Who's Your Daddy?

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine (neither is the Camaro).

Spoilers for 5.22, 5.24 Luapo'I and 2.15 Mai Ka Wa Kahiko and general spoilers.

Recently got hooked on Hawaii Five 0 and this story just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Figured I'd try this fanfic writing out. No Beta. All mistakes are mine. Reviews may make me come back and write some of the other stories that H50 keeps inspiring in my head.

H50 H50 H50

Three days after the bone marrow transplant from Danny to Charlie, Danny picked Steve up to head to the Palace. It was his first day back.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Steve asked as he settled in to the passenger seat. Usually Steve insisted that he drive Danny's very cool Camaro but when Danny picked him up today he didn't have the heart to make him get out and switch seats. He knew he had to still be sore from the bone marrow extraction procedure.

Danny eyebrows raised in surprise. "You're gunna let me drive my own car?"

"You drive sometimes," Steve protested before Danny pinned him with a look. "Okay, not very often, but today you get a free pass."

"A free pass? A free pass to drive my own car? Thank you very much for your overwhelming generosity. Trying to prove you're human after all?" Danny tossed back, hands moving as he spoke.

"You didn't answer my question. How're you feeling?"

"Woah! Two signs of humanity in one minute. Must be a good day."

"Answer the question."

Danny sighed, not particularly enjoying being worried over. "I'm still a little sore, alright? Bothers me more when I'm sitting too long. It's better if I keep moving."

"You shouldn't have a problem with that," Steve chuckled. Danny was non-stop motion anyway.

"Yeah, except I'm stuck on desk duty which means a lot of sitting as I catch up on YOUR paperwork my friend."

Steve felt it best to avoid that topic. "How's the headache?" Danny had developed a pounding headache as he recovered from the anesthesia.

"It's pretty much gone. I'm telling you, I'm fine."

And Charlie? How's he doing?"

Danny sighed, puffing air out of his cheeks. He had only found out that Charlie was his son a few weeks ago, the same time he found out that Charlie was sick and needed the transplant. Until then he was just Stan's kid who was always around when he picked up or dropped off Grace. But now he loved him with all his heart already.

"So far the transplant seems to be a success. It'll take time before they know for sure. He's hurting but he's a tough kid."

"Like father, like son," Steve smirked.

"I have a son, Steve," Danny said in reply, shaking his head. "Sometimes it's hard to wrap my head around it. But he's a part of me and it might not make sense to you, but I love him already. I mean, really love him."

It didn't surprise Steve one bit. If there was one thing Danny Williams did exceptionally well, it was loving people, especially kids. But, he knew there was more on Danny's mind.

"But…?"

Danny sighed again. "But to him, I'm still just Danno. Grace's dad. I've been there so many times the past few weeks. Stan would walk in and Charlie would run to him, arms wide open, calling 'Daddy!' My presence in the room meant nothing to him."

"Give it time, Danny."

"I know that," Danny nearly shouted, turning to look at his partner with a look of disbelief. "You don't think I know that? Rachel told him, but he's only three; he doesn't understand. He loves fire trucks, right? I mean, most boys do, sirens and all that. I want to tell him that his granddad was a fireman. He'd think that was so cool. But I can't. It would just confuse him and he's going through too much right now."

They continued in silence. Steve didn't know what to say to ease his friend's pain. He hated feeling helpless.

"You know, I've never even held him, Steve. Never held my own son. Not once. A fist bump and a pat on the head are the only physical contact I've ever had with my own son!" He sank back into his seat, shifting a little as he felt the soreness in his back. "Don't you dare ask me if I'm alright," he warned Steve with a small smile.

Danny's phone rang before Steve could reply and he tapped the button to pick it up on speakerphone. "Williams."

"What do you want Williams? Your messages are clogging up my voicemail." Danny knew it was Stan but Steve didn't recognize the voice. Steve looked out the window, trying to give Danny some semblance of privacy.

"Well, if you'd answer your phone or even bother to call me back, I wouldn't have to keep leaving messages, would I?"

"What do you want Williams? I have a business to run."

A million snarky comments popped into Danny's mind at that one but he kept them to himself. They wouldn't help.

"I told you in those messages, Stan," Danny said.

"I didn't listen to them. Enlighten me."

Danny glanced at Steve who had turned when he heard Stan's name. "Charlie's been asking for you."

"Asking for me? You mean he's saying 'Where is Stan Edwards?'"

Danny gripped the steering wheel tighter. "He's asking for his daddy."

"Sounds to me like it's your problem then."

"My problem?"

"Well, according to Rachel YOU'RE his Daddy."

Danny glanced at Steve again, who was giving him the most supportive look right now. "Seriously? You're doing this now? He's three years old Stan…"

"Yeah, about that," Stan hissed. "I need to talk to my lawyer about collecting back child support from you, seeing as I've been paying for YOUR kid for three years."

Steve shook his head in disgust. This situation Rachel made was really ugly and these two men bore the brunt of it.

"I'm not even going to go there right now, Stan. Look, I know you probably want to take a swing at me or something, but…"

"Actually, I'd like to put a bullet through your shoulder," Stan shouted at him, in a blunt reminder of what Danny was forced to do a couple years earlier to save Grace's life.

"I'm gunna pretend I didn't hear that," Danny said, jaw clenched in anger.

Low blow; now Danny will let him have it, Steve thought. But he was wrong.

"Look," Danny said, pulling himself together. "This is not about you or me or even Rachel. This is about Charlie, a three-year-old boy who is in pain in the hospital and desperately wants to see his daddy. Daddy, not father." Danny's angry tone was shifting to one of sadness as he went on. "You've loved him as your son for three years, Stan. You held him when he was an infant and he couldn't sleep. You were the one he smiled at for the first time. You caught him when he was learning to sit up and he started to topple over. You fed him strained peas and ducked when he spit them back out. You held his hand as he learned to walk and picked him up when he fell. You were the one he saw when he first said 'dada'. Surely, you can put aside your pain and anger to give him the same love you've given him for three years. Yeah, I'm his father, but you're his Daddy, and you're the one he needs."

Tears filled Danny's eyes by this time, and his voice reflected the anguish at recounting all the things he had missed with his son. He sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Even Steve had to swipe at his own eyes, although he'd claim it was dust in the air if anybody asked.

There was silence on the line for a long moment. "Stan, you there?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Stan answered in a choked voice, all the bluster gone. "I'll go with Rachel tonight. You going to be there?"

"I can stay away if that will help," Danny offered, although he wanted nothing more than to be with his sick son as much as he could right now.

"Ok." Stan said. And with that the phone clicked as Stan hung up.

Danny puffed his cheeks and let out a long breath, eyes straight ahead as he continued driving. Long moments of silence passed with Steve staring at Danny.

"What?" Danny queried, looking at him.

"What, what?" Steve replied.

"You've got a face."

"I told you I don't have faces."

"Yes, you do have faces and that, my friend, is a face. So what is it?"

"I don't know how you do it."

Danny looked at him strangely. "Do what? Yell at my lying ex-wife's husband?"

"No, how are you so nice to him?"

"Nice? Was I being nice? I wasn't trying to be nice."

"You told him that he's Charlie's daddy. Not that he WAS his dad, that he IS his dad. You told him you'd stay away if that made visiting Charlie easier. Sometimes partner, you amaze me. I don't know if I could do that."

"You're a super-SEAL. You wouldn't have gotten yourself into this tumultuous chaos of a life I'm in, in the first place."

"I've had my share of chaos."

"Like this?" Danny asked, incredulous, waving his hand around as if it could point to his problems.

"Well, not quite like this," Steve admitted. "But I still don't know how you do it."

Tears pricked at Danny's eyes. His voice was rough with emotion as he pulled into the parking lot. "He lost his son, Steve. One minute he had a son, the next he didn't. Even if he and Rachel actually manage to stay together, Charlie will still never be his real son again. Charlie may live with him and even call him Daddy, but that doesn't change the facts. That relationship is permanently and irrevocably changed." He took a deep breath and went on as he pulled into the parking spaace. "He's had his heart torn out of his chest and stomped on. As much as I don't like the guy, he's a victim in this. None of this is his fault. I carry my share of blame here, but he doesn't."

With that, Danny cut the engine and got out of the car. Steve was speechless and took a moment to start moving.

"You gunna sit there all day?" Danny asked, looking in through the open door.

"I don't know what to say."

"Do me a favor and don't say anything. Just leave it. You coming?" As Steve got out of the car, Danny shut his door and headed towards the building. Steve's quick strides had him catch up quickly.

"So, what kind of gift do you think Charlie would want from Uncle Steve? I have three years of gifts to catch up on. " Steve was hoping this approach would help lighten Danny's spirits just a bit. "Oh, I know the perfect gift."

Danny stopped suddenly and turned to look at Steve. "Woah, woah, wait a minute. I'm not sure I like the sound of that. Perfect gift? From a Neanderthal like you? I'm retaining veto power over any and all gifts Steven."

"Veto power? That's so unfair. You'll make me buy him ties and loafers." Steve said, trying to keep a straight face as he slapped Danny on the back and they started to walk again. Danny could only shake his head and laugh.

finis