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

Notes: Tag to 'I Ka Wa Mamua.' PS - first attempt at writing while home from surgery. Please forgive any accidental typos. My thanks to CinderH for her kind beta while writing "under the influence".

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Danny knew that Steve was as shattered as he was. Perhaps differently; from a different point of view. But equally shattered by what could have been. Danny had been not only scared for himself - but for Grace - and for Steve - for the Army bomb expert. Steve had been wholly petrified for Danny - and yes, likely for nameless others buried deeply in the back of his brain, but primarily for Danny. Period. And definitely not for himself at any time.

After the bomb had been successfully defused, Danny had just left following a much too quick but genuine embrace with a joint solid thump on the back. It spoke volumes to the joint words left unsaid. The plain vanilla of, "Yeah, I'm good. You good, too? Great. Let's move on."

But then he had walked away. Bravely without a waver in his step; back held straight, shoulders squared, and without a glance behind him. Danny had walked away for Grace. Gone to the father-daughter dance. Leaving Steve to come to terms with what had happened - what could have happened. Alone. And in reality, neither one of them truly believed the plain vanilla version.

Danny dropped Grace back at the Edward's residence after the dance. It was a complete success and she had been breathtakingly beautiful in the new dress that they had picked out together. And as promised, they had danced the night away with Grace becoming more radiant and adorable as the evening wore on.

But now he stood on Steve's doorstep one hand hovering between the doorknob and the urge to knock when the door simply swung open. Face drawn and eyes darkly watered, Steve had the same face that he'd had earlier that day. But possibly ten times more devastated. Pale, shaken, swaying unsteadily with yet another partially full beer bottle in hand; there were at least four more empties scattered on the coffee table in the background. He had been waiting for Danny - hoping, even praying that he'd see him that night. Unsure if he would because of the school event and the precious time with Grace. Time that had always been seen as potentially temporary - borrowed - and now Steve realized, Danny considered to be almost stolen. As Steve swung the door open, some of the stress was easing and being replaced with an undisguised relief muddled with a new respect and appreciation. A recognition that their friendship and bond had been newly solidified to bind them stronger than ever before.

Danny was also holding one six-pack and he feebly lifted it as he spied the distant haphazard mess of bottles. "Maybe these were a bad idea."

But the joke fell flat as he finally allowed his own walls to further crumble. Stumbling through the doorway and into Steve's house, Danny finally let the events of the afternoon resurface.

He had a respite. A happy distraction with Grace that had soothed his heart and calmed his mind. It had been the sole reason Danny could remain strong, focused and push down the terror. But the dance and his time with Grace had delayed the inevitable and the pain certainly still lingered. And then over so many of the last few hours, Steve only had time. More time to think and to dwell. On what could have happened; might have happened; and certainly almost had happened when the fail-safe had nearly proven insurmountable.

So Steve was still standing in the doorway as Danny awkwardly brushed past him and pushed empty bottles to the side in order to make room for the new six-pack. He seemed unable to move or speak as Danny straightened and turned around. And for once, Danny was at a complete loss for words as he wearily let himself sink into the sofa. Remnants of adrenalin caused his hands to shake as he studied the floor. After a moment, Steve let the door gently close and then quietly sat down next to him.

Pressed shoulder to shoulder and knee to knee, they sat in silence for quite some time. Each coming to terms with what nearly had happened and taking comfort from each other's mere presence. Nothing needed to be said as Steve eventually opened a beer for each of them though each bottle remained untouched on the coffee table.

Steve inhaled deeply as he put a hand on Danny's knee. With a rough voice filled with emotion, he softly asked, "So, how was the dance?"

~ Fin ~