Disclaimer:
Unfortunately I don't own anything of Hawaii Five-0, it all belongs to CBS. But I wouldn't mind at all sharing my couch with the Five-0 team – feel free to come around whenever you like!

Notes:
1) Danny obviously didn't mind flying in a helicopter in 1x13, he didn't seemed to be overly scared when the guys went to rescue Mary Ann. I admit that he did look a bit concerned in 2x10, but that was probably not about taking a ride in a helicopter but more about taking a ride in Tangerine ;-) Well, to cut a long story short, I think it would be possible for Danny to feel and act like he does in my story.

2) I do know some things about the EC 145 helicopter, especially about the cockpit instruments. However I don't know too much about flying, any errors concerning operating a helicopter are my own. For the sake of the story let's just pretend that everything is working as I described it. I just hope there are no pilots out there reading this…

3) English is not my native language, so please forgive me my mistakes.

Thanks:
montez, thank you so much for betaing, for all the time and effort you put into my story – thank you so much for your continuing support, you are the best! :-)

Gravity never loses. The best you can hope for is a draw. (Anonymous)

Chapter 1:

Steve's stomach leaped as the red and yellow Eurocopter EC 145 banked sharply to the left. He grinned broadly as he pulled the cyclic stick further to the left, causing the helicopter to fly a soft curve over the ocean toward Molokai. He pushed on and let the aircraft once more sharply tilt over. God, he forgot how much he enjoyed that feeling; although the water had always been his favorite element, he definitely loved flying nearly as much.

With a big grin still on his face, McGarrett turned his head to the left, throwing a look at his partner. He expected to find Danny shrunken in his seat, tight lipped and white-knuckled fingers around the door handle, ready to give Steve a bloodcurdling lecture on his flying style. But what he never expected was the expression of pure joy on Danny's face, an expression that completely matched the one on Steve's face.

Steve frowned confusedly, pulling the cyclic sharply to the right to watch Danny's reaction at the sudden change in direction.

Williams threw him a brief wry look before he laughed out loudly, causing a strange crackle over the headphones.

"You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?" Steve asked half astonished, half amused.

"Wow, seems you're quite the detective today. Yes, Steven, actually I'm enjoying this very much," Danny replied grinning, slightly shaking his head as he closely watched his partner. "What? Did you think you could freak me out with your fancy little flight maneuvers?" Trying to decipher the expression on Steve's face, he added, "Seriously Steven? Is that a pout on your face? You really tried to scare me? Very mature, McGarrett."

Steve sheepishly shrugged his shoulders, asking curiously, "You don't mind my flying skills but you shriek like a little girl when I drive the car?"

Danny rolled his eyes, "It's not the car, it's actually my car, in case you've forgotten about that little fact. And for the record, I don't shriek."

"Well, whatever you say, Danno," Steve smirked. "But why aren't you… wait, what is the correct term… ah yes, why aren't you 'rationally concerned' when I'm flying?"

"You see, we're all alone up here," Danny explained, waving his hands erratically through the air. "No other traffic, no drunken drivers, no piece of dirt that you call a road, no cliffs where we can fall off. Yes, I definitely feel a lot safer in the air than on the road with you."

"And you don't mind at all if I'm doing things like this?" Steve asked with a devilish grin as he dropped the helicopter in a sudden nosedive.

"Not at all, Steven, not at all, "Danny laughed like a child in a rollercoaster. "On the contrary, I think it's great fun."

"Sometimes you still surprise me, Danny," Steve said, not without a hint of respect in his voice. "How come you like flying?"

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, McGarrett," Danny smirked. "But if you need to know… there was a fellow cop back in Jersey, Bruce, who was a pilot. His family ran a little charter company, and often on the weekends he invited me to join him on some flights. I never had the time or money to achieve my own pilot's license, but Bruce would sometimes let me handle the controls when we were in the air. I've flown some different types of aircraft, mainly small planes like a Cessna Skycatcher or Stationair but also some small helicopters from time to time."

Steve looked almost shocked, "I didn't know that, Danny."

"As I said, there are a lot of things you don't know," Danny winked at him conspiratorially.

Steve studied him a minute before he finally asked, "So, you've flown a helicopter before?"

"Smaller ones than this, but yes," Danny nodded enthusiastically.

Pointing at the secondary flight controls at Danny's side of the cockpit, Steve said, "Okay, then go ahead."

Williams stared at him and Steve could clearly see the longing in his eyes. "You're letting me fly? You're sure about this?" Danny licked his lips, trying to swallow the sudden feelings of nervousness and anticipation that bubbled up in him.

"Yeah, why not, go ahead," Steve repeated, watching as Danny's hand slowly closed around the cyclic stick. "You ready?"

Danny swallowed, taking a deep breath as he briefly nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration.

McGarrett slowly released his grip around the controls, ready to interfere anytime if necessary.

"You're doing good, Danny, just relax a little," Steve encouraged a few minutes later, noticing contentedly how the strained expression on Danny's face finally changed into pure happiness.

Very carefully Danny pulled the cyclic stick a little to the right, turning the helicopter into a long-drawn bend. Williams grinned brightly, "I almost forgot how much fun this is."

"Turn a little bit more to the right, see Molokai over there?" Steve asked, pointing at the greenish spot of land a few miles away. "That's our goal. Fly parallel to the beach for another mile, then left inland. We should be able to see Mrs. Kalili's house soon. She said there's a big clearing where we can land." He leaned back in the seat, winking at Danny as he said, "Wake me up when it's time to deboard."

Danny laughed, "Oh no, Steve, I just said I can fly this thing, I never said I'm able to land. That's your job, babe."

"Roger that," Steve nodded in agreement. "As soon as we see the clearing I'll take over."

About fifteen minutes later Danny announced their arrival, reluctantly handing the controls back over to Steve. Preparing the landing, McGarrett turned his head briefly toward Danny as he nodded at him with admiration, "You did good, Danny, I'm really impressed."

"Thank you very much, Commander," Williams replied with sparkling eyes, giving his partner a sloppy salute, but Steve could see how happy Danny was about the praise.

Returning his attention to the task at hand, Steve looked down at the huge space with a small green painted house, which almost melted into the surrounding rainforest. He carefully descended the helicopter, gently touching down onto the dry grass. Shutting down the engine, he took off the headphones, quickly scanning their surroundings but Mrs. Kalili was nowhere to be seen. Steve frowned slightly, ignoring the moment of uneasiness that crept through his body, surely she couldn't have missed their arrival. Well, not that it really mattered if Mrs. Kalili showed up or not, she probably wouldn't be able to tell them anything useful.

McGarrett sighed silently as he recalled the meager facts about the strange case Five-0 was currently working on.

Three weeks ago, two employees of Imperial Cosmetics Inc. had been found dead only a few hours after they had testified that the company not only produced cosmetics but experimented with a new kind of synthetic drugs.

At that time it was still unclear to what extent the owner of Imperial Cosmetics, Paul Baines, knew about what was going on in his company. He seemed to be a nice, mild-mannered guy, always polite and eager to help Five-0 at any time.

The problem was that Baines had disappeared without a trace about ten days ago literally from one second to the other. He was supposed to have lunch with some business associates and, according to his secretary, he'd left the office on schedule but never arrived at the restaurant.

Though a ransom note had been sent to Imperial Cosmetics the same evening, demanding fifteen million dollar cash to set Baines free, analysis of the handwritten letter had soon proved that it was Paul Baines' own handwriting. These events had made Baines highly suspicious of being involved not only in the synthetic drugs business but also in the cold-blooded murder of two people.

Ever since then Five-0 as well as each available cop on the island searched for Baines but the trail had long gone cold and the man was nowhere to be found.

After endless days with literally no new information, they were all willing to follow every tiny lead they got and so Steve and Danny were on their way to Mrs. Kalili who had been Baines' foster mother for a short period of time almost fifty years ago. It was not really a lead at all, more a desperate attempt to do anything, but since Steve had long wanted to renew his pilot's license he figured that visiting the old lady, who lived alone somewhere in the middle of nowhere at the West coast of Molokai, would be a good opportunity to gather some of the required flying hours.

Five-0 phoned Mrs. Kalili to make an appointment, which she had blatantly refused at first, making clear that she didn't want to receive any visitors, stating that she hadn't seen Baines for at least twenty or twenty-five years. But then, about three hours later, she had called back, changing her mind and inviting Five-0 over to talk to her.

The aircraft in which Steve and Danny came to Molokai was bigger than the small tourist helicopters one could see all over the islands. The Eurocopter EC 145 had room for two pilots and up to nine passengers, the two pilots' seats were divided by a massive center console with more technical instruments than Danny had ever seen in a helicopter, each seat was equipped with equal flight controls, allowing the pilot as well as the copilot to operate the helicopter. Steve actually would have preferred a smaller aircraft but updating his license also required flying bigger helicopters and since one of Chin's many cousins owned the EC 145, a discharged Coast Guard helicopter, Steve took the opportunity and chartered it for the following day, asking Danny if he wanted to join him on the flight to Molokai.

To his surprise Williams immediately agreed happily, unable to suppress the big grin that spread across his face. The next surprise had been Danny waiting for McGarrett exactly on time at 9 o'clock Saturday morning at the small airfield outside of Honolulu. It was not so much the fact that Danny was on time – which he always was – but rather Danny's appearance that astonished Steve deeply.

Instead of his usual dress pants, shirt and leather loafers, Danny wore a blue and white striped polo shirt, a pair of jeans with a brown braided belt and matching brown sneakers. Williams sat lazily on the hood of his silver Camaro, eyes hidden behind sunglasses as he waited for Steve to arrive.

"Oh my God, did something happen?" McGarrett asked smirking, eyeballing Danny's appearance.

"Good morning to you too," Danny replied, fishing for his badge, weapon and Kevlar vest before he locked his car. "You can close your mouth, Steven, you know, that looks a little bit stupid."

"Uh, Danny, seriously, what happened? Why the sudden change in style?" Steve asked, unable to remove his gaze from Danny's outfit.

"Jeez, McGarrett," Danny exclaimed, slightly shaking his head. "It's Saturday and even if we're following a lead – a rather tiny, almost non-existent lead, if I dare say – it's technically our spare time so no need to look extra professional."

Remembering that conversation, Steve smiled slightly as he threw a brief look at his partner, still not fully adapted to Danny's unusual clothing. Then he let his gaze travel once more over the clearing and the little house, but the whole area seemed to be deserted. He was about to open the door and leave the helicopter when Danny's voice pulled him forcefully out of his thoughts, causing him to look back at his partner.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Williams asked frowning, his hands spread in an inquiring gesture.

"Dismounting the helicopter?" Steve offered hesitantly, not really knowing what Danny was up to.

"Steven, please, just for once. Proper police procedure, okay?" Danny said exasperated, looking expectantly at Steve only to be met with a blank look of incomprehension. Sighing, Danny rolled his eyes as he fished his Kevlar vest from behind the seat. He waved it meaningfully in front of Steve's face, "Vest, McGarrett, where's your vest?"

Steve snorted with laughter, "Seriously, Danny? Mrs. Kalili is 81 years old, what do you expect to happen?"

"You obviously never met my Auntie Margery or otherwise you wouldn't joke about 81 year old ladies," Danny replied bleakly.

"Margery?" Steve's gaze suddenly became dreamy. "I knew a Margery once, a nice red-haired, tall and curvy… she was one of the nurses at the Naval Medical Center at Coronado." He blushed slightly, not going unnoticed by Danny who started to grin brightly.

"Look at you," he chuckled. "That seems to be a pretty interesting story. I think Mrs. Kalili can wait a few more minutes. Go ahead, tell me everything about your sexy nurse."

Steve blushed even more as he said, "I don't think it's that interesting…"

"And I think I'll decide that for myself. Come on, no need to be shy," Danny insisted, rubbing his hands with glee.

"Would you buy it if I said it's classified?" Steve asked lamely.

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily this time," Danny smirked, obviously enjoying Steve's embarrassment. "Go on, I want all the dirty details."

McGarrett fidgeted uneasily in the seat. "You won't let go, will you?"

"Nope, no way," Danny grinned smugly, comfortably leaning back in the seat, folding his hands behind his head. "I've got all the time in the world."

Steve glared at Danny, trying to find a way out of this but he finally figured that Danny wouldn't cave in and better he told the story here than having Danny force him to do it later when the whole team would be around.

"Well, Steven? I'm waiting." Williams pushed on.

"Okay, okay… uh… there was that little incident a few days after finishing BUD/S classes…" Steve started, his ears turning redder and redder the more he said. "And… uh… well, I ended up in the hospital with some injuries…"

"What kind of injuries?" Danny asked curiously.

If possible Steve's ears turned even more red as he replied sheepishly, "Well, let's say, there were body parts involved where you don't want to get touched by male Navy doctors."

Danny grimaced disgustedly, defensively waving his hands through the air, "Oh please, forget that I asked, I really don't need to know about some strange owies on your private parts. I think for once I'll be perfectly happy with the classified label." Williams stared at his partner for a second before he cracked up, laughing so hard that he had to wipe away the tears in his eyes. "Seriously Steven? I think in that case I don't begrudge you your sweet redhead."

A minute later Danny's laughter finally abated and Steve asked grumpily, "Are you done now?"

Danny nodded, chuckling quietly as he noticed that Steve's ears were still flaming red. After another minute he had calmed down enough to take a deep breath. Clapping his hands, he said, "Okay, take your vest, let's go."

"Yeah, alright," Steve agreed swiftly, more than glad to escape the awkward atmosphere.

Both men jumped off the helicopter, slowly walking toward Mrs. Kalili's house, Danny already closing his vest while Steve swung his loosely in his hand. He had obviously overcome the embarrassing episode and regained his good mood; noticing Danny's glare he asked innocently, "Oh, you want me to put it on? You just said, 'take your vest', not 'put it on'."

Danny threw his hands in the air, "What is the matter with you today, you clown? Did you put too much sugar in your coffee this morning?"

Steve grinned at him, still convinced that approaching an 81-year-old lady in full gear was quite the overkill. "Danny, I really don't think it's necessary…" McGarrett started to voice his opinion, but before he was able to finish the sentence, the first of many shots shattered the silence.

(tbc)