A/N: This story is dark. There are warnings: spoilers, rape, torture, a bit of language, and deaths of multiple original and canon characters (none of the team). This story is set during the last episode of Season Two and avoids the mess that was the Delano kidnappings. Malia is still alive, but she does not appear in this story.
This was written at least three years ago. Obviously, my writing style has changed. I hope that means that the story is still enjoyable for you, dear readers.
As always, let me know if something bothers you and thank you for reading.
-Scaredbeingsinthedark aka WalkingDictionary
Part I
Prologue:
Danny Williams hates being a good friend sometimes. Right now, he hates it so much more than usual. His friend, Steve McGarrett roped him into helping clean out an old storage locker of his parents'. Somehow, he'd been able to pull the rest of the team—Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua—into it too. Along with Kamekona, shave ice/shrimp truck entrepreneur, and Steve's former commander, Joe White. The only ones here of their own free will are the McGarretts. Mary had flown in especially for this, and Steve is the bastard who'd set them all up.
"Heads up," Steve says to Danny as he tosses an old stroller at him. "You ever think of having another kid?"
"Maybe," Danny hedges, curious as to what has brought this side of Steve out. "A couple years, the right woman." He waits patiently while Steve digs out a large, empty box. "Why you wanna know? You ever think of having kids?"
"I might," Steve says, handing him the box and then tossing small non-breakables at him to fill it with. "I don't know. Mary says she wants kids in three years. I'm older, aren't I supposed to have kids first?"
"Let me tell you something," Danny says, motioning for Steve to stop a minute. "My baby sister, six years younger than me, she had kids first. Because of that, it was easy to decide. So yeah, wait for Mary to have her kids to see if you want your own. Don't do it just to do it first."
"Are you the oldest in your family?" Steve's already back to his pile of crap, a few more things tossed at Danny as he finds them.
"The oldest what? Boy? Child? No, neither. I've got an older brother and an older sister. My mom? She pushed out eight of us."
"Eight of you?" Steve stops digging for more knickknacks and pins Danny with a narrowed-eye stare.
"What?" Danny demands.
"Just thinking," Steve says.
"About what?" Awful, Danny thinks. This is like pulling teeth from someone who just does not care.
"There are eight of you? Are you all alike?" Steve flaps a hand in a jabber motion. "All talking nonstop?"
Danny just glares at him before chucking a small, stuffed moose at his chest. Steve laughs, tossing it back.
They finish cleaning their section—quadrant, Steve'd called it, and of course he would have tackled this as a military operation—without exchanging another word. Steve still chuckles now and again, but Danny is determined not to engage him.
Mary and Kono collect them for lunch; shrimp and shave ice from Kamekona's truck. Despite never having indigestion from anything but the seasonings, Danny calls it a salmonella-on-wheels provider. Kamekona huffs a bit, puffs a lot, and charges Danny an extra hand for his lunch, but in the end, they're all still almost-friends and as close as any family forced to work together can be.
Still, it's a surprise when, as they are digesting their food, and Danny is plotting excuses to get out of cleaning the rest of the storage locker, Mary and Steve hand each of them a bag.
"Oh, you gave us stuff from your dead parents," Danny says. Steve glares at him. "I mean, thank you for giving us stuff."
"Go ahead and open them," Mary says, seeming not to notice the animosity between her brother and his partner.
Danny finds an old watch in his bag. Chin has a case of collector's cards. Kono gets a bunch of small tiki-surfboards, the kind one sets on a shelf and then dreads dusting. Kamekona opens a crate of old VHS tapes. And Joe White swears softly when he pulls out an old jewelry box.
"Son, I can't keep this," he says, already shoving it back at Steve. Danny can sense the fear from Joe.
"Hey, you know my dad wanted you to have this. Don't make me be a bad son by not getting you to take it."
"What is it?" Danny asks, nose firmly planted exactly where he's sure Steve doesn't want it. "Why are you giving that to Joe?"
"Because," Steve says through gritted teeth, "my dad gave it to my mom for their twentieth wedding anniversary. He'd actually forgotten to get anything for her, so Joe gave him this jewelry box to surprise her. Mom was killed two weeks later. Dad couldn't quite give it back because she'd loved it so much. He made me promise to get it back to Joe when he died."
"You really should keep it," Joe says. "Maybe Mary wants it."
Mary looks up at her name, studies the box, and shakes her head. "Dad always said it was yours. He made me promise if Steve died before him, that I would get it to you."
Joe sighs, offering it to everyone at the table. Chin and Kono glare but don't say anything. Danny does—he runs on a bit about how it's insulting to all the McGarretts, even the dead ones, especially the dead ones, that he won't take it. When he's done ranting, Joe looks contrite and he keeps the box.
Steve smiles again and bumps shoulders with Danny—a sign he's happy with him again.
"What do you think of adoption?" he asks then, showing Danny how his new-old watch opens to store a small photograph.
"I don't know," Danny replies, thinking right place, right time. "Maybe. Depends."
"Okay," Steve draws out the word, seemingly pensive rather than annoyed at Danny's non-answer. "Okay," he says again, "let's get back to work. There may be more 'stuff' in it for all of you."
"Sounds good," Danny says, letting everyone wander off to their vehicles to store the things they'd gotten, while he pulls a copy of Grace's latest school picture from his wallet. He uses a pocketknife to carefully trim the sides until he can put the picture in the watch. He slips it on and looks up to find Steve smiling at him.
"Ready?" he asks, and Danny nods.
"Lead the way."