Reading Time: 128 Minutes

Title: Finding and Faking Ohana
Author: CorgiQueen14
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0
Genre: Action Adventure, Contemporary, Episode Related, Family, First Time, Pre-Relationship, Romance
Relationship(s): Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams
Content Rating: R
Warnings: Violence-Graphic. Canon Typical Violence, Kidnapping, Catherine Rollins Unfriendly
Author Note: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
Beta: Astarlightchase, Chris_hotrod2000, Ereneefics, Twigen, Grammarly
Alpha: Astarlightchase
Word Count: 63,526
Summary: Danny Williams thought he had his life under control until the aftermath of his daughter’s kidnapping revealed a shocking secret. To try to get things back under control, he somehow ended up pretending to be engaged to his best friend and partner. Could he pull this off, or would his real feelings for Steve get in the way?
Artist: Darian MacAver

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Chapter 9:

Packing up Danny’s hotel room took an embarrassingly short amount of time. Danny hadn’t done any unpacking to begin with, so it was just a matter of closing his bag and grabbing his toiletries from the bathroom.

“I think you have more hair stuff than Mary does,” Steve said, leaning against the doorway as he watched Danny grab his things from the bathroom.

“There is nothing wrong with a man taking pride in his hair, Steve,” Danny told him. “Not all of us like the minimal-maintenance look.”

“My hair is very nice, I’ll have you know,” Steve defended as he followed him back into the room.

“Do you even brush your hair in the morning?” Danny asked. “Or is that part of your Navy shower?”

“For the last time, three-minute showers are a luxury!”

“In the Navy, yes, but luckily, I’m not in the Navy,” Danny said as he grabbed his suitcase.

“You would not last five minutes in the Navy.”

“I’ve lasted over a year with you,” Danny smirked, knowing Steve didn’t have a comeback.

Steve rolled his eyes as he grabbed Danny’s other bag, and the two of them went downstairs.

After checking out, they got back into the car, Steve once again stealing the driver’s seat.

“You know what would be great?” Danny asked. “If my fiancé would let me drive my car.”

Steve smirked at him. “Nice try. Besides, why mess with tradition?”

“In what universe is commandeering my car a tradition?”

“In this universe, since I do it all the time, ” Steve snarked. “Now, ring shopping shouldn’t take us too long. We should be back at home unpacking your stuff in no time, and then we should go out to eat around 7.”

Danny looked at him in confusion. “Why are we going out to eat?”

Stever shrugged. “It occurred to me that we should be seen together in public, acting like a couple. It shouldn’t take much to convince people, but we can’t exactly claim every date we had was at home. That’s suspicious.”

Danny had to admit Steve had a point. He didn’t even think about that.

“So we’re going to go out tonight, on a date?”

Steve gave him an amused look. “That is what couples do.”

“Right.” Danny looked away from Steve, fighting the urge to chew at his bottom lip.

Maybe he was in over his head. It was one thing just to say he and Steve were engaged, but all of this? Living together, sleeping in the same bed, going out on dates? He might be digging too deep of a hole for him to ever get out of.

“And here we are.” Steve parked, and Danny looked up at the sign.

“The wedding ring shop?” Danny read from the sign. “How did you even hear about this place?”

Steve looked away for a second. “It’s been on the island for decades. My parents picked out their rings here.”

“Oh wow.” Danny blinked. “That’s touching.”

“Yeah.” Steve clapped his hands. “Anyway. Let’s get moving.”

“Relax, Steve. I’ve done this before,” Danny told him as they approached the door. “I’m happy to lend you a hand.”

Steve looked at him. “I don’t think I’ll need any help. I bet I can pick out a better ring than you can.”

“Oh really?” Danny smirked at him. “Challenge accepted, babe.”

As they walked in, a young woman came to greet them.

“Hello, and welcome to the wedding ring shop. My name is Leilani. How can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Steve.” Steve shook her hand, and Danny did the same.

“And I’m Danny. And we are here to pick out engagement rings.” Danny paused. “For each other. Because we are engaged.”

“Oh, congratulations!” she said happily. “How exciting.”

Steve gave him an unimpressed look before smiling warmly at Leilani. “It is. I was wondering if we could get an additional person to help us? My fiancé here thinks he can pick out a better ring than I can, and I feel like proving him wrong.”

Steve wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulders as he spoke, and Danny felt his cheeks turn red.

Steve was usually fairly tactile, but the fact that they were pretending to be in love made every single touch feel brand new.

“Of course.” Leilani walked away to get another associate, and Steve and Danny waited for her to return.

“Don’t be nervous; everything is going to be fine,” Steve told Danny, murmuring so no one else could hear them.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just not used to calling you my fiancé,” Danny told him. “I got a little anxious about it.”

“Understandable.” Danny didn’t have to look at Steve’s face to know he was smirking. “I’m quite a catch.”

“And suddenly I’m fine.” Danny made a face at Steve as Leilani walked back over with another young woman.

“This is Alina; she’ll be helping me assist you both,” Leilani told them.

“Okay, I’ll go over there with Leilani, and you go over there with Alina. ” Steve took charge, and Danny gave him a look.

“Why don’t we both just go over there?”

“Oh no.” Steve waggled a finger at Danny. “I’m not letting you get a peek at what I’m picking. I’m winning fair and square.”

Danny rolled his eyes and agreed, walking over to the other side of the store with Alina.

“Sorry about that,” Danny told her as they reached the counter. “He’s a little competitive.”

“I think it’s sweet.” Alina smiled at him, her dark hair neatly pulled back into a ponytail. “Why don’t you tell me about your fiancé? That way, we can pick a ring that suits him perfectly.”

“Well, he was born here,” Danny told her. “His grandfather died in Pearl Harbor, and he’s been in the Navy for nearly a decade himself. We both work on the Five-0 task force together, which is how we met.”

“That’s so sweet,” Alina told him. “I love a workplace romance. How long have you been together?”

“Not actually that long,” Danny said with a laugh, trying to remember the backstory they’d decided upon. “We’d been friends for a while, and then something changed all that.” He sighed. “I almost lost him, and I realized I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t tell him how I felt. So, I did, and he felt the same way.” Danny gave a soft smile. “We decided we wanted to commit to each other, even if we don’t get married for a while. We don’t want to waste any more time.”

To Danny’s surprise, almost all of that was true, except for the part where Danny had told Steve how he felt. Instead, he’d chickened out, and it turned out he was right; he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

“You two are adorable, “Alina told him. “I can see how much he loves you from how he looks at you.” She looked at the rings in front of them and bit her lip. “I’m not sure any of the rings here are quite right, though.”

Danny looked at the cases before him, and he had to admit she had a point. The rings were very lovely, classic, and traditional. Most men would be pleased with these types of rings. Some of them even resembled Danny’s wedding ring from when he married Rachel.

But that was the problem. Steve wasn’t like most men. He was unique, and the ring Danny gave him should represent that. Just because their relationship wasn’t genuine didn’t mean Danny could phone it in with the ring. Steve deserved better.

“I see what you mean,” Danny agreed. “Steve’s a unique guy. I want to get him something as special as he is.”

Alina nodded, and her eyes lit up. “I think I have an idea. You said he was born here, right?”

Danny nodded, and she smiled. “I have just the ring. Do you know his ring size?”

Danny shook his head, and she waved it off. “I can get it from Leilani. What’s your ring size so I can tell her?”

“I’m a seven and a half,” Danny told her, Alina measuring his finger just to make sure. He watched as she bustled away, turning back to the ring displays.

Being in here reminded Danny of when he went ring shopping for Rachel all those years ago. He had spent hours going from store to store, trying to find exactly what Rachel wanted. It was exhausting, draining, and downright annoying at times, but the look on her face when he opened that box made it all worth it.

Danny didn’t even know if she still had the ring or if she had gotten rid of it after the divorce. He hoped she didn’t. He wanted Grace to have it one day, if she wanted it.

Alina returned with a box, putting it down on the counter in front of Danny.

“I think this is the perfect ring for him,” she told Danny, opening the box.

Danny looked inside, and what he saw took his breath away.

This ring wasn’t like the rings he’d seen before. It was made up of three bands of material, the top and bottom looking like some type of wood, and the middle band being some sort of shiny grey stone. Thin bands of gold separated the two, and the entire ring practically glowed in the overhead lights.

“Wow.” Danny picked it up, gently examining it. “What is it made of?”

“The inner band is made from polished meteorite, and the outer bands are Koa wood,” she told him.

“I don’t think I’d ever heard of Koa wood before,” Danny said.

“It’s a rare type of wood native to the Hawaiian Islands,” she explained. “When you told me about your fiancé growing up here, it seemed perfect for him.”

Danny smiled at her. “It is. I think he’s going to love it.”

Alina looked over Danny’s shoulder. “And it looks like we found it just in time because your fiancé is calling us over.” She winked at him. “Not to toot my own horn, but I think victory is yours.”

Danny laughed as they walked over to where Steve and Leilani were waiting.

“Ready to admit defeat?” Steve challenged, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Trust me, babe, I won’t be the one admitting defeat,” Danny shot back, seeing Leilani and Alina grinning out of the corner of his eye.

“Okay, we’re going to show Steve’s pick first and then yours, Danny,” Leilani instructed him.

“Saving the best for last, smart,” Danny nodded, and Steve rolled his eyes.

Leilani opened the box, and Danny’s eyes widened as he took it in.

Steve had picked out a ring very similar to Danny’s, except for the two outer bands. Instead of being made from Koa wood, they were a marbled mix of bright blue and steel grey, coming together in an eye-catching swirl of color. The blue was the only color in the ring, the metal separating the bands a shiny silver. A strip of what Danny could only assume was meteorite ran around the middle of the ring, a perfect contrast to the other two rings.

Danny had never expected to wear something so beautiful. When he married Rachel, his wedding ring was just a plain gold band with no embellishments.

“So, what do you think?” Leilani asked Danny after a long moment.

“I think it’s beautiful. He finally said. “What is the blue stone?”

“It’s cobalt,” she explained. “Steve wanted something that would match your eyes.”

Danny looked at Steve, feeling warm inside. “Really? That’s sweet.”

“Well, I wanted a ring with a pineapple motif, but they’re out of stock, sadly, ” Steve quipped, Danny making a face at him.

“And you ruined the moment, well done.” Steve laughed. “Ready to see your ring?”

“I was born ready,” Steve told Danny, and Alina opened the box.

Danny wished he’d taken a picture of Steve’s face when he saw the ring. His jaw fell open briefly, and Steve had to take a second to collect himself.

“The other bands are made from Koa wood, which is native to Hawaii,” Danny told Steve. “Which seemed perfect for you since you were born here.”

“Wow,” Steve told Danny. “It’s beautiful.” he paused, considering the two rings side by side. “They even seem to match.”

Danny considered the two rings. “They do, don’t they? They’re different, but they work well together.”

“Just like us,” Steve mused, and Danny smiled.

“Yeah, just like us.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment, and then Leilani sighed.

“You two are adorable,” she complimented. “And you should both be very proud of yourselves. You picked out amazing rings.”

“So, who do you think won?” Steve grinned, and Danny rolled his eyes.

Leilani smiled at the two of them, looking like she was trying to hold in a laugh. “I think you may have to consider it a tie,” she said.

“I guess I can live with that,” Danny sighed playfully.

“Me too.” Steve agreed.

“I guess we’d better put these on.” Danny reached for his ring, only for Steve to slap his hand away. Danny frowned and slapped Steve’s hand in response, only for Steve to give him an offended look.

“What was that for?”

Now it was Danny’s turn to give him a look. “What do you mean? You slapped my hand first.”

Steve sighed. “Danny, you were married before. Shouldn’t you know this?”

“Know what?”

“It’s bad luck for you to put on your own engagement ring for the first time.”

Danny scoffed. “That’s not a thing.”

“It is a thing,” Steve disagreed.

“Steve’s right,” Leilani told him. “You’re supposed to let your fiancé put it on for the first time; it’s meant to be lucky.

“See? Steve told him. “You wouldn’t want to be unlucky, right, Danno?”

Danny frowned at him but agreed. “Okay, let’s do it.” Danny reached for the ring he picked out for Steve, and he held Steve’s hand in his other hand. He slowly slid the ring onto Steve’s finger, pleased to find out it was a perfect fit.

Then it was Steve’s turn. He reached for Danny’s hand, his thumb sweeping over the back of it in a gentle semicircle. Danny felt his breath catch in his chest at the intensity in Steve’s eyes. It was as if Steve was seeing into the depths of his very soul. He felt the ring slowly settle at the base of his finger, and then Steve let go of his hand.

Danny wished he hadn’t. That they could have just stayed in that moment forever.

“Okay, let me put the boxes and a pack of those silicone rings in a bag for you,” Leilani said, and Danny looked at Steve in confusion.

“Silicone rings?”

“Yeah, so we don’t lose our rings when out in the field,” Steve explained, and Danny nodded in understanding.

“That makes sense.”

“Well, I’m known for occasionally having good ideas,” Steve smirked.

“And for having some truly terrible ideas as well, just to be clear.”

“Whatever you say, Danno.”

He handed his card to Leilani before Danny knew what he was doing.

“Hey, aren’t I supposed to pay for your ring?” Danny asked. “Isn’t that also tradition?

“You can pay for dinner tonight, how about that?”

“That would imply you ever pay for dinner, but sure.” Danny gave Alina and Leilani a nod. “Thanks for all your help.”

“It was our pleasure.” Leilani gave them a sweet smile. “Congratulations, you two.”

~~

“You have too many ties.”

“I don’t have too many ties.”

“You absolutely have too many ties,” Steve argued.

“You think any number of ties is too many.” Danny retorted.

“And I would be right, but this is excessive.” Steve shook the box at Danny. “Nineteen ties? Who needs nineteen ties?”

“You counted my ties?” Danny raised an eyebrow. “Why on earth would you count my ties?”

“Morbid curiosity, “Steve retorted. You don’t wear ties anymore, so why would you keep these?”

“In case I need to wear a tie.”

“You’re in Hawaii; why would you ever need to wear a tie?” Steve scoffed. “I say throw some out.”

Danny gave Steve a flat look. “I dare you to tell Grace you want me to get rid of the ties she got me for Father’s Day and my birthday.”

Steve paused for a moment, looking at all the ties.

“She can’t have gotten you all of these.”

“No, but she got me most of them, and I don’t think even you, with your super SEAL brain, can figure out which ones,” Danny smirked at Steve, knowing he’d won.

“…Fine, keep the ties.”

“Excellent choice, babe.”

Steve gave Danny an annoyed look as he put the box in the closet.

In truth, Danny was surprised at how easy it was to fit his stuff in alongside Steve’s. He thought unpacking would be a chore, but it was moving along really well.

Maybe that was a sign this wasn’t so crazy and this harebrained scheme could work.

“Hey, mind if I put some of my work stuff in your office?”

Steve waved a hand downstairs. “Be my guest.”

Danny made his way down to the office, blinking in surprise at the board covering a large portion of the wall.

Steve had compiled every possible clue to Shelbourne, and it seemed he was hard at work uncovering who they were. A section also tracked Wo Fat, trying to pin down his movements.

“Oh.” Steve appeared behind him. “I meant to take that down.”

“Oh, please, this is hardly the worst thing you could’ve had up here,” Danny told him. “I was half expecting a dart board with Wo Fat’s face on it.”

“I was thinking about it, but I’ve never really liked darts.”

Danny gave him a look. “You throw knives, but you didn’t like darts?”

“They’re different things!”

“Keep telling yourself that, babe.” Danny moved forward. “So, have you made any progress?”

“Yeah, but not because of the board.” Steve sighed. “Joe told me he was Shelbourne.”

Dany blinked. “Wait, what? When did he tell you this?”

“Right before he shipped out with Hiro Noshimuri.” Steve sighed. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it since, due to his going dark on me.”

“Are you okay with that? Dany asked.

Steve shrugged. “He made his choice, and I have to live with it.”

“Wow.” Danny nodded. “That is very mature, proud of you, babe.”

Steve looked at him flatly, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to leave you to unpack. Be ready to leave for dinner at seven, and wear something nice.”

“Nice?” Danny wrinkled his nose. “Where are we going? I thought we were having a ‘date’ to prove we’re a couple.”

“We are, but we might as well have some fun with it,” Steve smirked at him as he walked past.

Danny turned to watch him leave the room, wondering what Steve could mean by that.

One thing was for sure: Danny was sure he wouldn’t like what was going to happen.

Chapter 10:

It turned out that Steve booked a table at Morimoto for their “date.”

Danny hadn’t been to a place this nice since moving to Hawaii, but he tried to push past that and have a good time. And it worked, for the most part.

“Stop trying to steal my food.” Danny guarded his plate from Steve’s fork.

“Oh, come on, you can’t give your fiancé one bite?”

“You already have my car, leave my steak alone.”

Steve raised his eyebrows at Danny, and Danny sighed.

“Fine, you can have one bite.” Danny cut a piece of steak, put it on his fork, and held it out to Steve. He expected Steve to grab the fork and take the bite, but he hadn’t expected Steve to lean forward and eat directly from the fork.

Steve hummed as he chewed and swallowed. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.” Danny didn’t know why he felt so flushed. Friends fed each other all the time. It wasn’t that strange, right?

“Daniel?” Danny stilled at an all too familiar voice, seeing Rachel and Stan standing there.

“Rachel, hi.” Danny took a sip of his drink. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I didn’t know you’d be here either.” Rachel countered. “Are you on some kind of stakeout?”

“No.” Danny glanced at Steve, who gave him an encouraging look. “Steve and I are here celebrating our engagement.

Rahcel stared at him. “You’re what?”

“Our engagement,” Steve told her. “We just finished moving Danny back into the house, so we’re celebrating.”

Danny held up his left hand, and Steve helpfully did the same. Rachel stared at the rings for a long moment before looking at Danny.

“Daniel, you aren’t gay!” Rachel lowered her voice, practically hissing the words.

“No, I’m bisexual.” Danny pointed out. “I dated men before marrying you, Rachel, I just didn’t bring it up.”

“You didn’t think I deserved to know?”

“I didn’t think it was relevant.” Danny reached for Steve’s hand. “But recently, things changed between me and Steve.”

Rachel shook her head. “How can you be engaged to someone without telling me?”

“It’s a recent development.”

Stan, who had remained silent up until that point, scoffed. “I see how it is,” he turned to Danny. “Faking an engagement won’t help with your custody petition.”

Rachel stared at Danny. “Daniel, tell me you didn’t.”

“Of course I’m not faking getting engaged!” Danny lied, knowing he was doing precisely that. “Steve and I have feelings for each other, and we want to get married.”

“And when were you going to tell me you were bringing someone new into Grace’s life?”

Danny stared at her. “Rachel, Grace has known Steve for nearly two years. He’s hardly new.”

Her nostrils flared. “I still deserved a heads up.”

“Rachel, we are not together anymore.” Danny resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t get a say in you marrying Stan, so you don’t get a say in me marrying Steve.”

“I get a say when you engage in a charade for fraudulent reasons!”

“Why are you so sure I can’t be with Steve?” Danny had a horrible thought. “Oh my god, is it because he’s a man? You don’t think this is real because I’m engaged to a man?”

Rachel flushed. “That’s not what this is about.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

Seeing she was losing the argument, Rachel gave Danny one last look. “Don’t make me out to be something horrible just because you’re lying to everyone, Daniel.”

She swept away, and Danny slumped down in his seat. “That could’ve gone better.”

“I think it went fairly well.” Steve took a bite of his food.

“Really?”

“Well, as well as could be expected given the circumstances.” Danny stared down at his steak, having lost his appetite for a moment. “I didn’t think she’d react that badly.”

“Give her time.” Steve reached across the table, squeezing Dany’s hand.

“It’s an adjustment for her. She’ll come around.”

Danny sighed. “I hope you’re right, babe. I really do.”

~~

That night, Danny tossed and turned for what felt like hours. The sound of waves outside was deafening, and Danny was considering running out to get earplugs. And then, all of a sudden, the waves seemed to get softer. Danny was able to drown them out, his body stilling as he slipped into a peaceful sleep.

~~

Steve woke up the next morning with a weight on his chest.

He looked down to see Danny curled against him, his head resting over his heart.

It seemed Danny had found something to drown out the sound of the waves outside.

Instead of getting up to swim as usual, Steve lay in bed and thought about the last few days’ events. How everything had unraveled so quickly for Danny, and how he had thrown himself in the middle of it all.

For the record, Steve knew that out of all the dumb ideas he had, this was perhaps the dumbest.

Faking an engagement to help Danny win a custody battle? It wasn’t the best move.

But Steve couldn’t stop himself from leaping into the fray. Not for his Danno.

From the moment he saw Danny in his father’s garage, he knew there was something special about him. And it wasn’t just that he thought Danny was beautiful from that first moment: his fiery personality drew Steve in like a moth to a flame. He had to resist the urge to laugh when this short, opinionated detective had threatened him with needing an ambulance. But even as he walked out of the garage with his dad’s toolbox, something about the other man’s indignation intrigued him.

He knew he would need strong allies to catch Victor Hesse, but he had to admit that wasn’t the only reason he’d reached out to Danny about Fred Doran. He wanted to get inside the other man’s head and see what he was made of.

And what he found only intrigued him more. He was a caring man, a good father, and a fantastic detective. Steve knew he had to have him on his task force.

Later, he realized he also wanted to have him in his life.

Every casual touch, every time Danny called him ‘babe,’ struck Steve in his core. Whenever he brought Grace to see him or stopped by Steve’s house for a beer after work, it felt like a balm to his soul.

Steve meant to tell him how they felt when they went to see the petroglyphs, a site that meant so much to Steve, but then they found a dead body, and he missed his chance.

And then he nearly lost him for good.

It broke Steve’s heart to learn that Danny was getting back together with Rachel and would be leaving to return to New Jersey.

In all honesty, that might have been part of the reason Steve was so impulsive in going after the governor.

He never expected Danny to stay in Hawaii for him, though. He wanted him to go and be happy with Rachel and Grace, even if that meant he couldn’t be with him. So, when he told Steve Rachel was getting back with Stan, he couldn’t help but feel the pain his best friend was going through.

Maybe that was a part of why he pushed Danny to date Gabby. She seemed nice, and not like she would break his heart. And if Steve couldn’t have Danny, at least someone nice should be with him.

Steve never thought his being with Danny was even possible. Danny had been married before and had a kid. Even if Danny liked men, Steve had never seen Danny so much as look at him with anything other than friendship. Even during that brief stint when they lived together, Steve had tried to see if Danny was interested in him. Not that anything came of it. Danny had no reaction to seeing Steve shirtless after his morning swims, and Steve got the hint. He’d given up on being anything more than Danny’s best friend and work partner.

In North Korea, he thought he would never see Danny again. And when Danny opened the back of the truck, the sunlight making him seem to glow, Steve was sure he was dead and this was an angel sent to bring him to…well, maybe not heaven but some place slightly worse.

But it wasn’t an angel. It was Danny. At that moment, Steve knew no one else could ever hold a candle to Danny.

He texted Catherine to break up with her two days after returning to his house, with Danny asleep on the couch downstairs. It wasn’t fair to her for him to string her along. Not when his heart had been captured by Danny the first time they’d locked eyes.

When Grace was kidnapped, Steve wanted to be by Danny’s side throughout it all. That night, Steve sat on the couch with Danny for hours as he slowly came to terms with everything that had happened.

And then everything went to shit when the truth about Charlie came out. When Rachel had tried to bar Danny from seeing Grace? Steve had never seen Danny so broken before.

It was then that Steve vowed to do anything to help Danny.

And then he got the idea of pretending to be Danny’s fiancé. What could be more perfect? Danny would have a place to take the kids, and Rachel wouldn’t be able to use his living situation against him in court.

Danny was against the idea but eventually came around. And Steve? Steve was just happy that, for a little while, he could pretend Danny loved him as much as he loved Danny.

He knew this couldn’t last forever, but he wanted to cherish every moment he spent with Danny in his arms for as long as he could.

And so, instead of finding a way to extricate himself from the bed, Steve closed his eyes and enjoyed Danny snuggling against him, his heartbeat lulling Danny to sleep.

~~

When Danny woke up that morning, he was surprised at how rested he was. Usually, he never slept that well at Steve’s place.

And then he realized how he was sleeping, and he froze.

He was curled against Steve, his head resting over Steve’s heart. He could hear Steve’s heartbeat, the repetitive sound comforting him in a way that the ocean’s waves could never.

Danny wasn’t sure how he woke up before Steve, who usually woke up at dawn. He slipped out of bed as quietly as possible and went downstairs to make a pot of coffee.

Steve came down a little while later, seeming annoyingly awake for how early it was.

“You seemed to sleep well last night,” Steve said as he went to get a cup of coffee. “I was half expecting to find you on the couch watching TV.”

“I guess I was tired.” Danny poured milk into his coffee, holding it out to Steve. Steve waved him off.

“So, what are we going to tell the team?” Danny asked. I assume you have a plan.”

“I plan to tell them, Danny. We know our story, let’s stick to it.

Danny was about to give Steve shit for his one step plan when he saw something that shook him to his core.

“What the hell did you just do?” Danny looked at Steve in horror.

“What did you mean?” Steve looked at Danny in confusion.

“You put butter in your coffee!”

Steve looked down at his cup. “Oh yeah. It’s supposed to promote higher brain function. You should try it.”

Danny stared at him. “You disgust me.”

“Love you too.” Steve grinned at Danny as he drank his unholy concoction.

~~

Danny stood at the entrance to the conference room with Steve, taking a deep breath before walking in.

Kono looked up as they came in, immediately making a beeline for them.

“So, why did Kamekona say you guys were making out at the shrimp truck yesterday?”

Danny froze before snarking at her, “Hi Kono, it’s great to see you. I’m good too, thanks for asking.”

Kono gave him a look. “Spill.”

Danny took a deep breath and held up his hand. “Steve and I are engaged.”

Steve held his hand up, too, the bands gleaming in the light.

The room went silent, and Chin, Lori, and Kono stared for a long moment. Then, the room exploded.

“Oh my god!”

“Holy crap!”

“Congratulations, guys!”

Steve and Danny got swarmed, their teammates ushering them to the conference table.

“When did this even happen?” Kono demanded to know, eyes wide. Was it after North Korea? Something changed after North Korea.”

Danny saw the opportunity and ran with it. “Yeah, we got together around then. And lately, we just decided there was no point in waiting.”

“So, I asked Danny to marry me yesterday.” Stev jumped in.

“How romantic,” Kono said, and Danny rolled his eyes.

“He called me a pain in the ass during the proposal, so I’m not sure how romantic it was.”

Kono and Chin laughed, and Steve made a face.

“Like you could have done better.”

“Steve, I was married before. I did do better.”

“Congratulations to both of you,” Chin said. “I always thought there could be something there if you gave it a chance.”

Lori stayed silent during most of the conversation and then spoke up.

“I’m happy for you both.” Her eyes hinted at sadness, and Danny regretted causing her pain. He knew she had feelings for Steve, and that this must be hard for her.

“Thank you all,” Steve told them. “Now let’s get back to work.”

Everyone dispersed until it was just Steve and Danny in the room.

“That went well.” Danny finally said.

“It did.” Steve grinned. “I told you we could do this.”

~~

Danny was in Steve’s office doing paperwork with him when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID, and his blood ran cold when he saw it was his mother.

His mind immediately went to the worst-case scenarios: Had something happened to Dad? Did they finally find Matt?

He picked up the phone, his heart pounding. “Mom? Everything all right?”

“You get engaged and I have to hear about it from Rachel?”

Danny froze. “I’m sorry, what?”

“How could you let me find out about my baby’s engagement from your ex-wife?” His mother continued to talk, a mixture of anger and excitement filling her voice.

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, and Steve looked over in concern. “Mom, I meant to tell you about the engagement. Things just happened very quickly. Rachel only knew because she ran into us at dinner, and we had our rings on.”

Steve seemed to understand what was going on, and he moved towards the couch, sitting next to Danny. Danny nodded at him, grateful for the support.

“Oh. But you were going to tell us eventually?”

“Of course I was,” Danny reassured her. We only got engaged two days ago. We haven’t told our families yet.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” His mother paused. “Wait, why were you both wearing rings? Is it a Hawaiian custom for both men and women to wear rings during an engagement?”

That was why he hadn’t told his parents yet. Besides this being a fake engagement, he’d never told them he was into men. It’d never come up before: he’d never dated any men seriously enough to bring home, and then he married Rachel.

“Mom, we’re both wearing rings…” he took a deep breath and decided just to spit it out. “Because we’re both men.”

There was silence on the line, and Danny slumped into the couch. Steve put a reassuring arm around Danny.

“You’re engaged to a man?” His mother asked.

“Yeah.” Danny nodded, forgetting that she couldn’t see him. “I’m guessing Rachel didn’t mention that?”

“No, she didn’t.” His mother paused for a moment. “Are you happy, Danny?”

Danny looked at Steve and smiled slightly. “Yeah, I’m happy.”

“Well, that’s all that matters.” His mother told him.

“Really?” Danny couldn’t help but ask. “You and Dad are fine with my marrying a man?”

“Danny, did you think we wouldn’t be?”

Danny shrugged. “I mean, we never talked about any of that.”

“Danny. You are our son, and nothing could ever change that. Your father and I want you to be happy, that’s all.”

“Thank you.”

“So, tell me about this man.” She seemed to recover quickly. “What’s he like?”

“He’s my partner, Steve,” Danny told her, and then he had an evil idea. “He’s right here if you want to talk to him.”

Steve’s eyes went wide, and he tried to back away.

“Oh, I would love that.” His mother gushed, and Danny pleaded with his eyes for Steve to do this for him.

Seeing no way out of it, Steve sighed and reached for the phone.

“Hi, Mrs. Williams.” Steve paused, listening to the other line and nodding. “Okay, Clara. How are you today?”

Having successfully thrown Steve to the wolves, Danny escaped to get a coffee. He rubbed his temple with his fingers while waiting for the pot to brew.

“Everything okay brah?” Chin came up behind him, and Danny nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Yeah, except that Rachel called my mother about me being engaged.” Danny sighed.

“You hadn’t told your parents yet?” Kono seemed to pop out of nowhere.

“Seriously, is the appearing out of thin air thing a family trait or something?” Danny asked before sighing. “And no, I was trying to figure out the best way to tell them.”

“That you were engaged?”

“And that I’m into men.”

Kono’s eyes went wide. “Ah.”

“Yeah.”

“Did she take it well?” Chin asked.

“She seemed to.” Danny nodded towards Steve’s office. “Steve’s on the phone with her now.”

Chin gave Danny an unimpressed look. “You made Steve deal with your mom after dropping a bomb like that?”

“He’s a Navy SEAL, he’ll be fine.”

Chin laughed, and Kono cracked a smile.

“Here’s hoping it goes well,” Kono said as she went back to her office, Chin doing the same.

Figuring he’d wasted enough time, Danny returned to Steve’s office just in time to see Steve hang up the phone.

“How did it go?”

“Your mother is a lovely woman,” Steve smirked as he looked Danny up and down. “So I have no clue what went wrong with you.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Hilarious, babe. Now, seriously, how did it go?”

“It went fine, seriously,” Steve told him. “She was a little shocked, but overall, she was happy for us. She wants to come visit soon, by the way.”

“Of course she does.”

“I think I charmed her.” Steve was incredibly smug about the entire thing. She even asked for my address to send you a ‘Jersey care package.’”

Danny grinned. “I bet she’s sending pork roll.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a breakfast meat from New Jersey,” Danny explained. “It tastes a bit like bacon, but it’s sliced so it looks a bit like ham.”

“Oh, is it like spam?” Steve asked, making a face.

Danny stared at him. “It is nothing like spam; you should never say that again.”

“Oh, is that some kind of sin against New Jersey?”

“It is. People have been shot for less.”

“So, if I diss pork roll, you’ll shoot me?”

“I’ll do worse, believe me.”

Steve smirked and handed Danny back his phone. “Your mom’s call made me realize I should probably call my aunt and sister,” Steve said.

“Okay, you do that while I go yell at my ex-wife.”

“Have fun storming the castle.”

Danny was about to leave Steve’s office when he paused and turned to stare at Steve.

“…What?”

“You’ve seen the Princess Bride? I thought your movie expertise started and ended with Mission: Impossible. And Rambo.”

“I have a little sister, Danny. Now, will you get out so I can call her?”

“As you wish.”

“Shut up.”

Danny left, chuckling to himself.

~~

Once Danny was back in his office, it was time for him to murder his ex-wife.

Rachel picked up the phone immediately, and Danny started in.

“What gave you the right to tell my mother about my engagement?”

“Well, hello to you, too, Daniel.”

“No, don’t be cute right now.” Danny seethed. “You called my mother about my engagement? Don’t you think I should have been the one to tell her?”

“I was calling her about a present they sent for Grace, and it slipped out,” Rachel said, annoyed. I thought you would have told her by now, unless there’s something to hide, and that’s why you didn’t tell her.”

Danny took a deep breath. “Or maybe it’s because I never told my parents I was attracted to men, and I was trying to figure out how to do that!”

Rachel let out a gasp, and there was silence on the line.

“Are you happy with yourself, Rachel?” Danny shook his head in disgust. “I know things aren’t the best between us, but I never would’ve expected you to out me to my parents out of spite.”

“I didn’t say it was a man—”

“You didn’t have to, you knew I would when they called!”

“I thought they knew!”

“Why would they? Steve’s the first guy I’ve ever been serious about. I grew up in an Irish Catholic family; I didn’t know how they’d react!”

“Danny, ” he could hear the horror in Rachel’s voice. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to do that. Please believe me.”

“I can’t believe you, Rachel. Not after everything that’s going on.” Danny sighed. “I want to believe you.”

“I would never have said anything about it if I had known. I know things are bad between us, but I would never want to hurt you like that.”

Danny sighed again. “I’m going to believe you this time and accept your apology. But please tell me that you haven’t told Grace.”

“I haven’t,” Rachel told him. “Stan wanted to, but I said that should come from you.”

“Okay.” Danny nodded. “Can Steve and I tell her this weekend while she’s with me?”

There was a moment of silence, and Rachel sighed. “I suppose that’d be reasonable.”

“I can be a reasonable guy.”

“Ah, yes, I believe that was a part of your vows.”

Danny let out a small chuckle, and Rachel laughed too.

“Rachel,” Danny started, forcing himself to seize the moment. I don’t want to fight. Can’t we figure out the custody thing between us? We used to be able to do this amicably.”

“Danny, that’s out of my hands,” Rahcel said, sounding regretful. “I’m sorry, but Stan would never allow it. He wants us to work on our marriage, and he’s convinced that you being able to see Charlie would be a detriment.”

“Rachel—”

“Grace will be ready for you at the usual time this Friday. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

The line went dead, and Danny sighed.

Given the situation, that was the best he could hope for.

“How did things go?” Steve poked his head in the door, and Danny shrugged.

“Rachel was pretty horrified when she realized she’d outed me to my parents, but overall, I think things are okay. How did things go with Amy?”

Steve snorted. “She’s happy for us. And apparently, she “called it” when she was here last.”

“Like she thought we’d make a good couple?” Danny asked, and Steve nodded.

“I told you, people see what they want to see.” He lowered his voice. “That’s why this is going to work.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, ” Danny said before remembering. “You’ll be happy to know that Rachel didn’t tell Grace; she wanted to leave that to me when I pick her up this weekend.” Danny paused for a second. “Do you want to be there when I tell her?”

Steve looked surprised. “You want me there?”

“Yeah, I do.” Danny gave him a slight shrug. “You’re in this now, and she likes you. Might as well tell her together if you want.”

“I’d like that, thank you.” Steve grinned at Danny before leaving his office.

~~

“So, you and Steve are a couple?” Grace asked, looking between the two of them. “But I thought you were partners at work?”

“Well, we’re both.” Danny tried to figure out the best way to explain this to her. “We work well as partners at work, so we decided to become life partners.” Danny winced at the phrasing, but decided to soldier on. “You know how your mommy married Stan?”

“Yeah.”

“Right, so I’m going to marry Steve,” Danny told her, and Grace nodded. After a long silence, she turned to Steve.

“Does that mean I have to call you Step Steve?”

Steve shook his head. “No, you can keep calling me Uncle Steve. But if you want to call me Step Steve, you can, whatever you want to do.”

Danny raised an eyebrow, quietly amused by Steve’s nervous babble. He’d never seen it happen before, and it was strangely adorable.

“Okay.” Grace decided. “I’m going to keep Uncle Steve.”

“Great, ” Steve grinned. We’ll also set up a room for you here, so you can have your own place when you stay over. Anything you want, we’ll make it happen.”

“Well, anything within reason.” Danny cut in, Steve making a face at him. You can’t have a pony in your room.”

“Do you want—”

Danny put a hand over his mouth and smiled at Grace. “Why don’t you think about what you want your room to look like, and we’ll make it happen?”

“Okay.” Grace hugged Danny. “I’m glad you’re marrying Uncle Steve, Danno. He’s nice.”

“Yes, he is.” Danny grinned at her. “Now, what do you want to do today?”

“Can we go swimming?” Grace asked.

“I think we can do that,” Danny grinned at her, and she went upstairs to find her swimsuit.

Danny turned to Steve. “I think that went well, besides the part where you almost asked an eight-year-old if she wanted a pony.”

“Fostering a love of animals is important, Danno—”

“Where would we put a pony, Steve!?”

Chapter 11:

A week later, Danny had gotten used to his new normal. He got up with Steve every day. Steve had given up on his morning swims for some reason, so they had breakfast together and went to work. Even if Danny was mildly horrified by Steve putting butter in his coffee, things were good. Things felt right.

And then they got a case that left Danny scratching his head.

The victim had been found dressed in clothing that dated back hundreds of years in Hawaiian history, and at first, no one could figure out why. Max’s theory of time travel was looking more and more appealing.

But then it turned out the victim was part of a historical reenactment society meeting in the woods that day. After combing the forest, they finally found the crime scene and a clue.

“Hey, I got something,” Kono said, and Danny came over to look.

“What is it?” Danny cocked his head, not being able to tell what it was meant to be.

“It looks like a bone fragment of some kind.” Kono gave it a closer look. “There are tool markings and a drilled hole.’

“So, like some kind of necklace?” Danny frowned. “Our victim wasn’t wearing anything like this.”

“Based on the carving and discoloration, it’s at least a hundred years old.” Max pointed out. “And there appears to be some of the string over there.”

Danny retrieved the string and passed it to Kono to keep with the necklace.

“It could have belonged to our killer and broken off during the struggle,” Konor suggested, and Danny nodded.

“Okay, do we have any idea what it is?”

“Um… part of a larger artifact of some kind,” Kono said. “Luckily, one of us knows an expert who can help identify it.”

Danny didn’t know what she was referring to until he saw the look she was giving him.

“What are you talking about? Gabby?” Danny asked, hoping that she meant anyone else. Maybe Grace had become an artifact expert in the last two weeks or something.

“Exactly,” she told him. “Are you and Dr. Asano on the outs after the breakup?”

“No, she took it well,” Danny said, shifting his weight to the other foot. “Why?”

“Okay, well, that’s a relief, ” Kono told him. “We could use her help on this, and you should probably break the news to her before she hears it from someone else.”

“What news?” Danny cocked his head before Kono gave him an exasperated look. Then he realized what she was talking about. “Right. The engagement. Yeah, it’s probably a good call she finds out from me.”

“So, you’re going to ask her about the fragment?” Steve asked, having walked up and heard the conversation.

“Yeah, I’ll ask her about the fragment, ” Danny told him. “I’d offer for you to come, but let’s face it, you’re going to commandeer my car and tag along anyway.”

Kono and Chin laughed as Steve grinned. “You know me so well.”

“All right, Kono and I will go talk to the victim’s wife and see what she knows, ” Chin told them, and the group split up.

“So, how weird is this going to be?” Steve asked as they walked back to the car.

“How weird is what going to be?” Danny asked, trying to play dumb. Based on the look Steve gave him, it wasn’t working.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

Danny sighed. “It’s going to be a little odd. Gabby and I broke up somewhat recently, and now I’ll be introducing my fiancé to her.”

“Was it a bad breakup?” Steve asked. “You never really talked about it.”

Danny frowned. “It wasn’t.”

Really?”

“Yeah.” Danny sighed. “We both just wanted different things. She was nice about it.”

“Well, I’m here for you, no matter what,” Steve told him.

Danny nodded, and they rode in silence for a long moment.

“So, you’ll tell Gabby about the engagement?”

“Oh no, that’s entirely on you.”

“That’s fair.”

~~

Before long, they were at the museum and getting ready to talk to Gabby. Danny felt a pit in his stomach as they looked for her. Sure, things ended fairly well between them, but that didn’t mean this would be free of awkwardness.

“Danny,” he turned around to see Gabby standing behind them. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, stepping forward. “I’m sorry to just drop in on you like this. There’s a case you might be able to assist us with.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I hope I can help.” Gabby looked at the picture of the fragment Danny showed her, and her brows shot up.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Is there any chance hair was found on this fragment?” she asked him.

“Yes, actually, there was,” Steve said, giving her a quizzical look. “How’d you know?”

She gestured at them. “Follow me.”

So, how have you been?” she asked as they walked back to her lab.

“I’ve been good.” Danny bit his lip before deciding to just come out with it. “I’m engaged,” he held his left hand for her to see the ring.

Gabby turned to him, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really? To whom?”

Danny felt his skin start to flush. “To Steve.”

Gabby’s eyebrows seemed to rise higher, and she turned to look back at Steve.

“Yeah, it’s a fairly recent development,” Danny told her.

Gabby seemed to take a moment to process the news, and then she gave Danny a soft smile. “I’m happy for you.” she looked back at Steve. “Both of you.”

Danny smiled gratefully. “Thank you,” he paused for a moment. So, how are things with you? “ he winced. Am I allowed to ask that?”

“You are, and they’re good,” she said.

“That’s good.”

“I didn’t move on quite as quickly as you,” she flashed him a teasing grin. “But I’m happy.”

“I’m glad,” he told her, meaning it. Gabby was always so kind to him, and she had deserved someone far better than him.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and then they reached the lab.

Gabby went straight into curator mode, immediately pulling up the picture of the artifact.

“It’s called a lei niho palaoa,” she told them, showing them other examples of what they had found. It’s from the early 19th century. The hook is made from the tooth of a sperm whale, and it’s suspended from numerous thin braids of human hair.”

“That would explain the hair.” Steve told Danny, who nodded in response.

“Yeah.” he sighed. “Guess we should hold off on the DNA test.”

Steve snickered slightly as Gabby kept talking.

“High-ranking men or women used to wear them as emblems of status, ” she said, toppling them both. I’m frankly amazed you found one at a crime scene. “They are extremely rare.”

“Okay, so how would somebody get their hands on something like this?” Steve asked.

“Well, they come up for sale every once in a while, but there aren’t many private collectors worldwide, though I think one of them lives here on the island.” Gabby told them.

“Really, well, could we get his name?” Danny tried to keep the excitement out of his voice. Finally, they were getting a possible lead.

“Absolutely, give me one second.” she looked something up in the database and turned back to them. “His name is Brandon Koruba.”

Or not.

Steve sighed in frustration, and Danny followed suit.

“That’s bad news?” Gabby seemed to read something in their faces.

“He’s our victim.” Danny told her. “But he wasn’t wearing the necklace when we found the body.”

“All we found was the fragment.”

“Maybe the killer knew it was valuable, so he took it,” Gabby suggested.

“Tell me, how much could you get for something like this?” Danny asked.

“It’s difficult to say, but the last one to sell at auction went for $27,000.”

Danny and Steve looked at each other.”

“$27,000– that sounds like motive,” Danny said.

“Yeah, it sounds like motive.” Steve agreed, a glint in his eye.

They left the museum soon after, staring at Danny as they approached the car.

“At least Gabby seemed to take it well.”

Danny sighed as he opened the door. “Statistically, one of my exes had to. I was just kind of hoping it would be the one I’m having custody issues with.”

“I know.” Steve reached for Danny’s hand, squeezing it once. “We’ll figure this out, don’t worry.

Danny gave him a small smile. “Thanks, babe.”

“Anytime.”

~~

Their search for Bradon’s killer resulted in Danny having to jump off a dock while chasing a subject. Danny hoped no one on the team would question why this was the first time they ever saw him swim, and for the most part, they didn’t. He should’ve known better than to assume Steve would let it go.

“Come on, Steve. It’s not that big a deal.” Danny entered the house that evening, Steve trailing behind him.

“It is a big deal because that was the first time I’ve ever seen you get in the water.”

“And why does that matter?”

Steve looked at him. “You live in a house with a private beach, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get close to the water.”

“I just don’t like the ocean.”

“Why?” Steve was confused. “The ocean is fine; it’s safe as long as you know what you’re doing.”

Danny scoffed before just deciding to tell him. With the beach so close, this conversation was bound to happen sooner or later.

“You know, I used to love the ocean, okay?” Danny said, turning to Steve. “I went to Wildwood every single summer of my life. My parents would rent a summer house there.” Danny shook his head, taking a seat and clasping his hands together as he spoke. “This one summer, my best friend, Billy Selway, came with us, right? And we had this competition thing going. Everything–Frisbee, uh, football, baseball, anything, you name it.”

“Sounds like fun,” Steve told him.

“It was, until one day, we… we decided to swim out to the buoy and back.” Danny fought past the lump in his throat. “Halfway out there, I get stuck in this bad riptide, and I… start to panic. So Billy sees me and he starts to head out to me, but then, halfway out to me, something happens.” His eyes stinging, Danny forced himself to keep speaking. “He gets stuck in this undertow, and, uh, one minute he’s there, one minute… he’s gone.”

“I’m sorry, man.” Steve finally said, taking a seat next to Danny.

“Yeah.” Danny huffed. They found his body three miles down the coast. And I’ve…” he paused, shaking his head. “I have not told that story in a very long time. Took me moving to Hawaii with my daughter to get back in the ocean again, so that is why I don’t like the water, okay?”

“I get it, Danny. And, I’m sorry for pushing.” Steve said. “I promise I won’t push you to get in the water again.”

“Thank you, babe.” Danny looked at him. “Maybe I’ll enjoy swimming one day, but it’s going to take time.”

“Well, I’ll be here, whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you.”

The two of them were silent for a moment before Steve spoke.

“Thank you for trusting me with that, ” Steve said, giving Danny a long look. “I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

“You’re my partner, Steve. I’d trust you with anything.”

Steve and Danny smiled at each other for a moment.

Steve sighed, pushing off the couch. “I think I’m going to order sushi, does that sound good?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Danny sighed, slumping into the couch. He hadn’t thought about Billy in a long time. He didn’t even think he told Rachel about him. But something about Steve made Danny want to open up to him, to trust him.

He’d never had that with anyone before, and he’d be lying if he said that didn’t scare him.

~~

Danny and Lori were finishing the paperwork for the case, having finally found out who killed Brandon Koruba, when Danny looked at a therapist.

“Can I just say, while you are an excellent field agent and an amazing profiler—”

“You love that I can help with the paperwork?”

“God, yes,” Danny emphasized, Lori laughing. “Chin is good with it, too, but Steve is an absolute disaster, and Kono is still a rookie, so she doesn’t know any better yet.”

“Yeah, but she’s coming along.”

“Indeed, she is.”

They worked in companionable silence for a moment before Lori spoke.

“Is everything okay with you, Danny? ” Lori asked. “I know things have been a little crazy lately with the case, custody dispute, and engagement, but I’m here if you need to talk.”

“Thank you,” Danny sighed. “We have another meeting with the lawyer on Friday, and I’m a little nervous. Steve seems to think we have a good chance, but—”

“You’re a good dad, Danny,” Lori reassured him. “The judge will see that,”

“Thank you.”

“So, things are good between you and Steve? ” Lori asked. “It all seemed to happen so fast.

Danny tried to play it cool. “Yeah, I guess it did.” He gave her a quick grin. “But at the same time, it felt like we’d been building to this for the last year and a half, you know?” he shook his head. “Steve has been such a big part of my life ever since I came to this pineapple-infested hellhole, and this just felt like, I don’t know, the natural progression of things?” he huffed out a breath. “I know that probably doesn’t make sense, but—”

“I think it makes perfect sense.” Lori cut him off, putting a hand on his shoulder. “And I’m happy for you both, truly.”

“Thank you.”

Lori was quiet for a moment, and then—

“You hate pineapple that much?”

“It’s the texture,” Danny told her. “I don’t mind the flavor as much, like mixed into a drink, but the texture grosses me out. And the fact that people disgrace the sanctity of pizza with it?” he shook his head in disgust. “It’s disgusting, I tell you, disgusting.”

Lori seemed amused by his rant, and Danny felt dread wash over him. “Please tell me you don’t like Hawaiian pizza.”

Lori shook her head. “I don’t like it. Don’t worry.”

“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “We East Coast pizza people have to stick together.”

Lori winced. “Well…”

“What do you mean? You don’t like pizza?”

“No, I love pizza, ” she told Danny. “But my dad is from Chicago, so…”

“You like deep dish?”

“It’s really good, you should give it a try.”

Danny gave her a flat look. “I take back every single nice thing I have ever said about you.”

Lori cackled as Danny moved his seat away from hers.

~~

The rest of the week passed quietly, or at least as quietly as things did for them. And then they had their meeting.

The good news was the custody hearing was going to be sooner than they thought since Stan had pushed for an expedited process. The bad news was that probably meant Stan thought he had some smoking gun.

No matter how much the lawyer assured them things would be fine and she could handle whatever Stan’s army of lawyers threw at them, Danny couldn’t help but worry about what this meant for his chances of getting joint custody.

“What if we’re found out?” Danny fretted from the passenger seat on the drive home.

“We’re not going to get found out.”

“But we could be,” Danny told him. We could be found out, and Rachel could use it against us. Maybe that’s why the custody hearing was moved up.”

“I doubt they found anything,” Steve told Danny. “We’re being careful, there is no reason to assume they know anything. Stan likely just moved up the hearing to try and rattle you. Don’t let it work.”

Danny sighed. “I know, but—”

“And even if they did find out something, we would handle it.” Steve turned to face him when the car stopped at a light, his eyes dark and intense. “I know you’re worried, and I get it. But I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. Do you trust me?”

“You know that I do—”

“Then trust we will find a way through this.”

Danny had to admit Steve was right. They’d handled far worse than this in the last year and a half. They could deal with things getting expedited.

“Thank you.” Danny finally said.

Steve gave him a grin as they pulled up to the house. “Anytime, Danno. Now let’s order food. I’m starving.”

~~

That night, Danny watched Steve as he tried to fall asleep.

How did he let himself get so deep into this situation? Steve would never let anything happen to Danny’s chances of getting custody; Danny knew that. And while an expedited hearing meant this would be over sooner, he couldn’t help but dread that.

The sooner this was over, the sooner he and Steve would stop being this close. That was the deal, and Danny had to stick with it. Steve deserved to have his own life and not be tied down to Danny.

But even so, having to push Steve away after being so loose to him over the last few weeks? Danny knew that would destroy him.

Maybe it would be better if he transferred out of five once this was over. He loved his job, and he loved Steve, but seeing Steve every day and not being able to be with him? Watching as Steve built a life with somebody else? That might kill Danny.

~~

Danny woke up as soon as he heard the rain hitting the windows in the middle of the night, and he knew it would be a horrible day.

His knee practically howled in pain as he moved his leg, and he sucked in a breath. Turning to see Steve still asleep, Danny tried to move as carefully as possible to the bathroom. He had meant to move the tiger balm to his bedside table for easy access, but things had been fine for a while, so he had kept forgetting.

That is, until yesterday’s tackle twinged his knee.

Danny made it to the bathroom before the pain became unbearable, falling to the floor with an audible thud.

Immediately after, Steve appeared in the doorway, eyes bleary with sleep.

“Danny, what happened?”

“It’s fine, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, because people fall over all the time.”

“It’s just—” Danny sighed, knowing Steve wouldn’t let this go. “My leg. I tweaked it yesterday, and it always hurts more when it rains.”

Steve seemed to understand. “Okay, what do you need?”

“I was just going to grab the tiger balm in the drawer and put it on my knee,” Danny waved him off. “Go back to sleep; I’m fine.”

Steve gave him a look before rummaging in the drawer for the tin. “How well do you think I’ll sleep with you lying on the floor in pain?”

He grabbed the tiger balm, turning back to Danny. “Now let’s get you up.”

Danny blinked at him. “What?”

“You heard me.” Steve reached for Danny, pulling him up in one fluid motion. With an arm around him, Steve effortlessly helped Danny back to bed.

“Now, which knee is it?” Steve sat on Danny’s side of the bed, and Danny was suddenly very aware that they were both only in boxers.

“Steve, I can take it from here—”

“Too bad. Which knee?”

“…the right.” Danny adjusted the covers a little, leaving his injured leg out.

Steve scooped out a little of the balm onto his fingers, massaging it into Danny’s skin with steady motions. Danny fought the urge to throw his head back and groan with relief as he felt the pain begin to ebb. Steve was so careful as he massaged Danny’s leg, gently applying the balm to soothe the ache. No one had touched him like this in a long time, and Danny felt a fire start to burn in his core.

“Is that better?” Steve asked, his voice seeming hushed in the stillness of the night.

Danny blinked for a moment, coming back to himself. “Yeah, much better, babe. Thank you.”

“Okay.” Steve turned off the light and got back under the covers. “Then let’s go back to bed.”

Danny got back under the covers, looking at Steve’s turned back.

“Thank you.” He finally said.

He could practically hear Steve smile. “You’re welcome, now go to bed.”

~~

“Okay, monkey, what do you think?” Danny asked as Grace examined her new room. He and Steve had spent every spare moment of the last few weeks repainting the walls, assembling furniture, and making what was previously a plain guest room into a little girl’s dream room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny could see Steve was as nervous as Danny was, and Grace finally turned to face them.

“I love it, thank you, Danno.” She hugged Danny before turning to Steve. “And thank you, Uncle Steve.”

Steve seemed surprised when Grace hugged him, and Danny resisted the urge to snicker at his look of shock.

“You’re welcome, Grace.” Steve hugged her back. “I’m glad you like it.”

Danny grinned at them, wanting to take a picture to commemorate this moment. Realizing he left his phone in the other room, Danny backed out as quietly as possible.

He could hear Grace and Steve quietly speaking while creeping back with the phone.

“Uncle Steve?” he heard Grace ask, and he stopped just before reaching the doorway. “I’m glad you and Danno are together.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. You make him happy.” She told him. “I think he was sad for a while, but he seems happy now. And that’s because of you.”

“He’s happy because of you, too, ” Steve told her. Danny was heartwarmingly moved by the gentle way Steve spoke to Grace. “You make him happier than anyone else.”

“Will you promise me something?” Grace asked.

“Sure, what?”

“Promise you’ll always love him and you’ll always try to make my dad happy,” Grace told him. You’re good for him, and I want my dad to stay happy.”

Danny held his breath as he waited for Steve’s response.

“Grace, I promise I’ll always try to make your dad happy,” Steve said.

“And you promise to love him?”

“And I promise to love him,” Steve told her.

Grace sighed in relief. “Thank you, Uncle Steve.”

Danny waited a second before reentering the room, so they didn’t know he was listening. Even though he went to get his phone, he didn’t take a picture of Steve and Grace sitting together.

He didn’t need a picture to remember that moment.

Chapter 12:

Two weeks later, Dany felt like he had reached a new normal. Living with Steve was proving to be easier than it was the last time, the two of them settling into an easy rhythm. Grace was thrilled to spend more time at the beach on the weekends, and the custody hearing preparations were moving along as well as they could. Danny felt like he had everything under control for the first time in a long time.

Which, of course, meant it was time for the universe to throw an obstacle in his way. Or in this case, a naval officer.

“Catherine?” Danny frowned as he saw a familiar figure walk into the office.

“Danny!” she grinned, coming over to hug him. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good.” Danny felt like he was playing catch-up, his mind going a million miles an hour. “How are you? Are you still working on the ship?”

“Aircraft carrier, and yes,” she sighed. “It’s been a bit hectic recently; one of the communications officers is out of commission, so I’ve picked up a few of their duties until they get back on their feet.”

“That’s great of you to help.” Danny shifted his weight a little. “So, what’re you doing in town? Any sightseeing?”

“Not this time.” Catherine smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “I got some leave last minute, so I figured I’d stop by and see if your fearless leader wanted to spend Valentine’s Day with me.”

And there it was. The other shoe dropped.

“Wow, sounds fun.” Danny ran a hand through his hair. “So, Steve doesn’t know you’re here?”

“No, I came to surprise him.”

Danny nodded. “Well, do you mind if I talk to him about something case-related before you do? You can say hi to the rest of the team; we just got a new member.”

Catherine nodded, flashing Danny another smile as Danny approached Steve’s office.

He rushed inside, closing the door, and the other man looked up from his desk in alarm.

“Danny?” Steve frowned. “Everything okay?”

“Steve, is there anything you’ve forgotten to tell me?” Danny tried to keep his voice calm.

“Is this about your hair gel?” Steve asked. “I didn’t think it was a big deal that I used a little of it.”

“You used my hair gel?” Danny frowned in confusion before noticing Steve’s hair looked tidier than usual. “Huh. Looks good.”

“If you didn’t know about that, then why’d you come in here freaking out?” Steve asked.

“Because your girlfriend came into the office to surprise you for the weekend!” Danny hissed, trying to keep his voice down. One of the many downsides to a glass office was the complete lack of soundproofing.

“Catherine’s here?” Steve looked around in alarm. “What is she doing here?”

“She’s here to spend time with you because you forgot to tell her you’re engaged!” Danny breathed harder and faster than if he had run up a thousand stairs. “This is all falling apart. God, I knew this would happen.”

“Danny.” Steve moved towards him, touching the other man’s shoulders. “Breathe.”

It took a long moment, but Danny felt his heart rate slow.

“I told Catherine we were over.”

“You did?” Danny frowned. “What did you say? Because she didn’t get the message.”

Steve frowned, thinking back. “I told her things had changed for me and I wasn’t going to be able to see her anymore, and I wished her the best.”

Danny facepalmed. “Steve, have you ever broken up with someone before?”

“Of course I have–”

“Because that was terrible. Truly.”

“How exactly was that terrible?”

Danny looked at Steve. “You didn’t tell her why you were breaking up with her, so to her, it probably seemed it was still possible you two could still be together, especially if your relationship were as casual as you say it was.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to imply that,” Steve told Danny.

“If you say so.” Danny scoffed.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Steve gave Danny a look.

Danny sighed. “Babe, it sounds like you left it open for things to pick back up with her. And if that’s what you want, fine. But with everything going on–”

“That’s not what I want.” Steve cut Danny off. “I didn’t think I needed to say anything else. We’ve always kept things casual between us, nothing serious.”

Danny laughed slightly. “Babe, she flew out to see you for Valentine’s Day. I don’t think she thinks this is casual.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to sigh. “You might be right.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Danny asked.

Steve gave him a confused look. “What do you mean? I’m going to tell her I made a mistake when I texted her–”

“You tried to break up over text?” Danny felt the urge to face-palm.

“I couldn’t get her on the phone, and again, I figured it was casual.” Steve defended himself.

“You are a complete and utter disaster, do you know that?” Danny told him. “You never break up with someone over text. Especially not a badass naval officer who could kill you.”

Steve gave Danny a dirty look. “Anyway, I’m going to tell her I’m engaged and I should have been clearer, and then I’m going to apologize.”

“Okay.” Danny nodded. “I’d also be ready to duck.”

Steve gave Danny another confused look. “Why would I have to duck?”

Danny laughed. ” Because first you have to tell her you broke up with her via text, and then you have to tell her it’s over right before Valentine’s Day because you’re engaged to somebody else.”

Danny saw Steve pale, and he snickered.

“Good luck, babe.” Danny patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll be in my office. Come see me after if she doesn’t murder you.”

~~

Steve sighed, seeing Catherine walk up to the door of his office.

“Hey, sailor.” Catherine leaned against the door frame, her bright smile directed at Steve.

There was a time when that smile made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world, but not anymore.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Steve tried to play it cool. Maybe Danny was wrong. Maybe Catherine did understand things were over.

“I thought we could spend Valentine’s Day together.” As she approached, she gave him a sweet smile, and his heart sank.

Or maybe he was the Neanderthal Danny always said he was.

Catherine tried to lean in, but Steve stepped back.

“Catherine, can we talk for a second?” Steve motioned for her to sit on his couch, and he followed suit.

“Sure, is everything okay?” she asked as she sat.

“Yes and no.” Steve decided to just come out with it. “You know that text I sent you a while back?”

“The one you sent me right after returning from North Korea?” she tilted in confusion. “Yeah, why?”

Steve paused, trying to figure out the best way to say this. “I don’t think I expressed myself clearly. I meant to say that I didn’t think it would be a good idea for us to see each other anymore.”

Steve saw Catherine’s face fall, and he felt like an ass.

“What?” she said, seeming confused. “But we get along so well, and have so much fun together. Why would you want to end things?”

“Well, the truth is, I’m engaged, ” Steve told her, wanting to cushion the blow but not knowing how to do it. I started seeing someone shortly after we broke up, and I asked them to marry me two weeks ago.”

Catherine blinked. “Wow, I didn’t expect that. Or for you to be able to move on so fast.” She let out a bitter laugh. “I thought we had something special.”

“I’m so, so sorry, Catherine. ” Steve said, meaning every word. “I never meant to hurt you. I should have taken the time to be clearer and to get you on the phone, and that’s entirely on me. I know you probably won’t ever forgive me, but I hope you know how sorry I am.

Catherine looked down for a minute.

“Thank you, Steve,” she finally said. “It might take a while before I think about forgiving you, but thank you for apologizing.”

“Of course,” Steve told her. “I completely understand.”

They sat silently for a long moment, and then she spoke.

“So, who is she?” she finally asked. “The woman you left me for.”

Steve wanted to argue he didn’t leave her for anyone, but he knew he didn’t have the moral high ground in this conversation, so he decided to be honest.

“She’s… Danny,” he finally said.

Catherine’s head shot up, and she stared at him.

“Danny, as in your partner, Danny?” she said, seeming to be shocked by this.

“Yeah.” Steve nodded, waiting for her reaction.

He didn’t have to wait very long.

“Steve, this is ridiculous. You aren’t gay,” she said, Steve taken aback by the intensity in her voice.

“No, I’m bisexual,” Steve told her. “I like men and women.”

“Since when?”

“Since I was 16,” Steve told her.

“You never mentioned that before.”

“You’re not a man, so I doubt it would’ve come up.” Steve let out an annoyed huff. “Why are you arguing with me about my sexuality?”

Catherine scoffed. “You lost all right to object to this argument when you dumped me for your partner!”

“Why does it matter why I dumped you? We were in a casual relationship!”

“But we could’ve been more!” Catherine raised her voice, shocking Steve.

“Catherine–”

“We’ve known each other for years, and I always hoped you’d be ready for more one day, and then when you are, you turn to Danny? You barely know him!”

“Danny’s my partner, I know him fairly well—”

What does he have that I don’t?”

Steve sighed. “It’s not about what you don’t have. It’s about how he makes me feel. I love him, Catherine. I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’m not sorry for loving him. I’m never going to be sorry for loving him.”

Catherine stared at Steve for a long moment before letting out a bitter laugh. “Well, I hope you’re happy with yourselves.”

As she stormed out the door, Steve doubted she meant it.

~~

Danny would be lying if he said he wasn’t watching Steve’s office door like a hawk.

He wondered how it was going. He hadn’t heard screaming, so he assumed it was going well.

Unless Catherine had killed Steve already. In which case, he’d have to arrest his fake fiancé’s ex-girlfriend for murder. He let out a small groan, thinking of the paperwork involved.

“Why are you watching Steve’s door?” Kono walked over, standing next to Danny.

“Catherine came to visit,” he told her, and Kono’s eyes widened. “Steve wasn’t clear about ending things when we started dating.”

“So, he’s doing that now? And he’s telling her about–” Kono gestured to him, and Danny sighed.

“Yep.”

Kono nodded. “Think she’ll take it well?”

“She came here for Valentine’s Day with Steve, so doubtful,” Danny said, and Kono winced in response.

“Yeah, that’ll do it.”

“Yeah.”

“…You’re thinking about the paperwork involved if she kills him, aren’t you?”

“You know me so well.”

“You’re a horrible person.”

“That doesn’t trouble me as much as you think.”

Kono snickered, elbowing him.

“What’s going on?” Lori joined them.

“Steve’s ex-girlfriend came to spend Valentine’s Day with him, and he’s telling her he’s engaged,” Kono said, Danny giving her a look.

“I always forget how much of a gossip you are.”

Kono gave Danny an offended look, and he didn’t get a chance to retort before Governor Denning walked through the office doors.

“Hello all.” he said, everyone snapping to attention.

“Governor Denning, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Lori asked, and Danny wondered the same thing.

“I came to deliver the gala tickets for this weekend personally, ” Governor Denning said, giving them all a measured look. “As prominent members of the police force, it is vital that every member of the task force attends.”

“Understood, sir, we will be there,” Danny told him.

“Hm.” Denning didn’t seem convinced. “Where’s Commander McGarrett? I’d like to tell him this personally.”

Just then, the door to Steve’s office opened, and Catherine stormed out. Steve followed her, both of them drawing to a halt when they saw Governor Denning.

“Governor Denning.” Steve nodded his head in greeting.

“Commander,” the Governor responded. “I was just informing your team of the need for all task force members to appear at the gala. I trust you’ll be there.”

“Absolutely, sir,” Steve said, that answer seeming to appease the governor. Well, as much as anything did. Danny could never quite get a read on the guy.

Governor Denning seemed to notice Catherine standing there. “And who might you be?”

“This is Lieutenant Catherine Rollins, US Navy.” Steve introduced her. “She’s a friend who’s in town for the weekend.”

Catherine lightly scoffed, but the governor didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, Lieutenant Rollins, I’d be honored if you would attend the gala this weekend.” Governor Denning told her, handing the tickets off to Lori. “Since McGarrett and Williams are each other’s plus ones, there should be an extra ticket.”

“I’m sure Catherine has plans for the weekend.” Danny tried to say, only for Catherine to cut him off with a steely-eyed glare.

“I’d love to attend.” Catherine gave Governor Denning a smile.

“Good, then it’s settled,” he told them. “I’ll see you all this weekend.”

Governor Denning left, and Catherine’s smile dropped off her face. She stopped long enough to snatch a ticket from Lori’s hand before stalking out of the office.

“I’m going to guess things didn’t go well?” Danny asked.

“They most certainly didn’t.” Steve sighed. “And now we’re going to have to spend our weekend with my pissed-off ex.”

Danny’s phone buzzed, and he stopped to check the text, wincing. “Both of our pissed-off exes.”

Steve stared at him. “What?”

“Yeah, Rachel just texted asking if we could have Grace that night since she and Stan will be there.” Danny waved his phone.

“Shit.” Steve scrubbed a hand over his face. “And we have to be there.”

“Yes, we do.”

Kono cackled, nudging Lori. “This is going to be hilarious.”

~~

“Maybe it won’t be that bad?” Danny said, trying to sound hopeful. “Things could be worse.”

He could practically hear Steve roll his eyes from the bathroom. “We have to spend the entire night with our pissed-off exes. How could things be worse?”

“Rachel could know how to shoot a gun.”

“…Fair point.”

Danny adjusted his tie again, frowning as it tilted to the side. He could never get them to stay straight. He was going to be adjusting this all night; he could tell.

“You nearly ready?” He called out to Steve.

“Ready.”

Steve turned the corner, and Danny’s mouth went dry. Steve in a tuxedo was like a wet dream come to life. The suit fit him perfectly, snug over his muscles. Danny wondered if this was what Steve would look like at their wedding.

And then Danny remembered there would never be a wedding, and he returned to himself.

Why do you always look like James Bond, and I look like a waiter?” Danny asked, trying to recover from seeing Steve like that.

“You don’t look like a waiter.”

“Says you.”

“Well, the crooked tie isn’t helping.” Steve pointed out, and Danny let out a frustrated groan.

“I know, but I can’t get it straight. I can’t ever get bow ties to look right. I think Rachel had the photographer photoshop my tie in our wedding photos.”

Steve made a face and then moved on. “Want me to help?”

“Actually, yes.”

Danny remained still as Steve approached, prowling across the room like a panther. Steve carefully adjusted the tie, their faces so close together that Danny could have reached up to kiss him if he wanted to.

And he wanted to. But that wouldn’t be fair to Steve. Steve deserved better than that. Better than Danny.

“There,” Steve said, his voice soft as he fixed the tie. “Perfect.”

“Thanks.” Danny practically breathed out the words, the two of them gazing into each other’s eyes. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, even though he wasn’t moving a muscle.

Just as he thought Steve might say something else, he backed away and the moment was lost.

“We should get going.” Steve left the room, Danny following behind.

~~

If Danny had to list the worst moments of his life, one of the top ten would almost definitely be “being at a charity ball on Valentine’s Day with your fake fiancé and his pissed-off ex-girlfriend.”

He and Steve had arrived just as the party was getting started and Danny already wanted to leave.

“Don’t you look spiffy.” Kono said with a wink. “I can’t believe you got Steve to wear a tie for this.

“Just wait, I’ll get him to wear one to work someday.” Danny joked, and Steve made a face.

“Over my dead body, Danno.”

“Whatever you say, babe.”

“Hello, Daniel.” Danny turned to see Rachel and Stan there, the latter looking as though he’d sucked on a lemon. Rachel nodded to Steve. “Commander McGarrett.”

“Rachel, we’re all going to be related soon; you can call me Steve,” Steve said with a friendly smile, though his frame was tense.

“Hm.” Rachel seemed to want to say something else, but then thought better of it. “I’m surprised to see you both here.”

“We got our invitations directly from the governor,” Danny said, quietly enjoying all of this. “He wanted his star task force to be present tonight.”

“How nice.” Stan cut in. “Though it’s a shame you chose this over seeing your daughter. I’d think you’d want to spend every moment with Grace.”

Danny fought the urge to punch Stan. “I’d have loved to see Grace tonight, but don’t worry: I’ll get plenty of time with her next weekend for our scheduled time together.”

Stan smirked and seemed to want to say something else before Steve cut in.

“I think it’s time Danny and I hit the dance floor.” Steve grabbed Danny by the hand. “We’ll catch up later.”

Steve whisked Danny away to the dance floor, pulling him close as the music changed to a slower song.

“Thank you.” Danny sighed, some of the tension leaving his body. “If he had said anything else, I would have punched him.”

“And I would have been right there with you, but we have to keep level heads.” Steve guided Danny around the dance floor with a hand on his back. “They’re going to be doing everything they can to make you seem unstable and unworthy of custody. We can’t give them that chance.”

“I know.” Danny frowned as he realized something. “Wait. We’re dancing.”

“Nice detective skills there.”

Danny frowned at him. “I mean, you’re pretty good at dancing.”

“The Naval Academy offered ballroom dancing classes as an elective.”

“How did I not know this?”

“It’s not like we’ve had many opportunities to dance.” Steve led Danny through a turn, pulling him close once more.

“Maybe we should.” Danny tried to joke, but instead he breathed out the words as he looked into Steve’s eyes.

“Maybe.” Steve gave Danny a small smile as they continued to move with the music.

Just then, as the music swelled to a finish, Steve dipped Danny, pulling him into a kiss as soon as Danny was upright.

Danny melted, Steve’s arms being the only thing keeping him upright. He knew this was all for show, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to stay in that moment with Steve for as long as possible.

As they pulled away, breathing hard, Danny saw Catherine out of the corner of his eye. If looks could kill, Danny would be a smoldering pile of ashes.

“Now, why don’t we mingle and have a good night?” Steve said, leading Danny off the dance floor.

Danny smiled at him. “That sounds good to me.”

~~

“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is just a reminder that the silent auction will be closing in five minutes,” the Emcee said into the microphone later. “So, please, put your final bids in now. The Clean Coast Fund needs your dollars to preserve Hawaii’s precious marine environment. Mahalo, everyone.”

Danny stopped near one of the items and jotted down a bid, grinning in excitement. With five minutes to go, he was sure to win these tickets.

Well, look who is pitching in to, uh, to save the environment.” Steve remarked as Danny picked up a pen and began writing in his information. “Who knew you were such a giver, Danno?”

This is the steal of the century.” Danny told them, grinning as he wrote down his bid. “Season tickets, 50-yard line, half face value. I’m in.”

“I didn’t know you were a fan, Danny, ” Catherine said as she walked up, her tone cool as she addressed him. Danny winced; they had at least been friendly before, but now that he’d effectively stolen Steve from them? Not so much. Danny just wished he’d stolen Steve for real. Currently, it felt like he was borrowing him. Once this was all over, he’d have to let Steve go. And that broke him every time he thought about it.

“That’s because he’s not,” Steve told Catherine, giving Daniel a teasing glance as he looked down at him.

“Excuse me. Excuse me.” Danny elbowed Steve, the SEAL pretending to be wounded by the action. “A: I’m a huge football fan. B: the Warriors uniforms remind me of my beloved Jets. And C: this is charity. Right?”

“You’re right, ” Steve nodded, squeezing Danny’s hand once. “And it’s good to see you got your priorities straight.”

“Thank you, Babe.” Danny grinned at Steve.

“So, excuse me for a second.” Steve put his hands on Danny’s waist, moving him to the side. Danny flushed at the casual touch and looked to see what Steve was up to.

“What are you doing?” Danny asked, frowning as he saw Steve honing in on his silent auction item.

“I’m feeling charitable,” Steve smirked at him as he finished writing in his bid.

“Why would you do that?”

“Come on, Danno, it’s all for charity.” Steve kept smirking at Danny.

“You have a very big problem, you know that?” Danny told Steve. “You’re competitive.”

“What are you talking about? There’s no such thing as too competitive.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “It’s like you can’t let somebody be happy. You’ve got to one-up everybody all the time. You know, they got a name for people like you?”

“I do: winners,” Steve smirked. “They’re called winners.

“Incorrect,” Danny told him. “Toppers. You are a topper, Steve.”

“Well, at least we got that question answered about your private life, ” Kono cracked as she walked up. Danny flushed a deep red, trying hard not to look at Steve. Instead, he took advantage of the moment and grabbed Steve’s pen, writing in a new bid.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Danny put down his bid, smirking at Steve.

“I’m sorry, did you just…” Steve looked on, and his jaw dropped in indignation. “One dollar?”

Danny smirked as Steve processed this.

“You outbid me by one…” he turned to Kono. “He outbids me by one dollar. What is this, The Price is Right?”

“Wouldn’t you guys end up going together anyway?” Kono shook her head at the two of them.

“That’s not the point,” Danny told her.

“Hey, did you bid on something?” Lori walked up, and Kono shook her head in warning.

“Hey, no, don’t go there.”

There was a moment of science as Steve and Danny stared each other down.

“Oh, your dress is beautiful.” Lori tried to change the subject, turning to Catherine. “Where did you get it?”

“Thank you! Catherine gave Lori the first real smile Danny had seen her make all night. “I got it in this little shop in Bangkok.”

“Sounds like a great souvenir,” Lori nodded.

“Well, it is one of the perks of being stationed overseas.” Catherine’s gaze flitted back to Steve. “We had some good times together in Bangkok, didn’t we, Steve?”

“Yeah, it’s a great city.” Danny nearly choked on his drink as Steve put an arm around his shoulders. “Maybe Danno and I can consider it for a honeymoon destination.”

There was an awkward silence, and Danny avoided looking at Catherine.

“What about you, Chin?” Danny tried to change the subject to something other than Catherine and why she was in town. “You bid on anything?”

“Actually, yeah.” Chin grinned. “I’m about to win a ukulele lesson from Jake Shimabukuro. How cool is that?”

Danny nodded, trying not to show that he had no idea who that was.

“You have no idea who that is, do you?” Chin commented, reading him like a book.

“No, I do not,” Danny admitted, Chin chuckling. “But you seem enthusiastic about it, and so I’m happy for you, Chin. I hope you win.”

“Thank you.” Chin inclined his head. “I have to say I’m feeling lucky.”

“Cool, but you know what would be even cooler is if you bid on that romantic getaway weekend to Kauai.” Kono pointed out.

“Why is that cooler?” Danny asked.

“Well, because he’s newly married, and Valentine’s Day is this week,” Kono said before turning back to Chin. “Unless you already got Malia something?”

“For your information, Malia’s old school,” Chin told his cousin. “She’s delighted with flowers and chocolates.”

“Oh, okay, right.” Kono rolled her eyes. “Nothing says ‘I love you’ like drugstore candy.”

“Some people happen to like keeping things simple, Kono.” Danny told her.

Kono nodded before turning to Danny and Steve. “What do you guys have planned?”

Danny froze for a second, not sure of what to say. Luckily, Steve was quicker on his feet.

“We’ve been so busy with everything lately that I don’t think we had time to think of anything to do.” Steve shrugged, a self-deprecating smile on his face. “We might just have a quiet dinner at home.”

“Sounds perfect to me,” Danny told him, actually meaning it.

When married to Rachel, Valentine’s Day was always a massive production: the fancy restaurant, the oversized bouquet, the whole nine yards. Spending Valentine’s Day at home would be his preferred gift. If this relationship were real, that is.

Sometimes, it was easy for him to forget it wasn’t—that this was just an assignment for Steve.

“Danny, you’re such a good sport for not caring that your fiancé forgot Valentine’s Day,” Catherine said, glancing at Steve. “It can hurt when someone forgets something important like that.”

“It’s fine with me,” Danny told her. I’ve done the big, over-the-top Valentine’s Day before, and I’m over it.”

“So, I’m hearing you’re okay with chocolates.” Steve wrapped his arm around Danny and grinned down at him. “Is that right?”

“Only if you don’t eat all of them.” Danny quipped, turning back to the group. “He has such a sweet tooth.”

Just then, the governor came and pulled Steve and Lori aside. Steve came back to Danny, looking apologetic.

“The governor needs me to check something out for a second.” Steve placed a soft kiss on Danny’s cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

Danny smiled and then turned back to the group.

To his dismay, he realized that Kono and Chin were deep in a conversation and that he was left alone with Catherine.

“So, how have you been?” he asked, only for Catherine to give him a dirty look.

“Let’s not pretend to be nice to each other,” she told him, sipping her drink. “You can stop acting like you’re such a nice person, now that I see what kind of man you truly are.”

“For what it’s worth, I wasn’t pretending.” Danny sighed. “Catherine, I’m so sorry you got mixed up in this. I know Steve never meant to hurt you, and I am so sorry for the part I played.”

“Are you?” she asked with fire in her eyes. “It doesn’t seem like you are.” She took another sip of her drink. “I love him, Danny. So whatever game you’re playing with him, don’t pretend it’s innocent.”

“It’s not a game,” Danny told her. “I love Steve.”

“But he was mine first.” Catherine glared at him. “You knew he was with me and you stole him away.” She huffed out a breath. “When he messaged me wanting to end things after coming back from North Korea, I thought if I just gave him time—”

“You knew he ended things, and you still showed up here for Valentine’s Day?” Danny asked.

He didn’t even give himself a chance to consider that Steve had ended things with Catherine months before he said he had.

Catherine didn’t answer, throwing back her drink. “You’re horrible, Danny. You had to twist Steve into your way of thinking so that you wouldn’t be alone. I hope he sees the light soon before you destroy him.”

She stalked off, Chin and Kono turning to Danny.

Danny didn’t know what to say.

“Did she just—” Danny started to say.

“Admit that Steve broke up with her, and she didn’t accept it?” Kono sighed. “Yeah.”

“I’d be careful if I were you, Danny.” Chin shot a look in the direction she had stormed off in. “She doesn’t seem like she’ll let this go.”

Danny sighed. “Yeah, I know.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “So, I have my angry ex here, and Steve’s angry ex here. All we need is a body, and this is truly the evening from hell.”

Just then, Steve and Lori walked up to the group with serious expressions on their faces.

“Guys, hate to break things up, but there’s a body,” Steve told them.

Chin and Kono turned to Danny, giving him a look.

Danny threw up his hands. “Of course there is.”

Chapter 13:

“Well, that’s one way to end a party,” Steve said as they walked through the door.

They had made as much progress as possible on the case that night, so everyone went back to get some shut-eye.

“Yeah. And here I thought dealing with our exes would be the hardest part of the right.” Danny bit his lip before deciding to come out with it. “You should probably know, Catherine said something interesting when you and Lori went with the governor.

“What did she say?”

“She let slip that she understood you were trying to end things when you messaged her a while back,” Danny told him. “She just thought she still had a chance to get you back. That’s why she showed up. While breaking up via text is still shitty, it’s not actually on you that she thought you were still together,”

And you said I was terrible at breakups.”

Danny gave him a look. “You’re still bad at breakups.”

Steve snorted and then paused. “What else did she say? I can tell something else happened.”

“Are you using your super SEAL senses or something?” Danny quipped.

“No, I just know you, Danny. What is it?”

“It’s just—” Danny sighed, wondering if it was worth bringing up. “She said I was horrible for twisting you around to my way of thinking, and she hoped you’d see the light before I destroyed you.”

Steve stared at him. “She fucking said that?”

“Steve—”

“How dare she!”

Danny could see Steve getting worked up about this, and he put a hand on his shoulder. “Babe, it’s fine. I’m not going to let her get to me. I shouldn’t have even brought it up.”

Steve seemed to calm down. “No, you should have brought it up. If someone says something that hurts you, I want to know.”

“I think hurt is an overstatement,” Danny told him. “Let’s just go to bed, okay? We have a big day tomorrow.”

Steve started up the stairs, pausing and turning back to face Danny.

“Just so you know, you’re not horrible.”

“Thanks.”

“That’s not what I—” Steve paused and started again. You’re the best person I know. You’re nothing like how she described you. And I’m lucky to have you in my life, Danny.”

The intensity in Steve’s eyes took Danny aback.

“So yeah.” Steve gave him a quick grin. “You’re not horrible.”

Steve continued up the stairs while Danny stood there, trying to calm his racing heart.

~~

A few days later, after hours of work, they had a suspect in the murder from the night of the gala: a man named Dmitri Vonakov. There was just one problem.

“’Dmitri Vonakov is M.I.A.,” Lori told the team. “I checked all the hotels, Garlin’s local offices, nothing.”

“How is that even possible?” Steve asked, looking over the information with her.

“According to the TSA, he flew in on Garlin’s private plane two days ago,” Chin told them. “The plane’s still here.”

“Yeah, and there’s no record of him leaving by boat or commercial airline,” Danny added.

“This is bullshit.” Danny could tell Steve was getting annoyed. “People don’t just disappear; he’s got to be here somewhere, right?”

Danny shrugged as Kono came into the room.

“So, I just talked to the valets at the hotel. A town car with diplomatic plates came to pick up a guest meeting Vonakov’s description at 10:15 last night.”

“That’s right around the time our victim was discovered.” Chin furrowed his brow.

“Okay, hang on, diplomatic plates?” Steve turned to Kono. “Headed where?”

“The valets don’t know, but the first three letters of the plate were D-Y-R.” she told him. “So, D is for diplomat, and Y-R is the State Department’s code for—”

“Russia, right?” Steve cut her off as Lori looked something up.

“Okay, hold on.” Lori cursed. “Vonakov was born in Moscow; he’s a Russian citizen.”

“He’s hiding at the Russian Consulate.” Steve started for the door. “I’m going to go have a chat with the Russians.”

“And I’m going to make sure Steve doesn’t start an international incident.” Danny followed him out of the room, and the rest of the team snorted.

~~

Danny had spent the ride to the Russian embassy trying to talk Steve down so he wouldn’t lose his cool when they inexplicably stonewalled him.

“Be nice,” he warned Steve before they got out of the car.

“I’m always nice.” Steve gave him an offended look before getting out of the car, and Danny sighed. This wasn’t going to go well. He could feel it in his bones. Or in the gunshot wound from their first case.

Maybe he was wrong, though. Perhaps the Russian embassy would be helpful.

“You must be mistaken.” The embassy official told them. “I’ve known Dmitri Vonakov for over 20 years, since we attended university. He is no murderer.”

Or maybe they would do precisely what he expected them to. Awesome.

“Technically, Consul Shepkin, he’s a murderer and a rapist.” Steve reminded the consul and Danny resisted the urge to elbow him.

“And you have proof of all this?”

“Aside from the sworn statement of the woman he raped?” Danny asked, and the consul looked unimpressed.

“Dmitri is a wealthy man. Women target him all the time.”

“Listen, no offense, but I’m done wasting time,” Steve said, his voice tight with tension. “So, why don’t you bring Vonakov out here. We’ll take a blood sample, and then we’ll go.”

The consul frowned, furrowing his brow. “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t?” Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Our victim has blood under her fingernails. Now, if your buddy is innocent like you say he is, have him come out here, we’ll take a sample, and then we will clear his name once and for all, and then we move on.”

“So, you think Dmitri is here?” the consul asked.

“Oh, one of your cars picked him up from the hotel last night, so, yeah, we know he’s here.” Steve had a small smirk on his face.

“Well, he does indeed stay at the consulate occasionally when he’s in town on business, but that was last night. He’s gone now.”

“Gone where?” Danny asked.

The consul gave him an annoyed look. “I’m his friend, not his babysitter.”

“You’re a lousy liar, ” Steve bit out, glaring at him. He’s here. We’re going to search every inch of this place until we find him. “

Steve moved to the door, and one of the security guards moved to stop him

“Hey, back off.” Danny dredged up what little Russian he knew, holding up a hand. “We’re cops.”

He saw Steve’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise as the security guards halted.

“In Hawaii, ” the consul stood up, giving them a flat look. This is Russian soil.”

“How can you defend a guy like that?” Steve burst out. “He raped a woman, and he killed her sister.

“We’re done, gentlemen.” The consul gestured for them to leave the room. Danny was sure Steve would do something, but to his surprise, Steve left the room without another word.

“So that was a bust.” Danny finally said as they got back outside. “We need a plan B.”

“Yeah.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Something on your mind, babe?”

“Since when do you speak Russian?” Steve asked as they got back out to the car.

“Oh, I worked a Russian mob case in Brighton Beach,” Danny told him. “All I learned how to say was, “Back off, we’re cops,” and “this vodka tastes like urine.’”

“Huh.” Steve looked back at the consulate and frowned. “Look.”

Danny looked up at the window, seeing someone move away and the curtain fall back into place.

“He’s in there,” Steve hissed, and Danny felt a pit in his stomach. He knew that look on Steve’s face, and he hated it. It was the look he got every time he was about to do something stupid.

“Now, listen to me, even if we can prove that, we will never get a blood sample.” Danny tried to derail whatever violation of international law was brewing inside Steve’s head. “As long as Vonakov’s in there, we can’t touch him.”

“Okay,” Steve nodded and Danny had a little glimmer of hope things wouldn’t go off the rails, “so we drag his ass out.”

And hope was gone.

“I hate this plan,” Danny started walking back to the car.

“You don’t even know what the plan is!”

“I still hate it.”

~~

Steve sighed as he got ready to leave his office. This case had been particularly trying, with Steve nearly destroying the entire task force to get Vonakov into their custody.

In the end, it had all ended up, but Steve hated how close they had come to everything getting thrown away.

“Hey.” Lori stopped by his office, looking hesitant. “Can we talk?”

“Hey.” Steve greeted her. “I’m just getting ready to get out of here. What’s up?”

“Oh, um, I have something for you.” Lori rustled in her pocket for something. “Two things, actually, but consider the first a Valentine’s gift.”

Steve wasn’t sure where Lori was going with this, but he nodded. “Okay.”

Lori handed him a stack of tickets, and Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “U-H season tickets? How’d you get these?”

“When you and Danny argued, I snuck in and outbid you both.” Steve groaned and Lori grinned, the smile almost sad. “And I’m giving them to you, since I won’t be able to use them anymore.”

Steve frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“The second thing in that envelope is my letter of resignation.”

“The governor.” Steve realized, a pit forming in his stomach.

“Yeah.” Lori nodded. “He gave me a choice. And he asked me whose side I was on– the state of Hawaii’s or Five-O’s?” She sighed. “I said, ‘Both.’ He said, ‘Wrong answer.’”

“Here, you can have this back, okay? Because I don’t accept your resignation. And I’m going to go talk to the governor, and I’m going to straighten this whole thing out.”

Steve refused to accept this. Lori wasn’t his choice for the team, but she had become a part of their ohana. He wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.

“No, Steve. It’s okay.” Lori stopped him. “He’s got a point.”

“What the hell do you mean he’s got a point?”

“The governor put me on this team to be his eyes and ears. He said there’d be repercussions if we crossed the line.” She let out a sigh. “Which we did. Repeatedly.”

“It was for a good reason, though!”

“He doesn’t see it that way.”

Steve wanted to kick himself. If he hadn’t come up with that crazy scheme to get Vonakov, this wouldn’t be happening. Lori would get to stay.

“I’m sorry.” He finally said. “This is my fault, Lori, and…”

“No.” Lori cut him off. “If anything, it’s my fault.”

“How is any of this your fault?”

“I had a job to do, and I let my feelings for you get in the way.” Steve’s eyebrows shot up, and she quickly kept speaking. “And the rest of the team, of course, but, um…I let a lot of things slide. And that can’t happen.”

Damn. Steve didn’t think Danny had been right about Lori liking him. He couldn’t tell Danny. He’d be insufferable about it.

“What are you going to do?” Steve asked. “Are you going to go back to Homeland Security?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, a sad smile across her face. “I’m going to go back East. My family’s there, and my friends are there.” She paused for a moment. “It’s for the best, Steve.”

Steve sighed. He might not have liked Lori much when the governor assigned her to the task force, but now he couldn’t imagine life without her.

“Is this goodbye?” he asked. “Is that what we’re doing? We’re saying goodbye right now?”

“Yeah. I guess it’s good-bye.” Lori had tears in her eyes, and Steve hugged her.

“I’m going to miss you.” He told her, pulling away after a long moment.

“I’ll miss you too,” Lori told him. She picked up her bag and headed to the door before pausing and looking back. And Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“I hope you and Danny are happy together.” She gave him a small smile. “You two are perfect for each other. I hope you know that.”

Steve gave her a soft smile. “I do, thank you.”

After she left, Steve sat at his desk for a long moment.

Lori had a point. He and Danny were perfect for each other. So why was Steve letting this charade continue? He wanted this to be real; to hold Danny in his arms at every opportunity and to never let him go.

Steve made up his mind. He was going to tell Danny the truth about how he felt.

As he resolved to do it, his phone dinged with a new notification. Steve pulled it out, seeing a reminder for his reserve drill.

And then he remembered the details of his reserve drill, and his eyes widened.

“Oh fuck.”

~~

“Wait, what?”

“My reserve drill is on the Enterprise.”

“With Catherine.”

Steve sighed. “I won’t be there with Catherine, just on the same aircraft carrier. I made the request when we were seeing each other, and I can’t change it.”

“Okay.” Danny processed that. He hadn’t expected Steve to spring that on him right before leaving on said drill, but he also knew it wasn’t like he was hiding it.

“Are you okay with this?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Danny tried to act like it wasn’t bothering him.

Based on the look on Steve’s face, he failed.

“I’d understand if you weren’t okay with this.” Steve pressed, and Danny knew he wasn’t going to let this go.

Danny sighed. “If you’re asking me if I love the idea of you being on an aircraft carrier for a week with your ex, who wants to get back together with you, then I don’t. But I also don’t have the right to object to this. Not when things are the way they are between us.”

Steve seemed to accept that, taking a step closer.

“I’ve been thinking about that, actually,” Steve told Danny. “About the way things are between us.”

“Oh?” Danny felt a pit in his stomach. Was Steve about to tell him they had to call this whole thing off? Danny would understand. Steve had already gone above and beyond, but a part of him worried about the kids. Would their breaking this off ruin his chances at getting joint custody?

“Yeah.” Steve took another step, the two of them inches apart. “We should talk when I get back.”

“Why don’t we just talk now?” Danny asked. “If it’s something bad—”

“It’s not.” Steve made a face. “At least I hope it isn’t.”

“Does it have anything to do with Catherine telling me you ended things with her after North Korea?”

Steve grinned. “It does.”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “And you’re sure we can’t talk about it now?”

“I think a conversation like this deserves to be given enough time to process it fully.” Steve looked at his watch and cursed. “And I have to be out the door in two minutes.”

“Okay then.” Danny tried to calm his nerves. “We’ll talk when you get back.”

“Okay.” Steve’s smile lit up his face, and Danny felt his heart flutter. “Until then.”

Steve grabbed his bag, turning to give Danny a soft look before leaving the house.

Danny leaned against the counter, a slight grin on his face.

Something about Steve had been different. More assured, even.

He wished he knew what Steve would talk about with him when he got back.

He knew that wondering about that would be a part of what kept him up at night.

The other part was that he didn’t sleep as well when Steve wasn’t around. He’d been spoiled, becoming accustomed to sleeping with Steve next to him.

Whenever this ended, the adjustment would be hell for him.

~~

The next day, Danny was leaving the house for work when he felt the hairs on his neck standing up.

Casting a curious glance around, he couldn’t find anyone out of the ordinary.

Maybe it was just that Steve was gone, and Danny had gotten used to driving into work with him over the last month.

Or maybe this was all in his head.

And then they struck. Danny reared back as he was suddenly attacked by an unknown individual dressed all in black.

Danny had managed to put some distance between himself and his attacker, and was about to draw his gun when he felt a pinch in his neck. Turning around in surprise, Danny’s eyes widened at who stood behind him.

Before he could get a single word out, his vision blurred, and he soon lost consciousness.

~~

Danny came to with a start, his head pounding. He tried to raise a hand to his head, only to discover they were tied behind his back.

A closer inspection found his legs were tied to the chair legs, and a gag was forced between his teeth.

Danny stiffened, taking in the details of the room as he tried to find a way out of this.

It was dark, but he could make out boxes in the corner.

That seemed an odd thing to have where you’re holding someone hostage. Maybe this was a storage area of some kind?

Danny felt his blood run cold as he wondered who could have been behind this.

Rick couldn’t have gotten out of prison so soon, right? It had to be someone else.

Danny wished he could remember who it was.

He could remember seeing them and being surprised, but the face of his attacker was escaping him.

As he thought that, the door to his prison opened, and Wo Fat entered.

Danny groaned in annoyance. Of course, it was him. Of course, he would strike just as Steve left.

“Detective Williams.” Wo Fat untied the gag, pulling it from Danny’s mouth. “Apologies for your rough treatment. My name is—”

“Do you believe I don’t know your name?” Danny cut him off, raising an eyebrow.

Wo fat raised an eyebrow at him, holding a bottle of water. “Care for a drink?”

“How do I know it’s not poisoned?”

“You don’t. But I’ve already drugged you once. I don’t need to do it again so soon.”

Danny knew he shouldn’t, but he took a sip when the bottle was lifted to his mouth and another one. He needed to keep his strength up if he wanted to escape.

“Thanks.” Danny bit out as the water was taken away.

“You’re very hostile for someone meeting me for the first time.”

Danny scoffed. “You framed my partner for murder and held him hostage in North Korea. Did you think I’d be feeling friendly?”

“Interesting, you still refer to Commander McGarrett as your partner.” Wo fat raised an eyebrow as he pulled over a chair, sitting in front of Danny like they were two old friends shooting the shit. “I heard the two of you are now engaged.”

“Well, he was my partner when you did all that crap to him.” Danny snapped, trying to keep his temper in check.

“I suppose that’s true.” Wo Fat mused. “Perhaps your change in situation will lend itself to a more interesting outcome this time. Your friend Jenna may not have been a good enough reason for McGarrett to behave himself.”

Danny tried not to tense at the mention of Jenna. He may have hated her for what she did, but no one deserved what she had done to them.

“Steve is going to kill you.” Danny glared at Wo Fat. “I hope you know that.”

“He’s welcome to try.” Wo Fat seemed mildly amused by any threats, which wasn’t what he was going for.

“What do you even want from him? We had no idea where you were; you could have just dropped off the grid.”

“But then I wouldn’t get what I need.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “And what exactly is that?”

“McGarrett’s information on Shelbourne.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Wo fat gave him a flat look. “I rarely kid, Detective.”

Danny groaned. “Why are you so obsessed with this Shelbourne character?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right, because I don’t understand the minds of psychopathic criminals.” Danny glared at him. “What even happened to get you to this point? What, did your mother not hug you enough?”

Danny was cut off by a blinding pain as his head snapped to the side. In front of him, Wo Fat shook out his hand, a fire in his eyes that had been absent until this point. Danny could feel the burn in his lip where his teeth had split the skin, the blood already starting to well up.

“You seem confused as to your position in this matter.” Wo Fat spoke softly, a deadly edge to his voice. “You are here to draw out Commander McGarrett so I get the information I seek. You don’t have to be unharmed to serve that purpose.”

Danny felt his body tense up involuntarily.

“I know he is currently elsewhere, but I’m sure your team will have gotten word to him by now. He should be here soon enough,” Wo Fat told Danny. “At least for your sake, I hope he does arrive soon.” His eyes darkened. “If not, I’ll have to find ways to amuse myself.”

Wo fat forced the gag back between Danny’s teeth, tightening it before leaving the room.

Danny immediately struggled, trying to find a way out of the ropes. If these were handcuffs, he could give them the jersey slip and be done with it. Whoever tied these knots knew what they were doing, though, and there was almost no give. Danny could feel his skin tearing the longer he struggled.

He groaned, slumping in the chair. Everything ached. He definitely had a few broken ribs from the blows he took in the struggle.

He needed to conserve his energy and bide his time.

He would be getting out of here, whatever it took.

Steve coming to rescue him wasn’t an option. Even if Chin and Kono had managed to get a message to him, he wouldn’t make it back in time.

Danny had to find a way out of this mess on his own.

Chapter 14:

When they saw the envelope, Chin and Kono had just gotten into the office.

Kono opened it, tipping the contents into her palm before she realized what it was.

Danny’s engagement ring.

She opened the note inside, her blood running cold.

Wo Fat had Danny and would only release him if Steve met him.

“What do we do?” Kono passed the note to Chin. “It doesn’t say anything about where to meet him.”

“Any surveillance cameras near Steve’s place?” Chin asked, and Kono shook her head.

“Steve kept meaning to put some in, but never got around to it.” Kono huffed out a breath. “Have you tried calling him?”

Yeah, but his phone is off.” Chin told her.

“We need Steve back here.”

“He won’t be back for a week.”

“Danny probably doesn’t have a week, ” Kono told him, making a plan. You call the SEALs we went to Korea with, see if any of them can get a message to the Enterprise. I’ll call the Governor and see what he can do.”

“Isn’t Catherine there? Can we call her?”

Kono shook her head. “I don’t have her number, and we can’t waste any time trying to find it. Let’s use every channel we can to get a message to Steve.”

Chin nodded and sprang into action, Kono doing the same.

As she dialed the governor, her eyes returned to Danny’s ring, sitting in the middle of the conference table.

~~

Steve was in the mess hall on board the Enterprise, having gotten there a few hours before, when he heard his name barked out.

“Lieutenant Commander McGarrett.” Steve jumped to his feet, saluting Admiral Philips. “You want to tell me what the hell you’re still doing here?”

Steve resisted the urge to give Admiral Phillips a confused look. “Having dinner, sir.”

“That’s not what I—” Admiral Philips paused, giving Steve a look. “Didn’t Lieutenant Rollins speak to you?”

Steve shook his head, and Phillips cursed. “Come with me.”

Steve moved to follow him, wondering what this could be about. What could Catherine possibly have had to discuss with him?

Admiral Philips led him through the ship until they reached the communications center. Once inside, Catherine turned around, the blood rushing from her face as she laid eyes on them.

“Admiral Philips, what can I do for you?” she saluted, smiling at the admiral.

The admiral did not return her smile, giving her a flat look.

“Lieutenant Rollins, did I not give you an order to inform Commander McGarrett of the situation unfolding in Hawaii?”

Steve snapped to attention. “What situation?”

Catherine stayed silent for a moment and then spoke. “I didn’t think Commander McGarrett would want to have to reschedule his reserve drill—”

“I didn’t ask you to think.” Admiral Philips snapped. “I asked you to inform Commander McGarrett that his fiancé was kidnapped.”

Steve felt as though he’d been shot. “Danny was kidnapped?” he glared at Catherine. “How could you not tell me that?”

Catherine didn’t get a chance to answer before Admiral Philips turned to Steve. “I’m marking your drill as complete. Pack your things; transport is leaving in 30.”

“Thank you, sir,” Steve said, Philips leaving the room.

Steve moved to follow before Catherine grabbed his arm.

“Steve—”

“Get your hands off me.” Steve yanked his arm free. “How dare you keep something like that from me? You risked Danny’s life.”

“Steve, I’m sorry. I was hurt—”

“I don’t care. Don’t ever speak to me again.”

Steve left the room, racing to his bunk.

He had to get back to Hawaii as soon as possible.

~~

Military transport might be fast, but to Steve, it still felt like an eternity had passed before the Hawaiian coastline was in sight.

He contacted Chin and Kono during the flight, and they confirmed his fears. Wo Fat had kidnapped Danny.

How had they not seen this coming? How had Wo Fat gotten on the island without anyone catching him?

He had a thousand questions, but none of them mattered now. The only thing that mattered was getting to Danny. Steve had barely landed on the island before he got a call. Not even looking at the caller ID, he answered the phone and held it to his ear.

“McGarrett.”

“Hello, commander.” Steve’s blood ran cold at the voice on the other end of the line. “I’m pleased to see you arrived safely.”

Steve tried to surreptitiously look around and see where Wo Fat was watching him from.

“It’s good to know Detective Williams can inspire such loyalty.” He could hear the smirk in Wo Fat’s voice. “Though I should have expected it. After all, Jenna was willing to move heaven and earth for her fiancé when given the chance.”

Steve fought the urge to snarl at him for daring to mention Jenna.

“Well, you’ve got me.” He fought to keep his voice casual. “Now let Danny go.”

Wo Fat laughed, the sound cold and sinister. “Did you think it would be so easy? You’re not in charge here, Commander.”

“Okay, then tell me what you want.”

There was silence on the line, and then—

“I believe you recall our mutual acquaintance, Komoto?” Wo fat didn’t give Steve a chance to respond. “Be at his house in 30 minutes if you want your fiancé back in one piece. And come alone. This is between us.”

“I need to know Danny is alive first.” Steve insisted. “Put him on the phone.”

“Hm.” Wo fat seemed to consider that before saying something Steve couldn’t make out. He heard the sound of struggling, and then a scream of pain pierced him to the core.

It was Danny. Steve was sure about it.

“What the hell did you do?!” Steve shouted into the phone.

“What you asked. Now you know he’s alive.” Wo fat chuckled. “Though, I wouldn’t say he’s in one piece anymore. 30 minutes. Starting now.”

The line went dead, and Steve raced to his car.

He didn’t bother calling Kono or Chin. If Wo Fat wanted him to come alone, he had to come alone. Otherwise, Danny was as good as dead.

Steve focused on the road ahead as he started to drive, the sound of Danny’s scream haunting him.

~~

All Danny could focus on was pain.

He’d been biding his time to find the right moment to escape. And then Wo Fat got news that Steve had returned to the island.

Danny was next to him when Wo Fat called Steve, quietly seething at the casual way Wo Fat talked about Jenna. Danny may have judged her for betraying Steve, but she was being human. She didn’t deserve the way things had ended.

And then Wo fat had turned that sadistic grin onto him, and Danny knew he was screwed. His accomplice untied him, holding his arm out as Wo Fat reached for a hammer. Danny had fought like hell to get free, but he was held fast, helpless as Wo Fat swung the hammer at Danny’s arm, breaking the bone.

Danny had never screamed like that before in his life, the sound nearly ripped from his throat, but the pain was unbearable. He had almost blacked out from the blow, the sensation of his bone breaking one he never wanted to feel again.

Once Wo Fat hung up the phone, he smirked at Danny.

“Let’s go greet your fiancé, shall we?”

He walked out as his accomplice tied Danny’s hands behind his back once more. He nearly blacked out again as they forced his broken arm back. But he forced himself to remain awake. He had to be ready in case there was a chance to escape.

Danny knew that was wishful thinking. He was trapped there, a pawn in Wo Fat’s game.

They hauled him into the living room of the house, forcing him to his knees in the center of the room. Danny breathed through his nose, trying to keep his mind clear.

The other man stood behind him, grabbing Danny by the hair and forcing him to remain upright.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but soon he heard the door open, and footsteps thundered towards him.

Steve turned the corner, eyes immediately going to Danny. He stepped towards him, his face full of concern, when Wo Fat cleared his throat.

“That’s close enough, Commander.” Wo Fat stepped forward, a lazy smile on his face. “We wouldn’t want Detective Williams hurt again, would we?”

“You got me here, let him go,” Steve said, eyes flicking between Wo Fat and Danny. “He’s got nothing to do with this.”

“Beg to differ.” Wo Fat stopped a few feet away from Steve. “He’s here as insurance.”

“Insurance for what?”

“For you to be honest.” Wo Fat smirked. “I realized after our time together in North Korea, you didn’t care if I hurt you. But if your fiancé is hurt because of you?” he chuckled. “You’ll never forgive yourself.”

“What’s your point?”

“The terms of the deal are simple,” Wo Fat told him, taking out a gun. “I’m going to ask you a question. If you lie, I shoot Detective Williams.”

Danny struggled out of the man’s grip, only to wheeze in pain as his hold tightened. Steve looked at him, eyes filled with alarm.

“But to make it fair, you will have two chances to answer. If you lie once, Danny is shot in the stomach, which is still survivable.” He paused. “Lie a second time, Detective Williams gets a bullet in the head. Do we have a deal?”

Danny tried to tell Steve not to do it. There was no guarantee Wo Fat would let either of them live, but Steve still had a chance to make it out alive if he ran now.

“It’s not like I have a choice.” Steve bit out. “Ask your question.”

Wo Fat smirked. “Wise choice.”

Steve looked him in the eyes, even as Danny tried to scream for him to run. “It’s going to be okay, Danny. I’m going to get you out of this.”

“Your question is this.” Wo Fat moved closer to Danny cocking his gun. “Who is Shelburne?”

Danny froze.

Steve knew Shelburne was Joe White; he’d told Danny weeks ago. But Wo Fat would kill him if Steve said anything. Danny would never be able to forgive himself if Steve lost someone else because of him.

“Joe White.”

Danny stared at him. Steve had barely hesitated before telling Wo Fat the answer. Perhaps things wouldn’t be so bad. Once they got out of here, Steve could get in touch with Joe and warn him—

“Lie.”

The next thing Danny knew, excruciating pain ripped through his stomach as a gunshot rang out in the air.

Danny collapsed to the floor, keening in pain as he watched Steve’s expression turn to horror.

“That wasn’t the deal!” Steve raised his voice. “I told you the answer, now let him go!”

“You lied.”

“The hell I did!”

“Joe white is not Shelburne.” Wo Fat raised his voice. “He has never been Shelburne.”

“That’s all I know about Shelburne!”

He could see Wo Fat raising his gun out of the corner of his eye. “That’s a shame.”

Just then, Danny could hear a struggle break out. If he had turned his head, he might have been able to see it, but his vision was starting to blur.

He floated along in a sea of pain until he heard two gunshots.

All was silent for a moment, and then he felt the ropes around his wrists being sliced through and the gag being untied.

Gentle hands turned him over, and Danny wheezed in pain from the movement. He started to struggle, his limbs feeling like they were weighed down with cement.

“Danny.” Steve appeared in his vision. “I’m here, I’m here.”

“Steve.” He managed to say, the other man sighing at his voice.

“I’ve got you, Danny. You’re going to be okay.”

Steve took off his overshirt, pressing it against the wound on Danny’s stomach as his free hand dialed a number.

Danny groaned in pain, his limbs jerking as Steve kept pressure on the wound.

“This is Commander McGarrett with Five-0. I have an officer down, I need…”

~~

The first thing Danny noticed when he woke up was that he was no longer in pain. He blinked his eyes open, taking a moment to observe his surroundings.

He was in a hospital room, dark and in shadow. The only light came from the window into the hallway.

He looked down at himself, seeing his left forearm in a bulky cast. Looking to his right, wondering what could be weighing down his hand, he saw Steve, sound asleep, holding his hand as he curled up on a hospital chair.

Steve looked older than Danny had ever seen him, with dark circles under his eyes and worry etched into every line of his face.

He wondered how he had gotten there, and then it all returned to him.

The abduction.

Wo Fat.

The gunshot.

Danny instinctively started to move, only to groan in pain as he jostled his stitches.

Steve jolted back to awareness, his eyes immediately going to Danny.

“You’re awake.” Steve sighed in relief, letting go of Danny’s hand. Danny took a second to mourn the loss of contact before focusing on the matter at hand.

“How long-” Danny coughed slightly, and Steve reached for a glass of water, lifting it to his lips. Danny took a sip, the water calming his parched throat. “How long was I out?”

“Two days.” Steve sighed. “The doctors said that was normal after surgery. They were able to repair your arm and the gunshot wound in one operation, so that helped.”

“I’m not missing any internal organs, am I?” Danny tried to joke. From the look on Steve’s face, he missed the mark.

“No, luckily, the bullet didn’t hit anything vital. They were able to repair your spleen and stop the bleeding.” Steve sighed.

“If the surgery went well, why do you look like someone killed your puppy?” Danny asked. “Did you have a puppy as a child?”

“No, my dad was allergic.”

“That’s a shame. So why are you sad now?”

Steve shook his head, giving Danny a sad look. “Because you’re in this bed because of me.”

Danny stared at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“If I weren’t for me, Wo Fat wouldn’t have taken you. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt and you wouldn’t be here.” Steve shook his head in disgust. “I was stupid to believe Joe when he told me he was Shelburne, and it nearly cost you your life, Danny.”

Danny stared a moment longer and then tried to lean over to smack Steve upside the head.

Unfortunately, Danny couldn’t quite reach Steve before his wound ached, and he let out a groan.

Steve looked up, eyes wide.

“What are you doing? You could ruin your stitches!” Steve stood up, guiding Danny back onto the pillows.

Seeing the chance in front of him, Danny smacked Steve upside the head.

Steve gave Danny a look. “What the hell was that for?”

“You were being an idiot, that’s what. I couldn’t reach you, so thanks for moving closer.”

“Danny—”

“No,” Danny cut him off. You are not to blame for anything that happened. A crazy person kidnapped me. That is not on you. You saved me, and you stopped him.” Danny paused. You did stop him, right?”

“Yeah, he’s dead.”

“Okay, so it’s over.”

Steve stared at him. “How is any of this over? You were shot; you have months of recovery ahead of you. Your left arm will be in a cast for weeks!”

“Good thing I’m right-handed then.”

“That is not funny.”

“I’m not joking,” Danny told him. “Paperwork would be a bitch with my right hand out of commission. At least when I’m on light duty, I’ll be able to get some work done.”

“Danny-”

“Babe, listen to me.” Danny looked Steve in the eyes. I’m okay. I’m alive, and I’ll be back at work before you know it.” He could see Steve was unconvinced, and he sighed. “I know the army taught you to carry the world’s weight on your shoulders, but this isn’t on you. We can shoulder the load together.”

Steve chuckled, his eyes wet. “It’s the Navy, not the Army.”

“See?” Danny couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s the Super SEAL I’m used to.”

Danny looked down at his hands, swearing when he realized what was missing.

“What’s wrong?” Steve jumped to attention, and Danny sighed.

“My ring is gone.” Danny frowned. “How did I not notice my ring was gone?” Steve laughed and Danny frowned at him. “This is not funny, Steve.”

“Danny, Wo Fat set your ring to headquarters.” Steve fished it out of his pocket. “I have it right here.”

“Oh.” Danny slumped down in relief. “Thank God. I didn’t want to lose it.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Steve gave him a soft smile. “I’ve got you.”

“Thank you.” Danny frowned. “Where’s Grace?”

“I talked to Rachel, and she said she’d bring her by after school today,” Steve reassured him.

“Okay.” Danny felt his eyelids start to droop, but he made a valiant effort to stay awake.

“Go to sleep, Danny.” Steve told him. “I’ll wake you up when they get here.”

~~

It wasn’t just Grace who came to see Danny in the hospital. It was everyone. Kono and Chin stopped by, Chin dropping off a whole bag of malasadas.

Rachel came with Grace, which was a little awkward.

Not Grace of course, Danny loved any chance he could see his girl. It was just a little weird being in a room with Rachel since they would be facing each other in court in two weeks.

But through it all, Steve was by his side, holding his hand, having his back.

And that terrified Danny.

He was in too deep with all of this, and losing Steve would destroy him more than anything had ever been able to before.

But he made his peace with that because he was determined to treasure every moment of being with Steve as if it were his last.

And one day soon, it would be.

~~

A few days later, Danny was ready to go home. He was expecting a few weeks of recuperation before returning to work for light duty. He was expecting to be bored out of his mind, and not to be able to do anything.

He wasn’t expecting Steve to turn into a complete mother hen about all of this. This was Steve, who once ran after a suspect with a shard of glass in his shoulder. And yet here he was, trailing after Danny like a worried duckling.

“Steve, I can make it up the stairs by myself.” Danny turned and gave Steve a look where he was hovering right behind him.

“I know.”

“And yet you’re hovering.”

“I’m just waiting to go up the stairs.”

Danny moved to the side, angling his body. “After you, then.”

“…no.”

Danny sighed, resuming his trek up the stairs. The hospital hadn’t discharged him until the late afternoon, and all he wanted to do was collapse into bed.

Steve followed him into the bedroom, grabbing some pillows from Grace’s room.

“What are you doing?” Danny asked as he unbuttoned his shirt, too tired to do anything other than change his clothes and go to bed.

“The Doctor said you should sleep in a semi-reclining position for better healing.” Steve fluffed the pillows on Danny’s side of the bed and turned to Danny. “Do you need any help getting changed?”

“I think I got it, thanks, babe.” Danny took his clothes into the bathroom. Getting changed into a loose-fitting shirt and shorts. It took an eternity, but he finally managed to get the shirt over his cast.

When he got back out, Steve was waiting to help him into bed. Danny rolled his eyes, letting Steve prop him up.

Danny’s eyes were drooping, and he was ready to go off to sleep when he saw Steve start to leave the room.

“Where are you going?” Danny asked, and Steve paused.

“I don’t want to crowd you so I’m going to sleep on the couch.”

“Babe,” Danny sighed. “That’s ridiculous. This is your house and your bed.”

“Danny, it’s fine. I don’t want to risk accidentally hurting you when I move at night.”

“Just stay, please?” Danny asked. “I’ll sleep better with you next to me.”

Steve sighed.

“Fine, but if anything happens, I stay on the couch until the stitches come out.”

“Deal.” Danny shook on it as Steve slid into bed, turning out the light.

~~

The next morning, Danny woke up in bed alone. Just as he was about to go find Steve and call him out for not staying with him, the door opened and Steve came in with a plate and a glass.

“You’re up!”

“And you have breakfast.” Danny blinked. “I thought eating in bed was against the McGarrett house rules?”

“I figured an exception could be made when you’re injured, and your meds have to be taken with food anyway.” Steve handed Danny the glass of water and his pills, and Danny swallowed them without complaint.

Steve put the plate down in front of Danny. Danny’s eyes went wide as he took it in.

“Is that—”

“A pork roll, egg, and cheese on a bagel?” Steve grinned. “Yeah. I asked your mom to talk me through the finer points of cooking it.”

Danny felt his heart warm. “You did?”

“I figured you went through a lot, so the least I could do was give you a little taste of home.”

“Thank you.” Danny took a bite, groaning in satisfaction. “It’s perfect, babe, truly.” He held out the sandwich to Steve. “Take a bite. Try the wonders of pork roll.”

Steve rolled his eyes and took a small bite.

“Well?” Danny asked. What do you think, babe?”

Steve chewed. “Well, it’s interesting. Definitely not spam.”

Danny stared at him. “Is that the best I’m going to get out of you?”

“Probably.”

“You really are a Neanderthal animal.” Danny shook his head in disgust and took another bite.

Chapter 15:

Danny and Steve were having a quiet afternoon at home a few weeks later when there was a knock at the door. Danny started to get to his feet, only for Steve to lightly push him back down.

“Stay down, you’re still recovering.”

“Steve, I’m fine.”

“No you’re not, now sit down.”

Danny sighed as Steve went to the door. Steve had been fretting over him for the last two weeks, despite Danny telling him he’d soon be cleared for light duty. The cast was off soon, and Danny got his stitches out the day before, but Steve insisted he take the time to rest.

Steve, the same man who chased after criminals with shards of glass in his limbs, was telling him to rest? Danny could laugh at the irony.

Steve was handling him with kid gloves, and it was starting to chafe. Danny couldn’t go back into the field for a while, but he was far from helpless.

“No.” He pricked his ears at the sound of Steve raising his voice. “Get the hell out.”

“I need to talk with you.” Danny saw Joe walk into the house, stopping at the sight of Danny on the couch. “Danny.”

“Joe,” Danny said in response, wondering what he was doing here after all these months.

“Get the hell out of my house.” Steve hissed at Joe.

“I need to talk to you,” Joe repeated before turning to Danny. “Could you give us a minute?”

Danny nodded, going to get up before Steve shot him a look.

“Danny isn’t going anywhere. He’s still in recovery from what Wo Fat did to him.” Steve was angrier than Danny had ever seen him.

“I did hear about that, and I’m sorry.” Dainty scoffed as Joe spoke, the other man ignoring him. “But Steve, you need to come with me right now.”

Steve barked out a laugh. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“If you come with me, I can tell you the truth about Shelbourne.”

Joe’s statement hung in the air for a moment, Danny not moving a muscle.

“You’re lying.” Steve finally said.

“I’m not,” Joe told him. “Now that Wo Fat is gone, I can take you to Shelbourne. It’s time you knew the truth.”

There was a moment of silence, and then—

“I don’t care.”

Danny blinked at Steve as Joe floundered for what to say. “Steve, of course you care.”

“No. I don’t.” Steve spat at him. “I stopped caring when Wo Fat held a gun on Danny and nearly killed him because you lied to me.”

“Steve—”

“Danny could have died, and it would have been your fault.” Steve shook his head in disgust. “I no longer care about anything you have to say. As far as I’m concerned, you’re as dead to me as my parents.”

“Steve—”

“Get the hell out!” Steve raised his voice, and Danny blinked in surprise.

Joe seemed to realize Steve was serious and moved towards the door.

“I’ll be in town a while longer if you change your mind.”

Steve slammed the door behind him, locking it.

There was a moment of silence and then—

“Steve, are you sure?” Danny had to ask. “I know how important Shelbourne was to you. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go find out—”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Steve sat next to Danny. “Wo Fat is dead, and as far as I’m concerned, Shelbourne died with him.”

“But—”

“But nothing.” Steve shook his head. “You nearly died because of Joe’s lie. I’m not interested in what the truth is when it almost cost me someone important to me.” Steve paused. “It almost cost me you, and that’s unacceptable to me. Okay?”

Danny saw the soft look in his eyes and slowly nodded. “Okay.”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment longer before Danny looked away, his face feeling warm.

“So, what do you want to do for dinner?”

Steve seemed amused at the change of subject, leaning back into the couch cushions. “We could do pizza.”

“Pizza sounds great. Can you call it in?”

Steve smirked at Danny. “One ham and pineapple, coming up.”

“You are dead to me if you don’t get a pepperoni pie.”

“You could take this as an opportunity to expand your palate, Danny.”

“And you could sleep on the couch tonight.”

“…So one Pepperoni pie?”

“And garlic knots, please.”

“What’s the difference between garlic knots and garlic bread?”

“Everything, Steve. Everything.”

~~

It was the day of the custody hearing, and Danny was worried. He’d been in court a hundred times before, for both his cases and his divorce, but this was different. This was terrifying. This hearing would determine whether Danny would ever get to know his son.

He adjusted his suit for the thousandth time, staring in the mirror at his reflection. He had no clue what Rachel and Stan would throw at him, but he had to be ready for anything. There was no other choice.

Part of him was glad that Grace wouldn’t be there. He didn’t want his baby girl exposed to the nastiness of a custody hearing. Not again.

Steve left the bathroom, Danny’s eyes widening at the sight of Steve in his dress blues.

“Wow.” He finally said. “Nice suit.”

“Wore it for you.” Steve put his hat on the dresser and walked over to Danny. “I figured it might help us look more official.”

“Good call.” Danny frowned as he noticed Steve’s tie was crooked, reaching up to adjust it.

“What are you doing?” Steve leaned back, and Danny gave him a look.

“Your tie is crooked. Stop moving and let me fix it.”

Steve sighed, staying still so Danny could fix his tie.

“It’s going to be okay, Danny.” Steve caught one of Danny’s hands, holding it. “You’re an incredible father. The judge will see that, I know it.”

Danny smiled at Steve. “Thank you. I couldn’t do this without you.”

Steve smiled back, squeezing Danny’s hand. “You’ll never have to.”

~~

The hearing started with Rachel giving testimony, and Danny couldn’t help but tense at what she might say.

After a few softball questions about childcare and her living situation, her attorney got to the heart of the matter.

“Ms. Edwards.” Her attorney stepped forward. “What are your reservations regarding your ex-husband having joint custody?”

“I worry that he will not have time for the children,” Rachel told him. “He works long hours for his job.”

“Is that your only worry?”

Rachel shook her head. “I also worry for their safety. There have been instances where Grace has been with Daniel, and something dangerous has happened. She was even kidnapped two months ago because of a case he worked on back in New Jersey. His job is dangerous, which was one reason I divorced him.”

Danny fought the urge to scoff.

“I also don’t want to confuse Charlie,” Rachel told the court. “Stan is his father in every way other than biologically. I don’t want him to be confused if Daniel also claims to be his father.”

Her attorney gave her a sympathetic look. “Thank you, no further questions.

Linda stepped up for the cross.

“Ms. Edwards, when did you know that Charlie was not Stan’s child?”

“Objection, relevance!”

Linda turned to the judge. “It goes to the heart of this situation, your Honor.”

“Overruled.” The judge turned to Rachel. “The witness will answer.”

Rachel looked at Linda. “I found out when I was at the doctor’s while pregnant. The timing made it nearly impossible to be Stan’s.”

“And yet you lied to Detective Williams, even allowing him to coach you through labor without even letting him hold his son?”

Rachel looked as though she’d sucked on a lemon. “It wasn’t as simple as that. I had a husband who believed Charlie to be his. I couldn’t tell Daniel the truth.”

“But you did plan to leave Stan when you first found out you were pregnant. So, what changed?”

Danny froze. He hadn’t expected Linda to ask that.

“Daniel was supposed to come with me to New Jersey, but he stayed behind to help Commander McGarrett. I knew then that even if he eventually came out to New Jersey, part of him would stay in Hawaii.”

“So, because he stayed to help a friend, you kept his child from him?”

“It wasn’t as simple as all that,” Rachel told her. “I was willing to leave my husband for him, but he couldn’t let go of Steve. What was I supposed to do?”

Linda didn’t bother answering her, instead turning to the judge. “No further questions.”

~~

After a brief recess, it was time for Danny to take the stand. Linda started him off with a few questions about his living situation and his relationship with Grace, and then she got down to brass tacks,

“Detective Williams, what will you do if you have a case during your custody time?” Linda asked.

“Well, the good thing about having a team is that, if need be, I can leave to take care of my kids, and the other team members will have my back,” Danny told her. “And in the event of long days at the office, I already have talked to several reliable sitters who could put the kids to bed and keep an eye on things until I get home.”

Linda nodded, giving Danny an approving smile. “Now, Detective Williams, how did you feel when you found out Charlie was yours?”

Danny sighed. “Shocked, and heartbroken. I couldn’t believe it, and in some ways, I still didn’t until I could call Rachel. After we talked, I realized how much time I had already missed with my son. I had been at the hospital with Rachel when he was born, and I never even got to hold him.” he looked down. “If this hadn’t come out, I could have gone my entire life without knowing I had a son.”

“And you had no idea that Charlie was yours before the confrontation with Mr. Edwards at your workplace?

Danny shook his head. “Not a clue. Looking back, it seemed like she wanted to tell me something at the hospital, but then she changed her mind. Maybe things would have been different if she had told me he was mine at that moment.”

Linda gave him a sympathetic smile. “Thank you. No further questions.”

“Detective Williams,” Rachel’s lawyer, a man Danny not so affectionately referred to as Lord Vader, walked towards him to do the cross-examination. Would you say you value your children’s safety?”

“Yes, of course.”

He smirked. “So much so that your daughter, Grace, was kidnapped two months ago?”

“Objection.” Linda stood up. “Argumentative.”

“Sustained.” The judge gave Stan’s lawyer a stern look. “Keep it civil, counselor.”

“Very well: Detective Williams, can you tell us about when your daughter was kidnapped?”

“There was a criminal I put away in New Jersey, my old training officer, who came to Hawaii to get revenge.” Danny stuck to the facts. “I had no way of knowing he was on the island, and a close friend died trying to warn me.” Danny looked down for a moment, collecting himself. “Getting that call from Grace and realizing who had her was the scariest moment of my life. I was willing to do whatever he wanted to save my daughter.”

“Including shooting Stan Edwards?”

Danny bit his lip, knowing he couldn’t lie. “Yes.”

“And there was another incident at a football game you took your daughter to last year, correct?”

Danny knew where he was going with it, and he hated it. “There was an incident where shots were fired at a football game I was at with Grace, yes.”

“And you were just kidnapped yourself, correct?”

Danny glared at him. “Yes.”

Rachel’s lawyer looked annoyingly smug. “No further questions.”

Linda got up to do the redirect. “Detective Williams, if Rick Peterson had asked, would you have shot yourself in the head to save your daughter?”

Danny stared right at her. “I would have done anything to save Grace, including killing myself.”

“And is Grace being in danger a common issue for you, given your career?”

“Absolutely not.”

“What happened at the football game?”

Danny sighed. “I saw men with guns while Grace and I were getting snacks. I knew something was about to go down, so I asked a nearby woman if she could take Grace to the bathroom until I came to get her.”

“So, Grace was never in any danger of getting shot?”

“She wasn’t.”

“Have there been other instances of Grace being in danger unrelated to your employment as a police officer? ” Linda asked.

“Last year, she and her mother were carjacked.”

“And that had nothing to do with you?”

Danny allowed himself a small smile. “It did not.”

He didn’t bring up the fact that it was Stan’s fault. That would come out during his testimony, and Danny didn’t want the judge to think he was petty.

“Was Grace in danger when you were abducted?”

“She was not,” Danny told her. “That was a situation entirely unrelated to Grace.”

Linda nodded. “One last question: Detective Williams, in your honest opinion, do you think Grace and Charlie are in danger because you are a cop?”

Danny took a moment to formulate his response. “I think they’re safer with me because I’m a cop. I think the world is dangerous, and there are people out there who could hurt them. But as long as there is life in my body, I’ll always do my best to care for and protect my kids.” Danny looked over at Steve, whose eyes were gleaming with pride. “And my fiancé Steve feels the same way.”

Linda nodded, and Danny stepped down from the witness box.

“You did well,” Steve whispered as Danny retook his seat.

“Here’s hoping it was good enough.

~~

Danny watched as Steve took the stand, trying to stay calm.

“Commander McGarrett, how long have you known Detective Williams and his daughter, Grace?” Linda asked.

“We’ve been partners for nearly two years, and I met Grace about a month into that,” Steve told her.

“And would you say Detective Williams is a good father?”

“I’d say he’s an excellent father, ” Steve told her. I’ve never met someone more dedicated to their kids and committed to keeping them safe. Even before he knew Charlie was his kid, he went to the hospital with Rachel and supported her through labor.” Steve shook his head, a good-natured smile on his face. I don’t know if I could have had the strength to do that.”

Danny felt his heart warm as Steve spoke.

“And as his partner and fiancée, are you prepared for Danny’s two children to live with you part-time?”

“Absolutely.” Steve nodded. “We already have Grace’s room set up, and we’re turning my old childhood bedroom into a nursery for Charlie. We know it’ll be a few months before he can stay over, but we want to be prepared.”

Linda gave Steve a small smile. “No further questions.”

Stan’s lawyer stood up, and Danny felt himself tense slightly in his seat.

“Mr. McGarrett—”

“Commander McGarrett.” Steve cut him off. “Respectively, it’s Commander McGarrett. Or Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, if you’d prefer.”

Danny resisted the urge to snort at the constipated expression on the lawyer’s face.

“My apologies. Commander McGarrett, your relationship with Detective Williams is still fairly new, correct?”

That’s correct.”

Danny felt his heart race. This far, they’d been able to avoid talk of their quick engagement, but now it was unavoidable.

“Would you say it’s almost unbelievable that you two went from coworkers to fiancés in a few short months?”

“I wouldn’t say it was unbelievable, because I believe it.” Steve chuckled. “I lived it, after all.”

Stan’s lawyer wasn’t amused. “Commander McGarrett, did you agree to marry Detective Williams so that he would appear more stable in this custody case?”

Danny felt his heart jump into his throat. They were screwed. Either Steve told the truth and Danny lost his kids, or he lied and risked going to jail for perjury.

“You seem to have your facts wrong there.” Steve finally said.

“Oh? How so?”

“I proposed to Danny, not the other way around.” Steve leaned forward, fire in his eyes as he stared the lawyer down. “I have loved Detective Williams for almost as long as I’ve known him. He may be the best person I have ever known. And yes, we haven’t been together very long.” Steve paused. “It took me a while to stop acting like I didn’t feel the way I felt for him. But when I had the chance, I took it. I want to spend the rest of my life with Danny Williams because I love him with every breath, not because of a custody dispute.” Steve straightened his tie, leaning back in his chair. “Is that an acceptable answer to your question?”

There was silence in the courtroom, and Stan’s lawyer finally spoke.

“Yes. No further questions.”

Steve left the witness box, and all Danny could do was stare at him.

Danny was silent as court was adjourned for the day, the judge stating that tomorrow would be character testimony.

How could Steve have said all of that under oath? Why would he risk perjuring himself when there were other ways to answer the question besides proclaiming he loved Danny?

Unless…Could it possibly be true?

~~

“Steve, can I ask you about what you said in court today?” Danny said that night as they got home.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Steve went upstairs, and Danny followed him.

“Why did you say all of that?”

Steve looked at him as they entered their bedroom. “What do you mean? I said what I needed to give us the best chance.”

“No.” Danny shook his head. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like this is nothing.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve turned to Danny, and Danny took a step forward.

“Steve, I know you know the risks of perjuring yourself, and I know you could have answered that question in another way that wouldn’t risk perjury.” Danny paused. “So if you said all that, was it because it was the truth?”

Steve looked away, and Danny knew he was on to something.

“Steve, if it’s true, tell me.” Danny moved closer. “It’s going to be okay.”

“How will it be okay if I tell you I love you?” Steve burst out, shocking Danny. “How will it be okay if I bare my heart to you if you don’t feel the same way, Danny?”

“Steve–”

“If I tell you I’ve loved you for nearly two years, and I want to spend my life with you, how will things ever be the same between us?” Steve kept going. “If i tell you I stopped waking up early to swim in the mornings because sleeping with you curled against me was more important to me, how are you ever going to look at me the same way again?

Steve was about to leave, and Danny stopped him.

“Why would you assume I don’t feel the same way?” Danny asked, and Steve stared at him.

“What?”

“Steve, of course, I love you.”

Steve was shaking his head. “Danny, you don’t have to say that–”

“I do have to say it, because it’s true. I love you, Steve. I have for a long time.” Danny sighed. “You’ve been at my side, having my back since the beginning. I knew I loved you before I could even put it into words. It was one of the reasons why Rachel got back with Stan. She could tell I loved you even before I could admit it to myself.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Danny looked at him. “Babe, I didn’t know you liked men until you suggested we fake an engagement. And how could I ever think you felt the same way? I’ve never been that lucky.” Danny wanted to look away, but he knew he couldn’t. He had to be strong. “I didn’t want to wreck things if I told you how I felt and you didn’t feel the same way.”

Steve groaned. “So, we both had feelings for the other, but didn’t want to wreck the friendship? We’re idiots.”

Danny laughed. “Yeah, babe. We are.”

Before Steve could say anything else, Danny pulled him into a kiss, relishing that this one was absolutely, 100 percent real.

Steve deepened the kiss almost immediately, bringing his hand around to cup the back of Danny’s neck. Danny pulled Steve in closer as the two continued to kiss, pressing against him as the kiss deepend. Steve pulled at Danny’s hair, Danny groaning as the flash of pain quickly turned to pleasure.

Steve’s free hand started to make its way under Danny’s shirt. Danny leaned back to let Steve get his shirt off, Danny’s fingers scrabbling to take Steve’s shirt off afterward.

They had never done anything like this before; they’d barely even kissed, except for when they needed to sell, they were a couple. But something about tonight made it seem like the perfect moment to take that next step. Before he knew it, they were both lying on the bed, and Danny felt Steve pull back to look at him.

“Are you okay with this?” Steve asked, his brown eyes filled with concern.

“Yeah, yeah.” Danny was panting as if he’d run a marathon. “Maybe not all the way tonight, but I’m okay with something more.”

In truth, Danny was very okay with something more. He wanted all of Steve, body and soul. But this was new to them, even if they’d been moving towards this all along.

“Yeah, I get it.” Steve pulled Danny into another kiss before Steve started to slide his pants down his hips.

Danny mirrored the action, and then they were both naked. Danny took in the sight of Steve’s cock, long and thick between his legs, and thought back to all the days he’d seen Steve shirtless in his living room, his skin golden in the dim morning light. He had thought nothing could be a more beautiful sight. He was wrong.

“You’re beautiful,” Steve said, eyes shining as he looked at Danny. Danny blushed in response and pulled Steve into another kiss, biting at Steve’s bottom lip. Steve growled in response, nearly throwing Danny onto the bed.

Steve and Danny tangled together, rolling over so Danny was lying on top. Danny’s hands grabbed Steve’s, interlacing their fingers as they settled into their new positions.

Danny threw his head back and groaned as his cock brushed against Steve’s, the friction sending a jolt down his spine. The sensation was new and yet familiar at the same time. He’d done things like this before with other man, but it never felt like this. Because none of those other men had been Steve.

Danny had always wondered what it would be like to be with Steve, even fantasizing about it when he was alone in bed. He’d wrap his hand around his cock, picturing that it was Steve’s nimble figers caressing and teasing his skin. He’d fantasized about Steve doing all sorts to things to him, Danny ready and willing to take anything Steve offered him. But not even his wildest dreams could compare to the real thing.

Steve’s hips bucked as he groaned, his lips moving to Danny’s neck, teeth grazing the tender skin. Danny’s breath hitched in his throat as Steve passed over a sensitive spot on the side of his neck, feeling Steve’s lips against his skin smirking in response.

Danny moved experimentally, groaning at how good it felt.

“Keep going, please,” Steve said, his voice a guttural whisper.

Danny did so, Steve releasing a long, drawn-out groan in response.

“Yes, Danny, like that,” Steve said, each breath harder than the one before.

Danny could feel Steve’s cock rubbing against his, the friction between them almost electric. He wondered what it would be like to have Steve inside him. Or to be inside Steve for the first time. Would Steve always be this gentle with him? Or would Steve be rough, desperate to claim him and make sure everyone knew Danny belonged to him?

He groaned at the thought, the sound high in his throat as Steve chose that exact moment to suck at the spot he’d been teasing. The pressure on his throat with the friction between them was the perfect combination, and Danny felt a tightness in his stomach as he sped closer and closer to release.

With a final movement from Steve, Danny felt the wave building inside him crash down. Suddenly, he was coming, his hips stilling as he released.

Steve followed suit, biting down on Danny’s shoulder as he came. For a moment, all was still, the two of them breathing hard as they clung to each other. Then, as if every movement pained him, Danny rolled off of Steve and landed on the bed beside him. What they had done and the day’s events had completely exhausted him.

“Wow,” Danny let out a breath, laughing slightly. “I didn’t expect us to do that.”

Steve chuckled, curling closer to Danny. “We got engaged before we had our first date. This isn’t weird in comparison.”

Danny smiled, closing his eyes as he took Steve’s hand. “Fair enough, babe. Fair enough.”

~~

Danny stepped out of court, his head spinning.

It was over. It was finally over.

The judge had agreed to give him joint custody of Grace and of Charlie when he was old enough. In the meantime, Danny was allowed to visit with Charlie every weekend.

“We did it.” Steve grinned at Danny.

Danny grinned back and was about to say something when he heard Rachel behind him.

“Daniel, can we talk for a moment?”

Danny sighed, motioning for Steve to go ahead as he turned to Rachel.

“Rachel—”

“I’m sorry.” Rachel cut him off, Danny raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Keeping Charlie from you was wrong, and I’m sorry.” She bit her lip. “I never expected things to go this far. Stan was so out of sorts once he found out, and I- I didn’t expect any of this.”

Danny let out a breath. “I didn’t think either of us expected things to get this ugly.” Danny took a step closer to her. “I’m not saying I forgive you for what you did, but I want to find a way to move past this, for both our kids’ sake.”

Rachel gave him a small smile. “I’d like that.”

Danny nodded, turning to leave when Rachel spoke again.

“Are you happy?” Danny raised an eyebrow at her, and she elaborated. “With Commander McGarrett. Does he make you happy?”

Danny smiled gently. “He does. He does. I’m happy we found each other.”

Rachel nodded, biting her lip again before speaking. “I may not have understood it before, but I’m glad you found each other. I want you to be happy, Daniel.”

“Thank you.”

Rachel turned to leave, and Danny let out a relieved sigh.

He didn’t see that coming. He didn’t think Rachel would ever apologize to him for keeping his son away from him, but she did.

Danny didn’t love her anymore, not like he used to, but maybe the two of them could find a way to be friends after all this time.

Danny smiled at the thought as he headed to where Steve was waiting by the car.

“Everything okay?” Steve asked, concerned.

“Everything is great,” Danny told him.

Steve looked like he wanted to ask something, but then shrugged. “Good, because we have a case. Get in.”

“Got it, I’ll drive.”

“Nice try, Danny.”

“It’s my car, Steve!”

Chapter 16:

“So, I was thinking about something.” Steve casually said a month later, while they were under attack.

“That can’t be good.” Danny took a shot, ducking for cover before their enemy returned fire.

Steve gave Danny a look. “I was thinking we should get married for real.”

Danny stared at him, and Steve kept talking. “It makes sense when you think about it. We’ve been dating for a little while, and things are going great—”

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

Steve gave Danny a confused look. “What?”

“You thought right now was a good time to propose?” Danny fired off two shots, ducking back down before knowing if they connected. “With everything going on right now, you thought now was the time to propose?”

“I was being in the moment!”

“You don’t have a romantic bone in your body.” Danny shook his head, resisting the urge to squeak in surprise as Steve grabbed him and pulled him close.

“Danny, I love you.” Steve’s eyes were dark with intensity. “I’ve loved you since nearly the first day we met, and I’ll love you for the rest of my life. So please, will you just marry me for real?”

Danny sighed. Why did he love this idiot so much?

“Yes, okay?” Danny finally said. “Of course I’m marrying you, you idiot.”

Steve grinned, pulling Danny closer as their lips crashed against each other.

For a brief moment, it was as if time stood still.

And then their vests went off, and Steve pulled away with a curse.

“Seriously?” He gave Kono and Chin a look, and Kono cackled.

“Sorry, brah, but no one told you to start making out with your fiancé during our laser tag game.” She gave her cousin a high five. “Looks like we won!”

Steve turned back to Danny, his gaze soft.

“I feel like we’re the real winners,” Steve said quietly, and Danny grinned.

“I couldn’t agree more, babe.”

~~

“This is ridiculous.” Danny glared at Chin and Kono a few months later.

Steve, in typical Navy efficiency, put the wedding together in no time. It was utterly perfect—or it would have been if Chin and Kono had let him see his fiancé.

“Sorry, but rules are rules.” Kono shrugged, and Danny threw up his hands.

“These aren’t even rules! The superstition is that the groom can’t see the bride before the wedding. We’re both grooms.”

Kono pulled a card from her purse and handed it to Danny. Danny turned it over and saw Steve’s spiky script on the back.

“I’m not leaving anything to chance, Danno. Deal with it.” Danny read off the card, giving Kono and Chin a look. “This is ridiculous. How could he possibly know what I’m going to say?”

Chin handed Danny the next card, and Danny sighed.

“It’s not ridiculous. Of course, I know what you’ll say, because I know you—” Danny cut himself off, gaping at the next words on the card. “And you’re predictable?” Danny glared at the door. “Rude!”

Kono stifled her laughter and handed Danny a third card.

Danny glared at her, but read it anyway.

“It’s not rude if it’s true. I love you and can’t wait to see you at the ceremony.” Danny deflated a little, still mildly irritated. “He’s still a dick, but that was sweet.”

“Seems fair,” Chin said, an amused smile across his face as Kono stepped forward.

“How about the two of us go greet the guests?”

Danny allowed himself to be led away from the door, busy plotting his revenge on Steve.

“Stop plotting your revenge on Steve.” Kono gave him a look. “It’s your wedding day; be happy.”

“I’m always happy!”

“You’re never happy.”

Before Danny could retort, he spotted someone who made him very happy.

“Danno!” Grace ran up to him, hugging him. “Are you excited?”

“I am, and you know what? I’m most excited for you to do your flower girl thing.” Danny grinned at Grace, his daughter looking adorable in her little peach dress. “You look very pretty.”

Grace gave him a look. “Danno, you have to be excited about marrying Steve, not seeing me.”

“Can’t I be excited for both?” Danny proposed, and Grace seemed to accept that. Danny then turned to Rachel, who had walked up with Grace.

“Hi Rachel.” He gave her a small smile. “You look very nice.”

“As do you,” Rachel told him. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Danny resisted the urge to remind her he’d done this before. That would not be good to do when they were getting along. “Where’s Charlie?”

“Your mother has him.” Rachel pointed off towards where the wedding was set up.

“Good, that’s good.” Danny shuffled his feet for a moment. “Is Stan here with you?”

Rachel’s lips thinned, shaking her head. “No, he didn’t want to come.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Rachel waved him off. “We’ll get through this.”

Danny nodded, not sure what else to say.

“Well, I should get into my seat.” Rachel finally said.

“Yeah, see you in a bit.”

She left, and Kono let out a low whistle.

“That was suitably awkward.”

“Yeah.” Danny resisted the urge to pace. “Maybe since the awkwardness already happened, the rest of the day will go well.”

“Danny.” Kono stood in front of him. “Everything is going to be fine. You and Steve are getting married, and if anyone tries anything I’m going to sucker punch them.” Danny laughed, and Kono gave him a reassuring smile. “Now let’s go say hi to the guests before you get in your spot.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Danny circulated with the guests, grinning as he saw his mom with Charlie.

“Danny!” His mom smiled as she hugged him with her free arm. “I’m so happy for you, sweetie.”

“Thank you.” Danny grinned. “Where’s Dad?”

“Over with your sisters.” His mom pointed down the beach. Charlie reached for Danny, and Danny’s mom passed him over.

Danny felt a lump form in his throat as he held Charlie. This wasn’t the first time he’d held his son, but every time he did he was grateful that he had the chance to be a father again. When he’d first found out about Charlie, he never thought he’d be able to have this; to be able to hold his son and be a father to him.

But now he could, and it was all due to Steve. Were it not for Steve’s crazy scheme, they never could have gotten here. Danny owed him everything.

God, Danny loved that man. He couldn’t wait to be his husband. And in a short while, he would be.

~~

Instead of walking down the aisle, Steve and Danny decided Grace would walk down, and then they would walk from the other sides of the altar to meet in the middle.

Danny watched Grace do her thing, and then it was time for him to step out.

He did so, taking in Steve at the other end of the walk.

Steve wasn’t wearing his dress blues, though Danny told him he was more than welcome to. Instead, Steve was in a classic tux, the bow tie untied around his neck. It was so classic and so Steve.

Steve picked up a ti leaf lei, and Danny did the same. The two exchanged leis, and Danny grinned as it settled around his shoulders. He’d always said he wouldn’t wear a lei, but he was wrong.

Governor Denning had agreed to perform the ceremony, and so he cleared his throat to begin.

“We are gathered here today to join these two men in a civil ceremony.” He turned to both of them. “I understand you’ve written your vows.”

“Yeah, I’ll go first.” Steve turned to Danny. Grace ran up and gave him Danny’s ring. They decided to use their engagement rings as their wedding bands, and Steve gently placed it on his finger.

“Danny, when I met you, I didn’t think I could ever have a moment like this. My life was duty, sacrifice, and missions, that was it.” Steve started. “But now I’m with you, and I feel like I’m truly living.” Steve paused. “I can’t promise our life together will be easy, because you know I’d be lying.” Danny laughed as Steve spoke. “But I can promise you this: I will always be there for you, always try to make you happy, and always love you.” Steve looked over at Grace. “And I promise to love your children as if they were my own, and that’s the easiest promise to keep because I already do.” Steve held Danny’s hand, looking deeply into his eyes. “You’re my Danno. I love you with all my heart and can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Danny wiped a tear from his eye as Steve finished, and Grace gave him Steve’s ring.

“There was something my grandmother used to say growing up, as a sort of prayer.” Danny saw his mother hold a hand to her mouth as Danny spoke, eyes swelling with emotion. “She’d say ‘I don’t ask for a path free of trouble or regret, but I ask instead for a friend who will walk with me down any path.’ You’re that friend, Steve, and I’d walk down any path if I could do it with you by my side.” Steve’s eyes shone as Danny kept speaking. “I’m not going to promise to go easy on you; if I see you doing something stupid, I will yell.” Everyone chuckled. “But I promise no matter what, I will have your back. I also promise to love you every day for the rest of my life, no matter what.” Danny paused. “I love you, Steve, even when you act like a Neanderthal. And I also can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Everyone clapped, but Danny barely noticed as he stared into Steve’s eyes.

“Then by the power vested in me, by the state of Hawaii, I pronounce you two civilly joined in marriage.” Denning paused. “And we all look forward to a period of no property damage while you’re on your honeymoon.”

The crowd laughed as Steve pulled Danny into a kiss, dipping him. Danny clutched Steve’s arms, not wanting to drop to the ground while kissing his husband.

“Show off,” Danny told him when they pulled apart.

“You know it.” Steve grinned at him.

~~

“Can I have this dance?” Danny turned to see Lori standing there, smiling at him.

“Lori!” Danny hugged her. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Me too.” They moved to the dance floor. “I’m happy you guys invited me.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, we had to invite you. You’re part of the ohana, even if you aren’t here anymore.”

“That’s sweet, thank you.” Lori smiled at him. “I’m really happy for you, Danny. I’m glad you found your ohana.” She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Even if you faked it at first.”

Danny froze as Lori pulled away, and Lori chuckled at the look on his face.

“You knew the whole time?” Danny finally asked, lowering his voice.

“Danny, I’m a profiler,” Lori told him. “Of course I knew.”

“You never said—”

“Because I also knew you and Steve always had feelings for each other.” She shrugged, a playful glint in her eyes. “It seemed like you needed a push.”

Danny had to laugh, realizing she had a point. If they hadn’t been forced to fake their engagement, Danny didn’t think he’d ever have the courage to tell Steve how he felt.

“Damn I miss you.” He told her, and Lori laughed. “You sure we can’t tempt you to come back?”

“I’m happy where I am, I promise.” She assured him. I’ve been back home for a while, and I’m enjoying the DHS task force I’m on.” She paused for a moment. “There is one strange thing, though.”

“Oh?”

“Well, according to my team leader, I seem to have gotten much more reckless since returning from Hawaii.” Lori looked at him. “I wonder how that happened.”

“Oh God.” Danny realized what she was saying. “You’re telling me Steve’s recklessness is contagious?”

“Apparently.”

Danny sighed. “I’m doomed.”

Lori laughed as the song came to a close.

Danny went back to his seat, sitting next to Steve.

“Everything okay?” Steve asked, and Danny gave a soft smile.

“Everything is perfect, babe. Absolutely perfect.”

~~

Grace stayed with Rachel that night, so Dann and Steve had the house to themselves. Stev insisted on carrying Danny across the threshold, Danny pushing him to try and get him to let go.

“Let me do this one thing, Danny.” Steve stepped across the threshold, holding Danny tight despite his struggles. “It’s tradition.”

“You’re suddenly very big on tradition,” Dany remarked.

“Indeed. And there’s one I can’t wait to do.” Steve looked down at Danny, his eyes dark with desire.

“And what’s that, babe?”

“The wedding night.”

Steve easily carried Danny up the stairs, finally letting Danny down once they reached the bedroom. Danny pulled Steve into a desperate kiss, moving so close that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Once they broke the kiss, Steve reached for Danny’s jacket with a burning intensity.

“Don’t mess up my suit.” Danny pulled away, laughing slightly. “I like this one.”

“Better take it off quickly then.” Steve challenged, his eyes darkening as Danny took a step away from him.

Danny fumbled with the buttons, Steve moving closer to “help”. By that, Danny meant he mouthed along Danny’s neck, causing him to be unable to focus on the task at hand.

“You are a menace.” Danny made a face at him as he finally got the last button unfastened. He pulled away from Steve’s wandering hands, shedding the shirt and jacket in one fell swoop before reaching for Steve’s shirt.

Soon, Steve’s shirt fell to the floor, and the two of them quickly slipped off their pants before crawling onto the bed. Steve’s hands roamed over Danny’s body, Danny leaning into the touch. Nothing ever felt as good as moments like this, when it could be the two of them together.

Danny grabbed the lube and was about to start opening himself up, not wanting to wait another second. After everything they had gone through, they were married, which was something to celebrate.

“Let me,” Steve said, taking the lube from Danny and kissing him deeply as he slipped his first finger inside. Danny gasped into Steve’s mouth at the intrusion, his body never entirely growing used to the sensation. Danny secretly liked that. He liked that every time with Steve felt like the first.

Steve’s lips moved down Danny’s skin, attaching to his neck as he began to pay attention to the most sensitive parts.

He felt Steve smirk against his skin as Steve nudged Danny’s prostate, Danny biting his lip to keep from moaning.

“Don’t do that.” Steve moved back, locking eyes with Danny. The intensity in his gaze brought heat to the surface of Danny’s skin. “Let me hear you.”

Danny groaned, nodding in response as he pulled Steve in for another kiss.

Danny felt his back arch as Steve slipped a second finger in, feeling Steve smirk against his lips.

“Someone’s eager,” Steve murmured as he moved his lips back to Danny’s neck.

“You know damn well why I’m eager.” Danny snarked, his breath hitching

“Just be patient,” Steve murmured, his breath hot against Danny’s skin. His free hand roamed down Danny’s chest, lightly pinching his nipples. Danny sucked in a breath at the sensation, glaring at Steve.

“Don’t be a tease.” Danny shot back as Steve sucked and bit at his neck, gasping when Steve slipped a third finger in and scissored them.

“But you’re so fun to tease.” Steve chuckled as he ran his free hand down Danny’s side, somehow hitting all the areas Danny was sensitive. “You always have been. Every time i push your buttons, you respond in the most beautiful wa.

“Steve–”

I wonder if you’ll always be this fun to tease. I can’t wait to find out.”

“And you will,” Danny told him, his breath hitching slightly. “Forever. I’m yours.”

Danny saw Steve grin. “I like the sound of that.”

Before long, Danny was prepped, and Steve was sliding into him.

Danny keened high in his throat as Steve bottomed out, barely catching his breath by the time Steve started to move.

Danny reached for Steve to urge him to move faster, but Steve caught his hands and pinned them above his head. Danny strained, unable to break free from Steve’s hold. After recent events, the idea of being held dowen unable to move should have terrified him. Instead, Danny found it exhilarating. He’d never had a partner able to overpower him in bed before. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

“Nope, we’re going to take our time with this,” Steve said, cutting off Danny’s complaints with a harsh kiss as he sped up, snapping his hips. Danny keened against Steve’s lips as the quickened pace heightened the sensations he was feeling. He mouthed along Steve’s neck, finally getting the chance to suck his mark onto Steve’s tanned skin. All too soon, he had to pull away as the sensations threatened to overwhelm him. He wasn’t sure how long he could last like this, but he loved every second of it. He pulled against Steve’s grip, the other man not budging as he moved against him.

“Steve, please.” Danny moaned as Steve’s lips returned to Danny’s neck.

“Be patient.” Steve punctuated each word with a small nip to Danny’s collarbone. Danny nodded, trying desperately to hold himself together. He could do it. He could last long enough.

Before long, Danny felt himself getting close.

Steve seemed to sense it too. He reached a hand down to tug at Danny’s cock as he sped up his pace, the grip of his hand right on the cusp of being too much.

“Come for me,” Steve said, his eyes dark as he commanded Danny to do as he said.

Danny gave a strangled shout as he came, spilling all over his stomach.

With a final groan, Steve finished and pulled out of Danny.

He collapsed on the bed next to him, the two of them lying there for a minute. Danny could have lain there all night, curled next to Steve.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though his husband had other plans for the two of them.

Danny could feel Steve rise from the bed and slip away, wondering what he was doing. Then he heard a familiar sound from the bathroom and realized that Steve had gone to start the shower. Danny hoped Steve was trying to clean off himself before he heard the other man come back and try to rouse Danny.

“Come on, let’s go.” Danny felt Steve nudge him.

“It can wait until the morning; I’m going to sleep.”

“Too bad.” Steve picked up Danny, carrying him to the bathroom before Danny could react. “You know you’d regret it if you didn’t.

“Danny glared at him as Steve put him under the shower spray, the water thankfully having warmed up already. “Worst husband ever. I’m taking back the ring. Just wait.”

“Just keep telling yourself that, Danny.” Steve got in, crowding Danny against the wall.

“Just remember you’re stuck with me.”

Danny grinned as he looked at Steve.

“I’m completely okay with that,” Danny told him. “But to be clear, this shower is not taking three minutes.”

“I’d be offended if it did,” Steve murmured, pulling Danny into another kiss under the water’s spray.

Danny smiled into the kiss, pressing against his husband as the water beat down on them.

~~

So yeah, Danny’s life got crazy and twisted when he got assigned the John McGarrett murder case. But he wouldn’t want to change a thing.

 

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