Fic: Malasada's H5Obigbang chapter 7

[thoughtreflex]

CHAPTER SEVEN: Play House
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Two days ago Danny had been content with the knowledge that he was moderately happy with his life.  It could be better, he had lists of ways that it could be better, but over the last eight years or so he liked to think he had accepted his lot in life and was possibly as happy as he had ever been as an adult.  He had found himself a family, as close as he figured he could get without being related by blood, in New Jersey.  He had a good job and he had a crappy little apartment that was a far cry better than some of the places he’d run off to hide in as a kid.  He lived on a fruit infested tropical island that was still too sunny for his general liking but he was nothing if not adaptable.

Then there were his new friends, friends that he had grown to care about in a disturbingly deep way considering he’d only known them for over a year.   Friends that he might, might, have started to consider ohana since the second month he’d known them.  This was astounding to him, because he had ‘issues.’  He knew he had issues.  He had issues that surpassed the issues he accused Steve of having at least two times over, and considering how deranged Steve was that was a heavy statement.  The difference between him and Steve was that Danny could recognize that he was screwed in the head, Steve just thought everyone else were the ones with a problem.  The point was Danny did not just trust people.  He did not just accept them as family, let his guard down around them, let them get to know him or hang around his daughter.  He did not do that, he did not let people get close, not since Paul and Mattie and their family.  Except that apparently he did.

Apparently moving to Hawaii and losing the only people he’d let close to him since his parents had died meant that he lost a little of that self-preservation instinct that had been introduced to him in childhood.  Apparently it made him needy, or maybe the term was lonely and pathetic, but whatever Hawai’i had made him it had given him a second, and much odder, family.

Within that family it had given him Steve McGarrett.

It had given him a man who drove him so insane that Danny wanted to dangle him over the side of a building on a good day.  The problem was that Steve would probably welcome it!  He’d probably even dare Danny to drop him to prove that he could land on his feet every damn time.  Danny had never known anyone who made him so strung out just being in the same vicinity as him, but who also had the ability to calm him down with an imploring look, a word, or a freaking touch.  Even on that first day they’d met, guns drawn on each other, arms twisted behind backs and fists in the face, Danny had known there was some kind of connection there.  It was instinctive, an innate understanding and ease that hit faster and harder than when Danny had met Paul and become absorbed into his family.  Maybe it was the fact that Steve was just as desperate to have a family, to have someone he could depend on, to lean on in his life as Danny was that made it work.  Ridiculous?  Maybe, but look at Danny’s life!  So yeah, Steve was a big part of his general contentment in life at the moment, which was all kinds of sad but there you have it.  Partners, friends, brothers, whatever: they fit.

The most important thing in the world though, the sun that he revolved around every chance he had, was his Grace.  His Grace, whom he would travel across the world for, would seclude and trap himself on a tiny island for, whom he would give up his very existence for.  Who had given him a purpose in life more steady than a marriage, more permanent than an adopted family. Who could make him smile just thinking about her.

So yeah, two days ago Danny had been content, maybe even mostly happy, with his life.

Since then he’d had Steve semi-murdered in front of him, been abducted, forced to heal a stranger against his will, abducted again, and now he’d been dragged from his dark cell, parked in a chair and subjected to his current ‘hosts’ idea of socialism.

He stared at the glossy pictures that had been neatly laid out before him, and it took everything he had to keep the terror he was feeling off his face.

“Let’s talk about your daughter,” Marcel said with the politeness of a circling shark and slid the cooling coffee mug closer to Danny, who ignored just as he had the first time it was offered.  He couldn’t drink it now anyway, his nausea having doubled since the pictures had been laid out.  Jesus.

“I don’t want you talking about my daughter,” he said as calmly as he could, resisting the urge to pick up the photo of her smiling face and hold it to his chest so the people in this room would stop looking at her.  “Ever.”

“I’m afraid that’s just not possible, Mr. Williams.” He didn’t smile as he watched Danny from across the table.  “You see, you must be aware of the fact that you are a man with a very unique skill,” Marcel said that like Danny was a freaking world class engineer, “one that I have never heard of outside of fiction.  As such I know nearly nothing about you or how your ability to heal works, and I would very much like to know everything I can.  It stands to reason that it is genetic,” Danny swallowed back his panic.  Jesus, this was his worst nightmare come to life.  “Which means that your daughter may have your precious skills as well.”

“She doesn’t,” Danny refuted instantly, it came out as more of a snarl than words, but he leaned forward instinctively to try and make his point.  “It’s not a genetic trait, the only healing she’ll ever be able to do will involve bandages and antiseptics and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  You hearing what I’m telling you, Marcel?  She doesn’t have a lick of this thing in her and if you go near her so help you, I’ll-”

“Relax, Mr. Williams,” he held up a placating hand, but it did nothing but amp up Danny’s agitation.  Marcel hadn’t stopped staring at him since he’d been shoved into this room and he was still watching him with sharp eyes, categorizing his every movement.  Danny stared right back.  “From this statement I can assume that you have done the appropriate testing to ensure that that’s the case, that your daughter really doesn’t have the abilities you possess?”

“No testing necessary,” Danny snarled, figuring that at this point only the truth could help.  “I started manifesting the ability,” he had to swallow around labeling himself in such a way, “when I was five.  Neither of my parents had the skill and Grace would have started showing it years ago.  She does not have it.  She never will.  Even if she did have it, it wouldn’t matter because if you so much as think about touching a single hair on her head-”

“There’s no need to resort to threats Mr. Williams, I have no intention of going anywhere near your child.  I’m not a monster.  Even if she did have your powers I would never entertain the notion of taking her at such a young age.  As well, you have done me a great service by healing my brother.  He already shows remarkable improvement even though he still sleeps on, and as payment I will stay far and clear of your daughter and her mother.  Of this, you have my promise.”

“Forgive me if that doesn’t mean squat from where I’m sitting,” Danny growled and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms and hiding his clenching fists.

“It means little to me how you feel about this situation,” Marcels tone sharpened and the woman standing behind him glared at Danny for upsetting her boss.  Danny glared at her, and then did a double take as he looked closer.  She had long silky brown hair, her eyes were a deep brown and the very noticeable mole she’d had at the corner of her mouth was missing, but she was the same woman that had trapped him in this hell to begin with.  She looked completely different now.  Shit.  She gave him a cool look, like she was reading his mind, before turning her attention back to her boss.

Great, and there went the one reliable suspect description Steve would have had.  Fantastic.

“You have a gift and I want to know more about it, and that is the bottom line.  The more you choose to work with us, the easier your life will be, but make no mistake Mr. Williams: this is where you will remain until I say otherwise.”

“I’m not known for being cooperative,” Danny warned him, because it was only fair that they knew he wasn’t going to make this easy.  At least not until they actually threatened his daughter, and while he suspected that Marcel was aware that Danny would strip to his birth suit and table dance for him if it meant keeping Grace safe he also had the feeling that the man wouldn’t go back on his promise.  At least he prayed that was the case.

“As I expected,” Marcel replied with a perfect cinematic smile.  “Of course I have many ways of ensuring your cooperation.”  The photo was promptly collected by the Cindy Crawford wannabe.  “We will be arriving in Shanghai in approximately six days, where I have an acquaintance who is in need of your services.  Will you be sufficiently, how shall we call it, recharged by then?”

“No,” Danny answered just to be difficult.  Shanghai!  He was so very, very screwed.  There was no way Steve or the team could find him like this.  A floating prison, with a guy who was no doubt shipping containers that were probably stuffed with not-so-legal merchandise and most likely had the connections to smuggle Danny anywhere he chose to.

“I would hope for your sake that you are,” Marcel didn’t seem overly concerned either way.

“That’s your master plan?  Pimp me out to the highest bidders?  What’s to say that your next John won’t have the same payment plan in mind that you had for the guys that so graciously introduced us?”  Marcel smiled coolly and finally, finally, looked away to the woman behind him.

“Anita, if you would kindly prepare my office for the conference call I have scheduled and alert me when they are ready.  I will be remaining with Mr. Williams and Dr. Smith until they are ready.”

“Of course,” she nodded politely and practically floated out of the room.  Marcel looked back at Danny, his interest not at all hidden by his cool stare or clipped, accented tones.

“If you will, Mr. Williams.” Marcel stood from his seat and Danny remained exactly where he was, until sets of hands grabbed him and hauled him to his feet.  Danny shoved one of the men a step to the side but otherwise didn’t dislodge either of them, which was probably a good thing because the sudden change in height gave him a sense of vertigo that was just not normal.  “We have an appointment with the doctor,” Marcel insisted.  He was already around the long table and moving towards the door, clearly expecting Danny to follow, which was a given with the two thugs at his side directing his movement.

He stumbled slightly as they moved down a narrow hall and into a stairwell that traversed the entire seven stories of the ships tower.  They moved down two flights and then down another echoing hall before dragging him into what was clearly a well stocked infirmary.  There was a narrow window along the back wall that showed nothing but darkness outside.  Great, Danny had lost an entire day after he’d passed out, which hadn’t happened to him since he was a kid.  He’d be more concerned about this but he felt he had more pressing matters as he eyed the man in the lab coat who approached them as they entered.  It was the same man that had been monitoring Alfonse’s condition.  Taking note of the overly eager gleam in his eye Danny could safely say he’d changed his tune about him since their last meeting.

“I had a check up last month, so I think I’m good,” Danny straightened his shoulders and watched the doctor’s every move.

“Nonsense,” Marcel rebuked and moved to sit in the cushy chair by the desk, once again staring at Danny and steepling his fingers in front of him. “You can never have too many examinations, though I do fear this one may be more comprehensive than you’re used to.  Please make an effort to answer all of the questions you are asked as fully as possible.

“Yeah, right,” Danny glared Dr. Smidt approached, holding out a blue garment.

“If you could put this on please, it will make this much easier,” he asked, his accent almost too heavy to understand the words through.  Danny eyed the material, eyed the doctor and very deliberately did not take it.

“You can put it on yourself Mr. Williams, or I can call for additional assistance to help you,” Marcel kept staring.

“Are you going to at least let me go behind a curtain or something?  Try to preserve my dignity?”  Danny glared, because he could see that he wasn’t going to have much choice here, but that didn’t make it any easier as he snatched the material from Smith’s outstretched hand.

“No,” Marcel answered flatly, “your dignity does not concern me.”  Danny glared at him a long moment seeing the truth in the dark gaze, and when he finally gave in and stripped down to his underwear, quickly slipping the ridiculous gown on, he made sure he kept glaring at Marcel the entire time and forced the humiliation of the act deep down where he wouldn’t have to acknowledge it.  This wasn’t about feelings any more, it was about survival, and Danny had always been a survivor.

“I understand that you have had your healing abilities from a young age?”  The doctor started, waving Danny to the examination table leaning against the back wall.  With gritted teeth and two armed thugs blocking the only exit and watching his every move he went to it.  At least it was cushioned.  Smith frowned at him when he didn’t answer but didn’t seem deterred as he approached and wound a BP cuff tightly around Danny’s bicep.  Danny had to dig down deep to resist knocking the guy on his ass, but the urge must have shown on his face as one of the hired guns shifted.

“I can understand your reluctance to participate here, Mr. Williams, but if there is anything that you can tell me about your abilities, about how they work, how they make you feel…” he trailed off to mark his blood pressure down and moved on to prepare a syringe for drawing blood.  “I understand the bare minimum behind the concept of biofield energy healing but what you’re capable of accomplishing is so far beyond anything that has been known, let alone scientifically acknowledged, that I’m not certain they relate.  I noticed earlier that you utilized physical contact while aiding Alfonse.  Is this contact absolutely necessary or can you also use distant healing?”  He clipped a tourniquet in place, loosening it a little so it could fit around Danny’s arm, sterilized the area and slid the needle into place so smoothly Danny barely felt the prick.  Danny wasn’t surprised at how quickly the little vials he had ready filled with blood considering his blood pressure was probably so high he was just waiting for his veins to start bursting.

“Mr. Williams, answer the man’s questions,” Marcel urged softly, which set warning bells off in Danny’s head quicker than Steve announcing that he had a plan.  He looked over to see the man still watching him, no surprise there, but this time there was no mistaking the warning in his eyes, the glitter of intensity that suggested he was done messing around and that this was the moment for Danny to either cooperate, or be forced to cooperate.  Danny wasn’t intimidated…oh screw that, yes he was intimidated as hell.  He’d have to be insane not to be.  He also knew when to pick his fights, and right now a fight would be counterproductive.  His lips curled back in displeasure and he met Marcel’s stare for a long moment before breaking contact in defeat and focused back on the doctor’s movements.

“Contact is necessary,” he ground out through clenched teeth.

“How interesting.”  
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Steve prowled around his office in endless circles, fists clenched and shoulders so square he could have been used as a measuring level for shelves.  Through the glass windows separating his personal domain from the rest of the office he could see Chin and Kono bent over the main computers, throwing pictures onto the wall screens and just as quickly disregarding them.   They’d been meticulously digging through all the possible suspects that they could think of in relation to Danny and while they were learning a lot of impressive facts about Danny’s history as an officer they still weren’t any closer to finding an answer they desperately needed.

It had been four days.

Steve abruptly stopped and pressed both hands onto his desk, bowing his head in an effort to control the rage that was boiling inside at their lack of progress, at their lack of answers.  HPD had come up with nothing in their investigation into Danny’s kidnapping. Surveillance tapes hadn’t caught any of the drama, the circulated photo of the woman had produced no hits, the only blood trace at the scene had been Steve’s and the area was too heavily trafficked during the day to even get a shoe size of the abductors.

HPD were scratching their heads as to why no ransom demands had been released, assuming that Danny might have been taken due to his involvement with Rachel and Stan even though it was a stretch.  Any possible connections that may have been related to cases Danny had worked in Jersey, be it related to organized crime factions he’d been involved in taking down or revenge from any number of unrelated convictions he’d been a key component in, were coming up empty.  That didn’t even begin to include his time as an officer of the Honolulu police and then member of Five-O.  Four days was not a long time at all as far as such investigations went, with an arrest record like Danny’s it could take months, maybe even years to properly investigate every nook and cranny and completely rule it out.  Forty-eight hours, the crucial timeframe law enforcement assigned to finding an abducted individual still alive and unharmed, had come and gone.

The circumstances around Danny’s snatch and grab were different though, the variables skewed.  The HPD were floundering as to why Danny would be targeted, while Steve, Chin and Kono knew exactly why he’d been targeted but couldn’t disclose the information.  Not even to Governor Jameson, whom had given Steve full support to find Danny, had been demanding updates on the search every six hours, had been grimly encouraging and even had meals delivered to their team on three separate occasions.  On the one occasion she had personally stopped by for a progress report, just catching the team as they came in from a bout of fruitless inquiries to their snitches, she had watched Steve with an unerringly sharp gaze, one that told him she suspected they were keeping something from her.  She hadn’t asked though, and he wouldn’t have told, but his respect for her had grown just a fraction more as she had simply stated that she expected them to do their jobs and bring their man back before letting them get back to it.

Fat lot of good it had done them so far.

Steve took a deep breath.  The headache from his concussion had been stubbornly sticking around, but thankfully the dizziness and nausea had cleared up the day before.  He took another breath, calming the anger and fear and locking it away again.  They’d been working non-stop at this for days, his remaining teammates were practically sleeping on their feet, their nerves were frazzled and they were exhausted.  Steve walked back out to the main office hub and glanced at a picture of a strung out junkie on the plasma just as her image and arrest records were swept away.  Kono looked up at him and gave a tight little nod.

“Still nothing boss.  We’ve gone through most of the records from Jersey but if Danny has ever used his secret mojo on the perps he arrested then, or on the victims he helped, then it was never anything of note,” she rolled her shoulders and rubbed at her red eyes.  Chin straightened beside her and crossed his arms.  Looking at him you wouldn’t think he was tired at all, eyes bright, clothes unruffled, but the way he leaned against the desk, like it was the only thing supporting him, was enough of a sign that they needed a break.  A real one.  Steve’s chest felt tight.

“Its possible he didn’t know he could...help people when he was there,” Chin suggested even though the frown on his face belied that he didn’t believe the words.

“No,” Steve shook his head, “he’s been able to do this for a long time.”  He remembered how easily Danny had fallen to his side to help him, how instinctive the move had been, how practiced his hands were as they pressed into his skin.  He’d felt him work.  But that wasn’t what convinced Steve that Danny has known about his ability for a long time, for a lifetime.  No, he was convinced because of how well Danny had never let on about it, how he had kept something that was clearly instinctive to him so successfully hidden.  That kind of skill takes a lifetime of practice and adaptation.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything useful from his career in New Jersey,” Chin looked back at the computer.  “I’ve pulled up the records of all the cops he’s been partnered with, long term and temporarily.  His last partner before moving to Hawaii, Detective Jamal Warner, was stabbed in the thigh during one of their busts and had a documented concussion during their partnership.  I contacted him to see if he had any information for us and it turns out he and Danny were pretty close, close enough that Danny nearly took a bullet for him once by stepping between him and a gun, close enough that he stood as groomsman at his wedding.  Warner still has the occasional severe cramping that acts up due to the knife wound.”  Steve frowned at this bit of information.

“They were partnered together for three years,” Kono continued softly and then leaned forward to briefly rub at her knee.  “Danny’s been with us just over a year and he’s used his ability on all of us.”

“All of us?”  Steve narrowed his gaze as he looked between them, silently demanding an explanation.  Kono gave him an exasperated look he probably deserved.

“My knee didn’t just magically start working again by itself, brah.  At first I thought I was just having a few good rides, then I was trying moves on the board that I hadn’t attempted since the pros, it wasn’t worth it before, the pain always warned me off.  I called up my surgeon and asked if it was normal a few weeks ago and he did a scan: said it was the most successful recovery he’s ever seen, said he wouldn’t have believed I’d ever been injured in the first place except for the fact that he did the surgeries himself.”

“And you linked this to Danny?” Steve asked and she shrugged.

“Not at first, not at all really until you told us that you’d been shot and showed us the shirt,” Steve rubbed unconsciously at his chest, missing Chin’s observant gaze following his hand.  “I’ve been thinking about it the last four days, I figure he must have done it that time I twisted in the gym, remember?  I thought for sure I was axed, and then I wasn’t.  It threw me, but I was too grateful to really look closely, but I remember Danny put his hand on my leg to comfort me brah and now I’m good.”

“He helped you too?” He looked at Chin, who gave a little nod.

“Think so.  Nothing big, just feeling better as a general rule.  I don’t know if he’s aware that he did anything.”

“Okay,” Steve frowned, thinking about what they were hinting at and not sure how he felt about it.  On one hand knowing that Danny trusted him, trusted them all, enough to start using his abilities in a way he had theoretically not done in Jersey settled deep in Steve’s bones and triggered a sense of possessiveness that might worry him if he wasted time pondering it.  On the other hand, it meant that Danny had openly risked exposing his abilities only after coming to Hawai’i (and meeting them?) and that somehow in that time he had been discovered, which had led to his kidnapping and Steve’s part as a tool to expose his skill.  Steve wanted to hit something all over again.

“Forget about Jersey then, let HPD keep running those checks.  He must have exposed the ability while working with us.  If we can figure out when this happened maybe we

can link it to someone who would have seen and had the resources to organize the grab,” he rubbed his chest again.  “After,” he spoke up as the two began to turn back to the table, “you go home, shower, and get some rest.”  It practically killed him to say it, and clearly Chin and Kono weren’t keen on the idea if the dark looks they gave him were any indication, but he was the boss and he had to look out for all of his people.  He couldn’t afford to hurt them in the process of finding Danny, it was unacceptable.

“Boss-” Kono started and shut-up at the look he shot her.

“No arguments.  Shower, bed, food.  I don’t care what order.  Be back here in six hours.”

“I had cots brought up from storage,” Chin was crossing his arms again, but this time the action carried a stubbornness that rivaled Steve’s own, “and the showers here have excellent pressure.”  Steve ground his teeth, and then relented maybe a bit easier than he should have.

“Fine, but if I see you out of those beds a minute before the six hours is up I’ll have you escorted home for some real rest, understood?”

“Yes, sir!”  Kono snapped off, clearly falling back on her academy training as there wasn’t a single hint of sarcasm in her tone.  She was off to her office and said cot a moment later.

“What about you?”  Chin asked.

“Grace sent me a text,” Steve sighed, feeling the weight on his shoulders more heavily than most of his operations in the SEALs had sat.  That was the reason he’d needed to retreat to his office not too long ago, to gather his calm.  “I’m going to head over and give her a visit, and then I’ll get some rest to,” he confirmed and Chin’s frown grew.

“You’ve had less rest than both of us.”

“I’m trained for this,” Steve glared, daring Chin to argue further.  Being the smart man that he was Chin relented, holding his hands out in surrender even though he still gazed disapprovingly at Steve.  Steve wondered at how similar that look was to the one his dad had given him growing up as a child.  With a last knowing look Chin moved to the hall, and no doubt the locker room and showers.  Steve didn’t waste time heading out of the building, his step not faltering as he bypassed Danny’s Camaro in favour of his truck; it didn’t feel right driving the sleek silver car without his friend around to bitch about it.  It didn’t take long at all to pull up in front of Rachel and Stan’s home, and he nodded at the woman in the unmarked patrol vehicle a few cars down, before heading up the pathway at a speed only fractionally slower than a run.

He didn’t have to wait long after ringing the bell.  Stan opened the door, immaculate as always but with bags under his eyes that spoke of long nights sitting up with the woman of Danny’s life, trying to comfort them.

“Commander,” he didn’t sound surprised to see him and stepped aside quickly to let him in.

“Stan,” Steve grunted.  “Grace around?”

“Yes, she’s outback,” he led the way through the familiar foyer down a hall to the kitchen and out onto the large stone patio.  The sunlight reflected cheerfully off the unused pool, a few large plant pots boasted boldly coloured hibiscus trees in full bloom.  Rachel sat at the glass patio table, a large white sunhat shading her shoulders and a glass of pink juice and ice sat beside the computer she was working on.  The moment Steve stepped onto the patio she looked up and the relief on her face was quickly covered up by a wary smile as she stood to greet him.

“Commander,” she approached, her hands twisting together anxiously.

“Rachel,” he looked around the yard, taking quick note of the additional security cameras that had been installed since they had used Rachel and Stan’s home for surveillance all those months ago.  “Grace texted me,” he quickly headed off her question about the investigation and hated the way her eyes dimmed as she realized that he wasn’t there with good news about Danny.  “She wanted to know if Danny went away because of her,” he explained and followed Rachel’s gaze to the little play house tucked away in the corner of the yard, outstretched trees swamping it in shade.

“I expected her to take the news that her father was missing badly, but she’s been nearly inconsolable,” Rachel revealed.  She looked as exhausted as Steve felt but she squared her shoulders and looked back to him.  “Thank you for coming,” her propriety coming to the forefront in a way that irritated Steve, because of course he would come: Grace was Danny’s little girl and Danny was family, which made Grace his family.  His affront must have shown because Rachel looked slightly startled but regained her composure quickly and waved towards the little playhouse.  “She’s in there, if you would like to speak with her.”

Steve nodded and moved swiftly across the yard to the little building and stopping at the door.  He told himself he was pausing because he was taking a moment to figure out how he was going to fit inside, seeing as the door came up to his waist, and not because he had no idea what he could possibly say to comfort Danny’s kid.  Suck it up McGarrett!  Your SEAL team would be embarrassed to know you right now! He thought ruefully and then allowed a small smile to tickle his lips: clearly his former navy teammates had never had to deal with the wrath of Danny Williams.  He knocked lightly on the purple plastic door, spying Grace peeking out of the tiny window to his left.

“Grace?  It’s Uncle Steve, can I come in?”  He crouched down just in time for her to open the door and she backed away quickly to the other side of the small structure.  A quick survey told him that crouching wouldn’t be enough and he dropped further to his hands and knees and crawled through the door.  There were a lot of toys in the room, a small fake kitchen counter with a bowl of plastic fruit, a plastic bucket with several pairs of Barbie feet and one set of mermaid fins sticking out of the top, a stuffed unicorn, and various items a child would need to play house.  It was all shoved aside to the back wall, out of the way, which gave him just enough room to crawl a few feet forward and sit down on the thin carpet that covered the grass.  He recognized the carpet, Danny had bought it for her on a whim a few months ago.  Steve remembered because it was a stunning shade of pink that should never find its way into a man’s car and it had gleefully sat on Danny’s back seat of an entire week before he was able to give it to his daughter.

“Close the door,” Grace ordered, her voice quiet and urgent and Steve obeyed without thought, leaning over to pull at the purple handle until the hollow plastic covering slid into place, darkening the room to a dull purple and pink atmosphere.  He looked at the little girl that sat across the small space from him, a plastic table with paper and crayons the only thing separating them, and frowned at the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.  Her chin trembled and she hugged herself but, in a true testament to her parents own stubbornness, she refused to cry as she watched him carefully.

He had no idea what to do.  He crossed his legs and leaned forward trying for comforting and having no idea if he was pulling it off.

“Grace, I want you to listen very carefully to me, okay?” He internally frowned and softened his voice a little more, feeling way too loud in the small space.  “Are you listening?”  He checked and when she nodded minutely he smiled softly. “Good, because what I have to say is very important:  Danno,” he paused to make sure that she was really paying attention, “loves you.  He loves you very, very much and he would never, never ever leave because of you.  Never,” he emphasized again just to be sure she heard him.  “He’s just gone for a little while right now but I know he would do anything to be back here with you because he loves you so much.  Remember, he moved all the way to Hawaii just so he could be close to you, and there is no way that you could ever be the reason he left.  Do you understand, Grace?”  She sniffled and hugged herself a little tighter and he was overcome with the urge to shove the table out of the way and just hug her.  He resisted, sensing that he needed to wait her out here.

“I h-heard mommy and Step-Stan saying that he’d been gone too long.  Mommy didn’t know what she would do i-if Danno doesn’t come back.”

“I’m going to bring him back, Gracie.” He pushed the table out of his way, to hell with it, and gently gripped her shoulders, knowing that he shouldn’t be making this promise but unable to resist it.  “I’m going to find Danno and bring him back and then he will tell you all about how much he missed you and how much he loves you, okay?”  He barely got the last word out before she launched herself bodily at him, wrapping her tiny little arms around him and burying her face in his neck.  He absorbed the impact with ease, holding her close and twisting so that he could lean back against the hard plastic wall and stretch his legs out in the tiny space, toes just touching the opposite wall.  She was hiccupping now, and he felt a deep, unreasonable anger at Rachel and Stan for not checking if Grace was around before talking about Danny.  Rachel had told Steve that she didn’t want Grace to know what was really happening, not until they had too; she should have been more careful.

He wrapped his arms a little tighter around the child, wondering at how frail she felt, wanting to protect her.

“He left because of me,” she cried into his shoulder and he sighed, clearly she hadn’t understood what he’d been trying to tell her, to distraught to hear him.

“No,” he whispered into her hair, “no he didn’t Grace, he loves you and he would never leave because of you.”

“Y-y-yes he woulllld,” she cried wetly.  “He t-told me not to tell anyone!  He told me!  And I almost did and now he h-ha-hates me,” she choked a little and sniffled loudly before the distressed hiccupping continued.

“He doesn’t hate you, Grace,” he repeated, bouncing her a little in his lap.  She was almost too big for that.  “He loves you, no matter what you think you did wrong.”

“H-He told me that if people found out they might take him away, that I had to keep it a secret because, because he was special and he only wanted to share how special he was with meee,” she snorted and he felt the wet trail of tears and possibly more on his neck but he ignored it as he suddenly, sharply, understood what she was saying.

“You’re right Grace, Danno is very special, but you didn’t tell anyone his secret and he didn’t leave because of you,” he said softly and she froze against him suddenly, holding her breath for a moment before the heavy breathing started again.

“You know?” she sounded so afraid, so unsure and in that moment he was also pissed at Danny, because seriously, how could he put such a big secret on such a little girl’s shoulders?

“I know,” he whispered back.

“No, you don’t,” she sounded angry now and made to push away but he didn’t let her go, keeping her tucked in tight.

“I do, Gracie.  I got hurt a little while ago, and Danno…he didn’t like seeing me so hurt so he helped me get better.”  She stopped her struggles to get away and thought about what he said.  He looked down and could see her red nose scrunched up in thought.  After a long moment she went back to hugging him, but this time it felt different, not as desperate.

“You must have been really hurt,” she decided with unconditional certainty.  “Danno doesn’t tell anybody but me about his superpower, not even mom knows,” she sniffled again and clung tighter.  “I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered.

“So am I,” he rubbed his cheek against her hair, swallowed thickly, and finally let the relief at being alive flood through him.  He’d been keeping it locked away for days, forcing the pain and fear and absolute certainty that his life had been literally moments away from ending deep inside so he could deal with the crises at hand.  His final moments had been peaceful, he distinctly remembered being at ease, floating, accepting of his fate, but when he’d come back from the brink all he had remembered was the pain, the shock of it, the near devastating end and it had been terrifying and overwhelming and he hadn’t wanted to truly acknowledge what had happened.

He had a second chance.  This wasn’t a joke or a figment of his imagination, this was real and he had a second chance.  It wasn’t over, it hadn’t all ended before he was ready, and he felt relief.

God, he loved the Williams.  Danny and his child would be the true death of him and, somehow, he was more than okay with that.

“Grace,” he said softly, “how long have you known about how special your dad is?”

“Forever,” she mumbled, sliding down in his lap a bit and snuggling against his chest.  “Once, when I was really little, I fell on a bottle and broke it.  I remember because I broke it with my face,” she said with the frankness of a child long removed from the pain.  “The glass got in my eye and I couldn’t see anything because it was really deep and Danno said I probably never would have been able to see again if he’d taken me to the hospital.  He says that doctors are really really good at their jobs, but he loved me too much to wait for their help so he fixed me.  He said that I was the first person he fixed since he was a little boy, and that he would always fix me if he could, but I had to promise to not tell anyone, ever.”  Steve leaned his head back and closed his eyes, like it could block the horrible images from his mind.  “I didn’t mean to tell,” she whispered again, hiccupping lightly but the sobs stayed away.  Understanding bloomed in his mind as connections snapped and remade themselves and he remembered the day, not even two weeks ago, that Grace had come crying into the office and demanding Danny help her friend.

“Is your friend okay?”  He asked, even though he already knew the answer, because if one thing in this world was absolute it was that Danny couldn’t deny his little girl anything.

“Yeah.  The doctors said that she had broken her back, that she shouldn’t be able to move her legs, but she can even though she’s still all broken.  Danno always saves the day.”

“Seems like it,” he grinned at the conviction.  “And it’s not your fault that Danno left, you didn’t tell anyone his secret, but we’ll have to be a bit more careful when he’s back.  We’ll keep it between us.”

“’kay,” she mumbled, clearly falling asleep and nodded, glad that she seemed to have calmed down, that she was feeling better.  He’d leave in a few minutes and let her get some real rest.  “I’m glad you know Uncle Steve,” she mumbled and he shifted a bit to get more comfortable, glad the little plastic house wasn’t tipping from his weight.

“Yeah?  Why’s that?”

“Because Danno protects other people, and now you can protect him.  He’d like that,” he words slurred at the end as she finally drifted off to sleep, the stress and emotions finally getting to her.  He swallowed thickly, breathing in the stuffy hot air of their house.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed softly, “so would I.”  Between one moment and the next he finally drifted off to sleep.
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Chapter 8
Masterpost