"Eh-chew! Eh-chew! Eh-chew!"
"You know, your sneezes don't sound like what I'd expect them to, you being a tough as nails Navy SEAL and all," Danny said. "You kind of sound like a cat sneezing."
Steve looked at his partner through bleary, red eyes. "Shut up, Danno," he said hoarsely. "And if you hadn't come to work sick like I told you not to, you wouldn't even know what my sneezes sound like in the first place."
Danny grimaced a bit at the truth of that statement. "Yeah. Sorry about that."
Chin and Kono looked at Danny pointedly. "He's absolutely right, Danny," Kono said in a somewhat scathing tone. "Next time you better listen to him."
They had listened to their boss repeatedly tell their colleague to go home to no avail. Danny recovered within a few days, but not before he'd infected both Chin and Kono. Now, it seemed, it was their boss' turn.
Steve sniffled into a tissue, threw it into the trash, and grabbed his suit jacket. He checked his watch and sighed, which led to coughing. "Ugh," he groaned. "I'm going to the meeting with the governor, then I'm going home."
"Why don't you just skip it?" Danny asked.
"Because I'd rather not get my ass chewed out even more for missing it. It's not going to be good anyway. The new SWAT captain is going to be there, and he's still pissed at me. I don't need to give him anything else to run off at the mouth about."
"Well, then, just don't sneeze, okay? You'll never live that down."
Not turning around, Steve walked out of Five-0 with his middle finger raised above his head.
Steve shifted in his seat yet again as Captain Lou Grover droned on and on about SWAT. Governor Denning watched him from across the table. Commander McGarrett clearly didn't feel well. He'd been cordial but it seemed he was losing his patience as Captain Grover continued, much to the amusement of the governor. Not that Steve had much patience anyway, Denning mused. Steve was, at times, a loose cannon. He was headstrong, stubborn, and opinionated. But he was also one of the most natural and best leaders he had ever seen, and Denning had great respect for the man. While he didn't always show the greatest caution, he always had the best of intentions. He had an innate sense of what was right. He fought for the underdog, the lesser, the oppressed. He was an enigma, though; a force to be reckoned with and Denning was glad to be on the same side.
A soft snort and a mumbling of something that sounded very much like "pompous ass" pulled Denning out of his reverie.
" I'm sorry, Commander?" Captain Grover said. "What was that?"
"Not a thing, Captain Grover." Steve leaned back in his chair. The others chuckled.
"Oh, no, Commander, sir," Captain Grover said sarcastically. "If you think you could have done better than me and my team, please share how your elite task force would have handled these situations."
"That's not what the problem is, Grover. The problem is that you've spent the last fifteen minutes going on and on about how your team is doing so well. You realize it's your job, right? To do well? No one is expecting you to go out there and suck it up."
Grover huffed.
Steve rubbed at his forehead, then pushed his chair back. "Are we finished here, Sam?"
"I believe so," Denning said, bringing the meeting to a close. "I'll see you all next month."
As the rest of the group left, Denning stopped Steve. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Coming down with a cold, I think."
Denning nodded. "Well, take care of yourself. Take a few days off, why don't you? You're running yourself ragged."
"Thanks, Sam. I'll see you."
Captain Grover stomped to his car, muttering under his breath. "Pompous ass. He's the pompous ass. Got the governor in his pocket. Elite task force. You realize it's your job, right?" He mimicked and made a face. If there was one man that could get under his skin within minutes, it was Steve McGarrett. Captain Grover continued his muttering, "Cocky, arrogant...full immunity and means. I'd like to show him full immunity and means-"
He stopped muttering as he heard a sound. He turned to see Commander McGarrett sneezing as he walked to his truck.
Huh, Grover thought, grinning. I may be a pompous ass, but at least I don't sound like a cat when I sneeze.