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Family business	By : mermaidnz Category: G through L > Hawaii Five-0 (2010) > Hawaii Five-0 (2010) Views: 4023 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Rating / Warnings: R for non-graphic violence (including intimate partner homicide cases handled by HPD).

Pairings: Danny/Steve (pre-slash), Kono/Chin, Danny/OFC.

Word count: 4,000 words for this chapter; 34,000 words so far.

***

CHAPTER EIGHT

Danny gets through the next week without seeing Steve, but their conversation Sunday night is never too far from his thoughts. He hadn't cherished any great hope that the two of them could actually be together, so it's not as though the disappointment is crushing. And yet knowing that Steve wants him too but can't – or won't – act on it somehow hurts even worse than having been rejected outright.

He does his best not to let his distraction show at work, but Reyes isn't a detective for nothing. She corners him by the vending machine Monday afternoon and asks him flat out what's wrong. Danny tells her a partial truth: that it was an incredible joy having Grace with him for a rare whole weekend, and a terrible wrench having to return her to Rachel's mansion.

Reyes seems to accept that answer, resting her hand on his arm for a moment. Then he distracts her by asking how the Diamond Head meeting went, and the conversation moves on. An hour later they're called out to Kailua Bay, where an elderly man's body has washed up. Danny is ashamed at how relieved he feels when Max declares the death non-accidental, allowing Reyes and Danny to launch an investigation.

It turns out to be one of those predictable cases where following the money leads straight to the killer. The wealthy victim was planning on changing his will to leave almost everything to charity, and his eldest son – a hard-living playboy with a history of violence – objected to being cut out.

The perp doesn't confess, despite Reyes' impressive turn as 'bad cop' during the interrogation. But the evidence is pretty overwhelming: he and the vic went out sailing together, an argument turned physical, and Junior smashed a magnum of champagne over Senior's head before throwing him overboard to drown.

It's always grim when relatives kill each other...so close to a holiday all about family togetherness, it's even worse. Fortunately, Danny and Reyes get the case wrapped up and handed to the DA in time for Thanksgiving.

Under their custody agreement, Danny and Rachel alternate major holidays. So he gets Thanksgiving dinner with Grace this year, and she'll spend most of Christmas with Rachel and Stan. Danny can't hope to match the full-on turkey extravaganza his mother always puts on, but he does a small roast chicken with a couple of basic sides and his daughter's favorite pie for dessert. Although it's a pale imitation of her Nana's homemade version – Danny buys a frozen pie crust and uses canned pumpkin – Grace seems to enjoy it anyway.

Danny battles the crowds early on Black Friday, and gets a heavily discounted flat-screen and a few other things to make his apartment more livable. The day turns out to be black for another, less pleasant reason, though. Domestic violence always spikes around the holidays back home, and apparently it's no different in Hawaii.

At 8:30am, Reyes and Danny have to arrest a chronically battered woman who finally snapped: she stabbed her husband multiple times as he was sleeping, and then called 911 to turn herself in. She's covered in cuts and bruises, and one wrist is too swollen for Reyes to get the handcuff on. They help her into the car as gently as possible, and drive her to hospital...getting an official confession can wait.

And at 10am, Lee and Takahashi start a manhunt for a college freshman who apparently strangled his girlfriend. He fled the scene hours before her body was found, and it takes half of HPD most of Friday to track him down. The guy's motive, it turns out, was that he believed she'd flirted with his stepbrother over Thanksgiving dinner.

It's all as depressing as hell, and Danny's deeply relieved when the day ends.

"Are you guys coming to the luau Sunday?" Reyes calls to Lee and Takahashi as they head out the door.

"Wouldn't miss it," Takahashi replies. "I'll even have my boys with me, for a change."

"My ex has taken the kids to Maui for the long weekend, so it'll just be me and my six-pack this year," Lee says.

Danny's starting to feel excluded, but then Reyes turns to him. "Sorry, I meant to invite you earlier; it's been such a crazy week."

"A luau...that's the show with the dancing girls in grass skirts and coconut bras, right?" Danny asks, confused.

"No, brah," Reyes laughs, "that's the tourist version. To locals, a luau pretty much means a party. Every Thanksgiving Sunday for the past few years, a bunch of us have gotten together for a cookout. We drink beer and eat until we can't move, and then the sports fans watch the late game."

"Sounds great to me," Danny says with a grin. "So where's this thing being held?"

"Meka usually hosts it, but this year SEAL-Steve offered. His place is a lot bigger, and it backs onto the beach."

Danny's not sure he's ready to see Steve yet. Still, it might be bearable with other people around. And God, he really wants to kick back and watch some football, especially since his New York Jets will be playing.

"I hardly know McGarrett," Danny hedges. "Are you sure he'd be okay with me tagging along?"

"Yeah, Meka checked, and apparently Steve said you'd be welcome," she assures him. "Bring your daughter, too. There'll be at least half a dozen kids there, so she'll have plenty of company."

Danny does want to get to know his colleagues better, and this seems like a good opportunity. And it'd be nice for Grace to meet their families, too. She grew up with cops' kids, back home, but she probably won't encounter any at her fancy private school.

"Okay, cool. What can I bring?"

"Sodas would be good, and maybe some chips too. We'll take care of the rest."

Reyes gives him the address, which Danny dutifully writes down, and tells him to be there any time after midday.

***

As they're driving to Steve's place, Danny explains to Grace who she'll be meeting today. After a lot of thought, he's decided not to tell her that the party's host is their cousin. Steve said he wanted to stay friends, even after shutting the door to any sexual relationship, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to manage that long-term. It'd be a shame to let Grace get attached to Steve, as her only extended family in this time zone, and then have her be disappointed if things don't work out.

Steve meets them at the front door, and really, it should be illegal for an unshaven guy wearing ragged board shorts, a faded T-shirt, and flip-flops to be so attractive. For a long moment, he and Danny just look at each other silently. Then Steve crouches down and says, "Hey, you must be Grace. I'm Steve."

"Hi, Steve," Grace says shyly.

"I'm real glad to meet you," he tells her. "Some other kids are here already, so come out back and meet them."

Though Danny was hesitant about introducing Grace to so many new folks, she copes pretty well. Kono she already met last weekend, of course, and Chin is gentle and kind. Danny's well-behaved daughter makes no comment about the ickiness of cousins being married, for which he's grateful. The other adults are friendly enough, and – more importantly – their kids are too. Grace is soon involved in a game of hide-and-go-seek that ranges across the yard and into the house.

It's so different, seeing the big old place full of living, laughing people...and as Danny had hoped, it's not too bad seeing Steve in a group like this. Hyper-aware that he's surrounded by detectives, Danny does his best to stay cool; he doesn't stare longingly, but nor does he ignore Steve either. They even manage a few casual conversations here and there.

Danny gets to meet his partner's quiet, laidback husband Jason and her kids Marissa and Connor, who clearly take after Reyes in terms of volume and energy levels. Meka's lovely wife Amy takes Danny under her wing over at the buffet table, explaining what all the unfamiliar dishes are. He even manages to keep a straight face when she refers to the snacks as 'pupu'.

Once everyone's sat down to eat, Danny covertly studies the dynamic between the members of Five-0. He's already seen how Steve's teammates relate to him on the job, deferring to his orders but not afraid to offer suggestions.

Now it's clear that they've become Steve's close friends as well, just two months after meeting him. Kono runs inside for more paper napkins, obviously familiar with the kitchen layout already, while Steve and Meka handle the grilling together with the ease of practice.

Danny's already figured out that only people willing to speak to Chin have been invited today. Chin still seems a little reserved around Lee and Takahashi, his former colleagues, but becomes animated when Steve gets him talking about football. He was Kukui High's champion quarterback before Steve broke all his records, apparently, and Danny can't help smiling at their easy banter.

And watching Steve swim with Billy Hanamoa, who'd been so timid when Meka introduced him to Danny, is a revelation. They wade out into deeper water, the little boy riding on Steve's back once he can't touch the ocean floor. Steve crouches down with Billy perched on his shoulders, and then stands up fast so Billy can leap into the water. He comes up giggling and shouting for more, and Steve patiently repeats the process.

Grace changes into her bathing suit, and heads out to join them. Steve glances at Danny, who nods...he trusts Steve to take care of her. Soon Grace is the one diving off Steve's shoulders and laughing as they splash each other. It's not something Danny had anticipated, the two of them playing together, and seeing it happen puts a smile on his face and a lump in his throat.

"McGarrett's so good with kids," Reyes comments, making Danny jump a little; he hadn't heard her approach across the sand. "He'd be a great father."

"Yeah," Danny says, "I think you're right."

With the time difference, the Jets-Bengals night game is on at 3pm here. When Danny is 5,000 miles away with bright sunshine outside, it's weird seeing the familiar Meadowlands stadium floodlit and the fans wrapped up warm. Danny deliberately avoids sitting beside Steve, but it's hard not to watch Steve's expressive face as much as the game itself.

Meka and Reyes share the couch with Steve instead, and it's interesting to see them together too. They're clearly best friends in the way Danny and Chris are, finishing each other's sentences and bringing up embarrassing stories from years earlier. Danny feels bad for Reyes, who had her long-standing partner poached by Steve and got landed with the ignorant mainlander instead. At least she and Meka are only separated by a few city blocks, and not an 11-hour flight.

Danny steps outside at halftime and calls his ex-partner. Judging by the ambient noise, Chris is watching the game at their favorite bar; Danny can hear several of his other friends in the background, contributing obscenity-laced salutations. Standing on the patio of his biological father's old house, he's swamped by a wave of homesickness for the place where he truly belongs.

But the cops watching the game with him today really aren't all that different to Danny's buddies back in Newark. And Grace is right here in front of him, enjoying a semi-aquatic ball game under the supervision of Amy, Jason, and a cheerful guy called Kamekona. The batter and pitcher are on the beach but half the fielders are standing in the shallows. Rounding the bases involves a lot of splashing and shrieked laughter.

So Danny manages to keep his conversation with Chris short and light-hearted. Hanging up, he waves to Grace – ankle-deep in water at second base – and then heads inside to catch the second half. The Jets are on course to crush Cincinnati, and Danny doesn't want to miss a moment of it.

***

After that surprisingly enjoyable Sunday, Danny and Steve hardly see each other for the next few weeks. Danny still thinks about him far too much, though, and realizes he underestimated just how long it'd take to get over this inconvenient crush. So he doesn't initiate any social contact, and nor does Steve. That silence might be out of respect for Danny's need for space, or because Steve finds the whole situation too awkward to handle. Either way, Danny is grateful.

The week after Thanksgiving, he calls Zach from the furniture store and they go out for a drink. It's nice, sure. But there's really nothing there, beyond a shallow physical attraction, and Danny's not yet desperate enough for a meaningless one-night stand. He makes no promise of a second date, when they say goodnight. Zach looks disappointed, but kisses his cheek and tells Danny to call if he changes his mind.

The next date Danny goes on is a direct result of his caffeine addiction. He's become a regular at Kai's, the coffee shop near HPD that Meka had recommended. While the coffee really is excellent, there's another attraction too: Julia the cute brunette barista is originally from Paramus, just 20 miles north of Newark. She moved out here a decade ago to follow a surfer boyfriend, and wound up staying after they broke up.

Julia and Danny have some great conversations about Jersey, and just the sound of her accent is a delight, so far from home. Danny starts getting up earlier so he can hang out at Kai's, waiting for a lull in the morning rush so they can talk for a few minutes. Reyes sure doesn't mind Danny picking up coffee from her favorite place, but she does tease him about coming into the bullpen with an uncharacteristic smile on his face.

Danny assumes that baristas get hit on all the time and that being friendly is part of the job, so he's pleasantly surprised when Julia asks him out for dinner. She takes him to a pizza place in Waimalu that's run by actual New Yorkers. In response to his involuntary moan after taking one bite, she just grins and says, "I know, right?" It's even better than the slice he had with NCIS, and this restaurant has the advantage of not being located on a tightly-guarded military base.

Pretty soon, they're sleeping together. It might not be earth-shatteringly perfect, but God, it's fun. Danny knows that she's on the rebound from a serious relationship, and that she's still hooking up with her ex occasionally; Julia's aware that Danny's got feelings for someone else, though she doesn't know who. She doesn't ask to meet Grace, and Danny doesn't offer to introduce them. It's the level of intensity that each of them can handle right now, and it works just fine.

One Friday night they're at a sports bar, watching hockey. She's a Rangers fan and this is a Jersey Devils game, so she naturally roots for the opposing team. And as Danny's in the middle of celebrating a goal, Steve walks in with Meka.

Steve stops dead when he sees Danny with his arm around Julia. Danny gives him an awkward little wave; Steve shakes his head slightly, and keeps walking to a booth in back. And Danny appreciates Steve not interrupting his date, he really does, but it still feels weird as hell. Luckily, Julia's chatting to the bartender and misses the silent exchange. Although Danny turns his attention back to the game, it's hard to concentrate when he can feel Steve's gaze like a phantom touch.

Thankfully, though, their paths rarely cross on the job.

Danny keeps his head down, works hard, and does his best to integrate into HPD. His ties are relegated to the back of his sock drawer, though he's still determined to dress formally for court appearances. He keeps a list of the Hawaiian and pidgin words he learns, and his colleagues get used to him asking for translations. But Danny makes sure to double-check whatever Lee tells him with Reyes...that guy is a real joker.

While he and Reyes are mostly getting along okay, of course they argue sometimes. Their worst blow-up comes when Danny calls Oahu a 'pineapple-infested hellhole'. He's just had a nasty fight with Rachel and is blowing off steam with a generalized rant, but Reyes takes offence on behalf of her beloved island. Essentially, she tells him to get the fuck over himself and accept his new situation. Danny apologizes, because he hadn't truly meant it and because Reyes has done so much to help him. He's much more careful about insulting Hawaii, after that.

As for the rest of Homicide, it seems like they're mostly coming to accept him as part of the squad. Kaleo still clearly hates him, but Danny's noticed that he's pretty much a dick to everyone. It's amazing that Ahuna can put up with him as a partner.

Reyes and Danny catch a wide range of cases during December. There's the sadly mundane kind he saw back home, too: drug deal gone wrong, abusive relationship turned fatal. Then there are things that could only happen here. Most memorably, one hula girl poisons another for stealing her boyfriend, a dancer who also performs with their luau troupe.

A love triangle is nothing new, but it's the first time Danny has interviewed a guy who's only wearing a wreath of leaves and a wraparound skirt. Danny finds it difficult to keep his eyes on the dancer's face and not his oiled, well-muscled body.

The most interesting and important cases, though, are usually assigned to Five-0 before Homicide is even officially notified of what's happened. Still, it's impossible for Danny to ignore the exploits of Steve's team. If it's not the local media's coverage, it's the precinct's rumor mill churning away.

Danny is torn between a lingering fascination with Steve and a desire to keep his distance. But the choice is mostly taken out of his hands, because everyone at HPD knows how close his partner is to Meka. Any updates about Five-0 get routed to Reyes, not least because Nalani down in Dispatch has been her friend since kindergarten. So Danny gets to hear all the news – both good and bad – almost as soon as it happens.

***

The combination of Reyes' concern for Meka and Danny's connection to Steve turns out to be a blessing, one afternoon in mid-December.

Somehow, Five-0's work as a visiting dictator's protective detail leads to a shoot-out on a quiet back street. HPD is soon on the scene, where they find an overturned SUV on fire, another vehicle with shredded tires, and two men shot dead. But there's no sign of what happened to Steve's team, General Pak, or his family.

Captain Makaha benches Reyes, saying it'd be hard for her to be objective when Five-0 probably killed the general's bodyguards. So she's reduced to pacing the floor, calling Meka every few minutes. It goes straight to voicemail, as does Chin's phone and Kono's too. Reyes even gets hold of the number for the McGarrett place by digging out Jack's personnel file, but the line is dead.

Reyes doesn't have Steve's cell, and Danny's reluctant to explain why he does. His gut is telling him something's not right, though. So he claims that the number is still in his contacts from the Howard case, makes the call, and puts it on speaker.

Steve sounds surprised to hear from him...he also sounds tense as hell, causing Danny's stomach to clench up further.

"Where the fuck are you, McGarrett?" Danny demands. "Is General Pak safe?"

"Yeah – we're all holed up at my place, waiting for back-up to arrive," Steve says. "I've called twice already, but apparently the SWAT team is out on another job."

Reyes frowns. "That's weird. My friend in Dispatch hasn't mentioned any back-up request, and the SWAT vans are still parked downstairs. And I couldn't get hold of your teammates."

Steve sounds muffled as he says, "Guys, check your phones." In the background, Meka, Chin, and Kono report that they've got no reception.

"Nick must have killed your signals and cloned mine, so HPD never got my calls," he tells them. "Williams, Reyes, listen: Nick Taylor and his men are here to kill General Pak, and us too if we stand in their way. They're probably watching the house already, but my guess is they'll wait for cover of darkness before moving in."

Danny glances out the window, and sees that the sun is close to setting. Fuck, this is bad.

"Okay," Reyes says, cool under pressure. "We're on our way, with SWAT and everyone else we can mobilize. Hold tight."

She moves away to call Nalani immediately, and Danny takes his phone off speaker. "Hey," he murmurs, "don't get dead, okay?"

"I'll do my best," Steve promises, and ends the call.

Dispatch is quick to organize HPD's response. But either that Nick guy was listening to their conversation or he's got a police scanner, because 911 calls about gunshots start coming in from Steve's neighborhood within minutes. By the time Reyes and Danny get out there, along with two SWAT vans and three patrol cars, a firefight is raging.

Five-0 has already done some damage: the bodies of four heavily-armed, black-clad men litter the lawn. Bullets stop coming from inside the house when HPD rolls up, though. Danny hopes that it's Steve's team trying to avoid collateral damage, rather than Taylor's hired killers having hit their targets.

SWAT spearheads the HPD response, convincing two men to surrender and shooting dead another who resists. Once the driveway and yard are cleared, SWAT escorts Reyes and Danny to the front porch.

"Hey, Meka, it's me," Reyes shouts, adding something in Hawaiian that Danny guesses is a code between them. The door swings open to reveal Meka, Kono, another dead assailant on the floor behind them, and walls riddled with bullet holes. Jesus, what a mess.

Meka gives Reyes a strained grin. "Guess you guys get to be the cavalry for a change."

"Where's Steve?" Danny asks, unable to mask his worry.

"Down on the beach," Meka says, "fighting his old buddy. Chin's keeping watch, but it's too risky for us to intervene. Things are getting pretty ugly; Steve's already got a knife wound to one arm."

The SWAT leader radios for an ambulance, and then signals his team to encircle the house and check for any remaining gunmen. It takes all Danny's willpower not to run in the front door and straight out the back door, and to hell with whoever's lurking in the undergrowth.

Instead, he asks, "Are the rest of you okay?"

"General Pak's wife has a bullet graze to the shoulder," Kono reports. "I patched her up, but she'll need to be checked out. Otherwise we're fine – just shaken up."

Moments after the SWAT guys declare the back yard clear, three shots ring out. They all run down to the beach, then, and Danny doesn't breathe until he sees that Steve is the man left standing. He's bleeding and sweating and his hair is encrusted with sand...and it says something about Danny's fucked-up brain that Steve has never seemed so beautiful.

Steve orders Chin and Kono to go check on the dictator and his family, and then leans on Meka as they head up to the patio.

Danny looks back at the body floating in the water. "Who was that guy?"

"Ex-CIA, ex-SEAL," Steve manages, still short of breath. "We were friends."

There's clearly much more to it than that. Danny doesn't press, though; he has no right to ask those questions of Steve anymore. "I'm sorry," he says, briefly laying his hand on Steve's uninjured arm. "But I'm glad you won."

"Thanks for the assist," Steve says. Danny nods, and walks away.

***
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Family business