Hello.

This is my first ever time writing. I am very new to writing and using this site. I never thought about writing until one day I decided to try. This story has taken a long time to write. I finally got the courage to share it. I hope you enjoy.

CHAPTER 1

Saturday morning, Williams' residence:

The shrill sound of a phone ringing shattered the midnight silence. With a groan, Detective Daniel Williams rolled over and glared at the clock on the adjacent nightstand. 12:14am. Grumbling angrily to himself, he reached over to his nightstand to pick up the phone. In his drowsy state, it took him a few attempts to actually grip the slim device. Bringing the phone to his ear, he answered on the second last ring.

"Steven, you had better have a good excuse for waking me up at the crack of dawn on a weekend. I told you yesterday that I didn't want to see your face or hear your voice until Monday. And here you are call…"

"Danny?"

A voice interrupted his rant on the other end, making Danny sit up instantly. All traces of sleep now gone. This was definitely not his annoying partner, Steve McGarrett. After the last few months, all Danny wanted was some time off to recover.

"Matty? Is that you?" Danny asked as he quickly turned on the lamp next to the bed.

"Yeah, man. I…"

"Where the hell have you been?" Danny interrupted, raising his voice. "I told you we could have worked this out together and you decided to leave? After everything? You gave me a choice to shoot you or let you walk out of my life? I mean, what the hell were you thinking, man?"

"Danny, I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you that. I'm sorry for everything. I love you, man," Matthew Williams said as he hung up.

"Wait, Matt? Matty?" Danny yelled into the phone despite hearing the tell-tale sound of a call being dropped.

Danny looked down at the phone in his hands in defeat. He hadn't heard from his brother in over five months. Not since he ran from the FBI after embezzling fifty-eight million dollars from his clients. Danny had hoped that his idiotic brother would eventually turn himself in, before one of his clients found him and delivered a punishment worse than going to jail.

The worst part of it all was having to tell his family what happened. Imagine trying to explain to a mother that their perfect child with a successful job was actually a criminal. Danny shuddered as he thought about his brother's situation. As much as he wants to be the over-protective big brother, he can't help his brother unless Matt lets him, or until he gets caught.

He thought about the night his brother ran away from his problems, from his family. The only reason he even got those few minutes to talk to him was because of his partner, Steve McGarrett. The man had lead the FBI to the opposite site of the island to allow Danny time to convince his brother to do the right thing. Unfortunately, the distraction was unnecessary.

His brother's actions, however, had caused the FBI to become very interested in Danny's personal life. He now has to report to the FBI once a month and explain that, yet again, he had no contact with his criminal brother. He decides not to inform the FBI of the phone call. It's not like it was long enough to get a useful trace anyway.

Danny laid back down on his bed, hoping to get some more sleep. It takes a while, his brain constantly going over the phone call he just received. Eventually, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep filled with dreams of his brother being murdered over and over again. Not a great start to his first weekend off in over four months.

Monday morning, Five-0 Headquarters:

The entire Five-0 team was in the office by eight o'clock that morning. After having a whole weekend not interrupted by high-profile cases, they found themselves feeling refreshed. Unfortunately for them, the criminals on the island appeared to have taken a long weekend and the team found they had nothing to do except paperwork. It wasn't exactly a stimulating activity.

Chin was sitting at his desk, dutifully filling out reports on the cases they had closed over the last few months. Kono was sitting with her head resting on her folded arms, staring at the computer screen as though willing the reports to type themselves. Steve, after an hour of filling in reports, had gone outside for a break. The man could never sit still for long without needing to move.

Similar to Chin and Kono, Danny was also ensconced in his office and attempting do his share of the paperwork from the previous case, which had involved commandeering an ice cream truck, borrowing a skateboard and numerous small explosions. Sometimes having a Navy SEAL as a partner was frustrating and often tripled the amount of paperwork required at the conclusion of every case. On the other hand, it was handy and often got the job done.

Danny stared at the incident report form for the damage the ice cream truck caused. So far, he had only managed to fill out the basic details: date, time and location of the incident. The rest of it just blurred together and Danny found he couldn't concentrate on the task at hand. With a sigh, he leant back in his chair, contemplating the ceiling as though it held all the answers.

Danny's mind churned through the phone call he had with his brother almost two days ago. He had tried calling him back repeatedly, but it always went straight through to voicemail. The lack of response from his fugitive brother had caused an uneasy feeling deep in his gut.

With another sigh, he got up from his chair, exited his office and made a beeline for the break room. He was just making himself a cup of coffee when Steve walked in, apparently also looking for something to break up the mundanity of paperwork. Glancing at his partner, he could see that his shirt was damp with sweat and he had changed into a pair of shorts and sneakers.

Danny was always amazed at the never-ending supply of energy his partner had. It was the reason he could never sit still long enough to complete paperwork. The man was incapable of it. Danny often likened the Navy SEAL to a child on a sugar rush. Danny often wondered what would happen if his partner was deprived of his morning marathon and swim. Danny decided he probably wouldn't like the result.

Steve McGarrett could scare even the toughest of bad guys into giving up information with a single glare. He often made young children cry. His gung-ho attitude always got the job done. However, on the inside, the man was teddy bear. It wasn't often that Steve showed that side of himself. The only times Danny had seen it were when his sister, Mary, was kidnapped by the Yakuza and when he was interacting with Danny's daughter, Grace.

When Steve and Grace had first met, Danny was honestly surprised at how well they interacted. It was clear that while Steve didn't have much experience with children, he could behave around them. It was a surprising parallel between the Navy man and the soft, almost father-like side of the walking enigma that was his partner.

Ever since Steve had hijacked him into investigating his father's murder, Danny had grown to appreciate the man. Admittedly, at first, Danny had hated McGarrett. However, after Steve had arranged for Grace to stay on the island when Rachel wanted to take her to Las Vegas, Danny saw the man in a new light. Steve was fiercely protective of Danny's daughter and wanted to make sure that Danny's every reason to live was somewhere that Danny could see her.

Danny was almost absolutely sure that Steve wanted everyone to think he was an emotionless solider that would never break, but Danny knew better. With everything that Steve had been through in his life (his mother's death (now murder), being sent away at sixteen, his father's murder, everything he saw during his time in the SEALs), Danny understood why he hid behind the facade that everything was okay. However, Danny knew there was also the constant inner turmoil. Danny often saw glimpses in his partner's eyes when a case hit too close to home, or something triggered a memory.

Since coming home to Hawaii a little under a year ago, Steve McGarrett had changed from the hard and seasoned sailor to the man the team knew as their leader, but more importantly their friend, Ohana. Danny was astounded to be a part of this amazing group of people and to be included in the family unit that Steve McGarrett had created.

"How was your weekend?" Steve asked Danny as he poured his own cup of coffee.

Danny was startled from his thoughts by his partner's question. "It was excellent. I didn't have to look at your face once. I didn't have to plan for getting shot at and I slept in. How was yours?" he replied enthusiastically.

Steve took a sip from his cup before answering. "Mine was fine. I got some home maintenance done. I managed to patch the last of the holes from the General Pak thing. And, I know you missed me."

Danny smirked. "Whatever, you Neanderthal."

"So…uh…when do you next have Grace?" Steve asked hesitantly.

"Next weekend. And I know you know that. Why are you asking?" Danny asked suspiciously.

"Just curious. You seem a little…under the weather today, is all. Everything okay?" Steve asked, his voice laced with concern.

Another thing that surprised Danny about his partner was his ability to notice small details, tiny things that often seemed inconsequential. It had saved their lives many times in the field and during investigations during their short partnership. Steve always made it his business to know when Danny had Grace. Steve had memorised his schedule with Grace and would hang out with Danny on the weekends he doesn't have her according to the custody agreement. Steve never said anything about it, but Danny knew why Steve always came around with beer or offered for them to hang out at his place.

"Uh, yeah. Just a late night phone call," Danny replied, not wanting to get into specifics.

Steve raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah? Like wrong number kind of phone call, or the stalker kind?"

"Neither. It was, um… It was Matt."

Steve's eyes widened in surprise. "Matt, as in your brother Matt?"

"Yeah, unless you know any other Matts? He called around midnight on Saturday. He said he was sorry and that he loved me. Then he hung up," Danny said, taking a sip from his coffee.

"How did he sound?" Steve asked, prying for more information.

"He sounded a little scared, to be honest. I've tried calling him back, but it keeps going to voicemail. I'm worried that he's in trouble and that was his way of saying goodbye," Danny explained.

"Any chance we could trace the call?"

"No, the call was too short."

"Give me the number. I have someone who might be able to help."

"That wouldn't be the lovely Lieutenant Rollins by any chance?" Danny said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Maybe. That's none of your business," Steve said, blushing a little bit.

"Look, man. I appreciate the thought, but I don't want to drag you into my family's problems. Besides, you already stuck your neck out for me when the FBI were chasing him with the indictment. You are already on their radar. Don't make yourself more of a target."

"Your family is part of this Ohana. Besides, if I find anything, I will tell you first and then we can decide if the FBI needs to know."

There was a moment of silence while Danny contemplated it.

"Danny, I just want to help. Let me see what I can do. If he is in trouble, then maybe we can help him," Steve pleaded sincerely.

"Alright," Danny said, throwing up his hands. "I'll give you the number. Just promise me you will be careful?"

"Of course," Steve paused. "He'll be okay, Danny. I'll make sure you get to see him again," he promised.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks again, man."

"Don't mention it," Steve said as he patted his friend on the shoulder and left the break room.

Danny sighed. He hoped Steve would be able to find something and they would be able to help his brother. Knowing Steve was now involved caused the uneasy feeling in his gut to increase ten-fold. His partner was a trouble magnet after all.

Danny was still in the break room with the cup of coffee in his hand when Steve walked back in.

"Hey, we caught a case," Steve said, poking his head inside the room. "Meet you at the smart table?"

"Yeah, be there in a minute," Danny replied.

Steve smiled and walked back to the main area. Danny took another sip of coffee before tossing it down the drain and walking out to the smart table. So much for their break.

Danny walked into the room and clapped his hands. "Alright, what do we have?" he asked.

Chin turned to him. "A double homicide and a potential kidnapping."

Great, Danny thought.

Unknown location:

"He has made contact with his brother."

"Excellent. Keep monitoring the situation until I get there."