Hello again, and welcome to my long promised sequel to Calculated Risk. Please read that story first, otherwise the events in this one won't make much sense!

There aren't any spoilers as such for this first chapter. But for H50 there's a quick reference to The Siege, and for Numb3rs, another quick reference to - yes, you've guessed it, Trust Metric. You're seeing a pattern here, right? ;o)

Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to write this sequel. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Allies And Enemies - Chapter One

The Ties That Bind

So, they had their suspect now. Wo Fat. A criminal mastermind who had associates everywhere, including one in their own police department, to help him evade justice.

With no-one else to trust but themselves now, in their mission to not just catch him but make the charges stick, they also had a new base of operations. And life in Camp McGarrett, as Danny had inevitably named it, had now fallen into a familiar daily routine.

First, of course, came the 'first job of the morning' and the customary queue for the bathroom. Steve had to thank his father's spirit that he'd the sense to put in those two ensuites. Life with two women in the house, especially when Mary had hit her teens, had made that household advantage an essential must.

Then it was breakfast on the lanai, with enough food to feed several small armies, or one team McGarrett. A feast of coffee, cereals, blueberry pancakes and, despite Danny's inevitable protests, loads of fruit.

He'd won hands down on the pancakes, mostly because he was surprisingly good at making them. But for all their hearty compliments, he'd still been completely outvoted on the healthier options.

'Who the hell eats pineapple for breakfast?"'

A quick hand-count later, the unanimous reply had sailed back at him, on a united wave of laughter.

'We do!'

Then again, it was a mutual victory. It left more pineapple for them, and more pancakes for him.

Then it was on to the day's more serious business. Finding the mole who was working against them. And Steve hadn't needed any of Charlie's analysis to spot the patterns of who'd connected with who. He could see it now, in the clusters of activity that filled the house with new life and purpose – studying one new partnership in particular with a fondly proud smile as he watched them work.

Maybe it was because of what they'd been through together, but Colby and Danny had really bonded, their backgrounds in police work and criminal intelligence combining into effortless teamwork. So had Charlie, with Chin and Kono – all three in their element too, with analysing their various leads.

Perhaps inevitably, that had left Steve to team his skills up with another natural born leader. Don's quiet voice beside him caused his smile to widen, with the same wry amusement.

"I hope you realize, I'm gonna have a real fight on my hands to get these two back to LA."

"Yeah, I know," Steve agreed, turning more serious as he realized how long they'd been there. This supposedly short trip had lasted for almost a week now, and showed no signs of ending – reminders of another, more personal kind of commitment prompting him to add a somewhat guilty afterthought.

"Why? Does Robin need you back for a trial, or something?"

It was selfish, he knew, but he was almost relieved when the agent grinned and shook his head.

"No, she's fine. In fact, she's enjoying a break too," he said at last, nodding towards his brother. "Charlie was saying Amita's gone on it with her. Some kind of girlie spa weekend."

Glancing through the den's windows, to the glinting ocean beyond, he then shrugged. He didn't doubt that they were having a lovely time, being thoroughly pampered. Then again, as he dryly added, his current location wasn't too bad either.

"Still, starting each day with a swim in that comes pretty close for us, right?"

"Yeah, it makes a pretty good pool," Steve chuckled, glancing across at his partner. "When Danny and I first started working together, I'd nag him like hell to come swim with me."

Sensing the seriousness beyond the affectionate teasing, Don just nodded and tactfully waited. He'd already guessed where this conversation was heading, and knew that Steve had to finish it to fight back still lurking demons.

"I never thought he'd have to swim for his life through it to get away from a damn bomb."

"Yeah, they were lucky, that's for sure," Don agreed with the same 'what if?' softness – thinking for a moment, before giving his younger counterpart a heartening pat on his shoulder.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again. You've got yourself one hell of a partner. If not for his guts and ingenuity, they'd both be dead."

"Yeah, he's one of a kind, alright," Steve chuckled through a grateful and happily restored grin. "And at least he's getting on with Colby better than he did with one of my other partners."

"Yeah, it's like they've known each other for years," Don nodded, still watching his senior agent – a proud nod beside him telling him that Steve, too, had noticed how close they'd become.

Not just from almost dying together either, but from the quiet talks they'd shared afterwards. As Don now quietly revealed, those talks had granted Danny with a rare and significant privilege.

"He's the first person outside my team that he's talked to about Lancer, and what happened to him on that freighter. Even now, I don't think Colby's told me half of what that bastard did to him. Hell, not even our own shrink could make him open up as much as he's done with Danny."

Still stunned by this recent revelation about his old friend, Steve just nodded. Colby had gone through a horrific ordeal on that freighter. Trust Danny, he thought through a returning smile, to help him heal from it.

"Yeah, that's my Danno. Cop and counsellor, in one cuddly package," he said at last, still smiling – whatever he planned to say next stalled by the uncannily synchronised raising of two lowered heads.

Two identically quizzical frowns followed, and… damn it, now they were even snarking him together!

"What?"

Wisely taking the fifth on that point, Steve and Don just grinned instead as they came to join them, trading proud glances over Danny's head while they studied what he and Colby had found. As Steve reflected, through his own private affection, some friends were just born to be brothers.