A/N – ok, this is completely unrelated to my series. I got the idea while watching Powa Maka Moana. I thought that Steve would have a hard time with that case, and Danny seems to the one that is always going to his dark twisty place, only to be saved by Steve and I thought it would be nice to see it the other way round. BTw the title, Nau wale no, means just for you
Steve tells Danny that he can tell when he's gone to that deep, dark twisted place. Steve says he doesn't have that same place, but looking at him now trying to talk to these parents, Danny can see that Steve has a deep, dark twisty place, just as bad as Danny's, if not worse. Danny sees the jaw clench when Mr. Brown declares that Steve know nothing about what they are going through. He noticed the other members of the team looking down as they think of what their leader had gone through not once but twice. Danny hears the pain in Steve's voice as he explains that he know exactly what they are going through.
Danny hates the haunted look that has taken up residence in Steve's eyes and he knows the only way to make it leave is to solve this case. They climb into the car to go back to headquarter. Danny turns to his partner, "You ok, babe?" Steve's jaw started clenching; Danny could see the muscles working in his face. "Not really, no. I want to get those kids back as soon as we can." Danny lay a hand on the tense forearm, "We're gonna get 'em." Steve just nodded.
They called. Danny thought his partner would lose it when the bastard made it clear he had killed one of the kids. They got a lock and Steve was practically out the door before Danny could grab the vests. They drove in silence out to Sand Island, not wanting to ruin the hope that maybe the kid was still alive.
Finding Justin dead was not helping the team's morale. Then they called back. As he fetched the paper from his office, Danny noticed the kidnapper say 'Susan'. He could tell by the look on Steve and Chin Ho's faces they caught it too. Kono was too wrapped up in the trace to notice anything. For once Steve had a plan, a damn good one.
Steve was in his office brooding, when Danny got done contacting the parents. He walked in without knocking, and sat on his partner's desk. Steve looked up at his with questioning eyes. "I know you're not ok. And I know that talking about it now won't help you or them. Later, after the bust, you and me are gonna have a talk about your dark, twisty place just like we talked about mine. Ok?" Steve sighed, "You're not letting this go are you?" Danny shook his head. "Ok we'll talk." Kono knocked on the door, "Parents are here, guys."
The bust went exactly as planned, which made everyone happy. They got all the kids out safely and the kidnappers were all either in custody or dead. Danny noted the return of some of the light in his partner's eyes at that. They get the kids back to their parents. Steve looked wistful at the reunions, clearly thinking about his dad and sister. Danny knew how difficult this was for him. As they walked back out to the car, Danny offered, "Beer, Pizza, your place?" Steve nodded, "Yeah but you better get your own, I want ham and pineapple." Danny made a face but agreed to get to pizzas.
He dropped Steve off at home and let him have some alone time while he went to pick up the pizzas and a couple of 6-packs. When he got back he noticed that even though it was dark there weren't any lights on. He sighed, knowing that his partner was stuck in his own head and walked up the drive. He went to the kitchen first, switching on the lights in the hall. He walked into the office and found Steve sitting in a chair staring at a dark spot on the floor. He saw Steve's eyes shift over to him as a way of acknowledging his presence. Danny stood behind Steve and gently put his hands on the other man's shoulders. As he began to gentle massage them he said, "It wasn't your fault. They targeted your dad. No matter what happened they weren't gonna spare him. But you saved Mary. You gotta hang on to that. When you feel like everything is just too heavy remember that your little sister is alive and safe because of you." He felt the tension slowly start to drain from Steve. "I know, but it doesn't change the fact that he's gone."
Danny didn't know what to say to that so he simply adjusted his grip into a hug from behind. Steve closed his eyes and relaxed into his partner's embrace, bringing a hand up to hold onto Danny's arms anchoring himself to the present. The two stayed in that position until Steve felt like he wasn't going to fall apart anymore. "Thank you," he whispered. "Anytime. Now come on there's pizza and beer in the kitchen." They ambled into the kitchen, switching back to their normal bickering. After the food had been devoured and the beer drunk, they made their way out to the beach. They stood looking out into the ocean. Danny could tell Steve was working up the courage to speak.
"When they called and said that kid, Justin, was dead, I wasn't here anymore. I was back on that convoy listening to Hesse taunted me, trying to get me to let his brother go. I thought I was gonna lose it because suddenly it wasn't a kid it was my family on the line again. I looked around and locked on you, and remembered that I'm here, we got Hesse, Mary is safe and nothing I did was gonna change what happened to my dad. I'm glad you're your partner Danny, I think I would've lost it if I didn't have you." Steve looked over at Danny, who held his gaze. "You help me, I help you. That's what partners do."
Danny felt a tug on his sleeve. He was pulled into a hug, and he did his best to comfort the man. He heard a muffled, "you staying here?" Danny could feel his heart breaking for his partner's pain. "Yeah, babe. Come on I'm not sleeping on the beach." They went back in the house and Steve lead Danny up to his room. He shuffled about looking for some pajamas that might fit the shorter man. Finally, finding a pair of shorts, he handed them over while he popped into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he came back out, Danny was sitting on the bed, in naught but the shorts, propped up against the pillows flipping through a magazine he'd found.
Steve crawled into bed and lay down next to his partner. Danny shifted his body so that Steve was resting against his chest. He felt Steve's breathing slowly even out as he fell asleep. Danny was lulled into sleep by the rhythmic breathing. When Steve, woke he realized that he was sleeping on Danny's chest, his arm slung across the other's body, their legs entwined. It felt right to be wound up with this man. He lay there for a while just relaxing in the comfort the other man gave. He felt Danny stir, but didn't move. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Danny yawned before replying, "Hey, Little Mermaid." Steve snorted at that.
"Better?" Danny asked. Steve thought for a moment before shifting closer to his partner. He moved about halfway toward his partner's face, looking into the blond man's eyes, "Maybe." Danny understood the gesture for what it was. "You know that if we do this there is no turning back?" Steve smiled and said, "I'm already past the point of no return. Why else do you think you're the only thing that kept me together yesterday?" Danny nodded and leaned down to kiss his partner. Danny whispered, "You save me, too. You know that, right?" Steve nodded and kissed him again.
I did it. My first long story. Reviews are appreciated.