ShakespeareIsMyMuse

DISCLAIMER: I, ShakespeareIsMyMuse, do so solemnly swear that I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of its affiliates, which includes: any familiar story plots, creation of original characters belonging to the show, cast and crew. Rights, property and ownership belong rightfully and wholly to CBS and its Original Creator: Leonard Freeman (1920-1974), also to reboot creators: Peter M. Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.

I, ShakespeareIsMyMuse, do however claim ownership of any unrecognizable characters and the formation of plot(s) that follows. Any invention or similarity of any character or plot line that is seen here after represented really or fictitiously, alive or dead, is purely coincidental and unintentional.

*Exhales* I hope that about covers everything. *Cracks Neck* Now, on with the story.

Enjoy.

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Chapter III: Once Bitten, Twice Shy*

TRIPLER ARMY HOSPITAL

EMERGENCY ROOM—SECTION: C

2:22 PM

Danny poked his head around the curtain, "Hey."

"Hey," Steve answered back. He was comfortably laid out in an upright position on a hospital bed with two pillows behind his head, one underneath his wounded leg and his pant leg rolled to his knee.

"I did your paperwork while the Doc was stitching you up, so we should be able to get out of here that much sooner," Danny told him as he walked towards the hospital bed of the cordoned off area.

While he didn't look physically drained, Steve could see by the exhaustion in his eyes how Danny looked mentally sapped. Although, it wasn't uncommon for their therapy sessions to leave them both looking and feeling that way; but usually they found themselves there at day's end and usually after some pavement pounding criminal catch. It was bizarre for this to happen so early in the day.

Plus, while their therapist tried her hardest, both men knew that there were some things better left discussed with her offered tools in the privacy of one of their own homes. Though she claimed professionalism and confidentially, neither of them was willing to take the risk that she wouldn't go running to someone should they reveal too much. Sometimes, some things were better kept only between the hushed whispers of the ones who were trusted enough to never again reveal them to the light of day.

Things like why Steve was the way he was or why, though he loved it so, he hasn't played the guitar since he was fifteen; or the reasons why Danny is so passive aggressive—which apparently stemmed back way further than his divorce or why he's so protective, or occasionally possessively protective.

But Danny knew and Steve knew.

And they both knew that it drove their therapist insane because she didn't know what they knew, they knew and that they were using her tools to work things out between them. She thought that the two of them still weren't communicating properly. And it was just hard, trying to figure out ways to get their message across without revealing what they wanted to stay just between the two of them. To make her understand that she was helping them, but that she also had to back off at certain points and that they were okay.

However, now they both knew she wasn't going to be so sure, especially since the irate one just shot the irritating one…deliberately.

"Cool, thanks. I guess it paid off making you my medical proxy, then?" the sailor wondered as he watched his partner drop the one side rail to the bed that was up.

"Looks like."

Gripping the side of the mattress, Steve slid himself closer to the edge leaving room for Danny to drop his weight into the space next to him. The blonde crossed his ankles to ensure he left enough room that he wouldn't accidently kick his partner's wounded area.

Steve pulled one of the pillows from behind his head and held it out to Danny. He accepted the pillow with a tired smile and a nod before pressing it down over his face and –muffled— groaning loudly into it.

"Are you okay?"

"I put a hole in your leg and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

"It was a hard decision to make, Danno. I mean, I understand why you made it…and believe me, I am grateful; but I still understand that it was very difficult for you."

Danny pushed the pillow up over his face and tucked it behind his head. "I thought you insisted that I wanted to shoot you?"

"Oh, yeah, you did…but it was with a very heavy heart."

The Detective chuckled and then sighed—heavily. "Mmmh, yeah.…I, uh, I thought I was going to lose you…too…for a second there."

And it was those words and the tone they were spoken in, that Steve realized that Danny needed to talk—to share and not in the typical everyday Danny fashion; but in the way their therapist wished they would do in her office— and often found themselves tap-dancing around in front of her.

"February twenty second, two thousand eleven."

It was a date that much Steve understood…at first, but Danny didn't elaborate more. Instead, he had gone very quiet, almost like he was earlier—with the gunman; he looked a million miles away.

The former Intelligence Officer focused hard and thought back. "That was exactly five months and two days from the day we first met," he said out loud—quietly. Almost as if he was trying to keep the walls from listening in. Then he thought some more, because, of course there had to have been more of a significance to that date, for Danny to bring it up now; over four years later. And now, Steve was grateful at that moment he was semi-lying down, because the memory hit him like a ton of bricks. "That was also the day after Matt came to town, the night he…" Steve didn't know exactly how to finish that sentence without causing his partner anymore pain.

It had been just barely two months since he had been released from that ghastly Columbian prison because of what had transpired between Matt and Marco Reyes. Steve still hadn't even figured out how to tell Danny that the reason he was no longer getting his ass kicked in that hellhole was because of Doris. He still didn't know all of those details. That it had been her who had scoured the entire country—quite possibly the globe— looking for (and finding) the hidden three tons of coke Reyes' promised the CIA, to trade for and secure his clean release; the one that enabled him to keep his job as a cop…a member of Five-0. For the reason that the murderous foreign drug dealer was some huge power player worth, not only protecting, but avenging; while the upstanding American cop who evened the score for the death of his equally American brother was to be used as a scapegoat.

Neither Steve nor Danny would ever argue against the fact that the death of Marco Reyes was vigilante justice plain and simple. And while two wrongs in no way make a right; the way recent events played out had made it abundantly clear that this was the only way anyone was ever going to pay for the butchery of Matthew Williams. Because aside from, perhaps, his two sons and maybe his wife or girlfriend or whoever the mother of his children was to him; no one— not the CIA, not the Columbian government, not his friends, not even his own cartel crew –gave a flying fuck about Marco Reyes.

No, the CIA was far more concerned with keeping their own personal backdoor operations and cash flow issues away from the prying eyes and ears of the American public. So much so that they were willing to play an infamous trump card 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' to keep themselves clean and dusted. To turn his partner over to a foreign government under the guise of international relations and obtaining justice for a cold blooded murder; when all they really cared about was getting their pound of flesh for removing part of their equation and losing their one point two billion dollar cash flow.

Though, in hindsight it really wasn't all that surprising. This was, after all, the very same CIA who really hated Detective Danny Williams because he was a driven, nosy, loud mouth who didn't sit and stay on command. And because he promised a scene of carnage throughout the agency should anything happen to the dark plane—containing his partner, and the homicidal motherfucker who had caused his partner's mother to fake her own death, destroying the McGarrett happy little family life and his partner's childhood, and sanctioned his partner's father assassination—that no one was supposed to know even existed. Not to forget to mention that he also managed to escape their custody a time ago; granted he had inside help, but they were probably still dim on those details, too. They didn't even know about Matthew Williams' involvement with Reyes' cartel; or that he was in pieces inside an oil drum for Christ's sake.

At first glance, on the surface, Danny Williams was a police officer—a public servant, which meant that he was supposed to be a non-potential; just a typical, average American citizen. He wasn't even supposed to be a blip on the CIA's radar; yet, somehow, he had managed to piss them off more than once and—without even really meaning too—had done so in titanic proportions.

"…left? …fled the country with a suitcase filled with five and a half million dollars in laundered drug money? …the very last night I ever saw my baby brother alive?" Danny filled the dead air. There was another beat of silence where neither of them spoke; which was strange only because it was a rarity that Danny Williams was ever quiet this long. But still, Steve waited patiently, just like Danny—how ever frustrating it was— did for him; the words would come when ready.

The blonde released a deep sigh. "…that was the same night you sent Kipton and Markowitz to the South Shore Marina…on the other side of the island…the night you tried to buy me time to get to him."

"I remember."

"You didn't have to do that; you had no reason to do it."

"I wanted to protect you, buddy…or at least I tried to."

There was another long stretch of silence before the detective said, "…I made it…before he left."

"I know," the sailor nodded against his pillow.

"How?" he whispered.

"You looked like you felt guilty…for so many reasons," Steve said softly.

"I held him at gunpoint…I held my brother at gunpoint. …I had my gun on him and my finger on the trigger. I was so mad at him, I wanted to shoot him. I wanted to drag him back and make him face what he had done…I wanted to do it with him, I wanted to help him; but… But you didn't see the look in his eyes, Steve, he was so scared. He felt trapped and I couldn't do anything about it except turn him over and try to soften the blow."

Danny took in a deep, shaky breath and for a second Steve thought he was going to start crying…; but he didn't, he was able to hold it together. Especially after Steve put a comforting hand on his arm, the very same one Danny reached over and squeezed for –what the SEAL thought was –dear life.

"He asked me if I was going to shoot him and I told him that I should because he was being a stupid SOB. …He just stood there, in front of the steps to that plane and said to me, 'either you shoot me, big brother, or you say goodbye'…and I stood there like an idiot…with my gun drawn and my finger on the trigger…and I did absolutely nothing while he walked onto that plane and flew out of my life. …Well, actually no, I didn't not do anything…"

Steve closed his eyes and steeled himself for the words he knew were coming.

"…I signed his death warrant," Danny said sullenly, "that's what I did."

The brunette opened his mouth to speak, but his partner finally seemed to find his tongue.

"I hesitated, like a rookie…because he was family…and that was wrong. In the Academy—and I'm sure in the Navy, too, they teach you that hesitation has it consequences?" He looked over at his partner.

The sailor nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I learned the hard way, huh? If I had shot Mattie when I had the chance and dragged his ass back to HQ and went ten rounds with the FBI for him… then I wouldn't have had to watch my mother drape herself over his coffin and sob herself into dehydration."

Steve licked his lips and turned his head to stare at the curtained partition opposite him. He felt his eyes starting to grow warm, which meant that if he didn't swallow the lump in his throat it was only going to be followed by a moist feeling surrounding his lower lids. He turned his hand over in Danny's and gripped it back; he could feel his partner struggling to think about what he wanted to say, to say it, hell, almost even to breath.

"But, uh, I…I couldn't do it…not again. I couldn't do another funeral…lose another brother. You didn't survive four tours in the Middle East to come back home, find your father's killer and then basically die the same way. I couldn't let that happen, too. …I couldn't save your father, either, Babe, and I am sorry about that also; because, believe me, I wanted to save him, I really did, but…I was two minutes too late."

With his free hand, Steve pressed his thumb to his lips as he shut his eyes tight; he knew where Danny was headed. He knew the man was wracked with guilt over John and Mattie and, yes, even Marco Reyes and would probably be for the rest of his days. He would most likely never forgive himself and that was the worst prison sentence of all—because like death, it was permanent.

"I couldn't save your dad and I couldn't save Mattie, but I could save you; so I shot you. And I am sorry for shooting you, Steve, I really am, but I only did it so I wouldn't lose you, too."

"I know. And maybe this isn't the first time that this has been said, but it's the first time I know I've ever said it; thank you for shooting me, Danno, I really do appreciate it. Your, uh, apology has been noted and acceptance is immediate. I forgive you…forty five minutes ago."

Danny chortled. "Thanks, Babe."

"So do we agree or disagree that an incident like this is covered by rule number one? Or does it come with an asterisk now?" Steve wondered, but all Danny did was smile, nod and say, "Yes."

A smile playing on his lips, Steve furrowed his brow, "Wh…?"

It was at that exact moment that Chin's head was poking around the curtain. "Aw, don't you two look all comfy cozy?" He said playfully. "Found them."

Suddenly the curtain was yanked back with one swift tug. "What the hell is this?" Lou demanded before switching gears, "Forget it, Kono, we can't find him at anywhere there because he's right over here," he called off screen. Less than three seconds later had Kono appearing underneath Lou's arm still attached to the curtain. The second that followed had her laughing—Steve and Danny quickly dislodging their hands—, and looking over at Chin who was biting back a smirk.

"You know, with the way the Governor was going on about warring with IA and not having the luxury of employing anyone on his Task Force without a mug shot, we thought you were in a holding cell at one of the precincts somewhere," Lou said pointing at Danny. "Instead, here you are in bed with McGarrett."

At that comment Steve threw his head back against his pillow, rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Interlocking his fingers and tucking his hands behind his head, "Aww, concerned for his virtue, Lou? Don't worry I'll buy him dinner later," Danny joked—his smile broad.

It was Kono's turn now. "Oh, so you're that kind of guy, Danny? You like that, Boss?" she wondered, but the only response she received was both an eyebrow and shoulder shrug from Steve. "Geez, at least with the guys I usually go with, dinner, at the very minimum comes first," she smiled teasingly.

"Says the woman with the multi-millionaire boy toy?" Lou asked oratorically. Though she scoffed, Kono still had a small smile on her lips.

"Well, now, Kono," Chin said, in an attempt to keep the peace, "you do have to remember that there's a huge difference between you and Steve. Steve's such a high risk date that he's got to earn it first."

The sailor shot the island native lieutenant a dirty look, but had trouble holding it long enough for anyone to take him seriously. Instead the five of them started laughing.

"Well it looks like this subdivision is in good spirits," a male floor nurse stated, entering the room. "How are you feeling, Commander?"

"I'm fine."

"Alright, that's good news," the nurse nodded. "I'm sure you're familiar with how to care for stitches and a bullet wound so I'll keep this brief. They're melt away stitches so there will be no need to come back and have them removed; they'll dissipate as you heal. Keep your stitches, your wound and your dressing as clean and dry as you can. If it should get wet for any reason, make certain that you disinfect with an antiseptic, dry thoroughly and re-dress as soon as possible, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Steve nodded.

Next the nurse held up a small golden bottle, "This is a mild antibiotic to prevent infection. Your doctor seems very familiar with you and took the liberty of having the prescription filled at our on-site pharmacy. She wants you to finish the entire bottle. Not take one or three and call it done, Commander, the entire bottle; that's fifteen pills."

Though he kept his face as polite as possible, Steve still made something akin to a semi-sour face while his colleagues started laughing.

Danny held out his hand, "I'll make sure he takes them. I'll crush them into his food if I have to."

"Dr. Hopi was counting on that," the nurse said handing the bottle off to the blonde. "Two today and one every day with a substantial meal until finished." The brunette absentmindedly crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'I'm not a child, for crying out loud'.

"Of course you're not," the nurse patted the SEAL on the shoulder and smirked when he receive semi-glare, but didn't seem the least bit afraid of the large man. "Ibuprofen for the pain."

Those four words netted a laugh from McGarrett's colleagues.

The still grinning nurse, quirked an eyebrow, "If you deem it necessary," he told him as he pulled an alcohol swab and a syringe from his pocket. "Okay, you just need a tetanus shot* and then you're free to go."

"Oh, I've already had one," Steve told him.

"When?"

"About three years ago," Danny answered for him.

Double checking the chart at hand, the nurse smiled once more, "Wow, you keep track of your partner's medical history that well?"

"When you partner with Steve McGarrett it kind of comes with the territory."

This time the nurse laughed. "Well, it's fine; you can have another one, Commander. You can die from tetanus*; you can't die from a booster shot."

"You can die from a bullet."

"Yeah, about that, that was one hell of a shot, Detective; it was so perfect that you caused absolutely no damage other than breaking the skin," he congratulated.

Steve whacked Danny on the thigh, "See and you're always getting so pissed off at me for making you practice your shooting."

"When do you…?" the blonde started to say, but then dropped off for a second as he thought. "Are you talking about when you go charging in somewhere like a red ragged bull—with only me as back up— and people start shooting at us?"

He was answered with a serious, but causal, "Yeah."

"That's not practice, Steve, that's survival!"

"For there to be means of survival there first has to be a perceived danger, Danno."

"Perceived danger? Are you listening to yourself…no wait, have you met yourself? Some days you are the biggest, walking, talking, living, breathing perceived threat on this God damn island."

"Me? Did you suffer sudden amnesia? Or did you forget about the terrorists who tried to make a bioweapon out that highly aggressive strain of the bird flu? Or what about the smallpox case you guys had? Or what about the drone incident? Or..." Steve kept listing dangers that were way worse than him…

"Are they always like this?" the nurse asked the other members of Five-0.

"All the time," Kono answered.

"Every day," Lou told him.

"Since the very first second they met," Chin said.

… "Or what about earlier? I wasn't threatening to spray a mall worth of people full of bullets."

"Yes, I know which is why I chose to save you and not him!" Danny raised his voice enough to try and drown Steve out a bit. "And I said some days, Steven, some, not all! When our case load is slow and everyone else, but you, has done all of our paperwork;" Steve rolled his eyes at that, but he was promptly ignored, "you tend to get a little restless if there isn't someone to chase or interrogate or hit…or shoot; and then the next thing I know we have another French fried poodle incident on the beach, a smoking speed boat and a grand worth of damaged music equipment." Before he was even finished getting the words out, Danny was already breaking out into hysterics.

And then Steve joined in. "As...as horrible as that was…th…that dog should have n…never been on that beach," he said through his laughter.

"It's not funny, Babe," the Detective whacked him on the shoulder—but it did nothing to subside his laughter. "The poor thing only grew hair back in threeplaces."

"I know I saw the owner walking her a few weeks back; I've never actually seen a French poodle with an actual Parisian wardrobe."

After he finished giving Steve his tetanus shot, the nurse turned back to the other three individuals in the room for an answer, "What happened?"

However, they all looked lost.

"I'm not sure," Kono said, wracking her brain. "I must have been...I don't know where."

Lou shrugged. "Must have been before my time."

"Maybe I was on my honeymoon? Or something, because I don't remember anything about a smoking boat or how a poodle ended up hairless on a beach." Chin was shaking his head as he let out a quiet snicker at the fits of laughter of the two men in the hospital bed.

The floor nurse was in a cheerful mood. It was uncommon for any section of the ER, let alone most of the hospital to be filled with this much of a good time. As much as he would have enjoyed spending more time listening to what sounded like some pretty outrageous tales—he had rounds to do and other patients to tend to; so when he finally found a lull in the hilarity, he took the opportunity to wedge his way in.

"Commander, Detective Williams has already taken care of the rest of your paperwork, so now I'll just need one of you to sign your discharge papers," he told them—holding out the clip board, which Steve took and quickly scrawled his signature across the line at the bottom.

"Perfect, thank you; an Orderly will come by in a few minutes with a wheelchair and escort you out. Good day gentlemen… ma'am," he nodded on his way out.

"So, what happened?" Chin asked.

"With the poodle? Well, it all started when Steve…"

"No," Lou waved him off, much to Kono's disappointment. She actually looked like she wanted Danny to finish that story. "Why the hell did you shoot him?"

"Oh," Steve mumbled and then shrugged, "he didn't want me to die."

Lou blinked and stared at the pair, who simply stared back; meanwhile Chin and Kono were busy holding in their newly resurfaced laughter.

"Okay," the Chicago native nodded. "I know that you two—and how ever it is that brain wave signal you share works— think you are explaining things, but I think we're all going to need a little bit more."

"We finished our session, went to get lunch and ran into a lunatic with a gun who was—for some reason—hell bent on using the spray and pray method to kill innocent civilians. He probably had second thoughts after he started firing his automatic weapon, because then he suddenly started discharging it into the air and went looking for a quick way out. When he couldn't find one—because all of the people were either huddling around or escaping through the exits—he somehow managed to snare Steve in some sort of weird double armed version of a hammerlock, put a gun to his head and tried to both leverage him for an escape route and use him as a human shield," Danny explained more thoroughly.

"Wait a second, how does some random nutcase off the street hold firm to a fully trained SEAL?" Kono wondered, before teasing, "Have you talents been exaggerated boss?"

"Trust me, it wasn't my finest hour. I don't know what that guy was on— steroids maybe? — but no matter which way I moved; I couldn't get out of it, he was too strong. It was, at the very least, highly embarrassing," Steve admitted.

"Hm," Chin nodded. "If he was that dangerous and not easily controlled by even someone with your training, Steve, then perhaps it was best that Danny did what he did and then put him down. God only knows what would have happened had he managed to trap someone else in a grappling hold—he might have accidently killed them in their attempts to get away, and then we'd have two dead bodies or who knows how many more."

Danny sighed, "Yeah."

There was, yet another, long beat of silence, when the sailor suddenly furrowed his brow and asked, "Did you say Denning was running interference with IA?"

"It doesn't exactly sound good; a cop purposely shooting his partner while on duty?—even if it was for a good reason. I mean, when we first heard the news, it sounded a lot like Danny had snapped; what do you think IA is going to think? You know how the details are slow to come in and then they always get everything all mixed up; chasing their tails looking for something that's not even there?" Chin reminded.

The Chicago transplant and lady island native shared a look at the expression that was forming on the Jersey import's face.

"I hate to say it, Danny, but I think you're just going to have to grin and bear it, brah," Kono told him. "Besides this one should be easy, even for IA. It happened in the middle of the day, in the middle of a crowded strip mall, with at least a hundred people recording and probably uploading to YouTube; plus security cameras. If IA is really that ass backward that they can't find the way out of this paper bag, then we're all in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah and you just have to remember, brother, that half of them aren't even cops anyway—just administrative filled positions because they have expensive pieces of paper citing managerial and psychology backgrounds— and the rest are half-wits and brownnosers who couldn't hack it as real cops," Lou added.

Steve looked over at his partner and the two of the shared a look; one that said a storm was coming.

"Oh, no," Danny groaned as he pulled the pillow back over his head.

"Yeah," the SEAL said slowly—nodding, before looking at Lou, "trust us; this might get worse before it gets better."

Danny's voice had a thick, grating edge to it, "That woman is going to come flying down here like a bat out of hell."

"Wait a minute, you don't mean…?" Kono asked, her eyes going wide as if she suddenly remembered something.

"Oh!" Chin exclaimed, as if he, too, just suddenly remembered something. "Right, I had Coughlin on my ass and you have…yep, that woman does indeed have a very big problem with the two of you. Although, probably more so Danny." Chin agreed.

"Especially because she didn't get her way last time; Jameson made sure of that, but she's not around anymore, and I'm betting that rabid dog is going to want to make bones about it this time." Danny's muffled voice came from beneath the pillow.

Steve shook his head and pulled the pillow off of his partner's face. "She can't, Kono's right. Your side is backed up with witnesses, Smart-Phone videos, security footage and my corroboration."

"My side? Versus, what the dead guy? The one who's head I put a hole in? ..Uh uh, Babe, I wouldn't put it past her to try—no matter which way she has to bend this story."

"Don't worry about it, buddy. You got my back and I've got yours. She wants a fight; we'll both come out swinging."

"Steve, as annoying as she is, you know we can't hit her."

"But it's so tempting, isn't it? In a couple of different ways."

Danny chuckled. "No argument there, but I will never purposely hit a woman under any circumstance with the exception of self-defense and even then, unless she was trying to kill me, I'd try and find another way of subduing her."

"What a gentleman," Kono kidded. "I'm sure little Miss IAB* already knows that."

"I think we're going be okay, Danno."

"I'm going to agree with Steve on this one, brah," Chin nodded. "Besides Denning's getting out in front of this. Makani called and told him what happened. He knows why you did it and that you would never hurt Steve."

"Unless that's what he really wants to believe because he knows that the majority of HPD is nervous to partner up with him. And he knows that Steve and Lou got off to a rough start and that Chin and I get along well together; so he needs to keep you around because he doesn't want a renegade Navy SEAL running around the island alone and unsupervised."

Chin laughed. "So, what? Protect the loud mouth cop hailing from the mean streets of New Jersey to wrangle the out of control SEAL at all costs, then?"

"Oh, well aren't you two just hilarious?" Steve said sourly, while Danny insisted to her that, "Excuse me, comic relief is kamaʻāina's territory."

"Oh! Look at you!"

"Shut up, Steven," Danny snapped—although he didn't really mean it.

Ignoring the blonde and switching thought trains, "Well, this could go a couple of different ways; she's either charmed by or afraid of Denning….or…" Steve left the sentence hanging.

"Or?" Kono prompted.

"Or she walks her seven inch high heels all over his back," Danny finished for her.

"The Governor doesn't seem like the type of man to allow that to happen to him," Lou offered.

The four original members of Five-0 laughed.

Curious, "What am I missing?" Lou asked.

"Oh, don't worry, Lou, when you see this beautiful raven haired, five foot, little priss of a thing— with this deep, powerfully sharp look in her eyes, her nose high in the air; draped in haute couture, wearing seven inch red bottom stilettos and foaming—kind of sexily— at the mouth, you'll understand," Danny told him.

"She's that attractive? I thought none of you liked this woman." Lou was so confused. "Wait a sec; IA is a basically a public servant position, how does she afford…?"

"She comes from very old money; her family owns some of the biggest Avocado and Macadamia nut farms across the islands," Chin explained.

"She justenjoys being a bitch and making other peoples' lives as miserable as possible; all of us are pretty sure it's her favorite pastime," Kono added. "And for the record, I'm not much of a fan," then crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "…but, even I wouldn't kick her out of bed."

Chin turned his head and stared at his cousin. He too, thought the woman was attractive—an annoying, hard ass, yes; but definitely easy on the eyes. However, he had never imagined his baby cousin would utter something of the sort…that was the real surprise; but, hey, she was an adult.

Danny and Steve smirked—mischievously, while Lou's eyebrows shot to the top of his head, "Really?" He was interested now, even if he, too, ended up not liking her. Which he was pretty sure he wasn't going to; like her personality, that is.

Looking at Steve, "If memory serves, didn't you tell her that you wanted her to get off of your island?" Chin asked.

"I may have been running a bit of a temper at that moment," the sailor admitted.

"And, yet here you two are salivating over the thought that you might see her again?"

Danny nodded—a slight grin gracing his features. "We said she was a bitch who doesn't like Steve at all and who really, really, really hates me, Lou; no one ever said she wasn't hot."

"So you go for that type?"

Steve smiled and nodded, "Oh, that's right, you've never met his ex-wife. Who knew someone who looked and acted so sweet and polite could have such a mouth on her?"

Danny furrowed his brow, he knew exactly what his partner was talking about, but what he didn't know was, "When did Rachel curse you out?"

"About a week after the hearing, when she finally came back from house hunting in Las Vegas; she blamed me, and what I said to the judge about you, for getting the custody order flipped and Gracie getting to stay with you full time."

"Commander McGarrett, I hear you've gotten your walking papers," an Orderly said, pushing a wheel chair—then looked down at said chair, "…so to speak."

The Commander chuckled as he moved his weight from the bed into the chair, "Yes, thank you."

"I got him," The Detective said—in a blink he was at his partner's side.

"Oh, please be my guest," the Orderly said. "In fact, I'll thank you for it; my shoulder is still sore."

Chin, Kono and Lou all shared the same confused look. Danny had just been stretched out on the bed next to Steve, how in the hell was he suddenly right there next to the Orderly taking control of the wheelchair…and no one saw him move?

"I'm sorry, what happened?"

"We just had a fellow brought in for surgery to remove a small tumor pressing down in his brain. It's causing him to suffer from severe psychosis; which is leaving him with the impression that the people around him are trying to kill him. Apparently his meds wore off and it took half a dozen bodies just to be able to get the nurse close enough to sedate him," the Orderly explained as the three made their way down the hall.

Lou looked at the cousins, "How…?"

"Steve's pretty talented in his own right…" Chin said looking at Kono who was smiling. "…and the two of them do spend an awful lot of time together."

"…they'll both deny it to their dying days; but there are times when Danny starts acting just like Steve and vice versa, so Chin and I came to the decision a long time ago to just go with the theory of osmosis*."

"Uh huh," Lou mumbled.

…

"Commander, Detective, I was wondering if you two could clear something up for me?" the Orderly asked.

"What's that?"

"There's a rumor going around that you," he pointed at Danny, "shot you," he pointed at Steve, "…on purpose."

Steve looked up and smiled, while Danny caught his eye and chuckled, "Accidentally on purpose*," they said.

"Hm, you know something? Knowing the two of you, that seems to make perfect sense."

"So in other words crazy, chatty, annoying and super ninja stealth are catching?" Lou whispered as he and the cousins trailed behind the trio.

Chin slung an arm around Lou's shoulders, "Worried you're not going to fit in at Five-0?"

Catching the Captain's eye and smiling, "I think he's more worried that he might, cuz," Kono supposed.

… H50

At the corner traffic light, Danny was the one to break the silence. "We never made it to lunch; do you want to knock off early and go get dinner…maybe a pitcher of margaritas?" He wondered.

"Panic, chaos, disorder, changing the balance of power in the middle of a crowded downtown shopping mall with only one fatality and one injury—none of them civilian? Yeah, I'd say our work for the day is done. Besides I have a full clip, a back-up, your SIG's still got fourteen shots, your revolver holds six, we got a box of ammo in the trunk; Tripler's open twenty four seven and I've got some other areas on my body you could hit where I can survive a bullet or two."

"So what you're saying is we should have enough rounds to get us through dinner?"

"Sounds like a plan. …What about Gracie?"

"She and Nina are having a sleep over at Lucy's house."

"Cool. So we'll have plenty of time for another run to the hospital if necessary," Steve joked.

"Uh, let's do our best to avoid it, Babe," Danny patted the man on the shoulder, "I still hate the place, you know? …and what did I say, huh? Comic relief is my territory, okay?"

"Okay," Steve agreed—laughingly. "Danno?"

"Hm?"

"I love you, brother."

Danny was quiet for a minute, but then a small smile bent his lips. "I love you too brother…I love you too." He held his fist out and Steve promptly bumped it with his own.

… H50

Yes, life is the hardest of all lessons to learn and once you're bitten, you'll forever be twice shy.

…

…Fín…

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Asterisk Index:

*Once Bitten, Twice Shy: Refers to someone who has either been hurt or has had something go wrong in the past, and therefore will heed far more caution in future situations.

* Tetanus (Lockjaw): A bacterial infection that causes severe muscle spasms by producing toxins which can enter through a break/cut/puncture of the skin by a potentially contaminated object. Though the tetanus bacteria is commonly found in soil, dust and manure, it is also largely associated with rust (i.e. getting caught or stepping on a rusty nail); and occurs most frequently in hot, wet climates where organic matter is abundant in the soil. Tetanus is also a huge danger if you have been stung multiple times (i.e. more than three in a row) by wasps (yellow jackets) or from swimming/playing in contaminated water sources (i.e. the infamous joke about the Henry Hudson River in New York City; and of course my favorite line from the movie 'National Treasure' (2004): "Sir, it's the Hudson, nothing's visible").

While tetanus cannot be spread through person to person contact is it still both a dangerous and terrifying disease. The bacteria can sit dormant in the body for anywhere from three to twenty one days; and up to eight days to several months in some cases. Once the bacteria chooses to make itself known, muscle spasms typically begin in the jaw causing it to lock tight— preventing the person from opening their mouth; this soon progresses to the rest of the body. The spasms usually last a few minutes and will occur frequently—without warning— over about a month's time; eventually becoming so severe that possible bone fractures or breakage may occur. Only ten percent of those infected with tetanus will result in fatality (death); usually after a period of four days.

—Symptoms may include the following: Fever, headache, difficulty swallowing, high blood pressure (HBP) and rapid heart rate.

**If there is even the most remote chance that you think you may have contacted tetanus, seek immediate medical attention from reputable health care professionals. **

*Tetanus Shot: An inoculation given as a preventative measure against the disease. It is typically given as part of the assortment of immunizations after the birth of a child starting at the first six week check-up. The first time vaccine is broken up into three separate (smaller) doses similar to the Hepatitis C vaccine. While the vaccine can be received at any time in life, it is recommended that you receive a booster shot at least every eight to ten years; or if you cannot remember when your last shot (if ever) was administered.

*IAB: Internal Affairs Bureau—A division of law enforcement that investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of law-breaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force. IAB tends to have a bad rap among law-enforcement agencies and is sometimes referred to by the moniker "the rat squad" by other non IAB personnel.

* Osmosis: The definition makes reference to two separate definitions; the former and not the latter referring to this story:

- [General]: An effortless (often unconscious) ability of learning and understanding.

- [Biology]: The movement of a solvent (liquid)—usually water— through a semi-permeable (soft, sponge like) membrane (casing/outer wall) into a solution (liquid mixture) of higher concentration (higher amount) that creates an equal concentration (amount) of the solute (dissolvable substance) on both sides of the membrane (casing/outer wall).

*Accidentally on Purpose:An intentional act performed under the pretense of an accident.

Muse's Notes:

To My Readers,

For any confusion that may have been caused by the conclusion to Rule Number One, I apologize. I would also like to point out that while it was intended to—and can—be a standalone story, it can also be considered a sequel of sorts to "IA: Internal Affairs". For anyone who has read it and remembers it, then you already know whom Five-0 was referring to. For those who have not read it; this was an earlier story that I wrote (in fact, the very first one for this account) and the "she" that most of Five-0 is referring to, was an unpleasant –not fully fleshed out—character from that story.

Now, while I will make no promises; this story does have the potential to possibility to spawn a sequel of its own. Should it come to fruition I do have an idea or two about how to breathe more life into this would be 'villain' and some dialogue that could possibly take place between certain characters.

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-It is with a light and open heart, along with a great deal of anticipation that you, my reader, enjoy my work, just as with all my writing, it really means a great deal to me.

-Reviews and/or constructive criticism are not required here, but are always welcome.

-Flames are not required nor are they welcome; and while I cannot stop you from posting them, I will warn you, I usually don't take them to heart.

Love, Hugs, and Kisses,

Muse : )