Chapter Text
Danny sighed and stretched before turning off his computer and standing up to gather his gun and badge from the desk. It had been a hell of a long week with a monster of a case and he was exhausted. At least it was the good kind of exhausted with a successfully concluded case.
The detective turned out his office light and walked out into the bullpen. All of the computer equipment had been powered down a half hour ago when Chin and Kono had said goodnight and gone home for a much-deserved rest.
Danny looked over at Steve’s office but couldn’t see his partner. The taller man had left the office 20 minutes ago to chat with the evidence clerk at HPD and hadn’t yet returned. Normally Danny would wait around to say goodnight, but he knew Steve had a late appointment with the Governor and probably wouldn’t be back.
Danny walked out of the Five-0 offices and locked the door behind him. As he headed to the rear stairwell he poked his head around the corner to say goodnight to Barbara, the third floor receptionist. The slightly plump, dark-haired woman in her early 40’s was always bringing Danny treats and homemade muffins and the detective thought she might have a bit of a crush on him.
“Night Barb, see you tomorrow.”
Barbara whipped off her glasses and dropped them to her lap the minute she heard Danny’s voice. The blonde man couldn’t help but suppress a smile. If only she knew that glasses weren’t the reason he would never date her, a six-foot slightly psychotic Navy SEAL was.
“Oh, good night, Danny, I hope you have a nice night. Do you have Grace tomorrow?”
Danny smiled as he always did when his baby’s name was mentioned.
“Yeah, I can hardly wait. We’ve got tickets for the Magic of Polynesia Show at the Waikiki Beachcomber. Sounds a bit hokey but Grace has been bugging me to see it.”
“Oh, that sounds like so much fun,” the older woman replied wistfully.
Danny smiled gently at her and started making his way slowly down the hall. He’d learned that if he engaged with her too long she could talk his ear off.
“Yes, I hope so. Anyway, I have to head out. Goodnight again.”
The dark-haired woman raised a hand to wave at Danny and he felt her eyes following him until he turned the corner and opened the door to the stairwell.
Danny jogged down the stairs and just made the first landing when he almost plowed into Steve who was heading up.
“Hey, I thought you were meeting with the Governor,” the detective asked as he smiled up at his partner.
“In a half-hour. Where are you going?”
Danny rolled his eyes and leaned one hip against the staircase railing crossing his arms lightly on his chest.
“Where am I going? Steven, I know you’re not a detective but you’re a pretty bright fellow. It’s early evening, our work is done for the day and I’m tired. Where do you think I’m going?”
Steve rubbed a thoughtful hand across his chin and rolled his eyes to the ceiling as if considering Danny’s words.
“Hmmm, let me guess,” he deadpanned. “Home?”
“Give the man a cigar,” Danny cheered pumping one hand in the air as if in victory.
“Asshole,” Steve muttered as he reached out and slid a finger between the top two buttons of Danny’s shirt then twisted his finger tangling it in the material. He pulled Danny by the shirt and turned him until the detective had his back against the stairwell wall, Steve plastered up against him. The Commander bent down to kiss Danny hungrily on the lips before dropping his mouth to nibble at the smaller man’s neck.
“You should come over later,” the dark-haired man growled in his partner’s ear.
Danny slid his hands up Steve’s arms and grasped him by the biceps while tipping his head to give Steve better access to his neck.
“But your meeting...?”
Steve’s breath was hot on Danny’s ear and the detective felt his cock twitch in interest.
“Boring budget stuff,” Steve replied as he kissed his way down Danny’s neck and flicked open two of the buttons on Danny’s shirt to have access to his sculpted, furry chest. “I figure you call me at 8:30 or so with some great, terrible emergency that needs my immediate attention then you meet me at my place at about nine. What do you think?”
Danny moaned as Steve licked a trail across his collar bone.
“Will my having a raging hard on be enough of a terrible emergency?”
Danny felt Steve smile as he leaned down further and took one of his partner’s nipples between his teeth giving it a flick with his tongue before straightening up and giving Danny a look that sent a bolt of electricity straight to his groin.
“Definitely. Can’t let you suffer like that. It’s my job as your partner and your boss to help you find relief for any pressure may be building inside you.”
Danny smirked up at his friend.
“Always so dedicated...alright I’ll be there. I’ll bring my toothbrush and my jammies.”
Steve leaned down again and captured Danny’s mouth giving him a wet, hot kiss full of promise. He pulled away slightly.
“Don’t bother with your jammies,” Steve replied hoarsely.
With one last leering smirk, Steve released his partner and turned to run up the stairs two at a time. Danny stopped and admired the view for a moment before straightening and re-buttoning his shirt and jogging down the last staircase to his car.
Danny couldn’t help but smile as he climbed behind the wheel of his car and started the engine to steer out of the Five-0 parking lot. He and Steve had only started a physical relationship a couple of weeks ago and it was so new that it was still a thrill every time they touched or kissed. Although they’d both agreed that they would keep the relationship casual for now – including not telling anyone – the detective couldn’t help hoping it would develop into more. He knew he was probably setting himself up for heartache if Steve didn’t share his desires but the way Steve was, his passion and his affection, made Danny think they both had hope for the future.
Danny stopped at a nearby convenience store for some milk he would need for Gracie’s breakfast on Saturday morning then drove home. He may not yet love Hawaii but Danny couldn’t help but be proud of the small home he was now renting. It was two blocks from the beach (far enough away that he didn’t have to hear the waves crashing 24 hours a day) had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a recently upgraded kitchen. Grace’s favourite part was the tree-lined back yard with the swing. Danny on the other hand loved the front entrance way. The house was set back from the street and the tall trees gave the little home a wonderful sense of privacy, not to mention helping to keep it cool. Unfortunately the sidewalk up to the house could be dark at night if Danny neglected to leave the outside light on as he obviously did this morning. The blonde man shook his head in self-disgust and was glad Steven wasn’t with him. The highly trained SEAL would give him shit for not having proper sight lines and being casual with home security.
Danny shifted the carton of milk to his left hand as he dug in his pocket for his keys. A flash of movement to his left caused Danny to drop the milk carton to the sidewalk as he yanked his gun from his holster. The shadow walked forward until a nearby streetlight partially illuminated his visitor’s face.
“Keoki?” Danny hissed feeling his shoulders slump in relief, “Jesus Christ, what are you doing sneaking up on me like that I could have shot you man!”
The tall, muscular Hawaiian man put up his hands, palms out and grinned at the Detective.
“Sorry, Danny. I was just hanging around hoping to talk to you and I decided to look around your garden. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Danny shoved his gun into his holster and bent down to pick up the milk carton which was now leaking steadily after being dropped on the sidewalk. The detective huffed in annoyance and dropped the carton to the ground again in disgust shaking the milk off his hands.
“That’s just great,” he muttered angrily.
Keoki shrugged slightly and gave Danny a rueful look.
“Sorry, Danny, I’ll pay you for that.”
The blonde detective sighed in frustration.
“It’s fine, no big deal,” he snapped. “But what are you doing here anyway and how did you find out where I live? I haven’t even given HPD my new address?”
Keoki stepped forward until he was only inches from Danny. He reached out gently and ran one finger down Danny’s right arm.
“I was sort of hoping you’d changed your mind and we could see each other again,”
“Keoki,” Danny groaned starting to get pissed off they were having this conversation yet again.
The taller man shook his head and held up one hand to ward off whatever Danny was going to say.
“No, please, Danny. I know what you said about us not being compatible, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I love you and I want us to try again.”
Danny rubbed his hands over his face in frustration.
“Keoki please, you’re just making this worse. I told you I don’t want to see you again. You’re a nice guy but we’re just not right for each other. You need to find someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved.”
The Hawaiian man’s face suddenly hardened and his voice dropped low.
“But I don’t want anyone else. I want you.”
Danny stared up at the other man for a moment. He hated hurting anyone but this was getting ridiculous. Ever since he’d broken up with Keoki six weeks ago the other man had been calling begging Danny to take him back.
“But I don’t want you, Keoki,” Danny replied firmly hoping his former lover would finally get the message. “I’ve found someone else, someone I love and I’m not coming back to you ok? We’re not getting together again.”
“It’s McGarrett isn’t it?” the Hawaiian man growled down at Danny. “You’ve never been able to hide your feelings for him.”
Danny jammed his fists on his hips and glared up at his former lover.
“It’s none of your business who it is. You and I are through ok? It’s over between us. Stop calling me and stop dropping by or I swear I will make your life unpleasant. You’re becoming a stalker Keoki and if it doesn’t stop I’ll take legal action. Don’t fuck with me.”
The Hawaiian man glared down at Danny for a moment before his face suddenly relaxed and he gave the detective a regretful look before nodding his head slowly.
“I’m sorry, Danny, you’re right. I’m being ridiculous. It’s just...I fell in love with you so quickly it’s hard to just turn it off but I’ll stop bugging you now, I promise.”
Danny sighed in relief and nodded as well.
“Good, I hope you mean that.”
Keoki gave the smaller man a weak smile and started to bend down to pick up the broken milk carton.
“Here I’ll just help you with...”
Danny waved his hands to stop the other man and began to bend down himself to pick up the carton.
An explosion of pain smashed into the back of Danny’s head causing his vision to grey out and his legs to turn to jelly. He dropped to the ground in a boneless heap. Something heavy slammed into his abdomen punching the breath out of him. He tried to curl up into a ball as kicks and punches rained down on him until, with another kick to the head, he sank into oblivion.
**********
Steve surreptitiously checked his watch again as the Governor droned on about cost over runs and allowable expenditures. It was 9:12 and Danny still hadn’t called. The Commander felt his gut clench with worry. Even if Danny had changed his mind about spending the night at Steve’s house he still would have called or texted. Steve fiddled with his watch band as he considered the possibilities. Maybe Danny had been held up in traffic or was in the shower or...there could be lots of reasons why he was late calling. Besides, Steve reminded himself, it was only 45 minutes later than their agreed upon time, it wasn’t like Danny had been out of communication for hours.
Steve licked his lips nervously. Despite his attempts to reassure himself, his gut told him something was wrong and he always listened to his gut. He stood abruptly causing the Governor to jerk back in surprise at the sudden movement.
“Governor I’m sorry but I have to cut this short. I was supposed to hear from Danny some time ago and I haven’t. I need to check on him.”
“But...” the Governor sputtered as he slowly rose to his feet. “what about the second quarter statements?”
Steve gave the other man a fake smile as he began backing out of the room.
“I’ll look at them, I promise. I’ll give them all the attention they deserve.”
With a quick nod of the head Steve turned and all but fled out of the Governor’s office.
**********
Steve pulled his gun the minute he climbed out of his truck where he’d parked it behind Danny’s Camaro. Something was wrong. Danny’s house was too dark and quiet.
The Commander pushed back the annoyance he felt that the front of Danny’s house was so dark. The detective had obviously forgotten to leave the porch light on when he’d left for work that morning – nor had he listened to Steve’s suggestion to put in a motion sensor light – and as a result, the front walkway was shrouded in darkness with only pools of dim illumination provided by a nearby streetlight. For a hell of a good cop Danny could be surprisingly lax about his own security.
Gun at the ready and flashlight in hand, Steve moved slowly but carefully up the sidewalk towards the entrance to Danny’s house eyes constantly scanning the area. It was eerily quiet and Steve felt all of his sense on alert for danger.
Just before he reached the front door Steve stepped on something that crushed beneath his feet and sent a gush of liquid over his boot. He aimed the flashlight down and saw he was standing on a now flattened milk carton lying on the sidewalk. Steve’s sense of foreboding ratcheted up a notch as he aimed the flashlight beam around the small front yard. The beam of light caught the edge of a patent leather loafer in the grass and as Steve moved the light he gasped in horror when he saw Danny’s broken, bleeding body lying under a nearby palm tree.
Steve holstered his gun and pulled his cell phone as he ran to his partner. Dropping to his knees next to the blonde man Steve ran his hands lightly down his partner’s face. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a weak pulse in Danny’s neck.
“Danny? Danno, can you hear me? Babe?”
Receiving no response, Steve dialed 9-1-1 and barked orders for the operator to send an ambulance. After disconnecting the call, Steve ran his flashlight over Danny trying to determine the extent of the other man’s injuries. His partner’s face was bloody and bruised, the back of his head was sticky with blood and given the unnatural way his left arm was laying, it was obvious it had been shattered.
Steve picked up his cell again and pressed speed dial number three.
“Steve?” Chin answered the call immediately.
“Chin!” Steve all but shouted, his voice strangled with near panic at the condition of his partner – his lover’s – body. “I’m at Danny’s, he’s been hurt. Beaten. He’s unconscious. I’ve called the ambulance.”
“OK, Steve,” Chin replied calmly although Steve could hear the worry in his voice. “Kono and I will meet you at the hospital and I’ll send CSU over to Danny’s house to see what they can find.”
Steve ran a trembling hand through his hair.
“Yeah...ok, Chin,” he paused and took a ragged breath, “it looks bad, Chin. Danny looks...”
“He’s going to be fine, Steve,” Chin responded firmly. “Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll see you at the hospital in a little while.”
**********
Chin and Kono were waiting at the emergency entrance when the ambulance pulled up outside. The rear doors of the bus flew open and Steve leapt out turning at once to help the paramedics unload the gurney. The two cousins fell in behind Steve and followed the gurney as it pushed through the main doors, past the admitting desk and into the first available trauma room.
Chin and Kono had to physically restrain Steve from following the gurney into the exam room and then all but drag the SEAL over to the nearby waiting room chairs. Not surprisingly, Steve refused to sit but started pacing the room nervously.
Kono stepped in front of him.
“What happened?” she demanded.
Steve wrapped his arms around himself and cleared his throat. He knew he had to get himself under control. He was a Navy SEAL for fuck’s sake. He was trained to handle everything...almost everything anyway.
“He...we were supposed to meet...” Steve mentally shook himself and drew himself to his full height. He needed to calm down and make a clear report. “I had a meeting with the Governor,” he began reciting in a more even voice. “Danny was supposed to call me with some fake emergency to get me out of it. When he didn’t call I got worried and drove to his place. I found him lying on the ground beaten and unconscious.”
“Did you see anyone around?” Kono questioned like he was any other witness, “hear anything?”
Steve shook his head.
“No, nothing. Whoever did it was gone.”
“Were there signs of a struggle?” Chin picked up the questioning.
Steve shook his head again and rubbed his hands up and down his arms as if he was cold.
“No. Well, maybe. There was a carton of milk lying on the sidewalk. I stepped on it. I couldn’t see any defensive wounds on Danny’s hands but it was pretty dark.”
“So maybe someone caught Danny by surprise?” Kono directed her question to her cousin.
Chin lifted then dropped his eyebrows as he considered the idea.
“They must have. Danny is too good to be taken without a fight. Either that or it was someone he knew and wasn’t concerned about.”
Steve began pacing the room again as his brain kicked into action.
“Chin, check with CSU and see if they’ve found anything at Danny’s house and ask HPD to start canvassing the neighbours in case they heard anything. Kono, start going through the files; look for anyone who might have a grudge against Danny – recent parolees particularly – both here and from New Jersey.”
The two cousins nodded but hesitated, unwilling to leave their boss while he was so obviously upset.
“Steve, are you sure you’ll be ok?” Kono inquired gently, “maybe one of us should...”
The head of Five-0 gave her a weak smile then nodded.
“Yeah, I’m ok. As soon as I hear from the doctor I’ll call you alright?”
“Do you want me to call Rachel?” Chin asked laying a gentle hand on Steve’s shoulder.
Steve shook his head.
“No, umm, I’ll call her after I’ve spoken to the doctor.”
**********
The doctor appeared in the waiting room just in time. After more than an hour of anxious pacing, Steve was about to blast into the trauma room and demand answers.
“Commander McGarrett?”
Steve spun from where he’d come to a brief stop in front of a window. Danny’s doctor was a small Asian man with funky red glasses and hair that was slicked down and parted in the middle. Steve rushed up to him causing the smaller man to take a step back away from the looming presence.
“Yes. How is my partner?”
The doctor gestured nervously towards the plastic chairs lining the waiting room.
“Could we sit and I’ll explain what’s going on.”
With a sigh of frustration, Steve dropped into one of the nearby chairs but remain perched on the edge as if ready to jump into action at any moment. The doctor sat down keeping a chair between himself and the obviously agitated Five-0 commander.
“I’m Dr. Tran, I understand you have your partner’s medical proxy so I’ll bring you up-to-date on his condition and then I’ll need you to sign a consent form.”
The doctor briefly consulted the chart he was holding before looking up at Steve again.
“As I’m sure you noticed, Detective Williams was very badly beaten, it’s one of the worst cases I’ve seen in a long time.”
Steve felt his throat burn with bile and he swallowed convulsively as he stared at the doctor.
“Starting from the top, the detective has a hairline fracture of the skull along with a severe scalp laceration that will need to be cleaned and stitched up in surgery. He also has a fractured right cheek bone, a severely fractured left arm, two broken ribs, a bruised kidney, a hairline fracture of the left tibia and numerous deep bruises and contusions. There’s evidence of the detective having been kicked as well as punched.”
Steve found himself almost panting for breath and he had to climb to his feet to begin pacing the room again before he put his fist through the wall.
“Will he...what’s his condition right now?”
The doctor also stood and regarded the young man sympathetically.
“Right now he’s critical but stable. We’ll be taking him to surgery in a few minutes to repair his arm and the scalp lac. We’ll keep him in a medically-induced coma for a few days to give his body a chance to recover from the shock and begin to heal.”
Steve stopped pacing and looked down at the doctor nervously, wringing his hands in front of him.
“What about long-term, I mean...he’s going to live right?”
Dr. Tran gave Steve a small smile.
“He’ll have a long road of recovery, but I’m hopeful that he will survive and do well.”
Steve sagged in relief.
“Thank God. When can I see him?”
“After surgery he’ll be moved to the ICU and you can see him then. If you’ll go to the nurses’ station we’ll have some forms there for you to sign. I’ll come out and see you as soon as the surgery is over.”
**********
Chin stopped at the foot of Danny’s bed and had to suppress a gasp when he saw the condition of his Jersey friend. The detective was flat on his back, a respirator helping him breathe while he was being kept in a coma. His head was wrapped in a thick bandage and his left arm, which was resting on a pillow, was held together by two external rods screwed into the bones of his arm. The rest of Danny’s injuries were covered by the bed sheet but Danny’s face was what caused the older Hawaiian detective to gasp. The younger man had been so beaten and bruised that his face was deformed by swelling and Chin realized that even if by some miracle Danny could wake up, he wouldn’t be able to open his swollen eyes.
The Lieutenant dragged his eyes away from the blonde man and took several deep breaths to control the rage building inside him. He glanced over at Steve who sat in a chair beside Danny’s bed holding his partner’s good hand and dozing with his forehead on the bed. Chin reached over to gently shake Steve’s shoulder causing his boss to jerk to wakefulness his eyes locked immediately on Danny.
“Hey, it’s ok,” Chin whispered, his hand tightening on Steve’s shoulder. “It’s just me.”
Steve blew out a sigh of relief and stood from the hard plastic chair he’d been occupying before inclining his head towards to door.
“Let’s talk outside.”
The two men moved quietly out of the ICU past the beds of the other patients and through the main doors into the central corridor. Steve slumped against the wall and rubbed his hands tiredly over his face. Chin looked at him sympathetically.
“Why don’t you head home and get some rest? I’m sure the nurses will call if there’s any change in his condition.”
The commander straightened up and shook his head firmly.
“Not right now. Not until I’m sure he’s out of danger.”
The older man opened his mouth to argue but knew it would be useless and snapped it shut again.
“What have we got?” Steve demanded fixing Chin with an intense gaze.
“Not much I’m afraid. HPD canvassed the neighbours.” Chin pulled out his phone and consulted it for a moment. “The one to the left of Danny, Mr. Owen Reynolds, age 78, let his dog out just after eight and reports hearing two men talking in front of or near Danny’s house. He couldn’t see them because of all the trees surrounding the houses. They weren’t yelling but he said they were talking heatedly. He’s a bit hard of hearing but he thought one of them said something about taking legal action.”
“Does he know if one of the men was Danny?”
Chin shook his head regretfully.
“Danny only moved into that house a month ago. He introduced himself to the old gentleman once but Mr. Reynolds couldn’t be sure if it was Danny’s voice he was hearing.”
“Anything else?”
“CSU has gone over the front sidewalk and lawn with a fine-toothed comb but couldn’t find anything that will lead us to Danny’s attacker.”
“Shit!” his Steve angrily as he scrubbed his fingers through his hair. He looked back up at Chin.
“What about Kono? Anything there?”
Chin shook his head again and put his iPhone back in his pants pocket.
“So far nothing, but she has a lot of records to go through. I sent her home a few minutes ago. We’re meeting back up at the office at 6 a.m. By then I should have Danny’s phone records in my hand. Maybe we’ll find something there.”
Steve nodded and pulled his own phone from one of the many pockets of his cargo pants.
“I may have something useful,” he reported as he tapped the buttons of the phone. “Dr. Tran pointed it out to me after Danny was brought back from surgery.”
The Commander held up the phone so Chin could see the picture Steve took of a particularly vicious looking bruise on Danny’s face. Steve tapped a button again and a close up of the bruise appeared.
“The bruise came from Danny being punched,” Steve explained, his voice tight with anger, “but the doc thinks this mark here,” Steve pointed to a deep, dark indentation in the centre of the bruise, “could be from a ring, a large ring, high in the centre. It would be fairly noticeable on whoever wore it.”
Chin couldn’t help the smile that quirked at the corner of his mouth.
“It isn’t much but it’s a start. Send me the picture and I’ll see if Charlie can do anything with it.”
**********
“Officer Kalakaua?”
Kono was just pulling open the doors to the Five-0 offices after taking a quick break to get a coffee when she heard Barbara’s soft, quavering voice behind her. She let the door go and turned to smile gently at the receptionist.
“Yes, Barb?”
The older woman looked nervous and knit her fingers together in front of her stomach to keep her hands from shaking.
“I heard about Detective Williams. It’s so awful. Do you know how he is?”
Kono sighed tiredly. She had arrived at the office at 5:30 and spent several hours combing through the HPD and NPD databases looking for anyone who might have had a grudge against Danny. After almost 15 years as a police officer Danny had racked up a few enemies, but none seemed to fit the bill for this attack.
“He was badly hurt I’m afraid,” Kono reported as gently as possible. “He’s got extensive injuries that will take a long time to recover from but the doctors are very hopeful.”
Barbara’s bottom lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears.
“It’s just so awful. I just can’t believe it. I’m so sorry...I mean I didn’t...” she shook her head as if to clear her mind. “I’m just so sorry he was hurt. How is Grace taking it?”
Kono shifted from one foot to the other anxious to get back to work.
“I’m not sure. Her mother has been informed but I don’t know if she’s told Grace.” Kono reached out and gave Barbara’s upper arm a supportive squeeze.
“Danny’s strong, Barb, try not to worry too much ok? I’ll let you know when he’s feeling up to visitors. I’m sure he’d love to have you come by.”
Unexpectedly Barbara burst into tears and brought her hands up to her face shaking her head slowly from side to side.
“I can’t...he won’t want...” she sobbed.
The older woman turned suddenly and ran down the hallway towards the women’s washrooms with Kono watching after her in confusion. The Hawaiian officer knew Barbara had a crush on Danny – she’d teased him about it often enough – but she had no idea it had gone so deep.