Slight spoiler warning for 3x1. Just a quick fun little story that kind of wrote itself. Hope you enjoy!
Six months after telling Danny he should move to Vegas, Steve shows up on his doorstep ready to bring him home.
Back Where You Belong
"I think you've made a huge mistake"
"Greeting and salutations Steven, wanna try that again?"
"No" Steve pushed past Danny into the tiny apartment he called home. Danny resolutely ignored the way Steve eyeballed his surroundings.
"How lovely it is to see you Danny. Oh gee Steve, you too. How are things Danny? Well Steve since you ask..."
"This place is a dump" Face pinched in disgust, Steve crossed his arms over his chest and turned to the man he hadn't seen in over six months.
"Well thank you, I was just about to crochet a doily for the the coffee table when I was so rudely interrupted. And by the way your manners suck. What are you doing here?" Danny mirrored Steve's pose.
"I told you, you've made a huge mistake"
"So you've said, care to elaborate?"
"You moving here Danny, it was a mistake"
"I'm sorry? Ya know if I remember correctly Steven, you're the one who told me I shouldn't fight Rachel, that it would be wrong to put Grace in the 'RE the one who said I should move here"
"I was emotional, I wasn't thinking clearly" Steve shrugged nonchalantly, much like the time he convinced Danny to try pineapple on pizza only to have him hurl it up in his kitchen garbage pail ten minutes later.
"The neanderthal admits to having feelings? Has hell frozen over?"
"Ha Ha, I'm serious. It was a mistake."
"You told me to go! Keep an open mind, you said. Vegas is not that bad...your words!"
"I lied okay?! I lied... Vegas blows and you know it " Danny wanted to throttle his former partner and raised his hands to do just that but the pout that Steve had suddenly sprouted stopped him.
"So you know...come back" Noting how Steve looked everywhere but at him, hands shoved in his pockets, Danny took a deep breath.
"Let me get this straight Steve, first you make me feel like shit for wanting to fight for my daughter, then you convince me to drop it and follow her to this sand trap. Now you stand here after six months telling me it was all a mistake and to come back? And I'm supposed to just do what you say?"
"Well it worked before didn't it?"
"Steven..." Danny warned as he felt his blood pressure rising.
"It sucks without you okay? Is that what you want to hear? I have no one to argue with in the car and Book 'em Kono just doesn't have the same ring to it." Falling gracelessly onto the couch, Steve looked like a petulant child.
"Besides, Chin and Kono said if I don't come back with you, don't come back at all"
Danny couldn't help the huff of laughter that escaped his throat. Shaking his head he grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to Steve as he plopped down beside him.
"I guess the saying is true, don't know what you have til it's gone."
"Danny..."
"Look Steve, what's done is done. There's no use second guessing. Rachel and Stan have made a life here, and that includes Grace."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"What about your life? Have you made one here Danny? Does your new partner call you Danno? Bet he does everything by the book too" Steve mumbled the last bit into the beer bottle as he took a sip.
"As a matter of fact he does. He's quite the stickler for due process" Danny didn't miss the rolling of Steve's eyes.
"Pretty handsome too..." Steve's eyes shot to Danny, who did a fairly good impression of someone swooning over a crush. "...good hair, bluest eyes you've ever seen and the hottest Jersey accent this side of the Mississippi."
"Asshole" Even though he had caught on to Danny's joke, something painful twisted in Steve's gut.
Chuckling into his beer, Danny then grew serious at the devastated look on Steve's face.
"I couldn't bear the thought of being anyone else's back-up. Been working alone, mostly cold cases." He admitted softly but it was Danny's turn to roll his eyes at the smile that grew on Steve's face.
"You miss me.."
"Now don't go drawing conclusions Steve..."
"You do, you're bored here and you miss me..."
"No, no..." Danny rose to his feet, Steve followed.
"Admit it Danno, you long for the days of roof hanging and shark cages!" Steve pointed a smug finger in Danny's face while grinning like a loon.
Danny promptly smacked his hand away and turned to put his empty bottle on the counter.
"Alright alright, don't let it get to your head. I may, for like a fraction of a second, wished you were here to make it interesting."
Suddenly a set of arms were wrapped like an octopus around his upper body, six feet of killer SEAL pressed against his back, squeezing the life out of him.
"I knew it!"
"Oh my God, get off you animal!" Danny shoved back, straightening his shirt out as Steve smiled proudly, hands on hips like a Captain America.
"Ok, so that's it then. Let's get you packed, shouldn't take long from the looks of it. Next flight..."
"Steve..."
"...leaves in like an hour and that's too soon, so..."
"Steve..."
"...we'll have to wait til morning, which is fine..."
"Steve!"
"What?"
"I can't. I can't go back Steve. Grace is here, this is where I need to be."
"But...you said..."
"I'm sorry Steve. I can't."
"Well shit." Falling once again to the couch, Steve rested his elbows on his knees and ran a hand over his face. Resuming his position beside Steve, Danny nudged his shoulder.
"Hey, it's not that bad. In seven years Grace will be off to college and then I'll be free to go wherever the wind takes me. I hear Hawaii's kinda nice in the wintertime." With a sad smile Steve leaned back against the cushions and sighed.
"Course by then you'll probably have gotten yourself blown up by your own damn grenade and I'll have had died of boredom...or a self induced heart attack when Grace goes on her first date...whichever comes first." Falling back into the cushion, Danny chuckled at the forlorn look that graced Steve's face.
Shoulder to shoulder they sat in silence. The minutes ticked by until Steve, true to form, jumped from the couch and headed to the door.
"The hell? That's it? You're just gonna up and leave? I don't even get a meal out of this little sneak attack visit?"
"I'll be back"
Danny knew that look. Steve had something up his sleeve. Before he could even reach the door, Steve was already down the hallway, bypassing the elevators and aiming for the stairs.
"Steven! What are you doing? Steve!"
3 weeks later
"I'm only gonna ask you one more time Sanchez, when and where is the next shipment coming in?"
Holding Sanchez by the thin fabric of his t-shirt, Steve released his grip slightly, letting the sniveling drug dealer dangle precariously over the railing of the overlook at the top of Diamond Head.
"Fuck! Ok! Tomorrow night, Pier 17 at the Marina..." He risked a glance down, gripping Steve's wrists at the sight of the drop he would endure if he were to fall. "...now let me up!"
"I find out you're lying Sanchez and the next trip you make to Diamond Head will be in a body bag...you understand?"
"YES! Shit man let me up!"
Barely making it look like it took any effort, Steve hauled Sanchez over the railing and pushed him forward even as he swayed on his feet.
With a blinding grin, he turned to his new partner.
"Book 'em Danno!"
Danny, who had been leisurely lounging on a nearby bench, rose to his feet shaking his head. Pulling out his cuffs, he quickly restrained Sanchez and pushed him toward the car.
"Ya know, when I admitted to missing your crazy ass and your stupid stunts it was really just theoretically. I didn't actually miss you committing police brutality and I'm quite disturbed that you took it literally."
"Yeah man, that was police brutality! My lawyer is g..." A smack upside his head stopped his threat short.
"Nobody asked you. I was trying to make a point to my partner. Now where was I?"
After shoving Sanchez into the backseat, Danny turned to face his partner, who now leaned smugly against the Camaro, arms crossed over his chest.
"Ah yes, help...You need help Steven, only this time I refuse to pay for it, you only get that offer once..." A huge dopey grin bloomed on Steve's face.
"Oh for God's sake, get in the damn car" He pushed Steve toward the drivers side and climbed in the car.
Once Steve was settled in, Danny noticed his face had grown serious.
"What? What's wrong?"
"I knew Danny.."
Danny just raised his eyebrows in question.
"When you said I didn't know what I had til it was gone?"
Their eyes met and held.
"I knew Danny"
Danny nodded in understanding and smiled.
"Ditto babe"
"Talk about police brutality...you two gonna kiss now or somethin'?" A voice chimed in from the backseat.
An evil grin appeared on Danny's face as his eyes turned to the road.
"Shark cage?"
Steve let out a burst of laughter.
"Thought you'd never ask Danno"
As they drove in comfortable silence Danny couldn't help but sit back and enjoy the ride. He never did ask Steve what he had done to get Rachel to move back to Hawaii, and Rachel never volunteered that information. Truth is Danny didn't care. He was surprisingly back where he belonged. He was home.
end
Authors Note: This was just a fun little story that popped in my head after watching the first episode of the new season. I have no idea what Steve did to convince Rachel to move back to Hawaii, let your imaginations run free! lol I wrote this quickly and didn't really put much thought into it. We all know Steve can be very persuasive and has many tactics. Let's just leave it at that, sorry for that : (