Hello, call me Jill. A medddlesome friend found my old stash of H50 fics and said if I don't post them that she will. Please be kind because I've never really even read fanfic. I wrote these to empty my head, thinking they'd never be read. I ship McRoll something hard, and adore McDanno as BroTP. Perfect Ohana is pefect.
It’s the one and only me, and I’m back! (I know just in time for the carnage of the finale, my timing is excellent). So after months of saving I finally acquired myself a new computer with means this blog is officially open for fanfic and feels again! More good news is that I’m in the process of joining Archive of Our Own (AO3)! Big thank you and shout out to my girl Annie @captain-swan-shipyard, for sending me the invitation, and for being my Tumblr friend, and biggest supporter, and shipmate across two fandoms. You can now find me at http://archiveofourown.org/users/JillyBeans_storycorner
So that’s the fun happy news. Now to the bummer part. In transferring files over from my old computer, to an external hard drive, to the new computer, some of the files got corrupted. I had to pick and chose what to save, and unfortunately many of my unpublished fics didn’t survive. However I do still have the hand written notes for them so hopefully they’ll come back better than before! It’ll give me a great distraction because unfortunately during my hiatus I got diagnosed with an IBD, they’re in the rather unpleasant process of figuring out which one it is (apparently there’s more than one way your body can turn on itself and launch a full scale war that won’t end until it rips out its own digestive track, who knew?) I’m on a break from pretty much my entire life, but it’s given me time for myself and the things I never had time for before, like filling this small corner of the internet with Team Ohana goodness!
So without further ado I welcome you all back! Thank you for not unfollowing me in my absence, I’ll try not to disappoint.
So you know how I said I wasn’t going to be posting for an uncertain amount of time because my computer is dead? Well, it’s still true and writing on my phone is still a horrible experience, BUT a certain preview for a certain “Valentines Day episode” filled me with enough rage to do it anyway because the great thing about fanfic is it lets you stuff your fingers in you ears and ingore very unplesent things when the writers try to shove them down your throat, choosing instead to substitute your own perfect reality. Enjoy! (Song is “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” music by Leo Friedman, lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson.)
——————————————-——————————————-
Danny catches it as an instinctive reaction, something he couldn’t help. He doesn’t even relive he’d done it until the crowed erupts in cheers, the loudest from the small group assembled around him. As Chin thumps him on the back Danny squeezes the leather of the football tighter, a knot in his throat when his fingers brush as against the lace and frill of the garter around it. He looks ahead at Steve, who’s standing there in his dress whites with a shit eating grin that tells Danny he intentionally threw that curse football directly to him.
It’s not that he’s exactly surprised, he’d threatened Steve that he would only be his best man under the guarantee that he wouldn’t have anything to do with the garter toss, but they both know it was an idyl one; he’d be Steve’s best man even if he had to wear a poka dot dress to do so.
Danny shakes his head with a smile and is about to hand the thing over to Max with a comment about how pretty Sabrina looks tonight when he hears his name from half way across the room.
“Come on Danny! Don’t keep your future bride waiting!”
Catherine is beaming at him, glowing with happiness, her smile shining brighter than the crystals on her white gown, a tight one armed hug around the victor of the bouquet toss. Danny hadn’t been paying much attention to that part, he’d been more preoccupied with keeping Grace away from the potential cat fight. He didn’t see her catch it, and knot in his throat shot down to his stomach.
It’d been two years since he’d opened his email to find a message from Gabby saying she’d accepted a tenured position at U of H and would he like to have lunch some time? A week was all it took for their relationship to pick up where they left off, three weeks before they told the kids (Grace forgot about being a teenager for a minute and ran for a hug the second she saw her), and in a year’s time they were all living under one roof, a happy family.
Gabby looked beautiful in the navy blue bridesmaids dress Catherine had picked out, her hair was falling in soft curls over one shoulder, and she was smiling at him with a little awkward anticipation. The knot in his stomach tightened. What they have is good, really good. They’re happy, the kids are happy, he’s not about to screw it up with the idea of marriage. No way. He’d been down that road before. Never again. Steve had planned this, and he was gonna have to wait until after the honeymoon phase to kill him, when Catherine wouldn’t mind as much.
Then suddenly the bastard himself is all but pushing him over to where their brides, No! Steve’s bride, his girlfriend, are waiting.
“Come on!” Catherine squeals eagerly “The photographer’s waiting to take the picture!”
A burley man with a camera approaches caring an antique wooden frame.
“All right lets have the bride holding this side right here,” he directs Catherine into place, handing her the frame, "And then the groom on the other side” he does the same to Steve. “Good now if I can have you two step back over here.” He nudges Danny and Gabby back and into the center.
Gabby’s warm hand slips into his sweaty one, and the knot in his gut eases a little.
“Excellent.” the pushy photographer continues, turning them so they’re facing each other on an angle. “Perfect now if you can hold the bouquet up like this, good, and if you can do the same with the football, turn it a little so we can see the garter. That’s it. Perfect.”
He runs back over to the front and takes aim, giving Danny a brief vision of a firing squad and making him wonder where exactly the new Mr. and Mrs. McGarrett had found this guy.
“All right, Steve would you mind bending down just a little, thank you” the photographer says from behind his camera. “Ok, here we go, everyone smile, one, two, three.” After several clicks the photographer look around the camera again.
“You two are a couple right?”
“Yeah” Gabby replies with a smile.
“We are.” Danny says at the same time, squeezing her hand with a smile of his own.
“Great, how bout we get a few shots of the two of you giving each other a kiss then? Make it a nice little touch for your own big day.” He adds.
“Umm” Danny feels himself turning red under his collar, but Steve looks back at him with his shit-eating smirk.
“Kiss her Danno!” he chides like the over grown eight year old he is.
“Will you look at the damn camera, you’re paying the man to take pictures, let him take the damn pictures.”
“Danny” Gabby says gently, bringing him back towards her with the hand still holding the bouquet.
He looks back at her, beautiful brown eyes sparkling in the light, looking at him with all the love in the world, a look he returns before closing his eyes and kissing her tenderly. He doesn’t hear the last few clicks of the camera or the “Great, I think we got it”. He just focuses on that kiss, trying to put in everything he’s feeling, how much he loves her, how much he wants to be with her, how scared he is that putting pressure on this beautiful, precious, thing between them could cause it to shatter.
As they broke apart, Danny slipped the garter off the football with a chuckle.
“I think I’m supposed to put this on you.” He said casting a sideways glance to where Charlie was fast asleep in the little corner set up specially for the ring barer and flower girl, his blond hair crushing one side of Joanie’s poofy dress as they slept. Then over to Grace, where his junior bridesmaid was making no effort at all to conceal her giggles, or her phone that she was snapping pictures with.
“Here” Gabby said “how about this?” She took the garter from him and wrapped it carefully around the stem of the bouquet, before whispering slyly “You can put it on me later.”
“All right everybody, it’s time for the other happy couple to share their first dance as the Next-to-be-Married!” And who the hell let Steve have a microphone?
“Come on you two crazy kids, let’s go.”
“Steven-”
“No really, it’s fine” Gabby protested, blushing as much as he was.
“Uh-ah” it was Catherine’s turn to push them out to the middle of the floor this time. “You’re doing it. Bride’s orders.”
“All right, a right give me one second.” Danny grumbled and broke away towards Steve.
“Here,” he thrust the football back at him “You hold this while I go embarrass myself.”
“You’re not gonna embarrass yourself Danny. Just dance with Gabby and enjoy it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know you planned this by the way. You threw that football right at me Mr. All State Quarterback.”
“And Mrs. All State Quarterback threw the bouquet right to your girlfriend. We didn’t do it to embarrass you Danno, it just means that we want you both to be happy.”
Just then the music started up, a languid, sweet, melody worlds apart for anything the DJ had been playing all night. Danny glared up at Steve, or at least attempted to make it look like a glare.
“You’re really gonna use my parent’s wedding song against me?”
Steve shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now go before you miss your dance.”
As the music swelled Danny slipped his arm around Gabby’s waist as she wrapped hers around his shoulder and took his hand in hers. It was nice, he had to admit, revolving in a slow circle around a spotlight of color, the rest of the room quietly slipping to the background.
Let me call you sweetheart,
I’m in love with you.
Let me hear you whisper,
That you love me too.
Keep the love light glowing,
In your eyes so blue.
Let me call you sweetheart.
I’m in love with you.
“They planned this didn’t they?” Gabby murmured close to his ear. “Isn’t this the song your parents danced to at their wedding.”
“It was, and they absolutely did.” Danny mumbled back.
“Hhmm” Gabby sighed “We’ll have to get our revenge. Although,” she drew back to met his eyes “this is really nice.”
Danny beamed and took a cue from the music to spin her around gracefully, causing Gabby to laugh as he pulled her back in close.
They turned on the spot a few more beats before Danny let the words just come out.
“Do you wanna marry me?”
“What?”
“No, I mean, not right now! Obviously. But, someday, maybe, would that be something you want?”
“Yes.” Gabby replied without any hesitation. “Yes I would. But something tells me you don’t feel the same way.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Danny said quickly. “I love you and I want you in my life, and in my kids’ lives, but…”
“But you’re afraid because of what happened with you and Rachel.”
“I know that you’re not her.” Danny sighed. “And our situation is completely different from what it was when I married Rachel, we were both young, too young, and…But I’m still a cop. That’s still true. I work long, unpredictable, hours and there’s still every chance I might not come home one night. It puts a lot of stress on any marriage.”
“Remember how you once told me that you’d rather have me around part of the time, then not at all?” Gabby asked poignantly.
Danny nodded. “Not one of my favorite conversations we’ve ever had.”
“Mine neither. But I feel exactly the same way. Danny, I would never ask you to give up your career, just like you never asked me to give up mine. I understand that what you do is stressful, and dangerous, but I also know that it’s what you love. You’re an amazing cop, with a good team around you, and that helps me not to worry about the ‘what if’. I know you will always fight with everything you have to come home to the kids, and to me.”
“I can’t control everything Gabby.”
“And neither can I. Nobody can. One of use could get hit by a truck tomorrow on the way to the grocery store, but that doesn’t mean we should fixate on the possibility. I love you Danny. I love you and I want to be with you for as long as you’ll have me. I don’t need marriage to define that. So how about this: we enjoy what we have now, take it one day at a time, and, if, somewhere down the line we do decide to get married, the only thing that will happen is we’ll have the perfect chance to embarrass the crap out of the McGarrett’s over there.” She said nodding over to where Steve and Catherine were watching them, arm in arm.
Danny flashed her a wide grin. “I love the way you think.” he leaned in for a kiss. “And the way you always seem to find the right solution for everything.” Another, longer kiss. “And just you. I love you Gabby.”
*Notes from Jill:
If you’re interested in hearing it, this is the rendition of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” I was working off of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgvDariuAN0
Ok like I said I’m really, really, really not happy with the preview for 6x16 for a lot of reasons:
1) KONO HAS BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH, SHE DOES NOT NEED TO BE CRYING ALL ALONE ON VALENTINES DAY, WEARING ADAM’S SHIRT AND WATCHING THEIR WEDDING VIDEO ITS JUST PLAIN MEAN AT THIS POINT.
B) When I read the initial previews I was given false hope that this was going to be the official end of Amblissa. But alas we were led on again. **She’s a non-character, worse than a plot device, and honestly Danny can do so much better than her. Also I don’t buy that he genuinely has feelings for her when virtually every time she shows up they’re just in bed together. Urban dictionary what a 'slampeice’ is. It makes me disappointed in Danny, and also the writers for writing his character like this. Also, I think it’s very telling that we’ve only seen her interacting with Grace once and we all remember how that went down.
3) You will never convince me that rebound girl means anything at all to Steve when only two episodes ago he was compleatly focused on trying to hook up with the woman he met in the plane and clearly succeeded judging by the lipstick that was smeared all over his face. **See points all ready made above.
As much as I do defend the show on a lot of things I can’t forgive these half assed, one dementional “love interests” that they’re trying to smush Steve and Danny with. Like what do either of these women do for a living? Anyone? Anyone? Exactly.
Steve/Cath and Danny/Gabby are my OTPs because their relationships were actually developed, meaningful, and more than just plot filler. (I will seriously pull out my film minor and fight people over how Danny and Gabby were originally supposed to be end game). Also the female characters were ACTUAL characters that actually brought something to the story other than looking good in various states of undress.
Hi everyone, First of all I want to just say thank you to everyone who's been following me, reading, and liking my fics. I was so scared about posting them at first but the support and positive response has meant a lot. Unfortunately it's with a heavy heart that I must tell you all that this will be my last post for an indeterminate amount of time. After 7 1/2 years of faithful service my computer is out of order and beyond repair. There's no possibility I can even come anywhere near affording a new one for at least a year or two, and typing full fics on my phone would be next to impossible. So to all my readers, Aloha. Thank you again, it's been a pleasure sharing my work and love of H50 with all of you. Lots of Love, Jilly
I just read all the stuff on your Five-0 fic meme and I'm officially a new fan! Why aren't you on AO3? Or are you under a different name there?
Well welcome(?) (is that the proper greeting?) It’s always nice to hear from new readers! I’m not on AO3 because while I’ve seen it in passing I’m not quite sure what it is. Would someone care to explain it to me? Is that where the rest of the Five-0 fic writers are gathered? Is it anything like Fanfic.net? Cause I’ve been to fanfic.net only once, and, in the imortal words of Max:
I got sent this thing and figured I should do it so people don’t think I’m dead.
1. Your favourite fic you’ve written?
Do I have to?!? I guess if you’re really making me I’ll say it’s a yet to be published series “Renagades” as it’s been consuming my soul for the past several months and is one not life related reason for my absence. It’s an AU series from Danny’s POV featuring the core four as a family of runaway street kids.
2. Your least favorite fic you’ve written?
A Love That Lasts
A one shot I kinda schlepped down on my lunch break, I’m kinda glad no one seems to have paid it much attention.
3. Your most popular fic?
Coda to 5x6
Judging purely by the ‘Note’ count, but I got a lot of good feed back and even a few ‘fic recs’ on the reblogs
4. The fic you wish more people would read?
Night Watch
Short, sweet, bromantic, and overshadowed by my longer fics (at least that’s my opinion). I was really proud of this one, that’s why my more shy, more budding fanfic writer self chose to post it first.
5. The fic you most enjoyed writing?
Ummm, all of them? Honestly I do this for fun or else I wouldn’t do it at all. (General copywriter disclaimer that I own nothing, claim rights to only my own words, Hawaii Five-0 and its characters and storylines belong to CBS and the creators, these are purely fanworks done for my own amusement, shared with other fans on free internet forums for their own amusement, no one asked my to do this, no one is paying me to do this, I make no monetary gain from doing this, I just like the attention.)
6. Your funniest fic?
Actually Twelve
Steve McGarrett stoned on pain killers, need I say more?
7. Your hottest fic?
Good Luck Getting Rid of Me
If by ‘hot’ you mean: ‘If this fic were a shower, you wouldn’t jump out of it swearing, but you defiantly wouldn’t stand under the spray until you’ve turned the temperature up. I mean, Steve and Cath kiss in it...
[I was also tempted, very tempted to do One for the Money because Steve has a dangerously high fever at the beginning of it. Get it? “Hottest”? “Fever”? It’s funny for what basically amounts to a dad joke?]
8. Your saddest fic?
Coda to 5x6
That I have available for reading thus far. I can and have done far sadder than this. Mwahahaha mine is an evil laugh.
9. The fic you’d like to be remembered for?
There’s not really any one in particular, I’d just like for people to see something by me pop up and be like “Oh yeah, she’s the one who wrote that one fic I enjoyed”.
10. The thing(s) your fic contributed to fandom headcanon?
I’m almost certain that Borrowed Time was the first to postulate the idea that Danny and Rachel were not married in the flashback when they found out they were expecting Grace. I had quite a few rebloggs caps screaming that this is now their undisputed head cannon, and if it does come into fruition: CALLED IT! YOU CAN’T FOOL ME, I SEE YOU LENKOV!
“How are your pancakes Monkey?” Danny asked as he watched with amusement as his daughter wolfed down her syrup drenched short-stack.
“Goahd” Grace mumbled around a mouthful and nodded. “Thanks for taking me to breakfast.” she said after swallowing.
“Well thank you for coming out with me.” Danny replied with a smile. He’d been thrilled to steal a quite moment away with his little girl. Between work, everything that was going on with Charlie, and Grace’s increasingly developing allergy to his presence, they hadn’t spent nearly enough time together in his eyes. She’s growing up so fast and he hates himself a little for having to ruin their father/daughter time with this.
“What’s wrong Danno?” Grace asked, eyeing him curiously over her plate.
“Nothing, I was just thinking about how fast you’re growing up. That’s all.”
“Danno.” she said poignantly, she had his number on this, she was smart kid. He may as well just accept that the older she got, the less he’d be able to hide from her.
“All right.” Danny sighed, time to get this over with. “Grace, there’s something I have tell you.”
Grace’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong?” she asked fearfully. “Is it Charlie?”
“No, no, baby, it’s nothing like that.” he was kicking himself for scaring her. “No, Charlie’s fine. Everything’s ok. No, Monkey, I just...I wanted to talk to you about Melissa.”
“What about her?” Grace asked, quirking her eyebrows suspiciously.
“Well, Monkey, I....Sometimes.....There’s no easy way to say it but, Grace, Melissa and I aren’t gonna be seeing each other anymore.”
“Oh.” Grace replied, relaxing back into her chair. “I’m sorry Daddy.”
“I’m sorry too.”
“Are you sad?” Grace asked, looking sympathetically at him.
“I don’t know Monkey, I guess I’m more....disappointed. I’d liked for things to have turned out differently, but sometimes these things just don’t work.”
He eyed Grace’s expression carefully, looking for her reaction, but the only thing that registered was sympathy, and maybe even a tiny bit of relief.
“Grace, are you ok with this?” Danny asked hesitantly.
“Yeah. I mean, I’m sorry for you, but...for a second I thought you were gonna say you were gonna ask her to marry you.” Grace mumbled, suddenly very interested in her fork.
“Would you have not liked it if I did?”
Grace shrugged. “I don’t know. I would have been happy for you.”
“But-“
“I don’t know.”
“Grace.” Danny said seriously reaching across the table to take her hand. “Baby I want you to be honest with me, always, no matter how much you think it’s something I don’t wanna hear I do. Ok?”
“Honestly?” Grace hesitated. “I didn’t like her very much.”
“What?”
“I mean, she wasn’t mean, or anything, but, I don’t know I just didn’t like her. We didn’t really talk that much, or anything. I don’t know it was just kinda weird. I’m sorry Danno.”
“Grace why didn’t you tell me?” Danny asked heavily “I wouldn’t have never kept seeing someone who you didn’t like. We’re a package deal Monkey. Remember you’re-“
“The most important thing in my life and the second thing isn’t even close. I know.” Grace recited miserably. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. You’d have broken up with her and I didn’t want to be the reason you weren’t happy, again.”
“Grace how can you think that-“
“You broke up with Gabby because of me.” Grace interjected, her voice quivering with mounting emotion. “I heard you guys talking that night. You thought I was asleep, but I heard you come in and I wanted to come say hi, and I heard you say that you wanted to stay together, but you couldn’t because of me. And you were crying like you did the night Mom left you. I didn’t want to do that to you again...”
Danny blinked several times, completely taken aback by what he was hearing. But the unshed tears in clinging to Grace’s lashes forced him up and out of his chair on instinct.
“Oh, Monkey, c’mere.” he said wrapping her up in a tight hug and kissing the top of her head. Grace for her part, seemed to forget that she was a cool pre-teen, and in the middle of a diner, and hugged him back in earnest.
“Baby, I don’t ever want you to think that I’m not happy because of you. You are the thing that makes me happiest in the world, as long as I have you I don’t need anything else.” he said gently to her.
“That’s not true though. I want you fall in love and have someone who makes you happy that way, like Aunt Kono and Uncle Adam. Everybody needs that kinda love Danno, you know it.”
“I know, Monkey, and I’ve had it. I had it with your mom. But Grace there’s something I need you to know, and it’s very important.” He let go enough to take both her hands in his and look her in the eye, she’s growing up too fast, as much as it pained him to admit it, she was becoming an adult. “Grace, there is nothing I would love more in the world than to let you stay a little girl forever, and let you keep believing in fairytales and happily ever after, but I can’t. And I don’t want you to stop believing in those things, never, because they’re wonderful and they make life worth living; but there’s gonna come a time, sooner than I’d like, where you’re gonna have to learn how to dream with your eyes wide open so you don’t get hurt. And when you do you’re gonna realize that one day you are gonna meet someone who is gonna turn your whole world upside down. You’re gonna fall in love with them crazy, passionately, like nothing you’ve ever felt before. And the sad truth you’re gonna realize is that, that person may not be who you spend the rest of your life with. I mean, they could be, some people get lucky like that. But some people, for whatever reason, they just...don’t.”
“What do you do then?” Grace asked, the innocence of her voice tearing at his heart.
“You don’t let if define you. You take all that love and give it to the people who love you back, your family, your friends, all those good people in your life who make you happy. And you keep going, because that’s the kinda love that lasts forever. And if you have that, you’ll be ok.”
Grace nodded, and buried face into his chest for another hug.
“I love you Monkey. So, so, very much. ”
“I love you too Danno.” Grace whispered. “I always will.”
End.
Notes from Jill: Hi friends, so here’s that one shot I promised like a week ago. Still working on your ‘20 Follower, WOOT!’ present. I know I’m slow, and I’m sorry.
Anywho, some Daddy Danno feels, (my faviorte kind) based of the season 5 deleted scene that basically confirms that Danny and what’s-her-face are over. True it’s technically not established cannon, because it was a deleted scene, but he didn’t bring her to the wedding and Steve during their first cargument of the season: “You are alone. And you’re always miserable.” which basically supports that they’re over. And if Lenkov won’t give us the official word, then I’ll write a fic about it!
Hello lovely followers!
I know I promised you all a Team Cuz (Chin & Kono) story as a thank you for 20 followers but I’m impossibly behind. My list of excuses include:
1. I got a mini-promotion at work. I’m now an assistant coach for our youth swim team in addition to lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons
2. I picked up a lot of extra shifts so a friend could go on a well deserved vacation.
3. I have a new gentleman friend whom, for reasons unknown, seems to have taken an interest in me and I’m attempting to process this new life development.
Anywho, I’m sorry for the delay. I have an idea for a little one-shot that I’ll offer up as a humble apology while I continue to work on your guy’s present. Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.
"I couldn't tell which hair products were yours and which were Grace's"!!!! Chin Ho Kelly you sassy lil' s***! That was a good one. And the stargazing bedtime story was so sweet, actually that whole scene was! I was kinda hoping we'd hear more from Shepherd though. I can't figure him out, is he after Steve and Five-0 as an extension or is he after Five-0 as a whole? Can't wait for the next one. Keep shining Jilly!
Hahaha, thanks friend! I got a kick out of writing that one so I’m glad to hear the joke went over well. Chin Ho Kelly is a little sass-master and I love him for it. I’m also glad to hear that the ending went over ok, I was a little iffy about it, but I wanted to leave it on a more peaceful tone after what I’d put Danny through. I purposefully put his POV into present tense to up the ante in just how terrified he was, not entirely sure if I succeed, but I love Danny Williams more than hot fudge sundaes and I needed him to be ok in the end. We will be seeing MUCH more of Shepherd in the coming story, he’ll be taking a much more active (and darker) role in psychologically torturing Kono, like what he did with Steve. He was able to take a step back with Danny, because he didn’t need to get into his head like he did (and will need to) for the rest of the team. All the had to do was exploit Danny’s preexisting condition.
I promis I know exactly who Shepherd is, what he wants, and why he’s coming after who he’s coming after, but for now I guess I’ll just have to keep you guessing. Mawhahaha mine is an evil laugh!
Thanks so much for dropping by my ask box, getting messages makes my day!
I love reading your stories. You write all the characters really well, especially McDanno. Are they your favorites to write? I kinda hope so because I can't wait for more!
Yes in the broTP sense (I don’t ship them romantically). I’ve always found Steve and Danny’s voices easy to write in, which is what first inspired me to start jotting things down. But when I really get down to it what I enjoy most is writing for the whole team together because that’s what first attracted me to the show and it’s something I’ve really felt has been missing this season. I also enjoy writing from Danny’s perspective, probably because we’re both misanthropic and have generalized anxiety, so he’s easy for me to relate to. Hope you continue to enjoy the Perfect Ohana sweetness (including McDanno) to come!
Steve’s heart feels as though it’s going to beat out of his chest as he flat out runs along the corridor, Chin and Kono right on his heels. As it turns out there are no less than seven known hiding spots within the walls of the palace, according to security. The place is now crawling with HPD back up and so far the first four hidden crawl spaces have been empty. He has to repress a shudder after seeing them, thinking of Danny being trapped inside there.
“This is it!” Steve shouts to the others as they reach the painting described by the head of security, a water color landscape he’d never paid much attention to before. The three of them run their hands around the side of the frame, but it’s Kono’s fingers that catch on the groove.
“Got it!” she exclaims digging her fingers in and pulling hard.
The painting flies forward and swings aside to reveal a small wooden door about four feet off the ground.
“Danny?” Steve calls out, trying the handle, but it won’t budge “It’s locked, this has got to be it. Danny stay back from the door!”
One well placed kick and the door splinter under Steve’s foot and crashes inwards. Steve hurls himself through the opening, Chin right behind him, while Kono holds up a flashlight, illumining a crumpled figure in the center of the room.
“Danny!”
It’s a tight squeeze and the two men have to crawl on hands and knees, but they manage to get their hands underneath Danny’s shoulders and carefully drag their friend out of what was his own personal hell.
Chin pushes out of the doorway first and both he and Kono help to support Danny’s upper body as Steve guides him through and helps lower him safely to the ground. It’s then that Steve can drop to his knees and get a good look at his friend.
Danny’s only semi-conscious, shaking from head to toe, his hands clenched tightly in his disheveled hair, his breath coming in short, frantic gasps.
“Danny. Danny it’s ok, you’re ok.” Steve says, hauling Danny up into his arms so that he’s resting against his chest. “I’ve got you buddy. You’re ok now, just breathe. Breathe Danny.”
“This is Lt. Kelly, we need EMS on the second floor, right hallway immediately, officer in distress. I repeat EMS to the second floor.”
As Chin radios in, Steve carefully unwinds Danny’s fingers from their death grip in his hair and brings them down so that they’re clutching the material of his own cargo pants instead. Steve places a hand in the center of his best friend’s chest and draws him close, placing his cheek against the tear tracks outlined on Danny’s dirt streaked face. He keeps his own breaths slow and deep as he murmurs gently to his partner.
“That it’s Danno...you’re gonna be ok partner...Just breathe with me...you can do it. Keep breathing....I’ve got you now....stay with me.”
“Hey! Back up! There’s nothing to see here!”
Kono’s on her feet suddenly, pushing back the suddenly encroaching swarm of HPD uniforms. Meanwhile Steve rubs his hand up and down Danny’s sternum, bringing the other up to softly stroke his hair, providing physical reassurance, trying to calm his racing heartbeat.
“You’re gonna make it Danny. You will, I promise. Focus on my breath, breathe with me. You can do it.”
“What’ve we got?”
The EMTs have arrived and Steve is reluctant to relinquish his hold on Danny’s miserably trembling form.
“He’s claustrophobic” Steve explains, tightening his grip, though no one’s made any attempt to remove Danny from his arms. “He’s been trapped in there for at least six hours, probally more- he’s had multiple major panic attacks, he can’t breathe...”
“All right, keep him like that.” the EMT nods and begins digging out an oxygen tank and a mask which he hooks up and fixes over Danny’s mouth and nose. “Push five milligrams of alprazolam, we’ll move once he’s stable.” he says to the other medics who nod. One rolls up Danny’s sleeve and cleans the crook of his arm with an alcohol swab, while the other prepares the injection, then carefully pushes the needle into his arm and dispenses the contents. The effect is nearly instant. Steve feels Danny sag limply against him as his chest stops heaving and his fingers unfurl from their grip on his pant legs.
The lead EMT nods at him, and, reluctantly, Steve helps them load Danny onto the gurney. He keeps a tight grip on his partner’s hand as they wheel him down the hall, past the murmuring crowd.
***************
“I can’t remember much” Danny said, staring down at his folded hands. “We’d gone out for a few drinks, the whole team, and around 8pm, I think it was, I got a phone call. According to the caller i.d. it was my daughter so I went outside to take it. But when I answered the call, all I heard was my own voice echoing back. Then I was ambushed from behind and blacked out. I woke up....in there. And that’s all I can remember.”
Duke nodded, a look of soft pity in his eyes. “You did great Danny. That’s all I need from you. You want me to stay until Steve gets back?”
“Nah, I’m ok. Thanks Duke.”
The sergeant smiled briefly and clapped him on the shoulder before leaving him alone for the first time in forty-eight hours. He’d been grateful for the teams presence when he’d first woken-up in the hospital after the sedative wore off; Steve, Chin, and Kono all flanking his bedside, gently reassuring him that he was safe, and alive, and this all wasn’t some desperate dream. However, as he lay there with doctors, nurse, and his friends all fussing over him, the feeling of shame began to creep in. He didn’t like people knowing about his claustrophobia, he hated how weak it made him, and now he’d lost his shit not just in front of the team, but roughly half of the HPD precinct. As if he wasn’t all ready enough of an outcast as far as they were concerned.
He was grateful that Duke was the one to take his statement, at least Lukea didn’t make him feel like he was being judged, though the pitying look on his face was almost as bad. He was also grateful that the sergeant had sent Steve off to get his discharge papers. In true Super SEAL control freak fashion, Steve hadn’t left his side for forty-eight hours straight. And while he wasn’t crowding Danny per-say, he also didn’t need Steve around to witness him being unable to stay in the bathroom for more than a minute without freaking out- forget about closing the door. He was glad the nurses had cleaned him up when he was first admitted, because just the mere thought of being in the shower right now started him shaking. He hated being this weak. And it’s bad enough without everyone seeing it.
“Hey brah, how you feeling?”
Chin and Kono had appeared in the doorway, though they quickly moved into the room so as not to block the exit and send Danny reeling aging. Great, they’re walking on eggshells because they’re afraid of setting him off.
Danny cleared his throat. “Good. Ready to get out of here.”
“Well I brought you your stuff” Chin said, handing Danny a duffle bag. “I couldn’t tell which hair products were yours and which were Grace’s, so I grabed everything.”
“Ha, you’re funny.” Danny said indigently, though he managed a smile. “Thanks buddy, I appreciate it.”
“Well I brought you something to cheer you up” Kono chimed in brandishing a bakery box. “Who’s your favorite rookie?” she added cheekily.
“Well there was this one kid, Mike, back in Jersey, real nice, always brought me coffee-I’m kidding!” Danny exclaimed as she withdrew the box away from him. “Thank you, this is really- I could actually kiss you right now.” he opened to box to reveal an assortment of both malasadas and coco puffs.
“I’d curb that impulse if I were you.” Chin interjected raising his eyebrows at Danny.
“Lighten up Cuz” Kono teased. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind, Danny’s a great kisser.” she winked. Their first undercover assignment as a team, breaking up that gambling ring would always be an inside joke between the two of them.
“Ok, I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.” Steve said as he entered the room. “All set partner, sign these and you’re free to go.”
“Great.” Danny replied taking the discharge papers from Steve. “Just, ah, give me a minute to get changed and we’ll go.”
“All right, I’ll bring the car around” said Steve as he helped himself to one of Danny’s malasadas.
“I’ll give these to the receptionist.” Chin nodded as he took the signed forms from Danny. Kono simply gave him a quick hug and followed her cousin out the door without bothering with an excuse.
Danny cursed himself as he dug the fresh change of clothes out of the duffle bag. He glanced over to the door to the hospital room, willing himself to go and close it for privacy, but the mere thought made him shutter and he stayed rooted in place.
“Fuck.” he mumbled to himself and began changing under the hospital gown.
*************
Steve heaved a frustrated sigh and finally rolled out of bed. It was nearly one in the morning; after hours of tossing and turning he had no choice but to give up on trying to sleep. His mind was racing with too many thoughts that sent adrelinie shooting through his veins.
Shepherd....Shepherd is gonna pay for what he did....for coming after Danny....when he finds the son of a bitch he’ll kill him....if he finds him....no not if, when....but how, the guy has a talent for disappearing into thin air...military training?....Possibly....he also clearly knows enough about chemistry and psychology to figure out how to exploited people....He knew that the team is his weakness...what if he comes after Kono or Chin next?.....No, unacceptable....they’ll circle the wagons...he’ll keep closer eye on his Ohana...Shepherd’s not coming near them again-
Steve stopped suddenly as he paced by the window; something caught his eye, a figure out back, sitting in one of the chairs in the yard. Steve rushed to the bed side drawer and grabbed his gun, then keeping a close eye out the window to ensure the intruder didn’t move, he retrieved a pair of binoculars from the closet and flipped the night vision on. He sighed with relief, putting down both the binoculars and gun, and headed out back.
“Danny?” Steve asked gently as he approached, unsure if his friend was asleep or not. Danny turned to look at him, even in the dark Steve could see how pale he looked, the heavy dark circles under his eyes more pronounced than usual.
“Hey.” Danny replied hoarsely, “Sorry, I- ah, I couldn’t sleep so I went out and just kinda- ended up here. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“No, I don’t mind. And I was awake anyways. I didn’t hear your car.”
“Uh, yeah” Danny said as he scrubbed a hand over his haggard face “I, um, I walked.”
“You walked all the way here?” Steve knelt down and placed a concerned hand on Danny’s arm. “Jesus, Danno, you’re freezing, come on, let’s get you inside.”
“No!” Danny said abruptly, a wave of panic flashing across his face. He caught himself and immediately cleared his throat. “I mean, no, I’m all right. I should let you sleep. Sorry to bother you.”
He tried to rise from the chair but Steve pushed him back into it.
“Danny, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“I just-“ Danny fumbled for words, not meeting Steve’s eye. “I need to be outside right now. It’s the only place I feel like I can breathe.” he let out his nervous laugh “Pretty pathetic right? Can’t even be in my own house without freaking out.”
“It’s not pathetic at all.” Steve said firmly. “What you went through was a serious trauma. No one expects you to just get over it. What about the Xanax the doc gave you? Is that helping?”
“No I hate that stuff, it makes me sick. I puke it up with the rest of my guts before it dose any good. I’ll be all right. I just need to clear my head.”
“How long as it been since you’ve slept?” asked Steve, his concern growing the longer he looked at his partner up close.
“I don’t know. A while. I’ll nod off but then I wake-up pretty quickly...claustrophobia nightmares...”
Steve shook his head. “This isn’t just your claustrophobia, Danny, there’s something else going on, isn’t there?”
“I’m fine.”
“Danny please don’t lie to me. I know you better than that. What’s wrong? You can tell me.” Steve kept a warm, reassuring grip on Danny’s arm, feeling him shudder, as he cleared his throat again.
“I...I- ah... I just can’t stop thinking about it, that place, being trapped in there. I thought I was gonna die, and I was so fucking scared...and I....” Danny dropped his head and turned away, ashamed of what he was about to admit, as hot tears burned beneath his tightly shut eyes. “I kept thinking that....I wanted my gun. I wanted it to be over....fucking coward.” he spat bitterly before dissolving into the tide of misery that had been threatening to overwhelm him for days.
Steve’s hand disappeared from his arm and Danny recoiled from the loss of contact. He can’t say he blames Steve for being ashamed of him. He’s ashamed of himself. But to his surprise, a pair of strong arms locked around him and his head was pushed into the warm comfort of Steve shoulder. One of Steve’s hands came up to cradle the back of his head, while the other rubbed soothing circles into his back.
“Shhh. It’s ok Danny. It’s all right.” Steve murmured gently against Danny’s hair. “It’s ok.”
“How could I ever....how could I do that to Grace? I lost it in there, Steve. I’m so fucking weak, a coward, and now everyone knows it.”
“Listen to me Danny.” Steve doubled his grip at those words, to the point where he was now squeezing Danny to him. “You are not weak, do you understand me? You are, without a doubt, the strongest person I’ve ever met, and you’re an amazing father, you love Grace, and you would never do anything to hurt her. You weren’t thinking clearly in there. Your brain was telling you that you were going to die but you held on. For sixteen fucking hours, you held on and you made it through. You are not a coward. A coward could have never survived something like that. What you went through in that hellhole, nobody could have asked anymore of you Danny. It’s over, you survived, you’re safe, that’s all that matters. All right?”
Danny nodded against Steve’s wet shoulder and held on just as tight as he was being held. They stayed that way for several long minutes, until all the tears between them subsided.
“You need to sleep.” Steve said definitively, drawing back and blinking the moisture away from his eye. “Tomorrow we’ll go back to the doctor, see if he can give you something that’ll help without making you sick, but for now you need rest. You’ll feel better after a few solid hours.”
“I all ready told you I can’t.” Danny said weakly, scrubbing a hand over his face again.
Steve just smiled in reply. “Wait right here” he said “I have an idea.”
Steve retreated back into the house and returned a minute later, arms full of blankets and pillows.
“Here hold these for a minute” he said handing a majority of the load to Danny, then dropped a large bundle from underneath his arm and began unrolling it.
“The hell is that?” Danny asked staring at the large, squishy mound on the grass.
“Two-man sleeping bag.” Steve replied with a grin,
Danny chuckled. “Flattered as I am, I’m not that kinda guy, buddy.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” Steve said as he began unzipping the over-large sleeping bag. “The only reason I even have it is because I barley fit in normal sized ones.”
“Of course you don’t.” Danny commented as Steve began taking pillows and blankets from him and spreading them out across the ample expanse of the now open sleeping bag. “What would you expect from someone who was grown in an army laboratory and fed testosterone five times a day.”
“Navy.” Steve corrected, but smiled all the same. “There, shoes off, come lie down.”
“Don’t you think this is a little weird?” Danny asked, toeing off his shoes.
“Backyard’s pretty private with the tree line, and besides if the neighbors do come around to this side, all they’ll see is two guys who feel asleep stargazing.” Steve explained, producing what looked like a small sliver pen from the pocket of his sweatpants.
“Stargazing? Really?” asked Danny skeptically.
“Just lie down and relax, Danno. You’ll see.”
Danny did as he was told, and settled into one of the little nests of blankets and pillows Steve had provided. He hadn’t realized how cold he actually was until he was underneath the blankets, and Steve made sure that he was completely covered by several of them. As Steve lay down beside him, Danny let his head sink a little into the pillow. A light breeze drifted across the ocean and played across his face, a gentle reminder that he was out in the open air, able to breath uninhibitedly. He looked up at the open sky and had to admit Steve wasn’t wrong; it was a beautiful clear night filled with a thousand stars, almost soothing in its way.
“No Orion though.” Danny muttered to himself.
“Huh?”
“Nothing, I was just thinking out loud. When I was a kid my claustrophobia sorta mixed with being afraid of the dark, so my mom taught me to just look for Orion when I was scared. Not sure why, guess it was just the easiest constellation for a kid to find, and it’s something that just always kinda stuck with me. Now I don’t recognize any of them.”
“Here,” Steve said propping himself up on his pillow and twisting the little sliver pen, which turned out to be a laser pointer. “Easiest one for me is right there. You see that cluster of stars?” he asked directing with the laser pointer “That’s *‘Makali‘i ’ – ‘the little eyes’.”
“Little eyes? Seriously?”
“Yes, Daniel. The legend goes that they were all once one great, giant, beautiful star; a star that out shined the sun, day and night, and blinded the Earth. But Matariki was vain and boastful and would loudly declare to all the other stars that he was the brightest and the best.”
“Hmm sounds like someone else I know. Did he carry grenades at all time too? Is that why he’s in little pieces up there, he blew himself up?”
Steve rolled his eyes. “No, the legend goes that the other stars grew tired of Makali‘i s boasting, so the sun conspired with Sirius, the dog star, and second brightest in the sky, to chase Makali‘i out of the heavens and into the ocean. So one night Sirius snuck up on Makali‘i and chased him all across the sky, leaving a huge meteor shower in their wake. Makali‘i only managed to escape by diving into the Milky Way, but the current was too strong and he was split into five smaller stars. From that night on, the sun took back his reign and Sirius was the brightest star in the sky. But it’s said that on clear nights, the little eyes will look down at their reflection in the ocean and whisper among themselves that they’re more beautiful now as five than they ever were as one. And look right there next to them,” Steve gave the laser pointer a flourish “is Orion. He’s been with you all along Danny, you just didn’t know where to look.”
Steve glanced significantly over at Danny, only to find is partner breathing lightly, his eyes closed, and a peaceful look on his face, sound asleep at last. Steve smiled to himself and chuckled lightly as he turned off the laser pointer and settled onto his own pillow.
“Night Danno.”
End
* I would like to sincerely apologize to all Polynesians for throughly butchering the story of Makali‘i. Basically, I took an astronomy class in high school and we got the choice to either take a cumulative final at the end -OR- we could research a consolation from another culture outside of the Greek and Roman one’s and turn the legend behind it into a children’s storybook to donate to the elementary school. I thought it would make a nice addition to this piece but after hours of googling I couldn’t find the legend again, so I basically was working from memory, from roughly eight years ago. Again, I apologize, please just take it as an artistic liberty.
Notes from Jill: Welp, that’s it for Danno. Hope you all enjoyed it and were able to get a little McDanno bromance fix, cause I know I did by writing it. Thanks for sticking with this series thus far and stay tuned for third installment: Three to Get Ready, when the sinister Dr. Shepherd turns his attentions to Kono and his plot against Five-0 comes to a head.
Guess it’s time for another present! I’ll try to expedite the last chapter in Two for the Show tonight so I can get cracking on that tomorrow. Since I did some Danny backstory for 10 followers, how about some Chin & Kono backstory for 20? Thank you guys for all the support since I started posting, it really means a lot!
XOXO
Jill
Danny manages to get an S.O.S out to the team, but will they get to him in time?
He stares in disbelief. One bar. One, single, bar. He dares to hope against hope. Danny fights with every molecule in his body to keep his hand steady, fearful that even the slightest movement might lose the signal. His breath hitches in his constricted chest again as he hits the number on the speed dial.
One ring, two, three, come on, come on, come on, please. Steve come on. After the forth ring the line clicks.
“McGarrett” Steve’s voice crackles through he static and Danny wants to cry from relief, because Steve’s there, he can talk to him, he can tell him to take care of Grace. Because he’s not going to die completely alone. A pang of guilt hits in his heart over making his best friend listen to his final wheezing breaths, but he’s a selfish bastard and so damn scared, and he just wants Steve to keep talking to him.
Danny tries to verbalize all this, but no sound is coming out of his open mouth. He has to force his voice to cooperate. Steve might hang up any second. He has to. He has to.
“S-Steve” he manages to push the horse whisper out on an extraordinary puff of air.
“Danny!” he hears Steve exclaim and his whole body sags in the first tinge of relief he’s felt in an eternity. He draws his knees back into his chest and wipes his eyes on his sleeve. Steve is talking to him and it’s so damn good to hear his voice, even if he’s only partially listening to the actual words.
“Danny? Are you ok? Where are you? Are you hurt? Danno? Danny answer me!”
“Here” Danny gasps out. Every word is costing him. His throat is raw and he doesn’t have much air left to form sound, but if Steve stops talking it’ll cost him even more.
“Danny, are you ok buddy?” Steve sounds worried, scared. It’s almost unnatural.
“No” Danny whimpers, he’s trapped in a tomb, being suffocated to death.
“Buddy I need you to talk to me, can you tell me where you are?”
Danny shakes his head franticly before the back of his dulled brain tells him that Steve can’t see him.
“No...dark...can’t...c-can’t get out”
“Danny, listen to me.” Steve says firmly, but with gentleness to his tone, “I need to focus on your breathing for me. I can hear you hyperventilating so I need you to take deep breaths, in through your nose, out through your mouth. Nice and slow. Can you do that for me Danno?”
Danny shakes his head again, whimpering. He can’t admit to Steve that he’s running out of air. He can barely admit it to himself, but it’s happening. A sharp beeping tone cuts across the line, as if to single his time has run out.
“Ba-battery’s dying.”
“It’s ok Danny, Kono’s almost finished with the trace, we’re coming to get you, I promise, just hang on a little bit longer.”
“Steve...take...take care of G-Grace ok?” he sobs as best he can, barely coherent.
“I’ve all ready told you that’s your job Danno. We’re coming but you have to hang on! Just a little longer ok? Danny? Danny! Talk to me!”
“Bye Steve. Love you.”
And that’s it. He sets the phone by his ear and lies down, curls up and listens to Steve’s fading voice calling his name. The low battery sign is flashing on the screen. It won’t be long now. The air is thin, the darkness is heavy, and he’s scared. More scared than he’s ever been in his life. He doesn’t want to die, but there’s a part of him that longs for his gun, at least it would be over quick. He closes his eyes and covers his face with his arms. Just let it be over. Please. Just let it be over....
*****
“No don’t you dare say goodbye. Danny, listen to me, you’re panicking, but you’re gonna get through this. We’re coming to get you all right? All right? Danny? Answer me! Come on partner stay with me! DANNY!” Steve is gripping the phone so tight in his hand it’s a wonder it hasn’t snapped in two yet. Danny called. Danny’s alive! But he’s panicked, hyperventilating, and he said ‘goodbye’....
“Steve!” Kono shouts as if this isn’t the first time she’s tried to get his attention.
“You got it?” he asks in a rush. Her fingers have been flying over the tech table for the past minute trying to pin point the signal on Danny’s phone. The beeping sound. He said the battery was dying. They didn’t have much time, and neither does-
“He’s here.” Kono says, eyes wide in disbelief.
“What? What do you mean he’s here?”
“This can’t be right.” Chin says as he bends over the tech table, drilling a hole with is gaze, as if daring it to lie to him.
Steve takes a look for himself at the blinking red dot, right in the center of I'olani Palace.
“You hear that buddy?” Steve says into the phone. “We’re gonna be there in just a minute. Everything’s gonna be-“ The hope that’s been sailing through his chest is snuffed out as quickly as it came, as the line clicks and the red dot disappears, and Steve can’t help the feeling of dread deep in his gut as if it has taken Danny with it.
“We need to call a K-9 unit in.” Chin says urgently taking out his phone.
Steve shakes his head. “No time. I need blueprints of this entire building, every single nook and cranny, anywhere he could have stashed Danny, I want to know about it.”
“Wait a minute.” Kono says thoughtfully
“What’cha got Cuz?”
“Nooks and crannies. The palace was constructed at the height of the resistance against US Federalism. Which means this place is bound to riddled with safe rooms and smuggler’s holds, the perfect place to hide someone.”
“We need a security guard.” says Steve as he races towards the door, the others right behind him.
The team struggles to find a lead, while Danny struggles to keep his will to survive.
Danny came to with a sharp in take a breath that sears his lungs. He passed out, he must have, the last thing he remembers is starting to hyperventilate and telling himself to clam down before he caused himself to pass out. He hadn’t had any claustrophobia nightmares since he was a kid, must be the stress of all the shit that’s been happening with Steve getting taken by that psychopath these past few weeks. At least it was over now.
He blinks his eyes several times but the darkness doesn’t clear. It wasn’t regular darkness either, but total, heavy, oppressive darkness that seems to close in around him and can fell almost as bad as being surrounded by four condensed walls. He reaches his hand out to turn on the lights but feels only a splintery wooden surface.
He lets out a cry that gets lodged in his throat, and he feels like he’s actually choking on it. His breath comes in ragged, shallow gasps, and Danny knows he’s in danger of hyperventilating again.
“Stop it.” he tries weakly to tell himself. “Stop it. They’re coming. They’re gonna be here any second. Just think about Grace. Think about Grace...”
He’s rocking again and breathing much too shallowly, and now thinking about Grace is just making him lose it more.
“I’m sorry Monkey. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to leave you. Not like this. I’m sorry...”
He can’t hang on any more. It’s over. He can’t catch his breath. He’s going to asphyxiate in here and the team will find his body. All he can do is send a silent apology to his daughter on the other side of the world, and try to telepath to Steve to take good care of her like he knows he will, and pray that they both can hear him somehow.
‘bing’
A sudden light illuminates in the center of the darkness. Danny’s never been the religious type, but this isn’t exactly how he thought “going towards the light” would be. But then his eyes adjust and he can see it, and it’s like the Calvary coming; his cell phone!
He launches towards it and snatches it up in his trembling fingers. Grace’s beautiful face is shining on the screen behind a pop up notice: battery low.
But it doesn’t matter because now there’s light, and hope. The kidnapper didn’t take his phone, he’s saved! All he has to do is get a call out then the team can track his phone, it’ll lead them right to him and now he knows he can hang on because it’s almost over....
It’s a cruel joke. The kind of thing that would only happen to him. He should have known better than to hope he’d be saved. Zero bars. No service. He shines the light along the wall and confirms his own suspicions; the walls of his tomb are concrete. There’s no way he’ll be able to get the call out, and no way, even with all the gadgets at HQ, that they’ll be able to ping his phone. They don’t know where he is. No one’s coming.
All that’s left for him to do is curl into a ball on the floor and let the tears flow unchecked, and now he’s crying hard. Why not? No one is around to see him. He always figured he’d die alone, but he never expected it to be this desolate in the end. He runs his trembling fingers across Grace’s image, God what wouldn’t he give to be with her one last time. He looked at the time, almost five o’clock. He was never good with time differences, but he figures it must be getting late were she is, probably close to bedtime. He let’s his mind drift to where his heart longs to be, imagines tucking her in, kissing the top of her head, settling in next to her for a bedtime story like he’s done a thousands treasured nights before.
“Once upon a time,” he finds himself saying to her picture “There was a beautiful little princess. And let me tell you she was one heck of a princess, not like those damsels in distress at all, she was smart, and brave, and kind, the kindest person in the world, and had a great right hook. This beautiful princess lived in an enchanted kingdom with her very big, very loving, family. See the king and queen, her parents, well they were from very different kingdoms and they didn’t really ever know how to make those kingdoms work together, but that’s ok, because sometimes those things they just happen, but they both still loved their little princess more than anything in the world.
Well one day a terrible villain came along and he, ah, he locked the old king in a dungeon, and he couldn’t get out. And he tried; he tried so hard because all he wanted was to come home to his princess, but some dungeons you can’t always escape from. And it made him so sad because he was going to miss the little princess so much, it broke his heart. But he knew she’d be ok because she was a brave, strong, smart girl and he knew she’d find a way to go on without him. And the king had a lot of good knights in his kingdom who would always be there to take care of the princess when he couldn’t, and make sure that she was happy and loved. And maybe one day, a long, long, long, time from now, maybe they’ll all get to see each other again. But until then you just gotta know how much I love you Monkey. I will always love you and I’ll always be with you. So you be good ok?”
He draws the phone in and gently kisses the picture, blinking furiously against the tears that are obscuring the beloved image. And just like some magic out of a fairytale, the tears clear, and there it is....
***************************
Steve urgently rushed towards the tech table. He had just gotten off the phone with Rachel, telling her what they knew, not to worry, and most importantly, that it wasn’t time to tell Grace yet. Danny would probably kick him in the head for calling his ex about this, but Grace was the last person Danny had talked to, and even Danny would admit it was better than involving her. Especially now since,
“The call didn’t come from Grace.”
“What?” Kono stared at him with wide eyes.
“The call from Grace Danny left to take wasn’t her.” Steve rushed to explain. “Rachel said Grace had set an alarm to wake up and call Danny, but she slept through it. Rachel had to come in and turn it off.”
“If it wasn’t Grace then it was likely the kidnapper luring Danny into a trap.” Chin concluded grimly and Steve felt the over powering urge to break something.
Kono mean while was typing away at hyper speed on the tech table. “All right, I’m dumping Danny’s phone records now. “ A few more taps and she was able to highlight the supposed call from Grace. “Come on, come on...got it! The call was spoofed and coming from burner phone.”
“Can you trace the cell tower?” Steve asked hopefully.
“Give me a minute. I can try, but there’s still no guarantee that the kidnapper didn’t ditch it.”
“It’s better than nothing, run the trace.” Steve turned to Chin “Where are we on Danny’s past cases?”
“I’ve been cross referencing recent parolees with TSA manifests but so far nothing’s turned up. If they targeted Danny this specifically it’s more likely someone he put away back in New Jersey who still holds a grudge.”
“We can’t rule anyone out.” Steve said rubbing his temple in frustration. “What about his cases with HPD? Or one of the sumbags Five-0 locked up? Any of them could be using Danny to get at the team.”
“I’m trying Steve, we all are.” Chin said seriously. Steve could hear the subtext in his tone. You’re not the only one who’s feeling this. We all care about Danny.
“I’m sorry.” Steve told the cousins somberly.
“It’s all right, brah.” Kono told him with a weak smile.
The solemn silence was broken by the audible vibration of Steve’s phone in his pocket. He withdrew it and frowned at the display screen.
-Unknown Caller-
He didn’t have time for random or sales calls. But this job meant he was obligated to answer his phone.
“McGarrett.” he barked testily. This had better be pretty damn important.
Silence.
“McGarrett.” Steve snapped, he was just about to hang up when the vaguely sinister chuckle came drifting over the line.
“Who is this?” Steve demanding, jabbing the speaker button and motioning to Kono to start a trace.
“Hello, Steven.”
Steve felt like his veins had been injected with ice water. He started at the phone transfixed with shock. He knew that voice. He would never forget that voice as long as he lived.
“Shepherd.” he ground out.
The dark chuckle rang out again.
“Where’s Danny?” Steve demanded as his brain struggled to catch up to the nightmare turned reality. “What have you done with him?”
“Temper, Steven. It really will get you into trouble one of these days. You should take a moment to consider how your words sound before you speak them. I think your partner is a bad influence on you.”
The jab about Danny seemed to seer across his very skin.
“You listen to me.” Steve ground out in a deadly voice. “Listen to me you son of a bitch. Let Danny go, you understand me. This is between you and me. You let Danny go and you deal with me!”
Shepherd laughed again. “As much as I enjoyed our sessions Steven, I’m afraid that your part has all ready been played.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? What do you want?”
“Do you know about phobias Steven? I doubt you do, given you pathological disposition to repress all emotions that could connect to fear, unless directly confronted with it of course. I imagine you’re afraid now. Afraid you’ll never see Danny again? Afraid of explaining to little Grace why you couldn’t save her daddy.”
“You do anything to him and I swear I’ll kill you!” Steve looked desperately at Kono who shook her head and mouthed: “He’s bouncing the signal’
“Phobias are a rather interesting pathology.” Shepherd continued drolly. “Sometimes they’re deeply rooted in a childhood trauma. But sometime they exist in a person for no sound reason what so ever. You know in the 1960’s psychologists came up with the idea that prolonged exposure to the thing they were afraid of could actually rid a person their phobia. Quite affective too, “flooding” they called it. Of course that was in a controlled environment with patients whose phobia was a learned behavior. In an uncontrolled environment, with a patient whose phobia was innate, well I imagine it would be highly dangerous. The patient would almost certainly suffer sever panic attacks, hyperventilation which could lead to fainting, why I’d even venture that cardiac arrest or a complete psychological break would be in the realm of possibility in that scenario.” Shepherd paused. “And by the way, you can tell Officer Kalakaua to save her time. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that this is a burner phone and even if you do manage to unscramble my signal, I’m nowhere near where Danny is trapped. And naturally I’ll be disposing of the phone in the Pacific Ocean once this conversation is through.”
“Tell me where Danny is.” Steve was using every molecule of his being to keep his voice under control. “Five-0 has full immunity and means, whatever you want we can give it to you, just tell us where to find Danny.”
“Clock’s ticking Steven.” was Shepherd’s only response before the line disconnected.
“Tell me you got something! Anything!” Steve all but yelled.
Kono shook her head, tears were prickling in her eyes.
“Steve-“ Chin started slowly. Steve jerk away from them, unable to face the truth of the situation with hung in the air like a giant weight waiting to drop and crush them all beneath it.
“Steve.” Chin said again. “Danny’s claustrophobic...”
“I know.” Steve exhaled, running his hands over his face.
“I know....” he whispered. The phone in his hand buzzed again. Steve stabbed furiously at the ‘answer’ button, not even bother to check the caller I.D.
“McGarrett” he snapped. So help him if one more person calls his damn phone...
The line crackles with static, no audible response on the other end. He really doesn’t have time for-
“S-Steve?” the horse whisper comes through and he nearly jumps out of his skin.
Look at you all lit fic blog now! I love fic link and that your works in one place so I can read it in order! Also 'series masterpostS'? Plural? I'm intrigued and excited! Any chance we could get a WIP list? Love your blog and love the new icon! Keep on shining!
First of all thank you, it took forever to get it all organized but I think it was well worth the effort! And you have no idea how hard it was to find an picture of all of them looking cute and happy as opposed to intense and badass.
I had to google what a WIP list was, I’m that bad at the internet (I’m in my 20′s I SWEAR! My very first concert was Aaron Carter and Dream Street! #90′s baby street cred) but now that I know what it is happy to oblige.
Jilly’s Works In Progress list
Serie(s)
-Two for the Show is wrapping up. I’ve got the team stuff and the conclusion all planed out, but there this one really big introspective part with Danny that I want to get just right. After that it’s onto Three to Get Ready which is Kono’s round and I honestly don’t know how long it’s going to take me to write something like that for precious little sunshine princess Kono, while simultaneously having all this shit being thrown at her on the actual show. Once I get over that, it bangs right into Four to Go which is Chin’s story and the conclusion.
-Untiled AU Somebody please stop me now because I am being plagued nonstop by this all consuming multi chapter AU fic from Danny’s POV where the core four are a family of run away street kids. Basically Danny’s about fifteen and has lived his whole life running away from foster and group homes because he was abandon as a baby. Something really awful happens to make him want out of New Jersey and when the chance come to relocate to Hawaii of all places he jumps on it despite the deal that gets him there being ‘the less you know the better’ variety. (I’ll give you a hint that it has to do with Matt, except in this universe they’re not actually brothers, the just happen to have the same last name, which is part of what makes Danny useful). So basically the story opens with Danny having just come to Oahu, completely on his own in an unfamiliar city having to fend for himself. He gets caught in the cross hairs of a street gang but is saved by Steve and Chin who take him in and make him a part of their family. Danny resists it at first, but eventually grows to love his new Ohana (sweet, innocent, mini-Kono has a lot to do with this). Unfortunately thousands of miles and an entire ocean aren’t enough to keep Danny’s past from catching up with him. Seriously please stop me before this takes over my life.
Stand Alones
- I have about 700, 100th epsiode fics that I’m going to try to meld into once cohesive piece.
- I really want to do a Team Cuz (Chin and Kono) one about when Kono blew out her knee and Chin being there for her while she tries to rebuild her whole life.
- ‘Come Home Soon’
I need to decide if I’m gonna tweak this to match the current cannon, or leave it as is. Basically Steve comes home after being recalled into active duty only to find out that through what seems to be a mistake, he was presumed to be KIA. [I basically wrote this because I was out of wine, and still bitter because John didn’t punch Sherlock, so I took it out on the characters who’s voices I feel like I can actually write in. (So if you’re also a fan of BBC Sherlock, yes, that does mean that Danny’s first act in this story is to punch Steve in the face.) ]
