Disclaimer: Still own absolutely bugger all. No copyright infringement intended.

***H5-0***

Danny pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, fingers trapped in his hair and elbows rested just above his knees as he sat on the plastic chair. He couldn't believe what was happening. His partner was not exactly right in the head – never had been – but still, he shouldn't be waiting for … well, this. It just wasn't right.

Steve was the bad-ass SEAL who dangled people from rooftops and took a five mile swim in an ocean full of predators without so much as a second thought. He was the larger-than-life, scary one. The indestructible one. The one who simply refused to break no matter what kind of shit life threw at him – and the universe just kept on sending it.

Danny had thought he would be broken many times. The final run-in with that asshole, Wo Fat for one. He had gathered his friend in his arms often in the nights that followed his last kidnap and torture at the hands of that man. If he had thought the previous episodes were bad, they hadn't held a candle to the last one. He had woken from his dreams screaming for his Daddy like a little kid; convinced the man was still alive and with no clear memory of the last four years … until he truly awakened, when the cold, hard facts hit him like a freight train and sent him scurrying to his bathroom to evict more than Wo Fat's lies.

The truth was, for all that Steve had been through, he seemed to have a remarkable capacity for just … dealing with it. All of it. He would wobble and falter, but he never fell. Not really. He just got right back up there on that horse and kept on riding. And that damned horse just kept on going, never stopping or slowing down. And when Danny had needed someone, Steve's big, strong horse had picked him up too and carried the pair of them forward until Danny learned to ride again alone.

Seeing him here, like … that – and all because of his daughter – had thrown Danny for a loop. He had never seen Steve look so damned …vulnerable. So weak and … unthreatening. It brought a lump to his throat just thinking about it now, sitting on the hard plastic chair just beyond the thick doors. The man had been so damned white – Danny would have sworn up and down that even his hair was white. His bloodshot and wearily half-lidded eyes the only part of him that had held some colour. Danny's daughter, on the other hand, was positively vibrant. She was all colour. All colour and life and youthful exuberance. She was more amazing than she had ever been, if that was even possible, and it was all thanks to Steve.

Danny had had no idea what his daughter had been up to. His fiercely intelligent and determined little girl was growing into a feisty and intriguing young woman … and a damned good liar. To say he'd been shocked would be a gross understatement. He had absolutely no idea what she had been plotting, or indeed that her 'Uncle Steve' had been so very … complicit. And that he had done what he'd done for Danny's daughter? He had no words. None. All he had was the lump in his throat and the tears in his eyes … and a sore backside from sitting in those god-awful plastic chairs.

Danny looked up at the thick double doors once more, hoping he could see his partner now and tell him how much his actions meant to him – how much he meant, to Danny. Danny couldn't imagine anyone else being so willing to sacrifice themselves in the way Steve just had, regardless of the strength of their 'ohana. He would never be able to thank him enough. If he could just get back there and let him know.

A noise behind him startled Danny from his reverie and he turned to see Chin and Kono approaching. He stood as Chin pulled him into a warm embrace.

"Brah, that was unreal," Chin released Danny from the hold but maintained a firm hand on his shoulder as he continued. "Have you seen Steve yet?"

"It was pretty unbelievable and no, they won't let me back there."

Chin nodded his understanding, squeezing Danny's shoulder once before dropping into the next hard plastic chair. "So we wait here then."

"Gracie, she's so … I mean … wow … I'd never have thought that she could, you know, do something like that." Kono sniffed, dabbing at her nose with a tissue stained with mascara.

"Hey – that's my daughter you're talking about and I'll have you know that she can do anything she puts her mind to, just like her old man!" Danny grinned.

"You would never have done what Steve did in a million years!" Chin laughed and shook his head.

"Yes I would … well … okay, I probably wouldn't … well, what I mean is I would do anything for my baby girl, I'm just not entirely sure I'd have been as good at it as he was."

"Whoa, brah – don't let him hear you say that! We'll never hear the end of it!"

"Don't let me hear you say what, exactly?" Steve smirked at the three of them as he strolled through the double doors looking like the cat who got all the cream.

"Steve!" Kono practically leapt on the man and he staggered backwards as her arms wrapped around his neck like a hungry octopus.

"I take it you liked it then?" Steve squirmed from the embrace before he was throttled half to death and looked to his friends hopefully.

"Did we like it? Steve, for once you left me completely speechless – in a good way. Come here you big goof." Danny reached out and pulled his friend into a one armed hug, the softly whispered "thank you" answered with a "you're welcome, Danno."

"I must say, you're looking a lot healthier now, though I'm not so sure the grey hair suits you, brah."

Steve chuckled, "No showers here, Chin, so I'll have to wait until I get home to restore my youthful locks to their former glory."

Danny snorted.

"What? Just because I don't need three weeks in the bathroom to get ready, doesn't mean I don't take some pride in my appearance."

"Whatever you say, Mr three-minute-shower-and-an-all-in-one-wash."

"That's it? That's all you've got?"

"Yeah well, much as I could go on for days about your complete absence of a wardrobe that doesn't include cargo pants and boots, or the fact that you just chop that mop of yours off the moment it becomes long enough to actually require a brush, tonight you get a free pass."

"I do?"

"You do. Because that, my friend, was a very brave and very kind thing you just did. For my daughter. So thank you."

"Yeah boss, Danny's right. And you were a great ghost even if you didn't say anything."

"They couldn't give him lines, he doesn't have the brain capacity to remember all the long words."

"I thought I got a free pass?"

"You did. A free pass. Singular," Danny grinned. "Now what have you done with my daughter, huh?"

"She had to see the drama teacher after she got changed to discuss the piece and get her performance grade. I'm sure she won't be long – what else could he say but 'that was awesome' and give her an A?"

"So we should celebrate – I'll stop for beers on the way back to yours if you like?"

Danny's eyes widened at Kono's suggestion. "I'll have you know that while my precious daughter may have just given a very grown-up performance of the great Virginia Woolf, she is still a minor, ergo, there will be no drinking of beer. Period!"

"Not to worry, brah. We'll get something a little more soft for Grace. I'll get us some steaks too."

"Okay then. We'll see you back at Steve's."

Danny plopped himself down into the little plastic chair once again, Steve mirroring him to his right to wait for Grace to emerge.

"So you really liked it then? And not just because Gracie was in it and amazing?"

"Yes, Steven, I did." Danny looked at his friend and smiled. The now-clean face was a stark contrast to the painted white of his hair and was made even more comical by the remnants of eyeliner still visible over his lashes. That the usually BAMF man had forgone all of his usual persona to stand in the shadows on the other side of mirror frames, portraying the pale ghost of Virginia Woolf's father as Grace had performed a haunting monologue depicting the woman's spiral into depression and mental ill-health, was a source of much admiration. The fact that his daughter had written the piece herself and had directed the lighting and designed the set and costumes had Danny almost bursting with pride. The pair of them had conspired to keep it all a secret, a late birthday gift, of sorts. Steve was so far outside his comfort zone – he'd just performed, on an actual stage … in front of people. He hadn't bolted like he'd done all those years ago. He'd done precisely what was asked of him, in full stage make-up and period dress – not a cargo pant in sight. He had been possibly more expressive in those fifteen minutes of silent performance than in the whole time Danny had known him – a thought which made Danny smile even more. "I liked it very much indeed, Steve. Very much indeed."

Danny could have sworn Steve was blushing.

"And for the record, this salt and pepper hair thing you've got going on? Sexy, babe. Sexy."

"You think?" Steve waggled his eyebrows and gave Danny that lopsided grin.

"Mmhmm." Danny licked his lips and drew his teeth across his lower lip suggestively.

"Maybe I'll leave it as is then."

"Yeah, you could do that," Danny reached up and teased the hairs between his fingers. "But if you did, you wouldn't need me to help you shampoo all this makeup out in the shower later, would you," Danny winked, before standing to greet his daughter, leaving his partner open-mouthed and maybe just a little hot under the collar.