Disclaimer: I don't own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters. I'm just having some fun.

A/N: First, thank you to all who have messaged me in the last year or so wondering when I'd have another story posted. I swear I didn't intentionally lie when I told you "soon". Real Life has really interfered over the last year so this story took me an insane amount of time to write and then rewrite.

A huge shout out and thank you to Fifilla, Wenwalke and TheDogo - without your encouragement this story never would have been finished and it certainly wouldn't be as good. I must also thank you all for the discussions regarding plot and the beta, but any and all mistakes are solely my own.

One final note for this first chapter: Trust me.


Danny Williams slowly walked to the front of the Kukui High auditorium. He leaned heavily on his cane with his left hand while trying to maintain his balance. His right leg was in a brace and right arm in a sling. The white bandage on his temple stood in stark contrast to his black clothes and the dark purple bruising that covered the right half of his face. He carefully maneuvered up the five wooden steps to the raised stage and reluctantly walked to the podium. He surveyed the assembled crowd. A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips at the standing room only crowd. He saw a sea of Naval uniforms standing at crisp attention at the back of the auditorium with Joe White among them. He avoided looking at the front row he had recently vacated. He would never be able to continue if he did. Throughout the service, Mary Ann had been clinging to Aunt Deb, tears streaming down both their faces. Grace sat rigid between his own mother and father. He was still a little surprised that his parents had flown out though he appreciated their support. Danny couldn't look at the rest of that row either, for to look at Chin, Kono and Grover would absolutely tear him apart and be his undoing.

"Not once in the last five years did I ever think that I would be standing here like this. I always thought the situation would be reversed," Danny's lips quivered. He cleared his throat and leaned on the podium as he forced himself to continue, "We are here to celebrate the life of my partner and friend, Steve McGarrett. Steve was more than my partner; he was my brother in every sense of the word. The first day I met Steve we, uh, we didn't get along so well, but before I knew what hit me, I couldn't imagine having another partner. We've been through some tough times in the last five and a half years, but we've gotten through it," Danny swallowed down a lump in his throat and gripped the podium as he felt a wave of dizziness hit him. "Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I'm going to go on without him now... and I can tell you that I don't want to."

Danny made it three halting steps from the podium before the dizziness washed over him. His cane wobbled and his knees buckled before he suddenly dropped to the stage floor eliciting a gasp from the other mourners. One of the last things he saw was the team, his team now, and Grace rushing towards him. The very last thing he saw as his vision blurred was a middle aged Navy officer in the back suddenly slip out without a backward glance.

Steve and Danny pulled up to the South Shore Marina. Steve looked down the rows of boats for a moment and then down to the address of the boat they were looking for. He pointed to their right, "The slip should be three or four down that way."

"Why does it have to be a boat?" Danny groused.

"We live on an island, Danny. That means we're surrounded by water. It stands to reason that we're going to have to talk to people on boats sometimes."

"Yeah, I suppose."

Steve smirked at his partner for a moment but didn't move. He stared down the row of boats.

"What are you waiting for? Christmas?"

"I dunno." Steve shrugged. "I just have a bad feeling."

"Should I get my vest on?" Danny was ready to gear up for trouble on Steve's vague feeling alone.

"Nah." Steve shook himself and smiled broadly, "We're just here for a couple of routine questions, right?"

Danny studied him for a moment, willing to trust Steve's instinct. "Yeah, a few routine questions... are you sure we shouldn't call for backup?"

Steve reached over and clapped Danny on the shoulder. "You are the backup remember?"

Danny gaped for a second and finally smiled as they both got out of the Camaro."Okay, okay, I walked into that one, didn't I?"

"C'mon, let's do this and then we'll call Chin and Kono and have them meet us at Kamekona's for lunch."

"You buying?" Danny wondered and then cocked his head in amusement when Steve started to hold up both hands, palm up, "I know, I know... you forgot your wallet." Danny held out his own hand with a grin and wiggled his fingers, "If you don't have your wallet, you don't have your license. If you don't have your license, you can't drive my car so hand over the keys. I'll be driving back when we're done here."

"You can't be serious." Steve's face fell.

"I can, and I am." Danny's smile got wider when he saw Steve's hand tighten on the keys. "It's against the law to drive without your license. As a duly sworn officer of the law, I would have to arrest you."

"I think I'll just hold onto the keys until we're done here." Steve made a show of putting the keys in his pocket. He did an about face and practically marched down the dock and stopped at the boat they were looking for, four down from the entry, leaving Danny standing next to the Camaro with his right hand still outstretched.

Danny glowered after him before aiming an amused smile at his partner's back. He was just opening his mouth to yell at Steve to wait up when the boat exploded. The blast picked Danny up and threw him over the Camaro depositing him in the empty parking space on the other side.

Within seconds, Danny was up and running for the burning boat despite white hot pain in his right knee and the fact that his right arm dangled uselessly at his side, shoulder dislocated from the impact of landing. He swiped at the blood running down his face from the lacerations on his temple caused when his head hit the ground. Before he could do anything else, a secondary explosion threw him into the water between two houseboats. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Steve's head sinking below the water.