I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Notes: wow - Like I told Phoebe, I think I finally found this story's natural ending. Thanks SO MUCH PHOEBE for the last minute reads and patient reviews of "drafty drafts" and a couple of re-writes. I really appreciate all the help.

So, here it is and much continued happy, wonderful birthday wishes Jazzie! I hope you enjoyed this spontaneous (not so whumpy ... oddly more romanctic-ky) birthday story which doubled its originally intended size of 3 chapters. LOL!

Thanks to everyone who left so wonderful comments and encouraged this AU to continue on; each and every review means A LOT! I'm not caught up on replying due to RL, but I will try and catch up to thank each personally.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

For the weekend, they'd moved from Danny's place to Steve's larger home so that Charlie could play on the beach and so that Danny could have a change of scenery. Little had Danny known that Steve had had some obtuse plans of physical therapy for him which involved the Pacific Ocean. Once home, Steve insisted for hours that Danny would feel better after a swim and in all that time, Danny had done his level best to object. That the warm saltwater and the light waves would help with the pain in Danny's chest; Danny had flatly disagreed. He'd dug his heels in hard with every excuse under the sun but in the end, he'd lost the battle. There was something about the combined pleadings of both Steve and his son which had eventually worn Danny down. When he'd finally agreed to at least try, Steve hadn't hovered over him too badly. He'd been watchful though as he played with Charlie; keen as ever, while Danny muttered endlessly under his breath about bad ideas and misguided judgement. He'd kept the quiet tirade up as he'd entered the water up to his ankles first, then his knees. Steve hadn't been able to hide his grin though as Charlie had egged his father on to go in deeper, splashing and teasing him relentlessly until Danny now stood chest-deep, low waves lapping occasionally over his shoulders.

Danny was now learning that he'd been wrong. Though he was still a little tense about what they were doing, the saltwater was buoyant enough and the waves gentle enough. Once again Danny had lost his resolve. Steve had wisely left Danny to find his comfort zone where he could figure out on his own that the water would simply do the rest. The tight muscles in Danny's back suddenly didn't have to do as much work. The sun and the fresh air were doing wonders for his fickle mood. And of all things, his cold symptoms had also miraculously disappeared. At peace, Danny closed his eyes, his fingertips trailing wide circles to form ripples. For once, he didn't really hurt or feel sick at all.

"The water helps?" Steve asked softly. "It does right? It's good?"

Danny squinted his eyes back open before giving in to Steve's hopeful tone with an agreeable nod.

"That's it? You gonna answer me or what?" Steve snorted comically because even though Danny was smiling, that nod evidently wasn't good enough. Steve wanted more and quite frankly, he deserved more, too.

"Yeah, it's pretty darn good," Danny offered. "It's perfect." He'd lost that original moan and bitch battle a long time ago and now, Danny cocked his head Steve's way. He'd needed something to lift his spirits and leave it to Steve to figure the right thing out. But, as Danny reminded himself, Steve had been doing that since ... well ... for a very long time; in fact, he did the right thing pretty damned often of late. Danny caught Charlie's eye where he sat perched on his uncle's shoulders and beamed up at his son, too.

"Are you having a good time, buddy?" Danny asked. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes," Charlie said emphatically. The sun was cascading down on him, glinting off his blond hair, and Danny was glad that Steve had insisted on Charlie wearing a rash-guard to protect his skin from the sun. That had been a battle royal, but Steve in the end, had won that argument too.

"It's fun, daddy ... it's good. Right?"

"Yup it's fun and you were right, too ... I feel a lot better and it's really helping more than I thought." Danny said, adding a coy grin for Steve's sake. "Happy now?"

"Yes!" Charlie shouted first and Danny had to laugh at the look of sheer delight on his son's face. He'd been aching to swim all day, the only squabble being over his need to wear a shirt with his board-shorts. But then, Charlie had really wanted his father in the water, too. For whatever reason, he'd wanted both his uncle and his father this time ... it had to be all three of them together having fun. Danny was glad that his son had been as equally as persistent as his uncle.

"Very happy," Steve said in a low meaningful voice. "I'm just ... you know." It was almost an odd thing to say as their eyes met and held. But then, the warmth of Steve's smile was all for him and Danny's grin deepened.

"Me too," Danny whispered as his lips twitched upwards. "You know." He briefly diverted his attention out towards the horizon, self-conscious, inhaling as deeply as he dared while the water swirled over his shoulders with a comfortable side-ways tug. Another contrary tide circled lower by his ribs, its warmth just as soothing and yet Danny found himself looking back into Steve's face, unable to look away from the dark hazel which seemed to alternately sparkle and absorb the shifting crystal pattern the sun's rays reflected off the water.

"Hey, did you hear that, Charlie?" Steve suddenly asked more loudly as he patted Charlie's knee. He switched course seamlessly even if his eyes continued to hold a gleam that Danny couldn't quite put words to. "See Charlie, what did I tell you? Uncle Steve was right," Steve said, still watching Danny very closely.

"Danno's swimming," Charlie said, his giggle infectious. "He's all wet." For no reason at all, except to be funny, he kicked his feet wildly as he sat tall on his uncle's shoulders. Water splashed Danny directly in the face and Charlie giggled louder when Danny made a show of wiping the droplets from his eyes and cheeks.

"Well, he's not exactly swimming," Steve noted wryly. "But it's good enough for me. Anyway, I told you it would help, right, Danno?" Steve had to say it again, genuinely pleased as they stood deep in the waters off his beach. "Wasn't this a great idea? Huh? Wasn't it?"

"A great idea? That I don't know," Danny said with a laugh as he looked around them and then back towards the beach. They were out fairly far and Danny felt a tiny flare of insecurity as a slightly bigger wave took him a few inches off the sandy bottom. He paused until he rediscovered his footing and then continued.

"Tide's coming in," Steve stated. "We should go in ..."

"But I want to do it again," Charlie piped up bringing Danny's thoughts back to center. "Now! Again!" Without waiting for permission from either adult, he started to grab for Steve's hands, shifting gears as he tried to stand on Steve's shoulders.

"Again?" Steve asked, already laughing as he helped Charlie up, small feet miraculously balanced on his shoulders and he seemed to defy gravity. "Okay, bud, just one or two more times ... then we go in."

"Again?" Danny said at the same because Charlie'd already done this a thousand times. He looked from his son to Steve and made a face. "Can't we find another game, huh? How about building a nice sandcastle before the tide comes in?"

"No! Not yet! Throw me," Charlie demanded. "Throw me high ... and far ...Uncle Steve!"

"Throw him," Danny muttered under his breath, using one hand to shade his eyes from the glare since Charlie seemed already pretty darn high up to him as his son literally locked his knees, his face full of confidence. "What have you done to my son, Steven? He's not a little boy anymore, now he's a fish."

"Ah, come on Danno," Steve chuckled as he helped Charlie keep his balance high on his shoulders by letting go of the boy's hands to secure those small knees instead. He smirked slyly knowing that Danny wasn't entirely happy about the goings on and yet he had yet to officially pull the plug on their antics.

"Hurry it up," Danny said. "The tide ..."

"We got a few minutes," Steve whispered. "Hey ..." His voice trailed off and Danny swallowed hard when Steve unexpectedly mouthed 'I love you Danno', his smirk knowing no bounds. Danny felt his face flush hot at the unexpected shared sentiments. Then Steve's attention was back on the task at hand and he was on the move, water swirling around him in small eddies.

"I'm only going to throw the kid this far ... hold on tight, Charlie ... here it comes! Two times buddy and that's it ... no arguments."

With that Steve was already sinking under the water bending his own knees and Danny made a startled sound deep in his throat as Charlie's laughter screeched through the air. His eyes met Danny's, full of anticipation and then he was grappling for a hold on Steve's head as the water rose around his hips. A scant second later, Steve was surging upwards and literally sending the five year old catapulting though the air, arms and legs windmilling. Charlie splashed down a good many feet away and Danny held his breath even as his son briefly disappeared.

He didn't have to worry at all.

Danny never had to worry since Steve was already cutting the distance - under water. Like some kind of a stealthy, super-human submarine by the time Charlie was surfacing, he was there. And Charlie? Giggling hysterically, Charlie could see his Uncle Steve's shadow rushing at him through the water and he knew what was coming next.

"Danno help!" He yelled as he tried to swim back to his father in time, but it was already far too late and Danny was once again laughing, too, because this time, Charlie was all arms and legs as Steve swooped him back up.

"Gotcha!" Steve shouted as he captured Charlie to his chest. He tickled him then and hefted Charlie high only to make believe he didn't want him anymore with a loud disgusted snort. "Nah ... you're too little so I'm throwing you back!"

"No, no, no!" Charlie yelped around his laughter as Steve lifted him higher only to literally toss him back Danny's way. "Daddy!"

"Here, Danno! Catch!" Steve called out as he sent the boy sailing through the air. This time when Charlie surfaced, still giggling like mad, Danny was there to wrap him up into a tight hug. He'd genuinely never seen his son so happy and a smattering of kisses soon followed that hug, leading to even more breathless laughter.

"Race you in before the big waves come!" Danny kidded Charlie as he let him go to swim towards shore. It was a calculated move as Danny waited for Steve to catch up to him. And he was still in his son's wake when Steve's arm snaked around his back, his strength secure and comforting. Leaning into Steve's body, Danny paused just long enough to look up into his partner's face, briefly mesmerized by the saltwater which was glinting off the mussed brunet strands of hair. Then, he glanced once in the direction of his son, ensuring the boy was already in the shallows by the beach before turning completely into Steve's chest.

"What? You okay?" Steve asked breathlessly, definitely senselessly in Danny's opinion as he pulled Steve into his arms. He'd never been better.

"Fine," Danny whispered as he looked into Steve's eyes, warmth pooling in the pit of his stomach. Steve was right, they just worked in all the best ways. Danny snorted softly through his nose as the Pacific circled their hips, the waves growing slightly stronger as the tide began to come in in earnest.

"Danny?" Steve asked, quietly. His eyes were soft, warm, and he was watching Danny intently. "What's up?"

"Nothing, except ... I love you too," Danny whispered. He rested his forehead against Steve's chest, smiling when Steve pulled him in snug.

No, he certainly never thought he would find himself here ... happy ... and perfectly content. That they would find themselves at this peculiar and yet perfectly sensible place.

~ End. ~