Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Steve remembers the day as if it were yesterday. It was a rainy Thursday evening, way past 11 PM. The last couple of days had been grueling for the members of the Five-0 task force, so he was getting ready to go to bed when someone knocked on his front door. Confused, he cautiously approached the door and peered through the small window. He frowned when he recognized the head of blond hair outside.

“Danny, what are you doing here?” He asked, taking in the rumpled and wet clothes that hung on his partner’s body. “Is everything okay?”

When Danny looked up, Steve’s breath hitched in the back of his throat, because Danny looked absolutely wrecked. His eyes were red with unshed tears and his skin was colorless. “It’s over,” he said quietly. “Melissa’s left me.”

Without hesitating, Steve reached out and pulled Danny into a tight embrace. The damp clothes Danny was wearing were soaking into Steve’s thin cotton shirt, but he didn’t care. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into Danny’s ear, tightening his arms around his partner’s body. Although the breakup didn’t come out of nowhere, Steve was still surprised. He knew about the problems Danny and Melissa faced in their relationship, but he didn’t think she would actually leave. Not after everything she and Danny had been through together.

“It’s my fault,” Danny mumbled against Steve’s chest. “I screwed things up.”

“Don’t say that. It always takes two people,” Steve replied. Then he was pulling Danny into his warm home. “Come on. You’re shivering.”

After giving Danny a dry shirt and a pair of shorts to change into, Steve took two chilled bottles of beer out of his refrigerator and waited in the living room. When Danny came out of the bathroom, he looked a bit more composed. But his eyes still had that lost look in them.

Steve handed him a beer. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

Steve accepted that. Grabbing the TV remote, he turned on a football game and settled back against the back of the couch. If Danny just needed someone to quietly be by his side, it was fine by Steve. That’s what friends were for.

They sat in silence for twenty minutes, both just sipping their beers, when Danny all of a sudden said, “Do have something stronger than this?” He held up his empty bottle.

“Yes, of course,” Steve replied and stood up. He walked over to the old cabinet in the corner of the living room and bent down to open it. He wasn’t really the type of person to indulge in the hard stuff, but he always kept something around for special occasions. Grabbing two tumblers filled with ice from the kitchen, he returned to the couch and poured them both a generous inch of Whiskey.

After the fourth glass, things got kind of hazy. Steve can remember bits and pieces of the rest of the night. Little snippets of them laughing at some dumb sitcom, Danny trying to open a bag of chips and spilling it everywhere, Steve tripping over a pillow that had fallen off the couch. But there’s one moment that was crystal clear. The moment Danny climbed onto Steve’s lap and started kissing him sloppily, hands roaming all over his body.

The next thing Steve was aware of, was waking up in his bed. They both woke up at the same time and jerked wide-awake in a matter of seconds when they realized what had happened. Danny stammered and excuse about having to run some errands as he picked up his clothes that were scattered all over the floor. Steve slipped on a pair of boxers and went downstairs to make coffee, still in a daze.

Eventually, Danny came downstairs, fully dressed. He declined the offered cup of coffee and all but ran out the door with a mumbled apology. Steve knew at this point that they would never speak about this night again. But Steve couldn’t help that little flicker of hope in his heart that this was the beginning of something new, something special, between them.

Unfortunately, he was wrong. So very wrong. Because exactly two weeks later, Danny got back together with Melissa. And Steve told himself to just forget about everything that had happened that Thursday night.

Only life never goes according to plan…

Two months later, Steve stares down at the piece of paper he holds in his hands. He’s sitting behind the wheel of his parked truck, still in the parking lot of Tripler Army Medical Center, but he can’t bring himself to turn on the engine and leave. His heart is still pounding and the white noise in his head hasn’t abated yet. If he didn’t know any better, he would say he’s in a state of shock.

Taking a shuddering breath, Steve drops the paper in his lap and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Fuck, he’s screwed!

The ringing of his cell phone startles Steve out of his shock and he’s scrambling to free the device from his pocket. His hands are still trembling slightly and the tips of his fingers feel numb. Nonetheless, he manages to get his phone out and answer the call with a curt, “McGarrett.”

“Hey, it’s Chin. We just got a call from HPD. A hiker stumbled upon a body near Pu'u Ma'eli'eli Trail. Looks like the victim was shot.”

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

“Hold on. Are you still at the doctor’s office? We can handle things if-“

Steve interrupts him. “No, it’s fine. I’ll be there in twenty.” He ends the call before Chin can say anything else. The last thing he needs right now are questions he doesn’t have an answer to. He’s still trying to cope with the news himself, so how is he supposed to handle his friends’ prying questions?

Steve inhales slowly, holds the air in and then releases it through his mouth. He needs to gain back some composure and get his nerves under control. He has a job to do. With one last glance at the paper in his lap, he opens the glove box and quickly shoves the document in there, along with a bunch of brochures he was given. Something falls out of the pile and flutters to the floorboard on the passenger site of the truck. Cursing, Steve bends across the console and retrieves it. He’s about to toss it into the glove box with the other things, when he turns it over and realizes what he’s holding. For a few seconds, he just stares at the sonogram. His doctor had pointed out various things, but all Steve can see are weird black and white shapes. Nothing more. He shakes his head, throws the photograph into the glove compartment and slams it shut. There’s no time to worry about this now.

By the time Steve arrives at the bottom of the hiking trail, the entire parking lot is already crowded with police cruisers and an ambulance. He can see Chin’s red Mustang and Kono’s Cruze. With one last deep breath, Steve pushes the door open and jumps out of his Silverado. He looks around and makes a beeline for Duke Lukela when he sees him standing at the beginning of the popular hiking trail. “Duke,” he calls out, making the older officer turn.

“Steve, good to see you. Your team is already with the body, about a quarter mile up,” he explains, nodding up the hill. “A local woman found the body this morning. Officer Pahukoa is taking her statement, but she’s pretty shaken up.”

Steve claps a hand on Duke’s shoulder. “Okay. Let me know what she remembers,” he tells him before he starts to hike up the path. It’s not far and due to Steve’s level of fitness, he reaches the crime scene in just ten short minutes. HPD has locked down the trail for the public, but the small path is still swarming with people; police officer, the crime scene unit and Five-0. Steve makes his way over to the body. “What have we got?”

Noelani Cunha, their new medical examiner, looks up at Steve. Her glove-covered hands are carefully prodding the bullet wound on the victim’s forehead. “The victim is in his early thirties. Looks like he works out on a regular basis. His body shows signs of a struggle, but the COD was clearly the bullet to the skull. It was shot from close range and entered through the frontal bone. The shot was meant to kill,” she explains professionally. “I’ll have more information for you once I did the autopsy.”

A hand lands on Steve’s back and he turns to face his team. Danny’s hand lingers a moment on his shoulder before it drops away. Steve doesn’t give him the chance to get in a word so he starts speaking right away, “Did you find anything? Wallet, phone, any form of identification?”

“Nothing,” Lou says. “HPD is still looking, but so far it looks like this was just a body dump. There’s no blood, no weapon, no nothing.”

Kono adds, “There’s also no sign of a struggle anywhere around. Wherever he died, it wasn’t here.”

Steve sighs. “Okay. Let’s go back to the office and see what we can do from there. Maybe we’ll find something about the guy in our database. Lou, you stay here and supervise things. Call if something interesting turns up.”

Lou gives him a thumbs-up and turns to speak to one of the officers on scene. The remaining members of Five-0 make their way back to the parking lot. When they reach their cars, Danny follows Steve to the Silverado and gets in the passenger seat as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And maybe it is. After getting back with Melissa, things had quickly turned back to just being best friends and partners. Neither of them has mentioned their night together. It was simply swept under the carpet, where it’s supposed to stay. Only, now things have changed. Steve glances the glove box that contains the papers his doctor has given him—Only inches from Danny’s hands. He swallows.

“How was your doctor’s appointment? Did they figure out why you’ve been feeling under the weather lately?” Danny asks as they turn onto the main road.

Steve flinches at the question and quickly averts his eyes from the glove compartment. “Yeah, uh.” He clears his throat. “I’m fine. It’s just a bug.” He avoids looking at Danny and instead keeps his gaze locked on the road ahead.

“What kind of bug?” Danny asks warily. “Because, just so you know, it’s my weekend with the kids and I don’t want to catch whatever bug you have.”

Something in Steve’s chest clenches and a lump forms in his throat. “Don’t worry. It’s not contagious.”

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. They manage to identify their victim as librarian Thomas Miller from Stanford, Kentucky. He flew in four days ago and booked a room at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel. So far, nothing suspicious about the guy. Kono calls the local police in Stanford and informs them about the ongoing investigation and the fact that Miller’s family needs to be notified about his passing. Steve sends Chin and Lou to the Aston to take a look around, while he and Danny stay at headquarters and go over their victim’s financials and various social media accounts.

“Babe, we already looked at this.”

Steve blinks in surprise and looks at the page he’s just opened on the smart table. He was reading it without actually seeing anything. Damn it, he’s distracted! With a sigh, he closes the tab and turns to look at his partner. “Danny, can we talk?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Danny agrees, but there’s a look of confusion and wariness on his face. “Is something wrong?”

Steve doesn’t know how to answer this. “It’s about us,” he begins and clears his throat. “About what happened between us, actually.”

The look on Danny’s face changes to something Steve can’t quite name. Danny crosses his arms over his chest, making it obvious that this is not something he wants to discuss. “Didn’t we agree not to talk about this?”

“Not exactly, no. We just never brought it up,” Steve corrects him.

“Steve, come on, we were both drunk and made a stupid mistake. Things like that happen. But it’s in the past now, okay? Melissa and I… We’re in a really good place right now and I don’t want to screw things up because we hooked up two months ago. You get that, right?” Danny asks. He doesn’t sound defensive. He sounds desperate and Steve can hear something akin to begging in his voice.

Steve swallows dryly. “Look, I wasn’t about to bring this up, okay? It’s just that—“

Danny interrupts Steve before he can finish speaking, “Melissa’s pregnant, Steve.” The words hit Steve like a punch to the gut and he finds himself unable to breath. He doesn’t know what his expression displays, but Danny’s face shows a mix of regret and compassion. “When Melissa came back, she told me that she’s having a baby. My baby. She needs me now and we want to make our relationship work—For our baby. I failed with Rachel, and I’m not going to allow this to happen again. So, please, I am begging you, don’t bring this up again. It’ll only make things harder.”

Steve’s stomach is churning and he feels disconnected to his own body. He heard every word Danny just said, but his voice sounded far away. As if he was underwater. But he got the message loud and clear. He clears his throat. “Congratulations, Danny.”

Danny runs a hand through his hair. “You’re one of the most important people in my life, Steve. I love you, alright? You’re not only my partner at work but also my best friend, my brother. Please tell me you understand why we need to keep this secret?”

Steve nods. “Of course,” he says, voice sounding hollow to even his own ears.

“Are we still friends?” Danny asks uncertainly.

Steve forces a smile on his lips. “We’ll always be friends.”

Some of the tension ebbs away from Danny’s body and he steps forward to hug Steve. “Thank you,” he sighs before pulling away again. “What happened between us is in the past. A drunken mistake,” he says and laughs tensely.

“Yeah,” Steve answers. He needs to fight his body to keep the smile on his face, because he feels like breaking down. He knows Danny is in a relationship with Melissa. He knows that their hookup was a one-time thing, but he can’t help but feel disappointed. Because deep down he hoped that Danny would feel something more, just like Steve did. But it looks like he was wrong.

Danny squeezes his shoulder before breaking their physical contact. “I’m gonna go over Miller’s financials again,” he says and retreats into his own office.

Steve looks after him and watches him settle behind his desk. There’s a knot the size of a tennis ball in Steve’s gut and it feels like someone is squeezing his lungs, making it hard to breathe. Steve swallows the lump in this throat. “By the way, I’m pregnant…” He whispers quietly and hangs his head.

Chapter Text

Five-0 solves the murder case after three days. Turns out, Thomas Miller didn’t just come to Hawaii for vacation. In fact, he came to Oahu to buy some valuable books that were reported stolen a few months prior to his arrival. Unfortunately, the seller hadn’t been happy about the amount of money Miller had been willing to pay and just shot him when the librarian threatened to involve the cops. Five-0 arrests Sammy Kehau early on Friday morning and by lunchtime, all the paperwork is finished.

Steve is just about to send all the filled out forms and papers to the Governor’s office, when Danny enters his office. “You done for today?” Danny asks as he eyes the pile of files on Steve’s desk.

“Yeah, just finishing up. I’m gonna head out in a little while. Why don’t you guys leave already? There’s nothing left to be done here,” Steve suggests and looks past Danny to the remaining three members of his team. It’s been a long couple of days and they all deserve a break.

“About that; Melissa and I would like to invite you all for dinner tonight. She’s already passed the twelve-week mark over two weeks ago and we want to tell everyone about the pregnancy today. We’re going to Tropics Bar & Grill, and I know how much you love that place,” Danny says with a grin.

Steve wants to come up with an excuse, a reason why he can’t join them. But he can’t bring himself to do it. Not when Danny looks all happy and excited about the prospect of sharing the great news with his Ohana. And Steve is part of his Ohana. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

Danny claps his hands together. “Great! I’m gonna go pick her up now. Meet you at Tropics in half an hour?”

“Yeah. See you then.”

They’re all sitting at a table at the restaurant when Danny and Melissa arrive. Everyone gets up to greet her, and Steve can’t help but look down at her belly. Although she’s thin, he doesn’t see anything because she’s wearing a wide flower dress that hides her stomach perfectly.

“Good to see you, Steve. It’s been a while,” Melissa says when she reaches her arms out to hug him. “How are you?”

Steve hopes his smile looks happy, because he wants to be happy. Danny and Melissa deserve all the happiness in the world. But it’s hard—Harder than he thought it would be. Nonetheless, he puts on a brave face. “I’m good. How about you?”

She smiles mysteriously. “I’m very well, thank you.” She obviously doesn’t know that Steve’s already aware of the little secret she carries around with her. He just returns the smile and sits back down again, watching the other members of the team greet her. When Kono wraps her arms around Melissa, her dress briefly pulls tight around the middle, revealing a small bump. Steve swallows down the lump in his throat and averts his eyes.

Usually, Steve enjoys the food Tropics Bar & Grill has to offer, but today nothing sounds even remotely appealing to him. His doctor had told him that this would probably happen sooner or later, but he had hoped it would be later. Swallowing against a sudden bout of nausea, he sets down the menu and takes a sip of his iced water. The beer Danny has order for him still sits entirely untouched in front of him.

When their server comes to take their orders, Steve just orders whatever catches his eye first. He doesn’t want to draw any attention to himself, and if things go the way Steve thinks they will, then no one is going to notice if he doesn’t really touch his dinner. They’re all going to be too excited about the baby news.

“Guys, there’s something important we need to tell you,” Danny says only a few moments later. Steve’s stomach clenches. Danny grabs Melissa’s hand and looks at each of his friends. “We’ve invited you to dinner tonight to announce something.” He looks at his girlfriend, encouraging her to go on.

“I’m pregnant!” Melissa reveals and a happy cheer erupts from everyone sitting at the table. Hugs and congratulations are exchanged and Steve pretends like he’s as surprised about the news as everyone else. When he looks at Melissa, he notes that she’s downright glowing and the smile on her lips couldn’t be any wider. His gaze wanders over to Danny, who looks like the proudest father-to-be when he accepts a brotherly hug from Lou. As much as Steve wants to be there for all of his best friend’s happy moments, all he wants to do in this moment is just crawl into bed and forget about everything.

Just like Steve assumed, the news preoccupy everyone’s mind and conversations and when the food is served, no one is paying attention to anything that doesn’t have to do with the baby. That’s fine with Steve, because that way no one notices how he just pushes his chicken around on his plate. He’s just not hungry.

Thankfully, everyone is tired from the latest case and the get-together ends before the clock hits ten. They all part ways in the parking lot and go their separate ways. When Steve arrives at home, he doesn’t even bother to turn on any lights. He just climbs up the stairs, strips out of his clothes and drops into bed.

The next couple of days are rough for Steve. Luckily, Governor Mahoe has given her entire task force the weekend off, but while Kono passes her days surfing on the North Shore and Lou takes his family to Maui, Steve spends most of his days off in the bathroom. Constant bouts of nausea keep him up at night and stop him from ingesting anything that isn’t plain water or dry crackers. By Sunday afternoon, he feels deprived of all energy.

Dragging himself back to bed after his latest spell of dry heaving, Steve slumps down on the mattress and just curls up on his side. For a brief moment, he wonders if Melissa is going through the same thing. She’s four weeks further along, but that doesn’t have to mean anything. Steve quickly discards the thought of Melissa, though. Even if she’s suffering from morning sickness and the achiness that comes with it, she has Danny by her side to take care of her. And while Steve is glad she doesn’t have to go through this alone, he also feels a painful stab in his chest. There’s also a nagging voice in the back of his head that keeps whispering to him that he doesn’t have to endure this, that he has the power to end all of it. He can have the baby removed and everything would be over. His misery would be over.

Steve runs a hand down his sweaty face. No, this isn’t what he’s going to do. This isn’t what he wants to do. Nothing about this situation had been planned. Maybe things are a giant mess right now. Maybe he’s not ready to become a father. And maybe he’ll be alone throughout all of this, but it doesn’t matter. Because the baby didn’t choose to be put into his body, so it doesn’t deserve to be removed like an unwanted birthmark.

Steve falls into a fitful sleep and when he wakes up again, the natural lighting from the sun has changed and it feels much later. Confused about the time and even the day, Steve rolls over and grabs his phone from the nightstand. The energy bar is on the low side, but it still tells him that it’s a few minutes after 7 AM on Monday morning.

Heaving himself out of bed, Steve steels himself for another onslaught of nausea he’s expecting—And is surprised when it doesn’t come. He gingerly gets to his feet, still wary of his own body. His abdomen gives a little twinge, but his stomach remains settled. He doesn’t want to jinx it, but he blows out a breath of relief when he feels relatively normal, save for the still lingering achiness and the sore feeling in his stomach and lower back.

Steve gets into the shower and washes off the sweat and sickness from the past couple of days. It feels absolutely heavenly. When he runs his soap-covered hand down his chest and stomach, he pauses. Gently, he trails his fingertips across his still flat abdomen. According to what he’s read in the brochures he was given at Tripler, the baby is now the size of a fig. And while most people already start showing at this point, it’s not unusual for people with more muscles to still have a completely smooth middle.

A fleeting wave of panic washes over Steve when he thinks about how long he’ll be able to hide his pregnancy. Sooner or later, people will notice. Danny will notice.

Shaking his head, Steve decides to worry about this later. After getting dressed, he attaches his gun and badge to his right hip and grabs his other personal belongings. When he enters the kitchen, he scratches his head. Coffee is out of the question and the milk in his refrigerator has gone bad. Eventually, he chooses a glass of orange juice and a banana. It’s a light breakfast that will hopefully please his stomach and stay down.

Steve arrives at Five-0 headquarters at half past eight. He scans the parking lot and sees Kono’s Cruze parked in its usual spot. The other members of Five-0 have yet to arrive. He makes his way to the entrance of Iolani Hale and climbs up the stairs to the upper floor of the building, cursing when the simple tasks of walking up stairs leaves him winded and even a bit shaky on his feet.

“Good morning, boss,” Kono greets him when he enters the office through the large glass door. She smiles at him, looking relaxed and tanned, as if she’s spent her entire weekend out in the Hawaiian sun. “Enjoy your days off?”

“Hey, Kono,” he replies, smiling as well. He considers her question for only a second before he answers. “I didn’t do much,” he says, which, technically, isn’t a lie.

Kono tilts her head a little to the side and looks at him closely. “You do realize you look more tired now than you did on Friday, right?”

He swears inwardly. Apparently, the weekend he’s spent puking his guts out and feeling miserable has left some traces. Thankfully, Steve is saved from providing an explanation by the ringing of his cellphone. Steve listens to the voice of Sergeant Chung from HPD before he ends the call and looks back at Kono. “Call Chin and let him know we’ll meet at Hawaii National Bank in Downtown Honolulu. We’ve got a hostage situation. I’ll let Danny and Lou know.”

Kono frowns. “Danny’s in New Jersey, boss. He and Melissa are visiting his parents. He said he’s talked to you about it?”

Steve blinks. He opens his mouth, but doesn’t know exactly what to say. “Danny’s in Jersey?” Just then, his brain provides him with the hazy memory of a text message. A text messages from Danny. On Saturday evening, his partner had texted him and asked for a couple of days off. Steve, because he’d been so out if it on Saturday, can’t really remember if and what he responded to that request. But he must have agreed to it in some way, shape or form.

When Steve notices the confused and now slightly worried expression on Kono’s face, he smiles sheepishly. “New Jersey, right. It slipped my mind for a second.”

Kono’s eyes narrow and her gaze is almost piercing him, trying to crack open his shell and read his mind. He forces himself not to shift under the penetrating stare. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine,” he responds automatically. He sees the doubt on her face and adds, “Look, I didn’t get much sleep the last couple of days, but I’ll be okay. Come on, we have to go. HPD needs us.” He knows she wants to probe some more, but the mention of people needing their help stops her. With a nod, she follows him back to the parking lot.

By the time Steve and Kono arrive at Hawaii National Bank on King Street, police cars are already surrounding the building. Barriers are set up to hold back civilians and reporters and more than a dozen officers are waiting to take down the hostage takers. Steve takes everything in before he approaches Sergeant Chung, with Kono hot on his heels. “What do we know?”

“Two armed men stormed the building at 8:10 AM. We believe they’re holding two customers and three employees hostage in there. Unfortunately, they disabled the security cameras, so we can’t be sure. We—“

A loud gunshot from inside the bank interrupts the Sergeant’s explanation and everyone’s instantly on high alert. Steve sets his jaw. “Do we know what they want?” He asks, eyes not leaving the building.

“They want us to send in Susanne Smith, one of the bank’s employees. The bank manager told us she was supposed to work today but called in sick,” Sergeant Chung clarifies.

Steve turns to Kono. “Find out what you can about Susanne Smith. This is about her,” he says. Kono nods sharply and takes off to grab her laptop. “Is there any way to enter the building beside the front entrance?” Steve asks then, already mulling over possible ways to enter and surprise the perps. The gunshot has him worried. They have no way of knowing if someone is hurt or, god forbid, dead. They need to end this. Now.

“The criminals have locked the front door, as well as the back entrance, emergency exit and the staircase that leads up to the second floor. But, according to the bank manager, there’s a hidden underground tunnel that leads from the building next-door right into the basement of the bank. It’s not used anymore and parts of it are damaged, but it’s still accessible with a special key.”

Steve nods. His brain is already forming a plan. “Get me that key. I’m going in.”

Half an hour later, Steve is quietly sneaking down a narrow and dark corridor. Sergeant Chung hadn’t exaggerated. The old tunnel is badly damaged in some parts and old wooden boxes and stacks of papers are littering the ground. Steve motions for the SWAT members that are walking behind him to be careful and watch their step.

“Boss,” Kono’s voice comes to life in Steve’s ear. “I have some information about Susanne Smith. She moved to Oahu three months ago from Maui after divorcing her violent ex-husband. Also, her real name isn’t Smith. It’s Bailey. Her ex-husband Bernhard Heaton has booked a plane ticket to Oahu two days ago. Cameras at Honolulu International picked him up forty minutes ago when he walked through security.”

“That can’t be a coincident. Bernhard must be behind this,” Steve murmurs. “See if you can track him down. He can’t be one of the hostage takers. The timeline doesn’t work, but he must be out there somewhere. Find him.”

“I’m on it.”

With the newly gained information taken into consideration, Steve carefully approaches the door at the end of the tunnel. According to the bank managers, the door leads into an old storage room in the basement of Hawaii National Bank. Steve reaches into his pocket and retrieves the heavy key to unlock the door. Slowly, he pushes the piece of metal into the door. The lock clicks and the door slowly swings open with a screech.

That’s when everything goes to hell.

Chapter Text

With his gun drawn, Steve cautiously steps through the unlocked door and enters the spacious supply closet the tunnel leads into. The room is dark and the air smells musty. Everything is quiet and he allows his body to relax slightly.

That’s a mistake.

Out of the corners of his eyes, Steve sees a dark shadow pop up from behind one of the shelves. He spins around to face the person, but he’s not fast enough. A powerful bullet slams into his chest, throwing him off balance and into a stack of brittle wooden crates. They splinter under his weight and Steve finds himself on the ground with pieces of wood digging into the parts of his back that aren’t covered by the bulletproof vest. For a moment, he’s stunned and struggling to suck in a proper breath of air. But then he hears more gunshots. He rolls awkwardly to his side and picks up his gun. He grits his teeth when his ribs protests the movement, but he shoves the discomfort aside. No time for that.

Seeking cover behind a large wooden box, Steve peers around the corner and narrows his eyes at the man who’s wildly shooting at them from across the room. Steve sees a member of SWAT on the ground a couple of feet away, lying in an ever-growing pool of blood. “This is Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, Five-0. Put down your weapon!” He shouts, hoping to avoid further casualties.

Steve’s demand is answered with more bullets, and he has to duck down to avoid getting hit a second time. Cursing, he’s quickly trying to come up with another plan. As long as the man remains in his current position and has ammo, they’re sitting ducks. Patting his numerous pockets, Steve’s fingers eventually find something usable. Without thinking about it for too long, Steve gives SWAT and HPD a short heads-up before he pulls the pin of the stun grenade and throws it across the room. Hunkering down, he squeezes his eyes shut and waits for the inevitable bang and burst of bright light. As soon is it happens, the gunfire ceases. Steve glances around the box again and sees the shooter on the ground, already fumbling for the gun he’s dropped. He’s just closed his fingers around the handle, prepared to resume his shooting spree, when Steve lifts his own weapon and shoots him. The man doesn’t move again.

Quickly scrambling to his feet, Steve grunts when his chest twinges painfully. He brings his hand up to his chest and fingers the small dent the bullet has left in his vest. He winces. This is going to bruise big time.

“Commander, we’ve found this on the shooter,” a member of SWAT says, snapping Steve’s attention back to the situation at hand. The man holds out a wrinkled copy of a photograph. The photo shows a dark-haired woman and a toddler around the age of three or four. In the corner of the photo is a handwritten caption. “Susanne and Katy, Spring 2016,” Steve reads out loud. Frowning, Steve reattaches his earpiece, which has fallen out of his ear during the fall he took. “Kono. Do Susanne and Bernhard have a daughter?”

There’s some white noise, but eventually Kono’s voice reaches his ear, “Boss, good to hear you,” she says, relief evident in her voice, before she focuses on his question. “Susanne gave birth to a baby girl named Katharina in 2012. Bernhard is registered as the father.”

“Maybe that’s the reason he’s tracking her down? She divorced him and took their daughter to Oahu. He wants her back,” Steve guesses.

“There’s more,” Kono says, sounding sad. “Last summer, the house Susanne and Bernhard lived in caught fire in the middle of the night and burned down completely. Katharina didn’t make it. The official report states that the fire broke out in the parent’s bedroom, which led authorities to believe that it was deliberately set.”

Steve feels a lump in his throat when he looks at the picture of the smiling young girl. “Did they question Bernhard?” He asks, aware that his voice is wavering a bit. He clears his throat.

“He was out of town when it happened. The police suspected Susanne of starting the fire.”

“Susanne?” Steve repeats, taken aback. Things are getting more complex by the minute. “Where they able to proof anything?”

Kono sighs. “No. They eventually ruled it as an accident. Two weeks later, Susanne filed for divorce.”

Steve rubs a hand down his face. “Okay. Any luck on finding Bernhard?”

“Still working on it. I have HPD go over all the video footage leading from the airport. We’ll find him. We’re also looking to track down Susanne.”

“Okay. Keep me updated,” Steve says as he watches an officer check on the downed SWAT member. His face is grim and it’s obvious that the man didn’t make it.

Blowing out a breath, Steve readjusts the gun in his hand and eyes the exit of the storage room. They may have taken down one perp, but there’s still a second one upstairs. And the lives of numerous hostages are still on the line. Time to end this.

Meanwhile, 5000 miles away, Danny sits on a bed in his old room at his parent’s house and stares out the window. It’s raining, just like it did when they arrived at Newark Liberty Airport a couple of hours ago. He offered to unpack their bags, while Melissa is downstairs drinking tea with Clara. Danny can tell that his mother is already suspecting that something is up. She’s already given him several curious looks in the car.

Danny sighs. He’s excited about becoming a father for the third time. He loves kids and the prospect of having a big family fills him with joy and delight. But something just doesn’t feel right. Something is bothering him, but he can’t quite pinpoint what it is. Maybe he’s just stressed. The flight had been long and he generally doesn’t sleep well on planes. He probably just needs some rest.

Rubbing his eyes, Danny refuses to think his uneasiness has anything to do with Steve. He refuses to think about the hurt look on his partner’s face when he told him about Melissa’s pregnancy. And he refuses to think about the way his own heart had twisted at that. Because it doesn’t matter anymore. Danny’s feelings don’t matter anymore. He has a new responsibility now. Melissa needs him and he’s not going to let her down. Not when he screwed things up with Rachel all those years ago. He needs to do better. And if his own feelings will suffer because of that, so be it.

Forcing away his last remaining thoughts about Steve, Danny gets back to his feet and begins to unpack.

Steve can hear the loud voice of the second perp before he even has eyes on him. He’s yelling loudly at a sobbing woman, threatening to put a bullet in her head if she doesn’t shut up. Motioning to the SWAT captain and a couple of HPD officers to go right, he and two other officers are taking the left side. So far, the hostage taker is standing with his back to them, oblivious to their presence. For everyone’s sake, Steve hopes that things remain that way. Steve’s eyes land on an elderly man sitting on the ground. The guy looks pale and a piece of fabric is wrapped tightly around his left upper arm. Blood is dotting the makeshift bandage.

The unidentified man, who is wearing a black ski mask, suddenly reaches for his belt and pulls out a bulky Nokia phone. He quickly punches a couple of buttons and presses the cell to his ear. Steve tenses when the man swears colorfully when no one seems to pick up. He must have tried to call his partner. His partner who’s already on his way to the morgue. “Goddammit,” the man curses and Steve senses that the guy is about to turn around in order to go look for his accomplice.

“Now or never,” Steve thinks when he steps out of the safety of his cover and approaches the man from behind. The hostages, who have spotted their rescuers by now, look at Steve wide-eyed, but Steve has no time to pay them any attention. Not yet. He’s just about to order the man to drop his weapon, when the perp spins around. Apparently, he hadn’t been as unaware to the police’s presence as expected.

Steve ducks down and just barely manages to avoid getting punched in the face by the guy’s fist. Dropping to the ground, Steve knocks the man off his feet with a well-placed kick to the knee. Howling, the perp goes down. Unfortunately, that isn’t the end of it. Steve doesn’t know how, but he suddenly finds himself in a chokehold. Struggling against the meaty arms that are wrapped around his neck, he eventually manages to free himself. Rolling to his knees, he points his gun at the man and is just about to yell out a warning, when the guy kicks out, catching him in the gut. Pain explodes in Steve’s abdomen and for a brief moment, his vision whitens out.

When his sight clears again, Steve doesn’t hesitate. The perp is already picking up his gun, but Steve is quicker. One well aimed shot in the shoulder and the man is on the ground, screaming and clutching his bleeding arm. Steve exhales and lets the tension ebb out of his body. It’s over, at least for now.

“That was a good shot,” someone says and when Steve looks up, he sees Chin standing before him, shotgun clutches in his hands, ready for action.

Steve laughs breathlessly. “Nice of you to show up,” he jokes. He looks around and sees more officers swarming the bank. The barricaded entrance has been opened and fresh air is streaming into the building, making it a bit easier for Steve to breathe. He watches Lou and a member of HPD hoist their perp to his feet. “We need to interrogate that guy. Find out what he knows and who’s behind this,” Steve says and climbs to his feet. When he straightens up, a vicious pain cuts through his midsection and he grunts, clutching his stomach.

Chin puts a hand on his back. “Hey, you alright?” He asks, eyebrows drawn together.

Steve feels very nauseous all of a sudden. He takes a couple of deep breaths and tries to get the overwhelming nausea back under control. He nods stiffly. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” he replies and tries to smile.

“Are you sure?” Chin asks again, clearly not believing Steve’s words. “You should at least get that cut looked at.”

“Cut?” Steve thinks as he follows Chin’s eyes to his right upper arm. He frowns when he sees a bleeding gash that starts just below his tattoo. He must have cut himself on one of the crates when he fell. He prods at it with two fingers. “It’s not that bad,” he comments, but winces when pain shoots down to his fingertips.

Chin rolls his eyes. “Humor me, please,” he says and grabs Steve’s arm to drag him out of the building. “Lou and HPD got this.”

Steve allows his friend to manhandle him outside. The cut really isn’t that bad and it’s probably not even going to require any stitches. But he does feels a little lightheaded and faint. Now that the adrenaline is leaving his body, he begins to feel every single pain and ache, starting with the large bruise he can already feel forming on his chest.

They have almost reached the ambulance when an unexpected wave of dizziness crashes over Steve and his knees almost buckle. Chin’s quick reflexes save him from actually falling and before his head has cleared again, there’s another pair of hands holding him up. “Hold on, Steve. Just a few more steps,” Chin says softly as they guide him toward one of the waiting busses.

When he’s lowered onto the gurney, Chin makes quick work of snapping open the clasps of the bulletproof vest. Steve feels marginally better when the heavy weight off the vest is off his chest. It makes breathing a little easier. The EMT is carefully guiding him into a horizontal position on the gurney and Steve doesn’t protest. Instead, he closes his eyes and throws his unharmed arm over his eyes to block out the bright sunlight.

“Alright, we’ll be taking Commander McGarrett to Tripler for a checkup now,” the male EMT announces.

Steve quickly lifts his arm off his face and squints up at his friend, who’s still standing next to him. “Chin, take our perp into custody and try to find out who he is and who he’s working for. And check in with Kono to see if she’s found out something more about Bernhard or Susanne’s whereabouts. I’m—“

“You are going to relax now and let the people at the hospital do their job. We’ve got this,” Chin interrupts him and squeezes Steve’s shoulder. “As soon as we find something, I’ll let you know, alright?”

Despite the pain he’s in, Steve can’t help but smile a little. “Yeah, alright,” he agrees and allows the EMT to unlock the breaks of the gurney and push it into the back of the ambulance. Steve drops his arm back over his eyes and swallows thickly. The movement is making him even dizzier than he already is. When he shifts a little to get more comfortable, the dull ache in his abdomen unexpectedly flares up again. An icy fist of dread wraps its claw around Steve’s heart and squeezes. Automatically, he puts his hand on his belly. His world is narrowed down to that single ache in his abdomen.

Two hours later, Steve is laying on a gurney in his obstetrician’s office, listening to the steady heartbeat of his unborn baby. He’s sporting a white bandage around his arm and his ribs are tightly wrapped in order to keep them supported. He was given some fluids due to a mild case of dehydration and something to eat because his blood sugar had been on the low side.

“Everything is looking good, Commander. There’s some bruising, but it’s not deep,” Doctor Makua says as she is moving the ultrasound wand across Steve’s abdomen. “You were really lucky today,” she says as she stops the machine and lays down the wand.

Steve swallows. “I know…”

Doctor Makua smiles caringly at her patient and hands him some paper towels to wipe the sticky gel of his belly. “Well, Commander, I’d say it’s time for some rest now. Go home, relax and get some sleep.”

Wincing, Steve sits up. “Yeah, about that. There’s a case and—“

“I don’t want to hear it,” the doctor interrupts him with a sharp movement of her gloves hand. “You need rest. No chasing, tackling or tracking criminals. Are we clear?”

Steve smiles sheepishly as he gets to his feet and reaches for his shirt. “Yes, ma’am,” he replies and quickly pulls his tee back over his head.

“Good,” Doctor Makua says and smiles triumphantly. She opens the door to the hallway and asks, “Can we call someone to pick you up?”

Before Steve can answer, a new voice speaks up, “That won’t be necessary.”

Steve freezes. “Chin?” He blurts, confused. “What are you doing here?”

“We have Bernhard in custody. Kono and Grover are interrogating him as we speak. So I thought I might as well give you a lift home from the ER. Only, you weren’t in the ER anymore. You are here,” Chin explains, face unreadable. It looks like a mix of bewilderment, compassion and disappointment.

Dropping his head, Steve puts his hands on his hips. He doesn’t know what to say or where to begin. Eventually, he looks up to meet Chin’s questioning gaze. “Do you have time for a drink?”

Chapter Text

“And Danny doesn’t know?” Chin asks a while later when they’re sitting in a booth in some low-key bar in Chinatown.

Steve runs his thumb down the sweating neck of his water bottle and shakes his head. “No,” he admits quietly. He lowers his gaze and stares intently at the small puddle of water that has collected under the bottle.

“You need to tell him, Steve. You know that, right? You can’t keep this to yourself forever. Danny’s going to notice,” Chin says softly. “And it’s also not safe for you to run around and be in the middle of shootouts in your condition. It’s dangerous,” he adds.

Sighing, Steve leans back in his chair. He knows Chin is right. He’s right about absolutely everything, but Steve is struggling with accepting it all. His life is about to make a 180-degree turn and he’s not sure he’s ready for it. The responsibility he feels for his team and the state of Hawai’i makes it tough for him to let go and take a step back. “I know. I just don’t know yet how. With Melissa expecting a baby as well… It’s not easy.”

Chin reaches across the small table and squeezes Steve’s forearm. “I’m here for you, brah. Whatever you need, okay? Ohana, remember?”

A warm feeling spreads through Steve’s body and he smiles gratefully. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

Chin returns the smile before he pulls his hand back. “Are you ready to head home? You look like you could use some shut-eye.”

Steve nods. He doesn’t like to admit it, but he feels pretty tired and wrung out. Although he doesn’t like burdening his team with the case, he knows that the people he works with are amazing at what they do and don’t need him there to take care of things. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Danny can’t sleep. It’s the middle of the night in New Jersey and the house is completely silent. After tossing and turning for what feels like hours, he quietly slips out of bed and tiptoes downstairs to the kitchen. He fixes himself a cup of tea and sits down at the kitchen table, just staring into nothingness.

They’d told his family today about the baby and everyone had been very excited. His family likes Melissa and Danny’s truly happy about that. His sister’s husband had clapped him on the back after dinner and said that things couldn’t possibly be going any better for Danny at the moment; He lives in paradise, has a great job, a beautiful girlfriend, and two amazing children with a third one on the way. What else could he wish for? And Danny had agreed with him, because, yeah, what else could he possibly wish for? He’s got it all.

Right…?

Blowing out a long breath, Danny drops his head in his hands and rubs at his eyes. He doesn’t hear the other person stepping into the kitchen until a chair gets dragged across the wooden floor. Danny’s head snaps up.

“Sorry bro, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Stella says with an apologetic smile as she sits down next to her brother. She pulls her rose-colored bathrobe closer around her body and looks at Danny with a gentle smile. “Something bothering you?”

“No, no. Everything’s fine. I’m just…” He spins his finger through the air. “Jetlag.”

Stella sighs. “Let me rephrase that. What is bothering you?”

It’s Danny’s turn to sigh. Running a hand through his unkempt hair, he shrugs. “I’m not sure. Things are… confusing at the moment,” he says, aware that what he’s saying isn’t making much sense. He starts chewing on his lower lip, searching for the right words. “I’m excited about the baby, I really am…”

Stella lifts one eyebrow. “But?”

“But I don’t know if that thing between Melissa and me is going to work out long term.” Saying this out loud makes him feel awful and he instantly wishes he could take those words back. He’s talking about the mother of his unborn baby and doubting their relationship at this point isn’t a good thing to do. She’s depending on him and his support throughout this. He shouldn’t doubt them.

“Danny,” Stella begins and shakes his arm. “What is going on?”

Danny swallows. “I think I’m in love with someone else.”

Stella just stares at him, unblinking. After almost a full minute of silence, she speaks up again. “You can’t be serious,” she says, shaking her head uncomprehendingly. “Danny, that woman upstairs is pregnant with your baby and you think you’re in love with someone else. Are you kidding me?”
Danny winces. “It’s complicated.”

“Listen, when I was pregnant with Eric, his dad went through the same thing you do now, okay? He was scared and a little confused. He even wanted to hook up with some random girl at a bar! But you know what he said to me after Eric was born? He said that he’s so happy he didn’t do it, because family means everything. He would have felt guilty for the rest of his life if he’d have had jeopardized that. Do you understand? What you’re going through is just a phase, Danny. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Danny licks his lips. His mind is a mess at the moment. “Maybe you’re right…” He mutters, rubbing his tired eyes.

Stella bumps her shoulder into his. “Of course I am,” she smirks. “I love you, Danny. You’ll get through this.”

“Yeah…” Danny mutters, mulling her words over in his head.

Steve goes back to work two days later, when Five-0’s latest case has already been solved. His bruises are still achy and very colorful, but, overall, he feels better and more rested. So far, Chin’s the only one who knows about his pregnancy and Steve wants to keep it that way, at least until he’s spoken to Danny. He doesn’t want to go behind his partner’s back and put him into an uncomfortable position, so he keeps quiet. Thankfully, there are no further cases for the rest of the week and Steve doesn’t need to come up with an excuse why he can’t go out in the field with the rest of his team.

On Friday evening, Steve sits in one of the chairs in his backyard, watching the gentle waves in the distance. Danny is due to be back tomorrow and Steve knows what that means. Picking up his phone from the small table next to him, he sends a text to Danny, asking his friend to meet him on Saturday evening for dinner at Side Street. It doesn’t take long for his partner to respond and accept the invitation, and Steve feels his pulse quicken. He still doesn’t know how to approach the upcoming conversation.

Steve exhales and stands up. He takes off his shirt, slips out of his flip-flops and wades into the refreshing, clear water. He lightly runs his hand over his flat belly before he takes a deep breath and dives into the water.

Later that day, Chin comes over with dinner. Steve is very thankful for his friend’s support. He’s aware that Chin feels the need to look out for Steve. Maybe it’s because he’s older, maybe it’s because he knows what it feels like to be alone. It’s not necessary, but Steve appreciates it nonetheless.

“I brought you chicken teriyaki with brown rice. That should be safe for you to eat, right?” Chin calls from the living room while Steve gathers napkins, silverware and drinks. A beer for Chin and water for himself.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Thank you,” he answers when he steps out of the kitchen. “Thanks for picking up dinner, by the way.”

Chin smiles. “Of course.”

They both sit down to eat. Steve’s now 12 weeks along and his appetite is slowly coming back. During the first trimester he’s lost about five pounds due to constant bouts of nausea and just general loss of appetite. Certain smells still make him sick, but he’s feeling a lot better overall.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Chin asks halfway through dinner.

Steve shrugs. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

“It’s going to be okay. You’ll probably be the first one to render Danny Williams speechless, ever,” Chin jokes, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“You might be right about that,” Steve chuckles and finishes his dinner.

When Saturday rolls around, Steve finds himself nervously sitting at a table at Side Street Inn. His palms are sweaty and he feels slightly nauseous, but he knows it has nothing to do with morning sickness. Checking his watch again, Steve realizes that Danny is already running fifteen minutes late. Exhaling, he tries to relax and shake the uneasiness. It works right up until he spots his partner entering the restaurant. Wiping his palms on his jeans, Steve gets up and readies himself for the conversation.

“Hey, babe,” Danny says once he’s located Steve in the crowded restaurant. “How are you doing?” He asks, already leaning in for a quick hug.

Steve allows his body to lean into Danny’s, soaking up the familiar warmth and Danny’s unique smell. “Hey, good to see you,” he replies. “How was Jersey?”

The happy smile on Danny’s face says it all. Everyone knows that he misses his family and he treasures every minute he can spend with them. “It was great,” Danny says. “My parents say hi, by the way.”

“Thank you. Your parents are really great,” Steve says, moving to sit down again.

“They really are, aren’t they?”

Steve stops mid-movement when he hears Melissa’s voice. Looking up, he sees her coming up behind Danny. He feels completely blindsided and just stares at her for a moment, not knowing what to do or say. He didn’t expect this.

Danny, who apparently senses his confusion, speaks up, “Uh, you don’t mind Melissa being here, right? We went to the story to buy some stuff for the baby and kinda lost track of time. I didn’t have time to drop her off at home. That’s okay, right?”

Steve blinks. This just threw all his plans overboard. His eyes wander from Danny to Melissa, who’s wearing a tight blue tank top with a pair of shorts. Her shirt is hugging her belly tightly, displaying her small baby bump. She looks beautiful. Steve feels a pang inside his chest. Eventually, when he notices that both Danny and Melissa are looking at him expectantly, he smiles and waves his hand nonchalantly. “Of course not. Come on, have a seat.”

It’s hard, but Steve tries to not let his disappointment and frustration show. He’s gathered all his courage in order to come clean to Danny, and now he won’t even be able to do it. A whirlwind of emotions crashes over him; Disappointment, annoyance and even anger. He doesn’t know which is dominant and that irritates him even more. He knows that he’s dealing with hormones, but that knowledge isn’t helping him one bit in the current situation.

“So, what did I miss while I was gone? Anything interesting?” Danny asks while reading through the menu.

Steve is tempted to tell his partner about his latest run in with a bullet. Maybe that way he’ll get his undivided attention at least for a little while. Of course, Steve discards that idea quickly. He’s made it clear to the rest of his team that no one is to tell Danny about him getting shot. So, instead of telling his best friend about the bruise the size of Texas on his chest, he just shrugs. “Nothing interesting. We caught a case but solved it pretty quickly.”

When their server appears at the table, they order their dinner and then continue talking about work until their food arrives. From there, the focus shifts to Danny, then Grace and Charlie and eventually to Melissa and her unborn baby. Steve nods along with her stories about doctor’s visits, sonograms and picking it out names, but it feels like someone is ripping his heart out. Especially when Danny leans over, places his hand on her stomach and announces that they are having a boy. Steve feels like he might be sick.

No, wait. He’s actually going to be sick.

Interrupting Melissa mid-sentence with a muttered apology, he shoots to his feet. His stomach is lurching dangerously as he hurriedly makes his way across the restaurant to the restrooms in the back. He just barely makes it to one of the stalls and to his knees before his dinner makes a very unpleasant reappearance. So much for being over morning sickness…

When he’s done dry heaving after what feels like a goddamn eternity, he’s completely spent. He’s sweaty and shaky and his stomach is hurting. He just wants to go home and crawl into bed. And as if feeling gross and smelling of puke isn’t bad enough, the door to the restroom suddenly opens and Danny is standing in in front of him. Steve bites back a desperate groan.

Danny’s eyes roam over Steve’s body for a second before he takes a step forward, hands outstretched as if he’s about to touch. But he doesn’t. “Are you okay?” He asks instead, hands hovering mid-air before he lets them drop back to his sides.

“Fine,” Steve replies and goes over to the sink to rinse out his mouth. He’s under no illusion that Danny can’t detect the sour smell of vomit in the air.

“Fine?” Danny repeats. “You just puked. I don’t think that’s what normal people call fine.”

“Maybe I’m not normal then!” Steve bites back, unable to hold back his boiling emotions any longer. He straightens up and whirls around to face Danny, eyes narrowed in anger. “Isn’t that what you keep telling me? That I’m crazy and reckless and anything but normal?”

“Whoa, hey. Relax. That’s not what I meant,” Danny says, palms up high in a calming way.

Steve deflates a little and slumps back against the sink. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

Danny carefully approaches his friend and steps right into his personal space. Steve can almost feel the heat of his body. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

He wants to. He really, really wants to. But he can’t. Not here. Not in a smelly restroom with Melissa less than 50 feet away. “It’s nothing. Just a bug.”

“You sure?” Danny asks. He puts his hand on Steve’s shoulder and shakes him lightly. “Because you’re my best friend and I can always tell when you’re lying. And right now you are.”

The warm touch on his shoulder grounds Steve and he has to keep himself from leaning into it. “Look, we need to talk. But, not here, alright? This doesn’t feel right.”

Danny frowns, but eventually seems to accept the answer. “Okay, fine. But, uh, actually, there’s also something I need to talk to you about. And it can’t really wait.” He’s fidgeting now, and Steve tenses in anticipation.

“What is it?” He hears himself ask, not sure if he truly wants to hear the answer.

Danny runs a hand through is hair, like he always does when he’s nervous. “I had a talk with my sister back in Jersey. About Melissa. She thinks I need to make a commitment to her, especially because of the baby, and, uh, she might be right so…” He pauses and clears his throat. “I’m thinking about proposing to her.”

And that moment right there is when Steve’s world collapses.

Chapter Text

“Propose?” Steve repeats quietly, feeling very lightheaded all of a sudden. He instinctively reaches for the sink to steady himself. His hands are trembling. “You want to propose to Melissa?”

Danny shifts on his feet. He avoids meeting Steve’s eyes, instead he stares at a spot on the tiled floor. He’s shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, a clear sign of being uncomfortable. He licks his chapped lips. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Steve swallows against the drought in his throat. Danny can’t even look at him. Another kind of emotion is suddenly joining the utter despair and shock he’s feeling. It’s anger. Burning, flaming hot anger is slowly taking hold and Steve grits his teeth, hands clenched to fists. “You think it’s the right thing to do? Marriage is a pretty damn big commitment, Danny, don’t you think? Maybe you should be sure about your feelings before popping the question. You of all people should know that!”

Danny’s gaze snaps back up and his eyes flash dangerously. “What are you getting at?”

“You know what I’m getting at. Things didn’t work out with Rachel, neither the first nor the second time. What makes you think this time will be any different?” He can’t stop himself. All his pent-up emotions are bubbling to the surface and Steve is unable to prevent the words from spilling out. “Is this really what you want, Danny? Do you want to marry her?”

“Stop it,” Danny growls. His voice is low, but the words are as sharp as knifes. “This is none of your damn business!”

Steve nods. “You’re right. This is none of my business.” Without another word, he brushes past Danny and leaves the restroom. His hands are shaking with barely contained emotions. He’s feeling angry, sad, helpless and betrayed all at once. He wants to punch something and curl up in a ball of misery at the same time. Tears are starting to blur his vision and he has to blink rapidly to prevent them from falling.

Back at the table, Melissa is absentmindedly sipping her iced tea. She’s glancing out of the window, lost in thoughts. Steve takes a moment to just look at her. He wants to be mad at her as well—But he can’t. This isn’t her fault. He clears his throat when he steps up to the table, switching her attention from the window to him. “I’m sorry, but I have to go,” he says hoarsely and reaches for his wallet to pay for dinner.

She’s looking at him with a frown. “Is everything alright? Where’s Danny?” She asks, looking past him to the general direction of the restrooms.

“He’ll be back soon,” Steve replies as he puts down two twenty-dollar bills.

Melissa grabs his wrist when he moves to pull his hand back. Her hazel eyes are widened in concern. “Is everything alright between the two of you?”

Steve tries to smile. He carefully peels her fingers away from his forearm. “Don’t worry about us.” Her lips are pursed and he can tell that she is about to ask further questions, but he doesn’t let her. He can’t take much more. Not tonight. “Take care, Melissa.”

“Steve—“

But he’s already gone. He can feel her eyes on his back like scorching laser beams as he walks briskly toward the entrance of the restaurant. The air inside the place feels stuffy and he’s struggling to breathe. He needs to get out of here.

The air outside is chilly and it smells like it’s about to rain. Steve inhales shakily and digs his car keys out of his pocket. He needs to pull himself together. In six months, he’s going to become a father. He can’t keep focusing on his complicated relationship with Danny. Not when Danny has already made his decision. He wants to be with Melissa. The thing Steve and he had all those weeks ago had just been a distraction. It didn’t mean anything. And Steve needs to finally realize that. Right now, all that matters is his baby. Nothing else. Nobody else.

The drive back to Danny’s house is spent in silence. After Steve had left the bathroom, Danny had just stood there for a few minutes, staring at his own reflection in the mirror and wondering when the hell things went to shit in his life. He doesn’t know what reaction he expected to get from Steve when breaking the news about the proposal to him, but he would have never expected the heartbroken look on Steve’s face. The anger, yes, he’d anticipated that. Also the mocking. But not the pain. Not the gut-wrenching, raw flicker of pain that had passed over Steve’s face before the impenetrable mask had slipped back into place. No one should ever even dare to put that look on Steve’s face. No one—And least of all Danny. They guy has been through so much already and was abandoned by so many people. Danny’s his best friend, he’s supposed to protect Steve from people like that. Tonight, he was neither a friend nor did he care about his partner’s feelings. And he feels absolutely terrible about it.

“What is going on, Danny?” Melissa asks him suddenly. “Is Steve okay? He seemed upset.”

Danny swallows against the lump in his throat. Because, truth be told, he doesn’t know. He has no idea what’s going on with Steve. They haven’t really talked with each other since that night at Steve’s house. They’d had their usual conversations, did their usual bantering and bickering, but nothing ever went deeper than that. Danny is scared to expose his feelings to Steve, because that would only make things more complicated. And they don’t need that.

“Danny?”

They’re sitting in his driveway now. He doesn’t even know how they got there. He has driven them here on autopilot. He runs a hand down his face. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “I was lost in thoughts…”

Melissa sighs loudly. “What is going on, Danny? And don’t tell me it’s nothing, because I’m not stupid,” she says, turning her upper body so she can look at him. She looks beautiful. Pregnancy is looking fantastic on her, making her even prettier. But that might not be enough.

“Can we talk about this tomorrow? It’s late already and I have to pick up Grace and Charlie early tomorrow morning.” He knows his deflecting and trying to take the easy way out. But he doesn’t want to talk about Steve right now. Not when his head is a jumbles mess of thoughts and feelings.

“Sure,” Melissa says curtly and gets out of the car. Danny closes his eyes and allows his head to drop back against the headrest with a dull thump.

Early on Sunday morning, Danny pulls up in front of his ex-wife’s house. This isn’t technically his weekend, but Rachel and Stan have an appointment and Danny offered to take the kids for a couple of hours. Rachel didn’t share any specific details with Danny, but he assumes that they are meeting with a topnotch and expensive divorce lawyer. And that is another reason why Danny wants to keep Melissa in his life. His children are about to lose a parental figure. Stan has already made plans to move to Las Vegas after the divorce and Grace and Charlie are both heartbroken about that. And Danny knows they both like Melissa. He doesn’t want to take that away from them.

“Hey Danno,” Grace greets her father when she helps her little brother climb into the backseat of the car. She expertly buckles him in. Danny is standing on the other side of the car, just watching his children. They are without doubt the best things he’s ever accomplished in his life. Grace tilts her head at his fond look. “What’s going on, dad?”

Danny shakes himself back to the present. “Nothing,” he replies with a casual shrug. “I’m just happy to spend time with the two people I love the most in this world.”

“Okay,” Grace replies, stretching the word. She moves to sit down in the front seat, but not before she asks, “Hey, where is Uncle Steve? Is he meeting us at the restaurant?”

Danny’s taken aback at her question. “Steve?” He repeats and quickly slides behind the wheel of the Camaro. He looks at Grace intently. “What are you talking about?”

“We haven’t seen Uncle Steve in a while so I texted him yesterday. He said that we all could go out for breakfast today and that he would talk to you about it during dinner,” she explains and Danny swallows dryly. “He didn’t talk to you, did he?” Grace guesses, sounding upset.

“I want Uncle Steve!” Charlie shouts from the backseat, almost causing Danny to lose it right then and there. He suddenly realizes that he’s been pushing Steve away. Not even intentionally, but what difference does that make? He’s hurt Steve. And now he’s hurting his children. This has to end.

“I’m sorry, monkey,” he apologizes, rubbing his forehead. “Uncle Steve and I talked about something else during dinner and he probably forgot about it. But I’m sure we can work something out. How about we call him now?” He proposes, already reaching for his phone. He choses his partner’s number and waits for him to pick up. He’s not surprised when the call rolls to voicemail after the forth beeps. “He’s probably busy already, plotting some crazy stuff he can drive me crazy with,” he jokes lamely. The disappointed look on Grace and also Charlie’s faces is like a punch to the gut. “I’m sorry, guys.”

Grace shrugs. “Whatever.”

After breakfast, Danny takes his kids to a nearby park. Rachel is supposed to pick them up in about twenty minutes. While Charlie is playing on the monkey bars, Grace is sitting next to her father on a bench, typing away on her phone. Danny rolls his eyes. “How about you put that thing away and enjoy the view for a second?” He says, pointing at his daughter’s smartphone.

“Why? So I can stare at absolutely nothing like you are? Sounds exciting,” she mutters, only briefly looking up at her father.

Danny bits his lower lip. Even his daughter notices that he is preoccupied and not really here. “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe busying yourself is better than thinking about every single life choice you’ve ever made,” he sighs.

That makes Grace put down her phone. She looks at her father, but doesn’t say anything. Danny feels uncomfortable, because this is the exact same look Rachel used to give him when she wanted him to spill the beans on something that was bothering him.

After a couple of minutes, Grace speaks. “Are you going to marry Melissa?”

The unexpected question makes Danny gasp and he stares at his daughter in utter shock. He hasn’t talked to anyone about this, only Steve is aware of it. “What?” He asks, licking his lips. “What makes you think that?”

“When I used your phone earlier, I saw your browsing history. You were looking at engagement rings.”

Danny’s flabbergasted. He doesn’t know what to say. “Grace, I… You’re not supposed to snoop around on other people’s phones.”

She ignores him. “So, are you? Proposing to her, I mean.”

“Grace—“

“You shouldn’t do it,” she blurts out. “You shouldn’t marry her just because you’re worried she’s going to take the baby away from you. She’s not mom.”

Again, Danny is rendered speechless. His mouth just opens and closes like a fish, but no words make it past his lips.

“Look,” Grace continues. “I like Melissa. She’s really nice and pretty and I’m excited to get another brother. But… Are you in love with her? Like, really in love her with butterflies in your tummy and all that?”

“No,” Danny thinks. He’s not in love with her. They had a good time together and he likes her, but he doesn’t love her. She’s not the one he wants to be with and wants to spend the rest of his life with. He’s lost his heart to someone else already… Danny drops his head in his hands with a groan.

“You should go and talk to Uncle Steve, Danno,” Grace says quietly.

Danny’s head snaps up and he glances at Grace wide-eyed. “Uncle Steve?”

Smiling knowingly, the teenager wraps her arms around her father’s shoulders. “You love him, don’t you? And I’m pretty sure he loves you too,” she grins and presses a kiss to Danny’s cheek. “You’re not that hard to figure out, dad.”

Danny laughs, tears clouding his vision. “When did you become such a grown up?” He asks as he hugs his daughter closer.

She shrugs. “Sometimes life is just as complicated as you make it.”

“Yeah,” Danny agrees, brushing away a stray tear. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. I love you, monkey.”

“I love you too, Danno.”

Later that day, Danny is thinking about calling Steve again, but he never goes through with it. There are so many things he wants to tell his partner, but doing it over the phone just doesn’t feel right. It’s too personal.

Eventually, Danny gets behind the wheel of his car and drives to Steve’s house on Piikoi Street. The silver truck is sitting in its usual spot in front of the garage, but everything’s quiet. Heart beating like a jackhammer inside his chest, Danny walks up to the front door. He pauses, thinking about what to do. He usually just enters the house, no knocking, no nothing. But he’s not sure Steve would appreciate that. Not after their fallout the day before. So, instead of just letting himself in, Danny knocks.

Ten, then twenty seconds go by without anyone answering the door. Danny knocks again, but the result is the same. With a huff, Danny decides to walk around the house and see if Steve might be in the backyard, possibly swimming or just sitting outside with a beer like he sometimes does.

Danny realizes pretty quickly that Steve isn’t outside either. The doors to the lanai are closed and there’s neither a towel nor another trace of Steve on either one of the beach chairs. It appears like he’s not home after all. Blowing out a breath, Danny runs his hand through his hair and reluctantly walks back to his car. He debates about simply waiting for Steve to return, but decides against it. He will talk to him tomorrow at work.

Danny’s rarely the first one to arrive at headquarters in the morning. And today isn’t any different. He’s been up for a while, though, going over everything he wants and needs to tell Steve. It’s a long list and Danny hopes his partner won’t just take flight.

When he pulls into the parking lot in front of Iolani Palace, he instantly realizes that something is missing. He frowns at Steve’s empty parking spot and looks around to see if his friend has parked somewhere else. But he’s not here. A weird feeling settles in the pit of Danny’s stomach and a strange sense of foreboding washes over him. Steve is never this late.

Danny quickly parks his own car in its designated spot and quickly approaches the building that holds Five-0 headquarters. He quickly jogs up the stairs and pushes through the large glass doors. Chin, Kono and Lou, who are standing around the smart table, look up. Danny glances toward Steve’s office, hoping that maybe he caught a ride with someone. But his office is just as empty as the parking spot outside. He turns to his friends. “Where’s Steve?”

Kono and Lou look at Chin without saying anything. Danny’s stomach clenches. Chin clears his throat. “Steve’s gone, Danny.”

Chapter Text

It takes two months for Steve to figure things out and return to Hawaii. When he arrives at Honolulu International Airport eight weeks after he’s left the island to spend time with his sister, he feels better than he has in weeks. He’s over the morning sickness now and has finally managed to put on some healthy weight. It’s not much and his muscles are still well defined and firm, but the doctor he’s been seeing in Los Angeles approves. He’s also found out that he’s having a little girl.

When Steve steps into the baggage claim area, he looks around until he spots Chin near carousel B1. Smiling brightly, he walks through the crowd of tourists and other travelers until he’s in Chin’s earshot. “Chin,” he calls and grins when the man’s eyes focus on him.

Chin instantly mirrors Steve’s happy smile and pulls him into a welcoming hug. “Steve, it’s good to see you, brah. How are you?”

“It’s good to see you, too,” Steve replies, clapping his friend on the back. He pulls back, still smiling. “I’m good. Great, actually,” he adds.

Chin nods in approval and his eyes wander down to Steve’s stomach. “Wow,” Chin laughs. “The baby has grown quite a bit.”

Chuckling, Steve puts a hand on his belly. He’s started showing a few weeks ago. The small bump is easy to miss, but for people who are aware of the life growing inside it, it’s difficult not to notice. “Yeah, she’s getting better every day now,” he says.

“She, huh?” Chin grins.

Steve only grins in response. He’s kept in touch with Chin during his absence, letting him know periodically that he’s okay and taken care of, while Chin sporadically updated him about his team and their cases.

Out of the corners of his eyes, Steve sees his suitcase on the baggage carousel. He moves to pick it up, but Chin’s hand on his arm stops him. “Let me,” Chin offers, gently nudging Steve out of the way. “I’m sure you’re not supposed to lift anything heavy.”

“Thanks, Chin,” Steve replies and steps out of the way while his friend lifts the weighty suitcase off the carousel. It hadn’t been this heavy when Steve left, but Mary had given him a ton of baby things she still had at home from Joan—Mostly clothes and cute little shoes. Steve has no idea where to put all of it, but now that he is halfway through his pregnancy, it’s time to think about buying new furniture and setting up the baby’s room.

“C’mon on, I parked just outside. Perks of being a police officers,” Chin winks. He leads Steve outside to his red Mustang and makes quick work of loading the suitcase into the car’s trunk.

Steve drops his duffel bag that served as hand luggage onto the backseat. “Mahalo for picking me up Chin, I really appreciate it,” he says when he straightens up again and opens the door on the passenger side of the vehicle.

“Of course,” Chin replies and moves to sit behind the wheel of the Mustang. He starts the car and pulls away from the airport.

“The place looks clean,” Steve says in surprise when he steps through the front door of his house. He looks around, amazed to find everything neat and well taken care off. There’s no dust and his plants have obviously been watered. All his mail is stacked on the coffee table, divided in two piles; envelopes and brochures, flyers and catalogs.

Steve turns to Chin to thank him for taking care of things while he was gone, but Chin holds up a hand before he can speak. “I can’t take credit for that. Danny took care of everything.”

Steve blinks. “Danny?” To be honest, his partner is the last person he expected to do this.

Chin, who’s leaning against the doorframe, nods. “Yeah. I only restocked your refrigerator yesterday. I did a lot of research on what’s safe for you to eat, so I hope what I bought is okay. But, yeah, everything else is Danny’s doing.”

Feeling a little overwhelmed by the unpredicted reveal, Steve just bobs his head and takes another look around. “Does he know I’m here?”

“No. I didn’t tell anyone. But, Steve, you need to talk to Danny. He was a wreck after you left. It took a lot of taking down and reassuring to prevent him from tracking you down. He was really worried about you.”

Sighing heavily, Steve sits down on his couch. Propping his elbows up on his knees, he drops his head into his hands and pushes the heels of his hands into his eyes. He knows Chin is right. He needs to talk to Danny. Whatever’s happened between them and no matter how their relationship is going to be in the future, Danny has the right to be in his daughter’s life. Steve can’t, and—more importantly—won’t keep him from that. “I know.”

Chin sits down next to Steve and squeezes his shoulder. “Listen, how about you get some rest? It’s been a long flight and I’m sure your tired. You can think about how to tell Danny later. And while you’re at it, I’m sure Kono and Lou would love to hear about the little one as well. You know how crazy they are about babies,” he chuckles, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Steve huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, okay. How about a barbeque at my place tomorrow evening?”

“Sounds good. I’ll let them know that you’re back. Have you talked to the Governor yet?”

Steve winces. That’s another conversation he’s been procrastinating. While Governor Mahoe was aware of the unpaid leave he took, she doesn’t know about the circumstances. For all she knows, the leader of her task force went to visit his sister due to a family emergency. But she’s another person Steve really needs to talk to. After all, he won’t be able to do his usual work for the next couple of months. At least not until the baby is born. “I’ll give her a call,” Steve says when he notices Chin’s questioning look.

“She’s not going to fire you, you know,” Chin says with an eye-roll.

“Let’s hope so,” Steve mutters and hoist himself off the couch. The task of doing everyday things like standing up, putting on shoes or getting out of bed are getting trickier every day. He looks down at his belly, wondering how much longer he’s going to see his own feet.

Steve has just laid down on the bed to take a nap, when he hears a loud knock on his front door. Opening his eyes with a huff, he debates for a moment if getting up is worth it. He eventually decides to just ignore the visitor. None of his friends know he’s back, so it’s probably just some aggravating guy in a suit trying to sell him something. And that’s definitely not worth the energy it would need to struggle out of bed. He closes his eyes again.

A second knock, this one louder, echoes upstairs and Steve’s eyes pop open once more. Growling deep in his throat, he shoves the pillow he’s place under his belly away and rolls as smoothly as possible to his feet. By the time Steve’s stomping down the stairs, the person has the galls to pound on the door even louder.

Steve reaches for the doorknob and all put rips it open. The wooden door almost gets torn off its hinges. “What the hell is your prob—“ His voice cuts off unexpectedly when he sees the last person he expected on his doorstep. His mind pulls a complete blank and he just stares at Danny, frozen in place.

“You’re back,” Danny points out the obvious.

“How’d you know I’d be here?” Steve asks. He hasn’t moved an inch from his spot in the doorway. His mind is still reeling from Danny’s surprising appearance.

Danny licks his lips. “I had Jerry put an alert on your phone. As soon as you landed in Hawaii, I knew,” he explains, not even trying to conceal the fact that he invaded Steve’s privacy. “We need to talk.”

Steve sets his jaw. Danny is right. They do need to talk. But Steve’s not sure he’s ready for it this very moment. He didn’t have time to properly prepare himself for the conversation. Danny just showing up out of nowhere has completely thrown him off. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

“Please, Steve,” Danny almost begs when Steve refuses to let him inside. “It won’t take long.”

“Yes, it will,” Steve’s inner voice laughs bitterly. “I’ll call you, Danny,” Steve says quietly and steps back to close the door.

“Steve, wait!” Danny shouts and leaps forward, attempting to grab Steve’s forearm in order to prevent him from closing the door in his face. But Steve is already turning away from him, making Danny’s hand miss his partner’s arm completely. Instead, his palm brushes against Steve’s belly. They both freeze mid-movement. Neither one of them says anything when Danny’s blue eyes slowly travel down the length of Steve’s body until they settle on his stomach, inches from where Danny’s hand is still hovering in the air.

Steve’s heart is beating out of his chest and he has to clear his throat before he dares to speak. “Maybe you should come in,” he says quietly and takes a step back, allowing Danny to enter. For a few moments, Danny doesn’t move and Steve isn’t sure if he’s going to come in or run away.

Eventually, Danny blinks and tears his gaze away from Steve’s belly. He walks unsteadily into the house, where he stops in the middle of the room, looking completely lost. Steve slowly closes the door and briefly drops his forehead against the cool wood. “I wanted to tell you,” he says softly before he turns around to look at Danny.

Danny takes a shuddering breath. “I didn’t… I didn’t know you’ve been seeing someone.”

Steve’s heart plummets in his stomach. He swallows against the Sahara-like dryness in his throat. “Danny…” He says quietly. “It’s yours.”

Danny sucks in a breath. “What?”

Running both hands down his face, Steve takes a deep breath. “That night you came to my house after Melissa broke up with you? We got drunk and had unprotected sex.”

Danny wavers a bit on his feet as he takes everything in. He runs a shaky hand through his hair, making it stick up on one side. He shakes his head as if in denial. “But that was almost five months ago…”

“I’m twenty weeks along…” Steve clarifies.

Danny is trembling profoundly now. Worriedly, Steve takes a step forward in an attempt to guide Danny over to the couch. But when he reaches out, Danny takes a shaky step back. His face is no longer pale, but turning an angry red color. “You are five months pregnant with my child and didn’t think about telling me about it! How dare you, Steve!”

Stunned at the outburst, Steve quickly backs away. It’s now that he realizes that the trembling has nothing to do with shock. It’s rage. Pure and raw rage. “Danny—“

“How could you fucking do this to me?! After everything you’ve seen me go through with Charlie!” Danny goes on, never even acknowledging that Steve said his name. “What was your plan, huh? Keep this a secret and then tell me you’ve found the baby on your doorstep?!”

“Danny—“ Steve tries again.

“You should have told me!”

Steve’s had enough. He’s not going to just stand there, allowing Danny to yell at him about a shitty situation they’ve both created. He clenches his hands to fists. “I know I should have told you!” He roars, making Danny jump a little. “And I wanted to! Remember that talk we had in my office? I was fucking trying to tell you, but you stopped me! You called what happened a “mistake” and begged me to never bring it up again!”

“If I would have known you’re pregnant, do you honestly think I’d have reacted that way?!” Danny snarls, chest heaving. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me!”

“The only reason I did that in the first place was because you kept telling me that Melissa needs you! That you won’t do anything to jeopardize your relationship with her! Jesus, you are going to marry that woman! How do you think she is going to react when she finds out that you hooked up with me mere hours after you two broke up?! Do you think I wanted to keep this from you?! I fucking lov— You’re my family, Danny!”

“Family doesn’t lie to one another like that,” Danny growls. He isn’t yelling anymore, but his voice is still venomous and razor-sharp. “And I’m sure you’re happy to hear that Melissa and I broke up. So, not only did you keep me from being there for half this pregnancy, I’m also possibly loosing my unborn son if she decides to move back to the mainland. I hope you’re feeling better now.” With that, Danny brushes past Steve to the door.

Spinning around, Steve wants to stop Danny from storming off. They’re not done yet. He’s just about to bark his name, when he feels something in his abdomen he hasn’t felt before. It’s a weird and strange feeling and he can’t help but gasp.

Danny immediately halts and looks over his shoulder, hand already on the doorknob. “What’s wrong?”

Steve rubs a hand over his belly. “I-I don’t know…”

“Here, sit down,” Danny, who’s suddenly next to him again, says and takes his arm to lead him over to the couch. His voice is soft now, the anger and heat have vanished. “Do you want me to call your doctor?” He asks while he carefully helps Steve sit down.

Steve’s staring down at his bump, hands settled low on his belly. “No, I… I’m fine. I think she just kicked me for the first time,” he says and smiles when she does it again. Up until today, he’s only felt a light fluttering sensation, nothing more. This is the first time he’s ever felt her move like that. It’s the most incredible feeling in the entire world.

“We, uh, we are having a girl?” Danny asks softly and slowly sits down next to Steve on the couch. He’s keeping his distance and his body seems tense, but his voice is getting warmer.

Looking up, Steve meets Danny’s eyes. The blue eyes his missed so much. He nods. “Yes, we are having a girl,” he confirms and smiles a little. “Do you… Do you want to feel?” He asks, removing his own hands from his belly.

Danny hesitates and Steve bites his lip from the inside, fearing he might have moved too fast too soon. But then Danny nods and scoots closer. Steve slowly reaches out and takes his hand. He gently moves their joined hands to the spot the baby is currently kicking against. “Here.”

For the first time in a long while, they both smile. The offering to touch feels like extending an olive branch, and for the first time since this all started, Steve feels like there’s hope. Things might not be the same between them as before, and maybe they will never be, but he’s absolutely positive that they’ll both try their best to work things out. If not for them, then at least for their daughter.

Chapter Text

Danny watches Steve sleep on the couch in the living room. The air surrounding them is still a little tense, but at least they’re not screaming at each other anymore. It’s progress.

Leaning forward from where he sits in the leather recliner, Danny picks up the stack of ultrasound pictures Steve had shown him before he had unexpectedly nodded off, stretched out on his back on the couch. Their shouting match had taken a lot out of him, apparently. The oldest sonogram is 2.5 months old, showing a black blob with a tiny white shape inside of it. It takes some imagination, but Danny can see the baby’s head, body and limbs.

The latest picture was taken two weeks ago. Looking at it, Danny can’t help but smile. He lightly traces his fingers over the photograph, studying the baby’s tiny nose and small hands. Looking up, his gaze settles on Steve’s belly, which is rising and falling steadily with every slow breath he takes. Danny wants to reach out and touch it again, but he knows he’s lost that privilege when he pushed Steve away and stubbornly refused to listen to him.

As if Steve is feeling Danny’s eyes on him, he grunts in his sleep and rolls over, curling up on his side with one arm wrapped protectively around his stomach. Danny swallows against the lump in the back of his throat. Even in his sleep, Steve is guarded—Even around Danny. That awareness is painful and it makes Danny realize just how lonely and abandoned Steve must have felt in the last couple of months. He’s glad that Steve found some comfort with Chin and Mary, but it should have been him. Danny should have been the one to lend a shoulder to lean on, to share the burden and be there for Steve when he wasn’t feeling well. “I’m so sorry…” he whispers, allowing a single tear to slip from his eyes. “I’ll make things up to you, I promise.”

When Steve wakes up, he’s a little disoriented. He can’t remember falling asleep and he’s surprised to find himself covered by a thin blanket. Rubbing his eyes, he sits up and blearily looks around. The sun has already set and the only source of light is the small lamp in the corner of the room. When his eyes land on the ultrasound pictures on the coffee table, he suddenly remembers Danny’s unexpected visit and their following exchange of harsh and loud words. There’s another piece of paper on the table and Steve leans forward to pick it up. It’s a handwritten note.

I didn’t want to wake you. There’s a sandwich in the fridge in case you’re hungry. I’m really sorry about everything. – Danny

Steve sighs. He knows Danny is sorry. He’s seen it in his eyes and the way his shoulder were hunched, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back. Steve understands that Danny’s situation isn’t an easy on either. Rachel had lied to him for years, telling him that Charlie isn’t his son. So Steve gets why Danny felt like he needed to keep Melissa as close as possible. And he also understands why he flipped out when he learned about Steve’s pregnancy. Again, Rachel’s fault. If there’s one thing Danny can’t stand, then it’s getting lied to. Too many people have done that in the past. But despite that, or maybe precisely because of that, Steve wants to make things work between them for the sake of their daughter. She deserves to have a real family, even if that means having to travel back and forth between her two fathers. Because, right now, Steve doesn’t know where he wants his relationship with Danny to go. He doesn’t even know if Danny has any kind of feelings for him. They’ve never talked about this kind of thing. Their hookup had been a one-time-thing. Groaning, Steve drops his head in his hands. All this thinking is giving him a headache.

Pushing to his feet, he walks to the kitchen to get the sandwich Danny mentioned. After that, all he wants to do is fall into bed and sleep some more. Because tomorrow he needs to have a long overdue chat with the governor—And also with his team.

It’s way past midnight already, but Danny is still awake. He’s sitting on a chair at the kitchen table, nursing a beer that’s still mostly full and just stares straight ahead. His head is still spinning from his conversation with Steve and he feels strangely unsettled and wired. A lot of different emotions are cursing through is body, fighting for dominance. But one feeling keeps rising to the surface. Guilt. He feels guilty about abandoning Steve. He feels guilty about pushing him away and not letting him talk. And he feels guilty for even thinking that proposing to Melissa would have solved all his problems. It hadn’t been fair to neither her nor Steve. It was just stupid.

Blowing out a breath, Danny rubs his forehead and pushes his by now warm beer away. There’s a side of him that just wants to drown his sorrow in cheep Whiskey, but he refuses to give into that. The last thing he needs is a raging hangover tomorrow morning.

So instead of drinking himself into oblivion, Danny reaches for his cell phone and types in a familiar number. Holding the device to his ear, he closes his eyes and prays that someone is going to answer. It takes a few rings, but eventually the call is answered by a sleepy sounding voice. “Hello?”

Danny licks his dry lips. “Ma, it’s me.”

“Daniel?” Clara Williams says, sounding surprised. “Honey, it’s 6 AM. Is everything alright?”

“No…” He replies. He feels the familiar burn of tears and he presses his palm against his eyes. “I screwed up, Ma.”

“What is going on, Daniel? Are the kids okay? Is it your team?” She sounds worried now, and Danny knows he’s freaking his mother out. It isn’t like him to call her this early in the morning. Especially not when he sounds this upset.

“It’s Steve. He’s pregnant,” Danny explains, not beating around the bush.

“Steve’s pregnant? Isn’t that good news?”

Danny smiles sadly. Because, yeah, his mother’s right. It is good news. Because he’s absolutely positive that Steve will be a terrific father. And he’s also convinced that the former Navy SEAL is excited to welcome his first child into the world—Despite all the drama.

“Sweetheart, are you still there?”

Danny clears his throat. “Yeah, yeah. I’m here.” He takes a deep breath. “Steve’s baby is mine. I’m the father.”

Stillness. It’s not easy to stun a Williams into silence, but Danny has obviously accomplished just that. It’s his turn now to ask if his mother is still on the line.

“I’m… I’m here. I’m just a little surprised. I wasn’t expecting that,” she admits.

“It’s a long story,” Danny sighs and then proceeds to tell his mother everything; His breakup with Melissa, the one-night-stand with Steve, finding out about Melissa’s pregnancy up to finding out about Steve’s pregnancy. By the time he’s done explaining, his throat feels almost raw and he’s fighting tears again. He’s an emotional wreck right now.

Clara Williams sighs loudly. “Do you love him?”

Of all the things Danny thought his mother would say, this isn’t what he expected. He’s a little taken aback. But when the actual question sinks in, he doesn’t have to consider the answer. “Yes, I do.”

“In that case, you better fix things with him. Look, he needs you now. I’ve met Steve and he’s a sweet and wonderful man, but very reserved when it comes to his feelings. He’s not going to come to you, asking for help and support. But that’s your job. Be there for him. Help him through this pregnancy. Your daughter comes first, your relationship second, you understand? Give him time to forgive you and earn back his trust. But don’t forget about Melissa and your son. They need you just as much.”

Danny takes every bit of advice from his mother to heart, because she’s right about absolutely everything. “Thank you, ma.”

“You’re welcome. I might be 5000 miles and a few time zones away, but I’ll always be there for you. I love you, Daniel,” Clara says.

Danny smiles, even though his mother can’t see it. “I love you too.”

After ending the call to New Jersey, Danny gets to his feet. He empties the stale beer in the sink and goes to his bedroom. Tomorrow, they’re going to tell the rest of their team about the baby, and Danny has no idea how that will turn out. Furthermore, he needs to tell Melissa about it as well. That’s definitely a conversation he’s dreading. They’re on good terms despite their breakup, but he doesn’t know how the news of Steve’s pregnancy is going to affect that.

Being back at headquarters feels a little strange to Steve after being gone for two months. His usual parking spot is still there, waiting for him as if he’s never left. After parking his truck, he climbs out of the car and looks around. From the looks of it, all members of his team are already at the office. Grabbing the box of freshly baked malasadas from the backseat, he approaches the building.

Before going into work, Steve had paid a visit to Governor Mahoe. He told her that he’s expecting a baby—Leaving out the fact that his work partner is the baby’s father for now—and asked to be put on desk duty. It’s not something he’s particularly excited about, but there’s no way around it. Not if he wants to keep the baby safe. Also, he’s pretty sure that his friends would rather handcuff him to his desk than allow him to participate in anything more dangerous than stapling piles of paper together. He can kiss his gun, grenades and other toys goodbye—At least for now.

The first person Steve lays eyes on when he reaches Five-0 headquarters is Kono. The youngest member of their team is standing at the smart table, going over what appears to be dozens of bank statements. When she yawns loudly into her fist, he can’t help but chuckle a little. “Don’t tell me you’re tired already. It’s not even 10 AM.”

Kono’s head snaps up. Her eyes are wide and she just stares at Steve for a few seconds. She’s obviously surprised to see him. But when she’s over the initial disbelief, a bright smile appears on her face and she’s walking toward him, arms wide open. “Boss! You’re back!”

Steve barely manages to keep the malasadas from slipping out of hand when she hugs him, almost knocking him off balance. “It’s good to see you too,” he laughs, breathing in her shampoo, which smells of coconuts and roses. He’s missed her.

“Steve, what is this?” She asks suddenly, pulling back a little from the embrace. At first, Steve thinks she’s asking about the box in his hand, but then he realizes that she’s looking at him. More specifically, at his belly. It dawns on him then that she must have felt his bump while hugging him. Looks like he’s sharing the news sooner rather then later.

“Say hi to the newest member of our Ohana,” he says, happy smile firmly in place. “I’m pregnant.”

Kono’s mouth drops open. “You’re what?!” She shouts, hands covering her mouth. “Oh my god, that’s great news! Congratulations!” Her arms are once again wrapped around his body and Steve enjoys every second of it.

“What are we celebrating?” Lou’s deep voice sounds and when Steve looks up, he sees the tall Chicago native and Chin walk into the bullpen. Danny is there as well, but he lingers in the background near the safety of his personal office.

“Steve is having a baby!” Kono blurts out, unable to keep the utter joy out of her voice. “We’re gonna have a Five-0 baby!”

“That’s great, man,” Lou says and claps Steve on the back before he pulls him into a hug as well. They talk for a while and both Kono and Lou are eager to learn every little detail about the little girl. Chin is standing nearby, smiling. When Steve glances toward Danny’s office, he sees that his partner is leaning against the doorframe with a pinched expression on his face. He seems tense. They agreed on sharing everything with their team, including the fact that they conceived during a one-night-stand. But it’s clearly not something Danny wants people to know, even though these people are like family to him.

Steve clears his throat. “How about a barbeque at my place tonight? To celebrate?”

“I’m in,” Lou agrees, as do Kono and Chin.

When Danny fails to respond, Steve addresses him directly. “What about you, Danny?”

Danny shifts uncomfortably. “I can’t. I’m meeting with Melissa for dinner.”

Despite everything that’s happened, Steve feels sympathy for Danny. He knows why he’s meeting with Melissa. The rest of the team is aware that he and Melissa have broken up, but they don’t know all the details yet. And neither does she. And Steve guesses the outcome of their talk probably won’t be very rosy. Steve’s offered to be there when he tells her, but Danny declined. This is just something he needs to do by himself.

“How about a beer then? After your dinner with Melissa?” Steve asks.

The tiniest smile passes over Danny’s lip. “That’d be great.”

They hold each other’s gaze for a few moments, just looking into the other’s eyes before Steve has to look away. He clears his throat again and claps his hands. “It’s settled then. 7 PM, my house.”

Later that day, Danny is sitting at a table in a restaurant in Waikiki. He can’t even remember the name of the place. He’s nervously playing with the saltshaker, almost dropping it twice because of his sweaty palms. When he sees his pregnant ex-girlfriend enter the restaurant, his heart doubles in speed. He quickly gets to his feet. “Hey, thanks for coming,” he says as he pulls back a chair for her to sit down.

Her belly has grown since he’s last seen her. She allows him to come to doctor’s visits and they even signed up for birth classes together, but other than that, she hasn’t called or texting him at all. Not that Danny can blame her.

“Of course,” she responds. Danny can tell that she’s trying to be civil, but there’s a bit of iciness in her voice. Again, nothing he can blame her for. After all, he broke up with her because he isn’t sure their relationship is going anywhere. “So, what’s up? It sounded important.”

“This is it,” Danny thinks. He takes a deep breath and begins…

Chapter Text

Steve is just emerging from the kitchen with a couple of beer bottles and an iced tea in his hands, when he hears a car pull up in his driveway. Peeking through the window, he sees the black Camaro parked next to Chin’s red Mustang. When Danny gets out of the car, Steve can already see that the conversation with Melissa hadn’t gone too well. Opening the door, Steve waits for his friend to reach the porch. He frowns, because Danny looks completely exhausted, like he hasn’t slept in days. And he looks emotionally spent. “How’d it go?” Steve asks when Danny looks up upon entering the house.

“Even worse than I expected,” Danny mumbles, then glances at the beer in Steve’s hand. “Can I have one of those? Or several?”

Steve hands one of the chilled bottles over without a comment and watches his partner take a big swig. “There’s still some steak and salad left, if you’re hungry,” Steve says, nodding his head toward the kitchen. Everyone brought something to eat, so his refrigerator is almost overflowing with food now. They keep telling him that he needs the calories, but he’s pretty sure that gaining 200 pounds isn’t that good either.

Danny shakes his head. “No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”

Steve decides not to press the matter. Instead, he goes for Danny’s weak spot. Dessert. “Kono made haupia. It’s her grandmother’s recipe. Go grab a plate. I know you love that stuff,” he says, nodding toward the kitchen. Danny might rant and bitch a lot about Hawaii, but he loves to eat haupia, a coconut milk-based Hawaiian dessert.

The tiniest of smiles appears on Danny’s face. “That does sound delicious,” he admits tiredly, and follows Steve through the living room outside. The rest of the team makes room for Danny around the table right away and before long, the entire Five-0 team is sitting around the table in Steve’s backyard, trading funny, interesting and embarrassing stories. The mood is great and Steve is happy to see some of the tension leave Danny’s body.

It’s well past midnight already when Chin gets up and announces that he’s leaving. By now, a great amount of empty beer bottles have accumulated and save for Chin, who’s the designated driver for the night, and Steve, everyone is pretty much totally wasted. But while Kono and Lou are loud and giggly drunks, Danny got more and more subdued the more alcohol he consumed. The rest of the team knows now that Danny is the father of Steve’s unborn baby, and they took it pretty well. They’re not judgmental and they all offered their support. Something both, Steve and Danny, truly appreciate. But Steve knows that the conversation with Melissa is still weighting heavily on his friend’s mind, and he can’t really blame him for trying to drown himself in alcohol tonight.

“Alright guys, let’s go. I’m sure Steve’s tired,” Chin announces as he grabs his cousin’s elbow to keep her from falling over with her chair. Lou just laughs and staggers after them. Chin looks at Danny, who’s still slouched in his chair. “I can drop you off at home as well, Danny. You can pick your car up tomorrow.”

After years of working together as partners and being best friends, Steve can read Danny like an open book with big, bold letters. And he knows that Danny doesn’t want to be alone tonight. Steve might not know any details, but Danny’s had a hard day. So, despite better judgment, Steve interferes, “He lives in the opposite direction of where you’re going. He can stay here for the night. I still haven’t fully cleaned out the guestroom so the bed is still there.”

Chin looks at him, then steps closer so only Steve can hear what he’s saying. “Are you sure about this? You don’t have to do this, Steve. I can take him home, safe and sound.”

For a second, Steve is tempted to agree with Chin, but then he shakes his head. Despite all, Danny is still his friend. And that’s what Danny needs right now; A friend. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Chin glances at the mess on the table. The empty bottles and glasses, the dirty dishes and used napkins. “At least let me help you with that stuff.”

Rolling his eyes with a smile, Steve grabs his friend’s arm. “Chin, I got it. I’m pregnant, not injured. You go ahead and get these two to bed,” Steve says, waving a hand at his other two friends with a grin.

“Fine,” Chin finally agrees. “Thanks again for inviting us all for dinner.”

Steve clasps Chin’s shoulder. “I’m glad you came,” he replies before he quickly hugs Kono, who almost knocks them both over when she trips over a grade hose, and slaps Lou on the back. He sees them out and waves at them when they pull out of the driveway before he returns to the lanai. Danny is still sitting in his chair, head propped up on a fist, staring out to the ocean. Steve sighs. “Let’s go to bed Danny. You can crash in the guestroom, c’mon.”

“Melissa is moving back in with her parents,” Danny suddenly announces out of nowhere, voice slightly slurred. He’s still staring at the dark waves in the distance, but Steve can see the unshed tears in his eyes. He looks at least ten years older than he actually is.

“She’s moving back to the mainland?” Steve asks quietly and sits down next to his friend again. A strange sense of déjà-vu washes over him. But instead of having alcohol churn in his belly, there’s something else moving around inside of him. “I’m sorry, Danny.”

Danny shrugs his shoulders. “She doesn’t know when she’ll be back. Or if. I kinda expected it but… but it still hurts, you know. He’s my son too.” His voice breaks at the end of the sentence and he buries his head in his hands. A strangled sob escapes his lips and Steve feels his heart starting to break. “Why do I screw up everything good in my life?”

“No, Danny…” Steve mutters and scoots closer so he can reach out and wrap an arm around Danny’s shaking shoulders. He doesn’t really know what to say. All he knows is that he can’t stand the sight of Danny being so broken and hopeless. It rips his heart to shreds. “We all make mistakes,” he says eventually. “No one is supposed to be perfect. Melissa may have broken up with you, but that’s no reason to take your son away from you.”

Now, Danny looks up. His eyes are red and tears have dampened his cheeks and the collar of his blue dress shirt. “She didn’t break up with me. I broke up with her. I broke up with her because I didn’t love her anymore. Haven’t for a while,” he admits, then hiccups. “Because I’m in love with someone else.”

Steve freezes. He wants to ask more, find out more details, but it feels wrong. Danny is drunk and an emotional heap of misery at the moment. It would be unfair to take advantage of that. So instead of asking his partner to share more personal information, he just squeezes Danny’s arm and gets back to his feet. “Let’s go to bed Danny. We’ll figure something out tomorrow, I promise.”

A look of utter trust passes over Danny’s face and Steve almost chokes at the intensity of it. Danny believes him, trusts his every word. “Okay.”

Steve helps Danny to his feet and guides him inside. Their walk is unsteady and Steve is having a hard time to just keep them upright. He winces when Danny stumbles into a table and knocks over a vase, causing it to shatter into a million pieces.

Thankfully, they arrive at the downstairs guest bedroom without another incident. Steve has started to transform the room into a nursery, but except for having cleaned out the large closet in the corner to make room for all the stuff Mary has given him, he hasn’t changed much yet. So the large bed is still standing in its usual spot, ready for someone to sleep in it. He’s even washed the sheets a couple of days ago.

“Do you need anything?” Steve asks after he’s deposited Danny on the bed and freed him of his phone, wallet and car keys.

Danny sinks against the pillows, eyes already falling shut. Steve sighs. He’s rarely seen Danny this upset and devastated before, and it’s not something he wants to ever see again. Yes, Danny has made mistakes, but he doesn’t deserve this.

Thinking Danny has already fallen asleep, Steve turns around to leave the room. He’s just turned off the lights when a sleepy and slurred voice makes him halt. “You’re gonna be a great dad, Steve. She’s lucky to have you in her life.”

Steve has to swallow against his own tears now and he needs to clear his throat before he’s able to speak. “She will have both of us in her life, Danny.”

There’s no answer, and it doesn’t take long before Steve hears soft snoring noises coming from the general direction of the bed. Steve puts a hand on his growing belly and briefly closes his eyes. Then he pulls the door shut behind his back and heads upstairs, climbing into bed as well.

Danny wakes up with a pounding headache and the feeling of having something furry and decaying in his mouth. He groans when he realizes that he’s suffering from a pretty spectacular hangover. Despite the marching band in his head, he quickly realizes that he’s not in his own bed. Pushing up on his elbows, he blearily looks around. It takes his fuzzy brain a couple of seconds, but he eventually recognizes the wooden dresser in the corner and the unfashionable bed sheets, which look like they’re from the seventies. Steve. He’s at Steve’s house. He kind of remembers the night before, but he has no clue how he ended up in his partner’s guest room. But he must have been pretty hammered.

Deciding to get to the bottom of things, Danny rolls out of bed a little awkwardly, swallowing back a mouthful of bitter bile. Grimacing, he closes his eyes and palms his aching forehead. He’s definitely not twenty anymore and can just hop out of bed after a night of heavy drinking. Picking up his phone from where someone—Probably Steve—must have put it, he checks the time. It’s half past seven and he swears again. Work. He needs to go to work, hangover or not. Danny stumbles to his feet. He notes that he’s still dressed in yesterday’s clothes and when he catches a whiff of himself, he realizes that, in addition to a change of clothes, he’s also in dire need of a shower.

Shuffling out of the guestroom, Danny groans in pain when the rising sun that streams through the large windows in the living room sends daggers through his skull. Throwing a hand up, he covers both eyes and blindly walks to the kitchen. When he peeks out from underneath his hand, he sees Steve standing next to the sink, drying a plate. He’s already freshly showered and dressed.

“Good morning,” Steve says. “How are you feeling?”

Danny just grunts in response and ungracefully drops down on one of the stools. A cup of steaming hot coffee appears out of nowhere and he wraps his hand around it, muttering a quick thanks. The first sip tasted horrible and for a brief moment, he thinks he’s going to puke all over Steve’s kitchen floor.

“Here, take this,” Steve says, pushing a white pill bottle across the table. “It’s an antiemetic. I took it in the first couple of weeks of my pregnancy.”

Danny squints at the label. “I’m not pregnant, though…” He mutters.

“No, you’re not. But I’m pretty sure you’re feeling really, really nauseous right now. These will help,” he says, pointing at the bottle.

Without further comment, Danny tosses two of the white pills back and washes them down with a gulp of coffee. Looking down at the bottle in his hands, he notices that more than half of it is already empty. There’s a lump in his throat now, but it has little to do with his excessive alcohol consumption from the night before. He clears his throat. “Where you, uh, where you sick a lot? During pregnancy, I mean.”

Steve leans against the counter and crosses his arms over his chest. “Just in the beginning, I guess. Couldn’t keep anything down. But it got better once I passed the first trimester.”

A new wave of guilt crashes over Danny. “I’m sorry…”

Steve shrugs and pushes off the counter. “It’s part of being pregnant,” he says as he grabs a damp rag and heads outside to clean up the remnants of their team dinner.

But Danny stops him by grabbing his arm. “That’s not what I meant.”

Steve meets his eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

Steve is looking straight into Danny’s eyes. He sees something in his partner’s gaze. There’s the obvious guilt, but then there’s something else. Longing? Steve’s tempted to bring up the conversation from last night, when Danny said that he broke up with Melissa because he’s in love with someone else. But he can’t. Danny obviously can’t remember that part anymore, and Steve doesn’t want to bring it up first. “Look Danny, the first couple of weeks were rough, I’m not gonna lie. But I made it through it. I’m fine, as is the baby. Can we please put that behind us now? We both made mistakes in the beginning, okay? But I still have twenty weeks to go and it would be great to have you here for that. As her father and my best friend.”

Danny nods, hand remaining wrapped around Steve’s arm. “I would really like that.”

Smiling, Steve covers Danny’s hand with his own and squeezes. “Great.”

After a few seconds of just smiling at each other, Danny pulls back his hand. “I need a shower. And clean clothes. And probably a toothbrush as well,” he lists as he stands up. “Are we gonna meet at headquarters?” He asks as he walks to the front door.

“Yeah. I’m heading to the office now,” Steve calls after him. “Oh, and Danny?”

Danny stops and turns. “Yeah?”

“I’m here for you if you need to talk, alright? And I’m also here to help you with Melissa. I promised you last night that we’d find a way to solve this mess, and I intend to keep that promise,” Steve says, aware of the look of confusion on Danny’s face. He sees the moment Danny realizes that he’s told Steve about Melissa’s plans to move back to her parents, and confusion turns into pain. Steve smiles at him encouragingly. “We’ll find a way, I promise.”

Danny’s expression softens. “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

Two months later, Steve sits behind his desk at headquarters, attempting to read through a file. Unfortunately, his daughter has different ideas and he winces when she kicks him in the ribs. He rubs a soothing hand over his growing belly and shifts a little, trying to find a position that isn’t hurting his lower back. He’s in his third trimester now and his bump is definitely noticeable. His belly is still small compared to others, but his doctor had assured a very worried Danny that it’s completely normal. Steve just carries her more toward his back due to the taut muscles in his abdomen. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

Steve looks up when he catches movement out of the corners of his eyes. He’s supposed to be alone at the office, his team out to questions a guy about a robbery/murder on the North Shore. That’s why he’s surprised to see Danny enter the bullpen, carrying a huge green thing that looks like a large, fat caterpillar. With a frown, Steve watches his partner make a beeline for his office.

“What the hell is that?” Steve asks as soon as Danny has managed to awkwardly push the door open with his elbow.

Danny drops the thing in the chair in front of Steve’s desk. “This is a pillow,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Steve blinks. “Okay. And what is it doing here?”

“It’s a gift. For you,” Danny explains, waving a hand at the green item that fills out the entire chair. Steve just frowns in confusion, causing Danny to huff out a breath. He reaches for the pillow and lifts it up for a better view. “It’s a pregnancy pillow, Steve. It’s gonna help you sleep.”

Finally, it dawns on Steve. He’s read about pregnancy cushions in a book, but refuses to buy one. That gigantic monster of a pillow isn’t coming anywhere near his bed. He tilts his head. “I don’t think I need this. I sleep fine.”

Danny crosses his arms over his chest and gives Steve his best don’t-bullshit-me face. “I highly doubt that. I overheard you complain to Kono about how you toss and turn at night because you can’t find a comfortable position. This,” He stabs a finger at the pillow, “will help you.”

Sighing, Steve pushes himself out of his large office chair and rounds his desk. Danny’s right. He really isn’t sleeping very well. He just can’t get comfortable anymore. But this thing? He highly doubts that it will make sleeping easier. It’ll only get in the way. He scrunches up his face as he inspects the pillow more closely. “It’s so… green,” he observes. “Was this the only color they had or did you just pick the ugliest one?”

“Geez, why are you so moody today?” Danny asks with an eye roll. “You’ll thank me for this pillow later, trust me.”

Steve knows that he’s being a bit of a dick to Danny. His fried is only trying to be nice. He sighs. “Sorry,” he apologizes and rubs a hand down his face. “She’s been kicking me since 4 AM and just doesn’t stop. It’s driving me nuts.”

Danny chuckles. “She’s definitely coming after you. Not even born yet and already practicing martial arts!”

“After me?” Steve repeats, eyebrows raised up high. “You’re the one who can’t sit still!” Another kick, and Steve grimaces. He puts a hand on the spot she’s currently using as a punching bag.

Danny grins widely. “See, she agrees with me.”

“Oh, shut up,” Steve scowls and goes to sit back down behind his desk.

Danny leaves his office with muffled laughter and calls over his shoulder, “Don’t forget about our appointment later today!”

Steve is standing in front of Ola’s Pregnancy Center in Downtown Honolulu a couple of hours later and keeps glancing at his wristwatch. It’s almost 5 PM and Danny is still nowhere in sight. Huffing out a breath, Steve digs his cell phone out of his pocket and stabs his partner’s name on the contact list. It only takes about a second for Danny to pick up. “I’m on my way,” he says instantly.

Steve purses his lips. “The class starts in less than five minutes. Where the hell are you?!”

“I’m sorry. We ran into a bit of trouble at Makaha’s house. I’m only a couple of minutes out. Just go in already.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve turns around and pushes the large glass door with the pretty turquois flower on it open. Taking those classes had been Danny’s idea. No, correction. It hadn’t just been an idea. It had been a demand. Danny demanded that they partake in birthing classes. Because although Steve is going to deliver their daughter by C-section, he insists that Steve at least knows something about breathing techniques and positions that will help him through the contractions. Steve still thinks it’s not really necessary, but he hadn’t been able to change Danny’s mind. “This is our first session and you’re already late,” he mutters into the phone as he makes a beeline for the counter that sits in the middle of the reception area.

“Relax, I’ll be right there.”

“You better,” Steve warns before he ends the call. He’s not really angry with Danny. It’s just that he feels a little out of his comfort zone here. Danny has already done this with Rachel, while Steve has no idea what to expect.

Steve’s expression switches from pinched to a happy smile when the young woman behind the counter greets him kindly. Her purple nametag reads Lana. “Hi and welcome to Ola’s Pregnancy Center. How may I help you today?”

“Hi. My name is Steve McGarrett. I signed up for birthing classes,” he explains and waits patiently as the girl types something into her computer, her long nails clicking loudly on the keyboard.

“Steven McGarrett and Daniel Williams. Found you,” she announces cheerfully. “The class is just about to start. Just go through that door, then to the right. There’s a changing room where you can change into more comfortable clothes,” She looks over his shoulder and frowns. “Are you alone today?”

“Uh, no. My...” He stops himself, thinking about how to best describe what Danny is to him. “My friend is running a little late. He should be here any minute now.”

Lana smiles. “No worries. I’ll send him your way as soon as he arrives.”

“Thank you,” Steve says before he head past the reception area.

When Danny bursts into the changing room four minutes later, he immediately sees that Steve isn’t in the best mood. His arms are crossed tightly over his chest and his expression is sour. “I’m sorry,” Danny apologizes right away, dropping his bag with the change of clothes. He quickly bends down to get out his sweatpants and sport shoes; both required for the class.

Steve gets up from where he’s sitting on the bench and stalks toward Danny. “You know, I—“ He stops talking all of a sudden and when Danny looks up, he sees that Steve is staring at him with narrowed eyes. “What is this?”

Danny bits his lip. He knows exactly what Steve is looking at. He lightly touches the bruise on his cheek. “It’s nothing,” he says, knowing that Steve won’t be satisfied with that answer.

“This isn’t nothing,” Steve growls, just as Danny expected. He grabs Danny’s elbow and pulls him to his feet. “How did this happen?” He asks and reaches out to lightly run his fingers over the discolored skin.

Danny shivers under the touch and he has to stop his eyes from fluttering close. He clears his throat. “I told you. We ran into some problems at Makaha’s house.”

Steve’s hand drops away from Danny’s face and he takes a step back, out of Danny’s personal space—And Danny instantly finds himself missing the contact. Steve’s now visibly clenching his jaw. “This looks like you ran into a fist, Danny. Did you get checked out?”

The following eye roll is unavoidable. “I’m fine. Makaha just caught me off guard. I’ll slap a steak on it or somethin’ when I get home,” he says with a shrug and bends down once more to retrieve his clothes and shoes from the duffel bag. He hears Steve huff out a breath above his head.

But before Steve is able to continue the conversation, the door to the changing room gets pushed open again. “Looks like we’re not the only people running late,” Danny points out from his crouched position. When Steve doesn’t answer, he looks up at his partner. As soon as he sees the stunned expression on Steve’s face, he whirls around. His jaw drops when he sees the person he least expected to see. “Melissa?!”

The looked of utter surprise and shock is mirrored on Melissa’s face. She stares at Danny, then at Steve and then back at Danny. Her mouth is opening and closing like a fish, but nothing comes out. She’s squeezing the door handle so hard, the fingers of her left hand have turned stark white.

Danny doesn’t know what to say. He didn’t know she is back. To be honest, he expected her to never return to Hawaii. Not after she ignored all his calls, messages and emails.

Eventually, when the uncomfortably tense seconds stretch into almost a full minute, Steve clears his throat. “It’s good to see you again, Melissa. You look great.”

The spell is broken. Her hazel eyes fly to Steve again, and her posture seems to relax just the tiniest bit. Danny resists the urge to blow out a breath of relief as he stands up. He tries to smile, not sure if he’s succeeding. “Hey,” he says, hands shoved deep into his pockets. He doesn’t know what to do with them. ”How have you been?”

Melissa blinks. She unclenches her fingers from the door handle and steps into the changing room, letting the door fall shut behind her back. “I’m good,” she answers. “I actually wanted to call you, but…” Her voice trails off and she looks away. Her gaze flickers to Steve’s belly. “I, uh. Congratulations, Steve,” she says.

Just then, the door opens again. A man in his thirties, dark blond hair and pale skin—Definitely not local— enters, car keys dangling from his index finger. “Okay, we’re all set. I parked the car around the corn— What’s going on?” He asks as soon as he seems to notice the awkward atmosphere in the room. He eyes Steve and Danny warily.

Sighing, Melissa rubs her forehead. Danny doesn’t know what’s going on or what to say. And when he looks at Steve, he sees that his partner is just as clueless and surprised.

When Melissa makes eye contact with Danny again, she says, “This is Marc. He’s an old friend from New York. We’ve met in high school. Marc, those are Danny and Steve.”

Marc leans forward to shake Danny’s hand. “So, you’re Danny? I’ve heard a lot about you,” he says, voice carefully neutral. But Danny still has to wince, because whatever Marc has heard about him cant’ possibly be good.

When Marc reaches out to exchange a handshake with Steve, Melissa speaks up again. “How about we talk? After today’s class? We could go for dinner together, the four of us?”

“Sounds good,” Danny agrees. His mind is already reeling from everything and he doubts that he’s going to be able to concentrate on the instructions they will be given during class. This is not how he expected this to go.

Two hours later, Steve watches Danny and Melissa walk long the water’s edge at Waikiki Beach. The sun has already set and the only light that illuminates the two human shapes is the moon, which is shining brightly tonight. Dinner had been an interesting affair. They had eaten in almost complete silence. Marc had talked a bit about his job as a banker and Steve had asked some question, simply to make things less awkward. It hadn’t helped much. Thankfully, as soon as their server had cleared the table, Melissa had stood up and asked Danny to join her for a walk.

“So, how long have you been living in Hawaii, Steve?”

Marc’s question pulls Steve out of his thoughts and he turns his head to look at the man who’s sitting opposite him. “I was born here,” he replies. “Moved away to join the Navy when I was sixteen. I came back in 2010 to lead the Governor’s task force. Haven’t left since.”

Marc smiles. “My brother’s in the Army, currently defending our country in the Middle East. Man, I always admired him for his bravery. And I still do! What you people do is incredible.”

Steve smiles as well. Despite the circumstances, he likes Marc. The man seems kind. “Have you been to Hawaii before?”

“No, never,” Marc answers as he picks up his beer and takes a sip. “I always wanted to come here, tough. So when I ran into Melissa in New York and she told me that she lives her now, I seized the opportunity,” he laughs.

Steve knows there’s more to it, but he’s not pushing. “Do you know her well?” He asks instead, briefly wondering if that question is too personal. Danny often criticizes his mammal-to-mammal communication skills, telling him that he regularly approaches day-to-day conversations like interrogations. But Steve’s always a little wary of people he doesn’t know.

Fortunately, Marc doesn’t seem to notice. “We dated in high school. But things got rocky when I got a scholarship to Brown University. We didn’t see each other nearly enough anymore and we fought a lot. We eventually called it quits. We kinda lost touch after that. I guess you could say that she’s the one that got away. And a couple of years later, I heard that she married that asshole Frank Simpson.”

“You knew Simpson?”

Marc shakes his head. “Not personally, no. But I’ve heard stories,” he mutters, blue eyes getting darker.

Steve’s only reluctant to remember Frank Simpson himself. After all, the man had stabbed Danny a few years back, almost killing him. That memory still causes Steve’s heart to clench. He swallows his rising emotions and focuses on the conversation. “So, you are aware what he did to Melissa?”

“What he did to Melissa is… it’s unforgivable! If she wouldn’t have put him down herself, I would have done it!” Marc growls, hands curled to tight fists. “Look, I know this might sound a little weird to you. But I’m grateful for everything Danny’s done for her. Who knows what would have happened to her otherwise. He’s saved her life. And for that, I’ll be forever in his debt.”

Further down the beach, Danny and Melissa are still walking side-by-side. Danny licks his lips. “Are you and Marc dating?”

Melissa runs a hand through her long, blond hair. “I don’t know… I guess?” She replies, forming it as a question. “We haven’t seen each other in years and I was really surprised to bump into him at the supermarket. He invited me for lunch and we just… clicked.”

Danny can see the blissful smile on her face. Marc seems to make her happy, and she deserves all the happiness in the world. “I’m glad to hear that,” he says.

She stops walking and grabs his arm. “Look, Danny. I’m sorry that I just left. It wasn’t fair to you. You need to know that I don’t want to take our son away from you. I won’t leave again, I promise. Hawaii is my home, and it’s going to be the baby’s home as well.”

Danny feels tears of relief prickle in his eyes. “That’s great, Melissa,” he says and pulls her into a hug. “Thank you.” When they part again, Danny nods toward the restaurant. “What about Marc?”

A shy smile appears on her lips. “He’s currently looking at jobs in Hawaii.”

Danny smiles. For the first time since this whole mess started, he has hope. They can make this work. Melissa is back and staying. She’s happy with Marc, who seems like a nice guy, and the baby is healthy. And even Steve is slowly warming up to him again. Maybe things will be okay in the end and the drama and struggle is finally over.

Unfortunately, no one sees the dark clouds from the horizon creeping closer…

Chapter Text

The first thing Danny hears when he enters Steve’s house a few days later is loud swearing. Frowning, he looks up the stairs, wondering what his partner is up to this early in the morning. They have to be at headquarters for a meeting with the Chief of Police in thirty minutes, and they’re already running a little late.

“Steve?” Danny yells, considering if he should just go upstairs to check on his friend. “Yo, what are you doing?” There’s cursing, then a loud crash, followed by even more cursing. Danny winces. Their daughter is going to be born with a very, very dirty mouth.

Done waiting, Danny jogs up the stairs, taking the last couple of steps two at the time. When he enters Steve’s bedroom, he stops dead in his tracks. His eyes widen at the war zone he’s facing. “What the…!” Steve’s head snaps up. His cheeks are flushed and his short hair looks disheveled. Not to mention that he’s breathing like an angry bull. Danny blinks at the clothes that are scattered all over the hardwood floor. When his gaze wanders across the room, he notices that the bar, which usually holds up Steve’s thousands of cargo pants, is hanging crooked, half of the pants and Steve’s Navy uniforms in a messy pile on the floor.

“I’m staying home,” Steve growls, arms crossed tightly over his chest. He looks like he’s pouting, which is a very rare look on Steve. Lately, the hormones have been getting the better of Steve, causing angry outbursts and emotional breakdowns. It’s like a never-ending rollercoaster.

Only when Danny’s eyes go back to Steve does he notice that he isn’t even fully dressed yet. Although he’s wearing a shirt, his bottom half is only covered by a pair of boxers. Danny tries not to stare. “What are you talking about? You can’t stay home,” Danny protests, hands cutting through the air. “What is even going on here? It looks like a bomb has gone off!”

With a huff, Steve drops onto the bed, bouncing a little on the mattress. “I can’t go out of the house,” he says again, still not providing a proper explanation. And even though this conversation is beyond frustrating for Danny—who feels like he’s dealing with a stubborn toddler—he tries to be patient. “What’s going on, babe?” He asks as he picks his way through the mess on the floor.

Steve grits his teeth. “Nothing.”

Waving a head at the clothes around them, Danny says, “This isn’t nothing. Would you please share with the class, Steven? I can’t help you if you just keep sulking.”

“I’m not sulking.”

Danny rolls his eyes. Even his patience has an end. “Steve, please. We’re already cutting it close to the meeting. Either you tell me right now what’s wrong, or I’ll drag you out of here.”

Steve snorts. “Yeah, that I want to see. I gained fifteen pounds already and can’t even fit into my pants anymore. So I dare you to try and lift me, Danny!”

And, yep, right there is the problem. Danny could slap himself for not grasping things sooner. He sighs, rubbing at the spot between his eyebrows where a headache is starting to build. “Babe, are you telling me that, up until now, you were able to squeeze into your regular pants?”

Now, Steve looks down sheepishly. He rubs his neck. “I had some pairs that were larger than the others. They fit,” he says. Then he glares at the pants that lay at his feet. “But they don’t fit anymore! I can barely close the fucking button and when I sit down, they almost pop open! And I can hardly go to a meeting with the Chief of Police wearing a pair of sweatpants!”

“You don’t have to wear sweatpants. That’s what maternity pants are for. I’m sure even this pineapple infested hellhole has them.”

Steve grimaces like he’s sucking on something extremely sour. “Maternity pants?”

“Yes, Steven, maternity pants. You know. Piece of clothing, has a stretchy part that prevents the baby from being squished?”

“I know what they are,” Steve snaps. “But I don’t want any.”

“Just like Charlie,” Danny thinks. He sits down next to his friend. “Listen to me. You need new pants. You can’t keep squeezing into those.” He waves a hand at the rumpled pair on the ground. “It’s not only uncomfortable, but also not good for the baby. I know you don’t like this, but you need to accept the fact that you need to give up your precious cargo pants in exchange for a fancy pair of maternity pants. It’s inevitable.”

Steve stares down at his belly. “Fine,” he grunts.

Before Steve has time to change his mind, Danny shoots to his feet with a clap of his hands. “Great! Let’s go to the mall then! Put on your sweatpants.”

“What about the meeting with the Chief?” Steve asks.

Danny shrugs. “Like you said, you can’t go in your sweats. I’m sure Kono, Chin and Lou can handle it.”

Steve seems to consider this for a moment before he eventually nods. “Okay, fine.”

“We’ll call them from the car. C’mon.”

Thankfully, Ala Moana Center isn’t very crowded this early in the morning. Parking close to the entrance, Steve and Danny get out of the car and walk toward the floor plan. They both avoid the mall as much as possible. It’s just too busy on most days.

“Okay, where do we start? Gap?” Danny suggested, pointing at the store on the map.

“What do you mean, start? We get in, get a pair, and get out,” Steve says, looking suspicious. He’s definitely not an experienced shopper. Danny has the advantage of having a teenage daughter.

“There might not be a pair you like right away. And beside that, we need more than just one pair,” Danny explains patiently. He grabs Steve’s arm and tows him toward the escalator. “Come on. We’ll start at Gap, then work our way down. I heard Macys has a large selection of maternity clothes. I’m sure we’ll find something.”

Steve groans in response, but is following Danny regardless. They take the escalator up to level three and make a beeline for Gap. After taking a couple of steps inside the store, Danny notices that Steve is still lingering by the entrance, looking the other way. He sighs. “Get in here!” He hisses quietly.

But Steve isn’t responding. He’s just staring at something in the distance, eyes narrowed. Danny huffs out an annoyed breath and stalks over to him. He grabs his partner’s arm, ready to bodily drag him to the maternity section. “Steven, I swear to—“

“That guy is armed,” Steve interrupts, nodding sharply to a young man who’s casually leaning against a support column in the shade. He has tattoos all over his bare arms and another one on the side of his neck. His hair is short cropped and dark sunglasses are covering his eyes. Under his black shirt is a noticeable bulk. The guy definitely screams “Trouble”.

Their suspicion is confirmed when the man’s phone rings. After talking for only a couple of seconds, he ends the call and pushes off the pillar. He looks left and right, before walking further away from Steve and Danny’s position. Danny is just about to ask where he’s going, when the guy ducks into a jewelry story at the corner, hand already on the hem of his shirt.

That’s when Steve takes off, ignoring Danny’s frantic calls of his name.

“That was stupid. Really, really fucking stupid!”

Steve winces at his partner’s loud and furious voice. He kind of understands why he’s being yelled at but, to be honest, he would do the exact same thing again. Protecting people is what he’s trained to do. It’s been drilled into him to help people in need and kick the bad guy’s ass. It’s what he does. But the circumstances are a bit different now.

“Do you have any idea how much could have gone wrong?! You weren’t even armed! What where you thinking following that guy without a weapon? Without backup?!”

“You’re the—“

Danny spins around and stabs a finger at him, eyes burning with rage. Water is dripping from his fingertips. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

Steve shuts up. Danny glares him for a few more moments, then turns around again and continues to scrub his hands clean in the sink of one of the mall’s restrooms. Most of the blood has already gone down the drain, but some of it is clinging stubbornly to the underside of his nails. Steve knows it’s a bitch to get out, but they had to prevent the guy from bleeding out.

Blowing out a breath, Steve sinks deeper into the cushion of the couch that’s sitting across the sinks. It’s a fancy restroom. “I’m sorry, okay? All I could think about was that guy robbing the jewelry store at gunpoint, putting innocent lives in danger. I couldn’t let that happen, you know that,” Steve explains, trying to make his partner understand.

Danny suddenly deflates, shoulders sagging. He hangs his head. “I get that, Steve. But you can’t keep running into situations like that. It’s dangerous.” He turns around, face now showing concern instead of anger. “But I want our daughter to be safe. I want you to be safe.” His gaze drops and Steve knows he’s staring at the bloodstain on his side. Not his blood, fortunately. But he doesn’t miss the brief look of terror that passes over Danny’s face. He can almost hear his partner’s what-if-thoughts.

Pushing himself back to his feet, Steve closes the ten feet that separate them. He stops right in front of Danny. “Don’t look at it,” he says softly, forcing Danny’s eyes to meet his. “I’m fine, as is Peanut. And the guy is in jail now, along with his newly acquired bullet hole.”

A tiny smile appears on Danny’s lips. “Peanut?”

Steve feels himself blush a little. “Well, yeah. I thought we need to call her something since we don’t have a name yet.”

“Peanut,” Danny repeats. “I like that. I’m glad you didn’t decide to name her Grenade.”

Steve scowls. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“I was just kidding,” Danny chuckles and squeezes Steve’s arm. “Okay, are you ready to get out of here? We still need to find you some pants. I’m sure the mall is empty now, thanks to your little stunt. I’m sure we’ll be able to read all about that guy and his newly acquired bullet wound in tomorrow’s newspaper. And on social media. People like to share absolutely everything nowadays.”

Steve smiles, glad their argument is over. Truth be told, he’s already feeling tired again. The adrenalin rush has left his body by now, leaving weariness in its wake. But he’s not about to tell Danny that. “Lead the way.”

Three long and (physically and mentally) exhausting hours later, Danny loads three stuffed bags with clothing into the trunk of the Camaro. They’ve found some maternity pants, as well as a couple of shirts. Somehow, they had also ended up in the newborn section, looking at all the tiny onesies, pants, shirts and socks. They couldn’t resist the cuteness, so a couple of playsuits made it onto their basket as well.

When Danny slams the trunk shut, he looks at Steve and sees the way he’s leaning against the car as if it’s the only thing holding him up. Pregnancy is tiring. Add to it an extensive shopping spree and a robbery and the result is one exhausted father-to-be. Danny settles behind the wheel of the Camaro. The fact that Steve isn’t even fighting him for the keys says a lot.

“It’s almost lunchtime now. How about we go back to your house to unload everything? I could make us something to eat and you could take a nap?” Danny suggests, hoping Steve won’t feel the need to argue.

“What about work? I don’t need a nap.” Of course. Things are never easy with Steve.

“I know you’re tired. And the rest of the team has everything under control at the office. We can take the day off without feeling guilty. And, anyway, Melissa has an ultrasound appointment at 4 PM so I’d need to leave then anyway.”

Steve leans his head back against the headrest and scrubs at his eyes. “Alright,” he agrees and stifles a yawn. “Peanut is really sapping my energy right now,” he admits, rubbing his belly.

Danny smiles as he puts the key into the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot. It takes only five minutes before Steve has nodded off, snoring softly against the passenger window. Danny keeps glancing at him. He’s tried to oppress his feelings for Steve in favor of focusing solemnly on their unborn daughter. But he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep this up. Because he loves this man! Loves him with all his heart and soul. And he needs to tell him. Otherwise it’s going to choke him.

Danny is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t realize that they’ve arrived at Steve’s beautiful beachfront property. He parks next to the Silverado and turns to his partner, reaching out to lightly shake his shoulder. “Steve, c’mon on, we’re home,” he says softly, trying not to startle Steve awake. He’s done this once, earning himself a punch to the jaw. “Steve, hey.”

Two blue eyes slowly open. Steve looks around drowsily until he realizes where he is. Pushing himself into a more upright position, he rubs at his eyes. “Sorry, guess I was more tired than I thought.”

Danny chuckles as he unbuckles his seatbelt and climbs out of the car. “How about you go upstairs and change your shirt? There’s still blood on your tee,” he points out, popping the trunk open.

Steve blinks, obviously stuck in limbo between sleep and wakefulness. “Uh, yeah. Okay,” he mumbles, heading toward the front door. “You got this?” He waves a lazy hand at all the bags.

“Yes, I got this. I’ll call you when lunch is ready.”

Danny watches Steve wander across the front yard with a fond smile.

Lunch, consisting of rice, chicken and some steamed vegetables is ready in less than thirty minutes. Danny puts everything on the table in the dining room and takes off the apron he’s found in the kitchen. He walks over to the foot of the stairs and yells, “Steve, lunch is ready!”

No answer.

“Steve!”

Nothing.

With a huff, Danny jogs up the stairs for the second time that day, wondering what he’ll find this time. The bedroom door is still wide open, so he just enters. He quickly notices that some of the clothes have been cleaned up, although it still looks like a fight has taken place inside the room. But more interesting is what Danny sees on the bed. It’s Steve, still clad in the bloody shirt from today. He’s sleeping soundly, completely dead to the world. But what makes Danny grin is the ugly green pillow Steve is curled around. He’s clutching the material with one hand and has his left leg thrown over it, trapping it against his body. His face is smushed against its side.

“Told you,” Danny whispers with a cheeky grin before he turns and quietly tiptoes out of the bedroom.

Chapter Text

For the next month, things go really well. Danny masters splitting his time between hanging out with Grace and Charlie, being there for Melissa and spending time with Steve perfectly. Somehow, he even finds a way to do his job, go grocery shopping and pay the bills. He feels like he deserves a medal for that accomplishment.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Grace and Charlie are genuinely excited about getting not one, but two new siblings. Especially Grace can’t wait to babysit and play dress up with her little sister. Charlie is a little bit more subdued, but once Danny tells him about all the cool things he can do with his brother, he’s 100% on board as well. The love that’s already shared between the four kids is heartwarming and Danny can’t wait to see them together.

Melissa has moved back to Hawaii, just as promised. For most of the time, Marc is staying with her. He’s still traveling back and forth between Hawaii and New York, but only because he’s finishing up his work in Manhattan so he can permanently move to the Aloha State to be with is new girlfriend. Some people might not understand it, but Danny is really grateful for everything Marc is doing for Melissa, his son and even him. Marc is there when Danny can’t due to other commitments. And Danny is absolutely positive that Marc will be a great stepfather to his son, who’s due to be born in less than a month.

Steve has seven more weeks to go until the scheduled C-section. He’s still working at headquarters in the mornings, but he’s got the afternoons off. At first, he had protested loudly, but he’s eventually found a liking in curling up in bed with his green pillow in the afternoon for a nice, long nap. Especially since everyone keeps telling him to get in as much sleep as possible now. Because once the baby is born, the undisturbed nights will be over. Danny also spends a great deal of his time at Steve’s house. They completely remodeled the downstairs bedroom and turned it into a nice nursery. The assembling of furniture had been a challenge, to say the least, almost resulting in world war three. While Danny tried to follow the instructions for setting up the crib step-by-step, Steve was convinced that he could put it together without the directions. After two hours of bickering, they finally had the crib together. But, other than that, their relationship has improved. They’re back to where they where before the drama had started. They’re friends. Best friends. Danny still hasn’t told Steve about his feelings. He tells himself it’s because the right time just hasn’t come, but he knows it’s mainly because he’s afraid to ruin the friendship they’ve just recently managed to rebuild. He’s put Steve through enough already.

Things change when Five-0 gets a call about a body near Makaha Beach. What starts out as a regular robbery gone awry, quickly turns into one of the most complicated drug-related cases Five-0 has ever had. Danny, Chin, Kono and Lou work relentlessly for one week; following clues, questioning people and searching houses and apartments. Even Steve gives up his afternoon naps in order to help his team as best as he can. Unfortunately, the people responsible for the crime always seem to be one step ahead of the police. When a name pops up, the person turns up dead before Five-0 can ask any questions. When they get a tip to search a building, it burns down before they even arrive. And evidence seems to magically disappear. It’s frustrating.

Eventually, after working basically day and night for seven days straight, they get an anonymous tip. Apparently, the gang responsible for all of their trouble is hiding out in a house on Kauai, waiting for things to cool down a little. No one knows exactly how reliable the source is, but they’ve got no choice but to check it out. Steve wants to go as well, of course, but his team, and most of all Danny, won’t allow it. Therefore, Steve gets left behind to keep down the fort.

“Just promise me you guys will be careful,” Steve says, looking at each member of his team. They’re standing at Hickam Air Force Base with a helicopter waiting behind them. “This gang is dangerous and ruthless. They won’t think twice about shooting you, so stay alert at all times.”

Danny grimaces. “Is that the best pep talk you’ve got?”

Steve sighs. It’s obvious to everyone that the former SEAL is struggling with the fact that he can’t support his friends the way he usually does. They’re a team, but Steve is still the leader. Danny feels sorry for him. He knows how hard this situation is on his partner, but the safety of their daughter comes first.

“We’re going to watch each other’s backs, don’t you worry,” Lou says, gripping Steve’s shoulder with one large hand. “You just focus on staying out of trouble on this island.”

Steve snorts and Danny is glad to see some of the tension ebbs out of his friend’s body. The last thing Steve needs is to work himself up. Even though he’s had a fairly easy pregnancy so far, carrying a baby still puts a strain on body and soul. And Steve should take the last couple of weeks he’s got left to relax and rest. Not that Steve McGarrett actually knows what those two words mean…

“We’ll be back before you know it, boss,” Kono adds as she shoulders her black duffel bag.

Steve smiles. “Okay, fine. Get out of here.” He waves his hand. “And keep me in the loop!” He calls after them as they walk over to the helicopter and climb in. When Danny turns to look over his shoulder, he notices the pinched look on Steve’s face and the tight set of his jaw. Steve is hating this—And he can’t blame him.

One last look as his friend, before Danny buckles himself in and readies himself for the helicopter to take off. Somehow, he has a weird feeling about all of this.

Later that day, close to 9 PM, Steve is sitting on the couch in his home, attempting to watch some random action movie. But his thoughts keep wandering back to their case. Danny had called him right after they had landed on Kauai, but that was almost six hours ago. Steve hasn’t heard anything from his team since. He doesn’t want to make them feel like he’s spying, so he resists the urge to call again. He trusts his team and he knows that he’s probably just being paranoid. Everything is fine.

The sudden ringing of his cell phone makes Steve jump. He quickly snatches it from where it sits next to him on a pillow and looks at the screen. He sighs in relief when he reads Danny’s name. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Danny replies, sounding tired. “We just checked out the house. Nothing. It’s completely empty. No one’s been there in months.”

Steve closes his eyes and rubs at his forehead. The tip was a bust. He had really been hoping to get something. “Okay. We need to get another lead then. When will you be back on Oahu?” He hears Kono’s voice in the background, as well as the clanking of glasses and plates. They must be about to eat a late dinner.

“That’s why I’m calling. We might have found another lead here on Kauai. One of the officers told us that there’s an old warehouse on the other side of the island. The building’s supposed to be abandoned, but some kids have reported seeing people there, loading and unloading things onto boats and trucks. We’re going to check it out tonight when it’s completely dark,” Danny explains.

Steve sits up, back straight. “Who is going to back you up on this mission?”

He can almost hear Danny roll his eyes. “A, this is not a mission. We’re just gonna take a look around. And B, a couple of officers from Kauai County Police are going to tag alone. You can stand down now.”

“You know I can’t do that,” Steve grits out. He’s always been protective of his friends and family, but ever since becoming pregnant, his protective instinct has increased even more. Lou has compared him to a lion watching over her cubs.

“Babe, you need to calm down,” Danny says quietly. “I know you want to be here. But could you please do me a favor and at least try to relax. Just a smidge? I don’t want you going into labor early because you’re stressed out.”

Steve puts a hand on his belly and blows out a deep breath. He knows Danny’s right. “Alright.”

“Good. Try to get some sleep. And don’t forget to take your prenatal vitamins.”

It’s Steve’s turn to roll his eyes. “I know, Danny.”

Danny chuckles. “Just reminding you.” There’s a muffled voice saying something in the background before Danny speaks again. “Listen, I gotta go. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Steve agrees. It’s not like he’s got another choice. “Stay safe.”

It’s pitch dark outside and Danny has to watch his step if he doesn’t want to trip over a rock or fall down a hole. Kauai isn’t like Oahu. There aren’t many roads and only few places are populated. Thankfully, the moon is fairly bright this night and provides enough light for the Five-0 team and the other officers to see where they’re going. But that could change any moment, because there are thick clouds creeping closer from the west side. They’ve already heard about an approaching storm earlier, but it isn’t due to hit the island until tomorrow afternoon. And if things go according to plan, then Five-0 should already be back on Oahu by then. Danny winces when a lightning illuminates the dark sky in the distance. He’s never been one to trust the weather forecasts.

“Looks like it’s about to rain,” one officer says quietly. “We need to hurry up, because this area is going to turn into a giant swamp soon.”

Danny cringes. He’s not a big fan of rolling around in dirt and mud. “Let’s go then.”

While Chin and Lou lead their group of people to the front entrance of the building, Danny and Kono sneak around to slip in through the back door. Although the door seems to be old, there’s a new lock looped around the handle. It’s a sure sign that someone has been here recently. Someone who doesn’t want unwanted guests wandering around the property. Motioning for Kono to take a step back, Danny slams the butt of his gun against the lock, causing it to break and fall off. The door swings open with a whine.

Expertly, they clear the first room; an office, from the looks of it. There’s nothing suspicious and a layer of dust is covering an old wooden desk and a rusty file cabinet. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. Danny makes his way down a long and dark hallway when they spread out. He switches the flashlight on his gun on and looks around. Everything seems empty and abandoned, but something feels off. He shivers.

When he rounds the corner and steps into yet another room, he has a split second to take in the cocaine that’s stacked up high before he feels the cold barrel of a gun against his neck. “Drop the weapon, cop.”

The clap of thunder outside causes Steve’s eyes to snap open. He sucks in a sharp breath, for one moment thinking he’s in a war zone somewhere in the Middle East before he realizes where he actually is. With a shaky sigh, he rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling. The baby is awake as well, kicking and squirming. Steve grunts when she punches him in the bladder. He’ll never get used to this.

He listens to the rain, which is pounding on the roof and hammering against the windows. Apparently, the storm has hit earlier than anticipated. Turning his head to the left, he squints at the clock sitting on his nightstand. It’s a little after two in the morning. Steve reaches out and grabs his phone, quickly turning it on. But he neither has new messages nor any missed calls. He knows he should try to sleep some more, but he feels unsettled. Like something is going to happen.

Rolling onto his side and curling around the pregnancy pillow, he closes his eyes again. He’s just imagining things. Peanut keeps moving and kicking while Steve floats somewhere between sleep and being awake.

“I said, drop the fucking weapon! I’m not gonna ask again!” The man spits out, nudging Danny with the gun. “Do it!”

Slowly, Danny takes his index finger off the trigger of his weapon and lifts both hands in a non-threatening way. He doesn’t know what the guy behind him looks like or who he is, but he still has the gun pressed to skull. Not good. Not good at all.

“Put it down!”

“Okay, okay. Relax,” Danny says quietly and slowly bends down to put his gun on the cold concrete floor. As soon as he’s straightened up again, the guy gives him a hard shove. “Whoa, ey!” Danny shouts as he stumbles and falls to his knees, coming to a jarring stop on the hard ground. He twists around to face the man who’s so crudely manhandling him. “Who are you? Are those your drugs?”

The man, a Hawaiian looking guy in his late thirties and short black hair, narrows his eyes. “That’s none of your business, pig! How many of you are here?” He asks, waving the gun in Danny’s face. There’s no sign of trembling in his hands, and Danny knows that this guy isn’t afraid to kill. He won’t hesitate.

“I’m alone,” Danny replies, swallowing when the perp’s finger tightens around the trigger.

“Do not lie to me,” he snaps. “I know you didn’t come here alone! But it doesn’t matter anyway. Because I’m gonna blow your brains out now.”

The gun clicks and Danny closes his eyes. He has flashes of memories of his kids and family. He hears Grace’s laugh and Charlie’s giggles. He can smell his mother’s lasagna and his father’s cigar. He can see Steve’s face in front of his mental eye and he suddenly regrets not telling his partner about his feelings —Right before a shot rings out.

Steve is still tossing and turning when his phone starts to ring for the second time that night. A feeling of dread settles in his stomach when he struggles to sit up. When he looks at the screen of his phone, he’s surprised to see Melissa’s number. With a frown, he takes the call. “Melissa?”

“Steve,” Melissa replies, voice sounding strained and slightly out of breath. “Where is Danny?”

“He’s on Kauai, working on a case,” Steve explains. “Is everything okay?”

He thinks he hears her moan, but before he can ask about it, she’s already talking again. “I’m at Queens Medical Center and I can’t reach Danny. Steve, I’m in labor.”

Chapter Text

Danny is waiting for the pain to hit him, but it never happens. He hears a dull thump next to him and he slowly dares to open his eyes. He blinks when he sees the guy that was about to end his life lie dead next to him, blood pouring from a nasty gunshot wound on his back, right through his heart. There is already a large pool of crimson on the ground. And it’s spreading.

“Danny, you alright?” It’s Kono. Beautiful, wonderful Kono. She’s looking down at him with a frown, eyes wandering over his body. She’s obviously looking for traces of blood or injury.

Danny swallows. “I’m good. Thanks for that.” He’s getting to his feet now, picking up his gun in the process. He tries not to think about the fact that he almost missed seeing his children grow up. “Did you find anything?”

“A lot of drugs,” she replies and hooks her thumb over her left shoulder. “Chin and Lou managed to surprise two men who were loading boxes of cocaine onto a boat. They’re on their way to the police station now so we can question them.”

Just then, Chin appears. He’s wearing black latex gloves and holds a tattered booklet in his hands. “Guys, look at this. This is some kind of log. Looks like they’re keeping tracks about where their shipments go. And this also puts the gang near Makaha Beach just hours before we found our body. Not to mention a recent drug bust HPD carried out last month, unsuccessful. With this booklet, we can put an end to this operation.”

“That’s great. Is the building cleared yet?” Danny asks.

Chin nods. “Yes. There was no one here except these three guys. But there must be more members. The booklet doesn’t contain a member list, but they use codenames, of which there are at least a dozen. But with the two we have in custody, we should be able to track down the other ones.”

“Good,” Danny says. “Let’s go back to the motel and catch some winks. First thing in the morning, we’re going to interrogate the perps.”

Chin and Kono agree and together the leave the building and step out into the humid night air. Danny didn’t hear anything when he was inside, but now he realizes that rain is pouring down. Thunder is roaring nearby and lightning lights up the sky. He almost slips when he accidentally steps in a muddy puddle, only Chin’s quick reflexes saving him from landing on his butt in the dirt.

A local officer approaches them. “The station is sending two cars to picks us up. It’s too dangerous to walk back in these weather conditions.”

Danny’s not going to complain. He’d rather sit in a warm and dry car than hike back through wet grass and slippery paths anyway. He warily watches the two guys that are sitting on the ground in handcuffs with their backs against the building. One of them meets Danny’s eyes and he smirks darkly. “You won’t be able to end this, pigs. We are stronger than you. We have power! We are going to destroy you!”

Danny decides not to pay the threats any attention. Instead, he turns away and digs through his pockets for his phone. It’s still the middle of the night and he doesn’t want to wake up Steve in case he’s managed to actually fall asleep. On the other hand, Steve will kick his ass if he learns that his team didn’t inform him about the new developments in this case.

In the end, the decision is taken out of his hands, because the first thing Danny sees on the screen is the No Signal sign. With a sigh, he puts it back in his pocket. He’ll call him when they have reception again. Wherever that might be on this rock.

Steve is hurrying across the parking lot at Queens Medical Center, water splashing everywhere when he steps into a massive puddle. He’s almost soaked with rain because in his haste to get to the hospital, he completely forgot to grab an umbrella. When he steps through the large sliding doors, he instantly makes out the check-in desk and makes a beeline for it. “I’m looking for Melissa Armstrong,” he blurts out, wiping rain off his forehead. He doesn’t even realize that he’s dripping on the counter.

The nurse looks at him a little wide-eyed. “Sir, are you okay?”

Steve doesn’t understand what she’s talking about, until he sees himself in the window behind the check-in desk and understands that he looks like a mess. He smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m fine. My friend went into labor and she’s alone right now. I’m here to…” To what, exactly? Steve frowns because, apparently, he didn’t think this through.

“Miss Armstrong was just brought into a delivery room. I will have a nurse take you there, after you go to the restroom and make yourself at least a little more presentable. We don’t want you to scare anyone,” she says with a wink.

Blushing, Steve turns around and heads for the restrooms. Simultaneously, he tries to reach Danny again. But just as before, the calls rolls straight to voicemail. Attempting to reach the rest of his team, he gets the exact same result. He tries not to worry about it, because he knows how tough it can be to get reception on Kauai. But he hopes—and prays!—that someone will get back to him soon.

Five minutes later, Steve is led into a nice-looking room. The walls are painted in a light orange-yellowish tone and the furniture looks comfortable and welcoming. But it’s not his surroundings that he’s interested in. With four long strides, he’s at Melissa’s side, already reaching for her hand. She seems to be in the middle of a contraction. “Melissa, hey.” She groans, eyes squeezes shut. Steve tries not to wince when her grip is almost crushing his hand.

Half a minute later, she finally relaxes and sinks back against the pillows. She’s breathing hard and when she finally opens her eyes, she looks around anxiously. “Where’s Danny? Where is he?” She asks.

“Hey, relax. Breathe,” he says, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. Suddenly, he’s very grateful that Danny forced him into taking those childbirth classes. “Listen to me, okay? Danny is on Kauai at the moment and—“

“He’s what?!”

He shushes her softly and leans further down. It’s a little awkward and uncomfortable with his own belly pressed against the rail of the bed, but that’s not important right now. He needs to calm Melissa down. “I need you to stay calm, alright? I’m trying to get in touch with Danny, but reception is spotty on Kauai. But as soon as I can reach him, he’s going to board a helicopter and come here. And labor takes about eight hours on average. Just relax. He’s still got enough time to make it. Just relax.”

She stares at him, eyes wide and blond hair plastered against her forehead. “But I don’t want to be alone. I can’t be alone! Marc is in New York at the moment and I… I just can’t do this!” She’s almost crying now, tears swimming in her large eyes.

Steve squeezes her hand tighter. “You’re not alone, okay? You’re not alone. I’m here. And I’m not going to leave you. Everything is going to be just fine.”

Melissa sniffs. “Thank you.”

Danny is staring out the window, watching the heavy rain fall from the sky. It’s almost five o’clock in the morning now and he’s struggling to keep his eyes open. His thoughts keep wandering back to the guy that was seconds from shooting him in the face and now, more than ever, he wants to talk to Steve and finally tell him how he feels.

The sound of his phone startles Danny. The device is ringing and beeping, announcing incoming messages and missed calls. Only a few seconds later, Kono’s phone starts the same tumult. “You guys must be pretty popular,” the driver of their car jokes, as he carefully takes a turn on the flooded road.

Danny isn’t answering, because the moment he looks at his screen, his heart sinks. Fifteen missed calls from Melissa, seven from Steve and dozens of messages. He feels sick all of a sudden, because something is obviously wrong.

“Steve tried to call me a bunch of times,” Kono notes, only confirming Danny’s suspicion. Without even bothering to read any messages, he calls his partner back. His heart is hammering now and he nervously runs a hand through his hair.

“Danny!”

“Steve, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” Danny hears a muffled scream and he sits up, back ramrod straight. “What was that?!”

“Danny, listen to me. Melissa is in labor. You need to come back to Oahu right now!” The connection isn’t the best and Steve’s voice keeps getting cut off, but Danny has heard what’s going on. His mouth goes dry.

“She’s in labor? Now?! But it’s too early!” Danny gasps, head spinning. He grips the seat in front of him. “Is she okay? Is the baby okay?”

“They’re both doing fine,” Steve assures him. “The doc said that it’s safe for her to give birth. Apparently, people often give birth earlier than their due date when they’re pregnant for the first time. They’re about to give her an epidural now.”

Danny slumps back against the seat, fingers rubbing his eyes. “Okay, I’ll have someone drop me off at the airport. I’m sure our pilot is gonna take me back.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

After ending the call, Danny turns to Kono. “I need to get back Oahu. Melissa’s having the baby.”

Kono smiles and pats Danny’s arm. “Of course! Are you excited?”

Danny huffs out a laugh. “Yes. I just hope I’ll make it in time.”

Steve returns to Melissa’s side and smiles at her. “Danny’s on his way,” he says, leaning on the rail of the bed again. His lower back is starting to really bother him.

The relief about the news is clear as day on Melissa’s face. She smiles gratefully. “Thank god. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep the little one inside,” she admits, laughing. She shifts a little, trying to get more comfortable. “Do you mind if I try to sleep a little? I’m really tired.”

“Go ahead. People keep telling me that it’s important to sleep now because when the baby is born, you won’t have time to do that anymore for the next eighteen years,” he jokes.

Melissa chuckles. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been told too.” There are a few moments of silence and Steve thinks Melissa is already asleep, but then she’s speaking again. “I’m sorry you had to go through most your pregnancy by yourself. I know how hard it can be.”

A little taken aback by Melissa’s words, Steve doesn’t know exactly what to answer to that. It’s not her fault, but he appreciates the compassion. He shrugs. “It was okay. I’ve been through worse.”

“Danny really cares about you, you know.”

“He cares about you as well,” Steve replies.

Melissa smiles. “I know. But he cares about you in a special kind of way. You mean a lot more to him than I think you realize.”

Steve swallows. “Did he tell you this?”

“No, but I’m not blind. The looks, the touches,” Melissa explains with a kind look in her hazel eyes. “I know you think that when Danny came to your house after we broke and you hooked up, that you were just a rebound. But that’s not true. He’s always had stronger feelings for you than he did for me. That’s the main reason things didn’t work out between us.”

“Melissa, I—“ Steve tries to interrupt, feeling guilty.

But she puts her hand on top of his where it rests on the bedrail and quiets him. “No, it’s okay. I’m not telling you this to make you feel bad. I’m telling you this because I think you feel the same way about him. Both of you are stubborn, but you deserve to be happy. I’m so grateful for what Marc and I have. I love him like I’ve never loved anyone. He’s my rock.”

“Just like Danny is mine,” Steve adds in his head. He sighs and briefly closes his eyes. Melissa is right. He does have feelings for Danny. Feelings that go way beyond the point of friend- and partnership. He’s in love with Danny.

When Steve looks up again, Melissa’s eyes are closed and she’s breathing evenly in and out. He doesn’t want to wake her up. She needs to conserve all her energy, because the hard part of labor is yet to come.

Tired himself, Steve walks over to the couch in the corner and sits down. His lower back is aching from standing upright for such a long period of time and he’s a little dizzy. It’s nothing to worry about, but he knows that he should take advantage of the break he’s getting and rest a little as well. Danny might be on his way now, but there’s no way of knowing when exactly he’ll be here. Steve lies down on the couch and curls up on his side. He puts a hand on his belly, right over his naval, and wonders how his own delivery will go. Much quicker, most likely, since they’re going to bring her into the world by C-section. Before Steve can think about more, he’s drifting off to sleep.

On Kauai, Danny is frantically running through the motel room he shares with Lou and collects all his personal belongings to toss them into his backpack. He doesn’t want to miss his son’s birth, so he wants to get to the airport and back to Oahu as fast as possible.

“You got everything?” Lou asks when Danny throws the backpack over his shoulder, phone and wallet in hand.

“I think so,” he answers, letting his gaze roam over the tiny motel room one last time. “You guys got this, right?”

Lou clasps his shoulder. “Of course we do. You just get your ass back to Honolulu and welcome your son into this crazy world.”

Nodding, Danny opens the door that leads outside. It almost gets ripped out of his hand due to heavy winds and the rain is peppering his face. “Shit!” He curses as he wrestles with the door. He didn’t realize the weather had worsened like this! Just then, the landline in their room rings.

“This is Grover,” Lou answers the call. He listens intently to the person speaking on the other side of the line, brows drawn tightly together. When he ends the call, he heaves out a heavy sigh. “That was our pilot. The storm is right over Kauai now and they shut down the airport. No one is getting on or off the island for at least four more hours.”

Chapter Text

Steve is jerked out of his sleep by the ringing of his cell phone. He blinks a few times as his eyes adjust to the dim light surrounding him, and it takes his brain a couple of seconds to realize where he is. His head snaps over to Melissa, who is miraculously still asleep, although her brows are furrowed in discomfort. Steve gets to his feet with a grunt. He’s still beyond tired and when he looks outside, it’s still dark. He can’t have been asleep for more than 45 minutes. His shirt is still a little damp from the rain and he shivers a little. He needs to check his car for a spare shirt or find one around here. The phone rings again and Steve remembers why he woke up in the first place. Reaching into his pocket, he gets the cell out and answers the call. “McGarrett.”

“Steve, it’s me,” Danny says and Steve can instantly hear the devastation in his voice. His heart clenches.

“Danny, what’s going on? Are you at the airport yet?” Steve asks and rubs a hand down his belly when Peanut kicks. She must be picking up on his uneasiness.

There’s a heavy sigh on the other side of the line and Steve has a feeling that whatever’s coming next isn’t going to be good news. “No, I’m still at the motel. They’ve shut down the airport for at least four hours because of the storm. I’m stuck here!”

Steve covers his face with his free hand and presses the tips of his fingers into his burning eyes. This can’t be happening. “Fuck,” is all he mutters, because what else could he say about their really, really shitty situation?

“Look, I’ll come as fast as I can but… but I don’t know if I’ll make it in time,” Danny sighs and Steve knows how this breaks his partner’s heart. Not being there for the birth of his son is tearing him up from the inside.

Taking a deep breath, Steve nods, even though Danny can’t see it. “Okay. Don’t worry, I’ll stay with her. She’s not going to be alone,” he promises, just as Melissa starts shifting on the mattress with a grimace. Steve knows she’s waking up again. The epidural can only do so much. “Listen, I gotta go. I’ll keep you updated, alright?”

“Thank you, Steve,” Danny says right before Steve ends the call and rushes over to Melissa’s side.

Melissa’s eyes open slowly and she looks around until she spots Steve. She licks her dry lips. “Is Danny here yet?”

Steve reaches for the plastic cup on the bedside table and fills it with a few inches of iced water. “Here, drink this,” he says and watches her take a couple of small sips. “I just talked to Danny on the phone. They can’t take off on Kauai because of the storm. He’s stuck for the time being.” He tries to talk as quietly and calming as possible, but he sees the moment she realizes what that means and she panics.

“What? No! He has to be here! I can’t do this by myself!” She shouts. Tears are running down her cheeks from a mix of pain, exhaustion and frustration. She looks upset and Steve feels for her.

“Hey, hey. C’mon. Relax,” Steve tries to calm her down and traps her trembling hand between his. He waits until she’s looking at him again. “You are a strong woman, Melissa. You got this! And if you’re okay with it, then I am going to help you through the delivery.”

She calms down a little. “You’d do that for Danny?”

Steve smiles. “Not just for Danny. I’m also doing this for you. We’re friends, right?”

Another tear is rolling down her cheek, but this one is pure relief. “Yeah, we are,” she confirms and squeezes his hand.

Just then, there’s a knock on the door and an elderly doctor with gray hair enters the room. He sanitizes his hands by using the dispenser in the corner before he approaches the bed. “Melissa, how are you feeling?” He asks as he takes a look at the machines she’s hooked up to.

“I’m okay. It still hurts but the epidural helped a lot. How much longer until I can start pushing?”

Steve watches the doctor make a few notes on his tablet. Then he looks up and seems to notice Steve for the first time. “Oh, I haven’t seen you there, son. Are you the father?”

Steve blushes. “Uh, no. I’m a friend. The baby’s father is stuck on another island due to the heavy storm. I’m just here to help out. I’m Steve McGarrett,” he explains.

The doctor holds out his large hand. “Nice to make your acquaintance, Steve. I’m Doctor Spencer.” They shake hands and Steve sees the moment the doctor notices the obvious bump under his dark shirt. “How far along are you?”

“34 weeks,” Steve replies.

Doctor Spencer nods. “As soon as I am done checking on Melissa and the baby here, I’ll have someone bring you a chair so you can sit next to the bed. You shouldn’t be standing for such a long period of time,” he says with a disapproving look. “You might get dizzy.”

“That’s not necessary, sir, I’m fine—“

“I’m not going to argue with you, Steve.”

Steve’s jaw clicks shut. This might not be a military hospital, but he’s pretty sure Doctor Spencer would have very good changes at becoming a drill sergeant in the Navy. Because he’s very persistent and not taking no for an answer.

“Alright, Melissa. I’m going to see how much your cervix has dilated by now. Please bend your legs. Yes, that’s it.”

Steve turns around to the window. He might have offered to be by Melissa’s side throughout the birth of the baby, but he doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable. So, in order to give her a little privacy, he takes a couple of step toward the window and looks out. The sky is slowly turning a dark shade of gray, announcing the arrival of a new day. It’s still raining heavily and he wonders if the sun will even show itself today. Steve yawns and attempts to rub some of the lingering fatigue off his face. He truly hopes that the baby boy won’t take his sweet time, because he doesn’t know how long he’s going to be able to function without proper sleep.

Danny is nervously pacing the small motel room. Up and down, up and down, up and down. Lou huffs out a breath and tosses the TV remote control he’s been using onto the mattress next to him. The large Chicago man has been lounging on his bed for the last thirty minutes, watching a football game. Or maybe it’s baseball. Danny can’t really tell because his sole focus is on getting to Oahu as quick as possible. And that’s also the reason why Lou isn’t at the police station with Chin and Kono. They’re all worried he’s going to do something stupid like swim back to Oahu. Not that he’d actually do that. He’s not Steve.

“Brother,” Lou sighs and sits up. “You need to relax. The storm’s not gonna be over faster just because you’re wearing a hole into the carpet.”

Danny drops down on the second bed in the room and runs his hands through his hair for the umpteenth time. “I know that,” he grits out through clenched teeth. “But what else am I supposed to do? I can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

Lou stands up and walks over to Danny. “Have I ever told you the story about how I missed Samantha’s birth?”

At that, Danny’s head shoots up. “You missed your daughter’s birth?”

Laughing loudly, Lou nods. “Yep, I did. I went out with a bunch of friends to watch a football game. Chicago Bears vs. Dallas Cowboys. Renee made me promise to always have my phone on me and not drink too much in case she goes into labor.”

Danny chuckles. “You didn’t listen, did you?”

“Oh hell no!” Lou exclaims. “I was wasted before the game even started. Anyway, halfway through the game, a buddy of mine told me that his wife called him because Renee’s been trying to reach me for the last twenty minutes. When I called her back, she was already on her way to the hospital with her sister, cursing up a storm. I couldn’t hide the fact that I was drunk off my ass, because women know everything. So, she was threatening to chop off my private parts while I stumbled to the bus station, trying to get to the hospital. I finally got onto the bus at the same time as she arrived at the hospital.”

“What happened next? If you were on the bus, how did you miss the delivery?” Danny asks.

Lou laughs. “Well, I passed out as soon as I sat down and woke when the bus hit the last stop, which was three hours from the hospital.”

Danny can’t help but laugh out loud. Clutching his stomach, he’s barely able to breathe. “I can’t believe she didn’t divorce you on the spot,” he wheezes out, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“She almost did!” Lou says, but he’s laughing as well. “But as soon as our precious baby girl was born, she forgot about everything else. When I finally made it to the hospital, she just pulled me closer and kissed me. Samantha’s delivery might not have been perfect, but that didn’t change anything about how much we love her.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Danny muses. He suddenly feels calmer than he did before. “Thanks for the distraction, buddy,” he says and bumps his shoulder against Lou’s. “Who would have thought that one of your idiotic stories would help me out one day,” he jokes.

The ringing of the landline interrupts them and Danny leans over the bed to pick up the phone. “This is Williams.”

“Detective, this is Ono, your pilot. We have just been given the green light to take off toward Oahu. The storm has passed earlier than expected.”

Danny’s heart doubles in speed. “I’m on my way!”

“Melissa, you’re going to have to start pushing.”

Melissa’s head whirls around and she stares Steve with wide eyes. “Steve…”

Despite feeling past exhausted himself, Steve rises from the chair he’s been given and smiles encouragingly at her. At least he’s wearing a dry shirt now. “You got this,” he says and keeps up the reassuring muttering while a nurse and Doctor Spencer put her legs and the rest of her body into the right position. Her lower half gets covered by a blue blanket before the doctor sits down between her legs, ready to deliver the baby.

“Alright, Melissa. When I count to three, you start pushing with all you’ve got,” Doctor Spencer orders as he snaps on a pair of blue latex gloves. The nurse is checking the monitors again. “One, two, three.”

Steve feels like the fingers of his right hand are getting crushed and he tries not to wince. Melissa is much stronger than her slim appearance makes her look. He can swear he can hear the bones crack in his hand. But he ignores it in favor of muttering more words of encouragement in her ear. Her face is beet red now and she’s sweating greatly. Her usually perfectly styled hair is plastered to her forehead and neck. Steve feels his phone vibrate against his thigh but there is no chance he’d be able to take that call now. So he ignores it and focuses on Melissa.

Danny swears. They’re just about to land at Honolulu International Airport, but he hasn’t been able to reach Steve or Melissa yet. He tries not to worry about it too much, but he knows he’s failing spectacularly. He’s worried sick!

“Why don’t you try the hospital directly, brah?” The pilot shouts over the loud noise of the helicopter, and Danny could kick himself for not thinking of this himself. He’s not sure how much information the hospital is going to give him, but it’s worth a shot. He quickly punches in the number of Queens and connects the call to his headset. His right leg keeps bouncing restlessly as he waits for someone to answer the phone.

Steve doesn’t know what to say, or even what to think. All he can do is look down at the tiny human in Melissa’s arms. The baby’s skin is still pink, but the nurse has cleaned and dressed him before handing him over to his mother. Even though the boy isn’t his, Steve feels a sense of obligation and responsibility toward the little guy. He’s been there when he was born and he was present when he’d let out his first high-pitched cry. It had been an overwhelming moment. Steve still feels enveloped by love and awe and he can’t wait to hold his own baby in his arms. “I’m so proud of you,” he tells Melissa as he reaches out to touch the baby’s soft cheek. “He’s beautiful.”

Melissa smiles. “He is perfect.” She looks up at Steve. “Thank you for being here. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You’re welcome,” he says and leans down to lightly kiss the top of her head. “Have you and Danny talked about names yet?” He asks.

Melissa smiles. “We had a couple of names we liked, but non was perfect. But I was thinking maybe Matthew?”

“I’m sure Danny would like that,” Steve says, feeling a lump in his throat. He’s sure Danny is going to love that name.

Just then, the door flies open and a rumpled looking Danny stumbles in. Steve and Melissa look up in surprise and Steve suddenly remembers that he forgot to check who had tried to reach him. But the birth of the baby had completely amazed him and shoved everything else to the background.

Danny walks a few steps, then stops dead in his tracks. He stares at the bundle in Melissa’s arms, mouth wide open. “Is that… Is that him?” He asks.

Smiling as brightly as the sun, Melissa nods. “Come and meet your son,” she says, just as the boy lets out a muffled squeal. Steve steps back a little to make room for Danny, who’s approaching the bed like he’s seeing the biggest and most valuable treasure he’s ever seen. Steve can’t help but smile at the delighted look on his partner’s face.

“He looks just like I did,” Steve hears Danny say.

Steve has apparently zoned out a little, because the next thing he’s aware of is Danny standing in front of him. Steve blinks. “They’re both asleep,” Danny whispers quietly, looking over his shoulder at Melissa and the baby. “You look like you go do with some sleep too. Let me drive you home.”

Steve can’t deny that he’s really tired and can barely keep his eyes open anymore. He needs sleep and probably something to eat as well. But he’s not going to separate Danny and his newborn son, so he shakes his head. “My truck’s here. I can drive myself.”

There’s a look of hesitation on Danny’s face. “Are you sure? You’ve been up all night.”

“I’m sure. It’s only a short drive to my house. I’ll be fine,” he assures Danny. “You enjoy spending time with your son.”

Danny agrees only reluctantly. “Fine. I’ll come by tonight, if that’s okay. I, uh, I need to talk to you. About something important.”

“Of course. My door is always open for you. You know that,” Steve replies with a tired smile. He then ducks out of the room and fumbles with his car keys. His only wish is to crash at home and sleep for the next 24 hours straight.

Steve’s feeling slightly nauseous by the time he pulls up in front of his house. He’s had some water and a cup of tea at the hospital, but what he needs now is to eat something if he wants to keep his blood sugar from bottoming out. Climbing out of the car, Steve drags his exhausted body across his front yard. The sun has just started to rise and he shivers in the early morning breeze. Or maybe the shivering has less to do with the breeze, but more with lack of sleep. He’s not sure at this point.

Steve is so busy trying to make it inside before he falls asleep standing upright, that he doesn’t notice the dark clad person who’s creeping closer. He’s just managed to unlock the front door, when something sharp pierces his neck. He gasps, hands flying to his neck, but he already feels his mind getting hazier and his body growing heavier. His vision swims and before he can so much as turn to look at his attacker, he blacks out.

Chapter Text

The return to consciousness is slow for Steve. There’s this inner voice that screams and yells at him to wake up, to open his eyes, but it’s easier said than done. Because fighting his way back to awareness is like swimming through mud. It’s strenuous and tiring, and by the time Steve finally manages to open his eyes to two small slits, he’s completely exhausted. His head is throbbing to the beat of his heart and nausea twists his stomach. He turns his head and gags into the crook of his elbow.

The loud blaring of what sounds like the horn of a large ship makes Steve groan. His headache spikes and he feels like his skull is on the verge of exploding. He presses his forehead against the soft surface he’s laying on, desperately clinging to consciousness. He can’t black out again, because he knows that something is wrong. Extremely, horribly wrong.

The noise stops as soon as it began and he blows out a shaky breath of relief. He licks his dry lips and slowly starts to uncurl from the fetal position he’s woken up in. His vision is fuzzy and he has to blink a couple of times to make things swim into focus. But even when his surrounding isn’t blurry anymore, there’s not much to see. He’s in a plain room, not bigger than his kitchen. The walls are pure concrete and there’s only one window. It’s high up toward the ceiling and there’s no way that Steve can reach it. Not in his condition.

Steve’s hand slips down to his belly. His heart is hammering against his ribcage when he doesn’t feel any movement from his daughter. He tries not to panic and gently presses the heel of his left hand against the side of his stomach. At first, nothing happens, but then he feels it; Squirming. He exhales in relief.

After getting over the initial shock, he decides that it’s time to figure out where he is and how he ended up here. He struggles to sit up on the dirty mattress he’s laying on, using the wall for support. His head swims as soon as he’s in a more upright position and he has to breathe through a brutal wave of nausea. He lifts his hand to his neck and gingerly prods the still burning spot. He knows he’s been drugged. Question is, by whom?

Slowly, Steve gets his legs underneath him and pushes up. The room he’s held in dips and sways and he squeezes his eyes shut. Thankfully, after a few moments of just breathing, things settle down. With a sigh, he begins to explore the room.

When Danny reaches Steve’s house after spending a couple of hours at the hospital, he feels tired. Not just tired, exhausted. But it’s the good kind of exhausted. He can’t remember the last time he’s slept, but holding his newborn son in his arms had made the stress of the last couple of hours absolutely worth it. And while he’s not a big fan of getting threatened with a gun, that moment on Kauai made him realize that he can’t waste any more time. He needs to tell Steve how he feels. Because every day they spend apart feels like a lost day to Danny. So, with that in mind, he gets out of the car and strides across the lawn to Steve’s front door.

That’s when he freezes.

The front door to Steve’s house is slightly ajar, and his car and house keys are lying abandoned on the ground. But what makes Danny almost collapse to his knees right then and there is the syringe he sees. It’s empty. Danny’s mind is racing and before he even knows what he’s doing, he’s already running through the front door, yelling Steve’s name. He’s aware that he probably won’t receive an answer, but he has this tiny glint of hope that Steve’s inside. That, maybe, he managed to fight his attacker off and dragged himself inside.

Danny doesn’t get a reply and he runs a shaky hand through his hair. His mind is racing and for a quick moment, he doesn’t know what to do. He’s been a cop for most his of his life, but right now he feels completely lost. Taking a few deep breaths, he forces himself to calm down. He needs to get himself together, because he’s not going to be any use to Steve is he loses his shit now. With trembling fingers, he gets his phone out of his pocket and calls HPD.

Steve is still wandering around the room when he hears footsteps. Spinning around to face the heavy iron door, he narrows his eyes and takes a couple of steps back to put more distance between the entrance and himself. Usually, he would just hide next to the door and get ready to attack, but he knows that’s not an option. He’s eight months pregnant and winning a fight in his condition is almost impossible—Even for a former Navy SEAL. Not to mention that he’s still slightly dizzy and unsteady on his feet due to the drugs that knocked him out.

The first thing Steve sees when the door opens is the long barrel of a gun. It’s not the kind of gun you can buy just anywhere. Military issue, maybe.

Next, he sees the large body of the man that holds the gun. He’s clad in black from head to toe and has a least forty pounds on Steve, if not more. He’s clearly Hawaiian with his tanned skin, the thick black hair and traditional tattoos. Behind him, another man enters the room and Steve’s attention is drawn to him right away. Because while the man holding the gun has the means to shoot him, it’s obvious that the other guy holds the actually power. He’s the one Steve has to be more careful around.

“Who are you?” Steve growls, addressing the guy in the expensive gray Armani suit. “What do you want from me?”

The man chuckles and crosses his arms over his chest. His expensive suit pulls tight over his muscular shoulders and upper arms. “So many questions, Commander McGarrett.”

Steve tries not to flinch. The man obvious knows who he is, and that makes him even angrier. Because Steve has never even seen that guy before. He has no idea who he is. “I’m gonna ask again. Who are you?” He repeats his questions.

“I’m actually surprised you don’t know who I am,” the man sighs dramatically. “After all, I’ve heard that nothing goes past the famous Five-0 task force. But I understand. You’ve probably been a bit… preoccupied.” The man’s gaze flickers down to Steve’s belly and an evil smirk twists his mouth.

Steve feels rage burn in his veins. “What. Do. You. Want?”

The man laughs loudly. It sounds wrong, like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. “Very protective, aren’t you? Let’s hope your friends have the same character trait,” he says and then nods at the goon next to him. The man huffs like a bull and approaches Steve. “Don’t fight, Commander. It’ll only make things tougher.” As if to prove that point, the gorilla with the weapon presses his gun against the side of Steve’s stomach.

Swallowing against the lump in his throat, Steve allows the large man to tie his hands behind his back and drag him out of the room.

Danny is nervously pacing the living room while the crime scene unit goes over Steve’s house. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot to find. Whoever attacked Steve didn’t enter the house or touch anything. The only thing they have is the syringe, and even that might be a dead end, because according to CSU, there aren’t any visible fingerprints on it. Danny feels like he’s been dropped into a black hole and he just keeps falling and falling.

“Detective, we are going to take the syrince to the crime lab now. It doesn’t look like there are any prints, but we might get lucky,” an officers explains. Danny watches him hold up the bag with the needle and he shudders. The mere thought of Steve having been injected with whatever drug or poison there was makes him feel sick.

The sudden ringing of his phone makes Danny jump. He fumbles it out of his pocket and the cell almost slips from his trembling fingers. “Detective Williams.”

“Danny, hey, it’s Chin. How’s life with three kids?”

“Chin,” is the only thing Danny can say. He’s completely forgotten about his team. He should have called them. “Chin, I—“

“Danny, is everything okay?” Chin asks, sounding worried.

“It’s Steve,” Danny starts. “He was taken. And drugged. I… Shit! I don’t know where he is!” He says and collapses onto the sofa in Steve’s living room. He’s legs are shaking and he feels tears burn in his eyes.

“Listen, we just landed on Oahu. HPD can take the two gang members to the station. We’ll meet you at Steve’s house, okay?”

Danny takes a shaky breath. “No, no… We can’t… There’s nothing we can do here. CSU has swept the place. There’s nothing,” Danny explains with a heavy heart. Saying this out loud, admitting that there’s no trace of Steve, is grueling.

“Then we’ll meet at HQ. We can go over the surveillance footage from the nearby roads and buildings. We might get lucky,” Chin suggests.

“Yeah, that sounds… That’s a good idea,” Danny mutters and rubs at his forehead. He’s been up for over 24 hours now and he isn’t thinking clear anymore. Between almost getting shot, becoming a father and realizing that his partner was taken, there’s not much room to make any rational decisions. He sighs. “Sorry. I can’t think straight anymore…”

“We got you, Danny. And we’ll get Steve back.”

Danny licks his lips. “Yeah. We have to. Failing is not an option.”

Steve is led down a dark hallway with no windows. The building he’s in looks like it’s still under construction. The walls are bare, as is the floor. Nothing but cold concrete. He might be near a port, because he can hear the horns and smell ocean and fish. It’s making him nauseous.

He’s lead into a different room. It doesn’t look much different than the one he woke up in, except that there aren’t any windows. And instead of the filthy mattress, there’s a chair in the middle of the room. In front of the chair is a camera, and Steve gets an uneasy feeling about all of this. It reminds him of when he was held and almost killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. His heart skips a beat at the vivid memory.

Steve only realizes that he’s stopped walking when he gets shoved from behind. He stumbles, almost goes down, but manages to gain back his balance before he actually falls. He glares over his shoulder at the thug with the gun. The guy just smirks at him.

The man’s boss clicks his tongue. “What a clumsy SEAL,” he snorts.

Steve wants to give a smug reply, but he bites his tongue. No need to provoke anyone. Especially not if he doesn’t have a weapon or anything to defend himself.

“Have a seat, Commander,” Mister Armani says and waves a hand at the uncomfortable looking chair.

Gritting his teeth, Steve moves toward the chair. As soon as he’s sitting, the goon with the gun yanks his arms over the backrest and loops another tie around his already bound wrists, securing them to the chair. He tries not to hiss when the movement pulls at his shoulders.

“I hope you’re ready for your close-up,” Mister Armani says as he pulls a black mask over his head to disguise his face. Steve doesn’t like where this is going. Not at all. The fact that the guy had no problem with revealing his face to Steve lets him know that whatever the plan is, he won’t be getting out of this alive. A neither will his daughter.

Steve tests the tie that’s keeping his wrists in place and is relieved to feel that they aren’t that tight. With a little bit of wriggling, he might be able to slip out of it. His hands are still going to be bound together behind his back, but at least he won’t be stuck to the chair anymore. While Mister Armani is readying himself for whatever he’s about to do, Steve attempts to free himself. It’s not easy, especially not since the other guy is watching him closely, but just when Armani is walking toward him, his hands slip free.

Not wasting any time, Steve kicks out with both feet and hits the man in the chest. Armani staggers back and stumbles into the man with the gun. They both lose their balance and fall. Steve shoots to his feet and flees the room. He doesn’t know where he’s going or if there are any other people nearby, but he can’t think about it. He has to get out.

He makes it to a staircase at the end of the hallway when the first bullets start flying. He dodges them and runs down the stairs toward what he hopes is an exit of some kind. He can’t really see where he’s going with his belly in the way, so he just runs. And that’s when it happens. A bullet slams into the back of his right shoulder and throws him forward. He tries to grab the handrail, but misses it by an inch. The tumble that follows is agonizing and violent. He feels a sharp pain in his abdomen before the back of his head connects with the edge of a step and he passes out.

Danny’s knuckles are white where he grips the smart table. He’s made it to headquarters without crashing his car, which is a miracle. His thoughts are still spinning and his concern for Steve overrides everything. He can barely concentrate. That’s why he’s glad to have the rest of the team by his side.

“Let me pull up the footage of all the cameras nearby,” Kono says, hands flying over the surface of the smart table. “The people that drugged Steve must have had a car or something close by.”

For the next two hours, they’re all looking through various recording, looking at every car and every person that walks by Steve’s house, but without any success. Danny’s just about to have a breakdown, when his phone rings. He quickly grabs it and puts it on the smart table when he sees that it’s Eric. “Eric, what’ve you got?” He asks, not bothering with pleasantries.

“I might have found something.”

“What, Eric? What have you found?” Danny stresses, heart beating faster. This might be the lead they’ve waited for.

“The syringe that was brought to me did have a partial print on it,” he explains. “It wasn’t a clear one and it took me a while, but I’ve got a name; Trevor Akina.”

Danny can’t believe it. “Good job, Eric,” he praises and watches anxiously as Kono types in the name.

“This name sounds familiar,” Lou mutters as he squints at the large screen. “I’ve heard it before.”

“And I know why. Trevor Akina is the older brother of Lance Akina, one of the guys we arrested yesterday on Kauai,” Kono explains.

Danny’s heart sinks. The words that were spat at him after they arrest the man’s brother rings in his head, “You won’t be able to end this, pigs. We are stronger than you. We have power! We are going to destroy you!”

Danny pales. “They have Steve,” he mutters, staring at the mug shot of the large man on the screen. He thinks about all the horrible things he’s read about that gang and suddenly his eyes darken. He’s going to get Steve back, and everyone who dares to stand in his path is going to be ripped to pieces. “I’m going to have a chat with Lance,” he growls and stalks out the office with clenched fists.

Chapter Text

Danny is pacing in front of Lance Akina. The guy is still in the same clothes from yesterday, and his hair is hanging in his face in greasy strands. The shirt he’s wearing is dirty and his pants are ripped in some places. But despite his disheveled appearance, he has an arrogant look on his face and a smug smirk firmly in place. It’s disgusting.

“You’re going to go to prison, that’s not up for discussion. But if you help me, you might be able to see the light of day again before you die. All I want to know is where your gang is keeping my partner,” Danny says, coming to a halt before Akina.

The man chuckles. “Not a chance. I’m not telling you anything.”

Danny grits his teeth and looks over his shoulder at Chin, who is leaning against the far wall. There’s an unreadable look on Chin’s face, but Danny knows that he has his back. So when he turns back to Akina, he pulls back his fist and slams it into the guy’s cheek. “We can make this the easy way, or the hard way,” he growls. “Pick wisely.”

Akina coughs and spits out a glob of blood. “Listen up, pig. Your partner is going to die. They’re going to rip him apart and then feed him to the sharks. And I warned you, didn’t I?”

The gun is in Danny’s hand before he’s consciously aware of what he’s doing. The shot echoes loudly inside the confined space of the room and Akina’s yelp is one of surprise and pain. Danny’s staring at the man, chest heaving. There’s not one ounce of regret in his body.

“Danny…” Chin mutters suddenly and a hand appears on Danny’s arm, pushing his gun down. He’s about to snap at Chin when the door to the interrogation room opens and Kono is there. Her face is pale and she looks shaken.

“There’s something you need to see,” she says quietly, and Danny gets a really bad feeling. He holsters his gun and leaves the room without sparing another glance at the bleeding man in the chair.

Lou is standing at the smart table when they arrive. His posture is tense and his hands are clenched to tight fists. “Someone sent this video file to us five minutes ago,” he explains, voice flat. Then he reaches out and opens an attachment. When the dark screen on the wall comes to life, Danny’s heart stops and he has to lean against the smart table. His breath gets stuck in the back of his throat and he feels like he’s about to vomit.

“Tell me you know where this was sent from,” Chin breathes out, because Danny can’t talk. His eyes are glued to the broken form of his partner. Steve is lying on his side on a filthy mattress, unconscious. His chest is rising and falling quickly, almost hyperventilating and there’s a rattling sound every time he breathes out. His face is nearly gray and sweat is running down his forehead and neck. He looks sick, and the blood on the side of his head is a stark contrast to the pallor of his skin. As if that isn’t enough, Steve’s shoulder is bleeding and an ugly wound is visible through the torn material of his shirt. It looks like a gunshot wound. It’s a gruesome sight.

Then the camera pans down to a tattered piece of paper. There’s a handwritten note in big, black letters; Stop investigating us, or your leader is dead.

“We tried to trace it back, but without success. We forwarded it to Toast. Hopefully he can do more,” Kono says. She looks back at the screen and takes a trembling breath. “We need to find him.”

Danny, who still hasn’t said a word, suddenly pushes off the smart table. Steve needs him. And he needs him now. Lance Akina is going to tell him where Steve is, no matter the consequences, because Danny isn’t going to lose the love of his life!

“I’m giving you one last chance before I put another bullet in you. Tell me where my partner is! Now!”

“Y-Your crazy, man!” Danny can see the fear in Lance Akina’s brown eyes now, but he doesn’t care. This man knows where Steve is, Danny is absolutely positive about that, but he’s not talking. Not yet. However, it’s only a matter of time before he’ll reveal what they want to know. And if it takes another bullet to the thigh, so be it. Danny’s beyond the point of caring about consequences at this point. He just wants Steve back, safe and sound.

“Tell me!” Danny shouts and presses his gun against Lance’s leg, a few inches below the first gunshot wound. It’s still bleeding, but Danny knows he didn’t hit an artery. It’s just tissue and muscle damage.

“I’m not telling you, pig!” Akina spats, but this voice is trembling with pain.

Danny grits his teeth. “Fine,” he snaps and pulls the trigger.

Akina’s shout echoes off the walls of the interrogation room. He jerks against the handcuffs that keep him in place and curses bloody murder. “I’m going to sue you!” He moans and glares at Danny through pain glazed eyes.

Danny smiles coldly. “You try that. But you know what I’ll tell the judge? I’ll tell him that you attacked me and I had no other choice than to shoot you. And whom do you think they’re going to believe? A cop, or a dirty little rat like you?”

Akina looks past Danny. “You saw what happened, cop!” He yells at Chin, who’s followed Danny again and has taken his place next to the door once more. Danny doesn’t even bother turning his head. He knows that Chin wants Steve back as much as he does.

“I saw exactly what happened,” Chin says. “You attacked Detective Williams. It was brutal.”

Akina’s eyes widen. “What about the cameras? There are cameras!”

Danny leans down until their noses are only inches apart. “They’re off. So I’d advise you to tell me what I want to know before I shoot you in the kneecap and cripple you for life!”

Eyes flickering back and forth nervously, Akina is clearly weighting his options. He looks down at the two bleeding wounds in his thigh and swallows. “Fine. Fine! I’ll tell you!”

Steve feels pain. An intense, breathtaking pain deep in his abdomen. It wraps around his front to his lower back, engulfing his entire lower half in pure agony. In a desperate attempt to lessen the torture in his gut, he shifts. But instead of easing the discomfort, it gets worse. The pain that explodes in his shoulder makes him groan and he grits his teeth. He’s only half aware of the voices that speak up all of a sudden. He doesn’t know where he is or how he got here. All he knows is that he needs to go to a hospital. Quick.

“He’s awake,” someone says.

Steve turns his head toward the voice and opens his eyes. Everything is blurry and all he can see are fuzzy shapes. He blinks, but it doesn’t help. It only intensifies the hammering in his skull. He clears his dry throat and tries to speak. “H-Help me. Please,” he begs. “S-Something’s w-wrong…”

Someone laughs loudly and Steve winces. The noise is hurting his head. “You should have thought about that before you made that very stupid attempt to escape, Commander.” The scent of a spicy aftershave hits Steve’s nostrils. It’s familiar and sends a chill through his body. “No one is going to help you.”

That’s when all the memories return. The abduction and the bare concrete building. Steve recalls trying to run away and losing his footing on the stairs. He also remembers the sharp pain in his abdomen afterward. He closes his eyes and concentrates. He tries to sense his daughter, feel her kick or move. But nothing happens. All there is is pain. She isn’t moving. And he knows that she isn’t okay. He swallows thickly and puts a hand on his belly. A tear slips from his left eye. He can hear someone laugh and sneer at him, but he doesn’t listen. Doesn’t care. Because he’s just lost the most important thing in his life.

Danny is flooring the gas pedal of the Camaro as he speeds toward Sand Island, which belongs to Honolulu Harbor. He glances down at the GPS and narrows his eyes when he nears the destination; A three-story building right by the pier. It’s still under construction, so no one is supposed to be inside yet, but Danny knows that’s not true. He tightens his grip on the wheel.

“We need to stick to our plan,” Chin says suddenly from the passenger seat. “We can risk anything.”

Danny doesn’t spare him a glance. He keeps his eyes firmly on the road ahead. “I know that.”

“Okay. I just want to make sure you’re not going to do something stupid. Because Steve would never forgive you,” Chin adds.

“All I want is to have Steve back,” Danny says, not bothering to react to what Chin has just said. He knows his friend only means well, but in this case, Danny can’t listen to him. He can’t think about a voice of reason, because Steve might not have enough time for him to decide what’s right and what’s wrong. He can feel that Steve needs his help as soon as possible.

“We all want Steve back, Danny, but I can see how upset you are. Just be careful,” Chin says. He reaches out and grips Danny’s arm. “Be careful for your kids. They need you.”

It’s a low blow and Danny feels a flare of anger in his gut, but the feeling disappears as soon as it came. Because Chin’s right. He blows out a breath. “I will.”

They park a quarter of a mile away from the building so no one can see them. Danny gets out of the car and turns to look at the other members of Five-0, who are parking their cars behind his Camaro. They all have a determined look on their faces, ready to do whatever it takes to get their leader and friend back. The HPD backup they’ve requested is also there, and Duke gives Danny a sharp nod. They’re ready.

“Listen up,” Danny says. “We’re going to cover every single entrance and exit of that building. If there’s a window a human can fit through, it gets covered as well! Take everything and everyone into custody and don’t let anyone get away! But, most importantly, Commander McGarrett is in there. We want him back!”

Everyone nods and Danny knows he can trust them. He might not have had the best start at HPD, but Five-0 has done a lot of good things not only for the citizens and tourists of Hawaii, but also for the local police department. They’ll have their back.

Entering the building is surprisingly easy. The gang probably didn’t expect the police to find their hideout that quickly. Danny takes the lead and clears every single room until he reaches a staircase in the back of the building. Along with Chin, he walks up the stairs. They’re on the first floor when something catches Danny’s eye. It’s blood. He tries to tell himself that the red liquid can belong to everyone, but deep down he knows it’s Steve’s. He quickens his steps.

The first shot that rings out comes out of nowhere and Danny feels the bullet whizz past his left ear. He instinctively crouches down. “Get out of here!” Someone yells and Danny grits his teeth. Because, no, he’s not going to leave this place without his partner. Shooting to his feet, he points his gun at the man he can see and pulls the trigger. The shot isn’t meant to injure, it’s meant to kill.

When they reach the top level of the building, the hallway splits. “I’ll take the left, you the right,” Danny whispers to Chin and moves down the left side. It’s darker here. The lights inside the building haven’t been installed yet and there are barely any windows. All the doors are open, except the one all the way in the back. Danny’s pulse speeds up.

He is almost at the door when another shot is fired and pain burns across his right bicep. He grits his teeth and spins around. He comes face to face with a tall man in what looks to be a very expensive suit. “Put the weapon down,” Danny commands.

The man smirks dangerously. “I don’t think so,” he replies and tightens his finger on the trigger. “I already put a bullet in your dear Commander and I’m going to enjoy putting one in you.”

With a roar, Danny lunges at the man. The weapon fires off another shot, hitting the ceiling. Even though the man is taller and bigger than Danny, he manages to take him down. Anger and desperation is cursing through Danny’s body as he pummels the man’s face. Sweat is running in his eyes but he doesn’t stop. He keeps beating the man until his expensive suit is ruined with blood and he doesn’t move anymore. Only then does Danny get off him. He’s breathing heavily now and the arm with the bullet graze is aching. But he ignores it, because he still has a job to do.

Staggering to his feet, he hurries over to the closed door. He unlocks the heavy door bolt and leans his entire weight against it with a grunt. When it finally swings open, he almost stumbles into the room.

His eyes instantly land on the broken form on the thin and dirty mattress. “Steve,” he breathes as he runs over to his partner, who is lying with his back to the door. He drops to his knees next to Steve’s body and carefully reaches out. “Steve…” He calls again when there’s no reaction. Steve’s skin is warm—too warm—and his breathing doesn’t sound right. “Steve, please, open your eyes. I’m here. Everything is going to be okay, alright? Just open your eyes.” He gently turns his partner onto his back. There’s a lot of blood, bruises and swelling, and Danny feels like crying. He gently touches the Steve’s cheek.

That’s when the former SEAL groans and his eyes move behind closed lids. Danny puts a hand on his partner’s cheek and urges him to wake up. “D-Danny…” Steve mumbles all of a sudden and his blue eyes open.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Danny says and smiles softly. “You’re going to be okay.”

Steve swallows. “I lost her, Danno… She’s gone.” A single tear is rolling down his cheek.

Danny’s heart clenches inside his chest. “Steve—“

“I’m sorry…” Steve whispers. “I’m so sorry…”

Then his eyes flutter closed again and his head rolls limply to the side. Danny surges forward. “Steve!” He calls, hands gripping his partner’s face. “Steve, open your eyes!”

But nothing happens. Steve’s not responding, not moving, even that raspy breathing sound is gone.

Steve’s not breathing.

“Steve! Don’t you dare do this to me!” Danny shouts, tears burning in his eyes. “Don’t leave me! I love you!”

There are hands all of a sudden, pulling him backward. Danny only half registers that other people are in the room with them now. He struggles against the hands and arms that hold him, but they are stronger. “Let go!” He screams. “Let me go! He needs me!”

“Danny, let them work on Steve,” a familiar voice rumbles in his ear, but he doesn’t listen. His entire focus is on his partner. Because Steve is dying.

Chapter Text

Danny is pacing up and down in the waiting room of Tripler Army Medical Center. His hands are still trembling, but he barely notices it. Adrenaline is an interesting thing. He’s running his fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time, hoping and praying that Steve is going to be fine. Because he can’t lose him. And he can’t lose his unborn daughter.

Chin, Kono and Lou are sitting in the chairs behind Danny. Duke has offered to take care of the scene back at the warehouse, because it’s obvious to everyone that the Five-0 members want to be there for their boss and friend. It’s what Ohana does.

Danny is still walking restlessly up and down, when an elderly doctor in a white coat enters the room. As soon as he notices the man, Danny stops dead in his tracks. Even though there are other people in the waiting room, he knows that this is about Steve. His throat goes dry as he waits for the doctor to confirm his feeling.

“Commander McGarrett?” The man calls out and looks around.

In two big steps, Danny is standing in front of him. “That’s us. How is he doing? Is he going to be okay? Is our daughter alright?” Someone squeezes his shoulder from behind and Danny forces himself to slow down and take a breath. It’s easier said than done, because his brain is a jumbled mess.

The doctor smiles compassionately. “My name is Doctor Fletcher. Are you the baby’s father?”

“Yes, that’s me. I’m Danny Williams. I’m also Commander McGarrett’s medical proxy,” Danny explains. The proxy thing is something they’ve decided almost five years ago. Steve doesn’t have any family nearby, so it makes sense for Danny to be his medial proxy. It comes in handy every time Steve does something stupid. But this time, things are different. Danny swallows the lump in his throat.

“How about we go talk in my office?” Doctor Fletcher says. Even though it’s a question, everyon knows it isn’t really one.

Danny has a bad feeling about this, because nothing good ever happens in a doctor’s private office. Bad news get delivered there. Danny’s heart is hammering against his chest and he has the strong urge to shake the doctor to make him tell what they want—no, need—to know. But that probably won’t help. So instead of assaulting the man, Danny promises his friends to keep them updated and follows the doctor down the hallway.

Danny wipes his sweaty palm on his pants as he waits for Doctor Fletcher to sit down behind the large glass desk. The man’s office is very spacious and bright, but it isn’t doing anything for the downright fear in Danny’s gut. On the contrary. Every minute that passes without him knowing what’s going on with Steve worsens his inner tumult.

Finally, Doctor Fletcher sits down and opens the file on his desk. “Commander McGarrett needs surgery,” he states, and Danny appreciates that he isn’t beating around the bush for too long now. “We need to extract the bullet in his shoulder and clean the wound before we can stitch it. He also has two broken ribs and a concussion, but there is nothing we can do about that, except monitor him closely.”

“What about the baby?” Danny asks. He’s almost afraid to hear the answer, because he’s seen the condition Steve is in.

Doctor Fletcher sighs. “The baby’s heartbeat isn’t as strong as we would like to see. It appears that Commander McGarrett has taken a fall, and we can’t rule out that she’s been injured in that fall as well.”

God, Danny feels like he’s going to get sick.

The doctor goes on. “The commander is already getting prepped for surgery. We can’t wait any longer. We need to perform a C-section and get her out. It’s the safest option for both of them.”

Danny nods. “Steve… He’s going to be okay, right?”

The serious expression on Doctor Fletcher’s face doesn’t look good and Danny bites his lip. “He’s already lost a lot of blood. And there’s also the concussion we have to worry about. But I promise you, Detective, that I will do everything I can to get him through this. You have my word.”

Danny doesn’t know this man, has never met him before in his life, but he has to trust him with his daughter’s and Steve’s life. He doesn’t have a choice. So he nods and braces himself for what’s to come.

Twenty minutes later, Danny is wearing a pair of scrubs, including a hairnet. He’s led into a small room with a large window that overlooks the operating room. He feels like someone is choking him when he steps closer to the glass and looks through it. He sees Steve, pale and lifeless, lying on an operating table on the other side. A blue fabric is covering his entire body, but it does nothing to hide the numerous IVs, bruises and cuts.

“They’re going to start the C-section now,” a nurse to his left says. “Don’t worry. Doctor Fletcher is the best surgeon we have at Tripler.”

Danny doesn’t know if the nurse’s words are helpful or not, because even though Doctor Fletcher is good, Steve’s body is weak. He’s already teetering close to the abyss and who knows how his body is going to react to such a surgery. And what bothers Danny the most is that he can’t be with his partner. Steve might be unconscious, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t feel his presence. But the risk is too high, so the only other option that was offered to Danny is staying behind the glass wall.

The second Doctor Fletcher sets foot in the operating room, Danny stops breathing. He watches the doctor fold back the blue fabric over Steve’s midsection, press his fingers against his belly and then talk to the woman they’ve requested from the obstetrics department to assist with the surgery. Even though there’s sound transmission in the room Danny’s in, he can’t understand what they’re saying. Too many medical terms spoken.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Doctor Fletcher says eventually and holds out his hand for the scalpel.

The first couple of minutes, everything is quiet. Danny doesn’t even dare to breathe. He watches with wide eyes as the doctor makes a horizontal cut across Steve’s lower abdomen. Danny might be used to seeing blood, but this isn’t the same. He’s never watched someone he loves get cut open like that. Not even when Rachel had her C-section with Charlie.

Suddenly, a loud alarm begins to blare. Danny’s eyes snap to the machine next to Steve and he tries to understand what the lines mean, but he’s not a doctor. “What’s going on?” He asks the nurse without tearing his gaze away from the scene in front of him. She doesn’t answer right away, so he repeats his questions, louder. “What is happening?!”

“The commander’s blood pressure has just dropped drastically,” she explains and Danny has to lean against the glass window to keep his legs from buckling. He watches someone tilt Steve’s head back and shove a ventilator down his throat.

“Let’s get the baby out!” Doctor Fletcher yells over the loud alarm and suddenly things are moving much faster. Danny can barely keep up.

But things slow down to a crawl when the doctor physically reaches into Steve’s body and pulls something out. It’s a human. A teeny tiny, bloody little human. It’s their daughter. Danny feels a rush of love and happiness go through him, despite everything, and he smiles. But then reality comes crashing back down and he realizes that something’s wrong. She’s not crying. His baby girl is not crying. He presses both hands against the glass and stares at her tiny body as Doctor Fletcher hands her over to the midwife. The woman quickly spins around and leaves the room, taking the baby away from the operating room. “Where are they taking her?” Danny asks, already moving away to follow.

The nurse stops him. “They’re going to take care of her.”

Danny wants to protest, wants to scream and yell, but the voice of Doctor Fletcher makes him freeze. “He’s coding! Get the defibrillator ready! Shit, the bleeding is bad.”

“No! Steve!” Danny yells, pressed up against the glass once more. His breath is fogging up the window, but he doesn’t care.

He feels a hand on his arm. “Detective, let’s get out of here. You don’t need to see this,” she says calmly, trying to pull him away. But Danny shakes her off. “Detective, please.”

“No! He needs me!” He shouts back. The grip on his arm disappears, and for a moment he thinks he’s won the argument, but then the window he’s looking through goes dark, cutting off his sight. He spins around. “Turn it back on!”

The nurse, who still has her hand on the off switch, shakes her head. “No. You don’t want to see this. Trust me.”

Danny sinks down on a chair and buries his head in his hands. Worry for his partner and his daughter are overriding everything and only when he feels wetness on his hands does he realize that he’s crying.

Danny is still sitting hunched over in the chair with his face hidden behind his hands, when the door to the room opens. He doesn’t bother looking up, because he doesn’t care about anything at the moment. But then he hears a mewling sound and his head snaps up. The woman who has taken away his daughter is standing in the doorframe now. She’s holding something in her arms. “Detective Williams, would you like to meet your daughter?”

He blinks, because he doesn’t understand. She wasn’t crying before. Something was wrong.

“Your little princess had a bit of a rough start, but everything is fine now,” the midwife explains as she steps closer and carefully puts the baby in Danny’s arms.

Staring down at the little human, Danny can’t believe that she’s his. He touches her dark brown hair with a watery smile and wishes more than anything for Steve to see this.

Danny Williams is not a religious person, but right now he’s praying to everyone who’s willing to listen…

Steve feels like he’s floating on a fluffy cloud. His entire body feels weightless and his head seems to be stuffed with cotton candy. He can’t grasps a single clear thought and he feels disconnected to everything. Nothing hurts, so he allows himself to remain in that blissful state for just a bit longer.

After a while of just hovering between being awake and being asleep, Steve hears a voice. He can’t make out any actual words, because it sounds muffled, like the person is talking into a pillow, but something inside of Steve tells him that it’s important. That he needs to listen.

Straining his ears, Steve tries to understand what is being said. He’s not even sure the person is talking to him until a hand touches his forehead all of a sudden and he feels a warm breath on his cheek. He frowns and forces his eyes open.

“Steve, are you awake?” Someone says close to his ear.

Unfortunately, Steve can’t focus on the soft voice. Because now that he’s more aware of his surroundings, he also feels connected to his body again—And his body hurts! There’s a deep throbbing in his right shoulder that spreads down to his fingertips. He tries to move his arm a bit and grunts when the pain gets even worse. The ache in his skull isn’t far behind. Every time he parts his eyelids a little, the light stabs his eyes like hot knifes. Groaning, Steve wishes he’d be back on his soft cloud. Everything hurts. His shoulder, his head, his stomach…

His stomach.

Despite the pain in his head, Steve’s eyes snap open. His shaky hands instantly go to his belly and his heart sinks when the firm roundness is gone. She is gone. His daughter is gone. “No…” He breathes.

The hand is back, this time on his cheek. “Steve. Babe, open your eyes.” It’s Danny. Steve knows it’s Danny, but he can’t look at him. Can’t meet his eyes. Not after he’s lost their baby. He squeezes his eyes shut and fights against the tears that are threatening to fall. He tries to roll away, but Danny puts a hand on his chest and keeps him in place. “Stop moving around. You’re going to tear your stitches.”

“I don’t care,” Steve says quietly, still struggling weakly.

Danny sputters. “Excuse me? You don’t care? But I care! The doctors didn’t put you back together only for you to destroy all their hard work,” Danny says loudly, and Steve winces when the volume hurts his head.

“Lemme go, Danny,” Steve says as he tries to shrug off his partner’s hands. “I lost her. I lost our baby and I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry…”

Danny’s eyes widen in shock. He’s frozen like a statue and for one terrifying second, Steve fears that no one has told his partner that he’s lost the baby. But before Steve can say something, Danny shakes his head. “No. Steve, no. We didn’t lose her,” he says softly and leans down to wipe a tear from Steve’s cheek. “She’s okay. Her organs are fully developed and she’s healthy.”

Danny pulls back and takes a step to the side. He smiles at Steve and points at something in the corner. Steve follows his partner’s finger and a sob breaks loose when he sees the small hospital bassinet a few feet away. The sides are transparent and he has a clear view on his daughter’s picture-perfect little face. “She’s alive… She’s here…” He whispers quietly, not quite able to believe it. Suddenly, a tsunami of emotions washes over him and he just breaks down. Relief is flooding through him and he can’t contain the sobs. Because his daughter is alive!

“Oh babe…” Danny says quietly and Steve feels a pair of strong arms wrap around his body, holding him close. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay. I’m here and I won’t leave you. I love you.”

As soon as the words register in Steve’s muddled brain, he looks up. “What?”

Danny smiles, holding Steve’s gaze. “I love you. The moment you pointed your gun at me in the garage all those years ago, I fell for you.”

Steve blinks. What Danny is telling him isn’t making any sense. “Why… Why didn’t you say anything? What about Gabby? And Melissa?”

With a heavy sigh, Danny sits down on the mattress. He runs a hand through his hair. “I guess I didn’t want to lose you. You’re my best friend and confessing my undying love to you could have backfired spectacularly. I didn’t want to risk anything… But I guess I really hurt you in the process. And I’m sorry about that.”

Steve reaches for Danny’s hand. “I love you too, you know.”

Danny clears his throat. “Do, uh… Do you think we can work this thing out between us?”

Smiling, Steve squeezes his partner’s hand. “Why don’t you take me on a date and we see how things go?”

“I’d love to,” Danny replies with a happy smile. They grin at each other, lost in their own little world, until they hear an unhappy sound coming from the bassinet.

Steve chuckles. “Okay, let me hold our baby now.”

Chapter Text

6 Months Later

Steve is sitting in one of the deckchairs in his backyard, sipping a chilled beer. The smell of grilled steak and chicken reaches his nose and he looks over his shoulder toward Lou, who is expertly handling the grill. “Food is almost ready,” he says as he flips one of the steaks over. Kono and Renee, who are sitting at the large table a few feet away from the grill, get to their feet. “We’re gonna go get the salads from the fridge,” Kono says before they disappear into the house. Adam follows them to get more drinks for the cooler.

A shrill shriek reaches Steve’s ears and he looks down toward the water’s edge. Sara and Charlie are running after Grace with buckets of water, trying to pour it over her. The teenager holds her cell phone protectively over her head, trying to at least keep that dry. Abby and Chin are both cheering on the two younger kids, and Steve has to laugh when Abby wraps her arms around Grace to keep her in place while Sara and Charlie dump their water over Grace’s head. Samantha and Will, who are playing badminton, quickly drop their gear and rush over to help Grace.

Steve’s eyes wander further down the beach and he smiles happily when he sees Danny waist deep in the ocean. He is laughing loudly and turns his head away when water splashes his way. Their daughter, who is held above water by Danny’s arms, is giggling and kicking her feet, causing water to fly left and right. Matthew is just one foot away and the little boy reaches out toward his half-sister with a gurgling laugh. Marc, who is holding him, chuckles.

“They’re good dads, aren’t they?”

Steve turns his head and looks up at Melissa. She sits down next to him and hands him another beer. The diamond in her engagement rings sparkles brightly in the Hawaiian sun. Steve takes the drink with a smile. “They really are,” he agrees and smirks when he sees Danny toss their daughter into the air. She loves the water.

“Food is ready!” Lou hollers, causing everyone to stop what they’re doing. The kids are the first ones at the table, grabbing plates and cutlery.

Danny and Marc are getting out of the water as well, and while Matthew looks excited about the idea of getting something to eat, Kalani is pouting and squirming in her father’s arms. Apparently, she’d rather spend some more time in the ocean.

“We can’t deny that she’s yours,” Danny sighs as soon as he’s in hearing range. “I’m surprised she wasn’t born with gills!”

Steve laughs. “She’s an island baby,” he explains with a shrug. His eyes travel from Kalani to Danny, and he can’t help but look at his partner’s body. His muscular chest is glistering in the sun and the wet swim trunks don’t leave much to the imagination. Steve grins.

Danny catches his eye and smirks, “Like what you see?” He purrs quietly, and then addresses their daughter. “Daddy looks like he needs to cool down a little as well.” And before Steve knows what is happening, his daughter is sitting on his chest, wet swim diaper soaking into his shirt and shorts. Steve hisses, Danny laughs and Kalani giggles.

“Thanks for that,” Steve says and starts tickling his daughter.

“Anytime,” Danny replies cheekily. He bends down, arms on either side of the chair, and kisses Steve. “Only the best for you, babe,” he mutters against his lips before pulling back.

Steve rolls his eyes with an amused snort and accepts the fluffy, pink towel Melissa is handing him. He wraps it tightly around Kalani’s small body. She grunts and protests when he rubs it over her head to dry her dark brown hair. Her love for water might be Steve’s influence, but her strong and vocal personality is all Danny. Her first word is going to be “No!”, there’s no doubt about that.

When she’s more or less dry, Steve stands up and carries her over to the table. Matthew is already sitting in his highchair, happily eating the applesauce Marc is feeding him. Danny ruffles the boy’s blond hair and then takes his place next to Grace.

While Steve is putting Kalani in her highchair, he looks at the people at the table. Everyone is eating and chatting cheerfully. They might not all be related by blood, but they’re Ohana. Now and for the rest of their lives.

The End