A Helping Hand
By
Landon Richardson
Official Disclaimer
The characters of Steve McGarrett, Danny Williams, Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.
The characters of Danielle 'Danni' Richardson, Caitlin 'Cait' Richardson, Simon Ferron, Tess Walker, The Richardson Family, Michael Landon and Karen Landon do however belong to me so please do not use without first asking permission.
Any other character who might pop up who you don't instantly recognise will probably belong to me as well. I'll hopefully catch them in time to put above though.
Author Note
Welcome to the first one shot story from the Model Saga.
Please note that this story fits into place after Part Twenty-one of 'Love at first sight' and should be read after that if you want everything to be in the correct order.
There will be more one shot stories on the way once I've finished some of my work in progresses.
I hope you enjoy this!
Official Summary
Danny Williams breathed out nosily as he stood over the unmade furniture packs littered on the floor in front of him and wondered not for the first time why he had thought that doing this would be a good idea. (One shot in the Model saga, Steve x OC)
Official Romances for the story
Steve McGarrett / Danielle 'Danni' Richardson (McDanni)
Mentions of Danny Williams / Caitlin 'Cait' Richardson (Danlin)
Another note
Please keep in mind that I don't have a Beta for this story so the odd mistake may creep in without me meaning it to. I have also never been to Hawaii so all locations are either from the show, google or made up in my own mind.
Please also note that this story should be read after Part 21 of Love at First sight.
Danny Williams breathed out nosily as he stood over the unmade furniture packs littered on the floor in front of him and wondered not for the first time why he had thought that doing this would be a good idea.
It wasn't as though he even really needed them in the first place, his house while small was comfortable and cosy and always clean, a fact he prided himself on. He was aware that the majority of people who he knew on the island had better places to live but they didn't have the responsibility of a mortgage and paying child support monthly to his ex-wife. Child support which he was determined would cover anything which his daughter Grace may have needed for school or for one of the numerous clubs which she belonged to, half at her insistence and half at her mother's.
Of course, the fact that he was happy enough with where he lived didn't stop the suggestions from his friends that he should perhaps look into upgrading his home to one slightly larger in size. Most of them had backed off when he had glared at them and told them politely but firmly to stay out of his business but his partner and best friend Steve McGarrett had brushed aside both the comment and the glare and continued to insult Danny's home as though he had a personal vendetta against the place. Something which Danny couldn't understand since he was pretty positive that he had stayed in worse places then the one he was in now.
It was true that the place wasn't as large as Steve's but not everyone happened to inherit a beach side house in Hawaii which was already paid for. A place which as far as Danny was concerned needed some serious work done on it to bring it back into the present day rather than the seventies which Steve's dad seemed to be stuck in if the décor was any indication for Danny to go by.
Steve had recently been talking about renovating the place from top to bottom now that his girlfriend Danielle Richardson had returned to Hawaii to live with him for good but Danny was currently in the state of mind that that he would believe Steve making such drastic changes when he saw it. There was no doubt that Steve was too attached to his past, a point made clear by the fact that he had lived in his father's house for nearly nine months and still had yet to change anything from what Danny could see. A fact which creeped Danny out if he gave it too much thought.
The idea that Steve would suddenly decide out of the blue to rip everything down and start over again was unlikely in Danny's humble opinion.
He made a frustrated sound as he headed to his sofa and dropped down on it, resting his elbows on his thighs and scrubbing a hand over his face before he tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling, a frown coming to his face when he notice a small, hairline crack, a hairline crack which would be yet another small job that he would have to get completed preferably before Steve saw it and went into another rant about how the house would fall down on Danny's head if he wasn't careful. Though Steve, of course would never refer to it as a rant. He would instead say that it was mere concern for his partner.
Small house or not, it was still his and he was going to make sure that it was a home where Grace felt comfortable and wanted to visit, nothing else mattered to him.
If he could convince Caitlin Richardson, the woman he was seeing, to stay with him the next time she decided to come to Hawaii for a visit then that would be better and easier since it would mean that they could spend some time together without Danny having to constantly jump in his car to go to whatever hotel it was that she had decided to stay in that time. If she was here, with him, under the same roof than that would be a win-win situation in his eyes though he couldn't help but wonder whether she would view it the same way as him.
Shaking his head Danny lowered it, his eyes landing back on the pack of furniture with a frown. Maybe, just maybe, Caitlin was a large factor in why he was beginning to do the house up further.
Pushing the thought away, Danny glanced over his shoulder when the doorbell suddenly rang, breaking the silence in the house.
"Just what I need, a salesman or something" Danny muttered to himself as he pushed himself to his feet and headed over to the door, mentally running through a list of who his visitor could be. Grace was doing a mother and daughter bonding day which had involved pedicures so it wouldn't be her. Chin and Kono were busy doing something else, no doubt with one of the numerous member of their family who seemed to be littered everywhere throughout the island. Steve had made it pretty clear when they spoke on the phone that he wasn't around today since he and Danielle had been in the middle of car shopping for her so she could get around the island without having to either rely on Steve to pick her up or having to drive Steve's truck which he knew from what Steve said that she hated.
He hesitated for a moment at the door before setting his shoulders and pulling it open, his mouth already open to tell whoever it was who was bothering him to get lost. A greeting which was lost as his eyes widened when he saw Steve and Danielle standing on the porch, both of them dressed casually with an aura of happiness around them which Danny found himself envying.
"What are you doing here? Have we managed to pick up a case on our day off or something because we've spoken about that before Buddy. You can say no, HPD are more than capable of dealing with cases which come up." Danny stated, his hand cutting through the way as he stared at his partner, his heart dropping at the smirk which Steve gave him in response.
"And I told you Buddy that it's our job day off or not" Steve countered. "But luckily for you the Governor hasn't rang me and we don't have a case, probably some cold cases that we could work on if we were desperate but nothing new." He stated, peering past Danny into the house before he looked back at him again. "Hey by the way, that's how you usually greet people who come to your door, that and actually inviting them in so they aren't left standing on the doorstep."
"Funny" Danny growled.
"I know" Steve replied serenely, flashing him a smile before brushed past Danny into the living room, his nose wrinkling up as though he smelt something bad in the room as he looked around him, crossing his arms over his chest. Danny turned back to the door, surprised to see that Danielle was still standing patiently on the doorstep, clearly waiting unlike her other half, for Danny to extend an invitation for her to come in. At least one of the pairing had manners.
"Hey Danielle, come in, how are you? Can I get you a drink?" He offered, stepping back and waving her in, returning her warm smile when she stepped into his house and proceeded to kiss him on the cheek before pulling back and slipping off her high heels.
"Hello Danny, I'm all good today, how are you? Everything okay with you and with Grace?" She asked him before glancing towards Steve. "I'm not sure about Steve but I would love a drink if that's okay. I haven't exactly adjusted to the heat here."
"It took me a long time as well, you'll get there eventually" Danny remarked with a smile at her.
"I hope so" She answered before she moved further into the living room, looking around her curiously before she looked back at Danny. "You have a lovely home Danny." She told him, a sincere tone to her voice which told him that she actually meant what she was saying. She shot Steve a glance when the other man snorted and spoke.
"Danni's just being nice Danno, we both know that this place is a dive."
"And least my home doesn't look like it belongs in the sixties" Danny countered. "There's actually appliances here which are new. I know that's not something you're used to"
"When the house gets redone you're going to have to find new material Danno" Steve commented with a smirk in his direction, causing Danny's eyes to narrow. He ignored his best friend looking towards Danielle who was watching Steve with a slight frown, a frown which Steve clearly picked up on with how quickly the smirk on his face dropped off.
Danny waited, expecting the small blonde to say something to Steve but instead she simply turned away and spoke addressing her comment towards him.
"Steve mentioned that you needed some help with putting something together?" She asked him curiously. Danny watched as Steve moved across the room until he was next to Danielle, his arm wrapping round her waist as he ducked his head and brushed a kiss against her temple, murmuring something in her ear which caused her mouth to curl into a small smile as she tilted her head back and look at him, her eyebrow quirking up in a silent question.
"Yes Danni" Steve said, answering the question as he reached up with his other hand and brushed her hair away from her eyes. The scene strangely intimate.
"I do yeah" Danny said, breaking the silence, which had fallen after Steve's words, his eyes flickering between the two of them when they both turned to look at him. "I thought you couldn't help today though because you were looking for a car for Danielle, that's what you said on the phone" He remarked curiously.
"That was the plan but we weren't getting anywhere with it because nothing was catching Danni's eyes. Danni figured that we should call it a day and head over here to help you since it would be better than you doing it alone though we both know that you would probably have just sat on the sofa with a bottle of beer glaring at the packages wishing they were done." Steve comment with a shrug.
"I didn't quite say it like that but I guess that was the general gist of the conversation" Danielle admitted with a nod at Danny before she moved away from Steve and towards the waiting pack of furniture. "I'm assuming that this is what you want to put together?" She questioned, looking towards him and hunching down when Danny nodded at her. He watched as she lowered herself to the ground, crossing her legs as she reached out and took the instructions from where Danny had dropped them, her eyes scanning it with a growing frown of confusion before she looked back, her eyes landing on Steve. "The instructions are in Korean or Mandarin I think though don't quote me on that. I'm guessing neither of you can read it?" She queried.
"I can't read any of it" Danny admitted with a shake of his head before he reached out and slapped the back of his hand lightly against Steve's stomach. "Bit I figured that Super Seal here would be able to since he can pretty much speak every language known to man, or at least that how it comes across when he talks about it."
Steve rolled his eyes, moving to Danielle and taking the instructions from her when she offered them to him, he glanced down at it for a second before looking back up at Danny.
"Sorry to disappoint you Danno but I don't know every language, and this which for the record is written in Korean isn't exactly on the list of ones I do speak." Steve told them, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Where the hell did you get this from anyway? Its not local is it?" He demanded, passing the instructions back to Danielle before he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I got it from the internet Steven, I know its something that you rarely use but there is a whole world out there at the touch of a button, if you want something you can go to sites and buy them online and they can deliver it to you, at your home, at a time you want." Danny responded, blinking when Steve's eyes narrowed again with a look which promised a messy death if Danny didn't shut up. It was a look which Danny had seen several times in the past and one which he ignored, the same as he always did.
"I'm assuming that whatever site you used to get it must get their stock from Korea" Danielle remarked, breaking through the tension easily.
"I guess they must have done. To be honest Danielle I just really liked the way it looked in the picture they had up on the website" Danny told her, flicking Steve the finger when the taller man made a tutting sound at him.
"Like you can ever trust the pictures that they put up on websites Danno, how are you going to know whether it's what it looks like or not unless you've actually seen it with your own eyes? That's why if you were smart you would buy local like I do. I've been telling you for months to do it but you never listen." Steve remarked with a shake of his head.
"Really? Like you do? So, you were buying local when you got those place holder things from Paris for yours and Danielle's wedding? Last time I checked Paris wasn't local to here, you didn't even need to go to Paris because there were plenty of nice ones around here and you know how I know that? Because you dragged us round the shops on our lunch break looking for it." Danny asked, crossing his own arms and glaring at his best friend who suddenly looked as though he had swallowed a lemon.
"I don't think it really matters where you got it from Danny, the only thing that matters is putting it together." Danielle interjected calmly. "Steve, didn't you say that Chin was able to read Korean? Maybe you could call him and see if he's around, if he is then he can come over and help us."
"I can do that babe" Steve agreed readily, reaching down and pulling his cell phone out of the pocket of his cargo pants.
"Sounds like a good plan to me Danielle" Danny added with a nod at her before he continued to speak. "That fact that Chin is talented when it comes to DIY us an added bonus for us as well."
"Is he?" Danielle asked, her face brightening before she looked at Steve. "Maybe we should see whether we can give us a hand with our house" She suggested thoughtfully.
"We could ask him and sweeten the deal with your cooking, Chin is a fan of it after all." Steve replied, flashing her a grin.
"Well if you tell me what his favourite meal is then I can make sure I make it for him" She said with a nod before her eyes suddenly narrowed at him. "And while I remember Steve you and I will be having a chat later on about these place holders you've got for the wedding because I remember us already speaking about this and the agreement we came up with." She said, waiting until she nodded at her before she sighed and looked back at Danny. "Would it be possible to have a drink now Danny?" She asked him politely.
"Shit, yeah of course Danielle, where are my manners. Come with me and I'll get you one now. Steve you want anything?" He asked his partner who nodded at him.
"Yeah, just a juice will do Danny" Steve said, his eyes dropping back to the furniture packs.
"Juice it is" Danny replied before turning and heading out of the kitchen, Danielle walking behind him. "What do you want Danielle? A juice as well?" He queried.
"Would it be possible to have a cup of tea?" She asked him hopefully. Danny frowned slightly, opening one of his cupboards and searching through it before he pulled out a box.
"You're in luck" He said, opening up another cupboard and pulling out a mug from within which he placed on the side, adding one of the tea bags to it aware as he did that Danielle was watching him quietly. "I appreciate you both coming around to help me out with this, especially as the two of you had plans together. It could have waited until another time when Steve wasn't busy" He remarked as he filled up the kettle with water and placed it on the stand, hitting the on button and breaking the silence between them which had been surprisingly comforting.
"It's no problem Danny, the truth is that you're like a brother to Steve and where I'm from there is nothing more important then family. You're always going to come first especially before something like finding a car. I'm sure you know this already but if you need us then all you have to do is call, the same as you would have done before I appeared on the scene. You still get Steve, only difference is that you'll get me most of the time as well, like a two for one sale or something similar" She told him brightly, finishing with a soft laugh.
"I think I could live with that offer" Danny commented pouring the hot water which had been boiling into the mug before looking towards the door when Steve entered through it, watching as the other man's eyes automatically flickered between them before he spoke up.
"I spoke to Chin, he's on his way over here with Kono to give us a hand with the furniture, they had just finished up at the family get together they were at. From what they were saying they will probably be here in about ten, maybe fifteen minutes time." He announced as he moved across the room to where Danielle was standing and dropped his arm around her shoulder.
"Well in that case we should get started before they arrive" Danielle stated, reaching out and taking the mug of tea from Danny when he held it out to her. Danny moved towards the fridge, pulling out the fresh orange juice, his attention going back to Danielle when she spoke again. "What would you like us to do first Danny?"
He blinked, surprised that she was asking him before he answered, pouring the juice into a glass and passing it to Steve as he spoke.
"I think that we should probably get it out of the wrapper and spread the pieces out on the floor, that way when Chin reads the instructions out to us, we'll actually have a better idea on what pieces he is talking about and where they will go." He commented, glancing between the two of them.
"Sounds like a plan to me" Steve answered with a nod. "Lead the way Buddy"
"Sure thing" Danny replied, a smile coming to his face as he turned and headed out of the room, Danielle's words lingering in his mind before he focused himself on the task in front of him.
They would have it done in no time.
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