Three Detectives and a Baby
Written By: "Tanith2011" and "honu59"
AN: We hope you'll enjoy reading our tale as much as we had fun writing it.
Part 1
The atmosphere in Steve McGarrett's office was one of jubilation and the satisfying feeling that justice had been served. With the Bob Marshall case finally under wraps and the murderer safely behind bars, Five-O found some air to breathe.
"Well, gentlemen, I think this calls for a small celebration," Steve announced to the room at large as he gave each of his men a wary but warm smile.
"We sure earned it, Boss!" Kono piped in.
Steve chuckled and looked at his second-in-command whose eyelids were drooping. "Danno, you look like you haven't slept in days. Are you sure you're up for it?"
"Are you kidding, Steve? It's a beautiful day outside," Danny replied with a grin.
"What are we waiting for? If we hurry, we may catch the rest of the parade," McGarrett replied before retrieving his navy blue sports jacket from the coat tree and heading for the door.
In high spirits, the three men left the office and made their way down the Palace steps to the entrance hall. Bidding the security guards a good day, they headed for their LTDs.
Just as Danny slipped his key into the driver side door, he jiggled it out again. Something's not right. The lock… Danny squinted through the window and saw that the door was unlocked. Can't be! I know I locked it. Someone must've jimmied the lock! A little uneasy, Danny slowly pulled the handle and opened the door. He poked his head inside to see if anything looked out of sorts when from the corner of his eye he saw movement coming from the backseat. He jerked his head to the side and peered over the front seats to find a small bundle nestled in the middle of the back seat. Danny's Pacific blue eyes widened and his mouth hung open in surprise. He shook his head then returned his gaze to the back seat. The bundle was still there. Okay, maybe Steve was right. I do need to get some sleep, Danny thought to himself. He blinked his eyes several times but each time he opened them, it was still there. He tried rubbing his tired eyes but only succeeded in causing them more pain, a result of the fatigue from which they were already suffering. Despite the blurriness obscuring his vision, he could still see that the bundle had not disappeared.
"Everything all right, Danno?" Steve called out as he stood watching the young man leaning across the driver's seat of the LTD. Don't tell me he fell asleep getting into the car. When no answer was forthcoming, he cocked an eyebrow at Kono who shrugged and wandered over to the detective in question. Like Steve, he too had been eyeing Danny's strange behaviour.
Unable to tear himself away from the sight that had greeted him, Danny didn't even hear Steve or Kono calling out. A tap on his back not only broke his trance-like state but also caused his reflexes to kick in.
Kono winced as Danny's head collided with the doorframe and he jumped backward.
"Kono!" Danny gasped as he reached up and rubbed at the lump forming beneath the sandy curls on his head.
"Sorry," Kono replied sympathetically and shrugged.
"Kono, there's…there's a baby in my car," Danny spluttered, pointing at the backseat.
Kono raised his eyebrows at the slighter man before him. Da kaikaina must've hit his head pretty hard.
"I'm serious!" Danny almost snapped, getting annoyed at the way Kono simply stood looking at him in a concerned-for-his-mental-state fashion.
Feeling a little foolish, Kono sighed and peered inside the car. His soft brown eyes widened as he saw a small round face poking out from beneath the bundle, smiling up at him.
"Something you'd like to share with us, Danno?" The sound of Steve's voice caught both the younger men's attention. Danny whipped his head up and saw his mentor standing next to Kono, peering through the back passenger window. A loud thump and a grunt later, Kono's head reappeared.
"Steve! Dere's a baby in da car!" Kono exclaimed, rubbing the top of his head, from where it had collided with the steel frame.
Steve shifted his gaze from Kono to Danny. Yeah I can see that. "Well, Danno?"
"Well what, Steve?" Danny asked nervously.
"Care to explain what that baby is doing in your car?"
Danny looked from Steve to Kono then back to Steve, his face reddening at an alarming rate. "Don't look at me! It's not mine."
"Are you sure, Bruddah?" Kono's face broke into a toothy grin and a chuckle seemed imminent.
"I'm serious; I really don't know how it got there!" Danny snapped. If this were your car, Danny thought darkly, as he grew more annoyed.
"However it got there, we need to find out to whom this baby belongs," Steve commented, suddenly serious. "And it's far too warm in that car. Get the child out of there right, now."
Kono opened the car door, bent over and scooped up the bundle. The little girl whimpered and squirmed in his arms. Getting a closer look at the baby's fair skin and blonde hair, Kono chuckled. "Sure dis ain't your keiki, Danny? She looks just like you."
"She?" asked Danny. "How do you know it's a girl?"
"We need to call child services," Steve said, ignoring the question. "The parade will have to wait."
By the time they had returned to Steve's private office, their young charge had become increasingly restless and started to cry. Kono was more than ready to pass her off to one of his fellow detectives. He glanced at Danny, who was overtired and not in the best of moods. No, Steve was the better choice right now.
"Can you take her, Boss?" Kono asked. "I'll phone child services."
Steve took the baby from Kono and positioned her comfortably, or so he thought, on his left shoulder. The child continued to cry, and it was starting to grate on their nerves. If only Chin or Jenny were here, thought the lead detective. Chin was on vacation visiting family and Jenny was out sick that day. He was regretting his earlier generosity, allowing the rest of the secretarial staff to leave early to attend the parade. Kono hastily retreated to his own cubicle to make the call, away from all the noise.
After several minutes of rocking and bouncing the child to no avail, Steve looked in Danny's direction. "Your turn, Danno," he said with all the finality of any order he gave.
"Steve, maybe Doc should take a look at her, make sure she's okay," Danny suggested as he reluctantly took the little girl into his arms.
"You're right, Danno, good idea," Steve replied over the volume of the young one's fussing.
The baby continued to cry until, by chance, she raised her head and looked into Danny's face. Her crying abruptly stopped as she stared, transfixed, at the young detective's Pacific blue eyes. Steve held his breath, not daring to distract the child. After a few minutes, the baby nestled into Danny's chest and fell asleep.
"Sure she's not yours, Danno?" Steve whispered with a grin as he reached for his desk phone. This time, the teasing didn't bother Danny. He had relaxed with the child in his arms and had fallen under her spell. He slowly lowered himself into one of the leather chairs in front of the big desk.
Steve picked up the receiver and dialled the morgue.
"Hello, Doc? Can you spare a few minutes and come up to the Palace?"
"Have you seen the traffic out there this morning, Steve?" Bergman barked into the phone.
"I know, Doc, just get here whenever you can. Bring your bag. Thanks, Doc."
I wonder what it is this time! thought the old coroner as he hung up the phone. I need a vacation!
The lead detective then disconnected the line and redialled the phone, this time the number of the HPD crime lab.
"Hello, Che? I'd like you to come to the office right away with your fingerprinting kit. We have an abandoned baby here and we'll need her footprints so we can compare them to recent birth records in local hospitals," Steve said. "Yeah, we'll wait for you. It may take you a while to make it through the parade traffic. Thanks, Che."
Steve hung up the phone and glanced over at his second-in-command who had nodded off in the leather chair, the sleeping child in his arms hugged closely to his chest. The older detective smiled and shook his head. At least she's quiet now, he thought.
