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

Notes: not sure what this is ... likely just a 2 chapter build up to continue this tiny little pre-relationship verse.

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

"Had I known it was this easy, I would have done it a long time ago," Danny said as he wandered around the doctor's examination room. "Who knew that the big bad SEAL would behave himself in the company of a child?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve noticed that Danny didn't even bother to look at him. Not even a glance. He was too busy making believe that he was randomly poking at a book or then picking up a miniature bud vase to examine it more closely, his furrowed brow enough for Steve to know his friend was briefly perplexed about the thing. The red glass was iridescent and very pretty. It also had no place at all in a doctor's sterile exam room. At least Steve knew that Danny was pondering that precise thing before moving on to the next bauble.

Before picking on him because Steve was handicapped and completely unable to reply. At least honestly as he looked down into Charlie's face.

"What's she gonna do, Uncle Steve? Are you scared," Charlie whispered dramatically from where he was leaning against his knee. And therein lay his handicap of sorts. The boy's chin was resting on Steve's thigh. Balanced next to his chin, was a pint-sized Ironman action figure, its little booted feet digging into Steve's jeans. Charlie was literally drinking in every single one of Steve's reactions to this last minute and very scary doctor's office visit.

"It's just a checkup, Charlie," Steve replied. "Nothing to be scared of."

"Needles?" Charlie stage-whispered. He made his eyes overly large and Steve had to grin.

"Nope, no needles," Steve said.

"Are you sure?" Danny interrupted from the corner of the small room. "How can you be sure?" He still didn't turn around and Steve screwed up his face in annoyance, making sure that Charlie didn't see his expression. He couldn't even say anything out loud to his partner - didn't dare whisper a thing - since little ears were listening. Lips firmly pressed together, Steve glared at Danny when he finally did turn around, his blue eyes flashing with humor.

"I'm positive that there are no needles," Steve repeated. "And because ... I know. And I know because if this was more than a checkup, I wouldn't have let Charlie ... or, you, in here with me to keep me company, Danno."

"This isn't quite a checkup though is it," Danny argued. "This isn't anything like a regular office visit."

Glaring at his partner and childish or not, Steve resorted to sticking his tongue out at him because Charlie was not only listening, he was watching them both as if he were refereeing a tennis match.

The giggle was loud and infectious, but Charlie also saw fit to state the reason for the visit. As if Steve needed the reminder. Charlie evidently was firmly on his father's side and Steve narrowed his eyes unhappily because it was as if the little boy was directly channeling Danny, even down the ever-expressive hand gestures.

"But you fainted, Uncle Steve," Charlie said.

"I tripped!" Steve objected. "There's a difference."

"But Danno caught you!"

"Because ... Charlie, I tripped," Steve stated adamantly. He was losing some of his patience now; even his cool. Especially when Danny started to laugh softly in the background. A mocking sound ... one that easily challenged that statement and somehow simultaneously communicated his disbelief and mounting concern for Steve's general health.

"But your eyes were closed. And daddy said you were really heavy… and then he called you an animal…." Charlie giggled again. Arms flung wide, Charlie shrugged. "He put you down on the floor ... and ..."

"No, I don't think it happened quite like that, Charlie," Steve interrupted the diatribe. Truth be told though, he was growing a bit worried himself about what Charlie was relating. That couldn't have happened to him, could it have? He couldn't remember. Not really. All he could come up with us a sketchy memory of standing in his kitchen and feeling a bit ... what? Off balance ... sickish ... woozy?

"Uh, yeah, Steve," Danny corrected him. "Actually? I think it did happen exactly like that and I've got the sore back to prove it."

"And then - when you opened your eyes - you puked," Charlie added helpfully. He spread his arms wide to better demonstrate this next bit of information. "All over Danno! And then daddy called you another name!"

This time Danny snorted in laughter. "It was disgusting ... you owe me a new pair of shoes, Steven."

"Those so-called shoes don't belong in the State of Hawaii anyway," Steve snarked back on the verge of really losing his temper. He didn't remember the in-between parts. From standing at the kitchen sink to physically being rocked onto his side while laying on his own floor, Danny cursing up a blue-streak as Steve began to heave - there was nothing in between. Now, the two men glared at each other, each warning the other off, but Danny was refusing to back down. Rather insolently, he crossed his arms to lounge against the exam room's long counter, his eyes boring holes through Steve's face.

"Says you," Danny sniffed in challenge as he crossed his ankles to add insult to injury. Eyebrow raised, Danny started to examine him. Clearly displeased by whatever it was he was seeing, he was absolutely daring Steve to continue the argument.

"It was icky, Uncle Steve," Charlie said. "Gross!"

"Just, you two ... stop it!" Steve glowered unhappily at them. "I feel fine now. It was just a little hiccup."

Father and son were completely unrepentant though. Where Charlie was now giggling about hiccups, Danny was communicating an adult-sized volume of worry. He might have been smiling and laughing, even meandering around the exam room with a bored air. But now that he'd stilled all movement to hug his body into a ball of anxiety, Danny was proving that he was very concerned for him. He was only doing his best to keep things light-hearted for Charlie's sake. Not only didn't Danny believe that he felt fine now, Steve knew what Danny was thinking about, too.

"It's not that," Steve said pointedly to Danny. "It's not! I've been feeling a little off ... I probably caught a cold or something. Whatever it was - it's gone - and I feel fine now."

"People don't pass out just from catching a cold, Steven," Danny said. "Nor, do they upchuck ten seconds later ... or look as pale as you still do." He smiled lamely at his son who was admittedly confused about their change in tone, but not asking any questions. Yet.

"So yeah, I'm worried that it could be that," Danny admitted. "And I won't be happy until the doctor says otherwise."

"You have a big imagination, buddy," Steve sighed and not so patiently. "We're bothering Dr. Morris for nothing."

"I don't care!" Danny burst out unexpectedly, startling Charlie and Steve. "So we bother her and find out it's nothing! So what!"

"Okay! Alright!" Steve said, with a shake of his head. He was annoyed with himself; annoyed with Danny's attitude from the start and how he'd bundled him into his car. The only battle Steve had won thus far was avoiding the emergency room. But Danny had only deviated a mile or two to deposit Steve on his general practitioner's doorstep. Other than that small win, Steve was frustrated that Danny was still reading right through him. Just because he looked pale, Danny knew that he wasn't feeling right? That just wasn't fair!

Steve ran his fingers through his hair, refusing to admit that he didn't feel all that great. His stomach was still on the iffy side of wrong and his head was beginning to throb. As for his vision? If he continued to feel as if he were sitting lopsided on a slanted table, he was going to be forced to say something. He knew the table was perfectly flat and he KNEW that his body was sitting upright! So why the heck did he feel like he was inside a tilt-a-whirl ride at a carnival?

"Take it down a few notches. Okay? Let's just see what Doctor Morris has to say?" He knew where Danny was coming from, but was sure he wasn't suffering from any type of radiation poisoning at all. It simply didn't feel that bad or as bad as it could be based on what he'd been told by his doctors. In fact, he'd been feeling great for days and maybe even weeks. He was sure he's just had some tiny blip. This was nothing to worry about at all.

"Sure," Danny muttered under his breath before glancing at his watch to check the time. "Where is the doctor anyway?" All humor had bled from his face in just those few seconds and he'd become quiet and dour. It took some work for Danny to smile again even when Charlie caught his eye and the doctor entered the room, her welcoming more than warm.

"So, who's the patient then? Which one of you three?" Dr. Morris asked, bending down to Charlie first despite knowing full well who it was. She laughed when Charlie patted Steve's knee.

"My Uncle Steve," Charlie said. "He doesn't feel so good."

"Well thank you," Doctor Morris said to Charlie before looking to Steve. "So, Uncle Steve ... what's happening today? According to the nurse, you said that you passed out for a few seconds at home ... some sort of episode?" She cocked her head slightly towards where Charlie was standing to indicate her care in what she was going next ask.

"But ...not what you've seen your other doctors and Doctor Kohashi for... for in the past?"

"No. And like I told Danny, nothing like that at all," Steve offered the doctor quickly. "It's nothing like that; Danny's just a bit worried. I'm sure this is going to wind up being a waste of all of our time."

"But Uncle Steve puked all over Danno," Charlie whispered helpfully. "It was gross ..."

"Okay, come here!" Danny said, striding forward to swoop his son up into his arms. "I think Uncle Steve can speak for himself, Charlie. Or, can you?" He asked Steve not so discreetly as he loitered by Steve's shoulder, daring him to withhold any part of what had happened. "You can right? Because if not, I can certainly fill in any gaps."

"Go away, Daniel," Steve practically hissed through his teeth.

"Where exactly would you like me to go, Steven? It's a very small room," Danny mimicked Steve's tone right back at him, down to the clenched teeth. "You might say you feel okay, but you're still pale and look like sh- ... bad." He corrected himself quickly while placing a hand over one of Charle's ears.

"Then leave ... wait outside," Steve replied, pointing adamantly at the door. "I'm fine here with Doctor Morris, thank you very much."

"Well I'm not so sure that you are," Danny remarked. He narrowed his eyes, his expression stern. "Can I trust you to not say that you're fine when it's obvious that you're not fine?"

"What?" Steve blurted. "I'm not sure that even made sense!" He groaned helplessly, running out of words when the room swam in front of his eyes.

"It makes perfect sense," Danny insisted as he let Charlie slide to the floor. His voice petered out and Steve made a face when he caught Danny staring at him a bit too closely.

"Shut up," Steve said. He swallowed hard, feeling more sick than he as his vision narrowed to a pinpoint. For a moment, he could only see the white blur of Danny's face. It was eerily reminiscent of what had happened in his kitchen before ...

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

"Steve?" Danny asked. "You okay?"

"Perfect ... just fine," Steve replied thickly. He knew he was blinking madly now but his damned eyesight wouldn't clear up and he was trying to will himself to stop what felt like a dangerous wobble. Belatedly, he realized that Danny was now rubbing the back of his neck hard, almost forcing his head forward to relax.

"You look like crap, Steven!" Danny hissed angrily. "Doc?"

"Back off," Steve whispered as he dabbed sweat from his upper lip. "I told you that I was fine ... stop worrying!"

"Do they do this all the time, Charlie?" Doctor Morris asked Charlie who had resorted to peering up at her as if asking her to intervene. She was already doing that, but again for Charlie's sake, trying to not show her alarm.

"Yes," Charlie nodded. "They do this a lot ... all the time time."

"No, no we don't," Steve and Danny objected in unison and on another day, either of them might have laughed. Steve though felt Danny's fingers drilling hard into the back of his neck, his other hand latched firmly around his bicep. As the world began to slide away, he focused hard on Danny, needing the support. He tried to say something else but his vision was already starting to white out.

The voices around him became a buzz inside of his head and that sickly slide started to pick up speed. As Danny guided him backwards to lay on the exam room table and Doctor Morris was hastily coming to his side, Steve was already lost to a dizzying sense of vertigo. Then ... there was nothing.

~ to be continued ~