Makali'i, a hawaii five-0 fanfic

This is my first fanfic in the Hawaii Five-0 universe. I've enjoyed all the stories here so much and decided to dive on in. I finished the story last week and was delighted when the latest episode, Ma Ke Kahakai-'ino dealt with petroglyphs as I have a huge interest in Hawaiian culture. So I went back and edited to include some references to that episode. I've researched but any errors remaining are my own. Note: This is not preslash in any way, as I don't write slash. Just my insights into the strength and inspiration that can be found in purely platonic friendship, something often overlooked in our world today, unfortunately.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll enjoy Makali'i.

Makali'i

by JET

Danny Williams rubbed his knuckles against his eyes in a futile attempt to force away the last remnants of sleep. It wasn't working.

Saturday morning at four AM. What the hell was Steven thinking?

McGarrett had refused to elaborate on the necessity of a before the break of dawn weekend excursion. He told Danny only that he would pick him up at four, adding a dire warning of 'don't be late'. As if the words weren't enough, there'd been that Commander McGarrett stare. Steve could probably count on one hand the number of men who had dared disobey that combination of voice and steely gaze and still have a couple of fingers left over.

There wasn't a damn thing Danny could think of on this chunk of volcanic rock in the Pacific that wouldn't wait until a decent hour.

Say nine or ten AM. Perhaps noon.

It was Saturday, after all.

It was just so damned hard to say no to McGarrett. The man was accustomed to being obeyed without question or delay. Not to say Danny didn't try. Hell, he was willing to brave the odds. He threw every excuse in his vast arsenal of arguments at Steve. None of them stuck. So here he was, stumbling down the stairs of his rather dilapidated apartment building at four AM in the damn morning.

Punctual to a fault, Steve was already waiting outside, his car idling at the curb. When he saw Danny approach, yawning and stretching, he tapped his watch.

Who wears a watch on Saturday at four AM anyway? Anal retentive, military indoctrinated, head bashing, shark baiting...in other words, McGarrett.

"Don't even say it," Danny mumbled, closing the car door with his right hand and making a cutting gesture with his left. "Don't even think it. Not late...right at four." His voice was husky. Not surprising as he'd been dead asleep only thirty minutes ago.

Steve pulled into the street, barely glancing in his mirror. Of course the street was deserted. What kind of idiots would be out and about at four AM anyway? Idiots like us, Danny grumbled silently.

McGarrett glanced his way, a grin teasing the corners of his mouth. "Good thing. We're on a strict schedule here, Danno." He gestured to the cup holder nearest his partner. "Got you coffee. Lots of cream and sugar. That should charge your batteries."

Grateful, Danny reached for the coffee, warming his hands against the cup. No, it wasn't cold. It was never cold in Hawaii. Here it was late November and the weather was warm and beautiful. Perfect. Always perfect. Not like Jersey where they had real winters and real autumns and real springs. Summers...not much difference in the two places there.

No, it wasn't his body that was cold. More like his heart. His soul.

The past few weeks, the Five-0 team had handled more than its share of intense cases. These were the ones that tired you mentally, physically, and most of all, emotionally.

First had been the drug bust. A good thing, right? Not when it turned out that one of the pushers they'd busted had been a distant cousin of Chin's. Danny figured out fast that there was no such thing as a distant cousin in Hawaii. Family was family, brah.

This particular family managed to twist the facts around so it was all the 'crooked cop's fault'. Not the one actually pedaling the dope. Chin's fault.

Danny hated the thought, but it seemed clear that Chin's family, with few exceptions, would never accept that Chin had not been guilty. The harsh words and withering stares from virtually every member of the family they'd contacted during the case had the team in knots, especially Chin and Kono. The cousins' loyalty ran deep as did the team's.

On the heels of the bust had been the discovery of two truly corrupt cops during an investigation into a rash of jewelry heists. Danny took it personally when fellow officers were found to be no better than the scum they were charged with busting. That case hadn't involved blood family but it certainly had torn at the hearts of the family who wore the uniform and defended the island of Oahu. And though he denied with every fiber of his being that he belonged here, Danny hated the betrayal as intensely as those born in the islands.

Just when Danny thought things could not get worse, they did. A hell of a lot worse. He had worked some pretty gruesome crime scenes back in New Jersey, but none had affected him as this one had. And his emotions had been right out there for McGarrett to see.

Damn, he hated that.

A crazed father was out for revenge on the wife who was filing divorce papers. He called his wife with news of his plan en route to the preschool where their daughter attended, and Five-0 caught the call, along with every other unit anywhere near the scene.

The father beat them there by mere minutes, calmly walking in with a gun in each hand. In his muddled mix of despair and hatred, he took away what the woman cherished most - her daughter. Their daughter. In the process, he also killed the preschool teacher and her assistant, both begging, crying, and trying in vain to protect the young children. When his killing was done, the cowardly bastard turned the gun on himself.

Good riddance.

Even as he and Steve drove to the scene, Danny knew he wouldn't handle this one well. A sick feeling took over his gut and refused to relinquish its hold.

When they arrived at the preschool and Danny saw the tiny crumpled and bleeding body, he'd had to rush out the door to be sick. He wasn't sure he could go into this crime scene and do his job. He damn sure wasn't being professional, despite the tie and crisp white shirt. Leaning against a tree, his breath coming in short hitches, for the first time in his career, Danny Williams debated hanging it all up and applying for work doing something else - anything else. Nobody got paid enough for this.

If there was one thing Danny took completely seriously, it was his job, his profession as a detective. It ranked right behind his job as father, and right now, the two seemed inextricably tied together. How would Grace ever respect her Danno if he gave it all up and ran?

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he willed his hands to stop shaking, then turned around and headed to the door of the preschool.

When Danny rejoined Steve, still pale and clammy, he'd caught the concerned look in Steve's eyes. Danny had expected a mild lecture on keeping it together at crime scenes, no matter how disturbing. After all, McGarrett, the man of steel, wouldn't let the blood and gore of a preschool shooting shake him, right?

Their eyes met and held but Steven just nodded. Seconds later, as they knelt over the body of the little girl, Danny felt Steve's shoulder press against his, lending silent support.

Steven understood. His partner got it. McGarrett understood that it was impossible for Danny not to think of Grace in this place that should have been a safe haven but wasn't.

He knew he'd allowed his accumulated stress to get the better of him the last few days. His normal humor had been sharper, more cutting sarcasm than humor. He'd felt like biting his tongue after he'd snapped at Kono yesterday - over nothing really. But she was so young, so thrilled to be working on the Five-0 team, that it just irritated the hell out of him right now.

Give her a decade or so. See if she still found joy in her work. Especially if she had to leave her home and move thousands of miles away.

"Danno! Hey, you with me here?" Steven's voice penetrated his dark thoughts, and his head jerked up from the headrest. When had he closed his eyes?

"Yeah! Here, Steven. Right here, good to go." He retrieved his cup and took another sip of coffee, peering through the darkness. The lights of Honolulu were gone. An inky blackness surrounded them, making the green glow of the instrument panel the only light visible beyond the stars shining overhead and the pale glow of a thin moon.

"Where the hell are we anyway?" Out of habit, he reached for the radio, but Steve slapped his hand away.

"Keep it quiet, ok?" McGarrett's voice was subdued. The words were spoken as a request rather than an order.

"We're parking here." Suddenly, he pulled off the road into a cleared spot on the narrow shoulder that looked like it could barely hold two vehicles.

Danny regarded Steve's profile and decided that discretion might be the better part of valor under the unusual circumstances. When he was handed one of his partner's jackets and a flashlight, he knew he was right. Whatever their reason for this predawn excursion, Steve knew exactly what he was doing. Danny prided himself on his intuition and he was getting very strong 'do as I say' vibes from his partner.

They got out of the car. "It will be chilly where we're heading. Put on the jacket."

"I have jackets," Danny started but he cut himself off. "Real jackets. Coats, actually. You need them in New Jersey, Steven, because they actually have cold weather there."

Steve ignored him completely, slipping into his own leather jacket and zipping it up.

Fine. If Steve thought he would run the risk of getting chilled in the tropics, he would put on the damn jacket.

Of course it was too large. Irritated, Danny jerked the sleeves up so his hands emerged. "Gargantuan," he muttered and heard Steve's soft chuckle.

McGarrett's flashlight blazed through the blackness. "Turn on your light. Stay behind me on the trail. It's narrow, and we'll be climbing. When I say to turn off the light, just follow close. We have to go in dark."

"Where exactly are we going?" This sounded like a military mission. He didn't expect a straight answer and wasn't surprised when Steve grunted, "Just trust me, okay? Stay close, Danno."

Fine. Be a hardass about it. Get me up at three AM and out at four on Saturday morning. Lead me out in the middle of nowhere. Shut up, Danno, and follow me. Right...

He had to hustle to keep up with Steve's longer strides, but it wasn't long before McGarrett slowed the pace. "You weren't lying," Danny observed as the path through the trees sharply sloped upward. "We are climbing."

"The path's rocky. Watch your steps. It'll get a little steeper now."

Minutes later, he fumbled to zip Steve's jacket as the predawn wind began to cut through his thin shirt. Cold in Hawaii. Who'd have guessed?

Branches and brush whipped at his face and body as they climbed. If this was a hiking trail, it wasn't a very popular one.

"How much farther?" Danny panted as the trail twisted and turned its way up the mountainside. "Where the hell are we anyway?"

Steve's voice floated back on the cold breeze. "Koolau Mountains. Not much farther."

It felt like miles, but then Danny was taking two steps to each of McGarrett's. When he thought he was either going to freeze or his lungs would fail, Steve stopped in his tracks. Danny pulled up fast to keep from colliding.

"Kill the light." Steve's flashlight abruptly went out. Shaking his head, Danny turned off his light and darkness enveloped them. He could hear Steve's breath close beside him but all that was visible was the outline of his shoulders against the dark sky.

McGarrett didn't move. Danny asked, "Are we there?" This made no sense. They were just standing on the path in the dark. Was this it?

Patiently, Steve said quietly, "Let your eyes adjust to the dark. Then we'll go a little farther up the trail. We'll be at the summit in a few minutes."

"Summit?" Danny's disbelief registered in the single word. "You really know how to spend a day off, Steven."

Mountain climbing in the dark. Only Steve...

McGarrett's voice was hushed as he leaned closer in to Danny. "When we get there, stay close and stay quiet. I'll whisper and try to explain what's going on."

Not giving him time to question, Steve turned, forging up the trail in the nearly complete darkness. Danny stumbled on a stone, tripping forward a few steps and yelped. He wasn't wild about this 'hike in the dark' crap. Was Steve trying to injure his other knee? McGarrett slowed, waiting, then whispered, "You okay?" After Danny's muttered affirmation, Steve added, "Grab my jacket and hold on. No talking from here."

Gripping a fist of Steve's leather jacket, Danny felt slightly more secure. Sighing heavily, he followed close behind his partner, silently voicing the complaints he couldn't lodge verbally.

Without warning, they were in the clear. The forest disappeared and they were standing on a pali, a high cliff or lookout. A few lights from houses twinkled in the distance, a weak imitation of the stars still twinkling in the dark sky. Nature's brush painted the scene in silver, a ghostly reflection of the sliver of moon above.

Steve moved a little farther before stopping near the edge of the pali. A constant wind whistled through the branches. Danny shivered, shoving his hands deep in the pockets of his borrowed jacket. Steve moved to stand close beside him, their shoulders touching.

McGarrett whispered, "We'll watch from here. No matter what happens, stay quiet. We're the only guests here. Outsiders. This is something few haoles ever see. It is an honor to be allowed to attend."

"See what?" Danny whispered, but Steven's hand squeezed his shoulder, cutting off the questions. Steve's head jerked to the right, and Danny followed his gaze. It was then that he saw them. Steve's voice whispered close to his ear, his breath warm and welcome in the cold wind.

It is the start of Ho'o-ilo, the rainy season. In Hawaiian tradition winter begins when the Makali'i star cluster rises at sunset and sets at dawn. Haoles know these stars as the Seven Sisters or Pleaides. It is revered as the place from which the first Hawaiian people came to Earth. The Hawaiians have always placed special importance on connections to Makali'i. Ho'o-ilo lasts until Kau, the summer. This is the first night of Ho'o-lio and we are gathered here to honor the first setting of Makali'i. Shhh...

The drumming began, softly at first, then escalating to a constant thrumming that reverberated throughout Danny's body. He felt the pulse deep in his gut, and soon could feel it traveling through his bloodstream, a part of him yet apart as well.

Gradually, he became aware of low chanting that moved in and out of rhythm with the drums, a masculine call and response that Danny instinctively knew would have sounded exactly the same hundreds of years in the past or a thousand years from this moment.

The chanters and drummers emerged from the trees, moving slowly in time with the percussion. They were twenty-five strong, young men and old, naked except for some kind of skirt-contraption around their waists and necklaces of shells or kukui nuts with fern wreaths encircling their foreheads.

As if reading his thoughts, Steve's whisper again warmed his ear.

These are members of a select sect here on Oahu, dedicated to keeping the ancient traditions alive. In the old days, they would have been high priests and ali'i, the royalty of the islands. Today they observe the tradition of males only participating in certain ceremonies. Women keep their traditional ceremonies separately, in the way of their ancestors. They're wearing the traditional malo made from tapa cloth. Tapa is made by pounding tree bark until it's soft. The head leis of fern are called haku leis and are only worn on special occasions. Each one is hand woven just for this day.

A small group of men stepped forward, and without visible signal, the drumming changed tempo and character. The men began dancing, chanting a new song, moving gracefully while their hands danced separately, yet in harmony with their bodies and the drums.

Steve nudged him gently then whispered:

Only men danced the hula in ancient Hawaii, and it was a religious dance with strict training. There were many kapus - taboos that were forbidden to the students. Dancers could not cut their nails or hair, and some foods were forbidden. The hands tell the story, to give thanks to the gods or honor the ali'i. This hula is to honor Makali'i, to give thanks for the coming rainy season and for the harvest just gathered.

Danny felt he had been transported to another world, far beyond the Hawai'i he had known since his reluctant arrival in the islands. The moonlit predawn, stars above, the chanting, rhythmic pulsing of the drums, the grace of the dancers movements...it felt so surreal. In the months he'd lived on this island, he had no idea anything like this existed.

This hula was sacred, graceful and powerful. Nothing like the brightly clad, shapely girls shaking their hips at the Kodak Hula Show as the tourists snapped their photos. A small knot of shame formed in his gut at the thought of the wisecracks he'd made denigrating the hula. He'd even forbidden Grace to dance her childish version of the dance for him. The hula the tourists saw bore no resemblance to this dance of history, beauty and dignity.

As unexpectedly as it had begun, the dancing ceased with a loud drumbeat. The utter silence that followed struck his senses like a blow. The only sound was the incessant wind whistling over the pali.

An elderly man stepped forward slowly, leaning heavily on a twisted cane. His face wreathed in wrinkles with his gnarled hand grasping his cane, he might have been seventy or one hundred. His was an ageless face, a timeless face, and Danny could not take his eyes from it.

The old man turned his head and without hesitation, he met Danny's blue eyes. A faint smile played at his lips as he acknowledged the two haoles with the smallest of nods. Beside him, Danny felt Steven lower his head and without instruction, he did the same.

Respect came easily in this place.

A younger man followed behind his elder, holding a basket high over his head. As they reached the lip of the pali, he lowered the woven basket and bowed his head.

The old man began to chant. In a voice that seemed to come from the generations, that spoke of power and pride, he sang:

E ala e

Ka la i kahikina

I ka moana

Ka moana hohonu

Pi'i ka lewa

Ka lewa nu'u

I kahikina

Aia ka la.

E ala e!

As the elder sang, Steve translated the song softly in Danny's ear:

Awaken/Arise

The sun in the east

From the ocean

The ocean deep

Climbing to the heaven

The heaven highest

In the east

There is the sun

Awaken!

The question of how Steven could translate the beautiful melodies of the Hawaiian language into English flitted across Danny's mind but vanished as vapor in the mountain air. On this miraculous morning, nothing could be impossible.

The elder sang the song through three times, accompanied each time by Steve's whispered translation.

Just as the last words sang out, a glow appeared in the distance, giving illumination to the blue Pacific. The horizon brightened with each passing second, first pink then a rich orange that strengthened to a brilliant scarlet. As the sun slipped above the horizon, dawn greeted the pali with a gentle, welcoming glow.

The wizened old man smiled broadly, laughed aloud, then lifted an object from the basket and slowly bent to place it with shaking hands on a large black rock at the pali's edge.

That is the offering, the ho'okupu, most likely a fish or other food offering, wrapped in ti leaves, presented to the gods as a gesture of thanks. It will have been blessed before it was brought here to the pali. This is a tradition among the Kanaka Maoli 'O Hawai'i, the indigenous people of the islands.

Steve's last words were overshadowed by a new chant, this time by all the men gathered on the pali. The drums kept a steady beat but it wasn't necessary. The words carried their own rhythm, their own driving force.

Na 'Aumakua mai ka la hiki a ka la kau!

Mai ka ho'oku'i a ka halawai

Na 'Aumakua ia Kahinakua, ia Kahina'alo

Ia ka'a 'akau i ka lani

'O kiha i ka lani

'Owe i ka lani

Nunulu i ka lani

Kaholo i ka lani

Eia na pulapula a 'oukou 'o ka po'e Hawai'i

E malama 'oukou ia makou

E ulu i ka lani

E ulu i ka honua

E ulu i ka pae'aina o Hawai'i

E ho mai i ka 'ike

E ho mai i ka ikaika

E ho mai i ke akamai

E ho mai i ka maopopo pono

E ho mai i ka 'ike papalua

E ho mai i ka mana.

'Amama ua noa.

Steve whispered to him:

Ancestors from the rising to the setting sun

From the zenith to the horizon

Ancestors who stand at our back and front

You who stand at our right hand

A breathing in the heavens

An utterance in the heavens

A clear, ringing voice in the heavens

A voice reverberating in the heavens

Here are your descendants, the Hawaiians

Safeguard us

That we may flourish in the heavens

That we may flourish on earth

That we may flourish in the Hawaiian islands

Grant us knowledge

Grant us strength

Grant us intelligence

Grant us understanding

Grant us insight

Grant us power

The prayer is lifted, it is free.

The chant fell silent, and as one, the men turned and slipped into the shadows of the trees, the drumbeat gradually fading into nothingness.

For once in his life, Danny Williams was at a loss for words. Leaving Steve's side, he walked slowly to the edge of the pali, gazing at the beauty spread before him as a Thanksgiving feast, wondering how he had never really seen it before. The morning sun danced on the calm ocean, littering its turquoise surface with millions of tiny sparkling diamonds. The pali's wind softened slightly, and the sun's welcomed warmth touched his face.

He felt Steven's presence behind him. A hand rested lightly on his shoulder.

"Why?" Danny's question was soft enough not to disturb the peace of moment. "Why bring me here?"

For a long moment there was only the sound of the wind in reply. Then, in a voice as soft as his partner's, came a quiet reply. "I'm not sure. It just felt important to me."

"You never do anything without a good reason, Steven. Spill it."

Steve hesitated, his hand on Danny's shoulder tightening for a moment. "Maybe...I guess..." He stopped, then drew a long breath. "Same reason I showed you those petroglyphs a couple of months ago when I fell. The history of the islands - it's important. This team - Five-O - it's important to me." McGarrett hesitated before adding softly, "You're important to me."

Danny turned to look up at his partner. "And that fits in with Hawaiian culture? How exactly do you figure that?"

A slight grimace twisted Steve's face. "I know it's been a tough month. We've all felt it, but it's been harder on you. That day at the preschool hit you hard, with good reason. I know you're only in the islands because of Gracie, but I want you to be here - working with Five-O - because it's the only place you really want to be. I just want to help you be content here, Danno. To love these islands as I do." Steve looked over Danny's head at the vista stretching out before them. "This place will become a part of your soul if you just let it in."

McGarrett looked back down at him, his hand once again finding his partner's shoulder. Danny sensed Steve had more to say and waited, their eyes locked.

"In the SEALS, I worked with a team and we were tight, you know? Any one of us would have died for the others." Again, Steve's gaze shifted to a point somewhere beyond Danny's shoulder.

"That was duty." Steve squeezed his shoulder. "This is something more. I've never had a partner before. I'm finding that's a whole different thing. And Danno, I do realize it's not an easy assignment to be my partner."

"Got that right," Danny quipped, more than a little uncomfortable with how to handle this serious, sensitive Steve McGarrett. "Throwing out the rules, ignoring procedures, charging into hostage situations solo...hell, putting a suspect in shark infested waters! You're right! You're definitely not the easiest guy to work with. Super-seal, that's what you are. A lean, mean fighting machine through and through!" He faked a groan of exasperation and rolled his eyes but his grin betrayed him as he watched Steve carefully to gauge his reaction.

Steven completely ignored Danny's attempt to steer things back to the familiar ground of bickering and humor. In that moment, Danny Williams realized exactly how important all this was to McGarrett, how hard it must be for the career military man to make himself this vulnerable.

Steve looked back down at Danny. ""You're right. I'm not trained as a cop, so I can't be an easy guy to team up with. I don't make friends easily either. Acquaintances, sure, but a friend who gets me and sticks by me anyway, someone who I can trust with my life, with my self..."

McGarrett drew a long breath then released it slowly. "Let's just say I haven't had many of those. I've lost a lot recently, you know? My world kinda got flipped on its axis, and in many ways, Five-O has taken the place of the family I've lost. Now that I've found a partner and friend, I want to keep him around. I know you miss your home, that you're probably the only guy forced to live in paradise who would rather go back to Jersey."

"But I want you to stay, to make this your home. By showing you the petroglyphs and this ceremony, I hoped you'd see that there's so more to this place than tourists snapping photos, circle island tours, and Hilo Hattie's."

Steve's voice dropped into a low register, filled with respect. "There's strong pride here, Danno, and fascinating history, and a deep spirituality that I can only begin to fathom. Not many haoles get all that, but I have a gut feeling that you could, if you had the chance to see beyond the glitz and tourist traps. Kono and Chin, they're of Hawaii. They know it instinctively. It's in their blood and their marrow. I grew up here, and my father instilled in me such a deep respect for the real Hawaii. Hawaii lives in me - in here." He tapped his chest over his heart.

Steve hesitated. "I just want you to learn to love the islands, too." He shrugged then added softly, "That's what this was all about." Then Steve slowly repeated the silent message Danny had signed to him as the rescue helicopter lifted him away on the day not so long ago when he'd broken his arm in the fall the day he'd shown his partner the petroglyphs.

Danny swallowed hard and nodded in acknowledgment, turning slowly back to look at the scenery below the pali. "Yeah, I get it now. I mean, I had no idea..." He spread his hands and shrugged, then Danny turned to face McGarrett again, a broad grin lighting his face.

"Gotta admit, Steven, your Hawaii is a pretty cool place." At the pure delight on his friend's face, he admitted, "And I wouldn't mind exploring this traditional side of the culture more, if you've got any other connections in the non-haole world."

Steve chuckled. "That I do, Danno. That I do."

Danny nodded and took a last look at the panorama below their feet. "It's okay if I still miss Jersey?" he asked in a voice tinged with wistfulness.

Behind him, Steve's voice was warm. "Only natural. No reason a guy can't appreciate two worlds, Danno. I don't know about you, but I could go for some loco moco. You hungry, brah?"

Turning and shaking his head at the thought of the Hawaiian breakfast of rice, hamburger, eggs, and gravy, Danny laughed, "You buying?"

"You got it. Today's all on me, Danno."

McGarrett threw an arm over his partner's shoulders, guiding him toward the trail leading down the pali. "Hey, does this new acceptance of Hawaiian culture mean you'll lose the tie?"

Separating to hike single file down the narrow path, Danny couldn't resist. After all what fun would it be to completely surrender to McGarrett and Hawaii and abandon all his Jersey ways? It was much too entertaining to get Steve a little riled.

As he set off down the path, leading the way this time, he jibed, "Hell, no! That's professionalism, Steven! I mean, I'm getting all the traditional coolness of this place now but I am not changing the way I approach the job. That means dressing appropriately for work. Following due process procedures. Avoiding gun fights whenever possible! Not terrorizing suspects. Unlike you, my friend, I am a professional."

Behind him, he heard Steve's laughter and joined in. The sun was warm on his face, the air was crisp and clean, and before them, the Pacific glistened in the morning sun.

His soul was no longer chilled, his heart no longer cold.

The words of the chant rang in his ears as they would ring in his heart forever: