pain through his body. Chin winced.

"Are you feeling better, Uncle Chin?" Grace asked, her eyes wide. She pinned him with her worried gaze just as Danny strode onto the lanai and reached over to pull Grace out of Chin's lap.

"C'mere, Monkey," he said anxiously. "Remember what I told you? Uncle Chin's still healing."

Grace scrambled back into Danny's arms, horrified.

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "Did I hurt you?"

"Nah, you didn't," Chin lied. The pain had settled into the dull throb that meant it was time for him to take his painkillers. "Come here, keiki," he said, beckoning her over. He helped her settle onto his lap and smiled.

"I'm feeling much better now thanks to those drawings you made me," he said and Grace beamed. "Mahalo."

"I'm happy you liked them," Grace said, suddenly shy. "They always made Danno feel better whenever he was sick or hurt too. I thought maybe it'll make you feel better too!"

Danny gazed at his daughter with unconcealed pride.

"Hey Gracie!" Steve called from the barbecue that he had set up on the beach. Grace perked up at the sound of her name. Chin nudged her gently off his lap.

"Go on," he said. "Go see what your Uncle Steve's up to." Grace nodded energetically and shot off in Steve's direction.

"Sorry 'bout that," Danny said apologetically. He squinted against the sunlight to see Grace bouncing up and down next to Steve who was showing her the huge bag of marshmallows he'd bought. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chin said as he pushed himself off the chair, grimacing as the dull throb became an aching roar. Danny's hands shot out to steady him.

"Whoa, whoa, you call this fine? You're just like McGarrett. This is not fine."

"But unlike McGarrett, I'm going to go in and get some painkillers. Don't worry, Danny, it wasn't Grace's fault. I was due for some anyway." He waited for the pain to settle back into a throb before heading towards the kitchen. Danny moved to follow him but Chin waved him off.

"Go play with your daughter. I'll be fine."

Danny sighed and nodded.

"If I hear so much as a chair scraping the floor, I'm going to get Kono to tie your ass to a bed for the rest of the month." Danny pierced Chin with a warning look before wandering off to stop Steve from turning his daughter into a hopped-up sugar junkie.

Chin smirked. No wonder Steve wanted to kick Danny out of the house the last time he took a bullet on the job. He made his way towards the kitchen without incident, keeping a safe distance away from the chairs just in case Danny decided to make good of his threat. When he entered the kitchen, he found Kono tearing the lettuce with a ferocity that was quite unwarranted.

"What did the poor lettuce do to you?" Chin quipped as he ambled towards the bag of meds on the counter. Kono jumped and whirled around, a piece of shredded lettuce in her hand.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," Kono snapped. She dumped the piece of lettuce in the salad bowl before grabbing a glass and filling it at the tap. She set it on the table as Chin shook his meds out onto his palm. He picked the glass up, shooting her a grateful smile before downing the pills and gulping down the water. He slouched against the counter as he waited for the medication to take effect.

"You okay, cuz?" Chin asked her. Kono sighed as she moved to lean against the counter next to him. She was silent for awhile, staring out the window as she watched Danny lecture Steve about the appropriate amount of marshmallows little girls ought to consume.

"You shouldn't have done that," Kono said quietly.

"Done what?" Chin tilted his head to look at her, confused.

"Pushed me away. You almost died."

Chin frowned. "You would've almost died if I didn't."

Kono turned to glare at him and Chin froze. She looked exactly like the seven-year-old kid she once was, terrified when she'd lost sight of him at one of the luaus the extended family liked to throw. She was always following him around as a kid. He always looked out for her and that was how things would be, whether Kono liked it or not.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Chin!" Kono snapped. "You almost died! It would've been my fault if you died."

"You know that's not true, Kono," Chin fired back. "What was I supposed to do? Let you take the knife knowing full well it was coming straight at you? What sort of person do you think I am?"

"I don't know! You could've tackled me so we'd both be out of the way!"

Kono's anger seemed to deflate as she slouched against the counter. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I think you're a person who's given too much and taken too little," she said softly and Chin felt a shudder rise up his spine, the shudder he always felt when they started talking about the one subject he hated to talk about.

"This isn't about Uncle, Kono," Chin said in an attempt to change the topic. Kono looked at him, her eyes holding the glint of determination which usually meant that Kono would get what she wanted and Chin would have absolutely no say in it.

"No, it isn't," Kono said, surprising him. "It's about how you keep taking the fall for people who are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. You have to stop doing this to yourself, Chin. Stop trying to protect the people around you at your own expense."

"I didn't have a choice. Auntie needed Uncle. If he'd gone to jail for taking the money from the asset forfeiture locker, Auntie would've died."

"You don't know that. Uncle made his decisions and as bad as this sounds, he has to handle them on his own. He's a grown man. You took the fall to help him and what do you get? Not only is your name dirt with HPD, no one in the family wants to talk to you or be associated with you because you're seen as the bad guy."

Chin groaned in frustration.

"I don't want to have this conversation. Not now."

"Fine," Kono huffed. "Let's talk about Malia, then, how about that? Let's talk about how you left her to protect her and ended up breaking your own heart."

Chin opened his mouth to interrupt but Kono was on a roll and wasn't going to be stopped.

"Don't say you weren't heartbroken, Chin, anyone with eyes and a working brain could tell. You led me to think that Malia broke up with you because she couldn't stand to be associated with you when the truth is, you were the one that broke up with her."

"She would've been dragged down too, Kono," Chin said impatiently. "You know how big our family is and how wide their connections are. She'd never have gotten anywhere. Just like how you would never have risen up the ranks in HPD if you didn't join Five-0."

Kono slammed her hand on the counter as she turned to stand in front of him.

"Don't do that," she snarled. "Don't make it sound as if you're jinxing everyone just because you exist. If people are too blind to see that you're a good man, then it's their problem. I don't need anyone telling me what sort of person you are, Chin, because I can see for myself. Stop being so damned altruistic. You matter too."

"Kono, I-"

"I don't know what I would've done if you died," Kono said, cutting him off. Tears were pooling in her eyes and she made no attempt to wipe them away. "You're my big brother. I can't lose you."

Chin sighed as he pulled Kono into a hug. Kono let out a choked sob as she leaned against him, careful to not touch the still healing wound.

"I'm sorry, keiki," Chin whispered into her hair because that was what he still saw her as, not the confident woman she had become but the wide-eyed little girl that used to follow him everywhere. "But I can't promise it won't happen again. I don't regret what I did because I can't lose you too. You're my little sister. It's my job to look out for you but I promise I'll at least try to look out for myself as well."

Kono gave a watery chuckle. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

Chin smiled at Kono as she pulled away. He framed her face with his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. Kono sighed and wrapped her arms around him, savouring the familiar feeling of safety and warmth.

"We didn't finish our conversation about Malia," she said quietly. Chin stiffened.

"Yes, we did," Chin insisted.

"No," Kono's arms tightened around him. "You still love her. I know you do. Why else would you have a photo of her hidden in your wallet? She's still upset and heartbroken by what you did. She was so distracted by it that she spilled everything to your doctor without meaning to. Go back to her, Chin. Both of you deserve to be happy."

Chin looked down at his cousin and felt an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. He'd spent so long thinking about protecting Malia that he hadn't realised how unhappy and heartbroken she was. It was time to make things up to her. Maybe he could ask her out for a cup of coffee. The thought brought a smile to his lips and caused the feeling to disappear. It was time to right some wrongs.

"Okay," Chin said softly. "I will."

Kono took a step back, surprised.

"You will?"

Chin grinned.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

Chin and Kono turned around to see Steve at the door. He looked at them quizzically, arms folded. Kono dragged the back of her hand across her eyes in an attempt to hide her tears. Steve stepped over and peered into the salad bowl. He looked up, alarmed.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, looking from cousin to cousin. "And don't give me any bullshit about being fine. You were supposed to prepare the salad, Kono, not shred it to pieces."

Chin hid a smirk as Kono grinned and shook her head.

"It's alright, boss," she replied, picking up the salad dressing and uncapping it. "It's all good now."

THE END

I'd like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and/or added to story/author alert. Being able to share my ideas regarding one of the awesomest shows on television as well as being able to practice the one thing I love most on this website is one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I'm really happy that I'm able to share this joy with like-minded individuals.

(:

I've got a new Chin and Kono one-shot coming up after this one so if you enjoyed this, do look out for it. I'd like to think of it as unique because so far, I've never seen anyone write about a ten-year-old Kono.

See you around (: