CHAPTER 38

One month later, Five-0 Headquarters:

It was just another day for the Five-0 taskforce. Danny, Chin and Kono were gathered by the smart table, going over the primary information for the new case they were just handed by the Governor. A series of home invasions had turned fatal when the last two cases revealed two deceased homeowners. The team were discussing their next move when they heard heavy footfalls outside the front entrance to headquarters. Chin and Kono looked at each other, trying to decide whether they should retreat to their offices now or stay for the show. Danny just smirked in anticipation.

Steve McGarrett pushed open the glass door with more force than necessary with his good arm and stomped angrily towards his office, not sparing the team even a cursory glance. The door slammed behind him as he continued to stomp over to his desk. Kono had observed the murderous expression on her boss' face and decided it was time for a tactical retreat. She ran to the safety of her office, leaving the task to the remaining members of the team.

"What's with him?" Chin asked Danny, pointing his thumb towards Steve's office.

"I'm guessing he just got back from his doctor's appointment," Danny said.

"Ah," Chin said, understanding his boss' mood instantly.

Steve had only been allowed to return to work the previous week. Steve had made it obvious that he thought the light duty restriction was unnecessary. Ever since he had been allowed back into the office, he had been chomping at the bit to get back out in the field, much to the annoyance of the team. Doctor Palamo had even taken to calling Danny on a daily basis, just to make sure his patient was following the rules, as per their agreement.

The team understood why Steve was so irritated. The man was like an energiser bunny. He had never ending energy. Energy that needed to be released otherwise there would be an explosion. Steve's recovery had taken longer than he wanted. He had managed to re-open the wound in his side when he decided to go for a run in the middle of the night less than a week after he was released from the hospital. When he had returned, Danny had read him the riot act before driving him to the hospital. Then Doctor Palamo had done the same thing.

Since then, Steve had settled down a bit. He had been working really hard on his physical therapy and getting full mobility of his shoulder back. He had been attending appointments with his shrink, although the team wasn't sure if there was any progress there. Steve was, after all, a very private man. Steve had thrown himself into doing paperwork, making sure every last bit was done before heading home each night.

Despite Steve's hard work at recovery, he was not used to being cooped up in an office all day. The team kept expecting the man to jump into the boot of one of their car's when they went out on a case. The inactivity also did not help with the man's temper. Although the bruises were gone and his shirt covered all the bandages, he still had to wear the sling. Steve was upset when the criminals didn't take him seriously in interrogations. Fed up, Steve had resolved to demand to be back in the field. Apparently, the doctor had denied him once again if his current mood was anything to go by.

"I'll go see if I can stop him from sulking, shall I? Maybe the new case will take his mind off of things?" Danny suggested.

"Good luck, Brah," Chin said as he watched Danny approach Steve's office.

Before Danny reached the glass door, an almighty crash could be heard from within. Looking through the glass, Danny could see Steve throwing objects from his desk around the room. The sound had bought Kono from her office and she looked over in concern. Danny entered Steve's office, ducking to avoid the paperweight that was thrown in the direction of his head.

"Woah, woah. What the hell are you doing?" Danny yelled.

Steve whirled around at Danny's yell. He was breathing heavily, like he had just finished running a marathon. His face was twisted in rage.

"Just because the doctor didn't clear you for active duty does not mean you can trash your office. What the hell is the matter with you?" Danny yelled.

Steve's face scrunched up in confusion. "What?…I don't see the doctor until tomorrow."

Now it was Danny's turn to be confused. "Okay…then what's got your panties in a twist?"

Steve sighed, the anger dissipating. "I was in a meeting with the Governor and the FBI. Apparently, we are to hand over all of our evidence related to Fuentes to the FBI."

"Okay…that's not a bad thing. Good riddance, I say. The sooner that's out of our lives, the better," Danny said, still not sure why his partner was so angry.

"They mean all the evidence," Steve said, looking at Danny pointedly.

Then it dawned on Danny. "You don't mean…?"

Steve sighed. "Yep. They want Matt too…"

"Okay. That's fine…" Danny began.

"The only problem is, I went over to the safe house to tell Matt. I was hoping to give you some time with him before he had to go. But when I got there, he was gone. Either the FBI have already taken him, or he ran. No one will tell me either way," Steve explained.

"Oh," was all Danny could say.

Danny slumped in the couch in front of Steve's desk as Steve sat in his chair. Steve surveyed Danny, feeling like he had failed him yet again. Danny hadn't had the chance to talk to his brother, to clear anything up. The FBI had screwed them over once again.

"I'm sorry Danny," Steve said sympathetically.

"It's okay. I guess. Thank you for trying, though," Danny said quietly.

"I could…"

"No…"

"What about…"

"No! You've done enough. It's time to just leave it be."

"If that's what you want?" Steve asked.

Danny sighed despondently. "Yeah. That's what I want."

They sat for a few moments, Danny drinking in Steve's silent support.

"So, did you?" Danny asked suddenly.

Steve's aneurism face returned. "Did I what?"

"Did you return all the evidence?" Danny reiterated.

"Yes," Steve said quickly.

"Steven…" Danny said, lifting his eyebrows.

"Okay, I gave them most of it," Steve admitted.

Danny sighed. "What did you keep?"

Steve reached into his pocket and retrieved a small evidence bag. He handed the bag to Danny. Danny took it and looked at the contents. It looked like a piece of melted electronics.

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"It's a component of the bomb from the construction site," Steve said.

"Okay. And why did you keep it?"

"It's part of the detonator. For that bomb to have gone off, someone had to be in close proximity to physically set it off."

"Huh, I thought it was on a timer," Danny said, thinking back to the day when the explosion happened.

"That's what it was meant to look like. My question is, why didn't the person set it off when you were close to it? Why did they wait until you were clear?"

"What are you saying Steve? There's someone that was working for Fuentes that we missed? That someone messed up?"

Steve sighed. "I don't know, Danny. It doesn't make sense to me. Why would Fuentes set the trap, only to have you survive?"

"Well, right now, that doesn't matter. Fuentes is dead, so we can't ask him. All of his men are gone. There's nothing we can do," Danny said.

"Right…" Steve said as he stared at the bag in Danny's hand, undecided.

"Steve, let it go. What's done is done. The more time you spend thinking about what if's, the more Fuentes wins."

"Yeah, okay. You're right," Steve said, huffing out a breath as he sat down.

Danny placed the bag on Steve's desk. "What are you going to do with it?" he asked.

Steve grabbed the bag and put it in his draw. "Right now, nothing. It's going to stay right here, at least for now."

"Okay, but don't go investigating anything without me," Danny said warningly.

Steve grinned. "Yes, Danno."

The two men were silent for a moment. They both knew, for all intents and purposes, that the case was closed. Fuentes wouldn't be coming back to haunt them. But, the bomb drew more questions. Questions they certainly didn't have the answers to and weren't sure if they should be asking.

"So…uh…Tillman. He's an interesting fellow," Danny mused.

Steve rolled his eyes at Danny. "Yeah. He's definitely a bit out there."

"Funny. He said the same thing about you," Danny remarked.

Steve snorted at that. "Of course he would say that."

"So, uh, why did you choose him to help you?" Danny asked.

Steve sighed. "He's a good guy. He always fought for the underdog. He helped me through a lot of hard times. Without him, I wouldn't have made it through my very first mission as a SEAL. He was the 'dad' of the group, always looking out for the boys."

"Sounds like a great guy. But I'm sure you know many people like that. Why him specifically?" Danny prodded.

"He saved my life…I…When it looked like we had lost everything, he fought to get me out. He's the kind of man I wish I was. I trust him completely and I knew I could trust him with Grace, if it came to that," Steve explained.

"Was he your CO on that mission?" Danny asked.

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Steve said.

Danny smirked. He knew that was the answer he was going to get. He understood. The bond made through the trials of combat was not dissimilar to the friendship they shared. It was humbling to know the man in front of him would protect him in the same way. If Steve wanted to keep some things private, then Danny was happy to let him. Just this once.

"There's just one more thing that's bugging me about all this…" Steve said slowly.

"Yeah, and what's that?" Danny asked.

"How did Fuentes know where the safe house was?"

That was something Danny had been thinking about too. How did Fuentes know? Was it a coincidence that Fuentes hit the safe house at the same time they were rescuing Steve? What were they missing?

"I don't know, Steve. I mean, we could spend weeks searching for the answer and still never find it. I think it's time to just leave it. Matt's gone, Fuentes is dead. The FBI have screwed us over. Just, let it go," Danny pleaded.

"Okay. Fine," Steve said with a blank expression on his face.

Danny could tell Steve was not happy about it. There were too many unanswered questions. That in itself would drive Steve up the proverbial wall. But until they had any conclusive evidence, they could only speculate about what it all meant. Given what had happened already, Danny knew it wasn't worth it. It was better to let it lie. Danny expected Steve to agree, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to let it go. If Danny was honest with himself, he felt the same way.

Later that day, Five-0 Headquarters:

The team were working around the smart table, looking at the connections between the homeowners that were targeted in the home invasions. So far, they had nothing. The only connection was they were all rich. Other than that, they had different jobs and different social circles. Nothing connected them. As far as they could tell, the victims were chosen randomly. It was going to be another difficult case.

Steve took a break from going through the deceased's financials to look at him team. They looked tired; no, exhausted. They had barely had a break since the Fuentes issue. These people that he trusted with his life had been working non-stop for over two months. These people who put their own lives on the line to find him were still here, working to help other people. Steve knew he could never thank them enough for what they did to save him. He knew he could start repaying the debt, though.

"Barbecue at my place tonight?" Steve suddenly asked the group.

The team looked at Steve like he was an alien from another planet. They had been so engrossed in their tasks that it took them a moment to register what Steve had actually said.

"Absolutely," Kono said eagerly.

"Yeah, I'm in," Chin said, smiling.

"Danno?" Steve asked.

Danny grinned. "Count me in. Can I bring Grace?"

"Definitely," Steve said, beaming. "See you guys tonight."

The team watched in amazement as Steve McGarrett walked out of the office. Early. He never did that. He was always the first one at the office in the morning and the last one to leave at the end of the day.

"Wait, did he just let us leave early?" Kono asked, suspicious about her boss' behaviour.

"Don't question it, rookie," Danny said as he eagerly followed Steve out the door. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Chin just shrugged at Kono before following Danny out the door. Kono smiled excitedly before rushing to catch up. The cousins caught up to the other two men in the parking lot.

"What time should we be at your house, Steve?" Chin asked enthusiastically.

Steve shrugged. "Six? Maybe six thirty? Whenever you like, really."

Danny's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Wait, no army time?"

Steve rolled his eyes at the cousins. "No, Danny. And it's the Navy."

The cousins chuckled at the two friends as they bickered. Things were almost back to normal. They walked over to their cars and drove away, knowing they would see their other team mates later that evening.

Steve turned away from Danny and walked over to his truck. Danny followed Steve over.

"Hey, SuperSEAL. What's the rush?" Danny asked.

Steve turned around to face Danny. "Hey. I'm just going to get some groceries on my way home."

Danny looked at Steve disbelievingly. "Right. Except that should only take you, maybe half an hour. Why did you let the team go almost six hours early?"

"They needed a break and…there's something I need to take care of…" Steve supplied.

"And what could that possibly be?" Danny asked.

"Nothing important…" Steve began.

"No, no…" Danny interrupted. "It's you, so it's going to be something that gets you in trouble. I want my steak tonight. If whatever you are going to do is not related to the barbecue, you need to tell me right now…"

Steve sighed dramatically. "Okay! I'm going to see Agent Kipton."

Danny looked at Steve, confused. "Why? I thought we just agreed to drop it?"

"There's something I need to ask him," Steve admitted.

"And you think he has the answers you're looking for?"

"Maybe."

"Okay then. I'll see you tonight," Danny said as he walked over to the Camaro.

"Wait, you're not going to stop me? Tell me what an insane idea it is?" Steve called out after him.

Danny turned to face Steve over the top of the Camaro. "No…"

Steve's aneurism face returned.

Danny sighed. "Look. You are almost back to normal. You've been following doctor's orders. This is obviously something you need to do. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, like punch his lights out."

Steve grinned. "Sure Danno."

Yes, things were almost back to normal.

That evening, McGarrett residence:

The sound of laughter greeted Steve as he approached his house. He walked around to the back of the property, where the team had already set up for the barbecue. He smiled at the sight in front of him. Kono was sitting in a chair, her feet on the table as she drank a longboard. She was the most relaxed he had seen from her in a while. Chin was seated opposite her, also with a longboard in hand, and a small smile on his face. Grace was down by the water, happily building another sand castle. Danny was by the grill, having started it in preparation for the food. He had had a few drinks already, evident by his loose movements and increasingly louder voice.

"Hey. What took you so long?" came Danny's Jersey-accented voice.

Steve chuckled to himself as he walked across the sand to where the grill was set up.

"I had to get some stuff," Steve answered.

"Yeah, but you are late to your own party," Danny replied.

"Sorry about that," Steve said as he placed the steaks down on the table next to the grill.

"Ah, but I think I will forgive you," Danny said as he eyed the large slabs of meat in front of him.

"I know the only way to reason with you is through your stomach," Steve said with a grin as he placed them on the grill.

Danny frowned when he saw the redness on Steve's knuckles.

"So…" Danny said.

"So what?" Steve said, concentrating on the grill.

"Are you really going to make me ask?" Danny said, pointing to Steve's right hand.

Steve looked down at his hand and shrugged. "I talked to Kipton. We came to an understanding."

"What kind of understanding? The man is recovering from being shot in the chest three times while trying to save my daughter. Please tell me you did not punch him?" Danny whispered angrily, not wanting the others to overhear him.

"No," Steve whispered back. "I did not punch him. I told him to leave you and your family alone. Then I went to the gym."

"Oh," Danny said.

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Chin called out.

"I'm just making sure Steve doesn't burn the steaks," Danny replied.

"Yeah, right," Steve said. "He thinks he knows how to cook a steak better than me."

"You are such a control freak," Danny said.

Chin looked over to Kono and winked. "Back to normal?"

"Oh yeah," she agreed.

Ten minutes later, the meat was ready and they sat down to eat. Everyone was quiet as they indulged in the feast before them.

"So, Steven?" Danny said.

"Yes, Daniel," Steve replied sarcastically.

"When did you teach my daughter to climb that monstrous death-trap you call a tree?" Danny said, pinning Steve with a steely gaze.

Steve choked on the bit of steak he was in the process of swallowing. "What?"

"You heard me…"

"I don't know what you talking about, Danno."

"Don't Danno me, you Neanderthal animal. What were you thinking?"

"It's an important life skill, Danno. She loves it."

"She loves it? Just like she loves swimming in shark-infested waters. You are a bad influence."

"I'm a bad influence? Says the man who eats malasadas for breakfast."

"Says the man who has no chocolate chips in his house…"

Chin and Kono rolled their eyes at the two bickering friends. Back to normal.

Leaning down to pick up a shell, she inspected the intricate pattern on the outer edge of the organic house that once held a living creature. The swirls of colour blended together as the shell curved into itself. It was mesmerising.

The sound of laughter from up the beach brought her from her sudden infatuation with washed-up shells. For some reason, the joyful sound brought her anger. And something else she had yet to identify. She just knew it was their fault.

Turning on her heel, she stormed back the way she had come, promising vengeance would be coming to those who dared to ignore her.

The End?

Thank you for reading my first story. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. I am working on a sequel to this one, so keep your eyes open. Thanks again!