I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: I want to thank you all for such patience on this story. I appreciate all the very kind reviews and I hope this Epilogue lives up to its job in wrapping up the bulk of the story. Though as you can see, a door remains open for more.

As an aside, Makoa's own name was significant here along with his own 'amakaua. It either was a happy accident of the muse to select such a name or I have a bit of a "sickness" for weaving strange details into things.

But anyway and as such - his actual name relates to that of the Mako Shark. "Mako" comes from the Māori language, meaning either the shark or a shark tooth. It may have originated in a dialectal variation as it is similar to the common words for shark in a number of Polynesian languages—makō in the Kāi Tahu Māori dialect, mangōin other Māori dialects, "mago" in Samoan, ma'o in Tahitian, and mano in Hawaiian.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Brody: What day is this?

Hooper: It's Wednesday... eh, it's Tuesday, I think.

Brody: Think the tide's with us?

Hooper: Keep kicking.

Brody: I used to hate the water...

Hooper: I can't imagine why.

Jaws - The Movie

Chapter Twenty-Seven: No Kau a Kau ~ For Eternity

"How did it happen exactly?" Steve asked, knowing the tale would be a gory one for the extent of the now long healed scars. He, Danny, Makoa and Kono were taking a well-deserved break far away from the line-up before they each went in to meet Chin on the beach for an impressive picnic lunch. Based upon Steve's last visit to shore, Chin had more than outdone himself with what he'd assembled for the ravenous team.

Makoa raised the hefty white of his eyebrows at Steve's question. He unwrapped his arms from around his chest and waggled his remaining fingers in the dark-haired man's direction. "What? My hand and leg?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded. He appreciated the grievous injuries for what they had been so many years ago and could only guess the man's personal agony at the time. "That had to be bad when it happened, Makoa. I can't imagine how bad, really. Those had to have been life-threatening injuries."

The elder pursed his lips in consideration. Few people had the boldness to ask him precisely how he'd been attacked and he rarely spoke of the actual incident. He sniffed an odd sound under his breath and gave a mental shrug. Under his brows, he glanced towards Kono for she knew the truth of the story and she nodded silently in reply as if encouraging him to share it for her friends' benefit. With a heavy sigh, Makoa forced his suddenly tense shoulders to relax as he began his tale.

"There was a storm far off to the northwest and the surf was high ... we all waited for days like this. It was a perfect time to catch big waves," Makoa began as he always did. "I was a typical twenty-four year old, out for a good time that weekend. Nothing more than that." The truth was nothing special up until one particular point and he could already feel his emotions being dredged up as he thought of Iris.

"I was far from done surfing that day when she struck from below," Makoa used his hands to demonstrate how he'd been paddling out and the shark had come from below. "She hit hard on the left of the board and it was nearly over for me before it had begun."

Danny grimaced as Makoa's hands flew through the air. He glanced once towards Steve, but his friend was enthralled since they'd all seen the old tooth-damaged board lashed high above the workshop. "How did you get to shore?" Steve asked incredulously.

"Honestly? I don't remember that part," Makoa said with shake of his head. "Which is probably a good thing." His 'amakaua had provided him with a severe warning and then had seen fit to grant him many gifts that day. Again, that was all the truth. He barely recalled any part of the actual attack or of being in the water after the fingers of his hand had been severed.

Kono looked down at her board, a smile had started to grow on her face because she knew what was coming next and Makoa would not disappoint them.

"What I do remember is Iris," he said softly. "She was just twenty years old and the only one with the presence of mind to wrap a towel around my hand and do a tourniquet on my leg." Makoa grinned proudly. After the horror of the first hit which had sent him down into the water to nearly drown, his next memory was of himself lying on the beach gazing up into Iris's eyes. His head had been in her lap and she bravely had been holding his nearly destroyed hand in the two of hers. Wrapped tightly in a towel, she had firmly held his arm high in the air above his head to staunch the flow of blood. His Iris had quite literally saved his life.

Makoa cleared his throat harshly to combat the tightness in his chest. His 'amakaua had been a tremendous teacher that day and he'd been too recently reminded again of such lessons. With a deep sigh, he regained his smile to finish the most important part of the story.

"Six months later, we got married on the beach," Makoa beamed uncharacteristically at Steve's impressed expression. Even Danny was smiling at the happy ending.

"We were married precisely on that same spot where she saved this old fool's life," he added, an odd show of emotion softening not only his eyes, but the tone of his voice. He gestured grandly towards the shoreline, a few yards to where Chin had begun to pace the sands as if wanting them all to return for lunch. " Right over there where those keiki are playing. The beach hasn't changed too much despite all of these years.

There was a splash off to Steve's right and his head swiveled quickly in Danny's direction where his partner had lurched unexpectedly on his surfboard.

"This beach?" Danny regained his balance to lean forward with a somewhat earnest level of interest. His eyes were widening as he stared in disbelief at Makoa who was sitting much too calmly on his longboard; much too serenely in fact, if Danny had heard him correctly.

"Right over there where those kids are playing? Near Chin?" He pointed to said beach to be sure, his face completely altering when the older man nodded in affirmation. There was a growing twinkle in the elder Hayashi's eyes and Kono had already covered her mouth with one hand in a ridiculous attempt to hide a huge smile.

"Seriously?" Danny pursed his lips, eyes narrowing to mere slits as he stared at the placid man's now unreadable face. He made a swirling motion with his index finger just above the water before asking his next querulous question. "So that means you were also attacked here? Right here? In these exact waters? By a very large shark?"

"Oh, man," Steve muttered under his breath as he watched his partner react to the information. Danny's eyes were roughly the size of two overly large paper-plates and he was already squirreling his knees up out of the ocean when Makoa grunted what sounded like a pleased confirmation. His board rocked dangerously in place, nearly tipping as Danny began to fidget when Makoa's final answer was a rude acquiescent shrug.

"Seriously?" Steve mimicked Danny down to the disbelieving tone once the import of Makoa's message sank fully in. He suddenly wasn't too happy either as he looked towards Makoa to see if the older man might be toying with them. Makoa's own further lack of reply and the outrageous lines crinkling the tan lines around his eyes, clearly meant that nothing he'd said was a lie or even mildly exaggerated. Compounding matters was Kono's happy expression and quick nod, so it was all quite truthful. After another glance towards Danny, Steve couldn't help nervously surveying their immediate vicinity as if something might suddenly be lurking too close to their floating huddle.

"Here?" Danny muttered sickly. He looked peevishly at Kono now, completely unimpressed with her ongoing smile.

"Yes. Here," Makao stated again, his eyes now blatantly sparkling with a sly twinkle as he shelved his memory of Iris to focus on both Danny and Steve. He gazed directly down into the bluish waters as if he could see all the way to the deep bottom. "My old Noah could even be here still ... certain species are quite long-lived and the shark is my family's special 'amaukau. We're drawn to each other by a blood bond."

"Hayashi-san," Kono growled under her breath at him to avoid the inevitable teasing even though he was in fact, stating the exact truth. "You're being mean. Stop it!"

He was on a certain tact though and fully enjoying the dissembling of the two partners. He ignored Kono as his feet swirled in lazy half circles under his board, making small tornado like currents between them. "It's almost forty years now and no one's ever caught that Noah. I don't know if she's dead ... or alive, but that hardly matters with our ancestors."

There was a long period of silence punctuated only by the sounds of gulls before Danny turned his board entirely away from their small circle.

"You just had to ask!" Danny blurted suddenly to Steve. "Blood bond! Seriously?" His jaw was lined with tension as he pointed haphazardly in any direction towards the beach and anxiously spouted his excuse to get off the water for the day. "I think Chin needs help. I'm going to go do that. Help Chin, that is. He needs help with lunch." His expression was one of absolute disgust as he glared at his partner and then edged forward with clear intentions to re-enter the lineup for shore.

Steve held his arms out wide before nervously checking the very same waters in their vicinity. What he'd asked and gotten an answer for was most obviously his fault. This time, Steve wasn't even close to being able to defend himself, though he did try. "It was a fair question, Danny!" Steve shouted after his departing friend.

Using Danny's move as an excuse to also escape the water, Steve gave a weak smile to both Makoa and Kono. "We're going in now. Help Chin a bit with lunch," Steve mumbled under his breath. Seconds later, he was also flat out on his board and paddling quickly after Danny.

"Looks like your haole is in a bit of hurry," Makoa noted sarcastically as he watched the two men depart. "And his friend, too; must have been something I said. Or, they could just be very hungry?" Though they weren't looking at him, he held up his damaged hand in their direction as if in salute.

"You're an evil bastard sometimes, Hayahsi-san," Kono said with an added shake to her head. She was still laughing though as first Danny and then Steve set themselves up to end their surfing for the day. From the distance, she watched them vacate the water almost too hurriedly to rock their boards on-end in the sand.

"Hmm," Makoa smirked with a wide grin when he grandly waved to them using his damaged hand and only received a hesitant response from Chin. "I guess it was something that I said!"

"Makoa!" Kono gasped incredulously when she saw that it was only her cousin who returned the errant wave. Steve and Danny were already well up the beach and striding rapidly towards the sanctity of a shaded area when the older native man dissolved into laughter.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Devon was on cloud nine; that is, if one existed and he was certain that there was one especially for him that fine day. He'd just gotten home to his new apartment after having a productive morning down on the docks. Not only had he gotten the job, he'd been able to start that same afternoon. He'd clocked four hours on the books and jumped into his new role with an excitement he hadn't felt in a very long time.

He stretched tall, popping joints and smiling happily to himself. There was nothing easy about being a dockworker. It was hard, physical labor with varying conditions based upon weather and whatever cargo might be coming in or gong out that day, or even that week. Contracts came and went, plus there'd be eventual union concerns to deal with. No matter what it might involve down the road though, this type of work was precisely what he needed for his mind, body and soul.

After paying a debt for something which he wasn't entirely responsible for, Devon Hayashi was anxious to get re-engaged with life on the outside and find an equitable footing with his father. He'd achieved another major step towards those goals and he was feeling good as he reached into his somewhat sparse refrigerator for what he felt was a well-deserved beer.

The sharp authoritative knock on his door surprised him and he was frowning when he opened it wide. But what would have been a questioning welcome died on his lips when he saw who was standing there flanked by two large Samoans. His heart leaped into his throat before it plummeted completely to his stomach.

"No. You can't be here," Devon whispered, shocked to his very core by the unexpected visitors.

"Devon, of course I can! I've missed you in fact," Cade Keahi purred before brusquely brushing past the stunned young man. "And you already know that I can do whatever I want. Or, am I mistaken and have you forgotten?"

Without waiting for an answer, Cade left his two goons to muscle Devon back into the apartment before one Samoan closed and then locked the door. He didn't even bother to face Devon as he rudely surveyed the clean but very spartan space.

"It's so good to have you back home where you belong. So very, very good," Cade said in a low voice. If he had then turned towards the devastated younger Hayashi, Devon would have been able to see the dangerous sneer laced deviously across Cade's homely face.

~ END ~