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They nearly die almost every day, Danny thinks, why is this time so different? He’s seen Steve injured before, but he’s never seen him shot. He’s never watched Steve take a bullet, and maybe that’s the difference. “Steve!” he shouts, but if Steve answers, Danny can’t hear him over all the noise from the firefight. Danny’s chest clenches tight, but as much as he wants to get to Steve, needs to know that he’s still alive and breathing, there’s no way for Danny to get to him. He’s got to cover Kono until Chin can get into position, and seriously, why do they never call in HPD backup?
“Steve!” Danny shouts again, but there’s still no answer. Gritting his teeth, Danny focuses on taking down the bad guys. It’s the only way to help Steve now.
Chin shows up and it’s over pretty fast after that. Danny leaves Kono and Chin to deal with the fallen shooters; his only thought is for Steve. “Steve!” he calls as he stumbles over ropes and shell casings and around shipping boxes. His partner is unmoving on the ground when Danny gets to him. Danny can see blood still flowing out of a wound that is terrifyingly close to Steve’s neck, just above where his vest ends.
“Ambulance is on the way!” Kono calls, but Danny knows he has to try to stop the bleeding. It isn’t gushing out; no major arteries were hit, but there is a significant puddle of it already on the ground.
Danny falls to his knees beside Steve and gets the vest open before yanking Steve’s shirt down. The blood makes it hard to see but Danny reaches in and feels around until he can get the hole covered with his hand. “Tell them to hurry!” he shouts at Kono as he leans on his hands, keeping pressure on the wound. Below him, Steve groans but doesn’t wake up. “Hang on, Steve,” Danny tells him through the tightness in his throat. “You hang on. You do not get to break Grace’s heart.”
Steve doesn’t respond of course, but Danny keeps talking to him anyway. “You are not Super Steve.” He tells him as he hears sirens in the distance. “You are not made of steel, nor are you faster than a bullet.”
Steve coughs, and Danny doesn’t like the blood on his lips. “Steven! You do not get to do this to me!”
Hands are on Danny suddenly and he starts, looking up at the EMT. “Don’t let go,” the woman tells him, and Danny nods. “We’ll tell you when. How bad is the bleeding?”
Danny tells her what he saw and she nods. He stops listening as she directs the other EMTs, too busy watching Steve breathe, but then she’s back again. “Okay, Detective Williams, let go now.”
It takes actual physical effort for Danny to ease up, but the EMTs will be able to do more for Steve than Danny could. It’s not even a discussion; Kono and Chin book the bad guys while Danny rides with Steve to the hospital.
In the ambulance, Danny tries to stay out of the way while the EMTs work. It’s hard, seeing Steve so still. They’ve put a pressure bandage on the wound and there’s an IV in Steve’s arm and he’s hooked up to so many wires Danny’s afraid to even move at the risk of dislodging anything.
When they make it to the hospital, Danny sits in the OR waiting area, hands clasped, elbows on his knees, and only then sees that he’s got Steve’s blood all over him. It’s on his slacks, and his shirt sleeves, and caked on his hands and under his blunt nails. He even got some on his tie. He should go clean up, but his body won’t respond. He can’t leave, has to wait for word on Steve.
Danny’s not sure how long he’s sat and stared at the blood on himself when there’s a hand on his shoulder. “Still in there?” Chin asks, indicating the OR. Danny nods but doesn’t speak. “Kono and I will stay while you get cleaned up.”
Danny knows that tone; arguing won’t get him anywhere. He’ll have to go back to his apartment for clothes. “Call me if I’m not back before they bring him out.”
“We will,” Kono promises. “Here,” she hands Danny her car keys. It’s only then that Danny remembers his car is still back at the docks.
“Thanks,” Danny sighs.
Danny stands in the shower for a while after all the blood is gone, just trying to get a handle of himself. He’s never been this terrified of losing a partner or a friend before. He would do anything for any member of Five-0, and if it were Kono or Chin, he’d be the one comforting the uninjured cousin, just as they were doing for Danny now. If Steve didn’t make it… Danny’s mind shies away from the thought. Steve would be fine. He has to be.
It was only when the water starts cooling that Danny realizes how long he’s been standing there. It’s easy to get out, mechanically put on clothes and get his phone and Kono’s keys from his coffee table. It’s not as easy to get back in the car and think about where he’s going back to.
He gets a call from Chin as he’s pulling into a parking space at the hospital. “Steve’s out of the OR. The doctor says we can see him after he wakes up.”
Danny relaxes so suddenly he feels like Jello and nods, even though Chin can’t see him. “Thanks.”
“You almost back?” he hears Kono’s voice, smaller and tinny from where she’s probably sitting a seat away from the phone.
“Just pulled in,” Danny confirms.
“See you soon,” Chin answers before the phone cuts out.
Steve’s eyes blink open as Danny steps into his room what feels like hours later. “You are really something,” is all Danny can think of to say.
Steve smiles weakly. “Hey,” he slurs.
Danny takes pity on him, seeing as he’s still doped up, and sits in the chair next to Steve’s bed. “Glad you made it.”
Steve reaches out and clutches Danny’s arm. “Me too,” he sighs, his smile, drugged and goofy, still plastered on his face. Danny shouldn’t think it’s adorable, but he does.
“Grace is gonna kill you,” Danny informs him, but Steve just laughs.
“Think you’re using her as an excuse,” he answers. “Think it’s you who wants to kill me.”
“Yeah babe,” Danny chuckles, too relieved to worry about how he sounds. Steve kind of drifts after that; his loopy smile a permanent fixture as Chin and Kono slip into the room to visit.
---
Danny ends up with Steve-sitting once he’s out of the hospital, which is actually even more of a headache than he expected. The attempts at sneaking out, Danny was prepared for. He’s prepared to force Steve to take his meds, to stop Steve from doing yoga, even. What he wasn’t expecting was for Steve to be such a whiner. “If you’ve called me in here to tell me you’re bored again, I swear you will regret it,” Danny finally snaps after he’s called into the living room for the fifth time in two hours.
Steve gives him a dark look from his spot on the couch. “It’s been almost a week now,” he sighs.
Danny rolls his eyes. “It’s been three days and you know it. The doc said to stay off your feet. Your recheck is in a few more days, and he’ll probably say you can go play a little again. For now, just sit there and watch Iron Man.”
Steve glances at the tv and gets distracted by an explosion as Iron Man blows up a tank. Danny’s almost completely out of the room again before Steve looks his way again. “Danny,” he whines.
Danny turns back around and holds up a hand. “Hush. Stop it right now, I swear you’re worse than Grace is when she’s sick; and she’s a kid, she can get away with it.”
“Wanna watch it with me?” Steve asks, and Danny can feel a smile tugging at his lips, but he tries to look stern anyway.
“I have things to do, you know.”
Steve grins. “You own this movie, you obviously like it. Come on.”
Danny rolls his eyes, thinks of the dishes half done in Steve’s sink, and shrugs. “Fine,” he gives Steve his most put upon sigh, but makes his way back over to the couch and sits down next to his partner.
Steve gives him a huge smile before they both turn to watch Tony Stark struggle to get out of his iron suit.
---
Danny’s not sure what wakes him that night, but he can hear the tv on in the living room if he holds still. He’s in Mary’s old room and once again regretting not just camping out in front of Steve’s door; Steve tends to try to do things when he knows Danny’s asleep. With a groan, Danny gets out of bed and pads downstairs in his boxers to find Steve sprawled out on the couch. He’s got an empty Longboard on the coffee table and a half full one in his hand and he’s watching Captain America.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to be drinking!” Danny snaps, and Steve jumps and glances at his bottle guiltily. “You are on medications, Steven. Your pill bottles have the angry yellow stickers that tell you not to drink alcohol.”
Steve’s looking at him now, but Danny can tell that the alcohol has definitely messed with the meds. Steve looks drunk, and Danny knows that it takes way more than Steve’s had to get him that way usually. “Couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t work out. Chin and Kono won’t tell me anything about our current case. Wanna watch Captain America with me? I found it in your DVD book.”
Danny groans and takes the beer away from Steve. He sits down next to him and takes a long drink as he watches a skinny Steve Rogers hand the flag to his drill sergeant. “Of course you’d like this guy.”
“What’s not to like?” Steve asks, gesturing at the screen. “I mean the guy’s hot anyway but then he get’s buff, and he could totally be a SEAL. Besides, his friend, Bucky? Have you actually seen the way those two look at each other?”
Danny stares at Steve. “This is not the first time you’ve watched this tonight, is it?” is all he can finally manage to ask. His brain’s still stuck on Steve saying that Captain America is hot.
“It’s my second time through,” Steve makes a grab for the Longboard, but Danny holds it out of his reach. “You don’t think Cap’s hot?”
Danny’s actually more of a Bucky fan himself, but there’s no way he’s saying that out loud. “I’m not sure we should be having this conversation right now,” Danny takes another long drink from the beer, nearly draining the bottle.
“Cap’s hot, and he and Bucky are fucking,” Steve states plainly and Danny almost chokes.
Danny can’t really come up with a valid response to that and decides that the half a beer he finished for Steve is not going to be enough. He comes back from the kitchen with a beer for himself and a glass of iced tea for Steve. Steve, predictably, pouts at him as Danny hands him the tea, but Danny just shakes his head and sits back down on the couch. “You were not supposed to have any alcohol with your meds and you did. You’re already drunk, so now you’re on tea or water,” Danny tells him decisively.
Steve slumps a little and takes a tiny sip of his tea as he turns back to the screen. They watch quietly for a while as Steve Rogers sells war bonds, and right about the time he leaves the camp to rescue Bucky, Danny’s suddenly got a shoulder full of Steve’s cheek. “Are you even still awake?”
“Yeah,” Steve replies. “It’s just, you know I’d do that for you, right?”
Danny’s never seen Steve being a sentimental drunk before and chalks it up to the reaction with his meds. “You’ve already done that for me.”
“I know. And you did it for me too. I’m just saying, I’d do it again.”
Danny doesn’t answer; the whole evening is right on that dangerous line of maybe being too revealing if they want to keep their working relationship intact. Danny is not about to risk both that and their friendship over his admittedly extremely newly discovered feelings. Until tonight Steve had never voiced any opinions that even hinted that he might play both sides or even be interested. And maybe it was just the alcohol on top of his meds, but Danny had to admit that Steve seemed pretty sure of himself.
---
Danny’s had a few more beers by the time Bucky and Steve are on the train. When Bucky falls, it’s Danny who finds his hand wrapped around Steve’s hip, pulling his partner close. Steve tilts his head on Danny’s shoulder so he can look up at him sideways. “I’m right here, you know.”
Danny’s remembering watching Steve go down, remembering the blood and how still Steve had been. “I know,” he finally replies, but he doesn’t let go of Steve’s hip.
Steve doesn’t try to move away.
---
Danny has Grace that weekend and she turns out to be remarkably helpful at the Steve-sitting. “Let’s watch Bridge to Terabithia,” Grace waves the DVD in front of Steve before putting it in the player. “It’s one of my favorites.”
Danny leaves them to it and goes to make lunch and call Kono for an update. When he comes back, Steve’s completely engrossed with the movie. He’s lying back on the couch, his eyes glued to the screen, petting Grace’s hair absently where she’s draped herself half on top of him. Danny watches them for a moment and it feels like his chest is too tight. They look like a family, like his family.
When the art teacher picks up Jess to go to the museum, Grace sits part way up and gives Steve a serious look. “It gets super sad after this,” she warns him.
Steve glances at Danny, who’s taken up residence in an armchair down by Steve’s feet. Danny just shrugs. Grace hates it when Leslie dies, but she’s always happy again by the ending.
“Okay,” Steve says, looking back a Grace. “Thanks for warning me.”
Grace nods solemnly. “After this we can watch Lilo and Stitch,” she promises, and Danny smiles as Grace lays back down. “Lilo and Stitch always makes me feel better when I’m sick. I bet it will help you too.”
“Doesn’t that take place here?” Steve asks, and Danny can see Grace smile, her face still turned toward the screen.
“Yeah, now shh, you’re missing the sad part!”
After the movie, Danny brings in lunch and they eat it while they watch Lilo and Stitch. Danny’s surprised to hear that Steve’s actually seen the movie before, but “it was just once, a long time ago,” Steve laughs it off. “It’s a fun movie.”
Grace always gets real into this movie, and by the end she and Steve are trading lines back and forth and Danny can’t help but laugh at them. When Grace pulls Danny onto the sofa with her and Steve, he goes willingly enough, and Steve grins and wraps an arm around Danny’s shoulders.
---
Danny’s gotten so used to this, this, cohabitation, that it’s actually a shock when the doctor lets Steve go back to work. “No more Steve-sitting?” Danny can’t help but ask.
The doctor shakes his head. “You’ve made sure he’s taken good care of himself, Detective Williams.”
Steve rolls his eyes and makes his escape from the hospital as quick as he can.
---
“Damn it, Steve, the doc said you were better, not super-human!” Danny’s holding an ice pack on Steve’s purpling eye while Kono books their baddy and Chin watches on, amused.
“I never thought I was super-human, Danny,” Steve’s using the whining voice again as he tries to duck away from the ice pack.
Danny moves his other hand to the back of Steve’s head, his fingers slipping into Steve’s hair as he holds him in place. “No, my mistake, you just act like you do on a daily basis,” Danny huffs, but he’s noticed that Steve hasn’t tried to pull away again. He strokes his fingers through Steve’s hair a little as a reward.
Steve hums quietly and presses back just slightly, just enough for Danny to notice.
---
Steve’s staring at Danny at inopportune times. Danny only knows this because he’s staring at Steve too. When they catch each other they both look away fast, except when they don’t.
---
Danny’s apartment sucked, as did the next one, and even living in Steve’s house wasn’t that great. Danny’ still in the hotel, but the next weekend he has Grace Steve invites them over and the entire weekend is blessedly case free. Danny spends his time building sandcastles with Steve and Grace, or watching them swim in Steve’s little bay. They joke and watch movies and for some reason unknown to Danny Steve decides on Saturday afternoon that he and Grace are going to bake cookies.
The cookies turn out black on the bottoms, but they’re edible.
“Danno,” Grace asks that evening as Danny and Steve tuck her in, “are you and Uncle Steve in love?”
Danny and Steve glance at each other before Danny sits down next to his daughter. “Monkey,” he starts, but Grace cuts him off.
“You should be. We could move in here and be a family. I’ve seen the way you guys look at each other, and you like to argue with him.” Steve laughs at that, but doesn’t interrupt Grace. “I want Uncle Steve to be my Step-Steve, Danno.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Danny tries, but Steve puts a hand on Danny’s shoulder.
“Being in love doesn’t mean it will magically work out, Grace,” Steve tells her. “There’s still a long way to go .”
Danny can tell that Grace doesn’t understand, but why should she? Walt Disney and every romantic movie she’s watched with Rachel have told her that if two people love each other they get married and make babies or something. Still, Grace nods and sits up to kiss Danny’s cheek. “Can I call him Step-Steve anyway?”
Steve grins and bends down to give her a hug. “You can call me whatever you want.”
---
“You know,” Steve says once they’re back down in the kitchen, “It wouldn’t be that much of a stretch.”
“Steve,” Danny warns, but he doesn’t really want to argue. This has been coming, Danny’s known about it, he just didn’t think it would happen like this.
“You didn’t tell her no,” Steve pointed out.
They’re totally going to do this. “Neither did you.”
The first time Steve kisses Danny, they’re in Steve’s kitchen with Grace asleep upstairs. Rain is pattering against the windows and the skin of Steve’s neck is warm under Danny’s hands. Danny stays close after the kiss ends. “If we’re doing this, you have to start being more careful at work. I’m not even kidding, Steven. I know you, and I know that asking you to stop taking stupid risks all together would be like asking you live without breathing, but,” Danny pulls Steve’s head close again and rests their foreheads together. “Try.”
Steve smiles and kisses Danny again.