This isn't a date

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

Please note that the characters of Steve McGarrett, John McGarrett, Max Bergman and Governor Patricia Jameson do not belong to me in any shape of form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

The character of Danielle 'Danni' Richardson, David Richardson, Elizabeth 'Libby' Richardson and Abigail 'Abbie' Fitzgerald however do belong to me so please do not use them without first asking and obtaining permission.

Any other character who might pop up who you don't instantly recognise the name of probably belongs to me as well

Thank you

Author Note

Welcome to 'This isn't a date', part Three of the Medical Examiner Saga

This story is set around about season one and is to be read after 'First Meeting' and 'He will have to wait'

I would like to apologise for the lack of updates at the moment, life has been really crazy at the moment and my muse hasn't been playing ball though it appears he has finally come out of hibernation. I will be aiming to finish all the stories I have pending and even have new stories which are ready to go as well so please bear with me.

Please note as well that the restaurant Steve and Danielle go to is a real place in Hawaii that I found via google but I've never been there myself.

Anyway, please enjoy part one.

Story Summary

It wasn't a date… really… it was just two colleagues going out for a meal together… that was all… (Part Three of the Medical examiner, McDanni (Featuring female OC Danni), One shot)

Romantic pairings

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danielle Richardson (McDanni)

Part Three of the Medical Examiner Saga

Danielle Richardson breathed out slowly trying to ignore the growing feeling of exhaustion which she could feel pulling at her, a feeling which she knew from experience would only worsen until she managed to get some rest, something which she also knew from experience wouldn't happen any time soon.

She looked around the morgue, thankful to see that every one of the Medical Examiners who had been working the same shift as her were now in the end stages of their autopsies. They had been working for hours straight, barely finding the time to take their mandatory breaks though Danielle had the feeling that the only reason why they had even taken their lunch breaks was because she had made sure she had nagged them until they had.

They had ended up with more bodies from the second pileup then they had expected and it had taken its toll on them, both physically and mentally.

All she could think about at that moment in time was finally getting into her car and heading back to her home, grabbing something simple to eat on her way back there so that she didn't have to be bother about cooking anything before she collapsed into her bed for some well-deserved sleep.

The next day was meant to be her one day off work for the week but she already knew that she would have to come in regardless. There was no way that she could leave her team in the lurch when they were understaffed and definitely not when there was still a backlog of bodies from today which needed to be completed.

"Hey Guys" Danielle suddenly said as she straightened, absently rubbing her back as she waited for the others to stop what they were doing and to look at her. "I just want to let you know that I'm really proud of you all for coming together so well today and for the work you've managed to get done already. The rest of the week will be difficult but I've got no doubt that we'll be able to get through it together the same way we always do. Once you've finished with the autopsy you're on then head home and get some rest, the report for these cases can wait until tomorrow when our heads aren't quite as worn out. If you're off tomorrow then enjoy your day off, otherwise I'll see you here tomorrow since I'll be coming in to give a hand." She explained with a smile at them, waiting until they nodded at her, and taking in the look of relief on their faces before she turned her attention back to the body lying on her slab and began to begin the process of sowing it back up.

She was aware of the others doing the same thing and the familiar sound of soft murmured conversation and metal on metal but she ignored them, lost in her own thoughts about how they would manage the next day. She finished up her stitching, letting out a thankful sigh as she twisted to the side and placed her equipment back onto her tray before she took off her adhesive gloves throwing them towards the nearby bin, smiling when they hit the target and went in.

"Nice shot."

Danielle blinked at the voice, looking up with widening eyes when she realised that Steve McGarrett was standing on the opposite side of the slab to her.

"McGarrett?" She stated, unable to keep her surprise from her voice. She looked around her, shocked to see that she was one of the only people left from her shift making her wonder just how long she had been lost in her own thoughts. It had been long enough that the night shift had started arriving.

"Hello Danni" He replied as he crossed his arms over his chest, meeting her eyes with an intent look which she felt all the way to her feet.

"What are you doing here at this time? Surely Five-O finish work before now?" She asked him, looking towards the clock on the wall and frowning slightly when she saw it was already eight at night. She shook her head and headed to the nearest sink, giving her hands a good clean with the soap before she dried them on the nearby hand towel and turned back to Steve.

"I came to speak to you about the victim of my case, the one pending an autopsy still." He told her, his comment making her sigh. She ignored him for a moment, waving over one of the Junior Medical Examiners and briefly instructed him to place the body she has been working on into storage before she looked back at Steve, noticing the slight flicker of annoyance in his eyes. Clearly the Commander wasn't used to being ignored by anyone, not even for a short time.

"Why am I not surprised by that." She replied, directing her comment towards him as she gave him a long look before turning and heading across the room and into her office, moving over to her desk and taking the seat behind it, unsurprised when Steve followed her into the room and closed the door behind him. She ignored him again for a moment as she logged into her computer and brought up her spreadsheet onto the screen, scanning it for a moment before she spoke up in a professional tone. "Your victim's name was Lieutenant Yosuke Tatsumi, right?" She asked him, looking up at him with a questioning look, waiting until he nodded before she looked back at the spreadsheet and spoke. "It looks like your Victim is third in line which means that barring anything horrific happening today, it should be completed by the Night Shift and an initial report sent to your team within a week or so. The night shift will be on until Nine AM tomorrow so if you want to speak directly to the Medical Examiner who did it then you'll have to come in before that time."

"I was hoping that you would be the one who would perform the autopsy" He said as he leaned back against the closed door.

"You might hope it but I'm afraid that all it is, is a hope because I won't be the one who is completing it, I'm not due to work the night shift for another two weeks." She told him with another shrug, her fingertips resting on the keyboard as she continued to speak. "As I explained to Kono this afternoon, you'll get a qualified Medical Examiner who had been through the exact same training that I have, The Chief Medical Examiner or the lead Medical Examiner on shift are the ones who give the cases out and as of ten minutes ago I ceased to be the lead Medical Examiner because my shift has ended. If you want to speak to the lead Medical Examiner then you need to go and speak to Doctor Abbie FitzGerald. She'll simply tell you the same thing I did. That the body will be allocated to the next free Medical Examiner. That is the way that the system works and that is the way the system will remain. I'm sorry if you're unhappy with that way it works."

"I never said that I was unhappy with the way it works." Steve responded, his eyes focused on her with the same intent look as before, a slight frown furrowing his brow She stared back for a moment before turning her attention to the computer screen and added the latest names and details to the bottom of the list. She nibbled at her lower lip, frowning when she saw the amount of bodies which they still had to work on. The second pile up from earlier that day had managed to eradicate most of their hard work that day to try and bring the backlog back to a reasonable level. With the way it was going she was going to have to book an appointment with the Governor and see whether the older woman would agree to allow Danielle to hire some more Medical Examiners for the office to help counter the amount of work they had. "You look as though you have a lot on your mind."

Danielle blinked, looking back up, surprised to see that Steve had moved and was now seated in front of her desk, his long legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles.

"Doesn't everyone always have a lot on their minds?" She countered lightly. He watched her for a second with a thoughtful look before he nodded at her.

"There's certainly wisdom in what you say?" He admitted. "Have you managed to eat anything today?"

"Eaten anything?" She repeated, surprised by the sudden change in topic. She thought about the day she had and slowly shook her head. "Actually, now that you mention it, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. It was too busy here to stop." She confessed as she saved the spreadsheet and closed it down.

"You know I haven't eaten anything either. I was planning on getting something to eat before I head off home, I wasn't planning on anything special but how do you fancy getting something with me, since you know, we both haven't eaten?" He asked her, keeping his tone casual.

"You want to get something to eat together?" Danielle remarked, her eyes widening slightly as she looked away, straightening the files on her desk. "I guess I could get something to eat now."

"Great, got any preferences about the type of food you fancy?" He asked her, with a wide grin.

"You know this isn't a date between us right?" She warned him as she stood up and placed her bag onto the table, meeting his gaze directly. "It's just two work colleagues going out for some sushi together."

"Sushi" Steve replied with a raised eyebrow. "I happen to know an amazing place we can go to that's near to here. I can drive us there."

"And what about my car which is parked here?" She asked him mildly.

"I can either drive you back here after we've eaten so you could pick up your car or I can drive you back to yours and pick you up tomorrow morning and take you here?" Steve offered.

She blinked at him before she shook her head slightly.

"Or you could tell me the name of the Sushi place you have in mind and I can drive myself there now." She countered, unable to keep the small smile from her face at the brief flash of disappointment which came to his face at her words. The sight triggering what Kono had said to her earlier about Steve liking her.

"Or you could do that, the place is called Doraku, do you know it?" He asked her, smiling when she nodded at him.

"You've got great taste when it comes to sushi; I've been there a couple of times and the food has always been amazing. It might be hard to get a table without having a reservation though." She pointed out as she shouldered her bag, adjusting it until it felt comfortable.

"Normally I would say yes but the owner owes me a favour so we should be good to go on this non date." He told her seriously, a tone which was countered by the warm amused look in his eyes as he watched her.

"That's good to know then, let's head off because the sooner that we eat, the sooner I can collapse into bed and sleep." She stated as she moved around the desk and towards the door, smiling up at him as he held the door open for her. She entered the main morgue and looked around her, heading over to where Abbie FitzGerald stood and gave her some last-minute instructions before she left the room with a thankful sigh, aware of Steve at her side. She had expected him to try and make conversation with her but he seemed content to simply remain quiet, something which she appreciated. They left the building together and walked to the bottom of the steps before coming to a stop.

"I'll meet you there" Steve told her briefly with another smile before he turned and headed over to a dark blue truck parked nearby. For a moment she watched him before she shook her head and headed over to her own car, unlocking it and climbing into the driver's seat, absently closing the door behind her. She placed the key in the ignition but didn't turn it instead taking the moment of solitude, her first since that morning, to gather her thoughts together and question what exactly she was doing going to dinner with the head of Five-O.

She had always had a strict policy never to socialise with people who she worked with who didn't work in the Medical Examiner Office so that she could never be accused by anyone of favouritism and yet, despite having said no to countless of other invitations in the past, she had for some reason said yes to Steve without any real fight. The only explanation she could come up with to explain her behaviour was that she was more tired the she had realised and it was making her make questionable decisions.

Pushing the thought away, she turned the key in the ignition and reversed out of her space, both relieved and disappointed that Steve hadn't waited for her.

Shaking her head, she switched on the air con and the radio and left the car park for the morgue, taking the right, which she knew from experience would take her to where she needed to go.

It wasn't long until she was pulling into the car park of Doraku and into the first available parking space, her eyes automatically landing on Steve's truck as she exited her car., closing the door behind her and locking it behind her before she headed towards the entrance and pulled the door open, stepping inside.

"Danni, over here."

She glanced over to the side, smiling when she saw Steve standing at the front of a queue, next to a tall man who had turned to look at her as well with a curious look.

"Sorry I'm late" She said as she joined them.

"If you'd like to follow me." The man stated, picking up two menus and headed through the crowded area and leading them to a small table for two at the back of the room. "Here you go, just like you asked for Commander, if there is anything more, I can do for you then please let me know. Your server tonight will be Thomas." He nodded at them again before leaving them to get themselves settled.

"Good thing you had that favour." Danielle remarked as she lowered herself into one of the chairs, placing her bag beside her before she grabbed one of the menus and opened it, scanning through the selections.

"Yeah, it turns out that if you find the person who beat the owner's nephew then they tend to be pretty grateful." Steve commented absently as he searched through his own menu before he spoke. "What are you thinking about getting tonight? Has anything caught your eye yet?"

"I'm thinking of getting the laughing Bruddah Roll." She told him after a moment of consideration. "What about you?"

"The Chirashi Don Donburi" He told her, looking up and smiling at her, within moments of them putting their menus down, a waiter appeared taking their orders before disappearing leaving them alone again. A silence had fallen between them which should have felt awkward but was surprisingly comfortable instead, something which surprised her. "You've been back at the Medical Examiner office for three weeks, now right?" Steve asked her suddenly, continuing when she nodded at him. "How does it feel to be back?"

"Honestly it feels like I was never away. I thought that I might need an adjustment period to get back into the proper groove for it but there was no need for it, something which I put down to the good job that Max, I mean Doctor Bergman, did in running the office in the way I did while I was away." She remarked, smiling at the waiter when he reappeared with their drinks which he placed in front of them. She picked up the glass and took a long sip of the cool lemonade, her eyes coming back up to Steve when he spoke.

"Max is quite the… the interesting character" He commented, hesitating for a moment over his words, his remark making her laugh as she placed her glass back down.

"Interesting is certainly one word which could be used to describe him, he's amazing at his job though so I'm happy to overlook some of his more eccentric behaviours." She told him. "To be honest though I'm just glad to be back, I missed being over here. We had just managed to get the house sorted here and then had to up and move over to the Big Island for seven months which meant starting again for the second time within a short time period. It was a lot to deal with."

"Kono mentioned to me that you lived with your brother and your niece at the moment?" Steve questioned; his tone causal.

"Yeah Kono is right, my twin is the reason that I'm out here living in Hawaii after all. I mean it's absolutely beautiful but it's also extremely expensive in Hawaii so we decided it would make more sense in the long run for us to pool our resources together and to get a good-sized house together. It also makes it easier to help him with Libby since I'm normally there when I'm not at work and can help looking after her."

"I'm guessing that Libby is the name of your niece?" He queried as he leaned back in his chair.

"That's right, she's only sixteen months old so she's still a baby, she's amazing though, she's so smart and sweet natured"

"She sounds extremely cute; she and your twin are lucky to have you." Steve said, falling silent when the waiter reappeared and placed their food in front of them, asking briefly if he could get them anything else before he disappeared once more.

"Feel free to remind him of that fact if you ever meet him." She said with a laugh as she picked up her chopsticks and gave her meal a completive look before she spoke again. "What about you? How does someone go from being a Navy SEAL in the intelligence unit to running the Governor of Hawaii's personal task force?"

"It sounds to me like you might have been doing some research on me Danni." Steve commented, his mouth curling up into a smirk as he used his own chopsticks to pick up some Sashimi and placed it on his mouth..

"Well, not really, it's just Kono happened to mention it to me in passing the other week and it stuck in my head." She said ignoring the rush of heat she felt on her cheeks. "You didn't answer my question though, how did you end up here?" She pointed out softly.

For a moment she thought he wouldn't answer her, especially when his expression seemed to harden, before he sighed.

"I came back to Hawaii to hunt the man who murdered my father." He told her lowly.

"Oh my god, you're the son of John McGarrett" She said, her eyes widening. "I'm so sorry for your loss Steve."

"I didn't realise you knew my father." Steve commented after a moment.

"I didn't know him personally but I was briefed over the case and I picked the Medical Examiner for the case." She explained, unable to resist the urge to reach across the table and placed her hands over his, squeezing down on it. "I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you."

For a moment Steve stared down at her hand on his before he twisted his hand so he could interlock their fingers together.

"Thank you, Danni." He said quietly. "When I came back it seemed the right thing to do to stay. I feel like its what my father would have wanted."

Danielle nodded before she took her hand back, clearing his throat before she focused back on her meal.

"I'm sure that he would have been proud of you no matter what you had chosen to do." She assured him, glancing up with a questioning look when he snorted in response to her comment.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Danni." He replied before clearly changing the subject. "How are you finding the food?"

Danielle blinked, glancing at her half-eaten food before she looked at him.

"It's really good but really filling as well. I think I may end up having to bring some of it home with me in a doggy bag. I'm sure that my twin will demolish it" She remarked. "How about yours?"

"Real good" He told her. "You know I'm glad that we've done this, perhaps we could do this again, though obviously it would be a non-date."

Danielle considered his comment for a moment before she slowly nodded, a smile coming to her face.

"I think we could arrange that." She said.

"Best eat up or get it boxed up because the desserts here are amazing as well." Steve stated with a wide grin at her.

"A dessert after the day I've had is much needed." She stated as she took another sip of her drinks, ignoring the slight sense of excitement in the pit of her stomach at the thought of spending more time with Steve.

What would be the worst that could happen if she spent more time with him after all.

Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it.

I really appreciate it