Fic: Malasada's H5Obigbang chapter 2
CHAPTER 2: Fall Into Place
=====
It was a few weeks later when Kono’s leg just crumpled under her and she went down with a sharp grunt of pain and wide, pissed off eyes. Chin was crouched beside her almost instantly and was looking her over with that dark gaze that saw everything and usually gave nothing back. This time worry and guilt were all too apparent and Danny was not surprised that Steve had joined their group on the floor before Danny had even moved half way across the room, the heavy bag he’d been working over still dancing in the air behind him.
Danny took one look at Kono’s pinched, brave face, and the way her hands were protectively hovering at her bent knee and just knew that she’d gone and messed it up again. Not in the ‘I just need to walk it off’ sense but in the ‘I think I just ruined my chances at a pro-surfing career and I don’t know if surgery and my bank account can fix this’ sort of way. Danny didn’t need his unique brand of skills to deduce this as the familiar helphelphelp urge flooded through his body like his blood had suddenly boiled and his fingertips tingled as he moved to join them.
Chin was still looking horrified in his stoic, calm way and Kono was pushing a strand of hair that had escaped her pony tail off her face and was glaring at her cousin.
“Not your fault,” she cleared the air forcefully and even though Chin’s guilty look didn’t disappear he relaxed somewhat. They were all covered in a thin layer of sweat, having taken an actual quiet afternoon to do a little training, and Chin had been sparring with Kono, teaching her a few moves her temper and training at the academy hadn’t shown her yet. Clearly something had gone wrong. “I was stupid, just stepped wrong.” She met Chin’s eyes to make sure he was listening, “I’m good.”
Liar.
Steve was frowning from his position beside them and Danny could practically feel his need to reach out and assess her knee himself. He was probably already calculating how long an injury like this could take Kono out of active field duty, wondering if he’d have time to teach her how to properly turn her cane into some badass weapon, and planning her physio therapy that he was probably planning to coach her through himself. The guy probably had x-ray vision and could see right through her skin to the torn ligaments beneath while Danny could only sympathize with her pain as she bent over the damaged knee and wished it hadn’t happened.
Problem was it had happened. Danny’s own mostly healed knee twinged in sympathy even though he knew his own injury had nothing on her past and, possibly, present level of damage.
“Can you stretch it out at all?” Chin asked, still hovering and Kono’s pale face went a little red as she shifted briefly, testing the waters so to speak, and then exhaled a deep breath.
“I’m just gonna rest it for a minute before trying that out,” she decided, postponing the pain and inevitable knowledge that a hospital trip was on her horizon. Danny swallowed thickly, his mouth a little dry as he stood over them and decided that this was just wrong. Wrong. This was Kono, and she’d dealt with enough loss in her life due to something as mundane and debilitating as a knee injury. She shouldn’t have to do that again.
“Okay,” Steve leaned back on his heels and Danny could see that his ‘decision’ face had firmly locked in place and that he no doubt had a plan of action. Danny could guess at what it was and smoothly moved to Kono’s side and began crouching down to join her on the floor. “Chin, lets get some ice on that for now and Danny,” Steve looked to him and paused when he noticed that Danny had very firmly parked his butt right beside their rookie. Danny gave him an innocent ‘who me?’ look that, for some reason, always worked on him. Steve blinked, assessed, and changed his plan without missing a beat. “Stay here with Kono while I go grab Raj from the counterfeit office,” he decided, as though he hadn’t initially planned on sending Danny to fetch the buildings medic-on-call. Chin and Steve rose to their feet in perfect synchronicity and, with one last concerned look from both of them, turned and headed out of the gym. Kono let out a sigh as soon as they were far enough away to not overhear but otherwise remained silent. Her frustration was flowing off of her in waves and Danny twitched in sympathy when she shifted slightly and froze as something snagged wrong.
He knew it wasn’t the pain that made her so unwilling to move just yet (he’d seen her pop up after being thrown against a wall by a man larger than Kamekona and then pretend she didn’t notice the goose egg on the back of her head or the scrape that had taken half the skin off her shoulder) but the knowledge that if she damaged the limb further it could just mean more pain and recovery time in the future.
“Hey,” he pressed a little closer and knocked her shoulder gently with his own as he willed himself to bide his time just a little longer. If he was going to do this he needed the right moment or else he’d just blow his secret wide open. What he was about to do was a big enough risk that he needed to be as cautious as possible even though he knew Steve and Chin could happen back in a few minutes. It didn’t leave him much time. “Tell me,” he encouraged softly and Kono huffed a short laugh, finally uncurling from around her bent knee and letting one of her hands rest on top of it gently.
“Such a stupid move,” she grumbled, met his eyes briefly and then shook her head in self-irritation. “You’d think the least I could do is damage it in the middle of the actual fight, but I was just stepping away to give myself extra space for a roundhouse and landed wrong,” she shrugged, the frustration in her voice was unmistakable but it began to peter out as she told him what happened. “Should have seen the look on cuz’s face, brah. That man would blame himself for this even if he’d been on the other side of the building,” she tried to add a little levity to her voice even as she shook her head.
“Can’t blame him,” Danny shrugged, shifting so he was at a slightly more comfortable angle to face her. “He knows what an injury to the knee has already cost you.” He didn’t mention her aborted surfing career directly but knew that it was on the forefront of both their minds. When she didn’t look at him he knew she also feared that this, right now, could somehow screw up her new career as well. “Hey,” he saw his chance and took it, reaching out and very, very carefully laid his large hand over hers on her knee in the guise of support. She gave him a quick look, he knew how to choose his moments, and then glanced down to where their hands rested.
“I’m sure you’re gonna be fine, Kono,” he said softly, inwardly drawing on his energies and beginning a gentle and very direct push that had the tingling in his hand over her knee increase tenfold and the abnormal warmth within him began to flood out through his fingers. “You probably just need a moment and then we’ll try to see if you can walk it off.” She gave him a look that clearly said ‘I’m not gonna be walking this off anytime soon,’ and he pushed the heat through his fingers a little harder. “And if not,” he shrugged lightly, “then I’m sure Steve’s already got a game plan to train you in the deadly art of cane fighting while he has Chin teach you how to hack the Pentagon without leaving a trace,” and because he meant every single word (yes, he was pretty sure Steve would do exactly that) and she could read the sincerity in his eyes, she finally huffed a little laugh and relaxed just a bit, her eyes drifting back to where his hand lay atop hers collectively over her knee.
He was almost done, some internal knowledge telling him that even now she would be fine with the level of healing that had taken place but Danny had decided, the moment he’d put his hand there, that if he was going to do this he was damn well gonna do it properly. No half-assed healing here.
“He’s right,” Chin’s sure voice interrupted as he moved up from behind them and Danny nearly jumped out of his skin but managed to keep his hand in place as he looked up to see Chin looming over them now, a bag of ice in hand. Time was up. Danny needed another few moments, just to make sure, and kept his hand where it was. “Steve was already muttering about knife throwing and extra ballistics training before we even left the room,” he crouched down to join them, giving Danny a brief and mostly concealed grateful look before his eyes drifted to where their two hands were linked together. His eyebrows rose a little and he looked between them even as Kono snorted indelicately and rolled her eyes at his silent query.
“Relax cuz, Danny was just helping me gain perspective,” she pulled her hand away and Danny smoothly took his own back, grinning a little at Chin even as he tried to assure him that he wouldn’t actually make moves on his cousin without getting express permission from Chin first.
“Which I’m not sure she ever had in the first place seeing as she made the decision to actually join this task force.” He muttered good-naturedly and dropped his hand to his side where he could flex the tension from his fingers and pull his swirling inner energies back under control. Any moment now he was sure the aching tiredness that always came with healing would sink in.
“Like you’re one to talk,” she grinned lightly at him before shifting slightly and a strange, confused look crossed her face.
“Hey, I didn’t have many options after McGarrett’s strong arm tactics,” he grouched, which was a lie and they all knew it but he refused to give up his long suffering front on principal. He watched as she took the ice from Chin and set it on her knee and her perturbed look deepened a little before she experimentally shifted the previously damaged limb. When it didn’t immediately send a stabbing pain through her leg she straightened it out even more.
“Howzit?” Chin was watching her carefully and she finished straightening out the limb on the ground and looked over at him.
“Doesn’t hurt so bad anymore,” she was definitely confused and a quick look at Chin said that he just looked grateful for that.
“Maybe you just needed a moment to let it rest. Want to try walking it off?” Danny offered, ever the voice of reason and the two Polynesians looked at him before Kono shrugged and held out her arms. Chin and Danny instantly moved to their feet, Danny ignoring the small ache in his own knee and the tiredness in his bones, and they pulled her gently to standing. She very carefully put weight on her bad leg and the confusion she’d had siting on the floor was quickly giving way to relief as she realized that there wasn’t any more pain. She put her full weight on it and moved forward a few cautious steps, Chin and Danny hovering protectively at her side even though Danny knew everything would be just fine.
Steve chose that moment to barrel back into the room, Raj only a few steps behind him with the department’s portable medical sack over one shoulder. They both stopped not too far away and Kono flushed under their sudden scrutiny as Steve looked her over very carefully.
“Guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought, boss.” She looked torn between absolute relief and embarrassment and Danny instantly stepped in to draw their attention.
“Just needed to give it a few minutes and walk it off.”
“You have any pain?” Raj asked anyway, looking between her knees as though trying to figure out which one was supposed to be injured. Or maybe just checking out her legs, because who could really blame him?
“Nah, just a little ache and even that’s fading,” she lifted her leg off the floor, still cautious from remembered pain, and bent it experimentally. It was still slightly red from the icepack that had been on it for all of ten seconds.
“Do you need a brace or anything?” he shifted the bag on his shoulder and Kono took a few more experimental steps before shaking her head.
“No, I think I’m good. Sorry to drag you all the way down here,” she gave Raj a warm smile and he clearly took no offence as he returned it before taking his leave. Steve was still staring at her hard though, watching her every move and Kono looked to him next. “Sorry boss, I really thought I had hurt it,” she did a couple quick squats and knee raises and tried to mask the confusion at actually being able to do that.
“But you’re okay now?” Steve looked like he wanted to drop to his knees and perform his own battery of tests just to be sure, but he was learning restraint and Danny was proud of him when all he did was merely shift from one foot to another and stare with laser beam intensity.
“Yeah, actually it hurts less than it did before we even started sparring,” she grinned suddenly, the relief clear for all to see and Danny couldn’t help smiling fondly as he watched her move around before realizing that Chin and Steve were now looking to him as though he could somehow explain her seemingly miraculous recovery, which of course he could, he just wouldn’t.
“What?” He glared pointedly, already feeling the balance of the team falling back into place now that the scare was over. “You doubting my magical ability to heal with words? Where’s your faith?” He threw out his arms in exasperation and they both decided to ignore him, instead Steve called it a wrap for gym class and decided that they could probably head off early as there was still nothing on their plate. Danny didn’t need to be told twice, heading off to the showers after one last look over a still grinning Kono as she practiced a few kicks.
He may have lingered a ridiculously long time under the nearly scalding spray. He knew his skin was red from the heat, knew he’d need to make sure he chugged a bottle or two of ice cold water as soon as he was back in the office just to stave off the perpetual heatstroke this State threatened. The water gave him the excuse to linger, to recollect some energy before heading back upstairs and pretending that he didn’t really want a nap when it was only two in the afternoon and he should be jazzed from the adrenaline of his workout. Plus the department’s water pressure was about a thousand times better than his own crappy shower so lingering a little longer than necessary was not unusual for him.
Of course the ease his shower had given him evaporated pretty much instantly when he walked back into Five-O’s squad room to see Steve lounging behind Danny’s desk and talking on Danny’s phone with an air that was definitely not work related.
This couldn’t be a good thing.
=================================================================================
Steve had stood watching Kono and Chin for a few more minutes as they did some very light sparring to test that Kono really was all right and determine that a trip to her orthopedist wasn’t going to be added to the day’s agenda. She finished a series of lunges and stood, stretching the leg out and around before coming to a normal stance and looking slightly embarrassed as she scratched the back of her neck.
“It seems fine,” she shrugged at them both him and when Chin agreed with a silent nod Steve finally relaxed. He’d been halfway across the room holding Danny’s punching bag steady and giving a litany of unnecessary tips just to piss the shorter man off when he’d seen her go down. The flash of pain on her face had been real and the way she’d protected the injured area had been enough to tell him at first glance that her injury could be serious.
It had made his stomach roll because he knew that anything revolving around Kono and her knee could only be bad so the fact that she was perfectly fine now, if trying to hide her embarrassment at what she probably figured was ‘causing a scene,’ had pushed away the last of his anxiety. Still, he’d seen her go down in pain. It didn’t make sense that she was absolutely fine beyond a slight ache that she said was already going away.
“If I’d known landing on it wrong was all I needed to do to chase away the last of the pain I would have done it two years ago,” she joked, trying to hide her own puzzlement at the fortunate turn of events. The look of relief in her eyes stayed with Steve all the way back up to their offices and was only chased away a few minutes later when a phone rang.
Steve dragged his eyes away from the empty mug he’d been gazing at on his desk and looked through the glass partition into Danny’s office. It was his office line that was ringing. Looking around Steve realized that nobody else was back yet and he pushed to his feet and moved quickly to the room, snatching up the phone as soon as he reached it.
“Five-O, McGarrett speaking,” he introduced, noting that Danny had only half finished his lunch because the salad sat limply in its container on the corner of the desk, fork still sticking out. There was a moment of heavy silence coming from the other end of the line and he was about to introduce himself again when a rough voice finally cut in.
“Sorry, I think I have the wrong extension. I’m callin’ for Danny Williams,” the slight hint of Jersey accent was impossible to misinterpret and all Steve’s attention focused immediately on the caller. There were only a handful of people that he could think of that might call the office line for Danny, and the first thing that came to mind was his previous department and/or partner.
“You have the right extension, he’s not in at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?”
“He okay?” The sharp tone carried enough concern in the demand that Steve didn’t immediately take offence.
“He’s fine. Who’s calling?” He didn’t wince when his voice came across a little too Commander, instead waiting as the man on the other end seemed to take a moment to decide if he was actually going to answer before a light chuckle came through and had Steve frowning for a whole myriad of new reasons.
“Relax, I’m not calling to do your boy any harm,” the man said warmly, all snap from his earlier tone gone. “I’m Paul, Danny’s brother.”
Huh. Steve grinned wide, moved around to Danny’s seat and flopped into it unceremoniously, any inkling of caution gone now that he knew that it wasn’t someone presenting a case, asking for help, or calling to threaten his partner. It hadn’t happened yet but Steve was well aware that a man with a built in volume control that somehow forgot to include a mute button must have enemies somewhere.
“Steve, Danny’s partner,” he introduced properly and warmly because while Danny didn’t talk about the people back home all that often he had mentioned Paul a few times, and always with a fondness that was uniquely Danny.
“Hey, nice to finally meet you. Sorry if I was snappy on the phone earlier. I couldn’t get him on his cell and the last time that happened and I got his partner on the company line telling me Danny had been in the hospital and nobody had thought to let me know,” he explained freely. Steve’s grin disappeared and he looked towards the main office door to see if the man himself would choose that moment to reemerge. There was no one there.
“He’s just cleaning up after a workout,” he reassured, figuring Danny hadn’t heard the ringing cell while he was in the shower. “Nothing to worry about.”
“For a change,” Paul laughed on the other end of the line. “Way he tells it you guys have a permanent room staked at the hospital just for your day to day activities.”
“We’re not that bad,” Steve immediately countered, because they weren’t, no matter how much Danny liked to deny it. “Danny’s prone to exaggeration.”
“Sometimes” Paul hummed through the line. “Don’t take it personal, he’s always been a talker, doesn’t know when to shut up sometimes,” and clearly he’d been talking Paul’s ear off about Steve and Five-O because it was very rare that anyone sounded so comfortable while speaking with him over the phone, especially someone he hadn’t even really met yet.
“Says a lot and nothing at all,” Steve agreed, rolling his shoulder a little and opening the bottom drawer on Danny’s desk to steal one of the always present bottles of water.
“Looks like you pay more attention than he gives you credit for,” Paul sounded thoughtful, and if his tone had been open and friendly before it now had genuine warmth in it as well. Steve figured that was as much invitation as he had ever needed to ask questions Danny would probably kill him for if he found out about it. He eyed the door again just in case he’d missed his partner sneaking in.
Like Danny actually ever went anywhere quietly.
“You known Danny a long time?” He didn’t bother going for subtle, the only one who ever bitched about that to him was Danny anyway. Everyone else generally just accepted it or were too intimidated to bother pointing it out. The silence on the other end of the line suddenly made him wary that he’d pushed too hard too soon. He did not hold his breath while he waited to see if Paul would answer or end the call.
“That’s typically implied with the whole ‘brothers’ thing,” Paul finally allowed, slightly cautious but still sounding warm and Steve relaxed back a little in the seat. “But he also said you weren’t an idiot. He tell you that we’re not related by blood or did you figure that out for yourself?” Steve looked at the picture of Grace on Danny’s desk, her huge sunny smile and sparkling eyes easing something inside.
“It was more of a sneak reveal. One of his foster parents spotted him on the pier a few weeks ago and gave it away.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, not the way we wanted to figure it out, but I’m guessing if it hadn’t happened he’d probably keep us in the dark the rest of our lives.”
“Obviously not something he likes to advertise,” Paul agreed, his voice going softer and a little distant and Steve wondered if this ‘carrying your emotions so openly in your voice was a Williams family trait. “Danny and I met in high school, we were around sixteen. It was love at first argument man, couldn’t separate us for the next two years. By that point he was so ingrained with the family it was like he’d always been there. You tell him I said any of this to you and I’ll introduce you to the Jersey way of swimming with the fish, hear me?”
“Yeah brah,” Steve agreed whole heartedly and knowing he would take it to his grave, which Paul seemed to understand because thirty seconds later Steve was settling in to listen to some of Danny’s more embarrassing moments both in school and during his first few years on the force. He was so absorbed that he nearly missed it when Danny finally did come through the door, skin pink and face pale and drawn. It didn’t slow the instantly suspicious glare that landed on Steve as he sat in the man’s chair idly twirling the outdated phone cord between his fingers. The suspicion quickly morphed to worry and then turned to horror the moment Danny realized that it was his ‘brother’ that Steve was so easily chatting away with.
“Hey Paul, speak of the devil,” Steve grinned and Danny’s eyes rounded and he practically lunged over the desk for the phone.
“How long have you two been talkin’?” he demanded when the attempt to gain control failed, glaring when Steve leaned back out of reach and forced him to actually march around the desk to get at it.
“Long enough to know about that double date you went on with Paul and those twins,” Steve crowed, only grunting slightly as Danny gave him a gut shot and finally ripped the phone from his hand, pressing it to his own ear.
“You didn’t!” He yelled at Paul, a look of pure resignation taking over as Paul confirmed that, oh yeah, he did. “And you wonder why I never let you speak to any of my coworkers before now? You pretend to care and the moment I turn my back you ruin my reputation. You’re like a vicious little chiwawa that just yaps out all the personal, and might I add sacred, secrets of brotherhood and common decency!” He paused for a moment and then glared even more fiercely at Steve. “No I will not put that vertically over-challenged behemoth back on the phone. You have lost your phone privileges when it comes to speaking to my boss and telling him lies. No you can’t speak to friend Steve either,” he paused again, lips twitching as he tried to pretend he wasn’t flipping from outrage to amusement as he listened to whatever Paul had to say. “Absolutely not. I don’t ever want to put the two of you in a room together…because you might spontaneously combust in your eagerness to share all the details about how I make your life worth living and what are you still doing in my chair?” this last bit was clearly directed at Steve as he had made no effort to relinquish the chair even as Danny loomed over him.
Steve smiled and swiftly stood from the seat, waving Danny into it and then pushing it closer to the desk, while Danny scowled at him even harder as he half paid attention to his brother.
“Out!” He ordered, waving a hand and then sputtering a bit as Steve grabbed the bottle of water he’d half finished from the desk. “You know there is a break room twenty feet away that has all the water you could ever want you glutinous fish. That is my water, from my desk and I don’t see your name on it!” Steve retreated quickly, looking back just in time to see Danny hide a grin under another glare. “And go take a shower before the smell triggers the hazmat sensors!” Steve pointedly shut the door halfway through Danny’s rant but it hadn’t stopped the last words from echoing through.
Better. He felt better. The last few weeks had been fine, but there had been an almost unnoticeable tension between Danny and the rest of them as he’d come to terms with having a bit of his past revealed without his consent.
He noticed Chin and Kono off by the wall, amused and indulgent looks on their faces as they had clearly been watching the entire scene and Steve shook his head at them.
“Didn’t I send you guys home? I thought I made the order to get lost pretty clear?” he kept the tone light and teasing and Kono made a show of grabbing her pack and flinging it over one shoulder.
“We’re gone boss,” she decided and they left, her with an extra bounce that he was relieved to see and he smiled after them before going back to his own office. He needed to find that black marker he’d misplaced the other week, because there was no way Danny was going to come back to work tomorrow without Steve having written his name on every bottle of water in the place.
It was a good day.
====================================================================
It was early evening and Bryce leaned comfortably against the side of his car, eyes trained on the glass sliding doors to the grocery store as he listened very carefully to the man on the other end of his newest phone. Eric was back at their apartment doing more research and closing up a couple loose ends before they started up their new moneymaker. The man on the other end of the phone sounded skeptical, much like the two other individuals that Bryce had spoken to these last few weeks, but he also sounded interested and that was what Bryce and Eric had been looking for. Someone who was interested enough to make a deal with them and rich enough to have the money to pay the price they were asking.
Of course that didn’t mean the man was stupid, anything but as far as his reputation bragged. Bryce didn’t think they could ask for a better first client.
“It’s the real deal,” Bryce confirmed, trying to sound as confident as possible without being cocky. There was a way to conduct business at this level and while he wasn’t practiced at it he wasn’t a moron. He had to be careful.
“You must understand,” the accent was soft and the voice pleasant enough, “what you are proposing is very difficult to accept at your word. The amount of money you are asking for leads me to believe that you are serious, but I am not one who jumps blindly into business deals without a guarantee of sorts and you do not have any references as of yet.” The underlying threat of not screwing around with him was implied and Bryce refused to shift in unease at the tone. It had taken a lot of work and contacts and burned bridges to get a conversation with this man and he didn’t want to ruin their chances by saying something out of step.
He also wasn’t going to forget that he was the one who had the product that this man oh so very much wanted, despite his casual tone.
“I can guarantee complete satisfaction, but I understand that what we’re offering is…unique. We’re preparing for a live demonstration, so you can decide for yourself and if it meets to your satisfaction we can make further arrangements.” There was a short pause on the other end as their potential client pretended to think about it, pick his nose, send email, whatever. Bryce didn’t care; he knew the demonstration would be taking place.
“Very well. Contact me when you are ready.”
“Will do,” Bryce snapped the phone shut and tossed it into the drain by his feet, satisfied when he heard the distant clatter as it fell through the spaces. At the other end of the parking lot the glass doors slid open and out walked Daniel Williams, paper bag of groceries clutched in one arm as he fished in his pockets for his car keys. He was wearing a blue tie today over an off white shirt, and looked ridiculous. Bryce smiled to himself as he slipped into his car and pulled away. He’d just been checking up on him today, making sure the tracker they’d shoved under his car was still working properly. He was glad to see the man was still in functioning form; the task force he belonged to had a reputation for rough takedowns.
Bryce checked his review mirror one last time, seeing the detective’s car pull into traffic and head in the opposite direction. There was no rush to grab him yet, they were just going to bide their time a little longer, make sure they were ready, and the rest would fall into place.
========================================================
chapter 3
Masterpost