Chapter One
If Danny were being honest with himself, he may admit that he was enjoying this camping trip. Grace was currently stationed beside him as they gathered around the campfire. He watched as Steve began his tutorial on wildlife survival, which if he were being truthful, was both slightly unnerving and arousing. Danny wasn't sure what was wrong with himself. How could he possibly be having these feelings about his partner? He had never been with a guy before (Well, except that one brief make out in his junior year of college, but that didn't really count). He had loved Rachel fiercely, but their relationship had become one of co-parenting for Grace. There was no more romance or sparks to be felt.
As he listened to Steve talk about survival of the fittest, he let his eyes wander the expanse of his partner's body. Steve had yet again opted to wear cargo pants- probably in order to pack as many tools and weapons on himself as possible. His gray t-shirt was drawn taught across his broad chest. His tattoos peeked from beneath the short sleeves and Danny couldn't stop himself from imagining what it would be like to trace each tattoo as if he drew them on himself.
Steve's eyes caught Danny's as Steve was urged to wrap up his lesson to the girls. Steve thought he had done his best to describe to the girls survival and safety, but if the look on the camp leader's face behind Danny were any indication, he may have went a little overboard. Danny looked as though he ready to bolt from the campsite at any second. Steve wondered what had him edge when he should be relaxing with Grace. Steve noticed that Danny quickly adverted his eyes from Steve to Grace, allowing Steve to let his eyes freely roam over Danny. The Jersey native was sporting dark pants and a light sweater that protected him from the cool breeze that swept in after dark. Steve liked this look on him although he would never admit it to Danny. The change in attire somehow made Danny look more relaxed and comfortable, but Steve could tell by Danny's rigid posture that Danny's thoughts were running a marathon in his head.
Danny tried to distract himself from watching Steve by helping Grace roast a marshmallow. He was grateful when Rachel let him have the weekend with Grace to accompany her on the camping trip with the Aloha girls. Then, Grace had mentioned that they needed another chaperone to tag along. Usually, Danny would not have thought twice about the fact that his mind instantly thought of asking Steve to go. However, over the course of the past few months, he had recently opened his eyes to the possibility that his feelings for Steve were more than friendly. Danny didn't think there was any way that Steve could feel the same. He had seen the Navy Seal with the lovely lieutenant. He could feel Steve's eyes burning holes into the side of his head. Danny knew he had been acting a bit off lately when he was around Steve. He couldn't help it. It was like he were looking through a new set of eyes- every touch, word, and gesture was analyzed and overthought.
"Danno, the fire is dying." Grace's voice pulled Danny from his mind. He looked down at the embers floating up from the now small fire. "Why don't you go bring us back some logs, Gracie?" Danny asked his daughter and watched as her face lit up with determination to complete a new task. "But, stay right in this area. If you can't hear us anymore, then you have gone too far. Okay, sweetheart?" Grace nodded her head as she turned and skipped towards the trees. A small smile naturally formed on Danny's face as he saw her pigtails bounce with each hop until she disappeared into the wooded area. He couldn't understand what he did right in the world to deserve such a bright and perfect daughter. When his world became too dark, she was the beacon of light that always led him back to stability. Danny was certain that if anything ever happened to her, he would lose it. He didn't mean that figuratively, either. He would literally stop at nothing to destroy anyone who had hurt her until there was nothing left of his soul except a dark abyss of loneliness and insanity. He had come so close to this when his ex-partner had kidnapped Grace in an attempt at revenge on Danny. He was certain he had never felt rage like that. Every fiber of his being had told him to snap his ex-partner's neck for even laying a finger on his daughter. The only thing that had kept his head on straight that day was Steve's voice in his head telling him that Rick Peterson was the only person who knew where Grace was, and if he died, Grace could very well die also. He would never confess it to Steve, but he was certain the day would have ended with a bullet to Peterson's head and Danny in cuffs, or worse, had the voice of reason in his head not been Steve's.
Steve watched as Danny sent Grace off to gather more firewood. The small exchange between father and daughter made his heart ache as it always did when he was around Grace and Danny. Steve had never thought of himself as a family man. He was damaged- far too wounded to ever raise a family and open himself up to that kind of raw, vulnerable love. That still didn't stop him from wondering what it would be like to make breakfast for Danny and Grace in the mornings and tuck Grace in at night. He had never thought about that type of stuff with Catherine. They had a physical connection that spanned years of friendship, but it stopped at that. Steve knew he would never ask her to marry him just as he knew that she would never say yes. They were like gypsies, always on the move, searching for something they might never find.
Then he met Danny. The little haole had Steve's heart racing from the minute they met, literally. At gunpoint, Steve had seen firsthand Danny's strength, fierceness, and determination, both as a detective and a person. Without a second thought, Steve had made Danny his partner. When Steve had first seen Danny with Grace, it had shown Steve a freer and more vulnerable side of his partner. The first time Danny insisted that Grace call him Uncle Steve, he had been surprised at how much he longed to be more than that- both in Grace's eyes and in Danny's. There was a voice in his head though that conveniently sounded like one of his Navy training officers, that told him what he was feeling was wrong. Danny was straight. Hell, he had a daughter and an ex-wife. He was his partner in Five-O only, no matter how much Steve wished it could be more. So, Steve threw himself further into his relationship with Catherine. He would go to her for favors that he could easily take care of himself. He would pay her back with dates and nights spent in his bed. They both knew that it was nothing more than a game of bartering, but it still helped him to take his mind off of his feelings for Danny.
Danny picked methodically at the burnt marshmallow in front of him. Grace had been gone twelve minutes and counting, and he was three minutes away from going after her. Steve had taken up position on the log across from him and was showing an Aloha Girl how to sharpen a stick into a weapon with a hunting knife. Danny found himself rolling his eyes at how ridiculous Steve was around children. Danny counted until Grace had been gone for fifteen minutes before getting up and stepping towards Steve.
"I'm going to go make sure Grace doesn't need any help bringing back sticks," Danny said as he began walking towards the trees.
"Do you want me to come?" Steve asked while his eyes drifted to Danny's butt in the tighter than usual jeans.
"No, that's okay, Rambo. We will be back in a minute." With that, Danny stepped into the tree line and walked deeper into the area.
"Gracie?" Danny called, as his eyes adjusted to the darker setting in the woods. "Gracie, can you hear me? Where are you, monkey?" Danny stopped for a moment and listened for a reply.
"Danno! Over here!" Danny's heart sped up as his daughter's voice rang out into the night. He took off towards her voice as he called for her again. He finally made it to a small clearing where Grace was knelt in front of a man. Danny instantly reached down and pulled Grace behind him as he scanned the area for more people. Determining that they were alone, he took Grace's previous spot and knelt in from of the man.
"Thank god you are here!" The man exclaimed as Danny noticed the blood covering his pants.
"Sir, how did you get hurt? Are you here alone?" Danny questioned, as he reached into Grace's pack and pulled a bandana to tie above the guy's wound.
"I was doing a small hike and I suppose I got turned around. I ended up tripping on a branch and tumbled down a hill. I'm not too sure how my leg got hurt. It all happened so fast." The guy was sweating and Danny couldn't tell if it was from exertion or from lying.
"Okay, what's your name?" Danny asked as secured the makeshift tourniquet around the man's thigh.
"Ron," the man answered as his eyes flicked between Grace and Danny as if scanning for more people.
"Okay, Ron. You were hiking alone, right? So, where are your supplies? Did you not bring a pack with you?" Danny inquired and he instantly felt the man's body go rigid with tension.
Ron moved too fast for Danny to react as he pulled a gun from behind himself and swung it at Danny. Danny skull erupted in pain as Grace's scream rang out. Darkness tried to consume him, but he willed himself to stay conscious as he jumped up placing himself between Grace and Ron.
"Who are you?" Ron asked furiously as he pointed the gun at Danny. Danny could feel Grace's soft whimpers against his back as she clung to him.
"My name is Detective Danny Williams with Five-O. Now Ron, you are already looking at assault of an officer, do you really want to add murder to that as well?" Danny tried to reason with the man before him.
Ron's eyes widened at the revelation, and Danny could practically see the wheels spinning in the man's head.
"Detective, huh? So you should be very familiar with this area. Well, lucky for you, I lost something around here and you are going to help me find it. If you do that, then I will let you and the little girl go. Do you understand?" Ron stated.
Danny tried calculating a way to disarm the man, but one wrong move and he could risk hurting Grace. There was no way in hell he would let something happen to her. He would walk this man to hell and back if it meant keeping her safe.
"I will take you wherever you want to go, man. Just let my daughter go back to the campsite with her friends," Danny pleaded.
"Campsite? How many of you are there?" Ron demanded, scanning the area for more people.
"There are two adults and a group of little girls not far from here. Ron, they are no threat to you. Just let my daughter go back to them, and I will take you wherever you need to go," Danny tried one last time to persuade the man to let Grace go.
"You think I'm stupid?" Ron stepped closer to Danny with the barrel of the gun just inched from Danny's face. "Take me to the campsite, and then you and the pretty little girl are coming with me. If you try anything, the girl is the first one to bite a bullet," Ron stated without blinking. Danny's fists were balled tightly against his side, every nerve in his body wanting to kill the guy for even threatening his daughter. All he could do though was nod as Ron stepped back and pointed for Danny to lead the way.
Danny turned to Grace and leaned down, taking her tear stricken face between his hands.
"Monkey, I need you to lead the way to the campsite, okay? But you have to stay in front of me at all times, okay?" Gracie nodded as she turned and began walking back.
"Go," Ron stated as he pushed Danny with the barrel of the gun.
Steve sat on the log and scanned the tree line for the tenth time in ten minutes. Danny and Grace had yet to come back. He was about to go after them when he saw Grace pop out of the woods. He smiled, but it was short lived happiness as Danny walked out behind her with the right side of his face bloody. Steve was on his feet and moving towards them instantly. He stopped short when he saw a man come up behind Danny, pointing his gun in Steve's direction.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man warned. Steve made no more advances, but took the moment to look over Grace for any injuries. He was relieved to find none. Every inch of himself wanted to reach forward and grab her, but he didn't dare move. He could hear the cries of the Aloha Girls behind him as the scout leader huddled them together in an attempt to protect them.
"Now I want everyone to move to the shed over there," the gunman directed as he pushed Danny forward, gun still trained on Steve. Steve's eyes met Danny's and Danny gave him a small nod. Steve turned and began walking with the group to the campsite's supply shed. Once everyone was inside, Steve remained at the entrance, looking between the gunman, Grace, and his partner.
"Just let the girl stay with me," Steve pleaded.
"The detective and the girl come with me. Now, get inside before someone gets hurt," the man demanded as he trained the gun on Danny instead of Steve. Fear rippled through Steve's body at the sight of the gun just inches from his partner. He could see in Danny's eyes how little care he had for his own safety. The only person Danny was thinking of was Grace. For his partner, Steve tried once more to reason with the gunman.
"Please, let the girl stay. Detective Williams can lead you wherever you need to go, and he can do it much faster without having to lead his daughter as well," Steve urged hoping the man would see reason.
In one quick motion, Ron stepped back and pulled the trigger.
Steve raced forward as Danny fell to the ground and Grace screamed for her Danno. Danny moaned as he pulled his arm to his chest and pressed his arm to his shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
"You son of a bitch!" Steve yelled as he placed his hands over Danny's. They were instantly covered in blood.
"Now get in the shed!" Steve turned to see the gun pointed at Grace now. Danny latched onto Steve's hands and said, "Steve, please go. Don't let him hurt her." Danny's eyes pleaded with Steve, and Steve gathered himself up and walked into the shed. The last thing he saw before the door shut was Danny lifting himself off the ground and pulling Grace into his strong arms. Steve heard the lock slam into place and the shouts of the gunman for Danny and Grace to get moving. Steve vowed then and there that he would hunt down that son of a bitch and kill him. He just had to find a way out first.